The Ruminant Nutrition System, Vol. 2
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2022
Pages: 351
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2024
Pages: 351
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"(This is Volume II of a two-volume set. Volume I is also available)
This book accompanies The Ruminant Nutrition System: Volume I — An Applied Model for Predicting Nutri-ent Requirements and Feed Utilization in Ruminants (RNS). It shows the equations and code used to implement the RNS model for use by advanced teaching courses and research by faculty and graduate stu-dents at the master or doctoral levels in life sciences, animal science, wildlife and fisheries sciences, veterinary medicine, and biology and zoology, as well as any others who wish to understand the execution of the RNS model.
Since we started writing the first edition of the Ruminant Nutrition System, we planned to include the computer model's equations and the calculation logic. The book, however, quickly became a comprehensive document of the published research used to identify essential equations and variables for the under-lying calculation logic of the RNS model. It was a rich, dense source of information about the biology and nutrition of ruminants and the mathematical modeling concepts behind the computer model.
As a result, we scattered the RNS model equations throughout the book, within the appropriate chapters containing the pertinent scientific discussions, making it difficult for the reader to reconstruct the computer model. Soon after the publication of the first edition of the book, readers wishing to see the RNS model equations, their linkages, the calculation logic, and how they were implemented into the computer software started requesting more details. To meet this need, we needed to produce a companion book focused on describ-ing the RNS model's equations and code. Before releasing it to the public, however, we had to make sure that the equations accurately reflected the concepts (i.e., the validation step in mathematical modeling) delineated in the RNS's Volume I. The RNS's Volume II — Tables of Equations and Code arose because of our commitment to document and disseminate the mathematics composing the RNS model clearly and in detail.
Each part of Volume II presents the RNS model's equations and the calculation logic in two ways. The first, more traditional approach lists the equations in a tabular form, including an equation number, the independent variable with its description, and a mathematical formulation (in the form of the equation) that follows a logical sequence for calculation and execution. The second approach embeds the equations into a modern, highly aggre-gated method of an actual computer programming language structure, the R script. This second approach presents the sequence and the calculation logic for the equations more systematically and coherently than the first approach for those wishing to understand how the RNS calculations were programmed."
Dr. Tedeschi is a Professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Fellow, and Chancellor EDGES Fellow at the Department of Animal Science, and an Honorary Professor at the Dipartimento di Scienze Agraria at the University of Sassari, Italy. He is recognized internationally for his accomplishments in the modeling nutrition of ruminants. His impactful research and outreach efforts have yielded successful partnerships. Tedeschi has received several prestigious awards for his achievements. In 2011, Tedeschi was a prestigious McMaster Fellowship recipient to conduct modeling research at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Livestock Industries. In 2012, he received the TAMU AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence – International Involvement. In 2013, he was awarded the distinguished J. William Fulbright Scholarship to collaborate with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation to develop nutrition models to enhance understanding of ruminant production’s impact on the global warming effect through the emission of methane. In 2016, Tedeschi was designated a TAMU AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow for his exceptional research contributions to resilience and sustainability in animal agriculture. In 2017, he received the respected American Feed Industry Association in Ruminant Nutrition Research award for this seminal work at the NASEM. In 2018, Tedeschi received the COALS Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award – International Involvement. In 2019, Tedeschi became a Chancellor Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship Fellow and received the TAMU AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence – Research for his impactful and worldwide recognized nutrition models. In 2020, Tedeschi received a) the prestigious Federation of Animal Science Societies-American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) New Frontiers in Animal Nutrition Award, b) the ASAS Animal Growth and Development Award for the re-engineering of the widely used computer model for the Beef Cattle Nutrient Requirement released in 2016 by the National Academies, and c) the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award for Research. In 2022, he received the Association of Former Students (AFS) and TAMU Distinguished Achievement Award for Research, as well as the Bouffault International Animal Agriculture Award by the ASAS. In 2023, Tedeschi was named the ASAS Fellow Award-Research, which recognizes a member of ASAS who has rendered distinguished service to the animal industry and had continuous membership in the ASAS for at least twenty-five years.
In 2013, Tedeschi was invited to serve on the prominent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committee to re-engineer the Beef Cattle Nutrients Requirement publication and model, released in 2016 (doi:10.17226/19014). This achievement was enabled by the novel concept of energy partitioning of the bioenergetics of growing cattle, an idea that Tedeschi established in the early 2000s and has continued to build on. In the last decade, he has advanced the in silico experimentation of such discoveries through modeling and simulation to progress ruminant nutrition.
His family’s beef ranch operations and education provided him with the essential skills to follow this path before he joined Texas A&M University in 2005. He received his bachelor’s degree in Agronomy Engineering from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1991; his master’s degree in Animal and Forage Sciences from the University of São Paulo in 1996; and his doctorate in Animal Science from Cornell University in 2001. From 2001 to 2005, Tedeschi held a research associate position at Cornell University, during which he developed modeling and simulation techniques and predictive analytics of ruminant production. While earning his master’s degree in the late 1990s, Tedeschi studied the effects of different feed supplementation regimens on the growth curves of beef cows. At the time, most of the research on the topic was focused on the changes in the growth curve parameters, but Tedeschi was interested in combining the parameters of the growth curves with animal bioenergetics to explain the differentiation of tissues, and the composition of the weight change. This research had a tremendous and decisive impact on his ability to comprehend the bioenergetics of growth. In the early 2000s, Tedeschi’s work in this area led him to postulate the mathematical relationship of an animal’s body gain composition to its efficiency of use of energy deposition in the tissues of beef cattle. His work changed the paradigm of determining the effectiveness of using energy derived from dietary components to focus on the gain composition.
His approach to the partitioning of energy in growing cattle led Tedeschi to develop decision support tools (DST) to determine the energy efficiency of beef and dairy cattle. He and collaborators developed the fundamentals and calculation logic behind the Cattle Value Discovery System (CVDS), a computer model based on the National Research Council’s 2000 edition of Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle (doi:10.17226/9791). They also produced innovative thinking around and mechanistic formulation of body fat deposition to determine the necessary days on feed to achieve the maximum profit of group-fed animals. Many feedlot-related enterprises in the United States and abroad have customized and adopted Tedeschi’s work, partially or wholly, to predict days on feed given specific characteristics of the animals, diet, environment, and marketing opportunities. The development of the CVDS involved many concepts, including cattle nutrition and metabolism, animal growth and development, fat and muscle deposition, and many operational research tools for their integration. Tedeschi developed multiple partnerships with various sectors of the cattle industry to increase the efficiency of production by adopting DST, based on his bioenergetics of growth research. His research efforts helped many enterprises identify research and development projects to incorporate in their technology package for commercial cattle operations. These business partnerships resulted in the precision feeding of more than 10 million heads of cattle, which led to the reduction of the use of natural resources (i.e., fewer days feeding animals), increased production of high-quality beef, and greater profitability to the enterprise. Based on his experiences with the development of the CVDS for growing cattle, Tedeschi developed and published two additional DST to determine which beef cows (2006) and dairy cows (2010) are the most energy-efficient animals when fed in groups. The principles governing these systems were identical to those of the CVDS for growing cattle, but extra information on each production activity was needed to make the systems practical in application. The U.S. cattle industry is currently implementing these systems to combine beef and dairy cattle productions and supply feedlots with calves that meet consumer and market demands for animal products. When complete, this seamless combination of beef and dairy enterprises will culminate in a truly vertical integration of cattle production systems.
Most of Tedeschi’s ideas and achievements are methodically documented in the third edition of his 2020 book entitled The Ruminant Nutrition System; Volume I – An Applied Model for Predicting Nutrient Requirements and Feed Utilization in Ruminants, co-authored with his mentor and friend, Dr. Danny Fox. The following is a comment by Dr. Cannas, Professor at the University of Sassari, Italy, about the book:
“This book is a great achievement and is definitely the most advanced available on nutritional modeling and feeding systems. What I liked a lot is your ability in explaining all the biology behind the phenomena, and linking it to the many mathematical models described and their development over time. I am not aware of any other similar description of the integrated history of nutritional models. All this will be extremely valuable for many categories of scientists and professionals, including researchers specialized in the area of nutritional modeling or on other areas, graduate students, whom will find a lot of knowledge, documentation and inspiration to develop their own research, and professionals that want to understand what they do.”
Tedeschi serves on the Modeling Committee of the National Animal Nutrition Program, which oversees modeling work related to livestock production. He is the Chair of the Area of Excellence Quantifiable Animal Production in the Department of Animal Science. The outreach of Tedeschi’s research program is highlighted not only by his publication of more than 310 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 76 editor-reviewed manuscripts, 42 books or book chapters, and more than 319 abstracts with a total of more than 790 scientific publications. Tedeschi holds the copyright of 13 computer software about mathematical models (***********.nutritionmodels.com), which have been downloaded more than 270,000 times, complementing his research and teaching programs. Computer software includes Cattle Value Discovery System v. 1.1.5, Hay Game v. 1.7, Model Evaluation System v. 3.2.7, Small Ruminant Nutrition System v. 1.13, Gas Production Fitting System v. 3.10, GnG1 v. 2.9, Large Ruminant Nutrition System v. 1.2.5, 2016 Beef Cattle Nutrient Requirements Model v. 1.037.21, Ruminant Nutrition System v. 0.9, Meal Criterion Calculation v. 1.10, and the Area and Time Under and Above the Curve v. 1.0.
Tedeschi’s integration of nutrition and modeling using in silico and in vivo research has provided a new, genuinely transformative paradigm for the field of ruminant nutrition. Tedeschi has built a far-reaching, prominent research program that supports his teaching and service activities. His subsequent research efforts combine cattle nutrition and management with artificial intelligence.
Current Industry Research and Technology Application
- United States: Integration of modeling with sensor technology (infrared and 3D cameras) to determine the body and carcass composition of feedlot animals to maximize profitability and animal performance. Partners include Performance Cattle Systems and Geissler Corporation.
- United States: Development of the energy efficiency index to determine efficient beef cows that maximize feedlot performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Partners include Performance Cattle Systems, AgriWebb, and Simplot.
- Australia: Projecting maximum profit endpoints of Australian feedlot cattle with predictive models and technologies. Partners include the University of Sydney and Meat and Livestock Australia.
- Brazil: Development of a practical decision tool to determine the incidence of rumen acidosis and the effectiveness of feed additives to increase animal welfare and productivity. Partners include the University of New England (Armidale, Australia) and Phibro Animal Health.
- Mexico: Developing sustainable production strategies using artificial intelligence, computer vision, and sensor technology with feedlot cattle. Partners include Phibro Animal Health
"(This is Volume II of a two-volume set. Volume I is also available)
This book accompanies The Ruminant Nutrition System: Volume I — An Applied Model for Predicting Nutri-ent Requirements and Feed Utilization in Ruminants (RNS). It shows the equations and code used to implement the RNS model for use by advanced teaching courses and research by faculty and graduate stu-dents at the master or doctoral levels in life sciences, animal science, wildlife and fisheries sciences, veterinary medicine, and biology and zoology, as well as any others who wish to understand the execution of the RNS model.
Since we started writing the first edition of the Ruminant Nutrition System, we planned to include the computer model's equations and the calculation logic. The book, however, quickly became a comprehensive document of the published research used to identify essential equations and variables for the under-lying calculation logic of the RNS model. It was a rich, dense source of information about the biology and nutrition of ruminants and the mathematical modeling concepts behind the computer model.
As a result, we scattered the RNS model equations throughout the book, within the appropriate chapters containing the pertinent scientific discussions, making it difficult for the reader to reconstruct the computer model. Soon after the publication of the first edition of the book, readers wishing to see the RNS model equations, their linkages, the calculation logic, and how they were implemented into the computer software started requesting more details. To meet this need, we needed to produce a companion book focused on describ-ing the RNS model's equations and code. Before releasing it to the public, however, we had to make sure that the equations accurately reflected the concepts (i.e., the validation step in mathematical modeling) delineated in the RNS's Volume I. The RNS's Volume II — Tables of Equations and Code arose because of our commitment to document and disseminate the mathematics composing the RNS model clearly and in detail.
Each part of Volume II presents the RNS model's equations and the calculation logic in two ways. The first, more traditional approach lists the equations in a tabular form, including an equation number, the independent variable with its description, and a mathematical formulation (in the form of the equation) that follows a logical sequence for calculation and execution. The second approach embeds the equations into a modern, highly aggre-gated method of an actual computer programming language structure, the R script. This second approach presents the sequence and the calculation logic for the equations more systematically and coherently than the first approach for those wishing to understand how the RNS calculations were programmed."
Dr. Tedeschi is a Professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Fellow, and Chancellor EDGES Fellow at the Department of Animal Science, and an Honorary Professor at the Dipartimento di Scienze Agraria at the University of Sassari, Italy. He is recognized internationally for his accomplishments in the modeling nutrition of ruminants. His impactful research and outreach efforts have yielded successful partnerships. Tedeschi has received several prestigious awards for his achievements. In 2011, Tedeschi was a prestigious McMaster Fellowship recipient to conduct modeling research at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Livestock Industries. In 2012, he received the TAMU AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence – International Involvement. In 2013, he was awarded the distinguished J. William Fulbright Scholarship to collaborate with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation to develop nutrition models to enhance understanding of ruminant production’s impact on the global warming effect through the emission of methane. In 2016, Tedeschi was designated a TAMU AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow for his exceptional research contributions to resilience and sustainability in animal agriculture. In 2017, he received the respected American Feed Industry Association in Ruminant Nutrition Research award for this seminal work at the NASEM. In 2018, Tedeschi received the COALS Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award – International Involvement. In 2019, Tedeschi became a Chancellor Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship Fellow and received the TAMU AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence – Research for his impactful and worldwide recognized nutrition models. In 2020, Tedeschi received a) the prestigious Federation of Animal Science Societies-American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) New Frontiers in Animal Nutrition Award, b) the ASAS Animal Growth and Development Award for the re-engineering of the widely used computer model for the Beef Cattle Nutrient Requirement released in 2016 by the National Academies, and c) the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award for Research. In 2022, he received the Association of Former Students (AFS) and TAMU Distinguished Achievement Award for Research, as well as the Bouffault International Animal Agriculture Award by the ASAS. In 2023, Tedeschi was named the ASAS Fellow Award-Research, which recognizes a member of ASAS who has rendered distinguished service to the animal industry and had continuous membership in the ASAS for at least twenty-five years.
In 2013, Tedeschi was invited to serve on the prominent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committee to re-engineer the Beef Cattle Nutrients Requirement publication and model, released in 2016 (doi:10.17226/19014). This achievement was enabled by the novel concept of energy partitioning of the bioenergetics of growing cattle, an idea that Tedeschi established in the early 2000s and has continued to build on. In the last decade, he has advanced the in silico experimentation of such discoveries through modeling and simulation to progress ruminant nutrition.
His family’s beef ranch operations and education provided him with the essential skills to follow this path before he joined Texas A&M University in 2005. He received his bachelor’s degree in Agronomy Engineering from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1991; his master’s degree in Animal and Forage Sciences from the University of São Paulo in 1996; and his doctorate in Animal Science from Cornell University in 2001. From 2001 to 2005, Tedeschi held a research associate position at Cornell University, during which he developed modeling and simulation techniques and predictive analytics of ruminant production. While earning his master’s degree in the late 1990s, Tedeschi studied the effects of different feed supplementation regimens on the growth curves of beef cows. At the time, most of the research on the topic was focused on the changes in the growth curve parameters, but Tedeschi was interested in combining the parameters of the growth curves with animal bioenergetics to explain the differentiation of tissues, and the composition of the weight change. This research had a tremendous and decisive impact on his ability to comprehend the bioenergetics of growth. In the early 2000s, Tedeschi’s work in this area led him to postulate the mathematical relationship of an animal’s body gain composition to its efficiency of use of energy deposition in the tissues of beef cattle. His work changed the paradigm of determining the effectiveness of using energy derived from dietary components to focus on the gain composition.
His approach to the partitioning of energy in growing cattle led Tedeschi to develop decision support tools (DST) to determine the energy efficiency of beef and dairy cattle. He and collaborators developed the fundamentals and calculation logic behind the Cattle Value Discovery System (CVDS), a computer model based on the National Research Council’s 2000 edition of Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle (doi:10.17226/9791). They also produced innovative thinking around and mechanistic formulation of body fat deposition to determine the necessary days on feed to achieve the maximum profit of group-fed animals. Many feedlot-related enterprises in the United States and abroad have customized and adopted Tedeschi’s work, partially or wholly, to predict days on feed given specific characteristics of the animals, diet, environment, and marketing opportunities. The development of the CVDS involved many concepts, including cattle nutrition and metabolism, animal growth and development, fat and muscle deposition, and many operational research tools for their integration. Tedeschi developed multiple partnerships with various sectors of the cattle industry to increase the efficiency of production by adopting DST, based on his bioenergetics of growth research. His research efforts helped many enterprises identify research and development projects to incorporate in their technology package for commercial cattle operations. These business partnerships resulted in the precision feeding of more than 10 million heads of cattle, which led to the reduction of the use of natural resources (i.e., fewer days feeding animals), increased production of high-quality beef, and greater profitability to the enterprise. Based on his experiences with the development of the CVDS for growing cattle, Tedeschi developed and published two additional DST to determine which beef cows (2006) and dairy cows (2010) are the most energy-efficient animals when fed in groups. The principles governing these systems were identical to those of the CVDS for growing cattle, but extra information on each production activity was needed to make the systems practical in application. The U.S. cattle industry is currently implementing these systems to combine beef and dairy cattle productions and supply feedlots with calves that meet consumer and market demands for animal products. When complete, this seamless combination of beef and dairy enterprises will culminate in a truly vertical integration of cattle production systems.
Most of Tedeschi’s ideas and achievements are methodically documented in the third edition of his 2020 book entitled The Ruminant Nutrition System; Volume I – An Applied Model for Predicting Nutrient Requirements and Feed Utilization in Ruminants, co-authored with his mentor and friend, Dr. Danny Fox. The following is a comment by Dr. Cannas, Professor at the University of Sassari, Italy, about the book:
“This book is a great achievement and is definitely the most advanced available on nutritional modeling and feeding systems. What I liked a lot is your ability in explaining all the biology behind the phenomena, and linking it to the many mathematical models described and their development over time. I am not aware of any other similar description of the integrated history of nutritional models. All this will be extremely valuable for many categories of scientists and professionals, including researchers specialized in the area of nutritional modeling or on other areas, graduate students, whom will find a lot of knowledge, documentation and inspiration to develop their own research, and professionals that want to understand what they do.”
Tedeschi serves on the Modeling Committee of the National Animal Nutrition Program, which oversees modeling work related to livestock production. He is the Chair of the Area of Excellence Quantifiable Animal Production in the Department of Animal Science. The outreach of Tedeschi’s research program is highlighted not only by his publication of more than 310 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 76 editor-reviewed manuscripts, 42 books or book chapters, and more than 319 abstracts with a total of more than 790 scientific publications. Tedeschi holds the copyright of 13 computer software about mathematical models (***********.nutritionmodels.com), which have been downloaded more than 270,000 times, complementing his research and teaching programs. Computer software includes Cattle Value Discovery System v. 1.1.5, Hay Game v. 1.7, Model Evaluation System v. 3.2.7, Small Ruminant Nutrition System v. 1.13, Gas Production Fitting System v. 3.10, GnG1 v. 2.9, Large Ruminant Nutrition System v. 1.2.5, 2016 Beef Cattle Nutrient Requirements Model v. 1.037.21, Ruminant Nutrition System v. 0.9, Meal Criterion Calculation v. 1.10, and the Area and Time Under and Above the Curve v. 1.0.
Tedeschi’s integration of nutrition and modeling using in silico and in vivo research has provided a new, genuinely transformative paradigm for the field of ruminant nutrition. Tedeschi has built a far-reaching, prominent research program that supports his teaching and service activities. His subsequent research efforts combine cattle nutrition and management with artificial intelligence.
Current Industry Research and Technology Application
- United States: Integration of modeling with sensor technology (infrared and 3D cameras) to determine the body and carcass composition of feedlot animals to maximize profitability and animal performance. Partners include Performance Cattle Systems and Geissler Corporation.
- United States: Development of the energy efficiency index to determine efficient beef cows that maximize feedlot performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Partners include Performance Cattle Systems, AgriWebb, and Simplot.
- Australia: Projecting maximum profit endpoints of Australian feedlot cattle with predictive models and technologies. Partners include the University of Sydney and Meat and Livestock Australia.
- Brazil: Development of a practical decision tool to determine the incidence of rumen acidosis and the effectiveness of feed additives to increase animal welfare and productivity. Partners include the University of New England (Armidale, Australia) and Phibro Animal Health.
- Mexico: Developing sustainable production strategies using artificial intelligence, computer vision, and sensor technology with feedlot cattle. Partners include Phibro Animal Health