Lincoln, Neb. —
University of Nebraska-Lincoln doctoral student Jessica Miller is researching how using ethanol byproducts and housing systems affects livestock performance and manure nutrients.
Miller’s research is being conducted in four different housing systems in the new Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center near Mead. Two are open lots with one being dirt floor and the other roller-compacted concrete. The other two systems are slatted-floor barns, one with a mono-sloped roof and the other with a gable-sloped roof. Each housing system will have a group of cattle fed a diet including ethanol byproducts and another group, the control, not fed byproducts.
“We will feed them for about 180 days and look at performance at the end of the finishing period,” Miller said. “We will also look at manure nutrient composition throughout the feeding period, especially regarding nitrogen and phosphorus.”
Manure will be removed from the dirt floor and slatted floor housing after each feeding period, and periodically from the roller-compacted concrete housing. It will be tested and the results will be used to measure total manure output and manure nutrient content composition. These metrics indicate manure quality.
Miller will measure live performance traits such as live final body weight, dry-matter intake, average daily gain, and feed efficiency. The study will also track carcass characteristics such as hot carcass weight, liver abscess scores, yield grade, marbling score, fat thickness, and longissimus muscle area to assess overall performance.
“Feeding cattle under shelter can protect cattle from exposure to hot or cold weather, mud, and wind,” Miller said. “Previous research in the Midwest comparing cattle finished under shelter and cattle finished in open lot pens has shown that housing systems can impact dry-matter intake, average daily gain, and feed efficiency. Additionally, housing systems could impact manure nitrogen losses as well as manure quality and value, as nitrogen losses result in nitrogen to phosphorus imbalances when using manure as a fertilizer in cropping systems.”
This research will help producers and consultants make management decisions about which systems and diets best suit the goals of their feedlot operations.
Miller is also working on a project modeling different beef systems in Nebraska using the USDA ARS Integrated Farm Systems Model which is a computer program that simulates beef production and integrated cropping systems to predict economics, performance and environmental impact.
“I can model different management practices, and it gives outputs on differences in greenhouse gas emissions and nutrients used and lost by the system, so it also relates to my other project at the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center,” Miller said.
Miller is hoping to take data from her project at the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center to use with the Integrated Farm Systems Model.
Miller grew up on a farm in LaCrosse, Washington, and always had an interest in studying agriculture. During her undergraduate education at Washington State University, she became interested in animal science research which led her to UNL for graduate school in ruminant nutrition.
Miller is currently the research coordinator for the ruminant nutrition lab. After graduation, Miller plans to continue doing ruminant nutrition research.
