Ruminal in situ incubations are widely used to assess the nutritional value of feedstuffs for ruminants. In in situ methods, feed samples are ruminally incubated in indigestible bags over a predefined timespan and the disappearance of nutrients from the bags is recorded. To describe the degradation of specific nutrients, information on the concentration of feed samples and undegraded feed after in situ incubation (‘bag residues’) is needed. For cereal and pea grains, CP and starch (ST) analyses are of interest. The numerous analyses of residues following ruminal incubation contribute greatly to the substantial investments in labour and money, and faster methods would be beneficial. Therefore, calibrations were developed to estimate CP and ST concentrations in grains and bag residues following in situ incubations by using their near-infrared spectra recorded from 680 to 2500 nm. The samples comprised rye, triticale, barley, wheat, and maize grains (20 genotypes each), and 15 durum wheat and 13 pea grains. In addition, residues after ruminal incubation were included (at least from four samples per species for various incubation times). To establish CP and ST calibrations, 620 and 610 samples (grains and bag residues after incubation, respectively) were chemically analysed for their CP and ST concentration. Calibrations using wavelengths from 1250 to 2450 nm and the first derivative of the spectra produced the best results (R2Validation=0.99 for CP and ST; standard error of prediction=0.47 and 2.10% DM for CP and ST, respectively). Hence, CP and ST concentration in cereal grains and peas and their bag residues could be predicted with high precision by NIRS for use in in situ studies. No differences were found between the effective ruminal degradation calculated from NIRS estimations and those calculated from chemical analyses (P>0.70). Calibrations were also calculated to predict ruminal degradation kinetics of cereal grains from the spectra of ground grains. Estimation of the effective ruminal degradation of CP and ST from the near-infrared spectra of cereal grains showed promising results (R2>0.90), but the database needs to be extended to obtain more stable calibrations for routine use.

The Society of Precision Agriculture Australia Inc. (SPAA) is recognised as a leading, grower driven farming group in Australia. As an organisation it provides programs and services to its members and wider industry to promote the development and adoption of Precision Agriculture (PA) technologies as a means of enhancing the profitability and sustainability of agricultural production systems. This is achieved through publishing Australia’s only PA-dedicated magazine, delivering field days, seminars and conducting on-farm PA demonstrations and experiments. SPAA provides farmers with an independent source of advice on new concepts and equipment. The grains industry was the springboard for initial adoption, with winegrapes, horticulture and the sugar industry the focus sectors for further expansion. The purpose of this paper is to share the SPAA experience with a view to assisting the development of similar organisations in other countries

We examine how changes in yield variability affect the welfare of cereal grain and oilseed buyers and producers around the world. We simulate trade patterns and welfare for 21 countries with a Ricardian trade model that incorporates bilateral trade costs and crop yield distributions. The model shows that world trade volumes would need to increase substantially if crop yield variability were to rise. Net welfare effects, however, are moderate so long as countries do not resort to policies that inhibit trade, such as export restrictions or measures to promote self-sufficiency in crops. Low-income countries suffer the most from increases in yield variability, due to higher bilateral trade costs and lower-than-average productivity.

Oats are undervalued in comparison with wheat, rice and barley, despite their unique composition that includes many of the nutrients required for health and a reduced risk of degenerative disease incidence. Furthermore, oats as whole grain and some of their associated products also contain β-glucan, a complex polysaccharide that has an approved health claim to reduce blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of CHD incidence if consumed at ≥ 3 g/d. At the agronomic level, oats exhibit optimal growth in regions of moderate temperature and long day length. In addition, they can tolerate wet weather and acidic soils more effectively than other cereals, such as wheat. Studies have shown that there is diversity in the content and composition of nutrients and health-beneficial components within the available wild and cultivated germplasm and that these are amenable to be enhanced by different agronomic practices as well as are susceptible to climatic variation. The advances in modern plant genetics, developed in sister cereals such as wheat, rice and barley, mean that oat development and exploitation should see an acceleration in the coming decade as they are adopted and applied. These advances include approaches such as genome sequencing, genotyping by sequencing and the allied next-level analytical approaches of RNA sequencing, transcriptome profiling and metabolomics. The collation and coordination of these approaches should lead to the generation of new, tailored oat varieties that are nutritionally enhanced and contain a greater proportion of health-beneficial components that can be translated through into a wide(r) range of consumer products with the ultimate hope of associated benefits to human health and nutrition.

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of a replacement diet with organic, semi-whole-grain products derived from Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum (ancient) wheat on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and inflammatory/biochemical parameters. A double-blinded randomised cross-over trial was performed using twenty participants (thirteen females and seven males, aged 18–59 years) classified as having moderate IBS. Participants received products (bread, pasta, biscuits and crackers) made either from ancient or modern wheat for 6 weeks in a random order. Symptoms due to IBS were evaluated using two questionnaires, which were compiled both at baseline and on a weekly basis during the intervention period. Blood analyses were carried out at the beginning and end of each respective intervention period. During the intervention period with ancient wheat products, patients experienced a significant decrease in the severity of IBS symptoms, such as abdominal pain (P< 0·0001), bloating (P= 0·004), satisfaction with stool consistency (P< 0·001) and tiredness (P< 0·0001). No significant difference was observed after the intervention period with modern wheat products. Similarly, patients reported significant amelioration in the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms only after the ancient wheat intervention period, as measured by the intensity of pain (P= 0·001), the frequency of pain (P< 0·0001), bloating (P< 0·0001), abdominal distension (P< 0·001) and the quality of life (P< 0·0001). Interestingly, the inflammatory profile showed a significant reduction in the circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, IL-17, interferon-γ, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor after the intervention period with ancient wheat products, but not after the control period. In conclusion, significant improvements in both IBS symptoms and the inflammatory profile were reported after the ingestion of ancient wheat products.

Effective, statistically robust sampling and surveillance strategies form an integral component of large agricultural industries such as the grains industry. Intensive in-storage sampling is essential for pest detection, integrated pest management (IPM), to determine grain quality and to satisfy importing nation's biosecurity concerns, while surveillance over broad geographic regions ensures that biosecurity risks can be excluded, monitored, eradicated or contained within an area. In the grains industry, a number of qualitative and quantitative methodologies for surveillance and in-storage sampling have been considered. Primarily, research has focussed on developing statistical methodologies for in-storage sampling strategies concentrating on detection of pest insects within a grain bulk; however, the need for effective and statistically defensible surveillance strategies has also been recognised. Interestingly, although surveillance and in-storage sampling have typically been considered independently, many techniques and concepts are common between the two fields of research. This review aims to consider the development of statistically based in-storage sampling and surveillance strategies and to identify methods that may be useful for both surveillance and in-storage sampling. We discuss the utility of new quantitative and qualitative approaches, such as Bayesian statistics, fault trees and more traditional probabilistic methods and show how these methods may be used in both surveillance and in-storage sampling systems.

The digestibility of horse feeds and rations can be determined using different techniques such as calculations based on the chemical composition, in vivo or in vitro methods. The marker methods overcome difficulties like discomfort for the animals and longer experimental times encountered using the ingesta/egesta method. In field conditions, a natural indigestible marker like acid-insoluble ash (AIA), with no changes in the normal ration, could be a very useful tool for digestibility trials. A group of six standardbred horses was used in a set of seven apparent digestibility trials. The diets were based on a first-cut meadow hay added to three different cereals (barley for trials 1 and 2; oats for trials 3 and 5 and corn for trials 6 and 7), the hay : concentrate ratio being 60 : 40 or 70 : 30 on a dry matter basis. Feedstuffs and faeces were analysed to determine the AIA content, using 2N HCl or 4N HCl technique. No differences about AIA concentration were found between the two methods for means and accuracy in each diet. Digestion coefficients for each diet did not differ with AIA method, even if in some trials interfering factors consistently lowered the overall values. Consequently, the AIA 2N HCl can be considered the easier and cheaper method to state apparent digestibility in field conditions, and a good tool for digestibility trials in horses fed hay-based diets.

Inorganic P, total P and phytic acid-P leakage from imbibing whole soybean, bean, and pea seeds, as well as whole maize and barley grains were measured. The amounts of P and phytic acid leaked during a 6-h soaking period varied for the five species. Soybeans leaked the most P and phytic acid of the species examined. Peas, beans and barley leaked little or no phytic acid. Based on reported levels of total P and phytic acid in the dry seeds/grains that were studied, total P leakage ranged from 0.5 to 1.2%, while phytic acid leakage ranged from 0.01 to 0.5%. No relationship was found between initial levels of total P or phytic acid in the dry seeds/grains and the amount of total P or phytic acid leaked by the imbibed seed/grain. Similarly, the amounts of phytic acid leaked by the seeds/grains of this study did not appear to be related to the water solubility of the phytic acid in the dry seeds/grains.

Seeds/grains of four species were imbibed for up to 90 minutes half embedded in agar. The agar was then freeze-dried and treated with a chromatographic reagent to detect the sites of potassium leakage from the imbibing seeds/grains. Soybean (Glycine max cv. Marathon) and pea (Pisum sativum cv. Little Marvel) leaked K across the entire surface of their testas. Aged pea seeds leaked much more extensively than seeds of a fresher lot of the same cultivar. Squash (Cucurbita maxima cv. Warted Hubbard) seeds leaked extensively from the flat sides of the seeds and at the hilum, but only slightly at the margins. Maize (Zea mays cv. Golden Beauty) leaked most extensively across the endosperm-only side (i.e. the side opposite the embryo) of the kernel, and kernels leaked more at the tip-cap end than at the broad end. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis determined that K was present in the testas/pericarps before imbibition in all species studied, and that the peak-to-background ratios of K were lower after the seeds/grains had been exposed to water. Neutron activation analysis verified that K was leaked out of the seeds/grains and absorbed into the agar. Seeds from all species studied showed varying amounts of seed-to-seed variation. These variations can be attributed in part to differences in testa/pericarp structure and condition.

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (NAA) was used to quantify the amounts of K, Mg, Cl, Ca and Mn leaked into water from imbibing dry seeds, dry fruits and isolated seed parts. A number of intact monocot and dicot dry seeds or fruits were studied as were some isolated parts such as testa, endosperm and embryo. All samples studied leaked detectable amounts of the five elements measured but the amounts leaked varied greatly. In most cases K was leaked in greater amounts than the other elements while Mn was leaked least. The leakage of Ca was highest from isolated seed coats and from mericarps of three umbelliferous species. Comparisons of the amount of element leaked with the total amount of that element present in the starting material showed that leakage, especially of K, represents a substantial loss of mineral nutrient reserves. The degree of leakage of elements did not appear to be closely related to the types of organic storage reserves present.

A study was conducted to assess the effect of the supply of phosphorus and the major cations on the mineral nutrient composition of whole mature wheat grains and the electron-dense globoid crystals found in the aleurone cells. Ears of wheat plants, growing in the field, were detached after anthesis. The ears were cultured to maturity in a sterile control solution which contained all essential elements. Other ears were cultured in solutions which contained no phoshorus, no calcium, no magnesium, combinations of these (−P, −Ca; −P, −Mg) or a solution which contained additional potassium but no phosphorus, calcium or magnesium. Ears cultured in the control solution produced grains with higher concentrations of P, Mg, K and Ca than grains from ears which matured on plants in the field. All the −P treatments produced grains with lower concentrations of P and higher concentrations of Mg, K and Ca than the plants grown in the field. The appearance and elemental composition of the globoid crystals in the aleurone cells support the hypotheses that the size of globoid crystals is regulated, in part, by the amount of phosphorus deposited in the grain and also by the relative proportions of K, Mg and Ca in the tissue. The culture of individual ears of cereal plants is a useful technique by which to study the transfer to and deposition of mineral nutrients in cereal grains.