Nebraska Beef Innovation

Final producer panel on How to manage livestock to mitigate the effects of severe weather events is kicking off now at the @unlbeefscholars 2023 Beef Summit #unlbeef #unlanimalscience

Could selling more bred cows and keeping more heifers reveal ways to take advantage of the capital gains tax rate that allows more of the money generated from cattle sales to be kept in the producer’s pocket? Read more at beef.unl.edu/beefwatch/2023…

A lot has changed since the groundbreaking for the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center project back on Nov. 4, 2022! The project at @NebENREEC near Mead, NE will provide new capacity to develop and evaluate emerging technology used in managing animals in feedlot settings.

We’ve had drought, blizzards, wildfires, flash floods…. probably better keep an eye on grasshopper numbers, too. Read more on the grasshopper forecast, and how to monitor and control at beef.unl.edu/beefwatch/2023…

If you have to transport heifers/cows after AI, get it done within the first 4 days or wait until after day 60 to prevent early embryonic loss. Read or listen (~10min) for more info on management strategies to prevent early pregnancy losses: beef.unl.edu/beefwatch/2020…

With two events happening in Nebraska this year, be sure to check out the agendas here to see which one works best for you! stockmanshipandstewardship.org #BeefCheckoff @MerckAH

Beef Quality Assurance coordinators from across the country are meeting in Lincoln this week. Today the group tours several sites in eastern Nebraska, including Marble Technologies, which is working on developing automation in meat processing.

Calves unable to withstand exercise (trembling, collapsing, but recovering, when under pressure to move) have a genetic problem which causes issues with meat quality (color, tenderness, pH)—dark cutters—in affected calves.

Researching combining genotyping and microbiome analysis to ideally increase accuracy of prediction.

Comparing low pass vs 100k chip to see if we can get similar information with less data by using low pass testing.

Research shows zilpaterol and heat stress do not affect neural pathways in cattle. #beefresearch

Researching how prenatal amino acid supplementation affects fetal body weight. Seeing no weight difference, but muscle size difference—will research into how that looks later in life. #beefresearch

Study looking into whether semen pooled from multiple sires has higher conception rates than single sires, in both conventional and sexed-semen applications.

Working on identifying what viruses and bacteria contribute to pinkeye, and whether there may be a genetic component. Long term goal is an effective vaccine. #beefresearch

Research into using 3D cameras to predict body weight in heifers. Research looks promising. #beefresearch

Research into reasons non-cycling heifers are not cycling. #beefresearch

Grad students and post-grad students sharing UNL’s beef research at summer meetings. #beefresearch

Heifers at a greater percentage of body weight had higher conception rates for first and second pregnancies, but no difference in longevity. Extremes on both ends affect preg rates and longevity. 65% of mature body weight at weaning is target. #beefresearch

Even if a cow has adequate vitamin A stores, that isn’t sufficient to supply the calf with enough vitamin A. Supplementing both maternal and calf diet with vitamin A is important to healthy calves, when feed isn’t sufficient. #beefresearch

US Meat Animal Research Center is working on 57 different research projects across beef, sheep and swine.