BEEF CATTLE AND OTHER LIVESTOCK THAT ARE BORN WITH LOW BIRTHWEIGHT DUE TO CLIMATE-INDUCED STRESS DURING GESTATION ARE AT A GREATER RISK FOR EARLY-LIFE ILLNESS OR DEATH, WHICH IS A SERIOUS ANIMAL WELFARE ISSUE. LOW BIRTHWEIGHT LIVESTOCK ALSO GROW LESS EFFICIENTLY AND PRODUCE CARCASSES WITH LESS MEAT AND MORE FAT, WHICH IS A BARRIER TO THE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF THE US LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT BY IDENTIFYING AND TREATING THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES THAT CAUSE LOW BIRTHWEIGHT, WE CAN IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES AND VALUE IN THESE ANIMALS. PRELIMINARY FINDINGS SHOW THAT LOW BIRTHWEIGHT OFFSPRING ARE MORE SENSITIVE TO INFLAMMATION AND LESS SENSITIVE TO ADRENALINE THAN NORMAL. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO USE A RELIABLE SHEEP MODEL TO TEST WHETHER TREATING THESE CHANGES WITH PHARMACEUTICALS AND NUTRACEUTICALS EARLY IN LIFE WILL 1) INCREASE SKELETAL MUSCLE (MEAT) GROWTH AND DECREASE CARCASS FAT AND 2) IMPROVE GROWTH EFFICIENCY BY CORRECTING ABNORMALITIES IN GLUCOSE METABOLISM. WE EXPECT THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO SHOW WHETHER EARLY INTERVENTION WITH THESE ORAL SUPPLEMENTS IS AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY TO IMPROVE WELLBEING OUTCOMES AND RECOVER GROWTH PERFORMANCE IN LOW BIRTHWEIGHT ANIMALS. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR NEW MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT WILL HELP THE US LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY BEGIN TO RECOVER THE ~$2.5 BILLION LOST EACH YEAR DUE TO LOW BIRTHWEIGHT INDUCED BY ATYPICAL CLIMATE AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS OF LIVESTOCK.