The overall goal of this project is to expand beef cattle research extension and education capacity at fort valley state university especially for practices such as the use of nutraceutical…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Fort Valley State University $599,999 on February 1, 2026, under the 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grants program (CFDA 10.216) to expand beef cattle research, extension, and education capacity.

The award funds three integrated objectives: evaluating nutraceutical forage use on beef cattle reproduction, parasites, health, and growth; researching precision livestock production technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, RFID, GPS, and GIS for rapid identification of cattle health and production status; and developing or enhancing beef cattle research and demonstration sites to communicate practical applications to producers. The project includes research collaborations, training, updated course curricula, and extension education tools. Deliverables are designed to expand experience and education for students, faculty, staff, and cattle producers in precision livestock farming technologies and agriculture's role in supporting operative and profitable beef cattle operations, with outputs intended to benefit participants beyond the grant period and support workforce preparedness at the HBCU.

Work is performed at Fort Valley, Georgia, with a period of performance from February 1, 2026, through January 31, 2029.

The overall goal of this project is to expand beef cattle research extension and education capacity at fort valley state university especially for practices such as the use of nutraceutical supplements and best management practices for improving beef cattle productivity and profitability. With that in mind the objectives are to 1) evaluate use of a nutraceutical forage on reproduction parasites/health and growth of beef cattle 2) research use of precision livestock production (PLP)/artificial intelligence/machine learning and other advanced technologies for rapid identification of cattle health and production status to mitigate production inefficiencies and 3) develop/enhance beef cattle research/demonstration sites to share practical applications. This multidisciplinary integrated project will provide expanded experience and education for students, faculty, staff and cattle producers related to precision livestock farming/production technologies (including those incorporating rfid/GPS/GIS and basic artificial intelligence/machine learning concepts) and agriculture's role in supporting operative and profitable beef cattle farms. The project includes research collaborations and training, updated course curricula and development of extension education tools that will have an impact and be used wellbeyond the granting period, allowing our students to be more competitive for jobs, our scientists to be more competitive for grant funding and our producer stakeholders to be more profitable now and into the future. This project supports hbcu executive order by improving workforce preparedness.