MU Southwest Center researches cattle efficiency
by Beverley Kreul, posted Oct. 20, 2008
There are more than 4 million head of cattle in Missouri, according to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service. Somehow, the 18,000 producers in the state have to find a way to feed these massive animals without bankrupting their operations. Feed efficiency, or how many pounds a bovine gains per pound of feed consumed, varies between animals. Professors Monty S. Kerley and Robert Kallenbach, along with other researchers at the MU Southwest Center in Mount Vernon, Mo., will be able to select for these efficiency traits and breed to create a more efficient herd.
On average, the most efficient animal in a typical herd eats 20 percent less than her inefficient counterpart. By selecting for this genetically inherited trait, producers can raise the same number of cattle but pay less for feed costs. In fact, every fifth cow will virtually eat for free.
In 1963, Robert Koch was the first to experiment with the new concept of Residual Feed Intake. RFI is the same method researchers are using at the MU Southwest Center to determine cattle efficiency. Each heifer is given an ear tag upon arrival. These tags are equipped with a tracking device. Whenever the heifer goes to the feeding bin, an antenna on the bin registers which cow is currently eating. The bin is weighed before and after to see how much of the feed the heifer consumed. This allows researchers to see what the cattle’s RFI is at the end of the day.
“This is really top of the line technology we are using,” said Kerley, MU animal science professor. “The University of Missouri was the first university in the U.S. to install the GrowSafe Feed Intake System.”
Genetics are not the only thing being tested at the Southwest Center. Kallenbach, associate professor of agronomy, is also measuring the efficiency of these the cattle when they are grazing pasture.
“We want to see how efficient the cattle are on forage compared to grain diets,” Kallenbach said. “We want to know if more efficient cattle will reduce the amount of feed or hay needed during the winter.”
In order to measure pasture efficiency, researchers have to collect manure samples everyday and analyze them to see how much forage was consumed. Kallenbach and Kerley hope to have completed research by next summer and be able to allow producers to place these actions into mainstream production.
