Grazingland Animal and Nutrition Lab (GAN Lab) Services
The Grazingland Animal Nutrition Lab, GAN Lab, offers dietary diagnostic analysis of fecal samples by using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). The outputs of this analysis include diet protein and digestibility which are used in conjunction with animal and environmental descriptions to inform a nutritional balance software package, (NUTBAL). Combined results generated by this “NIRS/NUTBAL System” serve to optimize nutritional and grazing management decisions such as:
- Projected weight or body condition gain/loss
- Timing of stocking rate, pasture rotation or supplemental feeding
- Types and amounts of supplemental feed to help achieve performance goals
Services
The GAN Lab offers 2 primary services to the public, based on customer-submitted fecal samples — the NIRS/NUTBAL Standard Report, and the NIRS/NUTBAL Advisory.
$45 – NIRS/NUTBAL Standard Report: Baseline service, recommended for those who are comfortable inputting data and interpreting animal nutrition outputs.
The NIRS/NUTBAL Standard Report provides fecal NIRS estimates of diet crude protein and energy (via digestible organic matter). It also includes a standard NUTBAL projected animal performance report based on user-provided inputs for animal class, current condition, and other information.
$45
Do not mail payment with your fecal sample. Payment is collected by invoice after sample processing. More payment info below.
$80 – NIRS/NUTBAL Advisory: Recommended for those who are new to animal nutrition analysis or who desire more
information and feedback concerning the fecal NIRS/NUTBAL results.
In addition to the information contained in the Standard report, The NIRS/NUTBAL Advisory offers a custom analysis of results based on user-supplied inputs and may require a follow-up by GAN Lab personnel to verify inputs and refine recommendations.
$80
Do not mail payment with your fecal sample. Payment is collected by invoice after sample processing. More payment info below.
Research Services
We have historically offered several different analysis packages for researchers based on: a) the needs of the experiment, b) the level of collaboration desired, and c) budget considerations.
We will continue this system for the near-term, but will be creating a more defined cost-recovery matrix that will bring added consistency for our collaborators/customers that will continue to address scientific and budget needs for all concerned.
Please visit our publications page for published research and more details about our NIRS and NUTBAL technologies. Please contact us at any time to discuss collaboration, pricing, etc… as we remain dedicated to advancing grazingland animal science through NIRS.
Please note that under certain circumstances, a large shipment of research samples may take longer than the standard three days. We strongly suggest contacting us ahead of time to help meet project deadlines.
How to collect and submit manure samples for analysis
Step 1: Request a fecal sample kit
The GAN Lab provides a kit for shipping fecal samples to the lab for testing. The kit includes:
- 1 instructions and information packet, also available here. This outlines the sample submission process as well as the outputs of your custom NIRS/NUTBAL analysis.
- 1 small styrofoam cooler.
- 1 freezer gel pack.
- 1 cardboard box with appropriate diagnostic labeling.
- 1 pair of gloves.
- 1 plastic spoon
Each kit can hold 1 to 3 samples, depending on the sample size. Pick your preference below to request fecal sample kits:
Request a fecal sample kit by using NUTBAL Online — Quickest
To request a fecal sample kit online, login at NUTBAL Online and create a “Kit Request.” Contact the GAN Lab with questions by email or by phone at 254-774-6134.
Video: How to request a fecal sample kit at NUTBAL Online
Request a fecal sample kit directly from the GAN Lab
Phone: To request a fecal sample mailing kit directly from the GAN Lab, please call us at 254-774-6134.
Email: If you prefer to request a kit by email, please send us the following information:
- Your name
- Your mailing address,
- Your preferred email
- Your phone number
- The number of fecal sample kits you will need. You may request bundles of 1, 6, 12, 18, or 24 kits.
Step 2: Prepare your sample to mail
- Once you receive your fecal sample kit in the mail, read the accompanying instructions and information packet, also available here.
- Design a fecal sampling schedule that fits your objectives and meets the recommended sampling schedule.
Help with designing a fecal sampling schedule
The timing and frequency of fecal sampling depend on your objectives and budget. Use our fecal sampling schedule guide to help you plan:
When formulating your sampling calendar, keep these key points in mind:
- In a number of scenarios, sampling once a month allows you to manage and track a herd’s body condition.
- A manure pile most closely reflects the forage that was consumed 36 hours prior to defecation.
- Collect a sample each time conditions change substantially, and collect a second sample 14-21 days later to establish a new baseline and trend in forage quality.
- Allow for sampling during transitional periods like fall-to-winter and winter-to-spring. Also plan to sample during traditional periods of low-quality forage like winter and during seasonal drought.
Video: Collecting and mailing a manure sample
Step 3: Mail in your sample
Remember to document
Before mailing your sample, remember to provide important details about your submission as requested at NUTBAL Online or in the printed information and submission packet you receive with your GAN Lab sample kit. This will include information about your ranch, pasture, herd and fecal sample.
Mail it in
Mail your livestock fecal samples by following the instructions at NUTBAL Online, or the printed information and submission packet you receive with your GAN Lab sample kit, also available here.
Video: Entering a sample online
GANLAB Payment Information
Please do not mail payments with your submitted fecal samples. You will receive an invoice shortly after you receive your standard NIRS/NUTBAL report or advisory. The invoice will provide payment submission information, including how to make your payment online. To ensure the quickest possible sample processing, please complete the GAN Lab customer information form, which also serves as a substitute for a W-9.
Video: How to Track Your Submission Online
This video explains how to check on the status of your sample submission at NUTBAL Online.
Processing your sample and recommendations
Decision support using the NIRS/NUTBAL system
The GAN Lab accepts and analyzes your pasture-collected fecal samples by using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy, NIRS. This fecal analysis has proven to be a useful and effective diagnostic and management tool — determining the forage quality in an animal’s system 36 hours prior to defecating. The GAN Lab’s NIRS analyses can tell you the percentages of protein and energy in the forage your animals are grazing.
After the NIRS analysis, nutritional balance software known as NUTBAL (operated by GAN Lab staff or available to you online) processes data about animal profiles, environmental conditions, pasture conditions, supplemental feed programs and gain goals. With this data, the NUTBAL software generates reports that estimate forage intake, protein or energy requirements and intake, and weight change.
This decision support process is known as the NIRS/NUTBAL System.
A strategy for a changing market environment
Analysts stress that livestock producers are facing a market environment that requires greater attention to production costs. Supplements and stored forages represent a major expenditure in livestock production. Greater cost-efficiency can be gained through strategic feeding programs involving “feeding smart…not more or less, necessarily.” The NIRS/NUTBAL System is a tool for producers, managers, and consultants to make informed feeding and grazing decisions.
This NIRS/NUTBAL System monitors the changes in forage quality over time and matches the nutritional needs of livestock to the most economical feedstuff currently available. A regular monitoring program such as a monthly sampling schedule provides a wealth of information that brings a new level of confidence to the decision-making process.
How can the NIRS/NUTBAL System be useful to you?
- Drought Management – The NIRS/NUTBAL Pro System is a diagnostic tool that keeps you in tune with the nutritional status of your livestock in order to make more informed decisions for better management of droughts, feeds, reproduction and grazing.
- Reproductive Management – Monitoring herd nutrition allows you to better manage for appropriate body condition helping to facilitate improved conception rates, milk production, and herd productivity.
- Economical Feed Management -The NIRS/NUTBAL system helps you identify when what and how much to feed to maximize the cost-effectiveness of winter-feeding programs, drought supplementation, and production goals.
- Grazing Management -Track your pasture’s forage quality to fine-tune rotational grazing programs and identify deficiencies in current systems.