Projects and Grants per year
Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Forage systems provide low cost feed, conserve soil and water resources, and mitigate man's impact on the environment.
Limited basic biological information exists on how plant and! or fungal metabolites affect forage plant quality, persistence,
and production. Even less information exists on the cross-talk mechanism between tall fescue (the predominant forage of the
transition zone) and its endophyte or about the impact that forage and! or fungal metabolites have on pasture ecosystems.
Additionally, basic biological information is limited on how plant metabolites affect animal performance and health beyond
the production level. Fundamental information conceming how these production level effects are elicited has only recently
become a focus. As such, the available information for predicting animal performance in response to plant nutrients under
varying environmental, genetic, physiological status, and management conditions is of limited use. Even more problematic is
the poor understanding of the effects of plant nutraceuticals and anti-quality factors on nutrient intake, metabolism and
assimilation for product, health maintenance, or work by the animal. Thus, to increase the sustainability of forage-based
animal enterprises, it is essential that a better understanding be developed of the fundamental biological processes
underlying the interactions between the animal, plant, and environment. This Specific Cooperative Agreement (SCA), through
the development and utilization of cutting-edge technologies, real world testing, and technology transfer, proposes to help
decipher the complex interactions within the animal-plant-environment interface in order to improve forage production and
persistence as well as forage-animal health, performance, and forage intake and utilization. Research is focused on the
utilization and production of the predominant forage (tall fescue) of the transition zone and its altematives and! or companion
species. To accomplish the objectives of this SCA, a number of differing methodologies including molecular and chemical
investigations of animal tissue and cellular function, nutrient flux experiments in cattle, classical animal nutrition studies,
doppler ultrasonography, molecular and chemical investigations of plant! fungal metabolites and physiological function,
pasture ecological studies, forage breeding and applied grazing trials, will be utilized.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 10/1/08 → 4/30/13 |
Funding
- Agricultural Research Service
Fingerprint
Explore the research topics touched on by this project. These labels are generated based on the underlying awards/grants. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Projects
- 1 Finished
-
Improving Sustainability of Forage-Based Production
Cox, N. (PI)
6/17/08 → 4/30/13
Project: Research project