42 Nebraska Cattleman December 2023 NC Foundation NCF Endowment Updates The Nebraska Cattlemen (NC) Foundation provides grants to professors and instructors annually through the Nebraska Beef Industry Endowment and the Nebraska Range and Conservation Endowment. These grants honor professors and instructors who are providing cutting-edge research and/or student instruction in beef industryrelated or range management and conservation related areas. In December 2022, the NC Foundation awarded a Nebraska Beef Industry Endowment grant to Kacie McCarthy, Ph.D., and a Nebraska Range and Conservation Endowment grant to Yijie Xiong, Ph.D. Below are reports on how they utilized the grants within their programs. Kacie McCarthy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Beef Cow-Calf Extension Specialist, University of NebraskaLincoln I would like to thank the Nebraska Cattlemen Foundation for their support and provide a brief update on the work you have supported. A large part of what we have been focusing on is how to manage heifers over winter and into the breeding season with different supplementation strategies for March and May calving herds. In collaboration with Travis Mulliniks, Ph.D., we have a graduate student wrapping up a three-year project looking at heifer development strategies for our March and May herds at the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory. The first study is to determine the impact of rate of overwinter gain on heifer performance, pregnancy rate after a 30-day breeding season and economic efficiency in our March herd. Recent studies have indicated that heifers developed at a slower or restricted birth weight (BW) gain during development may increase heifer pregnancy rate and herd lifetime retention rate. Therefore, developing heifers to a lighter BW may be effective at not only reducing production costs but also may increase lifetime cow herd efficiency. However, developing heifers at a slower rate of gain over winter may decrease revenue from selling lighter weight open heifers. Our goal is to determine a heifer production system with a shortened breeding season that optimizes the entire heifer development enterprise of reproductive and economic efficiency, including the cull heifer enterprise. Preliminary data so far suggests that rate of winter gain may not influence reproductive performance in March-born heifers; however, heifers on the greater rate of gain are larger at breeding. The goal for the May heifer project is to determine the impact of rumen undegradable protein (RUP) supplementation on May heifer performance prior to and during the breeding season. In May-calving herds, cows are often deficient in metabolizable protein (MP) and energy during the breeding season. With rumen degradable protein (RDP) in surplus provided by the forage during the breeding season, there is a greater demand to supply supplementation that would meet the energy and MP deficit. To increase reproductive performance in a July breeding season with May-calving, range heifers, RUP supplementation may need to start approximately four weeks before the start of breeding and through the breeding season. Our preliminary data has shown that RUP supplementation may enhance percentage of heifers cycling prior to the breeding season while increasing body weight gain in late July and through August. We are working on finalizing the production and economic analysis, and look forward to sharing results in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Beef Report and scientific journals next year. Yijie Xiong, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Precision Livestock Management Extension Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln I am sincerely grateful to the Nebraska Cattlemen Foundation for granting me this prestigious award, a crucial pillar in my journey to advance the field of precision livestock management. With a focus on bolstering sustainable range management and livestock production in Nebraska, this award has been a catalyst for my research endeavors. The Nebraska Range and Conservation Endowment has been a driving force in propelling research and education in range management and conservation across the state. As a recipient, my goal is to develop and evaluate cutting-edge precision livestock management technologies that not only reduce labor requirements but also enhance production efficiency while safeguarding our environment. CONTINUED ON PAGE 44
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