Feedlot Systems


AgNext’s feedlot research advances the efficiency, health, and sustainability of beef production by delivering practical, science-based solutions tailored to industry needs. Through rigorous evaluation of nutrition and management strategies in both scientific and commercial settings, this work enhances cattle performance, carcass quality, and profitability.

Meet Our Feedlot Systems Team:

Picture of Pedro Carvalho, Ph.D.

Pedro Carvalho, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Feedlot Specialist

Picture of Juan Vargas, Ph.D.

Juan Vargas, Ph.D.

Sustainable Beef Cattle Systems Postdoctoral Fellow

Picture of Sara Place, Ph.D.

Sara Place, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Feedlot Systems

Picture of Maya Swenson

Maya Swenson

Graduate Student

Picture of Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Ph.D.

Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Ph.D.

Director

Picture of Daniela Alvarado

Daniela Alvarado

Research Scholar


Publications on Feedlot Systems Research:

"Beef cattle phenotypic plasticity and stability of dry matter intake and respiration rate across varying levels of temperature humidity index"

William Shaffer, Jorge Hidalgo, Nora Bello, Rylie Noland, Jennifer Bormann, Robert Weaber, Cashley Ahlberg, Kelsey Bruno, Clint Krehbiel, Michelle Calvo-Lorenzo, Chris Richards, Sara Place, Udaya DeSilva, Larry Kuehn, Megan Rolf. Journal of Animal Science, April 2025.

"Influence of Biochar supplementation on comparative growth-performance and carcass characteristics of Angus x Holstein vs Charolais x Holstein calf-fed steers"

Brooke Latack, Pedro Carvalho, Gustavo Moura, Richard Zinn. Journal of Animal Science, April 2025.

"Enteric methane emission classification and ranking of growing steers during the backgrounding and finishing phases"

Juan Vargas, Diego Manriquez, Maya Swenson, Pedro Carvalho, Sara Place. Journal of Animal Science, February 2025.

"Effects of Production System With or Without Growth-Promoting Technologies on Growth and Blood Expression of (Cyto)Chemokines and Heat Shock and Tight Junction Proteins in Bos taurus and indicus Breeds During Summer Season"

Mark Branine, Ashley Schilling-Hazlett, Pedro Carvalho, Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Edilane Martins, Julia Travassos da Silva, Laura Amundson, Chris Ashworth, Mike Socha, and Sami Dridi. Veterinary Sciences, January 2025.

"Muscle tissue transcriptome of F1 Angus-Nellore bulls and steers feedlot finished: impacts on intramuscular fat deposition"

Irene Reis, Welder Angelo Baldassini, Germán Darío Ramírez-Zamudio, Iasmin Myrele Santos Calaça de Farias, Marcos Roberto Chiaratti, Sérgio Pereira Junior, Ricardo Perecin Nociti, Pedro Carvalho, Rogério Abdallah Curi, Guilherme Luis Pereira, Luis Artur Loyola Chardulo & Otávio Rodrigues Machado Neto. BMC Genomics, December 2024.

"Effect of Cashew Nutshell Extract, Saponins and Tannins Addition on Methane Emissions, Nutrient Digestibility and Feeding Behavior of Beef Steers Receiving a Backgrounding Diet"

Cuervo, Wilmer, Camila Gómez, Federico Tarnonsky, Ignacio Fernandez-Marenchino, Araceli Maderal, Federico Podversich, Juan Vargas, and Nicolas DiLorenzo. Animals, October 2024.

"Performance, nutrient utilization and meat quality traits in Bos indicus cattle: a meta-analysis examining the effect of residual feed intake"

Daniela Alvarado, Rodrigo Torres, José Moreira, Yury Granja-Salcedo, Otavio Machado Neto, Luis Artur Chardulo, Mahesh Nair, Pedro Carvalho, Welder Baldassini. Tropical Animal Health and Production, July 2024.

"Association of morbidity, mortality, and average daily gain with transfer of passive immunity in dairy-beef crossbred calves up to 60 d of life"

Jessica Pereira, Fernanda Ferreira, Pedro Carvalho, Joao Bittar, Noelia Del-Rio, Marcos Marcondes. Journal of Dairy Science, May 2024. 

"Determination of gas flux and animal performance test duration of growing cattle in confined conditions"

Juan Vargas, Maya Swenson, Sara Place. Translational Animal Science, April 2024.

"Long Term Feeding Effects of a Vaccine against of Endotoxemia (ENDOVAC-Beef) on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Growing-Finishing Calf-Fed Holstein Steers"

Brooke Latack, Pedro Carvalho, Alejandro Plascencia, Richard Zinn. Iranian Journal of Applied Animal Science, March 2024.

"Influence of low-level tannin supplementation on comparative growth-performance of Holstein and Angus x Holstein cross calf-fed concentrate-based finishing diets for 328 days"

Pedro Carvalho, Brooke Latack, Marcos Ferraz, Lester Nolasco, Willi R Meireles, Heitor Oliveira, Richard Zinn. Journal of Animal Science. March 2024. 

"Influence of metabolizable protein and methionine supplementation on growth-performance of Holstein steer calves during the initial 112-d feedlot growing phase"

Jaime Salinas-Chavira, Pedro Carvalho, Brooke Latack, Marcos Ferraz, Martin Montano, Richard Zinn. Translational Animal Science, January 2024.

"Heritability and variance component estimation for feed and water intake behaviors of feedlot cattle"

Elizabeth Dressler, William Shaffer, Kelsey Bruno, Clint Krehbiel, Michelle Calvo-Lorenzo, Chris J Richards, Sara Place*, Udaya DeSilva, Larry Kuehn, Robert L Weaber, Jennifer Bormann, and Megan Rolf. Journal of Animal Science, November, 2023.

*This work was conducted while Dr. Place was still at Oklahoma State University.

"Heat Stress Mitigation Strategies in Feedyards: Use, Perceptions, and Experiences of Industry Stakeholders"​

Lauren Dean, Anthony Tarpoff, Kirsten Nickles, Sara Place, Lily Edwards-Callaway. Animals, September 2023