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ARS Home » Plains Area » Miles City, Montana » Livestock and Range Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #326530

Title: Beef heifer development and lifetime productivity in rangeland-based production systems

Author
item Roberts, Andrew
item FUNSTON, RICK - University Of Nebraska
item GRINGS, E - South Dakota State University
item Petersen, Mark

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/13/2016
Publication Date: 8/1/2016
Citation: Roberts, A.J., Funston, R.N., Grings, E.E., Petersen, M.K. 2016. Beef heifer development and lifetime productivity in rangeland-based production systems. Journal of Animal Science. 94:2705-2715.

Interpretive Summary: Research continues to identify nutrition and environmental factors experienced during pregnancy that result in epigenetic changes that alter offspring characteristics later throughout life. In livestock, small differences in nutrition during gestation may alter lifetime production efficiency of offspring. Thus, the potential for fetal programing should be considered when determining supplemental feeding strategies during gestation. For example, female offspring born to cows grazing dormant winter pasture supplemented with 1.1 kg/d of alfalfa hay during the last 3rd of gestation were heavier and had greater BCS at 5 yr of age than their counterparts from dams supplemented with 1.8 kg/d of alfalfa hay. These differences appeared beneficial for maintaining reproductive performance in offspring managed with less harvested feed inputs. Evaluation of female offspring from cows wintered on either low quality or high quality pasture for 30 to 45 d during the 5th to 6th mo of gestation indicated a trend for longer productivity in daughters from cows wintered on improved pasture. In recent studies comparing offspring from cows with or without protein supplementation while grazing dormant winter range during late gestation, heifers from protein-supplemented dams had greater BW at weaning. This BW increase persisted through pregnancy diagnosis and subsequent calving, and pregnancy rates were greater in heifers from protein-supplemented dams. Heifers from protein-supplemented dams appeared less feed efficient compared with heifers from un-supplemented dams. Thus, in utero exposure to nutritionally limited environments (non-supplemented dams) may promote greater feed efficiency later in life. Nutrition during post-weaning development may also affect lifetime productivity. Heifers developed on low quality native range with RUP supplementation had greater retention beyond 3 yr of age than cohorts developed in a feed lot with higher quality feed and greater ADG. Collectively, these examples show nutritional management strategies used during gestation and development may influence lifetime productivity.

Technical Abstract: Research continues to identify nutrition and environmental factors experienced during pregnancy that result in epigenetic changes that alter offspring characteristics later throughout life. In livestock, small differences in nutrition during gestation may alter lifetime production efficiency of offspring. Thus, the potential for fetal programing should be considered when determining supplemental feeding strategies during gestation. For example, female offspring born to cows grazing dormant winter pasture supplemented with 1.1 kg/d of alfalfa hay during the last 3rd of gestation were 10 kg heavier and had greater BCS at 5 yr of age than their counterparts from dams supplemented with 1.8 kg/d of alfalfa hay. These differences appeared beneficial for maintaining reproductive performance in offspring managed with less harvested feed inputs. Evaluation of female offspring from cows wintered on either low quality or high quality pasture for 30 to 45 d during the 5th to 6th mo of gestation indicated a trend for longer productivity in daughters from cows wintered on improved pasture. In recent studies comparing offspring from cows with or without protein supplementation while grazing dormant winter range during late gestation, heifers from protein-supplemented dams had greater BW at weaning. This BW increase persisted through pregnancy diagnosis and subsequent calving, and pregnancy rates were greater in heifers from protein-supplemented dams. Heifers from protein-supplemented dams appeared less feed efficient compared with heifers from un-supplemented dams. Thus, in utero exposure to nutritionally limited environments (non-supplemented dams) may promote greater feed efficiency later in life. Nutrition during post-weaning development may also affect lifetime productivity. Heifers developed on low quality native range with RUP supplementation had greater retention beyond 3 yr of age than cohorts developed in a feed lot with higher quality feed and greater ADG. Collectively, these examples show nutritional management strategies used during gestation and development may influence lifetime productivity.