An Overview on the Use of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) on Farms for the Management of Dairy Cows
Author(s)
Date Issued
2021
Type
article
Volume
11
Issue
296
Start Page
1
End Page
21
Journal
Abstract
Dairy farming is increasingly affected by the digital revolution. To respond to current
challenges—such as environmental, economic, and social sustainability—new technologies must be
adopted, entering the perspective of precision livestock farming. This is made possible by the
development of countless sensors to be adopted in the barn. The technology that is affecting various
aspects of dairy cattle breeding is certainly near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) which is versatile and
can be used online/inline to evaluate and control the critical points of the production process by
entering the PAT (process analytical technology). In the barn, NIRS currently can obtain information
on the chemical‐physical composition of raw materials, total mixed ration (TMR), feces and
digestibility, chemical and technological analysis of milk. All this in a short time by eliminating the
waiting times for analysis response and costs, allowing an improvement of livestock management.
Many studies affirm the validity of NIRS as a reliable and predictive technology against multiple
relevant parameters in matrices such as raw feed, TMR, feces, and milk. This review highlights the
usefulness of NIRS technology in dairy farm with particular attention to portable instrumentation
usable directly on the farm.
Additional information
LS9_3