In this episode of CLEAR Conversations, researcher, professor and director of the World Food Center, Ermias Kebreab discussed his research on methane reduction strategies in livestock production—work that has helped position UC Davis as a global leader in agricultural sustainability research. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

At the UC Davis CLEAR Center, understanding animals goes beyond observing behavior—it’s about uncovering how animals think and interact with the world around them. In this episode of CLEAR Conversations, host Tracy Sellers sat down with Kristina Horback to explore the growing field of animal cognition and what it means for animal welfare, livestock management, and the future of sustainable agriculture.

On this episode of the CLEAR Conversations podcast, host Tracy Sellers visits the swine facility at University of California, Davis to speak with swine manager Shelby Sopocy about how her work helps educate students, supports research and also helps to bridge the gap between agriculture and the general public. The UC Davis swine facility is a farrow-to-finish operation, meaning pigs are born, raised, and finished all in one location. According to Sopocy, that makes the facility a unique hands-on learning environment for students studying animal science, veterinary medicine, and agriculture. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

It’s a somewhat surprising confession from someone who delivered a standout presentation to a packed room on leadership and communication at the NCBA’s annual event, CattleCon. But as a first-generation rancher, Johnston’s path into ranching has never really followed a predictable script. She didn’t grow up in agriculture. She didn’t show cattle. She didn’t even know what FFA was. She actually grew up in a Denver suburb—closer to Starbucks than stockyards. And now she splits her time between large-scale ranch production and consulting on communication and strategy within the industry. Her story begins, improbably enough, with an environmental studies degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

As Tracy Sellers kicks off the latest episode of the CLEAR Conversations podcast, at the UC Davis Beef Barn, the occasional rustle of cattle in the background offers a fitting reminder of what’s at the heart of it all: real animals, real people, and an industry that rarely gets to tell its full story. And with National Ag Day approaching, it’s exactly the right moment to have that conversation—about what agriculture looks like in California today, and why it matters more than ever.

That’s what brings Shannon Douglass to the table. As the first woman to lead the California Farm Bureau Federation as its president, in its more than 100-year history of the non-profit organization, Douglass represents thousands of farmers and ranchers across the state. But the conversation isn’t about titles—it’s about telling the story of California agriculture at a time when many people are more disconnected from it than ever before.

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production. Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability. That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

At the annual National Cattlemen’s Beef Association event, CattleCon in Nashville, host Tracy Sellers took the Clear Conversations podcast on the road. Her guest was someone who knows that event well—California rancher Tony Toso of Mariposa County. Part cattleman, part appraiser, part policy advocate, Toso represents a generation of producers who balance life on the land with leadership. Toso ranches in the Sierra foothills, but in Nashville, he was wearing another hat: chair of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s International Trade Committee. Exports, he explained, are not an abstract policy discussion. They are dollars and cents at the ranch level. “When we sell an animal in a sea container,” he said, referring to boxed beef shipped overseas, “that contributes about $400 a head to the value of that animal.” In a business where margins are often thin and risk is constant, that $400 matters.

This week on CLEAR Conversations, Katie Roberti sat down for a conversation that reflects both her roots and her mission. As Director of Communications for the California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), Roberti spends her days translating the realities of ranching into language policymakers, media, and the public can understand. But her connection to agriculture is far more personal than professional. Dr. Kelly Nichols, Assistant Professor at UC Davis sits down with CLEAR Conversations host, Tracy Sellers. The Nichols Lab focuses on characterizing the digestive and metabolic flexibility of dairy cattle to elevate our understanding of dietary protein and energy interactions, mammary gland metabolism, and postabsorptive nutrient utilization to improve the transfer of dietary nutrients into milk. Her lab conducts studies investigating metabolite flux at the tissue level (e.g., mammary gland), energy and nitrogen balance, digestibility, and milk production in response to nutritional interventions. Further, she is interested in how the postabsorptive efficiencies of nutrients (e.g., amino acids) interact and change with the physiological state of the cow throughout lactation. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

Dr. Kelly Nichols, Assistant Professor at UC Davis sits down with CLEAR Conversations host, Tracy Sellers. The Nichols Lab focuses on characterizing the digestive and metabolic flexibility of dairy cattle to elevate our understanding of dietary protein and energy interactions, mammary gland metabolism, and postabsorptive nutrient utilization to improve the transfer of dietary nutrients into milk. Her lab conducts studies investigating metabolite flux at the tissue level (e.g., mammary gland), energy and nitrogen balance, digestibility, and milk production in response to nutritional interventions. Further, she is interested in how the postabsorptive efficiencies of nutrients (e.g., amino acids) interact and change with the physiological state of the cow throughout lactation. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

Text File:

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Mitigating

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enteric methane,

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and what could be

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the consequences of

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drastically reducing

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a really essential cycle

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in the rumen.

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We're very focused

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on hitting

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those targets, reducing

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and coming up

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with really innovative

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ways to do that.

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But we might be missing

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some of that down

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the road

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Consequences,

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for example,

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how that interacts

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with protein

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metabolism in the body.

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Well,

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welcome to the Clear

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Conversations podcast.

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We're excited.

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You're here

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with us today.

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Today

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we're going to be talking

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about cows and nutrition

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And sustainability.

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They're all

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tied together.

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They're all connected.

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And our guest today

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is Kelly Nichols.

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She's an assistant

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professor

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of animal science

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here at UC Davis.

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Welcome, Kelly. Thanks.

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Thanks for having me.

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Great to be here.

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Thanks for

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being here with us.

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So first of all,

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tell us a little bit

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about yourself,

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your background

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and how you got to study

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dairy nutrition

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in particular.

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So yeah, I'm

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a dairy nutritionist.

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I'm from Canada

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originally, didn't

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grow up with dairy cows.

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I actually grew

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up on a horse farm,

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so I always knew

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kind of the realities

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of taking care of large

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animals 365 days a year.

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At first I thought I

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wanted to be a vet,

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but when I went to

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the University of Guelph

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to do my undergrad,

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that's where I started

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to get involved

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in research projects.

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And,

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one of the labs

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I worked in

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was a dairy

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nutrition

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and metabolism lab.

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And you combine

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that with

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some of the courses

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I was taking,

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and I really fell in love

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with ruminant metabolism

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and how nutrition

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can influence

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how,

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all of the metabolic

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pathways work

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in, particularly dairy

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cows under the

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condition of lactation.

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So that's what

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I really got

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interested in.

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I ended up

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going to grad school,

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so I did a master's

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at the University

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of Guelph,

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and then I had the

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really cool opportunity

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to move to

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the Netherlands,

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to do my PhD

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at Wageningen

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University,

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which is kind of like

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the UC Davis of Europe.

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You could say.

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So actually,

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they're often

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competing a little bit

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in the world

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rankings around things

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like environmental

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science programs,

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agricultural science

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programs, both super top,

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in those areas.

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So, I lived in

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total over there

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for ten years.

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I did my PhD,

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and then I worked

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in industry

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for the last five years

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for a company

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called Trouw Nutrition.

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In their research

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and development

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ruminant research team.

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So I have

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kind of the

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academic background

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with some

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industry experience.

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And then I joined

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the animal science

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department here,

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in March 2024.

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So what is that,

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a year and a half?

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Yeah, I've been here.

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Yeah, yeah. Excellent.

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Well, you touched upon it

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there.

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Tell us a little bit

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about your time

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in the Netherlands

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and how they're dealing

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with cows in the climate.

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Very small country,

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but a lot of livestock.

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And they,

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they're dealing with it

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in some interesting ways.

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Yeah.

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So, indeed,

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the Netherlands

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is a very tiny country,

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and there are

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there's a

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lot of livestock.

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So that kind of poses

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an interesting challenge.

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It's very dense

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with,

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agricultural animals

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that are producing manure

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on a very small landmass.

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And like, everywhere

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that manure,

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can be very useful

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for being spread

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on the land

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and fertilizing crops,

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and that's fine.

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But when the amount

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of manure

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and the nutrients

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in the manure,

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like nitrogen

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and phosphorus,

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starts

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to exceed the boundaries

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of what

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the land

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can really manage

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and use efficiently,

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you start to get impacts

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on the environment.

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So this has

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been happening

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in the Netherlands

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already for years

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and years, long

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before I lived there.

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And they've done

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a few different

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iterations of legislation

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to try to regulate

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how much manure

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or more specifically,

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on the nitrogen side,

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the nitrogen

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in the manure

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can actually be deposited

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on the land

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for a farm.

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And over the years,

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there have been

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a lot of changes to that.

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And a lot of that's

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been driven

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by measured

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negative impacts

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of nitrogen on nature

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preservation areas

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and other

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environmental impacts

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like air quality

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and things like that.

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And when I moved

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there in 2014,

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they had just had

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kind of a new wave

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of some of these changes

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to nitrogen

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related regulations,

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that were starting

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to put even

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more pressure on farms

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for the amount

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of nitrogen

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that they could

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put on their land.

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So that really kind

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of restarted

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some of the discussions

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around,

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at least in my area

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particularly,

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what can we do to support

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dairy farms

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to, reduce the amount

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of nitrogen

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in their manure?

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So that

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that's the type

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of projects

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that I was working on

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when I was over there

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and still currently

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in the Netherlands,

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there's and

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a lot of other,

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kind of north

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western European

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countries

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like Ireland,

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France,

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are all dealing

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with these issues,

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where farmers

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are being pressured

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to reduce the amount

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of nitrogen or phosphorus

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that they're

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putting on the land,

00:04:47:05 - 00:04:48:06

which can have

00:04:48:06 - 00:04:49:07

some restrictions on

00:04:49:07 - 00:04:50:04

how they

00:04:50:04 - 00:04:51:04

manage their farm,

00:04:51:04 - 00:04:51:15

how much milk

00:04:51:15 - 00:04:53:04

they can produce, the,

00:04:53:04 - 00:04:54:21

financial sustainability

00:04:54:21 - 00:04:56:02

of their operations.

00:04:56:02 - 00:04:56:21

So there's also been

00:04:56:21 - 00:04:58:12

a lot of tension

00:04:58:12 - 00:04:59:23

between the government,

00:04:59:23 - 00:05:01:14

farmers, society

00:05:01:14 - 00:05:02:04

and you read about

00:05:02:04 - 00:05:02:19

some of that stuff

00:05:02:19 - 00:05:03:15

on the news as well.

00:05:03:15 - 00:05:05:03

Farmer protests, tractors

00:05:05:03 - 00:05:06:02

in the streets,

00:05:06:02 - 00:05:06:22

those types of things.

00:05:06:22 - 00:05:08:13

So, it's been

00:05:08:13 - 00:05:09:17

a contentious issue

00:05:09:17 - 00:05:10:09

over there,

00:05:10:09 - 00:05:11:00

but possibly

00:05:11:00 - 00:05:11:15

a good example

00:05:11:15 - 00:05:12:07

for other parts

00:05:12:07 - 00:05:13:17

of the world as well

00:05:13:17 - 00:05:15:09

that haven't experienced

00:05:15:09 - 00:05:17:00

quite as much intense,

00:05:17:00 - 00:05:18:08

legislation

00:05:18:08 - 00:05:18:14

around

00:05:18:14 - 00:05:19:15

nitrogen pollution.

00:05:19:15 - 00:05:20:15

But potentially

00:05:20:15 - 00:05:21:04

that's something

00:05:21:04 - 00:05:22:11

that could be coming.

00:05:22:11 - 00:05:23:01

So something

00:05:23:01 - 00:05:23:17

to think about

00:05:23:17 - 00:05:25:01

even over here,

00:05:25:01 - 00:05:26:20

in the US.

00:05:26:20 - 00:05:27:12

And speaking of that,

00:05:27:12 - 00:05:28:11

you did talk about that

00:05:28:11 - 00:05:29:19

at the state of the science summit

00:05:29:19 - 00:05:31:09

this, past spring.

00:05:31:09 - 00:05:32:04

You mentioned

00:05:32:04 - 00:05:32:16

you're like, I'm

00:05:32:16 - 00:05:33:21

not into methane

00:05:33:21 - 00:05:34:11

as much as I am

00:05:34:11 - 00:05:35:06

into nitrogen.

00:05:35:06 - 00:05:35:20

I am I in the

00:05:35:20 - 00:05:37:10

right place?

00:05:37:10 - 00:05:38:19

But you and Dr. Maggie Gill

00:05:38:19 - 00:05:39:13

talked a lot about it,

00:05:39:13 - 00:05:40:04

and you said, you know,

00:05:40:04 - 00:05:40:21

methane was

00:05:40:21 - 00:05:41:13

the headline issue,

00:05:41:13 - 00:05:42:11

but the deeper story

00:05:42:11 - 00:05:43:22

might be the cow itself

00:05:43:22 - 00:05:44:18

and the physiology

00:05:44:18 - 00:05:46:03

and the biology.

00:05:46:03 - 00:05:47:01

Can you talk a little bit

00:05:47:01 - 00:05:47:09

about what

00:05:47:09 - 00:05:48:20

you meant by that?

00:05:48:20 - 00:05:49:07

Yeah.

00:05:49:07 - 00:05:50:03

So methane

00:05:50:03 - 00:05:51:14

has been getting,

00:05:51:14 - 00:05:52:05

kind of the star

00:05:52:05 - 00:05:53:00

of the show,

00:05:53:00 - 00:05:53:16

certainly here

00:05:53:16 - 00:05:54:09

in California

00:05:54:09 - 00:05:55:10

for extremely

00:05:55:10 - 00:05:56:06

good reasons.

00:05:56:06 - 00:05:57:06

The more

00:05:57:06 - 00:05:58:05

the longer I live here,

00:05:58:05 - 00:05:59:04

the more I've learned.

00:05:59:04 - 00:05:59:20

Yeah.

00:05:59:20 - 00:06:00:16

Through the clear center

00:06:00:16 - 00:06:01:17

from Dr. Mitloehner

00:06:01:17 - 00:06:02:17

All of the

00:06:02:17 - 00:06:03:08

amazing things

00:06:03:08 - 00:06:03:21

that have been done,

00:06:03:21 - 00:06:04:17

particularly in

00:06:04:17 - 00:06:05:06

this state,

00:06:05:06 - 00:06:06:05

really leading the way

00:06:06:05 - 00:06:07:16

for,

00:06:07:16 - 00:06:08:20

solutions to

00:06:08:20 - 00:06:09:23

reducing methane,

00:06:09:23 - 00:06:11:16

in, ruminant

00:06:11:16 - 00:06:12:15

production systems

00:06:12:15 - 00:06:13:19

across the country.

00:06:13:19 - 00:06:15:03

And that's great.

00:06:15:03 - 00:06:16:14

I'm heavily

00:06:16:14 - 00:06:17:18

biased, of course,

00:06:17:18 - 00:06:18:14

but I actually think

00:06:18:14 - 00:06:19:18

nitrogen in particular

00:06:19:18 - 00:06:20:11

is one,

00:06:20:11 - 00:06:21:07

is a much more

00:06:21:07 - 00:06:22:18

difficult problem

00:06:22:18 - 00:06:24:13

to solve than methane.

00:06:24:13 - 00:06:26:04

It can change a

00:06:26:04 - 00:06:28:21

lot in the environment.

00:06:28:23 - 00:06:29:22

There's no

00:06:29:22 - 00:06:30:13

there will never

00:06:30:13 - 00:06:32:01

be an inhibitor.

00:06:32:01 - 00:06:33:01

The way that we talk

00:06:33:01 - 00:06:34:02

about inhibitors

00:06:34:02 - 00:06:35:11

for methane in the rumen.

00:06:35:11 - 00:06:36:05

So there's

00:06:36:05 - 00:06:37:07

some different challenges

00:06:37:07 - 00:06:38:13

involved with that.

00:06:38:13 - 00:06:39:15

And to bring it back

00:06:39:15 - 00:06:40:06

to your question

00:06:40:06 - 00:06:40:22

about kind of the

00:06:40:22 - 00:06:43:14

whole cow,

00:06:43:14 - 00:06:45:02

we know very well

00:06:45:02 - 00:06:45:22

the pathway

00:06:45:22 - 00:06:47:17

that leads to methane

00:06:47:17 - 00:06:49:00

in the rumen, microbes,

00:06:49:00 - 00:06:51:05

fermentation, etc.

00:06:51:07 - 00:06:52:06

Nitrogen

00:06:52:06 - 00:06:54:16

is an essential,

00:06:54:16 - 00:06:57:16

component of well, it

00:06:57:16 - 00:06:58:20

originates from cows

00:06:58:20 - 00:07:00:00

consuming protein,

00:07:00:00 - 00:07:00:23

which they need

00:07:00:23 - 00:07:01:18

to make milk

00:07:01:18 - 00:07:03:00

and they need to grow

00:07:03:00 - 00:07:04:04

and they need to be able

00:07:04:04 - 00:07:05:12

to, have healthy

00:07:05:12 - 00:07:06:23

reproductive cycles,

00:07:06:23 - 00:07:08:14

healthy immune systems,

00:07:08:14 - 00:07:09:11

all of those things.

00:07:09:11 - 00:07:11:03

So to find the balance

00:07:11:03 - 00:07:12:07

of all of

00:07:12:07 - 00:07:13:11

those systems together

00:07:13:11 - 00:07:14:08

while supporting them

00:07:14:08 - 00:07:14:19

with protein

00:07:14:19 - 00:07:15:10

in their diet,

00:07:15:10 - 00:07:16:01

that's also a

00:07:16:01 - 00:07:17:02

big challenge.

00:07:17:02 - 00:07:18:02

So I think our

00:07:18:02 - 00:07:19:01

one of the points

00:07:19:01 - 00:07:19:17

we wanted to raise

00:07:19:17 - 00:07:20:09

with that talk at

00:07:20:09 - 00:07:22:03

the summit was just that

00:07:22:03 - 00:07:23:06

we tend to get

00:07:23:06 - 00:07:23:17

a little bit

00:07:23:17 - 00:07:24:16

of the blinders on

00:07:24:16 - 00:07:25:15

when we look at,

00:07:25:15 - 00:07:27:04

mitigating

00:07:27:04 - 00:07:29:00

enteric methane.

00:07:29:00 - 00:07:29:19

And what could be

00:07:29:19 - 00:07:31:16

the consequences of

00:07:31:16 - 00:07:33:04

drastically reducing

00:07:33:04 - 00:07:34:03

a really essential

00:07:34:03 - 00:07:36:18

cycle in the RUmen

00:07:36:20 - 00:07:37:09

that we just

00:07:37:09 - 00:07:38:05

haven't considered.

00:07:38:05 - 00:07:39:05

yet, we're very focused

00:07:39:05 - 00:07:39:23

on hitting

00:07:39:23 - 00:07:41:16

those targets, reducing

00:07:41:16 - 00:07:42:05

and coming up

00:07:42:05 - 00:07:42:23

with really innovative

00:07:42:23 - 00:07:44:00

ways to do that.

00:07:44:00 - 00:07:45:08

But we might be missing

00:07:45:08 - 00:07:46:01

some of the down

00:07:46:01 - 00:07:47:13

the road consequences.

00:07:47:13 - 00:07:49:11

Like for example,

00:07:49:11 - 00:07:50:07

how that interacts

00:07:50:07 - 00:07:51:05

with protein

00:07:51:05 - 00:07:53:18

metabolism in the body.

00:07:53:18 - 00:07:54:14

And to that degree,

00:07:54:14 - 00:07:54:23

you talked

00:07:54:23 - 00:07:55:17

a little bit about,

00:07:55:17 - 00:07:57:09

the you use

00:07:57:09 - 00:07:58:06

the metaphor of the brain

00:07:58:06 - 00:07:59:04

being like the conductor

00:07:59:04 - 00:07:59:19

of an orchestra.

00:07:59:19 - 00:08:00:06

I thought that was

00:08:00:06 - 00:08:00:16

really interesting.

00:08:00:16 - 00:08:01:01

You and Maggie

00:08:01:01 - 00:08:01:15

talked about that

00:08:01:15 - 00:08:02:01

and the organs

00:08:02:01 - 00:08:02:13

or the different

00:08:02:13 - 00:08:04:04

sections of the orchestra

00:08:04:04 - 00:08:04:20

and kind of that

00:08:04:20 - 00:08:06:22

gut brain axis of,

00:08:06:22 - 00:08:08:03

the gut and the brain

00:08:08:03 - 00:08:09:04

talk to each other a lot.

00:08:09:04 - 00:08:10:09

I saw some something

00:08:10:09 - 00:08:10:17

one time

00:08:10:17 - 00:08:11:11

they said that the gut

00:08:11:11 - 00:08:11:21

and the brain

00:08:11:21 - 00:08:12:16

are like besties.

00:08:12:16 - 00:08:13:01

They talk

00:08:13:01 - 00:08:13:16

about everything,

00:08:13:16 - 00:08:13:21

you know,

00:08:13:21 - 00:08:14:23

whether it's emotional

00:08:14:23 - 00:08:16:22

or physiological

00:08:16:22 - 00:08:18:22

We don't know that much

00:08:18:22 - 00:08:20:00

about the gut

00:08:20:00 - 00:08:21:09

brain axis in

00:08:21:09 - 00:08:22:08

ruminant animals

00:08:22:08 - 00:08:23:13

in particular. Why?

00:08:23:13 - 00:08:24:21

Why is that?

00:08:24:21 - 00:08:25:06

Yeah.

00:08:25:06 - 00:08:26:16

So I had to shout out,

00:08:26:16 - 00:08:27:09

Maggie,

00:08:27:09 - 00:08:28:23

for that whole concept.

00:08:28:23 - 00:08:30:11

That was really her idea

00:08:30:11 - 00:08:31:08

when we were given

00:08:31:08 - 00:08:32:10

the mic for 30 minutes

00:08:32:10 - 00:08:33:17

to talk at the summit.

00:08:33:17 - 00:08:34:10

And she's okay,

00:08:34:10 - 00:08:34:19

how are we going

00:08:34:19 - 00:08:35:21

to do this?

00:08:35:21 - 00:08:36:18

let’s Sort of structure it

00:08:36:18 - 00:08:37:08

in that way,

00:08:37:08 - 00:08:37:20

and then we can

00:08:37:20 - 00:08:38:11

probably touch

00:08:38:11 - 00:08:39:08

on a lot of relevant

00:08:39:08 - 00:08:40:01

points.

00:08:40:01 - 00:08:41:18

So, that

00:08:41:18 - 00:08:43:14

idea of the brain

00:08:43:14 - 00:08:44:10

gut axis

00:08:44:10 - 00:08:45:09

of course, in humans.

00:08:45:09 - 00:08:47:11

Now for many years,

00:08:47:11 - 00:08:47:23

actually,

00:08:47:23 - 00:08:49:19

the research

00:08:49:21 - 00:08:50:02

there's been

00:08:50:02 - 00:08:50:18

a lot of research

00:08:50:18 - 00:08:51:18

focusing on

00:08:51:18 - 00:08:52:11

the relationship

00:08:52:11 - 00:08:53:02

between the gut

00:08:53:02 - 00:08:54:01

and the brain

00:08:54:01 - 00:08:55:06

and how that impacts

00:08:55:06 - 00:08:56:04

our physical health,

00:08:56:04 - 00:08:57:04

our mental health.

00:08:57:04 - 00:08:59:03

And that's been an area

00:08:59:03 - 00:09:00:04

that's just exploded

00:09:00:04 - 00:09:01:14

over the last years.

00:09:01:14 - 00:09:03:16

When you look to animals,

00:09:03:16 - 00:09:05:16

there is far, far

00:09:05:16 - 00:09:06:20

less in the literature,

00:09:06:20 - 00:09:08:10

perhaps,

00:09:08:10 - 00:09:09:13

in companion animals

00:09:09:13 - 00:09:10:14

that's starting to grow,

00:09:10:14 - 00:09:11:10

which makes sense,

00:09:11:10 - 00:09:12:14

I think, because

00:09:12:14 - 00:09:14:08

of how closely connected

00:09:14:08 - 00:09:14:23

humans

00:09:14:23 - 00:09:16:02

and their companion

00:09:16:02 - 00:09:17:02

animals are,

00:09:17:02 - 00:09:17:15

that would be

00:09:17:15 - 00:09:18:06

the next step

00:09:18:06 - 00:09:19:09

for that research.

00:09:19:09 - 00:09:20:07

But in livestock

00:09:20:07 - 00:09:21:01

species,

00:09:21:01 - 00:09:22:15

there is very little,

00:09:22:15 - 00:09:23:20

so it is just

00:09:23:20 - 00:09:24:16

an interesting thing

00:09:24:16 - 00:09:25:13

to think about,

00:09:25:13 - 00:09:26:07

when we're

00:09:26:07 - 00:09:27:12

talking about,

00:09:27:12 - 00:09:28:21

so the microbes

00:09:28:21 - 00:09:29:08

in the rumen

00:09:29:08 - 00:09:29:16

it's this

00:09:29:16 - 00:09:31:05

symbiotic relationship

00:09:31:05 - 00:09:32:06

with the ruminant animal,

00:09:32:06 - 00:09:32:13

we say

00:09:32:13 - 00:09:33:13

we feed the microbes.

00:09:33:13 - 00:09:34:10

You don't really feed

00:09:34:10 - 00:09:34:22

the cow,

00:09:34:22 - 00:09:36:03

we feed the microbes.

00:09:36:03 - 00:09:37:17

And they've got their own

00:09:37:17 - 00:09:38:21

little biological system

00:09:38:21 - 00:09:40:06

going on there.

00:09:40:06 - 00:09:42:01

So how that relates to

00:09:42:01 - 00:09:42:23

all of the systems

00:09:42:23 - 00:09:43:11

in the body,

00:09:43:11 - 00:09:44:20

including the

00:09:44:20 - 00:09:45:20

neurological system,

00:09:45:20 - 00:09:46:09

which is sort

00:09:46:09 - 00:09:46:21

of controlled

00:09:46:21 - 00:09:47:10

and conducted

00:09:47:10 - 00:09:48:13

by the brain,

00:09:48:13 - 00:09:49:05

that's something

00:09:49:05 - 00:09:50:00

that I think

00:09:50:00 - 00:09:50:13

got a lot of

00:09:50:13 - 00:09:51:18

people thinking,

00:09:51:18 - 00:09:52:18

who knows where

00:09:52:18 - 00:09:53:16

that goes or

00:09:53:16 - 00:09:54:09

how relevant

00:09:54:09 - 00:09:55:01

that might be,

00:09:55:01 - 00:09:55:08

but it

00:09:55:08 - 00:09:56:17

definitely piqued some,

00:09:56:17 - 00:09:58:13

some people's curiosity.

00:09:58:13 - 00:09:59:07

Yeah, it's

00:09:59:07 - 00:10:00:08

such an interesting,

00:10:00:08 - 00:10:00:21

interesting way

00:10:00:21 - 00:10:01:16

of looking at it

00:10:01:16 - 00:10:02:01

that maybe

00:10:02:01 - 00:10:02:09

we haven't

00:10:02:09 - 00:10:03:03

thought of before.

00:10:03:03 - 00:10:03:08

Yeah.

00:10:03:08 - 00:10:04:02

And underscores

00:10:04:02 - 00:10:04:14

how everything

00:10:04:14 - 00:10:05:07

is connected,

00:10:05:07 - 00:10:06:06

at the very least,

00:10:06:06 - 00:10:07:07

trying to come back to

00:10:07:07 - 00:10:07:20

that idea.

00:10:07:20 - 00:10:08:19

If you can't think about

00:10:08:19 - 00:10:09:16

methane mitigation

00:10:09:16 - 00:10:10:20

in a vacuum. Right.

00:10:10:20 - 00:10:11:21

Everything is

00:10:11:21 - 00:10:12:20

connected.

00:10:12:20 - 00:10:13:16

Yeah. Right.

00:10:13:16 - 00:10:14:03

Well, let's talk

00:10:14:03 - 00:10:14:10

a little,

00:10:14:10 - 00:10:14:19

a little bit

00:10:14:19 - 00:10:15:15

about your research

00:10:15:15 - 00:10:16:06

and what you're doing

00:10:16:06 - 00:10:16:19

right now.

00:10:16:19 - 00:10:17:08

Tell us a little bit

00:10:17:08 - 00:10:17:17

about that

00:10:17:17 - 00:10:17:23

because it's

00:10:17:23 - 00:10:18:18

very interesting.

00:10:18:18 - 00:10:19:03

Yeah.

00:10:19:03 - 00:10:21:00

So, as we've made it

00:10:21:00 - 00:10:21:16

pretty clear, I'm

00:10:21:16 - 00:10:23:15

a nitrogen person.

00:10:23:17 - 00:10:25:08

So yeah, since

00:10:25:08 - 00:10:25:20

I've been one

00:10:25:20 - 00:10:26:17

of those fortunate people

00:10:26:17 - 00:10:27:12

that since I started

00:10:27:12 - 00:10:28:10

grad school,

00:10:28:10 - 00:10:29:13

I've always focused

00:10:29:13 - 00:10:30:22

on the same area

00:10:30:22 - 00:10:31:19

that doesn't happen

00:10:31:19 - 00:10:32:09

for everyone.

00:10:32:09 - 00:10:32:19

Some people

00:10:32:19 - 00:10:33:19

kind of flip flop around

00:10:33:19 - 00:10:34:17

until they find the thing

00:10:34:17 - 00:10:35:11

that that

00:10:35:11 - 00:10:36:15

really suits them.

00:10:36:15 - 00:10:37:21

But I started out

00:10:37:21 - 00:10:39:09

working in protein

00:10:39:09 - 00:10:41:03

metabolism in dairy cows,

00:10:41:03 - 00:10:41:12

and that's

00:10:41:12 - 00:10:42:05

still very much

00:10:42:05 - 00:10:43:05

what I work on.

00:10:43:05 - 00:10:43:17

There's a lot

00:10:43:17 - 00:10:44:05

of different

00:10:44:05 - 00:10:44:23

research lines

00:10:44:23 - 00:10:45:22

within that.

00:10:45:22 - 00:10:48:13

So my program here,

00:10:48:13 - 00:10:50:04

at UC davis

00:10:50:04 - 00:10:51:01

focuses

00:10:51:01 - 00:10:51:20

on a couple

00:10:51:20 - 00:10:52:23

of different things.

00:10:52:23 - 00:10:53:20

But one of the

00:10:53:20 - 00:10:54:19

upcoming projects

00:10:54:19 - 00:10:55:15

that we have

00:10:55:15 - 00:10:56:22

is looking at

00:10:56:22 - 00:10:57:14

what we call

00:10:57:14 - 00:10:59:00

urea recycling.

00:10:59:00 - 00:10:59:20

So ruminants,

00:10:59:20 - 00:11:01:03

all animals

00:11:01:03 - 00:11:02:01

have the capability

00:11:02:01 - 00:11:03:00

to do this.

00:11:03:00 - 00:11:04:21

But urea is a product

00:11:04:21 - 00:11:05:21

of nitrogen

00:11:05:21 - 00:11:07:00

metabolism in the body.

00:11:07:00 - 00:11:07:09

So when we

00:11:07:09 - 00:11:08:17

consume protein,

00:11:08:17 - 00:11:10:13

we digest and absorb

00:11:10:13 - 00:11:11:22

those amino acids.

00:11:11:22 - 00:11:12:20

And then

00:11:12:20 - 00:11:13:17

when those

00:11:13:17 - 00:11:14:21

flow to the liver,

00:11:14:21 - 00:11:16:00

some of the ones

00:11:16:00 - 00:11:17:02

that don't get used

00:11:17:02 - 00:11:18:05

for productive purposes,

00:11:18:05 - 00:11:19:07

they get broken down.

00:11:19:07 - 00:11:20:08

And sort of the waste

00:11:20:08 - 00:11:23:01

product of that is urea.

00:11:23:01 - 00:11:24:06

And ultimately

00:11:24:06 - 00:11:25:07

that can get excreted

00:11:25:07 - 00:11:26:18

in urine.

00:11:26:18 - 00:11:28:11

But ruminants are

00:11:28:11 - 00:11:29:08

very efficient

00:11:29:08 - 00:11:29:21

at a process

00:11:29:21 - 00:11:30:08

that we call

00:11:30:08 - 00:11:31:11

urea recycling.

00:11:31:11 - 00:11:31:20

And that's

00:11:31:20 - 00:11:33:00

because of the rumen.

00:11:33:00 - 00:11:34:05

So some of that urea

00:11:34:05 - 00:11:35:13

actually gets recycled

00:11:35:13 - 00:11:36:16

back into the rumen

00:11:36:16 - 00:11:37:16

where the

00:11:37:16 - 00:11:38:10

microbes

00:11:38:10 - 00:11:39:19

can break it down again

00:11:39:19 - 00:11:41:14

and use that nitrogen

00:11:41:14 - 00:11:42:17

to grow,

00:11:42:17 - 00:11:44:04

and then that the protein

00:11:44:04 - 00:11:45:02

in those microbes

00:11:45:02 - 00:11:46:03

actually provides

00:11:46:03 - 00:11:47:22

the majority of protein

00:11:47:22 - 00:11:49:10

supply for the cow.

00:11:49:10 - 00:11:50:08

So you have this cycle

00:11:50:08 - 00:11:51:03

where you have kind of

00:11:51:03 - 00:11:52:13

like the excess nitrogen

00:11:52:13 - 00:11:54:16

gets used again to make,

00:11:54:16 - 00:11:56:13

valuable protein

00:11:56:13 - 00:11:57:05

or amino acid

00:11:57:05 - 00:11:58:17

sources for the cow.

00:11:58:17 - 00:12:01:12

So in growing animals,

00:12:01:12 - 00:12:02:21

we have this

00:12:02:21 - 00:12:05:02

pathway characterized,

00:12:05:02 - 00:12:06:23

in way more detail.

00:12:06:23 - 00:12:07:10

There's not a

00:12:07:10 - 00:12:08:03

lot of literature

00:12:08:03 - 00:12:09:08

on how this works

00:12:09:08 - 00:12:10:17

in lactating dairy cows.

00:12:10:17 - 00:12:11:11

And if we could

00:12:11:11 - 00:12:12:12

potentially use that

00:12:12:12 - 00:12:13:06

as a mechanism

00:12:13:06 - 00:12:13:22

to reduce

00:12:13:22 - 00:12:15:04

the amount of nitrogen

00:12:15:04 - 00:12:15:17

that's going out

00:12:15:17 - 00:12:16:06

in urine.

00:12:16:06 - 00:12:17:08

So kind of

00:12:17:08 - 00:12:18:01

re-partitioning

00:12:18:01 - 00:12:18:19

some of that urea

00:12:18:19 - 00:12:20:17

from urinary excretion,

00:12:20:17 - 00:12:21:09

which is

00:12:21:09 - 00:12:22:03

ultimately ends up

00:12:22:03 - 00:12:22:17

as manure,

00:12:22:17 - 00:12:23:17

which leads

00:12:23:17 - 00:12:24:10

to this problem

00:12:24:10 - 00:12:26:02

of extra nitrogen

00:12:26:02 - 00:12:28:03

in the environment.

00:12:28:05 - 00:12:29:04

If we can kind

00:12:29:04 - 00:12:30:03

of upregulate

00:12:30:03 - 00:12:31:18

that recycling mechanism

00:12:31:18 - 00:12:32:04

and have it

00:12:32:04 - 00:12:33:07

contribute back

00:12:33:07 - 00:12:35:13

as real usable protein,

00:12:35:13 - 00:12:36:09

maybe there's a way

00:12:36:09 - 00:12:36:22

to reduce

00:12:36:22 - 00:12:38:02

some of that excretion.

00:12:38:02 - 00:12:38:17

But the problem is

00:12:38:17 - 00:12:39:10

we don't know a lot

00:12:39:10 - 00:12:40:00

about how

00:12:40:00 - 00:12:41:18

that cycle responds

00:12:41:18 - 00:12:43:18

to different sources

00:12:43:18 - 00:12:44:16

and amounts of protein

00:12:44:16 - 00:12:45:21

in the diet.

00:12:45:21 - 00:12:46:17

So the experiment that

00:12:46:17 - 00:12:47:15

we'll start in

00:12:47:15 - 00:12:48:13

a couple of weeks

00:12:48:13 - 00:12:49:15

will focus on that.

00:12:49:15 - 00:12:50:18

So we'll look at

00:12:50:18 - 00:12:51:16

the different sources

00:12:51:16 - 00:12:52:03

of protein

00:12:52:03 - 00:12:53:02

supply in the diet

00:12:53:02 - 00:12:54:04

and how that impacts

00:12:54:04 - 00:12:55:05

that cycle of urea

00:12:55:05 - 00:12:56:20

recycling in lactating

00:12:56:20 - 00:12:57:11

dairy cows.

00:12:57:11 - 00:12:58:03

Because like I said,

00:12:58:03 - 00:12:59:09

we know

00:12:59:09 - 00:13:00:20

more about

00:13:00:20 - 00:13:02:04

how that process works

00:13:02:04 - 00:13:03:08

in growing cattle.

00:13:03:08 - 00:13:04:07

So like beef cattle,

00:13:04:07 - 00:13:05:07

for example,

00:13:05:07 - 00:13:06:20

but not a lot about it

00:13:06:20 - 00:13:08:01

in lactating cows.

00:13:08:01 - 00:13:08:21

And their diets

00:13:08:21 - 00:13:09:15

are very different.

00:13:09:15 - 00:13:11:00

Their metabolism differs

00:13:11:00 - 00:13:11:09

a lot

00:13:11:09 - 00:13:12:09

you have the mammary gland

00:13:12:09 - 00:13:13:06

in there.

00:13:13:06 - 00:13:15:12

So there are

00:13:15:12 - 00:13:17:00

I expect differences.

00:13:17:00 - 00:13:18:19

And this will be a study

00:13:18:19 - 00:13:19:15

that will really start

00:13:19:15 - 00:13:20:06

to crack

00:13:20:06 - 00:13:21:09

some of that open.

00:13:21:09 - 00:13:22:00

Interesting.

00:13:22:00 - 00:13:23:02

How many, lactating

00:13:23:02 - 00:13:23:12

cows are going

00:13:23:12 - 00:13:24:13

to be studying?

00:13:24:13 - 00:13:24:19

Yeah.

00:13:24:19 - 00:13:27:01

So we have, eight cows.

00:13:27:01 - 00:13:28:01

They're cannulated

00:13:28:01 - 00:13:28:18

So they're the ones

00:13:28:18 - 00:13:29:07

that we can

00:13:29:07 - 00:13:30:21

access the rumen.

00:13:30:21 - 00:13:31:23

And we will be doing it

00:13:31:23 - 00:13:33:14

in a very controlled way

00:13:33:14 - 00:13:34:12

where we

00:13:34:12 - 00:13:35:17

really precisely,

00:13:35:17 - 00:13:37:06

infuse

00:13:37:06 - 00:13:38:13

an amount of protein

00:13:38:13 - 00:13:39:09

into the rumen

00:13:39:09 - 00:13:40:02

and an amount

00:13:40:02 - 00:13:41:05

into the second part

00:13:41:05 - 00:13:42:05

of their digestive tract,

00:13:42:05 - 00:13:42:16

which is just

00:13:42:16 - 00:13:43:09

past the rumen.

00:13:43:09 - 00:13:44:14

And so we can control

00:13:44:14 - 00:13:45:20

very precisely

00:13:45:20 - 00:13:46:17

how much protein

00:13:46:17 - 00:13:47:08

is going into

00:13:47:08 - 00:13:48:02

each compartment

00:13:48:02 - 00:13:48:07

of the

00:13:48:07 - 00:13:49:13

gastrointestinal tract,

00:13:49:13 - 00:13:50:22

and then be able to say

00:13:50:22 - 00:13:51:19

very clearly

00:13:51:19 - 00:13:52:21

what the response is

00:13:52:21 - 00:13:53:17

in that urea

00:13:53:17 - 00:13:55:00

cycling mechanism.

00:13:55:00 - 00:13:55:13

So it's a

00:13:55:13 - 00:13:56:09

very fundamental

00:13:56:09 - 00:13:57:14

metabolism study.

00:13:57:14 - 00:13:58:04

But often

00:13:58:04 - 00:13:59:11

you'll find in

00:13:59:11 - 00:14:00:09

nutrition research

00:14:00:09 - 00:14:00:22

you kind of have

00:14:00:22 - 00:14:01:20

to start there.

00:14:01:20 - 00:14:02:14

And then you

00:14:02:14 - 00:14:03:21

build out into

00:14:03:21 - 00:14:04:21

what would really be used

00:14:04:21 - 00:14:05:14

in practice.

00:14:05:14 - 00:14:06:08

 Right.

00:14:06:08 - 00:14:06:15

Because it's

00:14:06:15 - 00:14:07:12

and it's a full system,

00:14:07:12 - 00:14:08:06

obviously you're

00:14:08:06 - 00:14:09:00

testing the rumen,

00:14:09:00 - 00:14:09:13

you're testing this,

00:14:09:13 - 00:14:11:03

but then the full impact

00:14:11:03 - 00:14:12:05

on the other organs

00:14:12:05 - 00:14:12:20

and whatnot, too,

00:14:12:20 - 00:14:13:05

I would think

00:14:13:05 - 00:14:14:02

you'd have to look at

00:14:14:02 - 00:14:14:17

and figure out

00:14:14:17 - 00:14:15:09

exactly

00:14:15:09 - 00:14:15:22

with a small

00:14:15:22 - 00:14:16:19

number of animals,

00:14:16:19 - 00:14:17:18

we can take a lot

00:14:17:18 - 00:14:18:13

of measurements,

00:14:18:13 - 00:14:19:08

try to get this

00:14:19:08 - 00:14:21:08

whole full body picture,

00:14:21:08 - 00:14:22:19

which we might not

00:14:22:19 - 00:14:23:12

be able to do

00:14:23:12 - 00:14:24:02

if you're

00:14:24:02 - 00:14:25:09

using a feeding study

00:14:25:09 - 00:14:26:20

where you have, say,

00:14:26:20 - 00:14:28:12

60 animals versus

00:14:28:12 - 00:14:29:02

eight in

00:14:29:02 - 00:14:29:22

a really controlled

00:14:29:22 - 00:14:31:18

environment. Yeah, yeah.

00:14:31:18 - 00:14:32:06

And you spoke

00:14:32:06 - 00:14:32:23

about a little bit there,

00:14:32:23 - 00:14:33:14

but the real

00:14:33:14 - 00:14:34:13

world impact,

00:14:34:13 - 00:14:36:05

how could this impact

00:14:36:05 - 00:14:37:13

the real world?

00:14:37:13 - 00:14:38:20

The even though

00:14:38:20 - 00:14:39:02

this is

00:14:39:02 - 00:14:40:11

a very fundamental,

00:14:40:11 - 00:14:42:03

design of an experiment,

00:14:42:03 - 00:14:44:23

it is still based around

00:14:44:23 - 00:14:46:11

what we do in practice.

00:14:46:11 - 00:14:48:14

So, in reality

00:14:48:14 - 00:14:50:11

now, dairy nutritionists,

00:14:50:11 - 00:14:51:22

we're kind of past

00:14:51:22 - 00:14:52:13

the idea

00:14:52:13 - 00:14:54:20

of how much protein do

00:14:54:20 - 00:14:55:18

dairy cows need,

00:14:55:18 - 00:14:56:12

which that used to be

00:14:56:12 - 00:14:57:07

a question years

00:14:57:07 - 00:14:58:02

and years ago.

00:14:58:02 - 00:14:59:02

Do they need,

00:14:59:02 - 00:15:00:13

you know, a diet

00:15:00:13 - 00:15:01:15

that has 14%

00:15:01:15 - 00:15:02:07

crude protein

00:15:02:07 - 00:15:03:17

or 20% crude protein?

00:15:03:17 - 00:15:04:19

What's better?

00:15:04:19 - 00:15:05:09

That's a really

00:15:05:09 - 00:15:06:18

extreme example.

00:15:06:18 - 00:15:07:09

But now we've

00:15:07:09 - 00:15:08:00

sort of evolved

00:15:08:00 - 00:15:08:11

from that

00:15:08:11 - 00:15:09:08

through science.

00:15:09:08 - 00:15:10:13

And now the question

00:15:10:13 - 00:15:11:01

for dairy

00:15:11:01 - 00:15:11:16

nutritionists in

00:15:11:16 - 00:15:13:14

the field is more around

00:15:13:14 - 00:15:14:18

what is the source

00:15:14:18 - 00:15:15:14

of that protein.

00:15:15:14 - 00:15:17:05

So is it protein sources

00:15:17:05 - 00:15:18:08

that are more degradable

00:15:18:08 - 00:15:18:19

in the rumen

00:15:18:19 - 00:15:20:15

in, or that actually

00:15:20:15 - 00:15:21:16

are more resistant

00:15:21:16 - 00:15:22:21

to microbial degradation

00:15:22:21 - 00:15:23:18

and end up

00:15:23:18 - 00:15:25:12

in, the small intestine

00:15:25:12 - 00:15:26:07

to be absorbed

00:15:26:07 - 00:15:28:07

as amino acids there.

00:15:28:07 - 00:15:29:02

How can they use

00:15:29:02 - 00:15:30:01

those different sources

00:15:30:01 - 00:15:31:07

to manipulate

00:15:31:07 - 00:15:32:06

how efficiently

00:15:32:06 - 00:15:33:08

that protein gets used?

00:15:33:08 - 00:15:33:16

Those are the

00:15:33:16 - 00:15:34:10

types of questions

00:15:34:10 - 00:15:35:10

that nutritionists

00:15:35:10 - 00:15:36:22

really care about now.

00:15:36:22 - 00:15:37:14

So the way this

00:15:37:14 - 00:15:38:19

experiment is designed

00:15:38:19 - 00:15:40:06

is to

00:15:40:06 - 00:15:41:06

answer this question

00:15:41:06 - 00:15:41:19

about urea

00:15:41:19 - 00:15:42:21

recycling based

00:15:42:21 - 00:15:44:05

around the source

00:15:44:05 - 00:15:45:12

of protein.

00:15:45:12 - 00:15:47:14

So even though it's very,

00:15:47:14 - 00:15:48:09

fundamental

00:15:48:09 - 00:15:49:19

in its design,

00:15:49:19 - 00:15:51:05

the takeaways

00:15:51:05 - 00:15:52:21

can be pretty

00:15:52:21 - 00:15:53:09

easily

00:15:53:09 - 00:15:54:11

applied in the field

00:15:54:11 - 00:15:55:10

in the sense that, okay,

00:15:55:10 - 00:15:56:09

when we put more

00:15:56:09 - 00:15:57:06

protein in the rumen

00:15:57:06 - 00:15:57:18

and this was

00:15:57:18 - 00:15:58:09

the response,

00:15:58:09 - 00:15:59:02

if we provide

00:15:59:02 - 00:15:59:23

more of that source

00:15:59:23 - 00:16:01:10

that actually bypasses

00:16:01:10 - 00:16:02:15

rumen and degradation,

00:16:02:15 - 00:16:04:02

we get this response.

00:16:04:02 - 00:16:05:05

So it's not actually

00:16:05:05 - 00:16:06:00

that many steps

00:16:06:00 - 00:16:07:00

before you could start

00:16:07:00 - 00:16:07:07

to make

00:16:07:07 - 00:16:08:21

some recommendations.

00:16:08:21 - 00:16:09:21

Yeah. How exciting.

00:16:09:21 - 00:16:11:02

Yeah this is exciting.

00:16:11:02 - 00:16:12:04

How exciting is it for

00:16:12:04 - 00:16:12:16

you personally

00:16:12:16 - 00:16:13:12

to be part of a study

00:16:13:12 - 00:16:13:22

like this

00:16:13:22 - 00:16:15:06

and to do this research?

00:16:15:06 - 00:16:15:21

Yeah, well,

00:16:15:21 - 00:16:16:06

I'm super

00:16:16:06 - 00:16:17:00

excited about it.

00:16:17:00 - 00:16:17:09

And this

00:16:17:09 - 00:16:18:02

will be my first

00:16:18:02 - 00:16:18:14

big trial

00:16:18:14 - 00:16:20:01

here at UC Davis.

00:16:20:03 - 00:16:20:15

So I'm really

00:16:20:15 - 00:16:21:17

proud of our team,

00:16:21:17 - 00:16:22:13

my grad students

00:16:22:13 - 00:16:23:14

who just started,

00:16:23:14 - 00:16:24:16

we're renovating

00:16:24:16 - 00:16:25:23

a facility here

00:16:25:23 - 00:16:26:07

to be able

00:16:26:07 - 00:16:27:18

to do this research.

00:16:27:18 - 00:16:28:14

So over the past

00:16:28:14 - 00:16:29:04

several years,

00:16:29:04 - 00:16:29:15

there hasn't

00:16:29:15 - 00:16:30:12

been a lot of

00:16:30:12 - 00:16:31:19

individual animal

00:16:31:19 - 00:16:32:15

really intensive

00:16:32:15 - 00:16:33:15

metabolism work.

00:16:33:15 - 00:16:34:21

But we do have

00:16:34:21 - 00:16:35:11

a facility

00:16:35:11 - 00:16:36:15

just across the road here

00:16:36:15 - 00:16:37:04

that has been

00:16:37:04 - 00:16:38:15

a bit underutilized.

00:16:38:15 - 00:16:39:17

So we're currently

00:16:39:17 - 00:16:40:02

working on

00:16:40:02 - 00:16:40:19

some renovations

00:16:40:19 - 00:16:41:11

there to be able

00:16:41:11 - 00:16:42:05

to house,

00:16:42:05 - 00:16:43:14

up to ten

00:16:43:14 - 00:16:45:13

cows in individual pens

00:16:45:13 - 00:16:46:16

and do these types

00:16:46:16 - 00:16:48:07

of really,

00:16:48:07 - 00:16:49:21

detailed measurements

00:16:49:21 - 00:16:50:22

of individual feed

00:16:50:22 - 00:16:53:03

intake, milk production,

00:16:53:03 - 00:16:54:21

having animals being able

00:16:54:21 - 00:16:55:21

easily accessible

00:16:55:21 - 00:16:56:18

for sampling,

00:16:56:18 - 00:16:57:16

things like that.

00:16:57:16 - 00:16:59:12

Looking at their

00:16:59:12 - 00:17:00:06

everything that goes

00:17:00:06 - 00:17:00:21

into the animal,

00:17:00:21 - 00:17:01:20

everything that goes

00:17:01:20 - 00:17:02:23

out of the animal,

00:17:02:23 - 00:17:04:07

and really understand

00:17:04:07 - 00:17:04:12

a lot

00:17:04:12 - 00:17:04:22

about what

00:17:04:22 - 00:17:05:20

goes on in between.

00:17:05:20 - 00:17:07:02

Yeah, yeah.

00:17:07:02 - 00:17:07:17

So I hope

00:17:07:17 - 00:17:09:07

this will kickstart,

00:17:09:07 - 00:17:09:23

a nice line

00:17:09:23 - 00:17:11:01

of extra line of research

00:17:11:01 - 00:17:11:18

for us

00:17:11:18 - 00:17:13:04

over the coming years.

00:17:13:04 - 00:17:13:16

And you,

00:17:13:16 - 00:17:14:08

you spoke about their

00:17:14:08 - 00:17:15:04

about research, too,

00:17:15:04 - 00:17:15:15

and you mentioned it

00:17:15:15 - 00:17:16:05

at the summit

00:17:16:05 - 00:17:17:00

this past spring,

00:17:17:00 - 00:17:18:02

that there are still

00:17:18:02 - 00:17:18:19

a lot of questions

00:17:18:19 - 00:17:20:03

when it comes to cows

00:17:20:03 - 00:17:20:23

and nutrition.

00:17:20:23 - 00:17:22:09

And that's okay.

00:17:22:09 - 00:17:23:03

We've answered some,

00:17:23:03 - 00:17:23:13

but there are a

00:17:23:13 - 00:17:24:11

lot of questions

00:17:24:11 - 00:17:24:17

out there

00:17:24:17 - 00:17:25:11

still to be answered,

00:17:25:11 - 00:17:26:07

which is exciting

00:17:26:07 - 00:17:27:08

for researchers

00:17:27:08 - 00:17:28:10

and for

00:17:28:10 - 00:17:29:06

future students

00:17:29:06 - 00:17:29:22

and researchers

00:17:29:22 - 00:17:30:09

to answer

00:17:30:09 - 00:17:31:16

some of those questions.

00:17:31:16 - 00:17:32:22

I guess the question is,

00:17:32:22 - 00:17:33:13

where do you see

00:17:33:13 - 00:17:34:10

the future of this

00:17:34:10 - 00:17:35:09

sort of research going?

00:17:35:09 - 00:17:36:09

Do you see it going

00:17:36:09 - 00:17:37:21

a certain path or

00:17:37:21 - 00:17:38:21

or do you have any hopes

00:17:38:21 - 00:17:39:09

for the where

00:17:39:09 - 00:17:40:18

the research might go?

00:17:40:18 - 00:17:41:11

Yeah, yeah.

00:17:41:11 - 00:17:42:02

So I mean,

00:17:42:02 - 00:17:44:04

we always have hopes and

00:17:44:04 - 00:17:45:02

big crazy

00:17:45:02 - 00:17:45:18

what seem like

00:17:45:18 - 00:17:47:02

crazy ideas now,

00:17:47:02 - 00:17:47:23

but I'm sure that's

00:17:47:23 - 00:17:48:14

the same thing

00:17:48:14 - 00:17:49:08

that, you know,

00:17:49:08 - 00:17:51:01

my mentors said years ago

00:17:51:01 - 00:17:51:14

and they started

00:17:51:14 - 00:17:52:03

their career.

00:17:52:03 - 00:17:52:11

It's like,

00:17:52:11 - 00:17:52:23

these are probably

00:17:52:23 - 00:17:53:15

crazy ideas.

00:17:53:15 - 00:17:54:08

But now that's

00:17:54:08 - 00:17:54:23

the reality.

00:17:54:23 - 00:17:55:05

You know,

00:17:55:05 - 00:17:56:06

in the industry.

00:17:56:06 - 00:17:56:14

Yeah.

00:17:56:14 - 00:17:57:09

In this area,

00:17:57:09 - 00:17:57:23

I think

00:17:57:23 - 00:17:58:15

what's coming down

00:17:58:15 - 00:17:59:19

the pipe is starting

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to get

00:18:00:16 - 00:18:02:06

way more information

00:18:02:06 - 00:18:04:07

about what

00:18:04:07 - 00:18:05:03

in terms of protein

00:18:05:03 - 00:18:06:05

supply, really,

00:18:06:05 - 00:18:07:09

what are the amino acids

00:18:07:09 - 00:18:08:01

that are available

00:18:08:01 - 00:18:09:05

for absorption

00:18:09:05 - 00:18:10:17

for ruminant animals.

00:18:10:17 - 00:18:12:20

And that has been

00:18:12:20 - 00:18:13:22

for a long time,

00:18:13:22 - 00:18:14:09

a question

00:18:14:09 - 00:18:15:04

that's been a bit hard

00:18:15:04 - 00:18:16:23

to get at in an easily

00:18:16:23 - 00:18:17:18

accessible way.

00:18:17:18 - 00:18:18:18

You needed these

00:18:18:18 - 00:18:19:07

intensive

00:18:19:07 - 00:18:20:10

metabolism studies

00:18:20:10 - 00:18:21:10

to be able to quantify

00:18:21:10 - 00:18:21:20

that,

00:18:21:20 - 00:18:22:17

which is difficult

00:18:22:17 - 00:18:24:11

when you, in reality,

00:18:24:11 - 00:18:26:02

have a really diverse

00:18:26:02 - 00:18:27:12

set of diets across

00:18:27:12 - 00:18:28:13

countries, different

00:18:28:13 - 00:18:29:11

regions of the world,

00:18:29:11 - 00:18:29:22

even different

00:18:29:22 - 00:18:32:09

regions of a state.

00:18:32:11 - 00:18:33:10

How do you

00:18:33:10 - 00:18:34:07

capture all of

00:18:34:07 - 00:18:35:17

that variability?

00:18:35:17 - 00:18:37:05

By taking samples

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that are

00:18:37:10 - 00:18:38:05

easily accessible

00:18:38:05 - 00:18:39:01

that you can do across

00:18:39:01 - 00:18:40:04

a lot of animals.

00:18:40:04 - 00:18:40:15

And I think

00:18:40:15 - 00:18:41:14

that's an area

00:18:41:14 - 00:18:42:12

that me

00:18:42:12 - 00:18:43:06

and some collaborators

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are starting to work on

00:18:44:17 - 00:18:45:11

for the future

00:18:45:11 - 00:18:46:17

to help optimize

00:18:46:17 - 00:18:48:02

nutritional models,

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help have

00:18:49:01 - 00:18:49:23

a better understanding

00:18:49:23 - 00:18:51:04

of the response

00:18:51:04 - 00:18:52:16

to a nutritionist

00:18:52:16 - 00:18:53:12

making a

00:18:53:12 - 00:18:54:07

particular choice

00:18:54:07 - 00:18:54:18

about one

00:18:54:18 - 00:18:55:13

ingredient versus

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another

00:18:56:05 - 00:18:56:19

in terms

00:18:56:19 - 00:18:57:20

of the efficiency

00:18:57:20 - 00:18:58:20

with which the protein

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in that ingredient

00:18:59:14 - 00:19:00:09

is going to be used

00:19:00:09 - 00:19:01:03

for milk

00:19:01:03 - 00:19:03:00

or muscle, whatever.

00:19:03:00 - 00:19:04:03

The case may be.

00:19:04:03 - 00:19:04:13

So that's

00:19:04:13 - 00:19:05:15

really exciting.

00:19:05:15 - 00:19:07:02

I also think

00:19:07:02 - 00:19:07:17

thinking about

00:19:07:17 - 00:19:08:21

the impact of

00:19:08:21 - 00:19:09:23

early life protein

00:19:09:23 - 00:19:11:10

nutrition on later life,

00:19:11:10 - 00:19:12:12

nitrogen efficiency

00:19:12:12 - 00:19:12:23

is a really

00:19:12:23 - 00:19:13:21

interesting area.

00:19:13:21 - 00:19:17:17

There's, abundant,

00:19:17:17 - 00:19:18:12

calf research

00:19:18:12 - 00:19:19:03

that goes on.

00:19:19:03 - 00:19:20:07

There's some really,

00:19:20:07 - 00:19:21:01

expert

00:19:21:01 - 00:19:22:19

calf research out there

00:19:22:19 - 00:19:24:04

starting to look at,

00:19:24:04 - 00:19:25:13

nutritional profile

00:19:25:13 - 00:19:26:08

for calves.

00:19:26:08 - 00:19:27:18

Over the last several

00:19:27:18 - 00:19:29:09

years, protein is an area

00:19:29:09 - 00:19:30:01

that I think has

00:19:30:01 - 00:19:33:11

been under evaluated.

00:19:33:13 - 00:19:34:11

And then is

00:19:34:11 - 00:19:35:11

there what is the

00:19:35:11 - 00:19:37:01

impact on calves

00:19:37:01 - 00:19:37:14

being fed

00:19:37:14 - 00:19:38:09

a certain profile

00:19:38:09 - 00:19:39:05

of protein

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source or level?

00:19:40:13 - 00:19:42:05

Does that impact

00:19:42:05 - 00:19:42:20

how efficient

00:19:42:20 - 00:19:43:10

they are using

00:19:43:10 - 00:19:45:13

nitrogen in later life?

00:19:45:13 - 00:19:46:09

That's one of those

00:19:46:09 - 00:19:46:18

like big,

00:19:46:18 - 00:19:49:18

crazy types of questions.

00:19:49:20 - 00:19:50:18

So that's something

00:19:50:18 - 00:19:52:01

I'm interested in. Yeah.

00:19:52:01 - 00:19:52:19

So those are

00:19:52:19 - 00:19:53:11

some of the areas

00:19:53:11 - 00:19:54:07

that hopefully my lab

00:19:54:07 - 00:19:55:00

will tackle over

00:19:55:00 - 00:19:56:08

the next couple of years.

00:19:56:08 - 00:19:57:03

That's exciting.

00:19:57:03 - 00:19:57:17

Yeah, that's

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really exciting.

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Anything I didn't ask you

00:19:59:12 - 00:20:00:08

that you want to add

00:20:00:08 - 00:20:01:04

about the research

00:20:01:04 - 00:20:02:01

going on here

00:20:02:01 - 00:20:03:10

and your time at UC

00:20:03:10 - 00:20:04:04

Davis?

00:20:04:04 - 00:20:04:20

Thank you for being

00:20:04:20 - 00:20:05:01

thank you

00:20:05:01 - 00:20:05:22

for coming to UC Davis.

00:20:05:22 - 00:20:07:11

Yeah, I know it's

00:20:07:11 - 00:20:08:11

great to be here.

00:20:08:11 - 00:20:09:21

I think this is

00:20:09:21 - 00:20:10:14

a good place

00:20:10:14 - 00:20:13:00

to be for this nitrogen.

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Question.

00:20:15:07 - 00:20:16:13

I know when I,

00:20:16:13 - 00:20:17:17

you know, met Frank

00:20:17:17 - 00:20:18:12

a couple years ago

00:20:18:12 - 00:20:19:12

now,

00:20:19:12 - 00:20:20:22

during my interviews

00:20:20:22 - 00:20:21:13

and things like that,

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when I was thinking

00:20:22:03 - 00:20:23:03

about coming here,

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he was very adamant

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that nitrogen

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would be a problem here.

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And it's already

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a problem here

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in California,

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but that the fact that

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if we kind of lead

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by example

00:20:32:19 - 00:20:33:17

with methane, there's

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no reason to think

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that we couldn't

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do the same

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in terms

00:20:36:22 - 00:20:38:02

of the nitrogen problem

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as well.

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So, I think I'm

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happy to be in a place

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where I came from,

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a place

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where

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that was really relevant,

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that being

00:20:44:18 - 00:20:45:11

the Netherlands

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at wageningen

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university

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to another area

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that it's relevant,

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and then to be

00:20:49:23 - 00:20:50:12

at the place

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where already has

00:20:51:17 - 00:20:52:13

a strong reputation

00:20:52:13 - 00:20:53:07

of making investments

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on the dairy industry

00:20:54:06 - 00:20:55:03

in the state,

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and then by extension,

00:20:56:12 - 00:20:57:19

the country.

00:20:57:19 - 00:20:58:15

Yeah, that's

00:20:58:15 - 00:21:01:07

that's special.

00:21:01:09 - 00:21:02:09

there's a lot of research

00:21:02:09 - 00:21:03:03

to still be done

00:21:03:03 - 00:21:03:16

and we're excited.

00:21:03:16 - 00:21:04:04

You're part

00:21:04:04 - 00:21:05:02

of the research

00:21:05:02 - 00:21:05:22

here at UC Davis.

00:21:05:22 - 00:21:06:13

And thank you so much

00:21:06:13 - 00:21:07:06

for joining us

00:21:07:06 - 00:21:08:06

and sharing

00:21:08:06 - 00:21:09:01

your knowledge with us.

00:21:09:01 - 00:21:10:13

Yeah, of course.

00:21:10:13 - 00:21:11:03

And thank you

00:21:11:03 - 00:21:11:17

for joining us.

00:21:11:17 - 00:21:12:14

We'll see you again

00:21:12:14 - 00:21:13:02

next time.

00:21:13:02 - 00:21:14:03

on clear conversations.

Conor McCabe sits down with CLEAR Conversations host, Tracy Sellers. At the CLEAR Center at UC Davis, researchers spend their days asking a big question with global stakes: how can we raise livestock in ways that are more climate-friendly? For PhD student Conor McCabe, now approaching the end of his fifth year in the Mitloehner Lab, that question has fueled not just one research project—but nearly an entire year of long days, early mornings, and a sprawling scientific effort that spans animals, microbes, emissions, and the future of food systems.

McCabe didn’t start out as a dairy kid. He grew up on a small farm in Oregon—“pretty much an Old McDonald’s farm,” he jokes—with pigs, cattle, pumpkins, and Christmas trees. His mother once served as a dairy princess, but dairy cattle weren’t part of Connor’s life until college. After studying animal science across Cornell, Purdue, and now UC Davis, he’s seen “different pockets of cows across the country,” as he puts it. But it wasn’t until arriving at Davis that he found the right intersection of ruminant biology and real-world impact.

Text File:

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Because at the

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end of the day,

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what we're

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thinking about

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how can we

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improve nutrition,

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how can we reduce

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environmental impacts,

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and how can we help with

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the billions of people

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that are involved

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in livestock systems.

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Think about

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how do we create more

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sustainable food systems,

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at least for

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for the rest of my

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my career here.

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Welcome to

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Clear Conversations.

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You know,

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the clear center.

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Our researchers

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are testing ways

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to make livestock

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more climate friendly.

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And today,

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we're going to be talking

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to one of

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those researchers.

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His name is

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Conor McCabe,

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and he's a

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PhD student in the

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Mitloehner lab.

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He is working

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with feed additives

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with dairy cows.

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And he's going to tell us

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a little bit

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about his research today.

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Conor,

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thanks for joining us.

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I'm so happy to be here

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and looking

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forward to it.

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All right.

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We are looking forward

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to talking to you.

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So first of all,

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tell us a little bit

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about yourself

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and your background.

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You've done a lot,

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even

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before you came to UC

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Davis. You've done a lot.

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So tell us a little bit

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about that. Yeah.

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So I'm currently

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wrapping up

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the fifth year of my,

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my PhD here at Davis.

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The last couple of months

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of my time

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is coming up here,

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but I'm originally

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from the West Coast,

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originally from Oregon

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as my hometown where

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my family has a

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small farm where we have,

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pigs,

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cattle, Christmas

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trees, pumpkins,

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all that order.

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So a big

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old McDonald farm,

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and that got my interest

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in animal science.

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And then

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I went to New York,

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to Cornell for undergrad,

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did a masters at Purdue,

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and now

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I've come here to UC

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Davis.

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There's cows

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across the country.

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So I've kind of seen

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a little different

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pockets of,

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cows throughout my work.

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My mom was a dairy

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princess growing up,

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but we had no,

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no experience

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or affiliation

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with dairy cattle myself

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because the cows

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were sold off

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before I was born.

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But it came

00:01:43:05 - 00:01:43:21

on back to me,

00:01:43:21 - 00:01:44:08

and I've since

00:01:44:08 - 00:01:45:01

been involved

00:01:45:01 - 00:01:45:22

ever since here

00:01:45:22 - 00:01:46:08

with different

00:01:46:08 - 00:01:47:11

research projects

00:01:47:11 - 00:01:49:03

across different places

00:01:49:03 - 00:01:49:16

of the country.

00:01:49:16 - 00:01:50:19

And I knew all along

00:01:50:19 - 00:01:51:10

that I had an interest

00:01:51:10 - 00:01:51:21

in coming back

00:01:51:21 - 00:01:52:17

to the West Coast.

00:01:52:17 - 00:01:54:08

I had an interest in,

00:01:54:08 - 00:01:54:16

looking

00:01:54:16 - 00:01:55:02

at the

00:01:55:02 - 00:01:55:20

environmental

00:01:55:20 - 00:01:56:13

opportunities

00:01:56:13 - 00:01:58:02

in animal agriculture.

00:01:58:02 - 00:01:58:15

And UC Davis

00:01:58:15 - 00:01:59:09

was really the place

00:01:59:09 - 00:02:00:07

for that to be

00:02:00:07 - 00:02:01:04

and for me to come to.

00:02:01:04 - 00:02:02:10

So,

00:02:02:12 - 00:02:03:14

this lab and this

00:02:03:14 - 00:02:04:08

opportunity here

00:02:04:08 - 00:02:05:02

with Dr. Mitloehner

00:02:05:02 - 00:02:05:14

really checked

00:02:05:14 - 00:02:06:09

all those boxes

00:02:06:09 - 00:02:08:01

and then led into me

00:02:08:01 - 00:02:08:21

coming here to

00:02:08:21 - 00:02:10:07

to Davis five years ago.

00:02:10:07 - 00:02:11:02

Where were I

00:02:11:02 - 00:02:11:08

I know

00:02:11:08 - 00:02:11:20

I'm in

00:02:11:20 - 00:02:12:15

the final stages

00:02:12:15 - 00:02:13:19

right now, so why

00:02:13:19 - 00:02:14:10

why dairy cows

00:02:14:10 - 00:02:15:06

and why sustainability?

00:02:15:06 - 00:02:15:18

Why was that

00:02:15:18 - 00:02:16:12

interesting to you?

00:02:16:12 - 00:02:17:04

Why did you know

00:02:17:04 - 00:02:18:09

you wanted to do that?

00:02:18:09 - 00:02:18:17

Yeah.

00:02:18:17 - 00:02:20:21

So I think there's

00:02:20:21 - 00:02:21:09

I mean, it's

00:02:21:09 - 00:02:22:05

one of the hottest topics

00:02:22:05 - 00:02:24:19

for sure right now.

00:02:24:19 - 00:02:25:06

You know,

00:02:25:06 - 00:02:26:01

I had a lot of

00:02:26:01 - 00:02:26:22

opportunities with pigs,

00:02:26:22 - 00:02:27:05

and that's

00:02:27:05 - 00:02:27:23

actually my first

00:02:27:23 - 00:02:30:10

entryway to,

00:02:30:10 - 00:02:31:09

to livestock.

00:02:31:09 - 00:02:32:05

But then when I

00:02:32:05 - 00:02:33:12

went to undergrad,

00:02:33:12 - 00:02:34:19

the only opportunity

00:02:34:19 - 00:02:35:05

to get involved

00:02:35:05 - 00:02:35:13

in production

00:02:35:13 - 00:02:36:19

agriculture was

00:02:36:19 - 00:02:38:05

dairy cattle.

00:02:38:05 - 00:02:38:15

Because that's

00:02:38:15 - 00:02:40:22

what Cornell offered.

00:02:40:22 - 00:02:42:02

And, you know, at

00:02:42:02 - 00:02:42:10

first

00:02:42:10 - 00:02:43:12

I started learning more.

00:02:43:12 - 00:02:43:21

So I gained

00:02:43:21 - 00:02:44:12

a liking to it.

00:02:44:12 - 00:02:45:13

And then really

00:02:45:13 - 00:02:46:20

seeing opportunities

00:02:46:20 - 00:02:47:20

are open to you

00:02:47:20 - 00:02:48:13

through what

00:02:48:13 - 00:02:49:12

I had in undergrad,

00:02:49:12 - 00:02:50:04

from research,

00:02:50:04 - 00:02:51:18

from teaching, from,

00:02:51:18 - 00:02:52:21

on farm opportunities.

00:02:52:21 - 00:02:53:09

You know,

00:02:53:09 - 00:02:54:09

no dairy farm

00:02:54:09 - 00:02:55:20

is the same, you know,

00:02:55:20 - 00:02:57:04

in terms of management,

00:02:57:04 - 00:02:57:15

in terms

00:02:57:15 - 00:02:58:17

of different practices,

00:02:58:17 - 00:02:59:03

in terms

00:02:59:03 - 00:03:00:10

of what different

00:03:00:10 - 00:03:01:15

situations,

00:03:01:15 - 00:03:02:11

are spread out

00:03:02:11 - 00:03:03:20

and like the different

00:03:03:20 - 00:03:04:19

management strategies.

00:03:04:19 - 00:03:05:12

I felt like, wow,

00:03:05:12 - 00:03:06:05

this is really cool.

00:03:06:05 - 00:03:06:17

There's a lot of

00:03:06:17 - 00:03:08:14

opportunities here.

00:03:08:16 - 00:03:09:09

Plus, I

00:03:09:09 - 00:03:10:08

really enjoy butter,

00:03:10:08 - 00:03:11:04

ice cream, cheese,

00:03:11:04 - 00:03:12:08

like many of us do

00:03:12:08 - 00:03:13:06

other points

00:03:13:06 - 00:03:14:05

So it's been,

00:03:14:05 - 00:03:16:00

been a cool opportunity point

00:03:16:00 - 00:03:16:13

But I know a lot of

00:03:16:13 - 00:03:17:02

people are interested

00:03:17:02 - 00:03:17:19

about sustainability

00:03:17:19 - 00:03:18:06

and thinking about

00:03:18:06 - 00:03:19:09

what is

00:03:19:09 - 00:03:20:22

the role of dairy cattle

00:03:20:22 - 00:03:22:08

in livestock systems.

00:03:22:08 - 00:03:23:15

And, you know,

00:03:23:15 - 00:03:24:08

I have those

00:03:24:08 - 00:03:25:22

same questions, too,

00:03:25:22 - 00:03:26:15

coming up, in terms

00:03:26:15 - 00:03:28:09

of what our opportunities

00:03:28:09 - 00:03:29:20

here, where

00:03:29:20 - 00:03:31:00

where do cattle fit

00:03:31:00 - 00:03:32:13

to the climate systems

00:03:32:13 - 00:03:34:02

and what,

00:03:34:02 - 00:03:35:04

what role do they play

00:03:35:04 - 00:03:36:13

and thinking about

00:03:36:13 - 00:03:37:05

food systems

00:03:37:05 - 00:03:38:23

as a whole and so,

00:03:38:23 - 00:03:39:11

California,

00:03:39:11 - 00:03:39:21

of course,

00:03:39:21 - 00:03:41:22

has many different forces

00:03:41:22 - 00:03:43:16

that are all combined

00:03:43:16 - 00:03:45:02

in this nexus right here.

00:03:45:02 - 00:03:45:23

And so I wanted to,

00:03:45:23 - 00:03:46:23

to pursue

00:03:46:23 - 00:03:47:17

this pathway

00:03:47:17 - 00:03:48:12

and think about

00:03:48:12 - 00:03:48:20

what are

00:03:48:20 - 00:03:49:17

some real opportunities.

00:03:49:17 - 00:03:50:18

And this is

00:03:50:18 - 00:03:51:09

this field

00:03:51:09 - 00:03:52:15

is exponential growing.

00:03:52:15 - 00:03:53:07

And it's still going

00:03:53:07 - 00:03:53:21

to continue

00:03:53:21 - 00:03:55:00

that exponential

00:03:55:00 - 00:03:56:04

growth here going forward

00:03:56:04 - 00:03:57:05

in terms of

00:03:57:05 - 00:03:57:17

thinking about

00:03:57:17 - 00:03:58:10

how do we continue

00:03:58:10 - 00:03:59:16

to have animals

00:03:59:16 - 00:04:01:09

part of food system

00:04:01:09 - 00:04:02:22

sustainability solutions.

00:04:02:22 - 00:04:03:20

And speaking about that,

00:04:03:20 - 00:04:04:05

let's talk

00:04:04:05 - 00:04:05:11

about ruminant animals

00:04:05:11 - 00:04:06:10

and what makes them so

00:04:06:10 - 00:04:07:23

complex and unique.

00:04:07:23 - 00:04:09:02

And what is a ruminant animal

00:04:09:02 - 00:04:10:03

explain that to us

00:04:10:03 - 00:04:10:18

a little bit.

00:04:10:18 - 00:04:11:00

Yeah.

00:04:11:00 - 00:04:11:12

So ruminant

00:04:11:12 - 00:04:12:20

animals are animals

00:04:12:20 - 00:04:14:03

that have specific

00:04:14:03 - 00:04:15:20

four chambered stomachs.

00:04:15:20 - 00:04:16:17

So they've evolved

00:04:16:17 - 00:04:17:06

over thousands

00:04:17:06 - 00:04:18:19

of thousands of years.

00:04:18:19 - 00:04:19:07

And this isn't

00:04:19:07 - 00:04:20:09

not just include cattle

00:04:20:09 - 00:04:21:21

or goats or sheep

00:04:21:21 - 00:04:22:18

that we have, you know,

00:04:22:18 - 00:04:23:20

on, farms

00:04:23:20 - 00:04:24:13

here in California

00:04:24:13 - 00:04:25:20

across the US.

00:04:25:20 - 00:04:27:01

But this also includes

00:04:27:01 - 00:04:28:04

the deer,

00:04:28:04 - 00:04:29:03

the bison,

00:04:29:03 - 00:04:31:04

the wild animals, too.

00:04:31:04 - 00:04:31:13

In order

00:04:31:13 - 00:04:33:10

for them to predominantly,

00:04:33:10 - 00:04:34:12

consume their diets

00:04:34:12 - 00:04:35:09

that are high in fiber

00:04:35:09 - 00:04:36:12

and things that humans

00:04:36:12 - 00:04:38:01

can't consume.

00:04:38:01 - 00:04:38:18

They utilize

00:04:38:18 - 00:04:39:11

this different

00:04:39:11 - 00:04:40:06

chambered stomach

00:04:40:06 - 00:04:40:14

to help

00:04:40:14 - 00:04:41:12

break down the fiber,

00:04:41:12 - 00:04:42:00

thanks to the help

00:04:42:00 - 00:04:42:12

of microbes

00:04:42:12 - 00:04:44:00

present in the gut.

00:04:44:00 - 00:04:44:14

And so in order

00:04:44:14 - 00:04:45:14

for them to consume feed,

00:04:45:14 - 00:04:48:13

of course, they have to,

00:04:48:15 - 00:04:50:01

have microbes to aid in

00:04:50:01 - 00:04:50:23

that digestion

00:04:50:23 - 00:04:52:06

of what they consume.

00:04:52:06 - 00:04:52:20

But then there's

00:04:52:20 - 00:04:53:18

also a trade off

00:04:53:18 - 00:04:55:11

in byproduct that

00:04:55:11 - 00:04:58:09

that methane is produced,

00:04:58:09 - 00:05:00:08

as a result of that

00:05:00:08 - 00:05:01:18

fermentation break down

00:05:01:18 - 00:05:02:15

process in the gut.

00:05:02:15 - 00:05:04:04

So, thinking about

00:05:04:04 - 00:05:05:11

how can you still provide

00:05:05:11 - 00:05:05:22

for animals

00:05:05:22 - 00:05:06:11

and think about

00:05:06:11 - 00:05:06:19

what they

00:05:06:19 - 00:05:07:18

need

00:05:07:20 - 00:05:09:00

and how they've evolved,

00:05:09:00 - 00:05:10:18

while also limiting

00:05:10:18 - 00:05:11:08

methane emissions

00:05:11:08 - 00:05:12:07

at the same time

00:05:12:07 - 00:05:14:07

Is this counterbalance,

00:05:14:07 - 00:05:15:14

place that we

00:05:15:14 - 00:05:16:12

we think about

00:05:16:12 - 00:05:17:12

what are opportunities

00:05:17:12 - 00:05:19:02

to find solutions

00:05:19:02 - 00:05:19:21

that 

00:05:19:21 - 00:05:21:09

maximize animal health

00:05:21:09 - 00:05:22:10

and what they've evolved,

00:05:22:10 - 00:05:23:11

to consume.

00:05:23:11 - 00:05:24:02

But also,

00:05:24:02 - 00:05:24:13

how can we

00:05:24:13 - 00:05:25:06

essentially limit

00:05:25:06 - 00:05:27:00

or reduce

00:05:27:00 - 00:05:28:04

those methane emissions

00:05:28:04 - 00:05:28:20

produced that way

00:05:28:20 - 00:05:29:17

as well?

00:05:29:17 - 00:05:30:08

And one of those

00:05:30:08 - 00:05:31:12

possible solutions

00:05:31:12 - 00:05:32:16

are feed additives

00:05:32:16 - 00:05:33:07

And that's what you're

00:05:33:07 - 00:05:33:18

working on.

00:05:33:18 - 00:05:34:17

Explain your research

00:05:34:17 - 00:05:35:15

a little bit to us.

00:05:35:15 - 00:05:36:20

Yeah, so feed additives.

00:05:36:20 - 00:05:37:08

You know, I love

00:05:37:08 - 00:05:39:09

to use the analogy

00:05:39:09 - 00:05:40:09

of how we

00:05:40:09 - 00:05:41:00

where we feed

00:05:41:00 - 00:05:41:08

animals

00:05:41:08 - 00:05:42:12

is basically a casserole.

00:05:42:12 - 00:05:43:00

So we take

00:05:43:00 - 00:05:43:19

everything together,

00:05:43:19 - 00:05:44:12

we take the haze,

00:05:44:12 - 00:05:45:18

we take the byproducts,

00:05:45:18 - 00:05:46:08

and we mix them

00:05:46:08 - 00:05:46:21

all together

00:05:46:21 - 00:05:47:15

so that, you know,

00:05:47:15 - 00:05:47:20

when you're

00:05:47:20 - 00:05:49:03

taking a scoop of

00:05:49:03 - 00:05:49:18

that casserole,

00:05:49:18 - 00:05:50:05

you're not just

00:05:50:05 - 00:05:51:09

getting the,

00:05:51:09 - 00:05:52:19

the pasta

00:05:52:19 - 00:05:53:07

the noodles

00:05:53:07 - 00:05:53:19

or the sauce.

00:05:53:19 - 00:05:54:11

You're getting everything

00:05:54:11 - 00:05:55:20

involved in that.

00:05:55:20 - 00:05:56:10

The additives, it's

00:05:56:10 - 00:05:56:19

just like

00:05:56:19 - 00:05:57:16

the small spices

00:05:57:16 - 00:05:58:04

that you add on

00:05:58:04 - 00:05:58:19

on top of it

00:05:58:19 - 00:05:59:04

before you

00:05:59:04 - 00:05:59:18

put it in the oven.

00:05:59:18 - 00:06:00:16

There.

00:06:00:16 - 00:06:01:00

So these are

00:06:01:00 - 00:06:02:14

small, components

00:06:02:14 - 00:06:03:07

that have the ability

00:06:03:07 - 00:06:04:18

to make a big impact

00:06:04:18 - 00:06:05:13

on emissions

00:06:05:13 - 00:06:06:17

because they can do

00:06:06:17 - 00:06:07:06

two things.

00:06:07:06 - 00:06:07:22

They can do one,

00:06:07:22 - 00:06:09:02

they can inhibit

00:06:09:02 - 00:06:10:00

the pathway

00:06:10:00 - 00:06:10:17

or the enzymes

00:06:10:17 - 00:06:11:08

that are responsible

00:06:11:08 - 00:06:12:18

for methane formation

00:06:12:18 - 00:06:13:15

or they can make it

00:06:13:15 - 00:06:14:16

less favorable to form

00:06:14:16 - 00:06:15:03

methane in the

00:06:15:03 - 00:06:16:08

first place.

00:06:16:08 - 00:06:17:05

Two classifications.

00:06:17:05 - 00:06:18:01

The first one there

00:06:18:01 - 00:06:18:15

that I talked about

00:06:18:15 - 00:06:19:09

be inhibitors,

00:06:19:09 - 00:06:20:03

the second one will be

00:06:20:03 - 00:06:21:10

rumen modifiers there

00:06:21:10 - 00:06:22:07

that in small amounts

00:06:22:07 - 00:06:23:16

can have impacts anywhere

00:06:23:16 - 00:06:24:15

from about 10

00:06:24:15 - 00:06:26:05

to 30% reductions.

00:06:26:05 - 00:06:28:02

Wow, wow.

00:06:28:02 - 00:06:28:22

So tell us a little bit

00:06:28:22 - 00:06:29:18

about the research study

00:06:29:18 - 00:06:30:07

that you've been

00:06:30:07 - 00:06:30:21

a part of here,

00:06:30:21 - 00:06:31:22

how big it is.

00:06:31:22 - 00:06:32:16

And just

00:06:32:16 - 00:06:33:06

I mean, just tell us

00:06:33:06 - 00:06:33:20

a little bit about it

00:06:33:20 - 00:06:34:15

because it is amazing.

00:06:34:15 - 00:06:34:22

Yeah.

00:06:34:22 - 00:06:35:22

So it's been going on

00:06:35:22 - 00:06:39:02

for almost

00:06:39:04 - 00:06:39:20

almost a year.

00:06:39:20 - 00:06:40:03

We're going to

00:06:40:03 - 00:06:40:14

approaching that

00:06:40:14 - 00:06:41:02

at this point

00:06:41:02 - 00:06:41:16

and still not

00:06:41:16 - 00:06:42:18

even halfway over.

00:06:42:18 - 00:06:43:18

So it is

00:06:43:18 - 00:06:45:14

it's a long haul.

00:06:45:14 - 00:06:46:16

Coming here.

00:06:46:16 - 00:06:47:13

at Davis,

00:06:47:13 - 00:06:48:01

we’re working with

00:06:48:01 - 00:06:49:18

the molecule,

00:06:49:18 - 00:06:51:14

3-Nitrooxypropanol

00:06:51:14 - 00:06:52:13

or how we're going to

00:06:52:13 - 00:06:53:07

to refer it on

00:06:53:07 - 00:06:53:19

out here,

00:06:53:19 - 00:06:54:20

just say 3-NOP

00:06:54:20 - 00:06:56:02

because that's,

00:06:56:02 - 00:06:56:18

a little bit easier

00:06:56:18 - 00:06:57:08

for on the

00:06:57:08 - 00:06:59:02

on the eyes and ears.

00:06:59:02 - 00:07:00:07

3-NOP is a product

00:07:00:07 - 00:07:00:21

that's coming

00:07:00:21 - 00:07:01:07

commercially

00:07:01:07 - 00:07:02:03

available here

00:07:02:03 - 00:07:02:22

in California, though

00:07:02:22 - 00:07:03:07

different

00:07:03:07 - 00:07:04:04

different companies

00:07:04:04 - 00:07:04:17

in many

00:07:04:17 - 00:07:05:07

different countries

00:07:05:07 - 00:07:05:18

around the world.

00:07:05:18 - 00:07:07:10

But it's been,

00:07:07:12 - 00:07:08:07

approved by different

00:07:08:07 - 00:07:09:15

regulatory groups.

00:07:09:15 - 00:07:10:18

And,

00:07:10:18 - 00:07:11:13

it has the opportunity

00:07:11:13 - 00:07:11:23

to reduce

00:07:11:23 - 00:07:12:16

methane emissions

00:07:12:16 - 00:07:13:00

by anywhere

00:07:13:00 - 00:07:14:07

from about 20 to 30%,

00:07:14:07 - 00:07:15:11

depending on the study,

00:07:15:11 - 00:07:16:08

depending on

00:07:16:08 - 00:07:16:23

what what

00:07:16:23 - 00:07:18:09

animals are fed.

00:07:18:09 - 00:07:18:22

Because of course

00:07:18:22 - 00:07:19:14

there's interactions,

00:07:19:14 - 00:07:20:02

of course, when

00:07:20:02 - 00:07:21:01

the animals eat

00:07:21:01 - 00:07:21:19

to how much methane

00:07:21:19 - 00:07:22:07

they produce

00:07:22:07 - 00:07:23:02

and how well this

00:07:23:02 - 00:07:24:18

3-NOP works.

00:07:24:18 - 00:07:25:01

Well,

00:07:25:01 - 00:07:25:21

our goal for this

00:07:25:21 - 00:07:28:09

project is is looking at

00:07:28:09 - 00:07:29:09

you know,

00:07:29:09 - 00:07:30:08

I talked about animals

00:07:30:08 - 00:07:30:20

evolving

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for a ruminant stomach

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over thousands of years.

00:07:34:06 - 00:07:36:05

But these,

00:07:36:05 - 00:07:37:08

digestive systems of cows

00:07:37:08 - 00:07:38:18

have never seen something

00:07:38:18 - 00:07:39:20

that would inhibit

00:07:39:20 - 00:07:41:05

methane production.

00:07:41:05 - 00:07:42:13

For this period of time.

00:07:42:13 - 00:07:43:15

So could

00:07:43:15 - 00:07:45:01

the microbes in the gut

00:07:45:01 - 00:07:46:18

essentially work around

00:07:46:18 - 00:07:49:03

these stressors?

00:07:49:03 - 00:07:49:18

Because that's essential.

00:07:49:18 - 00:07:50:04

what they are

00:07:50:04 - 00:07:52:05

They're disrupting what,

00:07:52:05 - 00:07:52:20

what would have

00:07:52:20 - 00:07:54:02

historically been a

00:07:54:02 - 00:07:54:19

natural part

00:07:54:19 - 00:07:56:09

of digestion there.

00:07:56:09 - 00:07:57:05

And so

00:07:57:05 - 00:07:57:22

we're looking

00:07:57:22 - 00:07:58:15

interested to see

00:07:58:15 - 00:07:59:11

are emission reductions

00:07:59:11 - 00:08:00:07

the same on day

00:08:00:07 - 00:08:01:20

one as they are on day

00:08:01:20 - 00:08:03:11

500 plus.

00:08:03:11 - 00:08:04:18

Is the real interest here

00:08:04:18 - 00:08:05:18

because there's

00:08:05:18 - 00:08:06:14

there's folks

00:08:06:14 - 00:08:07:09

in the dairy industry,

00:08:07:09 - 00:08:08:01

there's folks

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who are milk buyers

00:08:09:14 - 00:08:10:00

and trying

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to figure out their own,

00:08:11:19 - 00:08:13:03

solutions for their own

00:08:13:03 - 00:08:14:00

milk supply chain

00:08:14:00 - 00:08:15:19

and carbon associations

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to figure out,

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can we utilize

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this feed additive

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as a solution today,

00:08:22:06 - 00:08:25:00

next year, next decade?

00:08:25:00 - 00:08:25:20

As we think about

00:08:25:20 - 00:08:26:14

trying to

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permanently reduce

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methane emissions

00:08:29:10 - 00:08:30:05

long term here

00:08:30:05 - 00:08:30:22

in California.

00:08:30:22 - 00:08:31:19

Wow.

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So how big is this?

00:08:32:16 - 00:08:32:21

I mean,

00:08:32:21 - 00:08:33:14

how many cows

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can we talk about that?

00:08:34:11 - 00:08:34:20

Yeah.

00:08:34:20 - 00:08:35:14

And the scope

00:08:35:14 - 00:08:36:10

and size and scale.

00:08:36:10 - 00:08:38:02

So you know, right now

00:08:38:02 - 00:08:40:04

we currently have 66

00:08:40:04 - 00:08:41:18

cows on study.

00:08:41:18 - 00:08:42:10

When you look at the

00:08:42:10 - 00:08:43:14

UC Davis dairy,

00:08:43:14 - 00:08:44:19

that's about two thirds

00:08:44:19 - 00:08:45:06

the animals.

00:08:45:06 - 00:08:46:00

So

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so we're basically feeding

00:08:46:21 - 00:08:48:10

the entire dairy of cows

00:08:48:10 - 00:08:49:08

every single

00:08:49:08 - 00:08:50:04

morning in the night,

00:08:50:04 - 00:08:51:09

which is a lot of work.

00:08:51:09 - 00:08:51:19

And there's a whole

00:08:51:19 - 00:08:52:04

bunch of people

00:08:52:04 - 00:08:52:15

that are involved

00:08:52:15 - 00:08:53:10

in making this happen

00:08:53:10 - 00:08:54:22

from other grad students,

00:08:54:22 - 00:08:55:18

junior specialists,

00:08:55:18 - 00:08:57:23

postdocs, undergrads,

00:08:57:23 - 00:08:58:14

who are all putting

00:08:58:14 - 00:08:59:09

in a lot of hours

00:08:59:09 - 00:09:00:01

and making

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this all happen every

00:09:01:03 - 00:09:02:23

single day of the year.

00:09:03:01 - 00:09:03:21

And, you know,

00:09:03:21 - 00:09:05:12

it's going to be

00:09:05:12 - 00:09:06:15

have a big celebration

00:09:06:15 - 00:09:07:03

for sure.

00:09:07:03 - 00:09:07:21

When it's all

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going to be done

00:09:09:08 - 00:09:10:02

when they

00:09:10:02 - 00:09:10:16

when we finally

00:09:10:16 - 00:09:11:06

figure out that,

00:09:11:06 - 00:09:11:17

that final,

00:09:11:17 - 00:09:12:10

they’d have to pencil

00:09:12:10 - 00:09:14:16

that in and figure out,

00:09:14:16 - 00:09:15:08

where, what

00:09:15:08 - 00:09:16:00

what celebration

00:09:16:00 - 00:09:16:18

we're going to do then.

00:09:16:18 - 00:09:18:07

But, yeah,

00:09:18:07 - 00:09:19:01

it's a whole lot

00:09:19:01 - 00:09:19:21

of combinations.

00:09:19:21 - 00:09:21:02

And they’re so different

00:09:21:02 - 00:09:21:20

many offsets

00:09:21:20 - 00:09:22:13

that we're looking at.

00:09:22:13 - 00:09:24:13

How does this impact,

00:09:24:13 - 00:09:25:05

the whole animal.

00:09:25:05 - 00:09:25:20

So how does it

00:09:25:20 - 00:09:27:10

impacts, emissions?

00:09:27:10 - 00:09:28:11

How does it impact animal

00:09:28:11 - 00:09:28:21

health,

00:09:28:21 - 00:09:30:23

animal production?

00:09:30:23 - 00:09:32:06

The microbiome

00:09:32:06 - 00:09:33:20

are also other,

00:09:33:20 - 00:09:34:04

pieces

00:09:34:04 - 00:09:35:06

that we're interested in.

00:09:35:06 - 00:09:35:23

So there's,

00:09:35:23 - 00:09:36:11

there's many

00:09:36:11 - 00:09:38:10

different components.

00:09:38:10 - 00:09:39:17

Because who knows

00:09:39:17 - 00:09:40:15

if and when this,

00:09:40:15 - 00:09:41:00

this study

00:09:41:00 - 00:09:41:16

will be replicated

00:09:41:16 - 00:09:43:08

because, you know,

00:09:43:08 - 00:09:44:01

we may have,

00:09:44:01 - 00:09:45:00

have done all this work

00:09:45:00 - 00:09:45:12

and been like,

00:09:45:12 - 00:09:46:05

that's a lot of work.

00:09:46:05 - 00:09:46:20

And maybe

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no one else for,

00:09:47:18 - 00:09:48:09

for any other piece

00:09:48:09 - 00:09:49:03

is going to want

00:09:49:03 - 00:09:49:20

to pursue that.

00:09:49:20 - 00:09:51:04

So it's

00:09:51:04 - 00:09:52:05

certainly exciting piece

00:09:52:05 - 00:09:53:09

to be part of helping

00:09:53:09 - 00:09:54:21

set up and play a role

00:09:54:21 - 00:09:56:04

in taking part

00:09:56:04 - 00:09:58:03

in this at this time.

00:09:58:05 - 00:10:00:17

And excited to see,

00:10:00:17 - 00:10:01:16

when those results

00:10:01:16 - 00:10:02:11

come out, you know, no

00:10:02:11 - 00:10:02:21

guarantee

00:10:02:21 - 00:10:03:14

when that's going to be,

00:10:03:14 - 00:10:05:13

but it's going to be

00:10:05:13 - 00:10:06:00

we're going to say

00:10:06:00 - 00:10:07:10

at least a few years

00:10:07:10 - 00:10:07:22

from now

00:10:07:22 - 00:10:08:14

until till

00:10:08:14 - 00:10:09:07

those conclusions

00:10:09:07 - 00:10:10:16

are brought together.

00:10:10:16 - 00:10:11:00

And you're

00:10:11:00 - 00:10:11:22

just logistically,

00:10:11:22 - 00:10:12:18

I mean, how

00:10:12:18 - 00:10:13:13

how long does it take

00:10:13:13 - 00:10:14:09

to get the cattle

00:10:14:09 - 00:10:15:09

kind of acclimated

00:10:15:09 - 00:10:16:12

to the feed additive?

00:10:16:12 - 00:10:17:04

How do you give them

00:10:17:04 - 00:10:17:21

the feed additive?

00:10:17:21 - 00:10:18:10

Tell us a little bit

00:10:18:10 - 00:10:19:21

about that process. Yes.

00:10:19:21 - 00:10:21:07

So our feed additive

00:10:21:07 - 00:10:22:23

that we're utilizing,

00:10:22:23 - 00:10:24:21

we are

00:10:24:21 - 00:10:25:16

it is a very

00:10:25:16 - 00:10:26:04

small amount,

00:10:26:04 - 00:10:26:11

you know,

00:10:26:11 - 00:10:27:10

I could hold in my hand

00:10:27:10 - 00:10:28:03

right here

00:10:28:03 - 00:10:29:07

how much each animal

00:10:29:07 - 00:10:30:16

is consuming per day.

00:10:30:16 - 00:10:32:06

So we think

00:10:32:06 - 00:10:33:00

about an animal

00:10:33:00 - 00:10:33:14

and I want to just

00:10:33:14 - 00:10:34:08

point out that

00:10:34:08 - 00:10:36:02

an average for,

00:10:36:02 - 00:10:36:15

for cows,

00:10:36:15 - 00:10:37:03

they're consuming

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anywhere from 100 to

00:10:38:06 - 00:10:39:01

110 pounds

00:10:39:01 - 00:10:40:17

of feed per day.

00:10:40:19 - 00:10:41:18

And so if I put

00:10:41:18 - 00:10:43:08

what's here in my hand,

00:10:43:08 - 00:10:44:09

you know, across

00:10:44:09 - 00:10:45:07

all that feed,

00:10:45:07 - 00:10:47:06

it's pretty.

00:10:47:06 - 00:10:49:03

Pretty,

00:10:49:03 - 00:10:50:02

hard to,

00:10:50:02 - 00:10:50:22

to for them

00:10:50:22 - 00:10:52:00

to sniff it out or taste.

00:10:52:00 - 00:10:53:05

It's neutral.

00:10:53:05 - 00:10:54:13

Neutral,

00:10:54:13 - 00:10:55:07

neutral smelling.

00:10:55:07 - 00:10:56:12

So it's not

00:10:56:12 - 00:10:57:06

palatability

00:10:57:06 - 00:10:58:04

is not so much

00:10:58:04 - 00:10:59:11

an issue for that.

00:10:59:11 - 00:11:00:03

But what we do

00:11:00:03 - 00:11:00:22

to help mask

00:11:00:22 - 00:11:01:07

it in

00:11:01:07 - 00:11:02:16

is we add it to the feed

00:11:02:16 - 00:11:04:22

and let it mix through,

00:11:04:22 - 00:11:06:05

our casserole here.

00:11:06:05 - 00:11:06:20

So that way

00:11:06:20 - 00:11:08:04

that it gets blended up

00:11:08:04 - 00:11:09:17

and so that hopefully

00:11:09:17 - 00:11:10:23

our goal is that in each

00:11:10:23 - 00:11:11:13

and every bite

00:11:11:13 - 00:11:12:15

that cows are consuming,

00:11:12:15 - 00:11:13:06

that they're getting

00:11:13:06 - 00:11:13:18

a little bit

00:11:13:18 - 00:11:14:09

of the additive

00:11:14:09 - 00:11:14:21

as they go.

00:11:14:21 - 00:11:15:09

So that way

00:11:15:09 - 00:11:16:17

it's not a whole bunch

00:11:16:17 - 00:11:17:17

at one point in time.

00:11:17:17 - 00:11:18:08

It's not

00:11:18:08 - 00:11:19:05

there's none here.

00:11:19:05 - 00:11:20:11

So that way,

00:11:20:11 - 00:11:21:08

cows can can

00:11:21:08 - 00:11:22:05

continuously consume it

00:11:22:05 - 00:11:22:18

throughout the day

00:11:22:18 - 00:11:24:04

because this additive

00:11:24:04 - 00:11:25:20

has a limited lifespan

00:11:25:20 - 00:11:27:05

or active life

00:11:27:05 - 00:11:27:23

when it's present

00:11:27:23 - 00:11:28:16

in the gut.

00:11:28:16 - 00:11:29:06

So it has to be

00:11:29:06 - 00:11:29:19

continuously

00:11:29:19 - 00:11:30:23

consumed over time

00:11:30:23 - 00:11:31:06

in order

00:11:31:06 - 00:11:33:02

to have the same effect.

00:11:33:02 - 00:11:33:12

It'd be great

00:11:33:12 - 00:11:34:01

if we could feed it

00:11:34:01 - 00:11:34:14

once a day

00:11:34:14 - 00:11:35:12

and then

00:11:35:12 - 00:11:36:19

have a long term effect,

00:11:36:19 - 00:11:38:08

but unfortunately it's

00:11:38:08 - 00:11:39:02

it has to be

00:11:39:02 - 00:11:39:21

continuously fed

00:11:39:21 - 00:11:41:05

as it's broken down

00:11:41:05 - 00:11:42:07

and passed

00:11:42:07 - 00:11:42:19

out of the animal

00:11:42:19 - 00:11:43:11

at that point.

00:11:43:11 - 00:11:44:02

Make your life a

00:11:44:02 - 00:11:46:09

whole lot easier.

00:11:46:11 - 00:11:46:22

And then from

00:11:46:22 - 00:11:47:07

there, how do

00:11:47:07 - 00:11:47:16

you measure

00:11:47:16 - 00:11:48:07

the emissions?

00:11:48:07 - 00:11:48:23