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"It is not just one project but four
initiatives," said Michael Hutjens, U of I Extension dairy
specialist who heads IL-LIFT. The team also includes researchers at
the U of I College of Veterinary Medicine and Southern Illinois
University at Carbondale. "We may add more initiatives in the
future," he said.
"A number of studies over the past few
years have pointed out that the livestock industry in Illinois is in
a state of decline. The reasons for that are numerous and complex,
but it is important to recognize the significant contributions made
by our beef, dairy, sheep and pork producers to the Illinois
economy. Our goal is to find and share information and techniques
that will allow Illinois producers to effectively compete."
The initial four IL-LIFT projects
involve new uses for distillers' grains, pasturing techniques and
management, implementation of confined animal feeding operations,
and new approaches to animal identification.
"A common theme runs through all of
these projects," said Hutjens. "All seek to answer the question: How
do we build a sustainable livestock industry in Illinois?"
Corn and soybean producers also stand
to gain from the IL-LIFT program, Hutjens added, as their
commodities are used in livestock feed. Additionally, the
distillers' grains project involves value-added use for corn after
it moves through the ethanol production process.
"Distillers' grains are a byproduct of
ethanol production," said Hutjens. "We want to provide producers
with information about use of these grains in livestock feed. We'll
be looking at things like pricing, feeding and handling
recommendations, and the use of other byproducts as feed."
Once the information is assembled, it
will be available for producers on the Illinois TRAILL website,
located at
http://traill.outreach.uiuc.edu/.
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Hutjens termed the pasture project "a
return to old-time, on-farm demonstrations." A series of tours of
sheep, beef and dairy operations will be organized, focusing on new
varieties of forage crops such as turnips and rye grass and how
producers can apply various techniques to achieve year-round
pasturing. The tours will provide producers a chance to see how
various approaches work in the field.
Regulations for confined animal feeding
operations are federal guidelines particularly applicable to large
livestock units -- mainly swine operations in Illinois. A new
project will assess the level of compliance, understand the reasons
for not complying, recommend steps for compliance and monitor
improved neighbor relations. A model will be developed, allowing
producers to see how individual operations measure up against the
state and national standards.
While the first three initiatives are
primarily outreach efforts, the fourth focuses heavily on research.
Concerns about biological terrorism, food safety and new
country-of-origin labeling requirements have sparked interest in new
methods of animal identification.
"The research will look at new types of
identification systems," said Hutjens. "Some of these also have
benefits in terms of management and health. There is a lot of
interest on the part of producers in this area."
Hutjens said that among IL-LIFT's
strengths is its applicability to livestock producers across the
state.
"We are
going to develop recommendations and technologies that have
something for all producers, whether they have 40 animals or 4,000,"
he said.
[University
of Illinois news release]
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