Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages

Autores
Bolletta, Andrea Ivana
Año de publicación
2020
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
tesis doctoral
Estado
versión aceptada
Colaborador/a o director/a de tesis
MacAdam, Jennifer W.
Descripción
Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), de la Utah State University, en agosto de 2020
Despite the increasing worldwide demand for beef as a protein source, consumers are concerned about the sustainability of ruminant production systems. Their main concerns are animal welfare for feedlot-fed animals, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global warming and worker safety. Traditional feedlot-based beef production systems have been associated with locally greater levels of soil, water and air contamination, as well as the overuse of antibiotics and growth hormones. The use of legume pastures such as cicer milkvetch (CMV) and birdsfoot trefoil (BFT), which fix their own nitrogen (N) and often contain beneficial secondary compounds such as tannins and provide for rapid gain and improved meat quality, holds promise as an alternative strategy to feedlots for beef finishing. These legumes can mitigate GHG emissions without reducing beef productivity and improve enterprise profitability when sold locally as natural or organic pasture-finished meat. Tannins can be beneficial to ruminants or some types, especially in high concentrations, can have anti-herbivore properties. The condensed tannins synthesized by BFT are known to prevent bloat and to enhance the production of ruminants. More generally, tannins are beneficial not only to the plants that accumulate them, but can also slow soil mineralization of organic matter, better matching N release to plant uptake. Ruminants can convert fibrous feedstuffs not suitable for human consumption, such as corn stalks, into sources of high-quality protein for human consumption, and thrive without grain on pastures and hay produced on marginal land that is not suitable for cultivation. Legumes pay a key role in the mitigation of environmental impacts of beef production, because their elevated forage quality increases digestion rate, intake and animal gain, their tannins improve the efficiency of rumen N utilization, and their quality and tannin concentrations both tend to reduce enteric CH4 emissions and N losses. Likewise, plant litter and manure from tannin-containing species would help to sequester N and carbon in the production system, helping to achieve sustainable beef production. Evaluation of the sustainability of ruminant production systems should be based on their environmental impact, the nutritive value of the food produced, the appropriate use of agricultural land, and the economic sustainability of producers and their rural communities.
EEA Bordenave
Fil: Bolletta, Andrea Ivana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bordenave; Argentina.
Materia
Alimentación de los Animales
Ganado Bovino
Pastizales
Sostenibilidad
Leguminosas
Animal Feeding
Cattle
Pastures
Sustainability
Legumes
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
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spelling Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume ForagesBolletta, Andrea IvanaAlimentación de los AnimalesGanado BovinoPastizalesSostenibilidadLeguminosasAnimal FeedingCattlePasturesSustainabilityLegumesTesis para obtener el grado de Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), de la Utah State University, en agosto de 2020Despite the increasing worldwide demand for beef as a protein source, consumers are concerned about the sustainability of ruminant production systems. Their main concerns are animal welfare for feedlot-fed animals, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global warming and worker safety. Traditional feedlot-based beef production systems have been associated with locally greater levels of soil, water and air contamination, as well as the overuse of antibiotics and growth hormones. The use of legume pastures such as cicer milkvetch (CMV) and birdsfoot trefoil (BFT), which fix their own nitrogen (N) and often contain beneficial secondary compounds such as tannins and provide for rapid gain and improved meat quality, holds promise as an alternative strategy to feedlots for beef finishing. These legumes can mitigate GHG emissions without reducing beef productivity and improve enterprise profitability when sold locally as natural or organic pasture-finished meat. Tannins can be beneficial to ruminants or some types, especially in high concentrations, can have anti-herbivore properties. The condensed tannins synthesized by BFT are known to prevent bloat and to enhance the production of ruminants. More generally, tannins are beneficial not only to the plants that accumulate them, but can also slow soil mineralization of organic matter, better matching N release to plant uptake. Ruminants can convert fibrous feedstuffs not suitable for human consumption, such as corn stalks, into sources of high-quality protein for human consumption, and thrive without grain on pastures and hay produced on marginal land that is not suitable for cultivation. Legumes pay a key role in the mitigation of environmental impacts of beef production, because their elevated forage quality increases digestion rate, intake and animal gain, their tannins improve the efficiency of rumen N utilization, and their quality and tannin concentrations both tend to reduce enteric CH4 emissions and N losses. Likewise, plant litter and manure from tannin-containing species would help to sequester N and carbon in the production system, helping to achieve sustainable beef production. Evaluation of the sustainability of ruminant production systems should be based on their environmental impact, the nutritive value of the food produced, the appropriate use of agricultural land, and the economic sustainability of producers and their rural communities.EEA BordenaveFil: Bolletta, Andrea Ivana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bordenave; Argentina.Utah State UniversityMacAdam, Jennifer W.2022-03-23T13:32:42Z2022-03-23T13:32:42Z2020-08info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesisinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06info:ar-repo/semantics/tesisDoctoralapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/11478https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7850/https://doi.org/10.26076/6ed2-4b1denginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria2025-09-29T13:45:30Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/11478instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2025-09-29 13:45:30.907INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages
title Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages
spellingShingle Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages
Bolletta, Andrea Ivana
Alimentación de los Animales
Ganado Bovino
Pastizales
Sostenibilidad
Leguminosas
Animal Feeding
Cattle
Pastures
Sustainability
Legumes
title_short Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages
title_full Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages
title_fullStr Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages
title_full_unstemmed Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages
title_sort Enhancing the Production and Sustainability of Pasture-Fed Beef Using Non-Traditional Legume Forages
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Bolletta, Andrea Ivana
author Bolletta, Andrea Ivana
author_facet Bolletta, Andrea Ivana
author_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv MacAdam, Jennifer W.
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Alimentación de los Animales
Ganado Bovino
Pastizales
Sostenibilidad
Leguminosas
Animal Feeding
Cattle
Pastures
Sustainability
Legumes
topic Alimentación de los Animales
Ganado Bovino
Pastizales
Sostenibilidad
Leguminosas
Animal Feeding
Cattle
Pastures
Sustainability
Legumes
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), de la Utah State University, en agosto de 2020
Despite the increasing worldwide demand for beef as a protein source, consumers are concerned about the sustainability of ruminant production systems. Their main concerns are animal welfare for feedlot-fed animals, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global warming and worker safety. Traditional feedlot-based beef production systems have been associated with locally greater levels of soil, water and air contamination, as well as the overuse of antibiotics and growth hormones. The use of legume pastures such as cicer milkvetch (CMV) and birdsfoot trefoil (BFT), which fix their own nitrogen (N) and often contain beneficial secondary compounds such as tannins and provide for rapid gain and improved meat quality, holds promise as an alternative strategy to feedlots for beef finishing. These legumes can mitigate GHG emissions without reducing beef productivity and improve enterprise profitability when sold locally as natural or organic pasture-finished meat. Tannins can be beneficial to ruminants or some types, especially in high concentrations, can have anti-herbivore properties. The condensed tannins synthesized by BFT are known to prevent bloat and to enhance the production of ruminants. More generally, tannins are beneficial not only to the plants that accumulate them, but can also slow soil mineralization of organic matter, better matching N release to plant uptake. Ruminants can convert fibrous feedstuffs not suitable for human consumption, such as corn stalks, into sources of high-quality protein for human consumption, and thrive without grain on pastures and hay produced on marginal land that is not suitable for cultivation. Legumes pay a key role in the mitigation of environmental impacts of beef production, because their elevated forage quality increases digestion rate, intake and animal gain, their tannins improve the efficiency of rumen N utilization, and their quality and tannin concentrations both tend to reduce enteric CH4 emissions and N losses. Likewise, plant litter and manure from tannin-containing species would help to sequester N and carbon in the production system, helping to achieve sustainable beef production. Evaluation of the sustainability of ruminant production systems should be based on their environmental impact, the nutritive value of the food produced, the appropriate use of agricultural land, and the economic sustainability of producers and their rural communities.
EEA Bordenave
Fil: Bolletta, Andrea Ivana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bordenave; Argentina.
description Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), de la Utah State University, en agosto de 2020
publishDate 2020
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2020-08
2022-03-23T13:32:42Z
2022-03-23T13:32:42Z
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06
info:ar-repo/semantics/tesisDoctoral
format doctoralThesis
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/11478
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7850/
https://doi.org/10.26076/6ed2-4b1d
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/11478
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7850/
https://doi.org/10.26076/6ed2-4b1d
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Utah State University
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Utah State University
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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