Recipient Organization
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
PO BOX 2275A
BROOKINGS,SD 57007
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
American bison (Bison bison) are a major cultural and biological foundational species in North American history. Recently, bison production has become more prevalent in the United States. The impact that bison have within the American economy is not as robust as it may have been in the past, but efforts are ongoing to incorporate bison back into production and improve the supply of bison meat to producers. Currently, there is not a robust network establishing lines of communication regarding animal health, management practices, or disease outbreaks in the bison community. There are many ongoing projects within academia that are seeking to improve the capacity of bison production. However, many producers are not as well connected to academic publishing outlets and thus has created a knowledge gap between researchers and those who raise the animals. The goal of this project is to create, recruit, and maintain a network that actively promotes the sharing of data within the bison industry that will empower producers to maintain and growth their herds through improved management and herd health. Simultaneously, bison producers face a unique problem: there is currently no information on the levels of nutrients bison need. This project seeks to generate data that will establish a full energy guideline for bison. This guideline will be the level of energy at which bison needs to consume to maintain their weight and be at their healthiest. This project will generate a network in which bison producers can share their knowledge in health advancement and the newly established guideline for feeding. With these tools, bison producers will be better equipped to raise the national mammal of the United States, maintain their health, and provide more bison meat to retailers across the country.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
15%
Applied
50%
Developmental
35%
Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of this project is to develop, coordinate and administer a network consisting of bison producers and managers through which information can be gathered and distributed freely among various producers. This will be completed through a multi-year process that will involve multiple objectives.These objectives include:1) Identify leaders/herd managers in bison related organizations that would benefit from this network through previously establish connections;2) Engage bison producers as participants at national and/or regional conferences to gather and share information;3) Establish preliminary data to fill a critical knowledge gap related to the energy requirements of bison; and4) Maintain this network and facilitate communication through networking, short-courses, and field days.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Identify leaders/herd managers in bison production that would benefit most from this network through connections with academia and various bison organizations such as NBA and NBF. Producers and leaders that will benefit from this network will be identified through consultations with the Bison COE, which hosts a board of directors deeply rooted in bison production, the NBA, NBF, ITBC, and through personal contacts the PD and Co-PIs have made over their careers. These individuals will be reached through email or through direct contact to invite them to preliminary meetings to discuss their needs for the network and how they could be structured to best serve them. While the investigators have developed a network plan and schedule, it is also important for the success of this network to determine and implement the best fit model that the network participants would prefer. Therefore, the investigators of this project plan to work in flexibility for on-site field days, zoom meetings throughout the year, and further council meetings with bison leadership to drive this effort down a self-sufficient path.Objective 2: Engage Participants at a national or regional conference that is preexisting, including National Bison Association conferences, or an equivalent. The NBA hosts a national conference every January that coincides with the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado. Extensive producer participation in this conference exists. The investigators of this project and NBA have determined that a bison health network centered session would be the best fit for this model. The NBA has committed to this effort and will help facilitate a networking day to occur at the beginning or conclusion of the NBA regular conference proceedings. Producers and leaders will be provided with travel stipends to cover costs associated with extra travel to the conference. On this networking day, producers will have time scheduled to network with researchers, conduct round table discussions regarding the direction of research, and hear updates on bison health related issues. Equivalent events could range from regional NBA events to statewide bison conferences such as the Dakota Territory Buffalo Association, the International Bison Health Symposium, or other bison centered conferences. Depending on the needs of the participants, a secondary summer or fall conference could be included in this effort.Objective 3: Establish preliminary data to fill a critical knowledge gap related to the energy requirements of bison.Maintenance and growth energy requirements will be estimated via comparative slaughter technique, with animals being allocated to different dietary regimens (maintenance vs. ad libtum) and slaughtered at different time-points (mid or end of trial; see below). Tissues will be collected and processed adapting the methods described by Menezes et al., (2019) and Goulart et al. (2022). Bison will be housed by private producers at pre-established bison feeding locations. Utilizing privately owned bison allows for data sovereignty and accessibility for publications. Dietary samples will be collected through whole diet analysis based on supplemented feedlot diets and analyzed for quality and consistency monthly. Diets will be analyzed for the same metabolites as analyzed in tissues, and analyzed for CP, ADF, NDF, TDN, ether extract, and ash.Slaughter and sampling procedures: To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies to this date that have conducted a comparative slaughter to establish nutritional requirements of bison. Therefore, the sampling procedures and measurements described herein were adapted from cattle studies (Menezes et al., 2019; Goulart et al., 2022) and a study with water buffalo (Jorge et al., 2013). The composite sample of muscle and fat and the sample of rib bones will be lyophilized, fragmented into smaller portions, ground in a blender with dry ice, and stored in an airtight plastic container for further determination of DM, organic matter (OM), N, and ether extract (EE) contents.Laboratory analysis: Samples will be quantified in terms of DM, N, and EE according to the AOAC (AOAC, 2012).Calculations: The relationship obtained between empty body weight (EBW) and BW of the reference animals will be used to estimate the initial EBW of the remaining animals. The prediction equation for chemical composition of the empty body and carcass from the traits of the HH section will be determined by regression analysis.Objective 4: Maintain this network and facilitate communication through networking, short courses, and field days. Participants in this study will be provided with a newsletter organized by the investigators and the coordinator (PhD Student) that will be delivered quarterly. This newsletter will highlight the upcoming events such as field days, networking days, and short courses.Field Days - These events will be hosted by one of the participants and centered around a production event, such as a bison round up. These events will serve the participants by providing an opportunity to network while also highlighting different management practices or facilities by the host participants.Networking - Coordinated networking days will focus on gathering the participants in a central location such as Brookings, SD. These events will focus on providing meals, discussing findings, and growing the network. Throughout the course of this project, many remote networking days will be hosted in the form of town hall meetings or open discussions. These events will focus on listening to what the participants need regarding the types of research, addressing questions and concerns, and other general comments. The goal of this network is to create an open line of communication for producers to reach out and disclose what they would like to see from researchers. The town hall opportunity will provide opportunities for that input.Short Courses - At least one short course is planned in Year 4 of this effort. This short course will serve to disseminate the knowledge gained from participants and disseminate that with other participants. This will be formatted in a traditional short course fashion in which industry experts, leaders in the network effort, and academics will discuss pointed and meaningful topics to those participants who attend.Maintaining this network will be accomplished through continuing communication and outreach after the conclusion of this funding period. The PD and Co-PIs are committed to a longstanding relationship with this network and will continually participate in the roundtable discussions to facilitate open communication with the group. The research interest and needs of producers and leaders are important for the bison industry to flourish, and continuing efforts will be made to continue this growth. Funding for short courses and field days will be applied for various USDA conference grants or equivalents, either governmental, private, or other funding, so these efforts can continue. However, roundtable discussions are least cost and can be continued after this funding after this network is established through this current proposal. A limiting factor in network participation and travel to events such as the ones proposed in this request is funding. As such, this requested funding will provide travel funds to attend the NBA conference and the proposed field days/short course. An additional stipend will be provided to compensate participants for mileage and time associated with the cost of travel. This stipend will also provide financial incentives for both early and late adopters of this network's participation. Stipends will be awarded strategically throughout the project timeline to promote continued involvement in the network.