BEEF CATTLE PERFORMANCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT WITHIN THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS.

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1020031
• Project Start Date: Jul 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Jun 30, 2024
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION,TX 77843-0001

Performing Department
Amarillo-TAMU Agr Res Center

Non Technical Summary
Rationale and Significance. Recently, the US beef herd has made a comeback from the most recent drought. However, severe droughts and depleting water supply will continue to be a threat especially in the southern High Plains. Alternative methods are needed to supply beef and utilize the management strategies necessary to produce beef as efficiently as possible. Placing beef cows in confinement may be a viable option during drought situations to increase beef supply and exploit available feedstuffs. Using new technologies available to quantify nutrient requirements may provide novel feeding strategies for nutritionists and producers in the Southern Great Plains. Sustainability in the beef industry also depends on utilizing resources efficiently. This includes grazing land, grain crops, stockpiled forage, and water. Growing interest from consumers in where food originates, and its environmental impact, has put a spotlight on beef feeding systems. Governmental regulations could tighten on feed additives, pharmaceutical uses, and environmental outputs, therefore beef producers must be prepared with alternative management plans to maintain production goals. The research initiatives proposed incorporate current industry interests to provide innovative management strategies for beef production.Four main fields of work are included in the proposed project: a) exploration of alternative confinement systems for grazing cows; b) evaluate the appropriate level of effective fiber in finishing diets; c) explore growth patterns of cattle under various finishing management strategies and d) explore systematic approaches to understanding animal health and environmental impacts of the beef industry.

Animal Health Component

35%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

35%

Developmental

15%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
302	3310	1010	100%

Knowledge Area
302 - Nutrient Utilization in Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
3310 - Beef cattle, live animal;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Keywords

beef cattle

feedlot

ruminant nutrition

Goals / Objectives
The anticipated work includes planning, funding, conducting, and publishing research with lasting implications for every sector of the beef industry in the southern High Plains.Overall Objective:Develop alternative nutritional management strategies to improve beef cattle production while conserving natural resources and minimizing environmental footprint.Specific Objectives: 1. Explore conjunctive management strategies for feedlots using cows and calves under confinement2. Use innovative approaches to quantify roughage requirements for finishing beef cattle3. Establish nutrient requirements and carcass growth patterns in a variety of cattle types relative to technologies available and nutrient management4. Further quantify the animal health and environmental impacts of beef production

Project Methods
Research approach:While the overall goal of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research feedlot is to gain valuable knowledge in finishing beef cattle and communicate that knowledge to the industry, new innovative ideas must be pursued to accommodate the current challenges we face. These challenges include, but are not limited to, maintaining beef production on limited resources, increasing environmental standards, and shifting consumer perception of beef production. The following research ideas broach these challenges in a creative manner such that the founding objectives of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research feedlot of supporting progressive research in feedlot management always remains a significant priority.Explore conjunctive management strategies for feedlots using cows and calves under confinement:Confinement beef cow/calf production is an alternative management system to traditional pasture or range beef production. However, from a production cost perspective, it is unlikely that confinement-based cow-calf production will completely replace native rangeland-based production (Anderson and Boyles, 2007). Anderson and Boyles (2007) reported an increased use of energy dense feed ingredients, as well as by-products, during confinement compared to cattle primarily dependent on grazing. Limit feeding or partial restriction of hay improved cow body condition and efficiency (Anderson and Boyles, 2007). Jones et al. (2013) reported a cost savings of $113.17 per head when limit feeding confined cows high concentrate diets compared with an ad libitum forage based feeding strategy. Baber et al. (2019) reported a decrease in methane emission by 50% in cows under total confinement compared to grazing cows. However, profitability decreased as confinement intensified (Baber et al., 2019). During a drought situation, most feeding options are unappealing to producers due to cost increases associated with limited availability of feed ingredients, especially forage. Diets higher in concentrate and/or byproducts provide an alternative to traditional forage-based programs, due to lower costs per unit of nutrient. The completion of the author's proposed experiments will provide insight if confinement operations are a viable option to build or maintain herd numbers in the southern High Plains. We speculate that cow nutrient requirements are lower during confinement, thus providing an opportunity to utilize limited resources more efficiently. We plan to provide beef cattle producers management techniques to lower diet costs and raise healthy calves under confinement. Our long-range goal is to establish an economical evaluation of beef production costs for the lifespan of a beef animal under various management plans.Use innovative approaches to quantify roughage requirements for finishing beef cattle:Coarse roughages, high in neutral detergent fiber (NDF), are included in the diets of finishing feedlot steers to stimulate rumination, aid in maintaining ruminal health, and decrease incidence of acidosis (Gentry et al., 2016; Fox and Tedeschi, 2002; Weiss et al., 2017). Although, increasing roughage level in the diet may seem beneficial, Galyean and Defoor (2003) reported that increased roughage dilutes available energy and increases physical fill within the rumen (NASEM, 2016) requiring the animal to consume more feed to achieve desired energy intake. The threshold at which dietary roughage provides the appropriate level of physically effective NDF (peNDF) without compromising growth remains unclear. Our goal is to calculate peNDF from rumination in beef steers consuming finishing diets with various levels and sources of roughage. This will provide nutritionists with a tool to better formulate roughage into finishing diets. Formulating finishing diets based on dietary peNDF content could potentially sustain rumen health while maintaining or improving feedlot performance and carcass merit.Establish nutrient requirements and carcass growth patterns in a variety of cattle types relative to technologies available and nutrient management:Beef production should rise 1.6% during 2019 accounting for 27.4 billion pounds of beef (USDA-ARS, 2019). Overtime, carcass weights have increased to over 800 pounds due to feed technologies available and improved genetics. The Choice-Prime percentage moved from 55% in 2007 to 79% this past year (USDA-ARS, 2019). It is projected to reach 80% for this year. This change in carcass weight and quality has led to the feedlot industry feeding a substantially different animal than what was fed in the past. Furthermore, dairy beef has always been a part of the industry, however changing markets have caused volatility in dairy calf placement. This has led to crossing dairy breeds with various British and Continental breeds (i.e. Angus, Charolais, and Limousin) to improve feeding and carcass performance. Nutritionists are forced to use outdated resources to project growth for a new category of animal. The initial goal of the proposed experiments is to provide new resources to project growth and carcass performance in current finishing beef animals. This includes both conventional and dairy breeds. As a byproduct of the dairy industry, dairy calves need a place in the feedlot industry that is economically sustainable. A long-term goal of the proposed experiments is to explore management strategies through feed and implant technologies, as well as nutrient management to establish viable feeding protocols for purebred and crossbred dairy calves.Further quantify animal health and environmental impacts of beef production:Consumer and retailer demands are growing for more well-defined sustainability parameters in beef production. All of the projects discussed herein may involve various aspects of animal health and environmental impacts to further understand and improve beef production management. Continued collaboration between Texas A&M AgriLife Research, West Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University, and USDA-ARS-CPRL will remain a priority to reach objectives to improve beef production sustainability in the southern High Plains, and potentially on a national and international basis.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Our research connects with a variety of crop and livestock producers as well as major stakeholders. These groups include Texas Cattle Feeders Association (representing TX, NM, and OK), Texas Corn Producers Board, pharmaceutical companies, feed additive manufacturers, mineral manufacturers, liquid feed manufacturers, ruminant nutritionists, cattle feeders, and sorghum and corn growers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three PhD students and one MS student are currently completing research studies. Each student will be exposed to protocol development, various research techniques, feeding studies, and metabolism studies. This involvement allows them to develop as independent researchers and gain valuable experience for their future career field. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?All final results were submitted as abstracts to an accredited scientific conference. All completed results were submitted as a manuscript to peer reviewed scientific journals. Collaboration with Extension faculty and the attendance of producer meetings has also allowed the information to reach local organizations, commodity groups, and individual beef producers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue to work diligently in support of our previously described objectives in beef cattle research, dissemination of research findings, and student training.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Explore conjunctive management strategies for feedlots using cows and calves under confinement: Nutrition, health, and environment are all pivotal parts of livestock production. Sixty heifers were purchased for a growth trial (results pending). The long-term goal is to breed the heifers and add them to the current research herd. The research cow-calf herd continues to grow for future research use. Objective 2: Use innovative approaches to quantify roughage requirements for finishing beef cattle Corn stalks and cotton burrs are heavily utilized as a forage in finishing diets due to availability and price. With such a low inclusion rate of forage in finishing diets, we continue to published studies to define the appropriate particle size and inclusion rate. We completed a metabolism study feeding various roughage sources (ie cotton burrs, wheat silage, and corn stalks). We also recently completed a follow up feeding study to further investigate ruminal pH and performance on these various roughage sources. These studies will allow us to build a database for modeling certain performance variables relative to roughage characteristics and intake. Roughage is used by nutritionists to prevent acidosis in the feedyard, however cattle growth efficiency must be maintained with higher grain inclusion. Information collected from finishing cattle will be valuable to nutritionists who want to better utilize forage resources and maintain proper rumen function. Objective 3: Establish nutrient requirements and carcass growth patterns in a variety of cattle types relative to technologies available and nutrient management The initial goal of the proposed experiments is to provide new resources to project growth and carcass performance in current finishing beef animals. This includes both conventional and dairy breeds. As a byproduct of the dairy industry, dairy calves need a place in the feedlot industry that is economically sustainable. A long-term goal of the proposed experiments is to explore management strategies through feed and implant technologies, as well as nutrient management to establish viable feeding protocols for purebred and crossbred dairy calves. We are currently working with a corporate sponsor to fund most of the research proposed and a PhD student started in January 2020. Objective 4: Further quantify animal health and environmental impacts of beef production We are currently collaborating with USDA-ARS-CPRL in Bushland on potential seaweed research and its impact on methane emissions from feedlot cattle. A proposal involving in vitro and in vivo techniques is under consideration.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Publications (7): Jennings, J. S., S. M. Ensley, W. N. Smith, T. C. Husz, and T. E. Lawrence. 2020. Impact of increasing levels of fumonisin on performance, liver toxicity, and tissue histopathology of finishing beef steers. J. of Anim. Sci. 98:1-8. doi:10.1093/jas/skaa390
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Cole, N. A., D. B. Parker, M. S. Brown, J. S. Jennings, K. E. Hales, S. A. Gunter. 2020. Effects of steam flaking on the carbon-footprint of finishing beef cattle. Tran. Anim. Sci. 4(Suppl 1):84-89. doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa110.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Cole, N. A., B. Meyer, D. Parker, J. Neel, K. Turner, B. Northup, T. Jennings, J. Jennings. 2020. Effect of diet quality on energy metabolism and methane production by steers fed a warm-season grass-based hay diet. Applied Anim. Sci. 36:652667. doi.org/10.15232/aas.2020-02025. (NIFA support acknowledged)
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Park, R.M., Schubach K.M., Cooke R. F, Herring A.D., Jennings J.S, Daigle C.L. 2020. Impact of a cattle brush on feedlot steer behavior, productivity and stress physiology. Applied Anim. Behavior Sci. 228: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2020.104995.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jennings. J. S., C. L. Lockard, and T. E. Lawrence. 2020. Effect of corn stalk inclusion rate on rumination and ruminal pH in beef steers. Applied Anim. Sci. 36:377-388. https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2019-01947.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Spiegal, S., A. Cibils , B. Bestelmeyer, J. Steiner, R. Estell, D. Archer, B. Auvermann, S. Bestelmeyer, L. Boucheron, H. Cao, A. Cox, D. Devlin, G. Duff, K. Ehlers, E. Elias, C. Gifford, A. Gonzalez, J. Holland, J. Jennings, A. Marshall, D. McCracken, M. McIntosh, R. Miller, R. Paulin, S. Place, M. Redd, A. Rotz, and C. Tolle. 2020. Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies toward Sustainability. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. https://doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.00114. (NIFA support acknowledged)
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Lockard, C. L., C. G. Lockard, D. M. Paulus-Compart, and J. S. Jennings. 2020. Effects of a yeast-based additive complex on performance, heat stress behaviors, and carcass characteristics. Livestock Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104052.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Homolka, M. N., C. L. Lockard, C. G. Lockard, W. N. Smith, D. M. Paulus Compart, and J. S. Jennings. Evaluating performance of beef cattle consuming a supplemental probiotic-prebiotic blend during the first 21 or 42 days after feedlot arrival. Plains Nutrition Council Spring Meeting 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Lockard C. G., C. L. Lockard, W. N. Smith, and J. S. Jennings. Evaluating the addition of an alpha-amylase enzyme to two bulk-flake density weights of corn fed to beef finishing steers. Plains Nutrition Council Spring Meeting 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: W.N. Smith, C. L. Lockard, C. G. Lockard, M.N. Homolka, K. J. Karr, B. P. Holland, A. B. Word, and J. S. Jennings. Effects of roughage type on rumination and ruminal pH. Plains Nutrition Council Spring Meeting 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jennings J. S., S. Ensley, T. E. Lawrence, and C. L. Lockard. Impact of increasing levels of fumonisin on performance of finishing beef steers. ASAS Midwest Section Meeting 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Lockard C. G., C. L. Lockard, W. N. Smith, B. T. Campbell, and J. S. Jennings. Evaluating the addition of an alpha-amylase enzyme to two bulk-flake density weights of corn fed to beef finishing steers. ASAS Midwest Section Meeting 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hubbard A. J., J. E. Sawyer, R. Cooke, J. S. Jennings, and C. L. Daigle. Consider the source: Impact of social mixing on feeding and lying behavior of feedlot cattle. ASAS Southern Section Meeting 2020.

Progress 07/01/19 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Our research connects with a variety of crop and livestock producers as well as major stakeholders. These groups include Texas Cattle Feeders Association (representing TX, NM, and OK), pharmaceutical companies, feed additive manufacturers, mineral manufacturers, liquid feed manufacturers, ruminant nutritionists, cattle feeders, and sorghum and corn growers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two PhD students and on MS student were recruited and they started their studies in 2019. An additional PhD student will start in January 2020. Each student will be exposed to protocol development, various research techniques, feeding studies, and metabolism studies. This involvement allows them to develop as independent researchers and gain valuable experience for their future career field. One Post-Doctoral Research Associate has continued to participate in current research trials as well as publish manuscripts. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?All final results were submitted as abstracts to an accredited scientific conference. All completed results were submitted as a manuscript to peer reviewed scientific journals. Collaboration with extension faculty and the attendance of producer meetings has also allowed the information to reach local organizations, commodity groups, and individual beef producers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Future research trials will include further roughage studies using the rumination collars and pH boluses. The continued roughage work will contribute to a data base to model prediction methods for cattle performance based off roughage characteristics. We also continue to provide our corporate sponsors with valuable research data testing products that could have a positive impact on the feedlot industry, and those opportunities allow my students to network and gain the necessary feedlot experience. We are also proposing research with dairy crossbred calves that will occur at offsite locations.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Results: Objective 1: Explore conjunctive management strategies for feedlots using cows and calves under confinement: Nutrition, health, and environment are all pivotal parts of livestock production. Grants proposals submitted in 2018 were funded pertaining to AMR and health management strategies for cattle arriving at the feedlot. Though different, each proposal includes the overall goal of investigating new management strategies to improve beef production. The research cow-calf herd continues to grow for future research use. Objective 2: Use innovative approaches to quantify roughage requirements for finishing beef cattle Corn stalks are heavily utilized as a forage in finishing diets due to availability and price. With such a low inclusion rate of forage in finishing diets, we continue to published studies to define the appropriate particle size and inclusion rate. We completed a metabolism study feeding various roughage sources (ie cotton burrs, wheat silage, and corn stalks). We also recently started a follow up feeding study to further investigate ruminal pH and performance on these various roughage sources. These studies will allow us to build a database for modeling certain performance variables relative to roughage characteristics and intake. We presented our results at a modeling meeting in Brazil which is the first step to discussion an approach to analyze a larger database that includes rumination and ruminal pH of finishing cattle consuming corn stalks as a roughage. Roughage is used by nutritionists to prevent acidosis in the feedyard, however cattle growth efficiency must be maintained with higher grain inclusion. Information collected from finishing cattle will be valuable to nutritionists who want to better utilize forage resources and maintain proper rumen function. Objective 3: Establish nutrient requirements and carcass growth patterns in a variety of cattle types relative to technologies available and nutrient management The initial goal of the proposed experiments is to provide new resources to project growth and carcass performance in current finishing beef animals. This includes both conventional and dairy breeds. As a byproduct of the dairy industry, dairy calves need a place in the feedlot industry that is economically sustainable. A long-term goal of the proposed experiments is to explore management strategies through feed and implant technologies, as well as nutrient management to establish viable feeding protocols for purebred and crossbred dairy calves. We are currently working with a corporate sponsor to fund most of the research proposed and a PhD student has been recruited and will start in January 2020. Objective 4: Further quantify animal health and environmental impacts of beef production We are currently collaborating with USDA-ARS-CPRL in Bushland on potential seaweed research and its impact on methane emissions from feedlot cattle. A proposal involving in vitro and in vivo techniques is under consideration.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Tomczak, D. J., C. L. Lockard, J. S. Jennings, and J. T. Richeson. Performance, rumination, and rumen pH responses to different dietary energy density and feed management strategies in auction derived feedlot cattle.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cowley, F. J. Jennings, A. Cole, and K. Beauchemin. 2019. Recent advances to improve nitrogen efficiency of grain-finishing cattle North American and Australian feedlots. Anim. Prod. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1071/AN19259.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Tomczak, D. J., K. L. Samuelson, J. S. Jennings, and J. T. Richeson. 2019. Oral hydration therapy and bovine respiratory disease incidence affects rumination behavior, rumen pH, and rumen temperature in high-risk, newly received beef calves. J. Anim. Sci. 97:2015-2024. doi: 10.1093/jas/skz102.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jennings, J.S. Fumonisin exposure and cattle performance in the Texas high plains. Cattle Health and Management Conference, Canyon, TX, June 29, 2019.