Feed Efficiency in the Beef Industry / Edition 1

by Rodney A. Hill

Overview

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 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470959527
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	09/11/2012
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

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

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Table of Contents

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