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Cattle feedlot issues focus of research grant

A $14 Million dollar USDA grant for genetic beef cattle research is going to the University of Missouri and Texas A&M to tackle two of the costliest problems in feedlots: feed inefficiency and Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD).

Dr. Jerry Taylor is head of animal genomics at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR).

“These are both enormously important areas to try to tackle to get some of the costs out of the production system,” says Taylor.

Using the latest tools in genetic mapping his team will identify how genetic differences affect feed intake and efficiency studying up to 8-thousand cattle of numerous breeds.

Taylor says, “We need to make this technology work regardless of the breed origin of the animal.”

The Texas A&M team will head up the BRD research.

“We believe that both of these grants WILL result in very significant translation of technology to the industry within the next five years,” says Taylor, “And that we will see direct, tangible benefits to the industry in that time frame.”

Roger Beachy, director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, NIFA, made the announcement at the University of Missouri beef research and teaching farm south of Columbia, Missouri, and was joined by Missouri Senator Roy Blunt, Dr. Taylor and other MU CAFNR and other university leaders.

  • Thank you for the article Julie. As you know, another feedlot issue is disposing of the concentrated animal waste. I work for a company called Thirsty Duck, which has a product that seems the ideal discharge from the detention ponds. Currently we only market our products as stormwater devices, but I think there is a market in agriculture. Our devices bleed down runoff at a constant, no matter the elevation of the pond. Think of it as a floating weir or orifice. This is clearly less expensive, and maintence intensive, than semi pervious dikes or sluice gates. The smaller devices are just a few thousand dollars, so they would be very affordable for a commercial feedlot. Do you know of any schools doing research in this area? Could you direct me to any regulators, looking for a more effective system.

    Any help would be appreciated, and again thank you.
    Bryan Fast 727-376-2400

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