Production Research
Iowa beef producers voted to reinstate the $0.50 cent per head Iowa State Beef Checkoff following a referendum facilitated by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association with collections beginning in March 2017. Beef production research was determined as one of five areas of priority for state checkoff funds. Shortly thereafter, a committee of Iowa Beef Industry Council board members and industry representatives assembled to review research proposal submissions, eventually selecting sixteen projects to fund. Iowa beef producers are now able to review and share in the fruits of their investment as manifested by the completion the following research projects.
Resynchronization in Cattle
Dr. George A. Perry & Dr. Julie Walker
South Dakota State University
Ability of fixed time resynchronization in beef cattle to decrease costs and increase production efficiency.
Backgrounding Cattle Nutrition
Dr. Alfredo DiConstanzo
University of Minnesota
Impact of backgrounding cattle nutrition on feedlot and carcass performance and beef quality and sensory characteristics.
Feeding more silage/Liver Absecess
Dr. Galen Erickson
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Improving profitability for integrated farming/feeding operations by using more corn silage and prevention of liver abscesses.
INjectible Vitamin C
Dr. Stephanie Hansen
Iowa State University
Investigation of injectable vitamin C before and after transit on feedlot performance, inflammation, and oxidative stress in beef steers.
Feeding High Quality Beef
Dr. Erika Lundy
Iowa Beef Center
Determine growth and carcass performance of steers of known genetic potential for high marbling when fed differing nutritional and implant programs
Visual Sensing Behavioral Recognition
Dr. Joshua Peschel
Iowa State University
Health prediction of individual animals in confined beef cattle operations through visual sensing and automated behavioral recognition.
Metabolic Biomarkers
Dr. Grant Dewell
Iowa State University
Metabolic biomarkers for enhanced diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease.
Lameness in Iowa Feedlot Cattle
Dr. Terry Engelken
Iowa State University
Investigating the incidence, etiologies, and risk factors of lameness in Iowa feedlot cattle.
Feeding High Quality Beef
Dr. Erika Lundy
Iowa Beef Center
Determine growth and carcass performance of steers with known genetic potential for high marbling when fed a perceived conservative verse aggressive nutritional program and implant strategy.
Grazing Cover Crops
Dr. Erika Lundy
Iowa Beef Center
Performance and economics of fall grazing cover crops compared to a traditional dry lot system of fall-calving cow-calf pairs.
Injectible Vitamin C
Dr. Stephanie Hansen
Iowa State University
Injectable vitamin C prior to transit and transit duration effects on feedlot performance and the oxidative stress response in muscle of beef cattle.
Residue Clearance At Slaughter
Dr. Patrick Gordon
Iowa State University
Development of a rapid, animal-side assay to screen biological fluid samples for the presence of violative drug residues to confirm residue clearance in tissues at slaughter
Dietary Energy Level & Anabolic Implant
Dr. Zachary Smith
South Dakota State University
Effects of dietary energy level and type of anabolic implant on animal performance and carcass traits of finishing steers
Effects of housing Cow-calf Pairs
Dr. Daniel Shike
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Effects of housing cow-calf pairs in dry-lots vs pasture during the summer on cow and calf performance