Missouri is the third largest beef producer in the country and with the rise on cost of food, farmers are now struggling to feed their cows. Cows distribute more than one billion dollars to Missouri's economy.
Monty Kerley, professor of animal nutrition in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, is studying how cows can gain more weight by eating less. Which can save farmers up to 40 percent on their cost of feed for their cows. Missouri University researchers are studying which biological process could make cows eat efficiently.
They examined the basic compound that cells use for energy, commonly known as ATP, using previous research that demonstrated how DNA influences weight gain in cows. Some animals can sythesis ATP faster than other animals, which helps them to use energy more efficiently.
"We would love to go to the rancher and say, 'you can reduce your feed cost 40 percent with the same weight gain,'" Kerley said.
It's pretty cool that this guy has figured out how to save farmers money and have cows eat less, but still gain the same amount of weight as they were when they were eating a lot of food. To learn more about this, just go to science daily.com
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