The production systems area of emphasis provides unique and exciting opportunities to gain multidisciplinary tools essential for a career in the livestock industry that will include identifying and solving problems in management systems, animal welfare, environmental impacts, and food quality/safety issues.
Animal Sciences faculty in collaboration with colleagues in other departments in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine allow student access to a diverse multidisciplinary team for those interested in an animal production systems graduate program. Resources will include both campus and out-state livestock facilities and on-farm cooperators. Examples of production systems research projects include statistical control process control principles in dairy and swine, low input dairy and swine, dairy crossbreeding, alternative poultry, animal comfort and behavior in dairy and swine, cow-calf and beef feedlot management, and decision making processes for evaluating management at the farm level for options across all species with implications to environmental impact and food quality/safety.