Project Grant 20236701539665

This five-year, $650,000 project grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture aims to identify cattle that are more efficient forage utilizers under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program. Oklahoma State University will determine the most effective production stage to identify animals efficient at utilizing forage, including the replacement heifer period after weaning, during pregnancy at four years old, and after calving as five-year-olds while nursing their third calf. Researchers will measure hay intake, weight gain or loss, and methane and carbon dioxide production to declare animals requiring less forage to gain body weight and produce milk as efficient. Data will develop a prediction model to rank cows without feed intake tests, potentially accelerating industry improvement in efficient forage use. Initial data shows the most efficient one-third of animals consume about 22% less forage and produce around 11% less methane than inefficient peers, representing a potential $3.75B annual savings in feed costs per weaned calf.