The accuracy of NIRS in predicting chemical composition and fibre digestibility of hay-based total mixed rations

The aim of this study was to develop near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) prediction models for the estimation of chemical components and the fibre undegradable fractions (uNDF) of hay-based total mixed rations (TMR). A total of 205 TMR samples were used for the study. All the chemical components were measured using standard AOAC reference methods and expressed as percentages of dry matter (DM). Prediction models were developed using both cross- and independent validation and different mathematical treatments applied on spectral data. The best spectral treatment was chosen based on the method which simultaneously achieved the lowest root mean square error and the highest explained variance in cross-validation. The coefficient of determination in external validation (R2P) was the greatest for starch prediction model (R2P = 0.84), followed by acid detergent fibre (ADF; R2P = 0.79), and amylase-treated ash-corrected NDF with addition of sodium sulphite (aNDFom) and crude protein prediction models (CP; R2P = 0.73). The concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) in validation ranged from 0.66 (ash prediction model) to 0.92 (starch prediction model), indicating substantial to accurate models’ predictive ability. This study indicated that NIRS can be a screening method for the prediction of CP, Starch, aNDFom, ADF, acid detergent lignin (ADL), uNDF and Ash. The use of TMR utilised in various herds provided high variability for the NIRS calibration dataset, implying that the developed NIRS pre-diction models could be applicable to TMR collected from herds located in the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production area.Highlights NIRS can be successfully employed to determine quickly and at cost-effective different compositional and digestibility traits in hay-based TMR. TMR analysis predicted by NIRS can support nutritionists in the formulation of diets containing a proper nutrient profile to sustain physiological, metabolic, and immunological processes. The use of NIR technology for TMR analysis can allow frequent monitoring of rations and increasingly timely corrections, maximising cows’ diet utilisation and conversion of the ingested feed.