Animal Agriculture as ScienceGT Agriculture DepartmentAnimal Science

History/Background• Americans enjoy one of the highest living standards in the

world- most comforts and advancements come directly from science

• Humans have always studied and learned to live off of their environment• Hunting/gathering- nuts, seeds and range animals• When supplies ran out- people had to move

• Studied animal behavior- hunting skills• Began domesticating animals- less need to move around• Scientific research began in the late 1800’s• Had Latin, Greek, History, Philosophy, and Mathematics

• Needed Ag!

Early Legislation • Justin Morrill, late 1850’s- a senator from Vermont, introduced

a bill that provided public land to establish public Universities• Land Grant Act 1962• Public land and Funds to Universities teaching Agriculture

• United States Department of Agriculture- Abraham Lincoln• Hatch Act 1962• Experiment Stations in the states with Land Grant Universities• Scientific Method of Investigation

• Smith-Lever Act• University Extension Services

• Smith-Hughes Act 1917• Agriculture in high schools as means of teaching new agriculture

The Scientific Method- Systematic process of gaining

information through investigation

Hypothetical Experiment• Problem- Scientist wants to know if he can get more milk out

of cows when he milks them twice a day rather than once a day. • Needs two groups of cows- one to milk once a day and one to milk twice

a day

• Cows milked once a day are called the control group• Cows milked twice a day are called the experiment group• Cows must be of the same breed, age, and stage of lactation cycle• Cows must be fed same ration, live in same environment, be

treated the same… etc. • If all specifications are followed and the cows provide more

milk when milked twice a day- the scientist can conclude his/her hypothesis was correct.

Basic Research/ Applied Research

• Basic Research deals with the investigation of why or how processes occur in the bodies of the animals.• Ex. Basic research is used to discover the specific hormones that

control growth in animals. • Applied Research deals with using the discoveries made in

basic research to help in a practical manner. • Ex. If Basic research discovers growth-regulating hormones,

applied research uses this knowledge to develop ways of using natural or artificial hormones to increase the growth efficiency of agricultural animals.

Advances in Production of Food From Animals

• Through research and development, gigantic strides have been made in the efficient production of animals used for food and food products. • Better understanding of animal lives and phases• Better understanding of diseases and parasites• Greater gene selection due to scientific selection

• Lower Cost= higher consumption• Since 1925 consumption has doubled from 60 pounds of carcass weight

equivalent to 120 pounds of carcass weight equivalent.

• Sheep, Dairy, Turkey and Chicken consumption has increased dramatically as well• The size of all animals has increased as well• The time to market animals has decreased

Animal Immunization• Until the last half of the 1800’s disease was a huge issue

within all animal herds. • When a disease hit the area- it devastated all herds in its path-

there was no way to stop the spread• Louis Pasteur, France, 1870’s and 1880’s• Developed a means to vaccinate animals• Since then hundreds of thousands of vaccines have been created

Refrigeration • Humans had a problem preserving meat and other animal products

since they first began raising them• When a large animal was slaughtered, not all the meat could be eaten

at once• Spoiled quickly in the summer months

• In colder climates butchering was done in the winter to preserve it longer• Meat was often salted or dried

• Time consuming and did not produce a very palatable product

• It was challenging to get meat to market- animals had to be delivered live by rail or on foot- slaughtered and sold the day slaughtered or would be lost to waste

• Mechanical refrigeration was invented to be used in slaughterhouses in the 1880’s to store meat• Refrigerated box cars were invented a few years later

Artificial Insemination• Invented in 1930’s • Able to transfer genes from superior parents to many offspring• With modern techniques, any producer in the world has

access to the best genes• The main reason for the phenomenal advancement of the dairy

industry• Most dairy cattle born in US are due to development of AI

Embryo Transfer• Although AI increased access to superior sires- superior dams

were still few and far between due to the length of the gestation period

• With the development of the embryo transfer process we were able to use one superior dam to produce many offspring in one year• Combined with AI- genetic advancement is very rapid and the

cost is relatively low

Embryo Transfer

Impact of Science in Agriculture

• No branch of science touches our lives more than that of the science of agriculture

• Agricultural Science has impacted every aspects of our lives• Although other countries are fierce competitors in the areas of

electronics, automotive and manufacturing- not one even comes CLOSE to competing with American Agriculture

• The US is the envy of the world when it comes to Agriculture