The amount of starch in a fecal sample is highly related to the total tract starch digestibility.  Several published studies have found a correlation between fecal starch and starch digestibility of .73 to 94, depending on the internal marker used in the study.  One study, at the University of Pennsylvania, found that each 1% unit increase in fecal starch was equivalent to 0.72 lbs of lost milk production.

Fecal starch analysis takes approximately 3 days in the lab and costs the same as most NIR packages.  This makes fecal starch analysis a useful tool for routine monitoring starch digestibiliy in dairy and beef feeding operations. 

University of Wisconsin Interpretation Suggestions

 Request a fecal starch kit which contains the supplies required for proper sampling and shipping of fecal starch samples.