{"id":11034,"date":"2022-09-30t12:51:38","date_gmt":"2022-09-30t12:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/growing-soil-livestock-are-struggling-to-stomach-climate-change-might-bison-rumen-help\/"},"modified":"2023-04-03t21:06:28","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03t21:06:28","slug":"growing-soil-livestock-are-struggling-to-stomach-climate-change-might-bison-rumen-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/growing-soil-livestock-are-struggling-to-stomach-climate-change-might-bison-rumen-help\/","title":{"rendered":"growing soil | livestock are struggling to stomach climate change. might bison rumen help?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

gordon, neb. — south dakota state university research assistant anlly fresno rueda starts lab days at mcginley ranch with two kinds of green juice. one is a breakfast smoothie, to revitalize her body. the other is bison stomach fluid, to revitalize the ranching world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cit looks just like this,\u201d fresno rueda said, displaying the spinach smoothie at her workbench.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"anlly
south dakota state university research assistant anlly fresno rueda prepares test tubes for rumen sample collection at mcginley ranch in gordon, nebraska on friday, september
16, 2022. (adam goldstein\/planet forward)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

the belly of the beast: studying bison gut bacteria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

on the ranch, home to the turner institute for ecoagriculture, fresno rueda is studying the nutrient-processing genetics of bacteria in bison rumen. the rumen is the largest compartment of the bison\u2019s gut. it contains bacterial colonies in its fluid, which break down the animal\u2019s natural diet of prairie grasses and vegetation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a symbol of america\u2019s past, the bison is gaining interest from livestock researchers as they look toward a future of declining grassland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

since the turn of the century, extreme heat and lacking rainfall have ravaged the great plains<\/a>. as of late september, 50% to 80% of pasture and rangeland <\/a>in the plains is rated poor- to very poor-quality as a result of drought. two-thirds of regional cattle ranchers have reported selling parts of their herd due to inadequate feed, according to an american farm bureau survey.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

bison, meanwhile, demonstrate a unique resilience to climate change\u2019s effects on their diet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the animal belongs to a family of herbivorous mammals with multi-part stomachs, known as ruminants. cows, sheep, goats, and yaks are also in the ruminant family. species in this family lack the gut enzymes necessary to break down grass and instead rely on internal colonies of bacteria to aid in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bison are supported by the work of more than 116,000 kinds of bacteria<\/a>, many of which are not found in other ruminants. researchers believe genes in these microbes allow bison to digest starchy, low-nutrient plants better, and maintain weight in drought conditions for longer periods of time.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"two
two bison look out from a holding pen prior to rumen sampling at mcginley ranch in
gordon, nebraska on friday, september 16, 2022. (adam goldstein\/planet forward)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cthey seem to not lose condition as quickly as other domesticated ruminants will when they’re on poor-quality forage,\u201d said carter kruse, director of science and conservation with the turner institute for ecoagriculture. \u201cwe think there\u2019s some key in the bison rumen that allows them to process this forage, which could have huge implications for how we manage the animals out on the range.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

finding helpful bacteria in this rumen would mean a higher-margin future for bison ranchers, as they spend less on supplemental feed. it may also help livestock ranchers across the industry. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"a
turner institute of ecoagriculture ranch technician jessica lovett guides bison between
holding pens at mcginley ranch in gordon, nebraska on friday, september 16, 2022.
(hannah krantz\/planet forward)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

fresno rueda said transplanting rumen bacteria between ruminants has been done in prior study. so finding a key colony in bison could help other livestock survive on nutrient-poor grasses for longer periods of time, as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cif we identify beneficial bacteria, some of the things we can do with them are create products, or prebiotics, or probiotics,\u201d the research assistant said. \u201cit\u2019s not just going to be for the bison. these will be for goats, and sheep, and cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a dirty job<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

according to fresno rueda, bison rumen bacteria have less than 90% genetic resemblance to bacteria from other ruminants.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cwe don’t really know what they are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

finding out is somewhat of a messy process. and it all happens in a white bison shed, the research team\u2019s lab at mcginley ranch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

inside is a maze of blue-painted gates and pens, with cut-up tire flooring and wooden platforms placed above them. on this mid-september sampling day, three bison had been wrangled into a holding chamber. they snorted and rattled barrier rails with their flanks. the shed smelled of manure, sulphuric bile, and wood chips.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"a
a group of researchers and turner ranch workers gather around the bison chute at
mcginley ranch in gordon, nebraska on friday, september 16, 2022. (adam goldstein\/planet forward)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

a ranch technician led one bison through a corridor of pens with a flagpole until it arrived in the bison chute, a shipping container-like chamber. with the press of a button, the researchers applied gentle hydraulic pressure to hold the bison in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

at one end, kruse inserted a hand into the bison\u2019s rectum for a fecal sample before bagging it and bringing it to fresno rueda. at the other, turner institute of ecoagriculture veterinarian tom bragg maneuvered a metal pipe into the bison\u2019s mouth, before inserting a length of plastic tubing. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"tom
turner institute of ecoagriculture veterinarian tom bragg removes the rumen sampling
tube from a bison\u2019s mouth at mcginley ranch in gordon, nebraska on friday,
september 16, 2022. (adam goldstein\/planet forward)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cthis tube is curved at the end,\u201d bragg said. \u201cso once we get it into their mouth, they swallow it, and it makes collection easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"a
a bucket of bison rumen sits on a pull cart in the shed at mcginley ranch in gordon,
nebraska on friday, september 16, 2022. (adam goldstein\/planet forward)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

on cue, the bison shook its head and olive-green rumen fluid flowed through the tube into a plastic bucket. fresno rueda paced the room with purpose, occasionally draining samples into test tubes and documenting them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

when work was complete, fresno rueda and kruse loaded their materials for a return trip to their lab in sdsu’s animal science department. they planned to break open the bacteria and extract the dna with a soap solution and high-speed test tube shaker. then, the research team would analyze bacterial dna chunks for their function. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"anlley
south dakota state university research assistant anlly fresno rueda holds onto rumen samples as she observes the bison at mcginley ranch in gordon, nebraska on friday, september 16, 2022. (imani cheers\/planet forward)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cright now, we’re just in the process of finding out what is there,\u201d fresno rueda said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

while fresno rueda has two years left to complete her research, the promise of a viable probiotic is at least three years down the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

still, initial findings have the researchers hopeful for a more robust grass-fed meat market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cif we show producers that grass-fed animals are healthier, higher-profit, and better for the environment, they will market it better as an alternative,\u201d fresno rueda said. \u201cit\u2019s a win-win.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

declining rangeland and rising temperatures have livestock ranchers searching for solutions. to south dakota state university research assistant anlly fresno rueda, a bison\u2019s gut is as good of a place to start looking as any.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10192,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4919],"tags":[2906,2198,2507,3641,4801,4803,631,4804,4805],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-11034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-bacteria","tag-bison","tag-dna","tag-genetic-engineering","tag-growing-soil","tag-mcginley-ranch","tag-regenerative-agriculture","tag-rumen","tag-turner-institute-for-ecoagriculture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\ngrowing soil | livestock are struggling to stomach climate change. might bison rumen help? - planet forward<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/growing-soil-livestock-are-struggling-to-stomach-climate-change-might-bison-rumen-help\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"growing soil | livestock are struggling to stomach climate change. might bison rumen help? 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