Paradigm-Shifting Research Continues
Published: Aug. 27, 2003
August 26, 2003
URBANA?Research that shifted the paradigm of beef production will continue in new, modern structures in the University of Illinois Beef/Sheep Facility for which ground was broken today.
?The University of Illinois has a strong and vital tradition in beef cattle research and our recent work has changed the whole beef cattle industry in many ways,? said Dan Faulkner, a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and U of I Extension beef specialist. ?As a result of work in the past few years, producers have changed their philosophy on how to feed beef cattle. We?ve determined that we can increase a producer?s return by as much as $150 to $200 per animal just by improving the quality of meat.?
Beef cattle research will take on increasing importance in terms of economic impact as Illinois?s competitive advantage in the area of nutrient management moves to the fore. With the United States having a quality beef deficit, there is plenty of room for growth.
?Currently in the United States, we are producing about 15 to 20 percent less high-quality beef than the market demands,? he said. ?We feel the eastern Corn Belt states and particularly Illinois can fill that unmet need.?
Faulkner and his colleagues look at ways in which nutrition and management systems can help producers develop a lean, high-quality meat product for consumers.
In short, research by Faulkner and others funded by the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR) developed an early weaning system for calves that results in beef market animals with improved carcass quality. Like U of I beef research dating back a century, this effort and those planned for the future in the new Beef/Sheep Facility seek to aid producers and consumers.
?Among the things we?ll be looking at in the future is evaluating the potential market for beef produced with no hormones and antibiotics and the best nutrition and management plans for that production,? said Faulkner. ?We?re shifting our focus to a more natural beef product. There?s not a particularly large market for that product now but we think there might be in the future, especially if ways can be found to produce that kind of beef economically.?
Faulkner is excited by the opportunities the new facilities will provide for researchers and the eventual impact of that work on Illinois beef producers and consumers.
?The current facilities date back to the early 20th century,? he said. ?We?ve had an opportunity now to design something for the future and something that will also be adaptable down the road as new technologies come into use.?
When complete, the new facility will have four feedlot barns. Two will house cow-calf research and the remaining two will have replacement heifers and bulls. There will also be a building for metabolism research.
?Just as University of Illinois research led the way from the start of the 20th century in developing and promoting science-based beef production, it will do so in the 21st century,? he said. ?In the future, we will see beef produced that is tailored to consumer demand and preferences.?
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