PS8-6. Evaluation of an Air Fryer Device as a Rapid Method for Dry Matter Determination in Feedlot Diet Ingredients.

Abstract Finishing diets often include feed ingredients whose dry matter (DM) concentration varies, such as silages and by-products. These changes in DM cause variation in the chemical composition of the TMR, which can compromise animal performance. To mitigate this issue, frequent monitoring of the DM of wet feeds is necessary. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of the air fryer device (AF; commonly used on farms) with the forced-air oven (FAO) in assessing the DM of four feed ingredients. For 30 days, at a commercial feedlot, samples of grass silage, pearl millet silage, snaplage, and wet fiber plus solubles (WFS) were collected daily (30 replicates per feed). After collection, the samples were taken to a field laboratory, homogenized, and split into two subsamples. Each subsample was used to determine DM either using an AF (Mondial, AF 31, 1500 W, Conceição do Jacuípe, Brazil) or a FAO (Tecnal, TE-394/2-MP, Piracicaba, Brazil). For the AF method, samples of approximately 100 g were weighed on a scale with 2.0 g precision, using the removable AF basket as the tare. The tare weight and the weight of the wet sample were recorded, and the basket was placed in the air fryer at 130 °C for 30 minutes. After the first stage, the basket was removed, weighed, and the weight was recorded. It was then returned to the air fryer for additional 10-minute periods, repeating the procedure until the sample weight stabilized. For FAO method, the same scale was used and the sample weights were similar. The oven was set to 55 °C. The samples were placed on aluminum trays and remained in the chamber until they reached a constant weight. The trials were set up as a completely randomized design. Data were analyzed using SAS software, followed by a t-test at P ≤ 0.05. The DM concentrations averaged 22.0, 38.3, 65.8, and 62.3% for grass silage, millet silage, snaplage, and WFS, respectively (Table 1). There was no effect of the methods for any of the feed ingredients. However, the DM values obtained using the FAO method were consistently about 2% higher than those obtained using the AF method. In practice, depending on the proportion that the ingredient represents in the ration, a 2% difference in DM can substantially change the amount of feed on an as-fed basis. Therefore, we suggest that after determining DM using the AF, 2% should be added to the value in the ration delivery software. Overall, the air fryer can be used to determine DM on farms, as it provides values similar to those obtained with a forced-air circulation oven. For image description, please refer to the figure legend and surrounding text.