CVAS is making available a fatty acid analysis on corn distillers by NIR.  This package will provide an evaluation for Total Fatty Acids, C12:0, C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, and C18:3.

The analysis will be $15.50 per sample and can be requested along with other chemistry analysis on corn distillers.

The NIR calibration for fatty acids in corn distillers is predicting well.  The total Fatty Acids prediction has a RSQ of .95 and SE of .56.  Average levels in the calibration set are as follows:

Total Fatty Acids                          11.2%

C12:0                                           .11%

C16:0                                         1.55%

C18:0                                           .20%

C18:1                                          2.66%

C18:2                                          6.43%

C18:3                                            .17%

Ether extract is a poorly defined nutritional entity as it can include a number of compounds that elute in ether but are not “fat” or fatty acids.  While the fatty acid analysis does a better job of defining actual fat in a feed material, the assay is time consuming and expensive to run.  CVAS is anticipating an opportunity to provide fatty acids by NIR in the future for various forage classes and feeds.  Fatty acids by definition are predicted well by NIR and this will allow us to provide better information quickly and economically.