WINFEEDã - A Stochastic Program for
Feed Formulation
Inventors: F. Zhang, W.B. Roush, T.L. Cravener
PSU Invention Disclosure No. 97-1823
Licensing Contact: Ronald
J. Huss
Agricultural Sciences – Software for Animal Feed
Formulation
WINFEEDã is a quality control program
for feed formulation. Nutrients in feed
ingredients are not known with certainty.
The WINFEEDã program refines feed
formulation by including nutrient variability in the formulation process.
·
Compared
to linear feed formulation programs at the same requested nutrient probability
level:
-
WINFEEDã formulates a lower cost
ration;
-
WINFEEDã more accurately meets
requested nutrient levels and consequently reduces nutrient waste;
-
WINFEEDã reduces nutrient variability
in the final ration;
·
WINFEEDã calculates opportunity costs
for ingredients not used in the formulation by determining the price at which
that ingredient would be cost effective in the formulation
·
WINFEEDã calculates nutrient shadow
prices – the amount the ration cost would change if the cost of a nutrient
increases or decreases
·
Variability
due to bioavailability, digestibility and amino acid prediction equations are
effectively incorporated into the feed formulation process
·
WINFEEDã can formulate both linear
and stochastic feed formulation programs for comparison
Requirements
·
An
ingredient database with mean and standard deviation values for nutrients
·
Accurate
knowledge of nutrient requirements and probabilities
·
An
informed and knowledgeable feed formulator