** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** IN RESPONSE TO HEIGHTENED PUBLIC CONCERN REGARDING GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS AND THEIR LINK TO GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE SHIFTS, NUMEROUS GOVERNMENTS HAVE ENACTED POLICIES TO MINIMIZE GHG EMISSIONS, STRIVING FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY. IN CATTLE PRODUCTION, GHG EMISSIONS ORIGINATE FROM CH4 GENERATED DURING DIGESTION AND CH4 AND N2O EMISSIONS FROM MANURE. THESE EMISSIONS CAN BE INFLUENCED BY FORAGE QUALITY AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES. THE UNIQUENESS AND INNOVATION OF THIS PROPOSED PROJECT STEM FROM SYNERGIZING TWO AGRICULTURAL ENTITIES: GRAZING LIVESTOCK AND AQUACULTURE; MAKING THIS PROPOSED PROJECT TRULY EXCEPTIONAL, AS IT SEEKS TO EVALUATE GHG EMISSIONS FROM COW-CALF OPERATIONS WITHIN THE SAGEBRUSH STEPPE ECOSYSTEM, WHILE EVALUATING THE EFFICACY OF INTEGRATING PACIFIC DULSE (DEVALERAEA MOLLIS) SUPPLEMENTATION INTO GRAZING CATTLE DIETS AS A MEANS OF MITIGATING CH4 EMISSIONS. UNIQUE TO THIS PROJECT, PACIFIC DULSE, A FAST GROWING RED MACROALGAE, WILL BE CULTIVATED IN LAND-BASEDSYSTEMS USING RECIRCULATING AEROPONIC SYSTEM (RAS) FOR THE CULTIVATION OF SEAWEED IN CURATED CONDITIONS.FURTHERMORE, THIS PROPOSED PROJECT AIMS TO DISSEMINATE COMPREHENSIVE INSIGHTS INTO AGRICULTURAL GHG EMISSIONS AND THE RANGE OF STRATEGIES AVAILABLE FOR MITIGATION. THE BENEFICIARIES OF THIS KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION ENCOMPASS A DIVERSE AUDIENCE, SPANNING LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS, STUDENTS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THROUGH THESE OUTREACH EFFORTS, THE PROPOSED PROJECT ASPIRES TO RECTIFY PREVAILING MISCONCEPTIONS SURROUNDING CATTLE PRODUCTION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH GHG EMISSIONS, FOSTERING A MORE BALANCED AND ACCURATE PERCEPTION, WHILE HELPING PRODUCERS TO BE PROACTIVE ON MITIGATION STRATEGIES. THE PROPOSED PROJECT SUBMITTED TO EXTENSION, EDUCATION & USDA CLIMATE HUBS PARTNERSHIP (A1721) ADDRESSES THE FOLLOWING USDA PRIORITIES: ANIMAL HEALTH AND PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS; BIOENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENT; PLANT HEALTH AND PRODUCTION AND PLANT PRODUCTS. ADDITIONALLY, OUR PROPOSED PROJECT WILL TARGET SEVERAL OF THE LONG-TERM SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF A1721 GOALS.

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators