EFFICIENT FORAGE UTILIZATION IN BEEF COWS

Our long-term goal is to reduce input costs and greenhouse gas emissions within the cow/calf sector of beef cattle production through the identification of cattle that efficiently utilize forage.To accomplish this goal, we will a) determine the most appropriate stage of producing beef cattle that should be tested for efficient forage utilization, b) investigate differences in metabolism among efficient and inefficient animals, and c) develop a system to predict/identify animals that efficiently utilize forage.