The first edition of this book, published in 1993, was very well received as providing a comprehensive review of the digestion and metabolism of ruminant animals. Since its publication, much new research has been conducted in the subject and knowledge has increased. This is incorporated in this second edition through the addition of five completely new chapters. These cover: the gas production technique in feed evaluation, calorimetry, the relationship between pasture characteristics and animal performance, feed processing and the integration of data in feed evaluation systems. Other chapters have been fully expanded and updated as appropriate and Dr. Dijkstra has also been enrolled as the lead editor. This book brings together quantitative approaches used in the study of mechanisms of ruminant digestion and metabolism.

Introduction, J Dijkstra, J M Forbes and J France Rate and Extent of Digestion, D R Mertens, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, USA Digesta Flow, G J Faichney, Australia In Vitro and In Situ Techniques for Estimating Digestibility, S López, University of Leon, Spain Particle Dynamics, P M Kennedy, CSIRO Livestock Industries, Australia Volatile Fatty Acid Production, J France and J Dijkstra Nitrogen Transactions in Ruminants, J V Nolan, University of New England, Australia and R C Dobos, NSW Department Primary Industries, Australia Rumen Micro-Organisms and their Interactions, M K Theodorou, BBSRC Institute for Grassland and Environmental Research, UK and J France Microbial Energetics, J B Russell, Cornell University, USA and H J Strobel, University of Kentucky, USA Rumen Function, A Bannink, Wageningen University, The Netherlands and S Tamminga, Wageningen University, The Netherlands Glucose and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Metabolism, R P Brockman, St Peter's College, Canada Metabolism of the Portal-Drained Viscera and Liver, D B Lindsay, University of Nottingham, UK and C K Reynolds, The Ohio State University, USA Fat Metabolism and Turnover, D W Pethick, Murdoch University, Australia, G S Harper, CSIRO, Division of Livestock Industries, Australia and F R Dunshea, Murdoch University, Australia Protein Metabolism and Turnover, D Attaix, D Rémond and I C Savary-Auzeloux, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, France Interactions between Protein and Energy Metabolism, T C Wright, JA Maas and L P Milligan, University of Guelph, Canada Calorimetry, R E Agnew and T Yan, Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, UK Metabolic Regulation, R G Vernon, Hannah Research Institute, UK Mineral Metabolism, E Kebreab, University of Guelph, Canada and D M S S Vitti, Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Piracicaba, Brazil Growth, G K Murdoch, E K Okine, W T Dixon, J D Nkrumah, University of Alberta, Canada, J A Basarab, Lacombe Research Centre, Canada and R J Christopherson, University of Alberta, Canada Pregnancy and Fetal Metabolism, AW Bell, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA, C L Ferrell, and H C Freetly, USDA-ARS, USA Lactation: Statistical and Genetic Aspects of Simulating Lactation Data from Individual Cows Using a Dynamic, Mechanistic Model of Dairy Cow Metabolism, H A Johnson, T R Famula and R L Baldwin, University of California, USA Mathematical Modelling of Wool Growth at the Cellular and Whole Animal Level, B N Nagorcka and M Freer, CSIRO Livestock Industries, Australia Voluntary Feed Intake and Diet Selection, J M Forbes Feed Processing: Effects on Nutrient Degradation and Digestibility, A F B Van der Poel, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, E Prestløkken, Agricultural University of Norway and J O Goelema, Pre-Mervo, The Netherlands Animal Interactions with their Environment: Dairy Cows in Intensive Systems, T Mottram and N Prescott, Silsoe Research Institute, UK Pasture Characteristics and Animal Performance, P Chilibroste, Estación Experimental M A Cassinoni, Uruguay, M Gibb, Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Okehampton, UK and S Tamminga Integration of Data in Feed Evaluation Systems, J P Cant, University of Guelph, Canada