Improving Animal Health, Animal Handling, Food Safety and Productivity Through Improvements in Wellbeing.

<p>NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:<br/> Developing best management practices for handling and use of poultry litter continues to be an important area of research in concentrated poultry production areas such as northwest Arkansas. Great strides have been made in maximizing the usefulness of the litter as a nutrient source for pastures and meadows while at the same time minimizing loss of these nutrients to nearby streams and rivers. One aspect of the poultry litter problem has not received much attention, however, and this is the potential for nutrient runoff from litter that has accumulated around the poultry houses themselves. Poultry litter gets onto the ground around the houses in two important ways. First, during bird harvest and clean-out operations litter is often spilled onto the driveway leading into the house. Second, and perhaps more importantly, exhaust fans that ventilate
and cool the houses suck the very finest, nutrient-rich dust fractions of the litter out of the exhaust vents and deposit them on the soil directly adjacent to the houses. Some dust also settles onto the roofs of the poultry houses. The poultry litter dust has been observed to accumulate to a thickness of several inches on the ground near these fans. These areas of dust accumulation may represent sources of nutrients that can enter nearby rivers and streams during rainfall events. The intent of the proposed study is, first, to document the extent of this problem by measuring the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in runoff from the area near the houses. Second, we intend to develop best management practices (BMPs) designed to minimize the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus leaving the poultry production site in runoff. These BMPs involve the use of waddles filled with a medium that will
adsorb nitrogen and phosphorus from the runoff water as the water moves through the baffle. These waddles will be placed in such a way that all runoff water will have to pass through these waddles before leaving the site. In addition, we plan to place ""socks"" of waddle-like material filled with nutrient adsorptive media on the downspouts of the poultry houses to capture nutrients that had settled onto the roofs of the houses. Finally, after assessing the effectiveness of our proposed BMPs, we intend to write a manual that can be used by poultry growers everywhere to minimize nutrient losses to the environment from their operations.

<p>APPROACH:
<br/>Research protocols for a variety of variables including housing, management of animals during grow-out, transportation and slaughter will be examined for their potential to affect animal wellbeing. When the effect of the variable to be studied is determined to have potential as either a positive or negative impact on wellbeing, that variable will be added to the protocol. This method serves the purpose of expanding the amount of research that can be done while maximizing the value of the research. It also minimized the number of animals required to study a specific welfare component.</p><p>
PROGRESS: <br/>2013/01 TO 2013/09 <br/>Target Audience: This year, both my graduate students and I presented work to a variety of groups including the scientific community, the general public, industry and government personnel. The primary target audience is made up of all of these groups with special emphasis on the scientific and industry groups. Changes/Problems: A series of studies involving various videoobservations of broiler chickens has been planned, but difficulties in getting broadband internet service to the farm has delayed the projects. These are anticipated to begin in the 1st quarter of 2014. A study on the behavior of various breeds of cattle for slaughter is completed with published results anticipated in calendar 2014. This is the first completed project in this series. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
The project has provided significant professional development for a PhD candidate and a variety of student helpers. in addition, it has aided in the training of industry personnel to improve the wellbeing of the animlas being handled. In addition, presentations to youth groups has started the process of traing them to mimize the stress on farm animals. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Various meetings including: January 28, 2013 The U. S. Poultry & Egg Association, International Exposition, Atlanta, GA, Animal Care and Handling Seminar �Stunning Systems for Chickens & Turkeys � CO2- LAPS � Electrical.� January 24, Crawford County 4-H, Animal Welfare: Why do we care?, Van Buren, AR February 5, 2013 North American Gamebird Association, Kansas City, MO. �A Perspective on Animal Welfare: Looking Back to Move
Forward.� February 14, 2013 Sebastian County Arkansas Natural Resources Conservation Service, Poultry Grower�s Workshop, �Answering Critics of Modern Farming.� March 12, 2013 Butterball Annual Sale Meeting, Looking Back to Move Forward, Raleigh, NC April 6, 2013. Meeting of Helping Paws of Northwest Arkansas, Challenges in Animal Welfare, Rogers, AR April 10, 2013. Cobb-Vantress Welfare Committee Meeting, Update: New Technology for Euthanasia & Stunning at Slaughter, Siloam Springs, AR April 18, 2013. National Chicken Council�s Chicken Media Summit, Issues in the News: Poultry Welfare, New Bern, NC May 7, 2013 Training Session, Animal Welfare; Modern Perspective, Animal Handling and Mob Grazing , Livestock and Forestry Branch Station, Batesville, AR May 17, 2012 The U. S. Poultry & Egg Association, Processors Workshop, Atlanta, GA, �LAPS A New
Humane Method of Poultry Stunning� May 23, 2013; Japanese Delegation: Animal Welfare � Why do we Care?, Fayetteville, AR August 12, 2013. Springdale Rotary Club, Controversies with Modern Agriculture, Springdale, AR August, 2013, Arkansas Cattlemen�s Association Annual Convention September, 5, 2013, Nutrition- An Animal Welfare Challenge, Annual Arkansas Nutrition Conference, Rogers, AR September 17, 2013, Canadian Delegation and Faculty from Mississippi State University, LAPS � A New, Novel and More Humane Method of Poultry Slaughter, Koscuisko, MS September 18, 2013, U. S. Poultry & Egg Association Poultry Production & Health Seminar, New NCC Welfare Guidelines. September 28, 2013 National Beef Ambassador Competition Awards Banquet, Animal Well Being � Current Issues Graduate Student Presentations: May 29, 2013: Breed-type Effects for Balking
Behavior in Cattle M.L. Thomas, Y.V. Thaxton, A.H. Brown, Jr., K.E. Pfalzgraf , K.S. Anschutz, C.F. Rosenkrans, Jr. University of Arkansas, S-1045 Regional Project meeting February 8, 2013: Balking behavior in cattle breed-type predominance with welfare and carcass implications, M.L. Thomas, Y.V. Thaxton, A.H. Brown, Jr., K.E. Pfalzgraf, K.S. Anschutz, and C.F. Rosenkrans, Jr., Abstract to Contract poster presentation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. February 4, 2013: Balking behavior in cattle breed-type predominance based on coat color and carcass implications, M. L. Thomas , Y. V. Thaxton , A. H. Brown, Jr , K. E. Pfalzgraf , K. S. Anschutz, C. F. Rosenkrans, Jr. Southern Section American Society of Animal Science, Orlando, FL October 17, 2012: Speaker: Balking Behavior in Cattle: Current Research, Beef Track; American Meat Institute Animal Care and Handling Conference, Kansas
City, MO February 2012: Breed group effects for chute exit velocity as an indicator trait for temperament in weaner cattle, M.L. Thomas, A.H. Brown, Z.B. Johnson, S.W. Coleman, M.A. Elzo, S.M.DeReouen, D.E. Frank, W.E. Wyatt, R.C. Vann, G.R. Hansen, and D. G. Riley, American Society of Animal Science, Southern Section, Birmingham, A What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Fourresearch projectsare planned for the next reporting period, one with swine and three with poultry.

<br/>PROGRESS: <br/>2012/01/01 TO 2012/12/31 <br/>OUTPUTS: January 24, 2012 The U. S. Poultry & Egg Association, International Exposition, Atlanta, GA, Animal Welfare Seminar "LAPS A New Humane Method of Poultry Stunning" National Chicken Council Technical Regulatory Meeting; "The Center for Food Animal Wellbeing Activities and Goals" January 25, 2012 The U. S. Poultry & Egg Association, International Exposition, Atlanta, GA, General Session for Broiler Industry: "Casting a Vision for the American Poultry Industry: Social Issues" February 23, 2012 Cargill Turkey Growers, Southern Missouri Group, Cassville, MO, "Looking Back to Move Forward" March 14, 2012 George's Inc. Animal Welfare Training, Springdale, AR, "Animal Welfare - Why Do We Care" March 20, 2012 Alltech Short Course " Animal Wellbeing - What You Should Know" March 27, 2012 Tyson Short Course " Animal Wellbeing - What
You Should Know" April 13, 2012 NW Arkansas District Dietetic Association Annual Meeting, Springdale, AR, "Controversy with Modern Animal Agriculture - Why" April 21, 2012 Cargill Turkey Growers, Northern Missouri Group, Eldon, MO, "Looking Back to Move Forward" April 23, 2012 Fieldale Farms, In, Baldwyn, GA, "LAPS A New Humane Method of Poultry Stunning" April 25, 2012 The Poultry Federation, Spring Symposium, Rogers, AR, "Looking Back to Move Forward" May 17, 2012 The U. S. Poultry & Egg Association, Processors Workshop, Atlanta, GA, "LAPS A New Humane Method of Poultry Stunning" June 26 , 2011 PAACO Poultry Training, Fayetteville, AR "Poultry 201 - Slaughter of Broilers and Turkeys" PARTICIPANTS: Collaborators included: Karen D. Christensen, OK Foods, Inc. Fort Smith, Arkansas; TechnoCatch, LLC, Koscuisko, Mississippi, C. D. Scanes, U of Wisconsin - Madison, Alejandro Corzo,
Mississippi State University. Partners providing "in kind" funding included OK Foods, Inc., Fort Smith, Arkansas; TechnoCatch, LLC, Koscuisko, Mississippi; Cargill, Wichita, KS, and Butterball, Kings Mountain, North Carolina TARGET AUDIENCES: This project's target audience consists of consumers, retail outlets, news media and scientists all of whom have been and will be reach using meetings, publications and presentations which are aimed at expanding their knowledge and thus affecting change in practices which will benefit all groups. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.</p>