18 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN August 2024 PERSPECTIVES Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center Update GALEN ERICKSON | NEBRASKA CATTLE INDUSTRY PROFESSOR OF ANIMAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN All of us at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) who have been involved with the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center project are super excited to be opening and starting projects in our new facilities. We have many donors, partners and companies to thank for helping us make a vision become a reality. One of the hallmarks of the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center is the ability to compare different housing systems, including two different deep-pit barn designs and two open lot designs. The barns are constructed with either a gable or monoslope roof – designs that impact airflow. A common question is What design is best? So one priority will be to evaluate differences between each of the barns for performance, behavior, carcass outcomes and any environmental impacts. The open lots are built as either traditional soil-based pens with a concrete apron or solid-surfaced pens using roller-compacted concrete. Pen size is different (yet logical) across the different housing systems. The housing system with the greatest interest in how to optimize cattle performance is the roller-compacted concrete pens. Pen space, bedding amounts, robotic manure collection and frequency of manure removal are all questions we hope to address with the roller compacted concrete pens. We will have data to compare all four different systems to answer producer questions. Manure quality, volume and nutrient content are major priorities as we search for ways to minimize nitrogen loss from feedlot systems. A focus on environment that studies impact of environment on the cattle as well as ways to minimize impacts of cattle production on the environment will also be a central theme. Last, testing technologies that either improve productivity, management or decrease labor needs will be a priority. We are exploring different technologies and want to be a testbed for industry developed technology so producers can trust impacts from product claims. One of our exciting developments will be offering students hands-on experience in our school of feedyard production. More and more students are wanting to work in the beef industry, yet many are coming with less and less experience. A common criticism is students need more hands-on experience and animal contact. We can offer that, provide experience and also train them on technologies we are testing. We know students who get experience with us gain confidence, realize the career potential and reinforces their interest in feedyard production. We think this can be a pipeline for the Timmerman Feedlot Internship program. In addition, these students will learn to operate the technology being tested so they can be marketable and hired to use these technologies in practice for yards across Nebraska. The Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center features various pen sizes and building structures that allow for a variety of research options. CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
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