Linking Nutrition, Production, and Environmental Aspects of Ruminant Livestock Production

The relationship between nutrition, production and environmental aspects of ruminant livestock production systems is a complex and highly nuanced subject that has long suffered from oversimplification and assumptions associated within these practices. However, with the advent of new and evolving models and a growing understanding of these complexities and their interactions with each other, there has been a large and welcome growth in recent literature regarding new and emerging technologies, and insights that will allow for appropriate and impactful changes in livestock management that will affect overall change for the benefit of society as a whole. The primary means through which environmental impacts may be modified are separated into four distinct, but interconnected mechanisms, which include 1) improvements in use of dietary nutrients, 2) use of dietary additives that impact certain functions in the digestive tracts of the animal, 3) improvements in genetics, and 4) improvements in productive efficiency. While it is obvious that there are significant overlaps between these practices, it is imperative to consider all these aspects to prevent "leakage" of impacts to other industries and processes. In this presentation, we will review recent developments in all of these areas with a specific emphasis on the use of energy in ruminant production systems.