INTEGRATING CATTLE FARMING, MUSHROOM PRODUCTION AND ABUNDANT CORN STOVER FOR YEAR-ROUND FARM PROFITABILITY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1018706
• Grant No.: 2019-67024-29336
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $500,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2018-08391
• Project Start Date: Apr 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Mar 31, 2024
• Grant Year: 2019
• Program Code: [A1601]- Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities: Small and Medium-Sized Farms

Recipient Organization
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIV
1601 EAST MARKET STREET
GREENSBORO,NC 27411

Performing Department
Animal Sciences

Non Technical Summary
The production of mushrooms and utilization of the abundant, low cost and bio-fortified corn stover as cattle feed resulting in year round profitability of small- and medium-sized farms are the main goals of this project. In cow/calf operations, feed cost increases significantly during winter when pastures are less productive resulting in supplemental feeding of harvested forages and other agro-industrial by-products. Use of crop residues by cattle is limited by the presence of lignin, which a type of fiber that cannot be digested by animals. However, cultivating mushroom on these residues results in the breakdown of lignin thereby releasing the nutrients which could benefit cattle productivity. We assume that combining cattle and mushroom production is a viable way to reduce these challenges. Ready to fruit mushroom substrates will be delivered to participating cattle farmers who will fruit and sell the mushrooms on a weekly basis. Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) from fruited substrates will be used as feed/supplement to background weaned calves. We will address our assumption by the following objectives: 1) evaluate corn stover as a substrate for intensive mushroom production; 2) utilize SMS as cattle feed; 3) determine nutritional and health benefits of feeding cattle with SMS; and 4) evaluate economic benefits of this production system. Data such as animal growth parameters, changes in gut microorganisms, blood parameters, quantity/value of mushroom yield and changes in farm profitability will be evaluated. Overall, this approach has the potential to increase productivity per acre and net cash flow to small-sized farmers.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

30%

Applied

50%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
302	3310	1010	50%
302	1470	1102	50%

Knowledge Area
302 - Nutrient Utilization in Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
1470 - Mushrooms and other edible fungi; 3310 - Beef cattle, live animal;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism; 1102 - Mycology;

Keywords

calves

corn stover

feed cost

lignin

mushroom

Goals / Objectives
Feed accounts for 60 to 70% of total costs in most livestock enterprises and is the single largest variable input cost. Cow/calf operation is the predominant cattle production system in the Southeast. In cow/calf operations, feed cost increases significantly during winter (20 to 30% of the annual cost of cow ownership) when pastures are less productive resulting in supplemental feeding of harvested forages and other agro-industrial by-products. The key to sustainability in this livestock enterprise will be to increase revenue and decrease expenses. For cow/calf farmers, crop integration has the potential to provide immediate financial reward (through the sale of produce from the crop enterprise) compared to waiting approximately 16 months to sell weaned or background calves. For socially disadvantaged or limited-resource livestock farmers, crop residues remain the cheapest sources of feed for their ruminant animals. One of the most abundant crop residues is corn stover. Annual total production of corn stover is projected to reach 261 and 303 million tons in 2022 and 2050, respectively. Thus, the potential for energy transfer to livestock production through the use of corn stover could be significant. However, this does not come without some inherent challenges. Corn stover has low digestibility (due to the presence of lignin) and requires some form of treatment to be effectively utilized by animals. Moreover, only 50% of the energy captured by grain crops is stored in harvestable grain. So, to improve the digestibility of this low-feed source, a process for improving nutrient availability is needed. Any action that delignifies biomass prior to ingestion by ruminants invariably increases digestibility. Edible mushrooms are known to degrade and remove lignin from plant biomass as well as secrete bioactive compounds with health benefits. Cultivating mushroom on corn stover will result in the breakdown of lignin with concomitant release of nutrients and bioactive compounds which could benefit cattle productivity. Additionally, exotic edible and medicinal mushroom farming is on the rise in the US today. As a result, the production of mushrooms and utilization of the abundant, low cost and bio-fortified corn stover as cattle feed resulting in year round profitability of small- and medium-sized farms are the main goals of this proposal.We hypothesize that the integration of exotic mushroom and livestock production can be of immense advantage in a small-farm environment because the mushroom can act as a continuous source of income to farmers while generating improved biomass as a cheap source of animal feed, especially during the winter months when grazing is limited. We will address our hypothesis by the following objectives:1)evaluate corn stover as a substrate for intensive mushroom production;2)utilize spent mushroom substrate as cattle feed/supplement;3)determine nutritional and health benefits of feeding cattle with spent mushroom substrate;4)evaluate economic benefits of this production system.We also hypothesize that lower-cost weight gain can be put on cattle by consuming residual corn stover biomass used in mushroom production. Overall, integration of crop and livestock operations has the potential to increase productivity per acre, improve revenue and increase net cash flow to small-sized farms.

Project Methods
The project has four objectives and details on the methods are written below:OBJECTIVE 1: Corn stover as a substrate for intensive mushroom productiona. Evaluate corn stover in pilot-scale mushroom productionIn this project, corn stover will be tested in a pilot experiment to produce oyster mushrooms. Ten-pound bags (substrate units) will be prepared, inoculated and incubated for 60 days as described by Anike et al. (2016) before fruit body induction. Fruiting bodies will be harvested from each bag over a period of one week, and will be allowed to further incubate for another week before being used in animal studies. Data to be collected are number of days to full colonization of substrate bags, pinning and fruit body maturity; total yield of mushrooms from substrate bags and biological efficiency will be determined.b. Determine the nutritive value of SMS using the in vitro gas and in situ techniquesSamples will be analyzed for chemical composition. In addition to the chemical composition of SMS, we will utilize the in vitro gas technique to determine the nutritive value of the feeds. In vitro rumen DM digestibility will be determined after 96 hours of incubation. In vitro gas production will be measured at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. The batch fermentations will be repeated on a different day to make 2 runs. After subtraction of gas produced from blanks, data will be fitted to exponential model to estimate fermentation kinetics.OBJECTIVE 2: Utilization of spent mushroom substrate as cattle feedMushroom fruiting houses will be erected at farmers' locations and tested for oyster mushroom production. A predetermined 20 x 50 ft mushroom fruiting house will be erected on each farmer's property. The fruiting houses will be equipped to control humidity, temperature and air flow, as well as other specifics for oyster mushroom production environment. Mushrooms harvested will be packaged by farmers and sold to predetermined outlets. Production rate in terms of mushroom yield and sales will be recorded. Income flow to the farms from mushroom sales will also be recorded.Use of spent mushroom substrate in animal feedEighteen spring-born weaned steer calves will be stratified by body weight and assigned to 1 of 3 treatments as: 1) grazing supplemented with hay (positive control), 2) grazing supplemented with corn stover (negative control), 3) grazing supplemented with SMS (treatment) in a randomized complete block design. The study will be carried out in three different on-farm locations, which will constitute the block. The study will be undertaken for three years to constitute 3 replicates for statistical analysis. Calves will be background over a period of 180 days. There will be 3 replicates (year) per treatment and 6 calves will be assigned to each treatment. Fifty-four calves will be used each year. Calves will be weighed on day 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180.OBJECTIVE 3: Determine nutritional and health benefits of feeding cattle with spent mushroom substrate.To estimate nutritional and health benefits of the treatment, blood samples will be collected on day 0, 90 and 180. Blood samples (10 mL) will be taken from each of the weaned calves from the jugular vein and into a clean dry tube without anticoagulants. Samples will be centrifuged at 4,000 ×g for 20 min. Serum will be separated into 2-mL clean dried Eppendorf tubes and frozen at −20 °C until analysis. Concentrations of total protein, albumin, urea-N, glucose, creatinine, glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) will be analyzed in the blood serum samples using specific kits (Stanbio Laboratory, Boerne, Texas, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Globulin concentration will be calculated as the difference between total protein and albumin. Blood samples will also be used to assess immune response in the calves. This will be restricted to calves on treated and untreated corn stover. A two-step real-time quantitative PCR analysis will be performed to study the expression of inflammation regulatory genes (IFN-γ, IFN-α, IFN-β, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, MCP-2, TNF-α, IL13, and MUC-1) in the blood samples according to Chiba et al. (2012).Microbiome studiesFor the current project, we will evaluate gut health by analyzing fecal samples from the calves. Sampling rumen fluid from cannulated calves would have been a better approach, but we wanted to go with the option that the farmers were most comfortable with. We can set a parallel study at N.C. A&T to sample rumen fluid using cannulated cows at the University Farm. For the on-farm studies, fecal samples will be collected from the calves at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days. Samples will be collected from all the calves. Samples will be stored at −80°C until required for analysis. DNA will be isolated from samples using the Qiagen DNA isolation kit. Isolated DNA will be processed through a 16S rRNA metagenomics pipeline, with 16S rRNA primers 27F 5′-AGAGTTTGATCCTGGCTCAG-3′ and EUB338 5′-GCTGCCTCCCGTAGGAGT-3′. Bioinformatic analysis of results obtained will be outsourced. Analyzed data obtained will be used to define operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and filtered to obtain rare OTUs and map the relative abundance of each OTU to each sample. With such data, it will be possible to evaluate the effect of SMS on microbiome composition.OBJECTIVE 4: Economic analysis of an integrated production system of cattle and mushroomsThere are potential economic rewards that this project provides for small cattle farmers. Evidence suggests that profitability is the primary factor for farmers to adopt a new production system or technology (Camboni & Napier, 1994; Logan, 1990). In other words, farmers are more likely to reject a production system simply because it is not profitable. Small cattle farmers, like any other profit-oriented farmer, are interested in increasing profits through increased yields, reduced costs, or both.We will model two (2) economic choices: (1) Cattle production without mushrooms; and (2) Cattle production with mushrooms. We will conduct a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to determine the optimal choice by comparing maximum net returns obtainable under cattle production without mushrooms and the highest net returns obtainable under the condition that the farmer practices the integrated method (i.e., the combination of cattle and mushroom production).We will first determine livestock and mushroom revenue as the product of the price of live cattle and mushrooms, respectively in $/lb and expected yield of live cattle and mushrooms. We expect at least a total of 12,000 lbs of mushrooms per harvest. Generally, marketing agricultural product involves a very challenging and complex process. The process mostly involves activities such as harvesting, processing, storing, transporting and retailing among others. Therefore, to ensure that farmers have a ready market, we will recruit a sole distributor that can buy the total volumes of mushroom and supply them to other vendors.We will also develop a simulation model to analyze and predict the optimal choice of a farmer at various corn stover prices. The key outputs from the model will be the simulated distribution of profits under various corn stover prices. We will also examine the sensitivity of farm profit to mushroom yield under different production periods (year 1 to year 3). This will help us to assess the practical application of the economic results of this project over time.

Progress 04/01/19 to 03/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The key to sustainability in any beef cattle enterprise is to increase revenue and decrease expenses. For cow/calf farmers, integrating specialty agricultural produce has the potential to provide immediate and year-round financial reward (through the sale of produce from the crop enterprise) compared to waiting approximately 16 months to sell weaned or background cattle. The primary target audience for this project are small-sized, socially disadvantaged or limited-resource and young new farmers interested in integrated and sustainable specialty agricultural produce/livestock farming. Changes/Problems:The initial plan was to import the fruiting houses from China but with the tariff war between the United States and China, this was aborted when it became unworkable. The team reached out to major mushroom producers to consider alternative fruiting chambers that can be sourced locally. A fruiting chamber made from shipping containers (20' x 8' x 9 ½', L x W x H) was selected by the team. Due to significant delays and uncertainties on the fabrication of the other 3 fruiting chambers, we have decided to remove the on-farm study (which was approved by the NPL). The proposed change did not affect the objectives of the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Some of the students that worked on the project took a mycology class to get up to speed with the mushroom part of the project. The PIs are working with some of the graduate students to prepare a concept paper that will be developed into a full proposal for submission later in the fall. Fifteen undergraduate students were trained on using the in vitro batch culture technique to evaluate the different substrates generated from the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from the project were disseminated at a conference for socially disadvantaged and limited-resource farmers. This was a national conference on next-generation sustainable technologies for small-scale producers held at North Carolina A&T State University. The team also made a presentation titled "Pleurotus ostreatus can significantly improve the nutritive value of lignocellulosic crop residues" at the 80th Professional Agricultural Workers Conference held at Tuskegee University with a theme of - "Leveraging Change and Transformation: New Opportunities for 1890 Agriculture". Another presentation was made at the 2023 Annual Meeting of Mycological Society of America. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We were able to accomplished all the objectives (4) of the project. For objective 1, we demonstrated that corn stover supplemented with wheat bran (10%) gave fruiting body yield in one commercial (MBFBL 67B) and a wild strain (MBFBL 400) of Pleurotus ostreatus. We established that the level of yield in strain 67B and 400 at 10% wheat bran supplementations of corn stover were above 100% biological efficiency (BE). Biological efficiency is calculated as fresh weight of mushrooms harvested/dry weight of substrate x 100%. In the industry, 100% biological efficiency is considered the level of yield that is profitable in oyster mushroom production. Our, result is the first to demonstrate that corn stover is comparable to wheat straw commonly used in oyster mushrooms production in the US. For objectives 2 and 3, sterilized samples of corn stover were inoculated for 3 weeks and the spent mushroom substrates were evaluated using the in vitro batch culture technique. The study was a 2 × 3 factorial design with 2 treatments and 3 incubation periods. The treatments were treated and untreated corn, and incubation periods were 6, 24, and 48 h. Results showed an increase in crude protein, ash, total volatile fatty acids, propionate, microbial mass, and dry matter digestibility values, consequently resulting in a decrease in some of the fiber fractions. These results confirm the potential for corn stover to be converted to animal feed with improved feed value enriched with fungal biomass. The impact of P. ostreatus on lignin was not significant probably due to the short period (3 weeks) of solid-state fermentation (SSF). This may imply that a longer time for SSF with P. ostreatus is necessary to achieve significant lignin degradation in corn stover. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the effect of different incubation periods on lignin degradation in corn stover. This observation led the team to evaluate the effect of different incubation periods on the nutritive value of the spent mushroom substrates. For this study, a 3 × 5 factorial design with two separate runs was used. The treatments were 0 (untreated, used as a control), 2, 4, 6 and 8 wk of inoculation with P. ostreatus. The treatments were evaluated for nutrient digestibility at 6, 24 and 48 h time periods using the in vitro batch culture technique. For each run and at each incubation period, four replicates were prepared for each treatment (eight replicates for the study). Contrary to our initial assumption that 3 weeks may be insufficient for delignification, 2 weeks was sufficient for the biological treatment of corn stover with P. ostreatus to provide a nutrient-enhanced material that could be used as a supplement feed resource in feeding ruminants. Results showed that a long fermentation period is not required to achieve the delignification and optimal quality of P. ostreatus-treated corn stover. Biodegradation or biomodification by P. ostreatus is a complex process associated with mycelial growth and the extracellular enzyme production system. For objectives 4, we examined the economic feasibility and viability of integrating cattle and mushroom production systems using key financial metrics and Monte Carlo probabilistic simulation. The analysis revealed several significant findings. Findings indicated that cattle production demands significant capital investment, particularly in land, fencing, facilities, water infrastructure, and other essential assets. Thus without the mushroom integration, achieving financial sustainability can be particularly challenging for small-scale farmers, especially those with smaller herds. We find that cattle farmers utilizing spent corn stover mushroom substrates would experience reduced annual feed costs of $8,400 and variable operational costs of $69,500, compared to $12,000 in feed costs and $73,000 in operational costs for conventional small cattle ranchers. The calculated financial and economic indices indicate a favorable outlook for investing in the integration of cattle and mushroom production, showing potential for generating substantial returns with minimal risk over the long term. A 5-year cash flow and Net Present Value (NPV) analysis indicates positive cash flow projections. We also calculated the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which is the discount rate at which NPV equals zero. The estimated IRR was 22%. Since the estimated IRR of 22% exceeds the federal discount rate of 5% at the time of the study, it implies that the cattle and mushroom production system is a viable investment for small-scale ranchers. The BCR was calculated at 1.2, suggesting that a dollar increase in production cost would lead to more than a dollar increase in revenue. This implies that the integrated cattle and mushroom system is a less risky and economically viable investment. While the positive NPV and high BCR and Internal Rate of Return indicate that investing in integrated cattle and mushroom farming could be financially and economically viable, it's important to consider potential impacts on expected returns and profitability. Factors such as market fluctuations, operational risks, and unforeseen challenges should be factored into the decision-making process to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of the project's viability. The Monte Carlo Simulation suggests that combining cattle farming with mushroom farming could lead to notable reductions in feed expenses, fertilizer costs for hay production, and overall operational expenditures, while also enhancing the overall health of the farming ecosystem and generating additional revenue from mushroom sales. The supplementary income from mushroom sales is particularly valuable for diversifying the revenue streams of small ranchers, providing a year-round source of income, and reducing income volatility, thus promoting financial stability. Integrating mushroom cultivation into cattle farming presents an attractive model for sustainable and economically viable agricultural practices.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: L.K. Olagunju, O.S. Isikhuemhen, P.A. Dele, F.N. Anike, B.G. Essick, N. Holt, N.S. Udombang, K.A. Ike, Y. Shaw, R.M. Brice, O.E. Orimaye, M. Wuaku, U.Y. Anele. 2023. Pleurotus ostreatus can significantly improve the nutritive value of lignocellulosic crop residues. Agriculture, 13(6), 1161.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: B. Herbin, J.O. Alabi, L.K. Olagunju, P.A. Dele, O. Isikhuemhen, U.Y. Anele. 2023. White-rot fungi treated corn stover produced lower greenhouse gases. North Carolina A&T Spring 2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium. April 19, 2023.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: L.K. Olagunju, O.S. Isikhuemhen, P.A. Dele, K.A. Ike, Y.A Shaw, R.M Brice, O.E. Orimaye, M. Wuaku, U.Y. Anele. 2023. Bioconversion treatment of corn stover can create cheap feed resource for limited resource farmers. ASAS 2023 Annual Meeting. July 16-20, 2023.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: M. Hicks, J.O. Alabi, C.C. Anotaenwere, L.K. Olagunju, P.A. Dele, O. Isikhuemhen, U.Y. Anele. 2023. Mushroom treatment improved nutrient degradability of corn stover. North Carolina A&T Spring 2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium. April 19, 2023.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: M. Petersen, O. Adelusi, L.K. Olagunju, P.A. Dele, U.Y. Anele. 2023. In vitro fermentation emissions of high concentrate and high forage ruminant diets. North Carolina A&T Spring 2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium. April 19, 2023.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2024 Citation: O. Quaicoe, F. Asiseh, A.S. Aloka. 2024. Enhancing Year-Round Profitability for Small-Scale Ranchers: An Economic Analysis of Integrated Cattle and Mushroom Production System. Sustainability (under review).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: O. Quaicoe, F. Asiseh, A.S. Aloka. Enhancing Year-Round Profitability for Small and Medium-Scale Ranchers: An Economic Analysis of an Integrated Cattle and Mushroom Production System. 2024 Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, February 3-6, 2024, Atlanta, Georgia.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: L.K. Olagunju, O.S. Isikhuemhen, P.A. Dele, F.N. Anike, K.A. Ike, Y. Shaw, R.M. Brice, O.E. Orimaye, M. Wuaku, B.G. Essick, N. Holt, N.S. Udombang, J.O. Enemudo, K. Subedi, U.Y. Anele. 2023. Effects of the incubation period of Pleurotus ostreatus on the chemical composition and nutrient availability of solid-state fermented corn stover. Animals, 13, 2587.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: B. Essick, L.K. Olagunju, U.Y. Anele, O. Isikhuemhen. 2023. Bioconversion of corn stover to food and feed: Pleurotus ostreatus mushroom yield and feed value of corn stover substrate after solid state fermentation treatment. 2023 MSA Annual Meeting: Elevating Mycology Flagstaff, Arizona. July 30 - August 3, 2023.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: L.K. Olagunju, O.S. Isikhuemhen, P.A. Dele, K.A. Ike, Y.A. Shaw, R.M. Brice, O.E. Orimaye, M. Wuaku, U.Y. Anele. 2023. Effects of inoculation period on the nutritive value of Pleurotus ostreatus treated corn stover. ASAS 2023 Annual Meeting. July 16-20, 2023.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: U.Y. Anele, F.N. Anike, A. Davis-Mitchell, O.S. Isikhuemhen. 2021. Solid state fermentation with white rot fungi improves the nutritive value of corn stover-Kudzu biomass. Folia Microbiologica. 66, 41-48.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: L.K. Olagunju, O.S. Isikhuemhen, P.A. Dele, U.Y. Anele. Pleurotus ostreatus can significantly improve the nutritive value of lignocellulosic crop residues. 80th Professional Agricultural Workers Conference  Leveraging Change and Transformation: New Opportunities for 1890 Agriculture. November 13-15, 2022

Progress 04/01/22 to 03/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The key to sustainability in any beef cattle enterprise is to increase revenue and decrease expenses. For cow/calf farmers, integrating specialty agricultural produce has the potential to provide immediate and year-round financial reward (through the sale of produce from the crop enterprise) compared to waiting approximately 16 months to sell weaned or background calves. The primary target audience for this project are small-sized, socially disadvantaged or limited-resource and young new farmers interested in integrated and sustainable specialty agricultural produce/livestock farming. Changes/Problems:There is no major change, and the objectives remain the same: 1) Evaluate corn stover as a substrate for intensive mushroom production; 2) Utilize SMS as cattle feed; 3) Determine nutritional and health benefits of feeding cattle with SMS; and 4) Evaluate economic benefits of this production system. Because of the delay in getting the fruiting chamber for the campus study, the team is requesting for a no-cost extension. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PIs attended several virtual meetings organized by professional organizations such as ASAS and ADSA. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Preliminary results from some batch culture studies were disseminated at a conference for socially disadvantaged and limited-resource farmers. This was a national conference on next-generation sustainable technologies for small-scale producers held at North Carolina A&T State University. The graduate student also presented an abstract titled "Pleurotus ostreatus can significantly improve the nutritive value of lignocellulosic crop residues" at the 80th Professional Agricultural Workers Conference held at Tuskegee University with a theme of - "Leveraging Change and Transformation: New Opportunities for 1890 Agriculture". What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we will be doing the animal studies to accomplish the remaining objectives of the project. Delays and constraints in getting the fruiting chamber operational on campus resulted in no animal study in the current reporting period. Due to the removal of the on-farm portion, all the research will now be done on campus and results will be disseminated through A&T Cooperate Extension.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We evaluated 3 strains of Pleurotus ostreatus to select the best strain for our project. The preliminary study using the newly fabricated fruiting chamber has shown that corn stover is an excellent substrate for mushroom production. With that, we have accomplished objective 1 and part of objective 4. The remaining objectives are linked to the animal studies that we are going to accomplished in the next reporting period.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: L.K. Olagunju, O.S. Isikhuemhen, P.A. Dele, U.Y. Anele. Pleurotus ostreatus can significantly improve the nutritive value of lignocellulosic crop residues. 80th Professional Agricultural Workers Conference  Leveraging Change and Transformation: New Opportunities for 1890 Agriculture. November 13-15, 2022.

Progress 04/01/21 to 03/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:The key to sustainability in any beef cattle enterprise is to increase revenue and decrease expenses. For cow/calf farmers, integrating specialty agricultural produce has the potential to provide immediate and year-round financial reward (through the sale of produce from the crop enterprise) compared to waiting approximately 16 months to sell weaned or background calves. The primary target audience for this project are small-sized, socially disadvantaged or limited-resource and young new farmers interested in integrated and sustainable specialty agricultural produce/livestock farming. This is an on-farm project at three different farms that will deliver science-based practical knowledge to farmers within these three locations. Changes/Problems:We are only able to fabricate a fruiting chamber for the project. Due to significant delays and uncertainties on the fabrication of the other 3 fruiting chambers, we have decided to remove the on-farm study (pending approval by the NPL). The proposed change will not affect the objectives of the project which are: 1) Evaluate corn stover as a substrate for intensive mushroom production; 2) Utilize SMS as cattle feed; 3) Determine nutritional and health benefits of feeding cattle with SMS; and 4) Evaluate economic benefits of this production system. Because of the delay in getting the fruiting chamber for the campus study, the team is requesting for a no-cost extension. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PIs attended several virtual meetings organized by American Society of Animal Science(ASAS), American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) and National Science Foundation (NSF). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?There is no field result to disseminate currently. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Due to the delays and constraints in getting the fruiting chambers for the farmers, the team will seek approval from the National Program Leader to remove the on-farm part of the project. All the research will now be done on campus and results will be disseminated through N.C. A&T Cooperate Extension.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We are continuing with corn stover solid state fermentation optimization studies on campus. We are currently working with 3 organisms to ensure the best possible outcome.

Publications

Progress 04/01/20 to 03/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:The key to sustainability in any beef cattle enterprise is to increase revenue and decrease expenses. For cow/calf farmers, integrating specialty agricultural produce has the potential to provide immediate and year-round financial reward (through the sale of produce from the crop enterprise) compared to waiting approximately 16 months to sell weaned or background calves. The primary target audience for this project are small-sized, socially disadvantaged or limited-resource and young new farmers interested in integrated and sustainable specialty agricultural produce/livestock farming. This is an on-farm project at three different farms that will deliver science-based practical knowledge to farmers within these three locations. Changes/Problems:The initial plan was to import the fruiting houses from China but with the tariff war between the United States and China, this was aborted when it became unworkable. The team reached out to major mushroom producers to consider alternative fruiting chambers that can be sourced locally. A fruiting chamber made from shipping containers (20' x 8' x 9 ½', L x W x H) was selected by the team. Because of this delay, the team will likely request for a no-cost extension to ensure we complete the 3-year data collection we proposed in the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PIs attended several virtual meetings organized by ASAS, ADSA and C-Lock Inc. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The team is not making any changes to the already approved plan for the project. For the next reporting period, the farmers should have started producing and selling mushroom and feeding the spent mushroom substrates to beef cattle.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Major activities accomplished during this reporting year were undertaking some optimization studies and process optimization, getting a replacement for a farmer that dropped out of the project.

Publications

Progress 04/01/19 to 03/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The key to sustainability in any beef cattle enterprise is to increase revenue and decrease expenses. For cow/calf farmers, integrating specialty agricultural produce has the potential to provide immediate and year-round financial reward (through the sale of produce from the crop enterprise) compared to waiting approximately 16 months to sell weaned or background calves. The primary target audience for this project are small-sized, socially disadvantaged or limited-resource and young new farmers interested in integrated and sustainable specialty agricultural produce/livestock farming. This is an on-farm project at three different farms that will deliver science-based practical knowledge to farmers within these three locations. Changes/Problems:The initial plan was to import the fruiting houses from China but with the tariff war between the United States and China, this was aborted when it became unworkable. The team reached out to major mushroom producers to consider alternative fruiting chambers that can be sourced locally. A fruiting chamber made from shipping containers (20' x 8' x 9 ½', L x W x H) was selected by the team. Because of this delay, the team will likely request for a no-cost extension to ensure we complete the 3-year data collection we proposed in the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Team has identified potential workshops and conferences to attend. A PhD student with a strong animal science background was recruited to work on the project. The student took mycology class last Fall to get up to speed with the mushroom part of the project. The graduate student has prepared a concept paper that will be developed into a full grant for submission under the Seed Grants. Six undergraduate students are being trained on using the in vitro batch culture technique. This feed evaluation technique will be used to evaluate the nutritive value of the spent mushroom substrates. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?There is no field result to disseminate at this time but this project has generated some buzz in the Ag. community (newsletters, print media, interviews) because of its potential to enhance production and promote sustainable agriculture. The project was the highlight of the opening statement of Dr. John Robertson (Grant Writers' Seminars and Workshops) who was on campus in September 20, 2019 to talk about "Writing Winning NSF Grant Proposals". The speaker (a trained pharmacologist/toxicologist) picked our project out of many on-going projects at N.C. A&T due to its unique structure to address significant issues facing farmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The team is not making any changes to already approved plan for the project. For the next reporting period, the farmers should have started producing and selling mushroom and feeding the spent mushroom substrates to beef cattle.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Major activities accomplished during this reporting year were selection of three participating farmers and project sites, customization of mushroom fruiting chamber, and undertaking some optimization studies and process optimization. Because of the difficulty on the part of the participating farmers to ensure that they have sufficient corn stover for the duration of the study, the PIs made alternative arrangement and have contracted a company to supply all the stover for the project.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Anele, U.Y., Anike, F.N., Davis-Mitchell, A., Isikhuemhen, O.S., 2020. Solid State Fermentation with White Rot Fungi Improves the Nutritive Value of Corn Stover-Kudzu Biomass. Folia Microbiologica. Under Review