Optimizing energetic efficiency in cold adapted beef cattle

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In the last decade, management of cattle during the winter months has shifted from confinement in drylot pens to use of stock-piled forage and bale grazing where cattle are kept on pasture for significant periods of time during the winter months. Cattle wintered in these extensive environments are exposed to long periods of cold and fluctuating weather patterns. The early groundbreaking work on cold exposed cattle was conducted in controlled conditions such as environmental chambers or outdoor confinement pens in which ambient temperatures were rarely less than -10 degrees C. While critical to our understanding of cold physiology in cattle, there are limitations to our interpretation and application of previous results to current production systems. Fundamental to this understanding is the ability to measure individual animal dry matter intake. The proposed research will enable us to validate the use of fecal NIR spectra as a viable, non-invasive method for measurement of individual animal intake in cattle in free-ranging environments (overwintering and pasture). Use of this and other novel techniques including behavioural biometrics and near infrared thermography will enable us to provide new information regarding the behavioural and metabolic responses of cattle in extensive, non-confined overwintering environments. This work will provide the fundamental information required to develop better ration formulations and animal management strategies for cold weather. The results will also improve our ability to reduce the environmental footprint for cattle production systems in cold climates. A major component of this program will be the development of highly-qualified personnel who will use their understanding of basic behavioural and physiological processes to integrate better practices and technologies into beef cattle production, particularly as they relate to extensive (pasture or range-based) systems.