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Trends to watch in cattle nutrition
The beef cattle industry has evolved continuously since the first cattle arrived in North America over 500 years ago. One way to predict the future is to evaluate current trends and extrapolate what will happen. Industry-wide trends, a changing consumer demographic, as well as rapidly changing agricultural science and technology, will impact various segments of the beef industry at fundamental levels. Here are seven trends that will impact cattle nutrition in the future: 1) cost pressures will drive continued industry consolidation, 2) rapidly growing world population and more people achieving middle class incomes will result in greater demand for animal protein products, 3) feed price volatility will necessitate flexible production systems, 4) heightened consumer and corporate interest in how and what cattle are fed, 5) continued development of crops and feedstuffs with enhanced nutrient qualities, 6) better understanding of how the microbial population and cattle genetics interact will effect nutrition supply and nutrient requirements, and 7) the nexus of food, water, and energy security will drive changes in the geography of where and what cattle are fed. These changes are occurring on the local, regional, national, and global scale. Some of these trends may not seem intuitively linked to cattle nutrition, but they are all driving change in beef cattle production systems and, as a consequence, cattle nutrition programs. In order to provide producers with sound advice for the future, beef cattle nutritionists need to embrace available technologies and develop multidisciplinary research which addresses the changing landscape of the industry. They need to be innovative and creative in how they develop their research programs. Research programs need to become more interdisciplinary in order to address changes and provide sound research-based recommendations. Scientists training the next generation of nutritionists must prepare students to deal with current and future changes which will impact cattle nutrition. In light of the fact that feed costs make up over 60% of the cost of production in beef cattle enterprises, Extension programs need to position producers to adapt to a constantly changing industry landscape. Change in the beef cattle industry is certain, how we respond and adapt is up to us.
Keywords: beef cattle, nutrition, trends