SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report

Sections

Basic Information
Additional Info

Status: Approved

Basic Information

Project No. and Title: NC214 : Increased Efficiency of Sheep Production
Period Covered: 10/01/2021 to 09/30/2022
Date of Report: 08/22/2022
Annual Meeting Dates: 06/06/2022 to 06/07/2022

Members: Bowdridge, Scott (scott.bowdridge@mail.wvu.edu) - West Virginia University; Burke, Joan (joan.burke@usda.gov) - USDA, ARS, Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center; Campbell, Brady (campbell1279@osu.edu) - Ohio State University; Ely, Don (dely@uky.edu) -University of Kentucky; Ehrhardt, Richard (ehrhard5@msu.edu) - Michigan State University; Froehlich, Kelly (kelly.froehlich@sdstate.edu) - South Dakota State University; Murphy, Tom (tom.murphy@usda.gov) - USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center; Petersson, Katherine (kpetersson@uri.edu) - University of Rhode Island; Pfeiffer, Morgan (morgan.pfeiffer@okstate.edu) - Oklahoma State University; Posbergh, Chris (christian.posbergh@montana.edu) - Montana State University; Wildeus, Stephan (swildeus@vsu.edu) - Virginia State University. Affiliates or invited guests: Arisman, Brian (University of Nebraska-Lincoln); Boyer, Tom (Sheep Genetics USA); Burgett, Rusty (National Sheep Improvement Program); Cushman, Bob (USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center); Freking, Brad (USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center); Heaton, Mike (USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center); Hall, LeAnn (South Dakota State University); Hess, Andrew (University Nevada-Reno); Kass, Elizabeth (University of Rhode Island); Lewis, Ron (University of Nebraska-Lincoln); Miller, Jim (retired, Louisiana State University); Redden, Reid (Texas AgriLife Research); Shultz, Susan (American Sheep Industry Association); Thorne, Jake (Texas AgriLife Research/University of Idaho).

Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Monday June 6^th: Tom Murphy chaired the meeting, Joan Burke was co-chair, and Chris Posbergh was secretary. Tom Murphy opened the meeting by welcoming in-person and virtual attendees to the US Meat Animal Research Center, going over the meeting agenda and objectives, and describing the structure of the meeting which was to be flexible. Introductions were made. Station Reports were made by participants.

Tuesday June 7^th: Remaining Station Reports were made by participants. Business meeting commenced. Nominations Committee nominated Brady Campbell as Secretary for 2022-2023. Joan Burke will move to Chair and Chris Posbergh will move to co-chair. Bret Taylor volunteered to host at USDA, ARS U.S. Sheep Experiment Station (Dubois, ID) in June 2023. Objective leaders have been identified and will hold virtual meetings early in FY23 with other objective participants to discuss collabortive experiments. Business meeting adjourned.

Accomplishments

The goal of the NC 214 multistate group is to increase the efficiency of sheep production through a plan specified by 4 major objectives focused on the general areas of: 1) reproductive efficiency, 2) meat yield and quality, 3) genetics, nutrition, production systems and 4) profitable and sustainable grazing systems. The group has defined a plan to do this through a cooperative multistate effort and began executing this plan in 2021. The outcomes, outputs and activities of this effort are outline below.

Short term outcomes:

None to report currently.

Outputs and Activities:

The cooperative outputs of this project, results of which were presented at this annual meeting, are described according to objective below. Given that this project is still in its infancy, individual station efforts that related to the projects objectives but are not collaborative at this point, are also included.

Objective 1: Improving reproductive efficiency.

-Estrous synchronization and induction in sheep (South Dakota State University)

-Breed and mating season effects on gestation length in landrace hair sheep ewes (Virginia State University and USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center)

-Effect of semen dose on pregnancy rate using liquid semen artificial insemination in an extensively managed hair sheep flock, Effect of cooling rate on sperm motion characteristics or ram semen during liquid storage at two temperatures, Retention of ram sperm motility during liquid storage in different types of shipping containers (Virginia State University).

-Impact of a suspected Cache Valley fever outbreak on lambing performance in a landrace hair sheep flock (Virginia State University and VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine).

Objective 2: Develop strategies to improve lean lamb growth and meat quality.

-Effects of lamb cover crop grazing systems on meat quality and composition (Michigan State University).

-Determining the relationship between growth estimated breeding values, feed intake, and feed efficiency in range sheep (Montana State University).

-Effect of differing carbon dioxide levels on lamb color in modified atmosphere packaging (Oklahoma State University).

-Relationships between complete blood cell count parameters and post-weaning feedlot growth in Katahdin wether lambs (USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center).

-Growth and reproductive characteristics in hair sheep rams rendered short-scrotum at birth or weaning (Virginia State University).

-Evaluation of sire FEC EBV type and Haemonchus contortus infection on feed efficiency in Katahdin sheep (West Virginia University).

Objective 3: Evaluate genetic resources, nutrient requirements, and production systems for lamb, wool, and milk production.

-Strategies for improving genetic resistance of Dorper and Rambouillet sheep gastrointestinal parasites (Texas AgriLife, University of Idaho, and West Virginia University).

-Relationships between complete blood cell count, udder health and conformation, and productivity in Katahdin ewes (USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center).

-Selection for post-weaning fecal egg count estimated breeding value is associated with greater antibody production after vaccination in Katahdin sheep, The effect of innate immune receptor activation on differential breed responses to LPS in sheep (West Virginia University).

Objective 4: Develop profitable and sustainable production systems that address grazing strategies for animal health and well-being and for ecosystem health, biological control of invasive plants and wildfire mitigation.

-Evaluating the environmental footprint of the U.S. sheep industry (Michigan State University). --Duddingtonia flagrans included in trace mineral mix or feed for control of gastrointestinal nematodes in sheep (USDA ARS Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center, University of Rhode Island, and Louisiana State University).

-Efficacy of Duddingtonia flagrans included in a commercial trace mineral mix against an experimental infection of Haemonchus contortus in lambs (University of Rhode Island; USDA, ARS Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center).

Milestones:

Project milestones are being developed in fall 2022 to execute and complete project objectives.

Impacts

For objective 1, the impacts in 2022 are greater understanding to the scientific community of the potential for novel compounds to regulate reproduction and factors impacting reproductive performance of hair sheep in intensive forage-based production systems. Additionally, several multi-institutional experiments have been initiated focused on quantifying genetic and non-genetic factors associated with ewe and ram reproductive performance. There were also 4 extension programs provided to regional and national audiences on improving reproductive management of sheep. In addition, there were 4 extension publications and 11 scientific publications produced by this group on the topic of understanding and improving reproductive management of sheep.
For objective 2, there were several collaborative efforts within this group aimed at improving lamb growth, meat, and carcass quality. These efforts yielded information on the potential of cover crop grazing systems to finish lambs, relationships among lamb growth and feed efficiency metrics, maintaining lamb meat quality through packaging, the impact and feasibility of methods of managing ram lambs to improve growth and carcass quality, and the interface between lamb health and post-weaning growth. Additional collaborative efforts amongst participating institutions have focused on collecting in-depth lamb carcass characteristics to aid in the development of new genetic tools aimed at improving lamb quality. These findings reached producer audiences through 4 regional extension programs and 4 scientific publications produced by this group on the topic of understanding and improvement lamb growth and carcass characteristics.
For objective 3, there are several collaborative projects underway which seek to understand genetic and non-genetic factors associated with flock productivity and health. One such project was the focus of a successful multi-institutional USDA NIFA grant (USDA ARS, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Purdue University, and the National Sheep Improvement Program; $650,000) that will incorporate genomic information into predictors of genetic merit and evaluate novel traits for their suitability in the National Sheep Improvement Program. Over the past year there has been considerable progress made in this objective in communications to the scientific community resulting in 15 publications. In addition, outreach efforts in the form of 9 extension/outreach programs, 1 national podcast, and 1 popular press article. Group members have also disseminated findings in this objective via consultation with many producers individually and via consultation with feed companies and involvement with the National Sheep Improvement Program. Additional efforts within this objective that will create large impacts in the future of this project are establishing national genetic reference flocks to provide strong genetic connectedness with industry flocks which will allow establishment of indices of genetic merit for additional traits of economic importance. Efforts to quantify these impacts will remain an ongoing effort.
For objective 4, several efforts have been initiated including a project to evaluate the environmental footprint of US lamb production, two projects evaluating novel methods to control gastrointestinal nematodes and another to understand the influence of season of birth on gastrointestinal nematode infection in lambs. There was a strong effort by members of this group to communicate findings related to this objective to the scientific community resulting in 17 publications and 2 popular press articles. Additional efforts of impact include increasing the accuracy of fecal egg count breeding values within the National Sheep Improvement Program via genotyping of reference populations and assisting members with analyses needed to obtain measures of genetic merit for parasite resistance.

Publications

Peer-reviewed publications & meeting abstracts

Acharya, R.S., Burke, J.M., Leslie, T., Loftin, K., Joshi, N., 2022. Wild bees respond differently to sampling traps with vanes of different colors and light reflectivity in a livestock pasture ecosystem. Sci. Rep. (Nature). (In Press)

Acharya, M., Burke, J.M., Wood, E., Huang, Y., Morse, P.D., Coffey, K., Edwards, J.L., Rosenkrans, C., 2021. Changes in cytochrome P450 in Katahdin ewes fed endophyte-infected tall fescue seed diets in spring and fall. J. Anim. Sci. 99 (Suppl. 2), 40-41 (Abstr.).

Acharya, R.S., Leslie, T., Fitting, E., Burke, J.M., Loftin, K., Joshi, N., 2021. Color of trap influences sampling of bees and other insects in livestock pasture ecosystem. Biology 10, 445. https://doi.org/10.3390/ biology10050445.

Acharya-Sharma, R., Burke, J., Leslie, T.W., Loftin, K., Joshi, N., 2021. Wild bees respond differently to passive sampling traps with vanes of different colors and light reflectivity in a livestock pasture ecosystem. Entomol. Soc. Amer.

Arisman, B.C., Burke, J.M., Morgan, J.L.M., Lewis, R.M., 2022. Quantification of environmental management systems for U.S. Katahdin sheep producers. World Cong. Genet. Appl. Livest. Prod., Rotterdam, The Netherlands, July 2022.

Becker, G.M., Burke, J.M., Lewis, R.M., Miller, J.E., Morgan, J.L.M., Notter, D.R., Murdoch, B.M., 2021. DEL-1 gene is associated with increased weaning fecal egg counts in Katahdin sheep. Int. Soc. Anim. Gen. (ISAG) Conf., July 2021.

Becker, G.M., Burke, J.M., Lewis, R.M., Miller, J.E., Morgan, J.L.M., Rosen, B.D., Van Tassell, C.P., Notter, D.R., Murdoch, B.M., 2022. Variants within genes EDIL3 and ADGRB3 are associated with divergent fecal egg counts in Katahdin sheep at weaning. Front. Genet. 13, Art. 817319; doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.817319.

Becker, G.M., Burke, J.M., Lewis, R.M., Miller, J.E., Morgan, J.L.M., Rosen, B.D., Van Tassell, C.P., Notter, D.R., Murdoch, B.M., 2022. Genome-wide association study identifies genetic variants within gene edil3 associated with increased weaning fecal egg counts in Katahdin sheep. Plant and Animal Genome XXIX Conference (January 8-12, 2022), San Diego, CA.

Brown, K., S. Wildeus, D. O’Brien. 2022. Effect of cooling rate on sperm motion characteristics of ram semen during liquid storage at two temperatures. Proc. ARD Research Symposium 2022, Atlanta, GA, April 2-5, p. 232

Burke, J.M., Wood, E.L., Miller, J.E., 2021. Season of lambing influences dynamics of gastrointestinal nematode infection of lambs in Arkansas, USA. WAAVP Conference, Dublin, Ireland, July 2021.

Burke, J.M., Wood, E.L., Miller, J.E., 2021. Influence of season of lambing on gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection of lambs. J. Anim. Sci. 99 (Suppl. 2), 39 (Abstr.).

Burke, J.M., Miller, J.E., 2021. Multi-species grazing for control of gastrointestinal nematodes – A review. J. Anim. Sci. 99 (Suppl. 2), 36-37 (Abstr.).

Callendar, M., S. Wildeus, D. O’Brien. 2022. Growth, libido and ejaculate characteristics in post-pubertal hair sheep rams rendered short-scrotum at birth and weaning. Proc. ARD Research Symposium 2022, Atlanta, GA, April 2-5, p. 232

Freking, B. A. and T. W. Murphy. 2021. Comparison of performance of F1 Romanov crossbred ewes with wool and hair breeds during spring lambing under intensive and extensive production systems. J. Anim. Sci. doi:10.1093/jas/skaa397.

Griffin, C., S. Wildeus, D. O’Brien. 2022. Retention of ram sperm motility during liquid storage in different types of shipping containers. Proc. ARD Research Symposium 2022, Atlanta, GA, April 2-5, p. 66

Knuth, R. M., W. C. Stewart, J. B. Taylor, B. Bisha, C. J. Yeoman, M. L. Van Emon, and T. W. Murphy. 2021. Relationships among intramammary health, udder and teat characteristics, and productivity of extensively ewes. J. Anim. Sci. doi:10.1093/jas/skab059

Kochendoerfer N.*, Shepherd. S.J., Posbergh C.J., Huson H.J., Barbano D.M., Thonney, M.L. 2022. Genetic make-up, milk production, and infrared predicted milk constituents in a commercial dairy sheep flock of variable breed composition. Sheep & Goat Research Journal

Maierle, C.L., A.R. Weaver, E.E. Felton, S.P. Greiner, S.A. Bowdridge. 2021. Impact of H. contortus on feed intake in Katahdin sheep selected for parasite resistance.

McCoski, S., A. Bradbery, R. d. S. Marques, C. Posbergh, and C. Sanford. 2021. Maternal Nutrition and Developmental Programming of Male Progeny. Animals 11(8):2216.

McMillan, A.J., Brown, D.J., Burke, J.M., Morgan, J.L., Lewis, R.M., 2022. Cross-validation of single-step genetic evaluation in U.S. Katahdin sheep. World Cong. Genet. Appl. Livest. Prod., Rotterdam, The Netherlands, July 2022.

Miller, J.E., Burke, J.M., Terrill, T.H., 2021. BioWorma as an aid for controlling ruminant nematode parasites. J. Anim. Sci. 99 (Suppl. 2), 36 (Abstr.).

Murphy, T. W., C. G. Chitko-McKown, M. P. Heaton, and B. A. Freking. 2021. Effect of TMEM154 E35K variant (haplotypes 1 and 3) on the incidence of ovine lentivirus infection and ewe productivity during lifetime exposure. J. Anim. Sci. (in press). doi:10.1093/jas/skab304

Murphy, T. W. and B. A. Freking. 2021. Comparison of performance of F1 Romanov crossbred ewes with wool and hair breeds during fall lambing and body weight and longevity through 6 production years. J. Anim. Sci. doi:10.1093/jas/skaa400.

Murphy, T. W. 2022. Genetic approaches to improve reproductive performance in the U.S. sheep industry. Am. Soc. Anim. Sci. Ann. Meeting.

Murphy, T. W. and S. Wildeus. 2021. Breed and mating season effects on gestation length in landrace hair sheep ewes. Southern Sec. Am. Soc. Anim. Sci. Ann. Meeting.

Murphy, T. W. and J. B. Taylor. 2021. The relationship between milk score near parturition and udder score near weaning and their effects on Polypay, Rambouillet, and Targhee ewe productivity. Trans. Anim. Sci. (in press).

Murphy, T. and S. Wildeus. 2022. Breed and mating season effects on gestation length in landrace hair sheep ewes. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 100:43, Suppl. S1

Notter, D.R., Heidaritabar, M., Burke, J.M., Shirali, M., Murdoch, B.M., Morgan, J.L.M., Morota, G., Sonstegard, T.S., Becker, G.M., Spangler, G.L., MacNeil, M.D., Miller, J.E., 2022. Single nucleotide polymorphism effects on lamb fecal egg count estimated breeding values in progeny-tested Katahdin sires. Front. Genet. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.866176.

O’Brien, D. and S. Wildeus. 2021. Influence of Season of Birth, Breed and Reproductive Status on Carcass Traits of Male Hair Sheep Lambs. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 99:38, Suppl. S2

O’Brien, D., S. Wildeus and W. Brousseau. 2022.Producer certification in mobile processing: Mitigating lack of access to sheep and goat processing in Virginia. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 100: 3, Suppl. S1

O’Brien, D. and S. Wildeus. 2022. Growth and carcass traits of short scrotum and castrated hair sheep lambs on pasture during different seasons. Proc. ARD Research Symposium 2022, Atlanta, GA, April 2-5, p. 322

Page, C. M., R. M. Knuth, T. W. Murphy, D. C. Rule, B. Bisha, J. B. Taylor, and W. C. Stewart. Effect of increasing dietary zinc sulfate fed to gestating ewes: II Milk somatic cell count, microbial populations, and fatty acid composition. Submitted to Applied Animal Science (in press).

Patton, C., S. P. Greiner, S.A. Bowdridge. 2021. Determination of circulating interleukin-13 in sheep after infection with Haemonchus contortus.

Smith, D., Michael Thonney, Katherine Petersson, Maria L Hoffman., 2021. PSIV-11 Effects of feeding a 50% cranberry vine pellet on milk components during lactation in sheep. J. Anim. Sci. 99 (Suppl. 3), 300 (Abstr.)

Smith, D., K.L. Bentley, S.A. Bowdridge. 2021. Selection for low fecal egg count estimated breeding value correlates with greater circulating antibody in sheep

Robertson, M., S. Wildeus, D. O’Brien. 2022. Effect of semen dose on pregnancy rate using liquid semen AI in hair sheep. Proc. ARD Research Symposium 2022, Atlanta, GA, April 2-5, p. 65

Rohrbaugh, R.T., S.P. Greiner, S.A. Bowdridge. 2021. Anthelmintic resistance in Angus bulls participating in regional performance tests.

Snider, A. P., B. A. Freking, J. R. Miles, L. A. Rempel, M. S. Crouse, R. A. Cushman, S. Wildeus, and T. W. Murphy. 2022. Sperm characteristics of maternal composite rams before and after the breeding season. Soc. St. Rep. Ann. Meeting.

Terrill, T.H., Whitley, N.C., Burke, J.M., Miller, J.E., 2021. Use of sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) as a nutraceutical forage for livestock. J. Anim. Sci. 99 (Suppl. 2), 34-35 (Abstr.).

Thorne, J.W., Bowdridge, B.A., Murdoch, B.M., R.R. Redden. Response of Rambouillet Lambs to an Artificial Gastrointestinal Nematode Infection. Animals 2022, 12(9). Doi:10.3390/ani12091199

Thorne, J.W. R.R. Redden, S.A. Bowdridge, G.M. Becker, M.R. Stegemiller, B.M. Murdoch. 2022. Genome-wide analysis of sheep artificially or naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes. Annual Meeting of American Society of Animal Science and Canadian Society of Animal Science. Oklahoma City, OK, June 26^th-29^th, 2022.

Weaver, A.R., J.J. Garza, S.P. Greiner, S.A. Bowdridge. 2021. Immune mechanisms of Texel sheep to adult and egg stages of Haemonchus contortus. Parasit. Immunol.

Whitley, N.C., Burke, J.M., Smith, E., Lyte, K., Terrill, T.H., 2022. Determining the efficacy of Red Cell® in combination with anthelmintic drugs against indicators of gastrointestinal nematode parasitism in sheep and goats. Small Rum. Res. 209, Article 106656.

Whitley, N.C., Dykes, G., Vazquez, J., Burke, J.M., Terrill, T.H., 2021. Effect of copper oxide wire particles with and without anthelmintic treatment or anthelmintic treatment alone on gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) fecal egg counts in goats. J. Anim. Sci. 99 (Suppl. 2), 43 (Abstr.).

Wildeus, S., D. O’Brien, G. J. Pent, and K. M. Payne. 2021. Growth performance of short scrotum and castrated hair sheep lambs on pasture during different seasons. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 99:40, Suppl. S2

Wildeus, S., T. Murphy, and D. O’Brien. 2021. Evaluation of Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix hair sheep under accelerated lambing using purebred and terminal sire mating: Ewe fertility, prolificacy, and productivity. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 99: 487–488, Suppl. S3

Wildeus, S, T. Murphy, and D. O’Brien. 2021. Evaluation of Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix hair sheep under accelerated lambing using purebred and terminal sire mating: Lamb survival and body weight. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 99: 488–489, Suppl. S3

Wildeus, S., T. Murphy, J. Lee, C. Teutsch, and D. O’Brien. 2022. Pasture-based production of landrace hair sheep under accelerated mating: Use of a terminal sire. Proc. ARD Research Symposium 2022, Atlanta, GA, April 2-5, p. 320

Extension publications

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2022. Essential supplies for lambing season. Michigan Shepherds News.

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. A basic biosecurity quarantine protocol for new flock additions. Michigan Shepherd News

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. Preventing White Muscle Disease in Sheep with Selenium and Vitamin E Supplementation. Michigan Shepherd News.

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. Controlling coccidiosis in your flock. Michigan Shepherd News

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. Is pasture lambing a good option for your farm? Michigan Shepherd News.

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. Braising is a fantastic method to make delicious meals out of less expensive lamb cuts. Michigan Shepherd News.

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. Processing lambs and newborn care. Video created for MSU small ruminant birth program.

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. Birth signs and normal birth process. Video created for MSU small ruminant birth program.

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. Colostrum management. Video created for MSU small ruminant birth program.

Ehrhardt, R.A. 2021. Lamb mortality diagnosis. Video created for MSU small ruminant birth program.

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