Beef Cattle Research & Teaching Unit

Located within the city of Saskatoon, the Beef Cattle Research and Teaching Unit is a backgrounding-finishing operation with a capacity of about 750 head of feeder cattle. It is one of three units at the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence. The unit hosts the annual Western Canada Feedlot Management School and is used to teach beef production to U of S students. Research is conducted by members of the Sustainable Beef Systems Research Group which includes researchers from the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, College of Engineering and WCVM. Past research has focused on the use of ultrasound in beef cattle breeding and marketing programs; the role of the obese gene in fat deposition in cattle; evaluating nutrition of ethanol and grain industry by-products; the use of antibiotics in receiving programs for calves; and evaluating antibiotic residues in beef.