Project : USDA ARS

ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Research Project #429509

Research Project: Ecological Reservoirs and Intervention Strategies to Reduce Foodborne Pathogens in Cattle and Swine

Location: Food and Feed Safety Research

2018 Annual Report

Accomplishments
1. A new natural antibiotic alternative for swine. Livestock farmers are under increasing pressure to reduce their use of antibiotics to control disease during production; consequently, there is need for new technologies to help farmers maintain optimal health and well-being of their animals. ARS scientists at College Station, Texas, in collaboration with scientists at the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, determined the efficacy of the plant, Nigella sativa (black cumin), as a potential substitute for conventional antibiotics currently used in swine production. The work established that feeding black cumin dramatically improved growth efficiency of the pigs and helped them resist colonization by the bacterium, Escherichia coli, which is particularly pathogenic for young pigs. These results provide important information on a potential new feed additive that, when combined with other feed ingredients and good management, can help pig farmers improve the health and well-being of their young animals. Ultimately, these results will help pig farmers find new ways to safely and economically produce high quality and wholesome pork products at less cost to the American consumer.

2. A new probiotic antimicrobial alternative for ruminants. The complex gastrointestinal system of cattle is filled with a diverse population of microbes. Some of these contribute to digestion of feedstuffs consumed by the animal, but other microbes can cause illness or reduce feed conversion efficiency. Some microbes cause increased methane production which can causes the animal to lose as much as 12% of the energy in the feed they consume as methane which is released to the environment. ARS scientists at College Station, Texas, collaborating with scientists at Texas A&M University, isolated a never-before described bacterium from the rumen of a cow and found that when grown with certain feedstuffs, the bacterium reduced methane production while concurrently reducing numbers of undesired pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Campylobacter in the rumen environment. The work established that this bacterium can degrade nitrate and nitrite which are toxic chemicals that often accumulate to high levels in heat- or drought-stressed forages which, when fed to cattle, can cause illness or even death. The results from this research ultimately may provide ranchers a new tool to more efficiently produce meat and milk at less cost for the American consumer and with less impact on the environment.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Feed Safety Research: College Station, TX