The Ruminant Nutrition System Volume 1

Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Part I. Introduction
Chapter 1: The Utility of Nutrition Models
1.1 The Role of Modeling and Simulation
1.2 Identifying the Appropriate Level of Model Intricacy
1.3 Developing Mathematical Nutrition Models
Chapter 2: A Historical Perspective
2.1 The History Behind the Development of CNCPS-Based Applied Nutritional and Growth Models
2.1.1 Models to Predict Nutrient Requirements of All Classes of Beef and Dairy Cattle, Feed Digestion, and Metabolism to Meet Their Requirements and Balance Rations in Each Unique Production Situation
2.1.2 Models to Predict Growth Rate or Milk Production, Cost of Gain or Milk Production, Body Reserve Changes, and Total Feed Requirements Over Post-Weaning Growth or Reproductive Cycles
2.1.3 Models to Allocate Feed to Individuals and Predict Feed Efficiency When Fed in Groups
2.1.4 Application of Nutrition Models for Livestock Production Systems in the Tropics
2.2 The Next Generation of Applied Ruminant Nutrition Models
Chapter 3: A Contemporary Perspective
3.1 Environmental Sustainability: A Major Contemporary Concern
3.2 Feeding the Future and Caring for Our Own Existence
3.3 Animal Products as Part of a Healthy Diet
3.3.1 Animal Products’ Association with Heart Disease and Cancer
3.3.2 Role of Body Weight and Exercise in Preventing Chronic Disease
3.4 Looking to the Future: Developing Innovative and Integrated Nutrition Models
Part II. Modeling the Dietary Supply of Energy and Other Nutrients
Chapter 4: The Foundation of Dietary Supply
Chapter 5: Measuring the Useful Energy and Protein in Feeds
5.1 Tabular TDN Values
5.2 Predicting TDN with Empirical Equations
5.3 Predicting TDN with Theoretical Equations
5.3.1 Indigestible Compounds
5.3.2 Summative Equations
5.4 Equations Used by the RNS to Predict Energy and Protein Supply
Chapter 6: The Tabular Level of Solution
6.1 Approximating TDN Values
6.2 Metabolizable Protein
Chapter 7: The Empirical Level of Solution
7.1 Evaluating Theoretical Equations
7.2 Predicting TDN at Maintenance Level of Intake (TDN1x)
7.3 Discounting the TDN1x for Levels of Intake Above Maintenance (TDNnx)
7.4 Energy Partitioning
7.4.1 Predicting Digestible Energy
7.4.2 Predicting Metabolizable and Net Energy
7.5 Protein System
7.5.1 Predicting Ruminally Undegraded Protein
7.5.2 Predicting Microbial Crude Protein
7.5.3 Predicting Metabolizable Protein
7.6 Other L1-Type Feeding Systems
7.6.1 National Research Council (NRC) System
7.6.2 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) System
7.6.3 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) System
7.6.4 Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) System
7.6.5 Comparison of Feeding Systems
Chapter 8: The Mechanistic Level of Solution
8.1 Nutritional Fractionation of Feeds
8.1.1 Carbohydrates and Short-Chain Volatile Fatty Acids
8.1.1.1 Nonfiber Carbohydrates (NFC)
8.1.1.2 Fiber Carbohydrates (FC)
8.1.1.3 Unavailable Fiber Carbohydrate and Lignin
8.1.1.4 Physically Effective Fiber
8.1.2 Proteins and Amino Acids
8.1.2.1 The Inconsistency of Nonprotein Nitrogenous Compounds and Matter Creation
8.1.2.2 A Modified Protein Fractionation
8.1.2.3 Amino Acids
8.1.3 Lipids and Long-Chain Fatty Acids
8.1.4 Minerals and Vitamins
8.1.4.1 Macrominerals and Microminerals
8.1.4.2 Fat- and Water-Soluble Vitamins
8.1.5 Plant Defensive Chemicals
8.1.5.1 Classification of Tannins
8.1.5.2 Hydrolyzable Tannins
8.1.5.3 Condensed Tannins
-Mechanisms of Action
-The Methane Abatement Effect
-The Protein and Amino Acid Sparing Effect
-The Anthelmintic Effect
-Condensed Tannin Reactivity
-Methodological Aspects
-Ruminal Degradation of Polyphenolics
-Development of a Condensed Tannin Submodel
8.1.6 Other Fractionation Schemes
8.2 Ruminal Submodel
8.2.1 Substrate Dynamics in the Rumen
8.2.2 Nutrient Degradation
8.2.2.1 Carbohydrates
-Determining the Fractional Degradation Rate of Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) from In Vitro or In Situ NDF Digestibility Techniques
8.2.2.2 Proteins
-Recycled Nitrogen and Urea-N Used for Anabolism
8.2.2.3 Lipids
-Lipolysis
-Biohydrogenation
-Fatty Acid De Novo Synthesis
8.2.3 Ruminal pH
8.2.4 Microbes
8.2.4.1 Modeling Bacteria Growth
-Adjustment of CHOB3 kd for Ruminal pH
-Adjustment of NFC-Degrading Bacteria Maximum Yield for peNDF
-Adjustment of NFC-Degrading Bacteria Yield for Ruminally Degraded Peptide and Carbohydrate
8.2.4.2 Modeling Peptide Uptake by NFC-Degrading Bacteria
8.2.4.3 Calculating Ruminal Ammonia-N and Amino-N Balances
8.2.4.4 Accounting for a Ruminal Deficiency of Nitrogen
8.2.4.5 Accounting for a Ruminal Deficiency of Branched-Chain Amino Acids
8.2.5 Volatile Fatty Acids and Lactic Acid
8.2.5.1 Fermentation of Lactate
8.2.5.2 Methane Production
8.2.6 Nutrient Escape
-Cattle
-Sheep and Goats
8.3 Intestinal Submodel
8.3.1 Small Intestine (Midgut)
8.3.1.1 Carbohydrates
8.3.1.2 Proteins and Amino Acids
8.3.1.2.1 Amino Acids
8.3.1.3 Fats and Fatty Acids
8.3.1.3.1 Fatty Acids
8.3.1.4 Ash
8.3.2 Large Intestine (Hindgut)
8.4 Fecal Submodel
8.4.1 Undigested Feeds
8.4.2 Metabolic Matter
8.5 Energy and Protein Partitioning
8.5.1 Total Digestible Nutrients
8.5.2 Metabolizable Protein
Chapter 9: Other Methods of Determining Energy of the Diet
9.1 Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)
9.1.1 Direct Use of NIRS to Determine Chemical Composition
9.1.2 Indirect Use of NIRS to Determine Chemical Composition Through Fecal Analysis
9.2 In Vitro Gas Production (IVGP) Technique
9.2.1 Application of the In Vitro Gas Production Technique
9.2.2 Approximation of the Exponential Decay kd Using the Fiber Carbohydrate Pool kd of the Two-Pool Logistic Decay
9.2.3 Future Developments for the In Vitro Gas Production Technique
Chapter 10: Predicting Feed and Water Intake
10.1 Feed Intake
10.2 Adjustment Factors
10.2.1 Temperature
10.2.2 Mud
10.2.3 Breed
10.2.4 Body Fat
10.2.5 Feed Additives
10.3 Cattle
10.3.1 Lactating Dairy Cows
10.3.2 Dry Dairy Cows
10.3.3 Replacement Dairy Heifers
10.3.4 Feedlot Beef Cattle
10.3.5 Beef Cows
10.4 Sheep and Goats
10.5 Water Intake
Chapter 11: The Foundation of Animal Requirements
11.1 Dietary Fiber
11.1.1 Establishing a Fiber Requirement
11.1.2 The Grazing Ruminant
11.1.3 Integrating Fiber and Energy Requirements
Chapter 12: Maintenance Requirements
12.1 Cattle
12.1.1 Energy Requirements
12.1.1.1 Adjustment for Previous Temperature
12.1.1.2 Adjustment for the Effect of Lactation
12.1.1.3 Adjustment for Previous Plane of Nutrition
12.1.1.4 Adjustment for Physical Activity
12.1.1.5 Adjustment for the Direct Effect of Cold Stress
12.1.1.6 Adjustment for the Direct Effect of Heat Stress
12.1.1.7 Adjustment for Urea Formation
12.1.1.8 Other Considerations and Adjustments
12.1.2 Protein and Amino Acid Requirements
12.2 Sheep and Goats
12.2.1 Energy Requirements
12.2.2 Protein Requirements
12.3 The Next Generations of Maintenance Models
12.3.1 Previous Plane of Nutrition
12.3.2 Genetic Merit and Age
12.3.3 Thermal Stress
12.3.4 Physical Activity and Grazing Energy Expenditure
12.3.5 Partitioning the Energy Expenditure for Eating and Ruminating
Chapter 13: Lactation Requirements
13.1 Cattle
13.2 Sheep and Goats
Chapter 14: Pregnancy Requirements
14.1 Cattle
14.2 Sheep and Goats
Chapter 15: Growth Requirements
15.1 Cattle
15.1.1 Energy Requirements
15.1.1.1 Determining Body Composition and Rate of Gain
15.1.1.2 Development of Body Size Scaling to Account for Mature Size
15.1.1.3 Adjustment for Anabolic Agents
15.1.1.4 Adjustment for Previous Plane of Nutrition
15.1.1.5 Adjustment for Dietary Factors
15.1.1.6 Adjustment for Unique Breed Effects
15.1.1.7 Adjustment for Different Management Effects on Adjusted Final Shrunk Body Weight
15.1.2 Protein and Amino Acid Requirements
15.1.3 Evaluation of the Energy and Protein Requirements
15.1.4 Breeding Herd Replacement Heifers
15.1.4.1 Adjusting Average Daily Gain Due to Pregnancy
15.1.4.2 Accounting for Mammogenesis Requirements
15.2 Sheep and Goats
15.3 The Next Generations of Growth Models
15.3.1 Determining the Efficiency of Use of Metabolizable Energy
15.3.2 Composition of the Gain
15.3.3 Energy Systems Integration
15.3.4 Efficiency of Use of Amino Acids
Chapter 16: Body Reserves
16.1 Cattle
16.1.1 Meta-Regression Analysis and Cross-Validation of the Combined Dataset
16.1.2 Calculations of the Body Reserves Submodel
16.1.2.1 Predicting Body Composition Using the Actual Body Condition Score
16.1.2.2 Predicting Empty Body Weight at Different Body Condition Scores
16.1.3 The Efficiency of Use of Body Reserves Energy and Protein
16.1.4 Accounting for Body Protein Reserves
16.2 Sheep and Goats
16.3 The Next Generation of Body Reserves Submodels
16.3.1 Effects of Nutritional Environment and Breeds
16.3.2 A Different Approach for the Scaling System
16.3.3 Developing Dynamic Submodels
Chapter 17: Minerals and Vitamins
17.1 Minerals
17.1.1 Dairy Cattle
-Calcium
-Phosphorus
-Magnesium
-Chlorine
-Potassium
-Sodium
-Copper
-Iodine
-Iron
-Manganese
-Zinc
-Sulfur, Cobalt, and Selenium
17.1.2 Beef Cattle
Calcium
Phosphorus
Other Minerals
17.1.3 Sheep and Goats
Calcium
Phosphorus
Other Minerals
17.1.4 The Uncertain Chromium Requirement for Animals
17.1.5 Dietary Cation-Anion Balance
17.2 Vitamins
Part IV. Developing the Feed Library
Chapter 18: The Development of Feed Libraries
18.1 Development of the CNCPS Feed Library
18.2 Development of the RNS Feed Library
18.2.1 Determining Composition of Feeds in the RNS Feed Library
18.2.2 Ruminally Undegraded Protein at Maintenance Level of Intake (RUP1x)
18.3 Additional Feed Library Resources

Appendices
List of Appendices
Acronyms
References
Author Index
Subject Index

“…it is an impressive work and very useful for student and also for more experienced scientists. I hope to have sometimes time to read it thoroughly and extracts ideas for improving Karoline model… Congratulations of such impressive work.”
Pekka Huhtanen, Professor; Swedish University Agriculture Science, Sweden. November 2016

“… this book is a great achievement and is definitely the most advanced available on nutritional modeling and feeding systems. It is much more complete than the sum of the various NRC books and it provides a lot of new and integrated information. 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. The introductory historical part is also unique, 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: researcher specialized in the area of nutritional modelling, researchers in ruminant nutrition with focus on other areas, Master and PhD students, whom will find a lot of knowledge, documentation and inspiration to develop their own research, professional that want to understand what they do.”
Antonello Cannas, Professor; University of Sassari, Italy. January 2017

“Congratulations on a task very well done. I have cracked open your new book and only wish I could go on vacation from my day job for a few years to digest all of the scientific knowledge you have poured into it… I know and have an appreciation for all the hard work the both of you plus others within your teams have done thru the years and to get it documented and made available for others to use and learn from has to be very fulfilling and rewarding. Job very well done… I did a quick analysis of approximately how many cattle we have sorted with your models thru the years starting in 1994… It would be safe to say over 10 million head sorted with various versions of the Cornell Value Discovery System (CVDS) under our multiple packaged processes… That is a fair sum of money your base scientific technology has put in our client’s pockets thru the last 24 years… I know many other business entities are using your work in various production systems. You and your associates have had a huge positive impact on the efficiency of production within the cattle industry… We (PCC, PCC clients, and our business partners) have identified numerous research and development projects we plan to develop with your models being a key element of technology pack-aged processes for commercial cattle operations. We plan for the processes to be simple to implement, run at the speed of commerce, improve production efficiency, produce high quality beef and add more profitability to the enterprise. (My simple definition of Sustainability)”
Max D. Garrison, DVM, CEO; Performance Cattle Company, LLC, Amarillo. March 2017

“This book provides an excellent reference to the structure, philosophy and history behind the original Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System project and its further evolution and expansion into the Ruminant Nutrition System. This effort successfully integrated knowledge from a wide variety of distinguished scientists and disciplines into a cohesive framework around which animal scientists can extend their understanding and apply the embedded concepts to real world situations. The significance of that achievement cannot be overstated, and in my humble opinion, this work describes the agricultural equivalent of the Manhattan project. While the mathematics in some sections may not be for the faint of heart, this book represents a comprehensive ‘state of the art’ of our current understanding of ruminant nutrition in very fine detail. Even the most seasoned of animal scientists will not be able to get through this book in one pass, not so much due to difficulty, but because it serves to stimulate the generation of new ideas to move the science forward in such a positive way.”
Michael C. Barry, CEO; AgModels LLC, Tully, NY. April 2017

"Drs. Tedeschi and Fox have “broadened the Cornell model and integrated it with related fields of biology, a nutritional system with wide application in the nutritional sciences.”
Peter J. Van Soest, Professor Emeritus; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. September 2017

“The Ruminant Nutrition System is an exceedingly worthwhile tool for all scientists interested in physiology and nutrition of ruminants. It is highly recommendable for teaching and research of graduate students at the master and PhD levels in animal sciences, but also in life sciences, wildlife and fisheries sciences, ecosystem sciences and management, veterinary medicine as well as biology and zoology. Moreover, the book will also be valuable to practicing nutritionists who are looking for advanced information on applied ruminant nutrition and wish to understand biological and nutritional modelling of nutrient requirements by ruminants and nutrients supplied by feedstuffs undergoing ruminal fermentation, postruminal digestion, and nutrient absorption."
Gerhard Flachowsky, Professor, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Braunschweig, Germany. September 2017

“The Blue Book. The Ruminant Nutrition System describes a nutrition model in form of a computer program predicting nutrient requirements important for food producing farm animals. In response to the growing importance of artificial intelligence for agricultural purposes Luis O. Tedeschi and Danny G. Fox revised and expanded the earlier versions of their Ruminant Nutrition System. The third and enhanced edition comprises two volumes. Volume 1, the “Blue Book” includes An Applied Model for Predicting Nutrient Requirements and Feed Utilization in Ruminants (RNS). Volume 2, the “Red Book” contains The Tables of Equations and Coding (RNS TEC). The Blue Book discusses the utility of nutrient models, their historical perspectives and the contemporary prospects. Main focusses are on modelling the dietary supply and animal requirements of energy and nutrients. Finally, the development of feed libraries is presented. Recent scientific developments and pivotal discoveries were incorporated and improve the readers´ overall understanding of the Ruminant Nutrition System as a whole. The updated Ruminant Nutrition System is an excellent advancement of its precursors. The books will serve as a highly relevant tool for teaching and research and will usefully support graduate students and scientists interested and active in ruminant nutrition, health and/or physiology."
Gerhard Flachowsky, Professor, Institute of Animal Nutrition, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI), Federal Research Institute of Animal Health, Braunschweig, Germany. June 2021