Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
Project Number: 3064-21660-004-007-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jun 1, 2016
End Date: May 31, 2021
Objective:
Aemendment #2 Expanded Objective:
Determine if goats and/or sheep along with cattle grazing can help reduce the abundance of some introduced and native plant species (target plant species).
Original Objective:
Develop new strategies to produce cattle by integration of pastures, annual crops and crop residues and prairie hay, and determine the effects on animal growth, carcass characteristics, and beef quality and fatty acid concentrations.
Approach:
Amendment #2 Expanded Approach:
The ARS will cooperate with North Dakota State University through its Hettinger Research Extension Center to conduct pen and pasture trials to determine which of the targeted plant species will be consumed heavily by cattle, sheep or goats in order to use one or more of these types of livestock to control these targeted plant species.
Original Approach:
The USDA-ARS, Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory (NGPRL) will cooperate with North Dakota State University (NDSU) through its Hettinger Research Extension Center (HREC) to conduct collaborative cattle production trials comparing different approaches to growing and fattening calves and yearlings. Cattle growth rate will be determined along with carcass characteristics and beef quality including fatty acid concentrations.
