Project Number: 6208-32000-006-02
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 01, 2005
End Date: Jul 31, 2010

Objective:
The objective of the research associated with this Specific Cooperative Agreement is to evaluate alternative management practices that can be implemented to improve the health, productivity, and overall well-being of beef cattle. The research will include, but not be limited to, the evaluation of non-traditional nutritional supplements that may potentially enhance the immune system of beef cattle at critical periods of production. The key periods of production to be addressed will include prior to and immediately following production stressors such as transportation, vaccination, and weaning.

Approach:
Beef cattle will be supplemented with non-traditional nutritional supplements for a relatively short duration (approximately 3 weeks) either prior to or immediately following various management practices such as transportation, vaccination, and weaning which are known to cause stress in livestock and have negative impacts on health, productivity, and well-being. Animal health and productivity will be monitored prior to and following these management practices to determine if certain non-traditional nutritional supplements may provide immunological protection during these periods of stress. Prior to the large scale commercial-type studies, small scale studies will be conducted utilizing various immune challenge models in controlled environments to determine which nutritional supplements have immunomodulatory properties.