Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The current interdisciplinary, integrated proposal addresses program priorities precision animal management, animal production synergy, and societal aspects of animal welfare. Recently, an increase in sudden death in feedlot cattle due to congestive heart failure has been reported. Unfortunately, this condition can only be detected after death, and no tools are currently available to detect animals more prone to this or other stress-related conditions. Our long-term goal is to increase knowledge related to death in feedlot cattle, develop tools to identify more susceptible animals earlier and develop management strategies to intervene and enhance sustainability. Specific objectives are (1a) Develop algorithms using precision livestock monitoring tools to understand stress responsiveness in medium and high growth rate cattle from weaning through finishing and consequences on carcass quality, (1b) Establish a producer training program on using precision animal management tools to identify animals more susceptible to stress; (2) Characterize the protein and metabolite profiles of heart and liver samples from cattle who died due to bovine congestive heart failure to better understand the biochemical basis of this condition; and (3a) Evaluate the social and economic determinants of precision livestock tools to minimize negative effects of stress on beef animals, (3b) Extend knowledge and recommendations to extension offices and operations on the use of precision technology for detection of stressed animals. Our team of life-, physical-, and social scientists are highly-qualified to advance knowledge and develop tools to mitigate the impact of stress on cattle and improve stewardship of natural resources.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
25%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
Specific objectives are:(1) (a) Develop algorithms using precision livestock monitoring tools to understand stress in medium and high growth rate cattle from weaning to the finishing stage and to determine carcass quality. (b) Establish a training program for producers on using precision animal management tools to identify animals more prone to stress.(2) Characterize the protein and metabolite profiles of heart and liver collected from cattle who died due to bovine congestive heart failure to understand the biochemical basis.(3) (a) Evaluate the social and economic determinants of precision livestock tools to minimize stress in beef animals. (3b) Extend knowledge and recommendations to extension offices and operations on using precision technology to detect stress.
Project Methods
Specific objectives are:(1) (a) Develop algorithms using precision livestock monitoring tools to understand stress in medium and high growth rate cattle from weaning to the finishing stage and to determine carcass quality. (b) Establish a training program for producers regarding the use of precision animal management tools to identify animals more prone to stress.(2) Characterize the protein and metabolite profiles of heart and liver collected from cattle who died due to bovine congestive heart failure to understand the biochemical basis.(3) (a) Evaluate the social and economic determinants of precision livestock tools to minimize stress in beef animals. (b) Extend knowledge and recommendations to extension offices and operations using precision technology to detect stress.Approximately 150 spring-calving and 150 fall-calving Angus-sired cows are available for use in this series of experiments. The cows and their progeny will be maintained at the Range Cow Research Center near Stillwater, Oklahoma. To investigate the influence of genetic capacity for growth rate and the impact of calving season on sudden death and stress in feedlot cattle, Angus cows will be mated to sires divergent in genetic capacity for growth rate. Approximately six sires ranking in the top 5th percentile for growth and six sires below the 50th percentile for growth will be used each year to create medium and high-growth rate cattle. For perspective, sires used during the fall 2022 breeding season will average 167 and 92 pounds yearling weight expected progeny difference (YW EPD) for high- and moderate-growth sires, respectively.All spring and fall-calving cows will be synchronized for timed artificial insemination. High- and moderate-growth natural service sires will be turned out with the cows beginning 10 days following timed artificial insemination. Natural service sires will remain with the cows for an additional 45 days. Within the calving season, all cows will be managed as a contemporary group throughout the production cycle. Winter feeding and supplementation practices will be managed to maintain herd average body condition scores of 5.0 through the winter months. Calves will be weaned at approximately 205 days of age using the fenceline weaning technique. Calves will be backgrounded for 60 days at the Range Cow Research Center before being shipped to the Willard Sparks Beef Cattle Research Center for finishing (Figure 11). During the weaning/backgrounding phase, calves will be fed grass hay and approximately five pounds of a concentrate supplement.Finishing phase: Following the 60-day preconditioning phase, steers will be transported to the Willard Sparks Beef Research Center (WSBRC) for finishing. The proposed study will utilize technology (Insentec Intake System) that measures feed and water intake on an individual basis without physical barriers that isolate animals from feed and water sources.Upon arrival at the WSBRC, steers will be sorted into two groups of 30 steers, each by body weight and date of birth, and placed in two pens, with each sire selection group being equally represented in each group. Steers will be offered diets for a common step-up routine, beginning with a 30% roughage starter diet with four-step-up diets to an 8% roughage finishing diet over 28 days. Steers will be moved to the Insentec feeding facility before moving to the final finisher diet for training to use the Insentec feeding units over a two-week period. Following training and when all steers are confirmed to have regular use of the Insentec feeding units, feeding of the finishing diets will be initiated. Steer weights will be collected at 14-day intervals at 0700 before feed delivery and growth performance will be estimated by regression of bodyweights over the number of days to determine average daily gain. Growth rate and feed intake will be monitored for 70 days following the start of the finishing diets, and feed efficiency (kg gain per kg of feed) and residual feed intake will be determined for each individual steer. Following the 70-day feeding intake determination period, steers will be returned to their original pens for group feeding and intense monitoring until they achieve an estimated 1.3 cm backfat and will be harvested at a commercial packing plant with individual carcass data collection. Average daily gain, morbidity, mortality, and treatment cost will be evaluated for the finishing phase. Calves will be monitored daily by trained personnel and "pulled" based on a modified DART (depression, appetite, respiration, and temperature) protocol for suspected BRD as described previously.Physiologicaland precision sensor data will be integrated using AI-approach.