Ag Tech Products and Ag Tech services

HOPKINS, Minn.– Cargill Animal Nutrition has selected Consumer Physics to collaborate and introduce Reveal® to U.S. dairy producers. Reveal is a real-time forage analysis service that puts the power of a Cargill forage lab analysis in the palm of a hand by utilizing SCiO - the smallest handheld Near-Infrared (NIR) spectrometer available, by Consumer Physics.

“Today’s dairy producers are constantly pushing the envelope to run a more productive and efficient operation. They need cutting edge offerings like Reveal that allow them to make smarter nutrition decisions, when they need to be made,” says Mike Messman, strategic technology lead for Cargill’s U.S. dairy business. “We believe that Reveal analysis will allow producers to manage forage dry matter fluctuations as they happen, and adjust their feeding programs to maximize production and income over feed costs.”

Research by the University of Wisconsin showed changes of dry matter (DM) of 3 to 8 percentage points DM within lots of both corn silage and haylage, and variation of 6 to 10 percent DM between lots of both silage types. With today’s precision diets, those variations in dry matter can result in lost production, wasted nutrients, or both.

Reveal provides the most accurate, real-time analysis utilizing SCiO, the smallest, most affordable hand-held NIR device on the market. With an initial investment that’s less than the price of a smartphone, the Reveal service provides on-farm dry matter analysis of forages. This information gives producers the power to make ration adjustments in real-time, to enable more proactive management of quality, ensuring cows receive the most consistent diets.

“We are thrilled to work with Cargill on this project, and introduce our SCiO micro-spectrometer to the feed industry” says Yaron Dycian, VP of Products at Consumer Physics. “Cargill’s leading global database of feed ingredients, combined with SCiO - the world's smallest micro-spectrometer with its connected central management system, make Reveal dry matter analysis the most convenient, precise and affordable analysis available. The ability to easily deploy multiple, high accuracy, micro spectrometers on location, revolutionizes precision agriculture by bringing decision making out of the lab and into the field.”

For many operations, the investment for Reveal will equate to about a penny per cow per day, making it the most affordable, real-time NIR analysis on the market. There is no limit to the number of samples that can be analyzed, and it can be used anywhere on the operation, by anyone.

“We see dry matter as only the beginning of what Reveal will offer to customers,” adds Messman. “Our research team is actively looking into other on-farm forage testing and we’re excited about the future potential.”

Reveal real-time forage analysis will be available starting in July, and will be launched with a special introductory offer. Reveal orders placed before August 15 will receive the first 30 days of service complimentary, while supplies last. Those that are interested in the Reveal service should contact their Cargill Dairy Focus Consultant, or visit www.cargill.com/reveal, for information on pricing and availability.