In the Kyushu-Okinawa region, approximately half of all beef breeding cows in Japan are raised. However, Wagyu cow-calf operations face challenges such as persistently high prices of imported feed and labor shortages. Under these conditions, it is increasingly necessary to reduce feed costs, which constitute a significant portion of production costs, and to save labor. In feed production, climate change is making it difficult to sow and harvest crops at the appropriate times in traditional cropping systems, leading to decreased yields and reduced nutritional value of feed crops. Furthermore, in terms of livestock waste treatment, it is necessary to promote the resource utilization of livestock waste while considering environmental conservation.
To address these challenges, Department of Livestock Research will undertake the following initiatives. The Feed Crop Breeding and Cultivation Group will work on developing a system to support the formulation of cropping plans adapted to climate change, and high-yielding and disease-resistant feed crop varieties suited to warm regions. The Beef Cattle Production and Reproduction Group will work on developing reproductive technologies that improve reproductive performance, and advancing utilization techniques for fermented TMR that make full use of domestically produced feed in cow-calf systems. In addition, the Livestock Waste Management Group will work on developing technologies to improve compost quality through control of the composting process and compost pellet production, and livestock wastewater treatment technologies to ensure compliance with effluent standards.
These development technologies will contribute to improving the profitability of Wagyu cow-calf operations.
