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NCCC206: Nutrition and Management of Feedlot Cattle to Optimize Performance, Carcass Value and Environmental Compatibility (NCT192)

Annual/Termination Reports (SAES-422): [05/16/2005] [06/21/2005] [12/08/2006] [11/12/2007] [06/27/2008]

Date of Annual Report: 05/16/2005

Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 05/26/04 to 05/28/04
  • Period the Report Covers: 05/2003 to 05/2004

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    Brief Summary: The NCR-206 committee met at the Colorado State Beef Unit beginning at 8:00 a.m. on May 27. Bill Wailes, Animal Sciences Department Head at Colorado State welcomed the group.

    Dr. Gray Cromwell, CSREES representative review the organizational structure of the USDA and who was leading the Animal Systems groups in the CSREES. Funding of the NRIs and competitive grants program were discussed. The potential impact of the Supreme Courts Hearing on the Beef Checkoff was briefly reviewed.

    Dr. Jack Riley announced that this was his last meeting in his current capacity, as he will be stepping down from the Department Head position as of January 1, 2005. He discussed what he saw as the challenges and opportunities facing the beef industry and the potential role of the NCR-206 committee in influencing the cattle feeding industry. A discussion of the changing demographics of animal science departments and clientele expectations in relation to funding sources followed. Issues such as animal identification, food safety and environmental sustainability will increasingly influence how beef cattle are managed and fed in the future.

    In the business meeting, the potential of inviting representatives from, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A & M, and New Mexico was discussed. It was decided that next year representatives from these institutions will be invited to participate. Larry Berger offered to host the NCR-206 meeting next year. Efforts will be made to hold it in conjunction with the NCR-287 committee. Next year there will be an effort made to summarize the literature on early weaning and its effects on the cow-calf and feedlot industries. This review will be discussed jointly by both committees.

    Station reports were given from 10:00 to 2:00 with a 30 minute lunch break. At 3:00 p.m. the group met with the management of the Swift Feedyard near Greeley. They felt that water availability and environmental regulations were major hurdles facing them in the future. We also discussed how they viewed feedlot consultants, University researchers and product suppliers as potential sources of information in making management decisions. They also shared what they considered to be the key nutritional and management challenges in a 100,000 head feedyard.

    On Friday May 28, station reports were given from 8:00 a.m. to noon. The meeting adjourned at noon. The members express their appreciation to Tim Stanton for organizing and hosting the meeting.

    Accomplishments:

    Accomplishments:
    Accomplishments: Several stations have demonstrated that ethanol byproduct feeds can replace typical energy and protein sources in feedlot diets while maintaining or enhancing animal performance.

    Several stations have shown that the phosphorus requirements as described in the most recent beef NRC are inflated. As a result the environmental sustainability of feedlots production systems can be enhanced by eliminating phosphorus supplementation of corn based diets.

    Several stations have discovered methods of improving beef quality and safety that will benefit consumers.

    Impact Statements:
    1. Being able to optimize the value of distillers grains in diets of growing and finishing cattle is a key to the continued expansion of the ethanol industry. The economic and environmental consequences include an improved agricultural economy, cleaner air and lower gasoline prices.
    2. Phosphorus pollution is a major concern with confined animal feeding. Being able to reduce phosphorus levels in the diet will reduce excretion and accumulation in soils and streams
    3. Consumers desire high quality, safe beef at a reasonable price. The research of this group is revealing management and nutritional approaches to produce a high quality safe product.
    Last Modified: unknown

    Date of Annual Report: 06/21/2005

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 06/07/05 to 06/09/05
  • Period the Report Covers: 05/2004 to 05/2005

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    The NCR-206 committee met at the University of Illinois campus for a joint meeting with the NCR 87 committee at 8:00 am June 8th to discuss possibilities of a joint publication and symposia. Introductions were made with discussions involving weaning management and impacts on post-weaning performance and carcass characteristics pursuing. Mention of a multi-state effort in the northern plains states was shared with the committees investigating weaning management impacts on the production system. Discussions also involved animal identification issues.

    Dr. Neal Merchen, Department Head of Animal Sciences, greeted the NCR 206 committee and provided an overview of the department.

    A tour of the newly constructed beef cattle research facilities at the University of Illinois was next on the agenda. Members were able to view confinement facilities that allowed for studying feed efficiency through the use of the GrowSafe feed intake monitoring system. Facilities for housing cows were also viewed along with the processing facilities and feed storage areas. Discussions also involved the handling of waste given the distance of the farm to urban housing.

    Following lunch Dr. Don Reynolds, committee advisor, introduced himself and shared his background with the members. ND and WI presented their station reports.

    Beginning at 3:00 pm the business meeting was initiated. Jeff Lehmkuhler accepted the secretarial duties for the committee and offered to host the committee in WI for 2006. Tentative dates for the 2006 meeting will be June 6 & 7. Dr. Cromwell, USDA CSREES, briefed the group next. Dr. Cromwell mentioned position changes with the federal system and overviewed what CSREES oversees. He presented an update on HATCH funds and other budgets for various programs. Discussions then focused on Nutrient Recommendation publication updates and how these will potentially occur in the future. Dr. Berger asked for a review of the minutes and they were approved with corrections. Dr. Berger agreed to submit the report for 2005 and mentioned that he submitted the 2004 report as well. Jeff shared with the group information regarding a national Holstein steer management conference to be held in November. This conference topic idea was introduced at last years committee meeting and NCR 206 will be a co-sponsor of the event. Alfredo DiCostanzo opened the floor up to discussion regarding Midwestern Sectional Meetings for ASAS on possible symposium topics as he is chairing this coming year. Topics mentioned included: animal identification and traceability, economic impacts of animal disease, biosecurity, rendering, and ractopamine. Discussions were then led by Dan Loy regarding updating the website for NCR 206. IA has offered to host this site and continue to maintaining the site. Discussions regarding committee additions occurred regarding extending formal invitations to other states. Larry mentioned that he sent emails to the other states and Oklahoma State University as well as West Texas A&M accepted the invitation. Dr. Reynolds offered to follow-up on formalities for committee additions outside the North Central Region. Station reports then resumed.

    Station reports resumed at 8:00 am on June 9th. Following the completion of the station reports the meeting was adjourned.

    Respectfully submitted, Jeffrey W. Lehmkuhler

    Accomplishments:
    The NRC-206 met in conjunction with NCR-87 to discuss areas of mutual interest concerning the impact of early weaning of beef cattle on the beef industry. A coordination of on-going efforts in the North Plains projects (South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana) with other research stations was discussed. The goal is to bring those results together at a National or Midwest American Society of Animal Sciences meeting. The NCR-206 would sponsor the symposium.

    The NCR-206 committee is also co-sponsoring a national Dairy-beef (Holstein) mangement conference in Novemeber in Minnesota. Jeff Lehmkuhler from Wisconsin is the coordinator for that conference. Dairy beef represents over 20% of the steers harvested in ths country. This conference will focus on the unique management required for effecient dairy-beef production.

    The potential impact of a national animal identification and traceability program on the beef cattle industry was also discussed. Each representative from member states shared their role in development of their state's program. With rapidly changing technology, it is difficult to determine the optimum time to sponsor a national meeting to help extension staff implement a program with beef producers. This topic will be discussed again next year as a possible symposium program.

    Impact Statements:
    1. The members of NCR-206 have defined the impact of different levels and forms of distillers grains on the feedlot cattle efficiency and carcass merit
    2. The members of the NCR-206 have shown that the phosphorus requirement of feedlot cattle is considereably below the NRC requirement which can greatly reduce pollution problems around large feedlots.
    3. The members of the NCR-206 tht crude protein level in the diet and managment of the manure pack in pens can greatly affect the amount of nitrogen which is released into the atmosphere.
    Last Modified: unknown

    Date of Annual Report: 12/08/2006

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 06/06/06 to 06/07/06
  • Period the Report Covers: 10/2005 to 09/2006

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    The NCCC-206 (formerly NCR-206) committee met at the University of Wisconsin Department of Animal Science beginning at 8:00 a.m. on June 6, 2006. Dan Schaeffer, UW Animal Sciences Department Chair welcomed the group.

    Chris Reinhardt (KS) was elected secretary for the 2006 meeting and will therefore host the 2007 meeting in Manhattan, KS.

    Dr. Schaeffer indicated that there are relatively few Animal Science graduates enrolling in UW vet school (4 in the latest class). The lack of packing capacity in the state continues to hinder growth of both the swine and cattle feeding industries. Within the university, professors will soon be required to cover tuition costs of ~$8,000 annually for graduate students. This may lead to a reduction of graduate students employed by the department, potentially displaced by post-docs.

    Don Reynolds, DVM, new Administrative Advisor for the committee, suggested that the future of federal funding for USDA-production research programs is somewhat flat and his primary emphasis has been on maintaining current levels of support.

    Gary Cromwell indicated that the Midterm NIMSS review ratings of Good, Good, Excellent, and Good for the areas of Progress Report, Coordination linkages, Information exchange, and Attendance/Participation was well above average in comparison to other projects and committees.

    Dr Randy Shaver, UW Extension Dairy Nutritionist discussed various difficulties with nutritional analysis of corn silage. Starch content is important to total energy value of corn silage, but starch digestibility is affected by kernel processing and endosperm properties. There is also ongoing debate within the analytical lab industry as to the appropriate length of time to incubate for in vitro NDF digestibilities. The labs would prefer 24h, much of the research values were calculated at 30h (which more closely approximates rumen retention time), and 48h is preferred to calculate maintenance intake.

    He confirmed that distillers grains are being used at roughly 10% of DM to avoid milk fat suppression due to excessive free fat. If the industry moves to more degermed distillers grains, the levels could rise to 25-30% of DM.

    New Business: Dan Loy offered to consolidate the 2 websites he is currently maintaining onto that housed within the Iowa Beef Center and allow the second website to expire. Dan will revise the website to include links to all participating station beef reports. To do this he needs accurate website links from each member of the group.

    Larry Berger volunteered to write a letter, representing the committee, to Austin Lewis within the next couple weeks for the committee to review and approve, recommending a new Beef NRC publication be created. He also recommended suggesting that the Cow-calf committee do likewise. Gary Cromwell agreed to carry that suggestion to the Cow-calf committee meeting. Robbi Pritchard suggested some type of sub-committee be formed to, on an on-going basis, track research needs and make research recommendations in order to continually build the database needed to improve the future NRC recommendations. It was suggested that Dan Fox may still have on file suggestions for future research forwarded following release of the 1996 Beef NRC. It was also suggested that if the totality of FASS spoke with a unified voice re: issues like up-to-date nutrient requirements and feedstuff nutrient values, USDA may see fit to provide special funding status for such projects. Larry Berger volunteered to contact Mike Galyean, Cal Ferrell, and Terry Klopfenstein about research needs for future NRC guidelines.

    NCCC-206 co-sponsored the recent 2005 Holstein Beef Management Conference in Rochester, MN. Jeff Lemkuhler estimated that 300 - 400 people attended the conference from 22 states and Canadian provinces and 1,000 - 1,500 proceedings from the conference were sold. The publication has recouped its cost and it was discussed that the proceedings could be housed electronically on the NCCC-206 website for public access. There was also discussion about a possible 3-year rotation of the conference, held in conjunction with the 4-State Dairy committee. Other pertinent issues suggested to be discussed at future Holstein Beef Symposia should include the following: economic, environmental, and housing and facility issues of small/mid-sized production units for edification of lenders and economic development personnel; and natural, organic, and niche marketing of Holstein beef. It was suggested that some of the most pertinent information from the Rochester conference could be presented by members of the group at local meetings throughout the region. Jeff Lemkuhler suggested that a smaller committee be formed to plan and administer subsequent symposia. It was suggested that a planning meeting be held at the OSU Grain Processing Symposium in November in Tulsa.

    Clint Krehbiehl announced the OSU Grain Processing Symposium and handed out the proposed agenda and requested comments and suggestions from the committee. The conference will be held in Tulsa November 15-17.

    With the goal of broadening the personnel background of the NCCC-206 to provide a national perspective, it was decided that the following persons would be invited to the next committee meeting: Nathan Elam (NM), Carl Hunt (ID), Jon Beckett (CA), and Glenn Duff (AZ).

    Don Reynolds asked for the group to consider whether to continue as a committee or to become a project.

    Jeff Lemkuhler requested a $10 registration fee to cover incidental costs of hosting the meeting.

    Station reports were given from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday and again from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon on Wednesday.

    Discussion arose on the topic of the impact of various weaning strategies (conventional weaning and shipment vs. pre-weaning nose attachments vs. preconditioning vs. fenceline weaning) on subsequent feedlot health and behavior, such as walking and vocalization.

    Also pertaining to feedlot health, Clint Krehbiel discussed work at OSU with a device which measures NO and CO2 in calves at arrival and when pulled for treatment to improve disease diagnosis.

    There was some debate as to whether body fat or body condition contributes to immunity, as postulated by Spurlock of ISU.

    The question of whether there is sound evidence to support the NCBA recommendation of banding vs. knife castration was couched. The question centered on the stress incurred in the short term by knife castration vs. the stress simply being delayed with banding, compounded by the potential for systemic clostridial infection from the necrotic scrotum.

    Notes from the planning meeting held at Midwest ASAS meetings in Des Moines will be requested from Jeff Lemkuhler.

    Meeting was adjourned at 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7, 2006. The members expressed their appreciation to Jeff Lemkuhler for hosting and organizing the meeting.

    Respectfully submitted,

    Christopher D. Reinhardt

    Accomplishments:
    NCCC-206 co-sponsored the recent 2005 Holstein Beef Management Conference in Rochester, MN. Jeff Lemkuhler estimated that 300 - 400 people attended the conference from 22 states and Canadian provinces and 1,000 - 1,500 proceedings from the conference were sold. The publication has recouped its cost and it was discussed that the proceedings could be housed electronically on the NCCC-206 website for public access.

    Impact Statements:
    1. NCCC-206 co-sponsored the recent 2005 Holstein Beef Management Conference in Rochester, MN. Jeff Lemkuhler estimated that 300 - 400 people attended the conference from 22 states and Canadian provinces and 1,000 - 1,500 proceedings from the conference were sold. The publication has recouped its cost and it was discussed that the proceedings could be housed electronically on the NCCC-206 website for public access.
    Last Modified: unknown

    Date of Annual Report: 11/12/2007

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 06/04/07 to 06/06/07
  • Period the Report Covers: 05/2006 to 05/2007

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    At 7:00 pm the evening of June, 4th, 2007 members of the committee met in Call Hall on the Kansas State University Campus in Manhattan, KS. After a barbeque dinner, members were welcomed by Dr. Ken Odde, Kansas State Animal Sciences and Industry Department head. The primary objective of the evening meeting was to identify objectives for a new proposal if the committee was to continue. A discussion followed about the differences between a NCC versus NCR committee. It was determined that, unless new information was provided from Don Reynolds the following day, the group would remain a NCC. The following discussion focused on the creation of the objectives for a new proposal. The title developed for the new proposal was Nutrition and Management of Feedlot Cattle to Optimize Performance, Carcass Value, and Environmental Sustainability. The following objectives were created for the proposal:

    1. To enhance the utilization of alternative feedstuffs available as a result of increased bio-fuel production 2. To enhance quality and safety of beef through emerging pre-harvest technologies and management strategies 3. To enhance the environmental sustainability of the feedlot industry through nutritional and management applications 4. To enhance the health and well being of feedlot cattle improvement efficiency of beef production

    Following completion of the objectives the meeting was adjourned until Tuesday morning.

    On Tuesday morning members met at 8:00 am in Weber Hall. The morning began with a discussion of next years meeting. It was determined that Oklahoma State University would host the next meeting on May 20-22, 2008 in Stillwater, OK. Don Reynolds commented on the NCCC-206 midterm reports. He noted that the report indicated good productivity, activity, coordination, and participation. The group then asked Dr. Reynolds to addresses the difference between NCR and NCC committees, which he did. He also noted that Sept 15, 2007 is deadline for objectives, statement of issues and justification. Once the Sept 15th materials are submitted, notice will go out to experiment station directors to notify if others want to join. All current members need to apply through their Experiment Station using appendix E. The complete report is to be submitted by Dec. 1, 2007. The report will be placed in the NIMS system.

    Following the comments, there was a unanimous vote to remain a NCCC. A writing committee was formed with Alfredo DiCostanzo (chair), Greg Lardy, and Steve Loerch. Dr. Reynolds commended that the new objectives proposed included bio-renewable fuels, food safety, and environmental implications.

    Garry Cromwell went over handouts on the Department of Agriculture structure and information on CSREES. He also discussed travel reductions for advisors, reorganization potential under new farm bill for combining ARS and CSREES into REES (Research, Education, and Extension Service) and new NRC nutrient requirements published. Larry Berger noted that in discussions with NRC Nutrient Requirement committee that $100,000 from industry groups would be required to be proposed before a new committee will be appointed.

    Dr. Cromwell reminded the group that they have 60 days to put in report of meeting which includes the minutes, accomplishments, impacts, and publications. Dr. Reynolds commented on what should be in reports. He suggested that participants bold impacts.

    Jeff Lehmkuhler volunteered to properly format his report according to the guidelines and distribute a copy to committee members so that all can provide the properly formatted material to Chris Reinhardt by the end of June. For next years meeting, Chris Richards, in March will send out a copy of this years report and list of required information prior to next years meeting because he will be required to put it into the 2007 report.

    The remaining portion of the morning consisted of station reports and discussion from members and lunch on site. The afternoon began with a tour and discussion of Kansas State University Feedlot facilities and research lead by Dr. Jim Drouillard. After the tour, station reports and discussion continued back on campus. At 5:00 pm Dr. Larry Corah, of Certified Angus Beef, gave a presentation on The role of feedlot management in marbling deposition. Dr. Corah then hosted a steak dinner and round table discussion on carcass quality to end the days events.

    Wednesday morning began with the remaining experiment station reports. Following the reports Dr. Brad Johnson gave a presentation titled Current trends in satellite cell research. After a brief discussion, the annual meeting was adjourned.

    Sincerely Submitted Chris Richards

    Accomplishments:
    The NCCC-206 met to discuss areas of mutual interest concerning the impact of the ethanol industry on the beef industry. Discussions at the 2006 meeting led to a multi-state collaborative project between Colorado and Kansas resulting in a publication. A tour of the KSU Beef Cattle Research Center resulted in discussions of the feeding of glycerine, a by-product of biodiesel production, to feedlot cattle.

    The group resolved to continue to independently and collectively evaluate the use of by-products from the production of bio-fuels (ethanol and biodiesel) in finishing cattle diets, and the potential impacts of feeding these by-products on carcass traits and the environmental impact of cattle feeding.

    Impact Statements:
    1. 1. Producers may eliminate supplemental vitamin A from finishing diets without adversely affecting performance, and subsequent carcass quality is actually improved.
    2. 2. Early weaning of beef calves improves carcass quality.
    3. 3. Field peas may replace up to 30% of the corn and a combination of distillers grains and soyhulls may replace all of the corn in beef finishing diets without adversely affecting performance or carcass traits.
    4. 4. Vaccination of calves before marketing and marketing in larger lots increases the price received for beef calves.
    Last Modified: 12-Nov-2007

    Date of Annual Report: 06/27/2008

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 05/21/08 to 05/23/08
  • Period the Report Covers: 05/2007 to 05/2008

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    Please see attachment for meeting minutes, annual report, and publications list (by state).


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:

    Impact Statements:
    1. Insulation value of hair coats that have become wet loose their insulation value, thereby altering calves lower critical temperature.
    2. In situations where high sulfates exist in drinking water, altering dietary cation-anion balance does not alleviate reduced performance.
    3. Production of all natural finished cattle requires substantial ($98.50/hd, estimated at current prices) premiums to be competitive with traditional systems. This increases with increased feed cost.
    4. Diets containing distillers grains and hay with no corn grain can be fed to finish cattle, but gains and efficiencies are reduced.
    5. Feeding stored wet distillers grains to finishing cattle results in more efficient and rapid weight gains than fresh wet distillers gains when fed with soybean hulls, corn silage and supplement.
    6. Economic analysis of calf-fed vs. long yearling production results in yearlings profitability increasing $4-6 with each $1/bu increase in corn price.
    7. Flax seed can replace up to 8 percent of the corn and linseed meal in growing and finishing diets without affecting performance.
    8. Rapidly backgrounding calves has no impact on future feedlot performance, carcass characteristics or consumer acceptability.
    9. Feeding low vitamin A diets does not impede growth or improve carcass characteristics.
    10. Feeding a medium concentrate diet for 28 days increases growth efficiency and decreases morbidity compared to immediately adapting calves to a finishing diet.
    11. Calves subjected to bovine respiratory disease challenges have increased removal amino acids from the blood by the liver to support an acute phase protein response.
    12. Feeding high-tannin sorghum results in increased rate of discoloration and TBARS accumulation in meat aerobically displayed.
    Last Modified: 09-Sep-2008
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