MANAGING TRANSPORTATION AND MARKETING STRESS

Transcription

1 MANAGING TRANSPORTATION AND MARKETING STRESS Ben Holland, Ph.D. January 10,

2 The credit, the saving, and convenience of this country all require that our roads leading from one public place to another should be straightened and established by law To me those things seem indispensably necessary. - President Dwight D. Eisenhower TRANSPORTATION IS UBIQUITOUS 2

3 TOTAL CATTLE NUMBERS : 92 m head (Jan ) 2,400 to 13,300 (11) 1,300 to 2,400 (13) 500 to 1,300 (12) 0 to 500 (14) Livestock Marketing Information Center Data Source: USDA/NASS Stocking Density E ft 2 /hd Seat Alone 3.6 ft 2 /hd 3

4 4

5 SHIPPING FEVER (Duff and Galyean, 2007) 5

6 (Holland et al., 2011) Stacking of Stressors Distance traveled Inconsistent Shipping/Loading/Early Transit appear to have the greatest effect Depends greatly on the docility of the cattle Stocking density Commingling 6

7 Stacking of Stressors Deprivation of feed and water Overcrowding Air quality Fatigue Stacking of Stressors An increase in cortricotropin, and subsequently cortisol, have been identified as a primary cause of immunosuppression. (Fike and Spire, 2006) 7

8 Effect of Transportation on Health Outcomes 2.5 Morbidity Mortality Incidence Rate Ratio < >621 Distance Traveled (Cernicchiaro et al., 2012) Shrink 1%/h for 3-4 h; 0.1%/h afterwards Stressful conditions increase 2 percentage units Not Only Gut Fill. Tissue loss can exceed 60% of shrink! (Coffey et al., 2001) 8

9 Cost of Shrink: 650 lb $138 $20.00 $- Loss in Value, $/hd $(20.00) $(40.00) $(60.00) $(80.00) $(100.00) $(120.00) Percent Shrink ( 9

10 Cattle Steps and Truck Acceleration Three loads of finished steers (n=109) miles Speed Max: mph Average: mph (Lawrence and Richeson) 10

11 Measurements (Lawrence and Richeson) Steps/minute Home Pen Pre-Shipping Transit Lairage Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 (Lawrence and Richeson) 11

12 Gravitational Forces 0 to 60 mph in 8 s = 0.4g Swing-set = 2g Roller Coaster = 3-4g (0.30) 2.86 Max G 2.71 g = 32 ft/s (Lawrence and Richeson) In Transit Cattle made 4 10 position changes for the first 9 h Cattle preferred perpendicular alignment (rarely diagonal) Slips and falls increase with stocking density (Tarrant, 1992) 12

13 Air Quality and Flow Numerous small openings on the side with unvented front and rear. 1. Various wide ranging and uncontrolled air flow speeds and directions. 2. Various and uncontrolled amounts of exhaust fumes, dust particles, rain, sleet, and snow. 3. Local pooling of poor quality air due to poor flushing capacity. 4. Local severe turbulence conditions due to vorticies. 5. A variety of uncontrolled temperatures and humidity conditions. (Muirhead, 1983) (Muirhead, 1983) 13

14 (Muirhead, 1983) 14

15 Welfare Outcomes (Gonzales et al., 2012) Welfare Outcomes (Gonzales et al., 2012) 15

16 Welfare Outcomes (Gonzales et al., 2012) Welfare Outcomes Driver Experience: <5 yr = 0.09% compromised outcomes >5 yr = 0.03% compromised outcomes (Gonzales et al., 2012) 16

17 Fed Cattle Mobility Study: 2013 Heifers (n=48 pens) fed in Texas panhandle Locomotion scored 1 (Normal) 2 (Mildly Lame) 3 (Lame) 4 (Severely Lame) 0.58 vs. 2.81% score 2 (Lawrence, 2013) (Lawrence, 2013) 17

18 Observations (Lawrence, 2013) (Lawrence, 2013) 18

19 (Lawrence, 2013) Transportation Success No changes in WBC during shipping. Hematocrit decreased, but stayed in normal range. Few gene expression alterations. 6.4% transportation shrink. 9.9% BW gain in the first 6 days on pasture. (Stokes et al., 2014; Stokes, 2016) 19

20 Guidelines Facilities Fitness for Transport Trucks Loading Travel Emergency Preparedness Unloading (Schwartzkopf-Genswein et al., 2016) (USDA, 1997) 20

21 50,000 hd feedyard 41 N Visible Part of the Industry ( 21

22 Master Cattle Transporter (BQA) Transporter Quality Assurance (National Pork Board) NAMI Animal Welfare Guidelines FSIS (Schwartzkopf-Genswein et al., 2016) Industry Needs 1. Research data, nationwide benchmark audit 2. Robust, uniform, consistent, agreed-upon guidelines; including buy-in from constituents 3. Education of employees in all segments 4. Implementation of a single quality assurance program for transporters with verification/certification (Schwartzkopf-Genswein et al., 2016) 22

23 Ben P. Holland, Ph.D