Animal and Manure Management for Sustainable Production and Reduced Environmental Impact

The goal of the project is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships between nutrient inputs in livestock production systems, as derived from agricultural and industrial byproducts, and the impact on nutrient utilization, animal health, gastrointestinal ecology, and pathogen shedding in an effort to minimize environmental impact, accomplished through the four interlinked objectives as outlined and depicted below: 1. Manipulate swine dietary ingredients to improve nutrient utilization and reduce nutrient excretion and the emission of gasses into the environment. 2. Quantify and modify swine gastrointestinal microflora to improve nutrient utilization and reduce the emission of gasses into the environment. 3. Quantify the impact of swine dietary regimens on nutrient metabolism and immune function of the gastrointestinal tract and the whole animal in order to assess the potential tradeoffs between environmental concerns and production. 4. Exploit genetically-mediated mechanisms involved in Salmonella colonization of the swine gastrointestinal tract to reduce subsequent shedding into manure.