The Animal Science department is fortu-nate to have a great resource in the Cow/Calf Unit at the ARDC. The Unit maintains approxi-mately 440 beef cows on three and one-half sections of pastureland.

Revenue to support the cow herd and maintain working facilities is generated from the sale of animals produced at the unit.

The majority of the pastures are cool-season grasses, primarily smooth bromegrass. Warm-season pastures including little and big bluestem, indiangrass, and switchgrass make up the balance of the grassland. During the winter months, extensive use of crop residues in and around the ARDC provide a vital feed source for the cow herd and are supplemented with hay grown on the ARDC.

Supplemental mineral and protein are fed to complement the forage resources and these supplements are processed at the ARDC feed mill. An established rotational grazing plan and limited but strategic use of fertilizer and herbi-cides insure the sustainability and productivity of the pastures.

UNL Beef Cow/Calf HerdPlays Vital Role in Teaching and Research

UNIVERSIT Y OF NEBRASKA–LINCOLN * INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

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Vol. 3, No. 1 * Spring 2013

Recent improvements at the Cow/Calf unit include the renovation of the TV tower facility with a generous donation from Behlen Manu-facturing. These facilities have been updated to facilitate safer and easier handling of heifers that we are developing as replacements for both the teaching and research herds. The unit maintains two separate cow herds, a Teaching herd and a Physiology Research herd.

- Continued on Page 4

Field Notes....Who’s Visiting Us?

Over 7,600 people visited the ARDC in 2012. While many were from Nebraska and other areas of the United States, visitors also came from Argentina, Brazil, Rus-sia, and Vietnam.

Adult programs and visits focused on: beef production, profitability, and nutrition, bee-keeping, BQMS training, farm safety, grasslands and pastures, grain production and marketing, irrigation management, manure application, nitrogen management, no-till practices, on-farm research, organic farming, onsite wastewater training, pesticide application, planter training, pork quality as-surance, and turf management and production.

Some of the specialized tours and programs included: Conser-vation Agriculture Tour, Excellence in Ag Science workshop, Farm Be-ginnings® farm enterprise training, UNMC Ag Medicine for Occupa-tional and Environmental Health for Rural Health Professionals, and Veterans into Farming Program. Crop Management Diagnostic Clinics attracted participants from 45 counties in Nebraska and 6 states. And the CenUSA Bioen-ergy collaborators convened at the ARDC on several occastions for the group’s annual meeting, demonstrations, and tours.

Various 4-H programs draw youth to the ARDC throughout the year. And the fall Ag Aware-ness Festival continues to provide ag education for over 800 fourth-

- Continued on Page 4 In this issue...Cow/Calf Research

Also inc ludedin thi s i s sue :

• Field Notes

• 50 Years of Research

• Connecting with Schools

• What’s Happening

at the ARDC

• Awards and Recognition

Cattle from the teaching herd are trans-ported to East Campus for use in a number of classes, including Animal Management, Animal Production Skills, Livestock Evaluation, Cow-Calf Management, Beef Cattle Merchandising and Reproductive Physiology courses. Students in these classes gain experience in animal handling, artificial insemination, pregnancy diagnosis, evaluation of cattle and performance records for breeding purposes, semen collec-tion, live animal evaluation to estimate carcass traits, and gain hands-on experience managing a cow-calf operation. Cattle from this herd are also utilized in various extension programs and youth judging contests throughout the year.

The teaching herd consists of 220 heifers and mature cows, approximately 50 are pure-bred Angus. The remaining cows are Husker Red and Husker Black composites. The Husker composites blend Red or Black Angus genet-ics with Simmental or Gelbvieh to produce seedstock that meet the needs of commercial producers.

The Teaching herd calves from approxi-mately February 20th until March 31st each year and utilizes artificial insemination (AI) from elite industry sires to produce about 70% of the calf crop. Sires are chosen based on Ex-pected Progeny Differences (EPDs) calculated by the breed associations which are used to rank the genetic potential of sires for numer-ous traits. Following the AI period, cleanup bulls, some of which are produced within the program, service the remainder of the cows. To ensure correct pedigree, the Teaching Herd uti-lizes DNA marker information to assign calves to their correct sire thus enabling more accurate EPD information. The beef cattle merchandis-ing class, under the direction of Dr. Matt Span-

Teaching Herd - Hands-On Learning Opportunitygler, markets approximately 40 bulls through an annual sale held in April on East Campus.

The twentieth annual “Bulls Worth Waiting For” sale will be held April 13, 2013. The teach-ing herd also supplies breeding bulls and semen to other cow-calf operations within the uni-versity system, including the Physiology herd at ARDC and herds at Whitman (Gudmund-sen Sandhills Laboratory; GSL) and Virginia (Dalby-Halleck), Nebraska. One of the best ex-amples of the quality of seedstock produced by the teaching herd is the performance of progeny of these sires at GSL where steers consistently grade 80% Choice or better and reproductive success is greater than 90%.

The Teaching Herd has been utilized for numerous research projects as well including various trials looking at the efficacy of fly treat-ment regimes, heifer development trials seeking to validate different nutritional regimes, and research related to early indicators of reproduc-tive longevity as well as genetic research related to different DNA sample types and validation of genetic markers for weight traits. The teach-

The cow/calf herds consist of approximately 440 beef cows that utilize 3 1/2 sections of pastureland.

Calving is in full swing as this issue of ARDC Today goes to press. The first calf arrived February 20. UNL cow-calf herds at the ARDC are working to make significant contributions to the beef cattle industry.

Sale Provides Real-World Experienceand Qualilty Bulls

On April 13, UNL’s beef cattle merchandising class, under the direction of Dr. Matt Spangler, will host the annual “Bulls Worth Waiting For” sale at UNL’s East Campus in Lin-coln. The bulls were born and raised in UNL’s cow/calf teach-ing herd at the ARDC.

The merchandising course provides students with valu-able, practical experience while offering quality bulls for sale to the public.

Kolby Van Newkirk was a member of the beef cattle mer-chandising class in 2010. After graduating from UNL, he re-turned to the family cattle busi-ness, Van Newkirk Herefords east of Oshkosh, Nebraska.

While the UNL sale is a useful experience to have in your back pocket, Van NewKirk also noted that hearing from different speakers during the class was advantageous. He

- Continued on Page 3

Copies of theARDC 50th Anniversarycommemorative bookletsare available at the ARDCor electronically at ardc.unl.edu. The 56-page booklet archives the history of the research center and provides insights about our research and education mission.

INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Spr ing Issue 2013

3UNIVERSIT Y OF NEBRASKA–LINCOLN

The Agricultural Education classes at Mead High School were recently visited by a guest speaker from UNL’s College of Agricultural Science and Natural Re-sources (CASNR). Jill Petersen, a representative from the college, came to Mead High School to introduce the students to the many different agricultural majors that CASNR has to offer.

Students were engaged in many activities throughout the day and were in-formed that 1 in every 3 jobs in the state of Nebraska involve agriculture. Students learned that agriculture is truly the #1 industry in our state and they also learned how they could pursue a career in this ever-growing industry. This was a very edu-cational day for the students and we are thankful for the support our program gets from the University of Nebraska.

This January, students in Mead High School’s 9th grade Introduction to Agri-cultural Science and Technology class learned how the monogastric digestive system of swine works. The objective of the lesson was to identify and dissect the major organs of the digestive tract in fetal pigs. The students gained knowledge about the different types of digestive systems of livestock both polygastric (ruminant) and monogastric (non-ruminant). Students also learned about the 7 other body systems that contribute to the well-being of a livestock animal. This activity was a great learning tool for the students to learn about animal science.

Students in the Wildlife and Natural Resource Management class at Mead High School dissected a small perch and discovered all of the internal and external body parts of a fish. Students discovered how many parts there really are to a fish and learned valuable information about aquaculture and natural fisheries. Activities like these help create a greater awareness and connection to life sciences and agricul-ture. - Thomas Dux, Mead Agricultural Education Instructor

Connecting with Schools

ARDC Today

- Continued on Page 4

2

On April 12, 1962, the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare transferred land and former Nebraska Ordnance Plant buildings to the University of Nebraska for the purpose of education and research.

A September 23, 2012 open house at the ARDC celebrated these endeavors and also recognized another momentous milestone - the Morrill Act’s 150th anniver-sary. Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate! The open house drew more than 500 visitors.

Activities, exhibits and presentations appealed to visitors of all ages and focused on UNL research, educa-tion and extension.

Bus tours provided visitors with a glimpse of research at the ARDC. Faculty and staff involved in the research were available at tour stop for further discus-sion. Tour stops focused primarily on crop and livestock production, research and technology. Other tour stops included: buffalograss research, honeybee research, remote sensing aerial robotics demonstrations and fire equipment reconditioned for rural fire districts by the Nebraska Forestry Service Fire Shop. Tour participants also learned about the history of the research site by touring a load line used during the Nebraska Ordnance Plant.

There was plenty to keep all ages busy. UNL Ex-tension and local 4-Hers provided hands-on activities for children and demonstrated LEGO-based robotics. Southeast Research and Extension staff introduced visitors to interactive equipment providing information about agriculture, ecosystems, wildlife and other topics.

Many visitors enjoyed the Backyard Farmer panel presentation, as well as UNL ARDC Director, Mark Schroeder’s, presentation on the progress and history of the ARDC. Hungry guests enjoyed UNL Extension’s Beef Value Cuts demonstration complete with samples straight from the grill.

Ag commodity organizations and UNL depart-ments kept visitors well-informed with educational ma-terials while the Saunders County Livestock Association assisted with lunch. A bench was also dedicated honor-ing the late Warren Sahs, former ARDC director from 1962-1991. It was a day that will go down in history!

Thank you for helping us

celebrate 50 Years

of Research at the ARDC

UNL CALMIT’s “Hercules” all-terrain motorized remote sensing data collection vehicle was one of the exhibits on display outside of the Christenson Building.

UNL ARDC Director, Mark Schroeder provides visitors with a glimpse of the history and progress of the ARDC. UNL Turfgrass Researcher,

Keenan Amundsen, discusses turfgrass research with tour participants.

4-Hers and volunteers assist children with making bird feeders and ice cream in a bag.

Backyard Farmer hosts, Kim Todd, Roch Gaussoin, and Sarah Browning interact with the audience on lawn and garden issues.

UNL entomologist, Marion Ellis, leads a tour of the apiary. Guests also took a taste test – to determine what types of plants the honeybees collected nectar from based on the taste of the honey.

Visitors stop by the feedlot to learn about livestock production and research UNL beef speciallist, Galen Erickson.

Samantha and Grayson Palermo of Hickman enjoy UNL Dairy Store ice cream at the 50th anniversary celebration.

Gary Hein, Director of UNL’s Doctor of Plant Health Professional Program and Professor of Entomology, provides a close up look at what scientists see in a microscope.

Local livestock producers representing the Saunders County Livestock Association assist with serving lunch at the ARDC’s 50th Anniversary Open House.

IANR News Photo

Sale Provides Real-World Experience and Qualilty Bulls - Continued from Page 1

Cow/Calf Herd ManagementTwo long-time employees are integral to the function of the cow/calf unit, tending to

the daily care and management of the herds, as well as assisting with research and teaching projects. Karl Moline, manager, started with the University in 1981 and Jeff Bergman, ag technician II, has been with the University since 1980. In addition, students from the Uni-versity are also hired to assist as needed according to the various seasonal demands associ-ated with a cow/calf operation.

says, “It was interesting to hear varying perspectives on how breeders ran their sales and mar-keted their cattle - and on a variety of breeds.” Van Newkirk says the discussions on EPDs (Expected Progeny Differences) and genomic enhanced EPDs were also helpful. “We are just getting into genomic enhanced EPDs in our operation, so it was good to learn how it can impact the whole industry.”

The other goal of the merchandising class is to select quality animals for the sale. Butch Schuler of Schuler Red Angus southwest of Bridgeport, Nebraska is a repeat customer of the “Bulls Worth Waiting For” sale. He states, “We have found the UNL teaching herd to be a reliable source of genetic inputs for our composite program which is similar in biological type and breed make-up to the Husker Reds. One of the primary reasons we select genetic inputs from UNL is that their breeding program relies heavily on the objective data necessary to create cattle that can perform both on the range and in the feedlot efficiently. The disci-plined use of EPDs by Dr. Matt Spangler and his predecessor Dr. Jim Gosey is entirely evident given the balance the UNL bull offering has each year for calving ease, growth, maternal and carcass traits.” He says that he has been well satisfied with past bull purchases from UNL.

Learn more about the beef cattle merchandising class and sale at: www.animalscience.unl.edu/anscunlbullsale. Or contact Matt Spangler 402-472-6489 or mspangler2@unl.edu.

Jeff Bergman (left) and Karl Moline (right) tend to the day-to-day operations of the cow/calf herds and assist with research and teaching projects.

Jill Petersen, a representative with UNL’s College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (CASNR) visited with Mead High School students about the many different agricultural majors that CASNR has to offer.

Contact CASNR at 402-472-2201 if you have students that would like to visit campus or would like a representative to visit your school.

Calendar of EventsLearn more about what’s on the calendar,visit ardc.unl.edu.

See the “Beehicle”

on 4/1

March30 Farm Beginnings

April1 Bayer Bee Care Program4 Mob Grazing/Grassfed Beef Beginning Farmer Workshop5 SREC Spring Conference 9 Extension Board Training 12 Vegetable Farming Program13 Farm Beginnings13 Cow/Calf Bull Sale - UNL East Campus17 Nebraska Federal Women20 Beginning Beekeeping Workshop

May1 4-H Council Meeting3 OPS Bioenergy Tour7 Field Scout Training29-30 ATV Training

June4-6 4-H Babysitting Basics11 4-H Clover Kids Daycamp12 4-H Tagging and Tattooing13-15 Queen Rearing Beekeeping Workshop18 4-H Home Environment Workshop25 4-H Modeling Workshop28 Excellence in Ag Science Training

ARDC Today Spr ing Issue 2013

This issue of the ARDC Today was produced and edited by Deloris Pittman, Marketing and Promotions Manager. The ARDC Today is published quarterly by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln ARDC, 1071 County Road G, Ithaca, Nebraska, 68033-2234.

Mark Schroeder is the director, University of Nebraska–Lincoln ARDC. For more information, call (402)624-8030 or (800)529-8030. On the web at: ardc.unl.edu. Email: dpittman1@unl.edu.

University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension in Saunders County and the Southeast Research and Extension Center administrative offices are located at the ARDC. Links are located on the ARDC website.

© 2013 University of Nebraska–Lincoln Agricultural Research and Development Center.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln does not discriminate based on gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, national or ethnic origin or sexual orientation.

4UNIVERSIT Y OF NEBRASKA–LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Field Notes - Continued from Page 1

ing herd has never been static and strives to be progressive in adopting new nutritional, reproductive, and genetic research in order to stay current and better serve commer-cial cattlemen and students alike.

Dr. Matt Spangler, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Beef Genetics Specialist, supervises the Teach-ing herd. Spangler assumed this role in 2008. A native of Kansas, Spangler received his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Kansas State University, master’s in animal breeding and genetics from Iowa State, and a Ph.D. in ani-mal breeding and genetics from the University of Georgia. - Dr. Matt Spangler, UNL Department of Animal Science

The cow/calf research herd is used to conduct basic and applied research in beef cattle reproductive physiol-ogy and maintains 220+ cows. Dr. Andrea Cupp, a profes-sor in beef reproductive physiology, has supervised the research herd since August of 2000 when she began her employment in UNL’s Department of Animal Science.

Current research projects have implications to the

Physiology Research Herd

beef cattle industry and involve developing indicators of repro-ductive longevity in the cow herd. Longevity of a beef cow is related to reproductive success and number of eggs contained within her ovary (ovarian reserve). Females with greater ovarian reserve have been shown to have increased fertility as well

The cow/calf research and teaching update was a popular presentation at the ARDC’s 50th Anniversary Open House.

Teaching Herd - Continued from Page 1

as are maintained in the cowherd longer.Cupp’s laboratory, along with several collaborators

- Matt Spangler (UNL Department of Animal Science) and Robert Cushman (U.S. Meat Animal Research Center – U.S. MARC, Clay Center, Nebraska), are determining how indicators of ovarian reserve (number of eggs pres-ent in the ovary) may not only affect fertility, but other traits associated with their progeny and grand progeny (grandchildren). Ultrasonography is used to determine the number of antral follicles (follicles contain the eggs) as a predictor of ovarian reserve.

They have determined that females with greater numbers of antral follicles also have progeny with greater birth, weaning and adjusted 205 day weaning BW compared to females that have low numbers of antral fol-licles in their ovary. In addition, heifers born to females with high antral follicle numbers also had progeny with greater birth weight. Cupp’s laboratory is looking into the factors that influence how the ovarian reserve is es-tablished and possible links to growth and development of other tissues within the fetus.

A second project involves determining indicators of fertility in females at an early age so females can be selected prior to developing them as replacements in the herd. Within the physiology research herd, there is a population of females that have excess production of a steroid hormone called androstenedione. This steroid is a

Dr. Andrea Cupp

derivative of testosterone and is a male hormone. A majority of these females appear not to get preg-

nant as heifers, have lower antral follicle counts and have gene expression patterns similar to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which is a leading disorder of infertility in women. Cupp is working with collaborators, Dr. Jen-nifer Wood (Department of Animal Science, UNL) and Dr. Robert Cushman (U.S. MARC) to determine how the excess androstenedione affects genes regulating develop-ment of the egg and female fertility. The scientists are us-ing populations of genotyped cows at U.S. MARC as well as the population at the UNL research herd to develop potential female fertility and longevity markers which may ultimately be used by producers to influence their de-cisions about retention of females in their herd resulting in greater economic impacts and productivity. - Dr. Andrea Cupp, UNL Department of Animal Science

Ask a scientist...How has the drought affected cow/calf research? Dr. Andrea Cupp states, “We,

like other producers in the state, are trying to find enough feed resources to ensure that our cows have enough for the coming year. With the lack of hay and expense to buy more last year, we culled more cows than normal and have continued to remove cows at the beginning of the 2013 year. How does this affect our research? Since we are conducting trials on longevity as well as characterizing subpopulations of cows that have excess androgen and thus fertility—it limits our abilities to fully utilize cows when we have to cull additional ones. So the numbers of cows that we have for our research purposes become more limited.”

Dr. Matt Spangler

Ask a scientist...What type of resources are

available to assist cattle produc-ers with bull selection? Dr. Matt Spangler states, “There are sev-eral online resources that aid in understanding genetic selection tools such as EPDs, Economic Index Values, and Genomic In-formation. Among these are are several NebGuides and a recent UNL beef webinar as well as many helpful websites such as www.nbcec.org, www.beefefficiency.org and beef.unl.edu.”

graders each fall. Area schools and college classes often visit the ARDC for hands-on educational experiences.

People visit the ARDC for a many different reasons, whether it be a commodity group meeting, a tour or an educational program. This article doesn’t mention every group or person that has visited us, but provides a general idea of who is visiting the center.

When the Nebraska Sheep and Goat Producers met at the ARDC, John Holman from the Nebraska Stock Dog Association provided a herding demonstration with his dog and several ducks.

Awards and Recognition

Congratulations to Don McClure on his retirement. McClure started with the University in 1972. Ruby Urban (right) presented Don with a certificate at his retirement reception. Deloris Pittman (pictured below with ARDC director, Mark Schroeder) was named recipient of the 2012 ARDC Employee of the Year Award. The award is sponsored by the ARDC Social/Benefits Committee. Fellow employees nominate candidates and supervisors, employees and the committee score the nominees on several categories. Pittman is Marketing and Promotions Manager at the ARDC. Also nominated were Cheryl Dunbar and Rich Goodding. In addition to receiving a plaque, Pittman was also honored with prizes donated by Micro Beef, Mead Cattle Company, and the Hilltop Country Club in Wahoo. Pittman will also be recognized on a plaque displayed indefinitely at the ARDC August N. Christenson Research and Education Building. This is the eleventh year the award has been presented. Past recipients can be viewed online at http://ardc.unl.edu/eoy.shtml.

Too many pictures and not enough space!You can see more photos from the ARDC 50th anniversary, UNL’s cow/calf herd, and Mead Public School’s recent ag projects mentioned in this edition at: ardc.unl.edu/photos.