2012 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416): 1. Develop new or improved NIRS calibrations to characterize forage/feed quality. 2. Monitor and maintain NIRS instruments within the NIRS Consortium to provide consistent results in analyzing forages and other feedstuffs for nutritional value. 1b.Approach (from AD-416): Support research and development and updating of NIRSC calibrations on the following aspects of the project: a. Maintaining the Master NIRS instrument, monitoring NIRSC instruments and providing standardization files on a routine schedule and as needed when instruments are out-of-specifications. b. Maintaining a database for tracking calibration samples (1) with submitted spectra, (2) selected for reference method analysis and (3) reference data for calibration; and scanning appropriate calibration samples with the Master NIRS instrument to obtain spectra. c. Develop new or updated NIRSC calibration equations. d. Provide database management of new NIRSC instrument company members marketing NIRSC caibrations via NIRS platforms different than Master system. 3.Progress Report: The near infrared spectrometer (NIRS) master instrument has been kept in good working order. During FY 2012, five member labs have been standardized according to routine schedule, of which one has been re-standardized following calibration difficulties. The database for tracking submitted spectral data, received physical samples, and reference chemical data has been maintained and utilized. Year to date, 7212 spectra have been received and screened, 375 samples have been received, and 282 have been submitted for analysis. Efforts are continuing to roll out new equations for prediction of ethanol yield parameters of biomass feedstocks. So far in FY 2012, two instrument companies have been given access to calibration library samples and reference data for release of NIRS Consortium equations on diverse NIRS platforms. Calibration databases have been delivered to a third instrument company.