Project Number: 5438-31000-092-01
Project Type: Nonfunded Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Mar 01, 2012
End Date: Sep 30, 2013

Objective:
The effects of feeding traditional versus elevated dietary crude protein with or without ractopamine hydrochloride to finishing cattle on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, and E. coli O157:H7.

Approach:
This will be a joint effort between ARS, who will conduct a finishing beef cattle study and Elanco Animal Health, who will be responsible for providing the ractopamine hydrochloride and assisting in the data analysis. Both partners will collaborate in designing the experiments and interpreting the results. This approach to determine the protein requirement of beef cattle fed ractopamine hydrochloride is novel.