| Dairy
One Update
- More on Carbohydrates – On February
01, 2007 we introduced the WSC/ESC concept and redefined the way "sugar"
was reported (see http://www.dairyone.com/Forage/Newsletters/ New_NIR_Services.htm.) Recall that, although the results of both methods are being used to report sugar, neither measures sugar in the strictest sense. As such, both methods are best described by their extractant (water or ethanol) and reported as water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) or ethanol soluble carbohydrates (ESC). This is analogous to the reporting of fibers as either acid or neutral detergent fiber. The fiber fraction is defined by the extractant (acid or neutral detergent). The WSC/ESC concept was readily grasped by all. At
the same time, we redefined the calculation of nonstructural carbohydrates
(NSC). Formerly, it was calculated as "starch+WSC" and
was changed to "starch +ESC". It was felt that the new
definition better represented carbohydrates that were digested in
the small intestine, particularly in monogastrics. This change caused
concern in some sectors, as horse feeds were beginning to be labeled
for NSC content based on starch+WSC. Since we're at a crossroads
in carbohydrate nutrition, we contacted a panel of leading dairy
and equine nutritionists from academia and industry to discuss how
NSC should be determined. The consensus was that due to the variable
nature in the calculation, composition and utilization of the components
in NSC, that it's nutritional relevance is circumspect. Rations
are best evaluated and balanced for starch, WSC and ESC as individual
components. As such, we will discontinue the reporting of NSC
on 4/01/07. |