Source: MICHIGAN STATE UNIV submitted to
NUTRITIONAL STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF FARM FLOCK SHEEP PRODUCTION
 
PROJECT DIRECTOR: Benson, M. E.
 
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
ANIMAL SCIENCE
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
EAST LANSING,MI 48824
 
NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The very future of commercial sheep production in Michigan and other farm-flock producing areas will be determined by the economic viability and environmental sustainability of such enterprises. Sustainable sheep production in the future will require increased production efficiency. Feed utilization is the area of greatest opportunity because the single greatest cost of lamb production is feed. Phosphorus is one the minerals required in sheep diets but it is also a mineral of concern for its environmental impacts. Co-products of the expanding local and national ethanol industry offer alternative feed resources to the sheep industry but the concentrated phosphorus content in these products must be managed. This project will provide new information on nutritional management strategies that will make sheep production in Michigan and the farm flock region of the US economically, environmentally and societally sustainable. Enhancing feed utilization to enhance profitability and managing the components within the feed ingredients to reduce excess excretion of nutrients into the environment are goals of this project.
 
OBJECTIVES: The overall objective of this project is to identify nutritional management strategies that will make sheep production in Michigan and the farm-flock production region of the US more sustainable from economical, environmental and societal perspectives. Specific objectives include: Objective 1) Evaluate the use of residual feed intake (RFI) as a measure of feed efficiency and examine its use as a selection tool for sheep production systems focused on profitable lamb production. Sub-objective 1a is to determine divergence in RFI in existing Suffolk and commercial flocks at Michigan State University. Sub-objective 1b is to use RFI as a selection tool in MSU Suffolk and Commercial flocks. Objective 2) Define dietary and nutrient management strategies that support high levels of animal production while preventing unnecessary levels of phosphorus excretion. Sub-objective 2a is to determine P inputs and excretion rates of sheep through all stages of production when fed traditional diets. Sub-objective 2b is to minimize P excretion from sheep operations through dietary manipulation or other management strategies and provide data for producers to use in the development of nutrient management plans for farm flocks. Objective 3 is to evaluate the metabolism and availability of P found in distillers grain co-products in ruminants using sheep as a model and apply that understanding to practical feeding applications.
 
APPROACH: Objective 1. The Suffolk and commercial flocks maintained at Michigan State University will be used to first evaluate the existing variation in residual feed intake (RFI) within the two flocks. Ram lambs will be selected from the annual lamb crop and used in a post-weaning RFI trial. Performance and genetic evaluation data will be collected and analyzed for ram lambs from birth through the end of the trial. Individual feed intakes and animal weights will be used to determine the efficiency of feed utilization. Actual and predicted feed intake and performance measures will be determined using regression analyses and RFI will be computed according to the procedures of Arthur et al. (2001a). Phenotypic and genotypic correlations between feed intake, feed efficiency and post weaning traits will be determined following the methods described by Arthur et al. (2001b). The same procedures will be applied to contemporary groups of wether and ewe lambs from the flocks throughout the project. Evaluations will continue with the study of variation in RFI in ewes during maintenance, gestation and lactation. Information at all productive stages will be necessary for system wide efficiency evaluations of a sheep flock. Early results from this objective will be used to identify the most feed efficient Suffolk ram lambs from each of years 1 and 2. These individuals will be mated to ewes in the Suffolk and commercial flocks with offspring subjected to similar feeding trials and analysis. Heritability estimates will be determined on offspring. If preliminary results indicate the potential to positively impact system wide production efficiency using rams selected for a high feed efficiency (a low RFI) and the heritability of the trait is positive, the breeding program of the flocks will be designed to include the production of offspring with improved feed efficiency. Objective 2. An annual P balance for the flock will be made by accounting for all P inputs and measurement of outputs as affected by each stage of production. All dietary components will be evaluated for P content. Phosphorus excretion estimates will be made, feces sampled and analyzed for P content. Based on these results, the production stage(s) in which excess P is of most concern will be addressed and a management plan to reduce P excretion will be developed. This may include reducing P content of the diets either by decreasing dietary P levels, selection of feed ingredients that are lower in P content, use of phytase enzymes, or timing of fiber supplementation. Objective 3. Crossbred wether lambs will be used in a metabolism study to evaluate P excretion and utilization when fed diets varying in distillers dried grain (DDG) content and, therefore, P content. Dietary treatments will include: 1) control diet (80% corn, 20% grass hay); 2) 60% corn, 20%DDG, 20% grass hay; and 3) 50% corn, 30% DDG, 20% grass hay. Diets will be formulated to meet or exceed NRC requirements for finishing lambs with rapid growth potential (NRC, 1985). This metabolism study will provide an accurate assessment of P utilization and excretion as affected by level of DDG intake.
 
CRIS NUMBER: 0206778 SUBFILE: CRIS
PROJECT NUMBER: MICL02129 SPONSOR AGENCY: CSREES
PROJECT TYPE: HATCH PROJECT STATUS: TERMINATED MULTI-STATE PROJECT NUMBER: (N/A)
START DATE: Apr 1, 2006 TERMINATION DATE: Mar 31, 2011

GRANT PROGRAM: (N/A)
GRANT PROGRAM AREA: (N/A)

CLASSIFICATION
Knowledge Area (KA)Subject (S)Science (F)Objective (G)Percent
302361010102.260%
302361010802.230%
307361010102.210%

CLASSIFICATION HEADINGS
KA302 - Nutrient Utilization in Animals
KA307 - Animal Management Systems
S3610 - Sheep, live animal
F1080 - Genetics
F1010 - Nutrition and metabolism
G2.2 - Increase Efficiency of Production and Marketing Systems


RESEARCH EFFORT CATEGORIES
BASIC (N/A)%
APPLIED 100%
DEVELOPMENTAL (N/A)%

KEYWORDS: feed efficiency; residual feed intake; sheep; lambs; phosphorus; distillers dried grains

PROGRESS: Apr 1, 2006 TO Mar 31, 2011
Shortly after initiating this project, the faculty member accepted a position at the Washington State University and they are no longer at Michigan State University. Consequently, there is no research to report on. This project should be terminated.

IMPACT: 2006-04-01 TO 2011-03-31 Due to the short length of this project there is no impact to report.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 2006-04-01 TO 2011-03-31
No publications reported this period

PROJECT CONTACT INFORMATION
NAME: Benson, M. E.
PHONE: 517-432-1388
FAX: 517-432-0147