Feed Efficiency in the Beef Industry

Feed Efficiency in the Beef Industry provides a thorough and concise overview of feed efficiency in beef cattle.  It frames the great importance of feed efficiency to the industry and details the latest findings of the many scientific disciplines that intersect and aim to improve efficient and sustainable production of nutritious beef. The vast majority of production costs are directly tied to feed. With increased demand for grains to feed a rapidly increasing world population and to supply a new demand for alternative fuels, feed costs continue to increase. In recent years, the negative environmental impacts of inefficient feeding have also been realized; as such feed efficiency is an important factor in both economic viability and environmental sustainability of cattle production. Feed Efficiency in the Beef Industry covers a broad range of topics ranging from economic evaluation of feed efficiency to the physiological and genetic bases of efficient conversion of feed to high quality beef. Chapters also look at how a fuller understanding of feed efficiency is leading to new selective breeding efforts to develop more efficient cattle. With wide–ranging coverage from leading international researchers, Feed Efficiency in the Beef Industry will be a valuable resource for producers who wish to understand the complexities, challenges, and opportunities to reduce their cost of production, for students studying the topic and for researchers and professionals working in the beef industry.

Contributors ix Foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 Rodney A. Hill Chapter 1 Input Factors Affecting Profitability: a Changing Paradigm and a Challenging Time 7 Jason K. Ahola and Rodney A. Hill Chapter 2 Measuring Individual Feed Intake and Utilization in Growing Cattle 21 D.H. (Denny) Crews, Jr. and Gordon E. Carstens Chapter 3 Producer Awareness and Perceptions about Feed Efficiency in Beef Cattle 29 J.D. Wulfhorst, Stephanie Kane, Jason K. Ahola, John B. Hall, and Rodney A. Hill Chapter 4 Feed Efficiency in Different Management Systems: Cow–Calf and in the Feedyard 47 Keela M. Retallick and Dan B. Faulkner Chapter 5 Lessons from the Australian Experience 61 Robert M. Herd and Paul F. Arthur Chapter 6 Nutrition and Feed Efficiency of Beef Cattle 75 Monty S. Kerley Chapter 7 Genetic Improvement of Feed Efficiency 93 Paul F. Arthur and Robert M. Herd Chapter 8 Feed Efficiency and Animal Robustness 105 Wendy M. Rauw Chapter 9 Interactions with Other Traits: Reproduction and Fertility 123 John A. Basarab, Carolyn Fitzsimmons, C. Scott Whisnant, and Robert P. Wettemann Chapter 10 Feed Efficiency Interactions with Other Traits: Growth and Product Quality 145 Rodney A. Hill and Jason K. Ahola Chapter 11 Estimating Feed Efficiency of Lactating Dairy Cattle Using Residual Feed Intake 159 Erin E. Connor, Jana L. Hutchison, and H. Duane Norman Chapter 12 Muscle and Adipose Tissue: Potential Roles in Driving Variation in Feed Efficiency 175 Cassie M. Welch, Marcus McGee, Theresa A. Kokta, and Rodney A. Hill Chapter 13 Epigenetics and Effects on the Neonate That May Impact Feed Efficiency 199 Allison M. Meyer, Joel S. Caton, Bret W. Hess, Stephen P. Ford, and Lawrence P. Reynolds Chapter 14 Hormonal Regulation of Feed Efficiency 225 Michael E. Davis, Macdonald P. Wick, and Martin G. Maquivar Chapter 15 Variation in Metabolism: Biological Efficiency of Energy Production and Utilization That Affects Feed Efficiency 251 Walter G. Bottje and Gordon E. Carstens Chapter 16 Modeling Feed Efficiency 275 Roberto Sainz Index 287

Rodney A. Hill, Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Idaho, leads the Growth Physiology program in the department.