Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The cattle handling system that exists in the Animal Science Department on East Campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was constructed in 1987. Hundreds of animals are moved through this handling system in the Animal Science Complex each year for research, teaching, and outreach purposes. When this system was constructed, nearly 40 years ago, cattle were phenotypically very different. Due in part to genetic selection, cattle are significantly wider, and have difficulty moving through the current handling system as they mature. Modern cattle do not fit in systems designed decades ago, and sometimes become trapped in addition to experiencing increased handling stress due to difficulty moving through the facility. Nearly every faculty member in the animal science department uses this facility at some point in time - either for research or teaching purposes, and every undergraduate student matriculating through the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln observes animal handling in these facilities when they participate in an introductory animal science course. Faculty and students from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences also utilize these facilities for instructional purposes as part of a clinical skills course for first and second year veterinary students. Few facilities isolated to one room have the enormity of impact that this cattle handling system does, and updating it would impact countless animal and human lives for the next 40 years.
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
15%
Applied
60%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
To expand teaching, outreach, and research capabilities for research involving cattle, and improve the safety and well-being of people and animals using the cattle handling facilities in the Marvel Baker Animal Science Complex.To accomplish these goals, our objectives include the following:Initiate research, instruction, and outreach activities focused cattle hoof health, including hands-on instruction in hoof-trimming techniquesDevelop facility-specific digital safety training curriculum for use by institutional and external environmental health professionalsInitiate research focused on behavioral and physiological responses of cattle to components of facility design and handling practices, including an economic analysisAssemble a team to lead research focused on describing animal and facility aspects of animal-related worker injuriesSupport research teams working to identify differences in risk by gender, skill level, training, and facility type for cattle workersInitiate monitoring of facility-specific animal and worker injuries to identify differences due to elements of facility design, level and type of training, and documented skill level, including an economic analysisInitiate monitoring of facility-specific animal behavior to identify differences due to elements of facility design or handling practices, including an economic analysisDevelop guidelines and recommendations for facility-specific best practices for acclimating and handling research cattle to mitigate the effects of handling stress on physiological measures collected during research across disciplinesDevelop guidelines and recommendations for facility-specific best practices for teaching and demonstrations involving cattle by all disciplinesMonitor and report instances of animal injuries requiring treatment or withdrawal from research trials (this information was not previously reported, and would be a valuable metric for any livestock research center)Monitor and report instances cattle each year receiving preventive or corrective hoof trimmingMonitor and report number of staff required for handling events and associated costs (reduction) due to renovation.
Project Methods
Project leadership team:Project Director: Ruth Woiwode, PhD.UNL Animal Behavior, Handling, and Welfare Specialist, will serve as overall project manager; contribute to and review proposed layouts, designs, and ensure that animal welfare is safeguarded. PD was trained by the leading expert in cattle handling system design (Dr. Temple Grandin) and has also consulted on facility design projects prior to becoming faculty at UNL. Additionally, the PD has a successful track record of partnering with equipment manufacturing companies to support much-needed research related to cattle handling practices and facilities. This partnership included securing equipment donations and part of a larger fundraising project totaling $7.4M, currently nearing completion with a grand opening scheduled in June 2024.UNL Attending Veterinarian, Dr. Kelly Heath: will review and approve final facility components to ensure compliance with Institutional Animal Care and Use requirements. Dr. Heath has oversight of all animal research facilities and has rich experience with animal handling gained while in private practice as a large animal veterinarian, followed by working in the cattle slaughter sector, where human animal handling is monitored by USDA FSIS to ensure compliance with the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.UNL Facilities Manager, Dan Trotter: will ensure contractors and in compliance with UNL facilities codes and requirements.UNL Animal Science Operations Manager, Brent Johnson: will provide guidance on staffing and maintenance needs for facilities, and will work closely with team to coordinate construction schedule around teaching and research activities.General Contractor/Architect: CHAMPION OLSON Architects: Overall project planning and management. Founded as Champion Architecture in 1996, CHAMPION OLSON Architects is a small firm that can quickly and readily adapt to many project types and sizes. Current specialties include adaptive reuse, renovation, renewal architecture, and custom design projects. CHAMPION OLSON Architects specialize in Adaptive reuse architecture, which adds significant value to the renovation of the cattle handling facilities in the Animal Science Complex.Consultant: Colorado State University Animal Welfare and Cattle Handling Facility Design Expert, Dr. Temple Grandin will review proposed layouts, designs, and ensure that animal behavioral principles are not violated, and that animal welfare is safeguarded. Dr. Grandin is one of the world's leaders in the design of livestock handling facilities. She has designed livestock facilities throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. In North America, almost half of all cattle processing facilities include a center track restrainer system that she designed for meat plants. Her curved chute systems are used worldwide and her writings on the flight zone and other principles of grazing animal behavior have helped many producers to reduce stress during handling.Equipment Representative: Dubas Equipment/Moly Manufacturing, Gene Dubas. Gene Dubas is the owner of Dubas Equipment, a Nebraska-based dealer for Moly Manufacturing. Mr. Dubas travels the country promoting Moly Manufacturing equipment, and also uses the company's equipment on his cattle operation in Fullerton, NE. Mr. Dubas will provide on-site oversight of the installation process to ensure that the equipment is set up and installed properly and fully operational. Mr. Dubas has generously agreed to donate his time required to ensure project success, as well as the cost of freight to deliver the equipment. He will be involved in all team planning meetings prior to setup to ensure all facility and construction criteria are met.Evaluation of the project will include target to goal performance for the construction timeline, establishment of all described monitoring initiatives, and the timely and routine reporting of criteria included both internally and externally.