 Hello, my name is Rieke Baumgartner. I am a graduate student in the Department of Animal Science at North Dakota State University working with Dr. Dahlin and Dr. Sedevik. Today I would like to talk to you a little bit about my research project evaluating how feeding an energy supplement to beef heifers during early gestation affects fetal and offspring development. As of January 2020, there were 31.3 million beef cows and heifers that have calfed and 5.8 million beef replacement heifers in the United States. North Dakota alone is home to 995,000 beef cows and heifers that have calfed and 182,000 beef replacement heifers, making the beef industry a major contributor to the North Dakota economy. These daily feeding decisions can have major impacts on short-term and long-term ranch profitability providing supplementation during grazing and development of beef females can improve animal performance. In our study conducted at the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center and Main Station Campus we focused on heifers because they are still growing themselves and therefore they have greater nutritional needs as they compete with their fetus for nutrients during gestation. We further chose the critical window of early gestation because this is the period when not only the placenta, which is really important for the transfer of nutrients to the fetus is established, but also when vital steps and fetal organ development occur. So let me provide you with some background information. In May 2019 we transported a group of heifers from the center to the Beef Cattle Research Complex where they were divided into two treatment groups, a control group and an energy group, and that occurred at breeding. So we then fed them for 84 days. Both our control and our energy rations consisted of hay, corn silage, and dried distiller's grains with solubles. However, the energy ration also contained a commercially available supplement that was blended with ground corn. Our targeted daily gains were 0.625 pounds a day for the control and 1.7 pounds a day for the energy group. All heifers were estrous synchronized using a select cinch plus cedar and timed AI protocol and were then bred with a dose of female sex semen from a single sire. After the 84 day feeding period, the energy heifers were 122 pounds heavier than the control heifers. Also, the rib eye area and the rib fat were increased in the heifers that were supplemented compared to their contemporary control group after 84 days of gestation. So the heifers were then transported back to the center where they were then subsequently managed as a single group and observed throughout calving. We monitored concentrations of hormones over the course of gestation and found that supplementation in heifers increased the blood concentrations of IGF-1 throughout gestation. IGF-1 is a hormone that has previously been linked to fetal growth. Heifers capped in late February, early March of 2020 and the heifers that had received the energy supplement for only the first 84 days of gestation were at that time point still 81 pounds heavier than the control heifers. So at calving, the calves from dams that were supplemented during early gestation were also 4.7 pounds heavier than their contemporary calves from the control group. Before the calves suckled their dams, we also collected liver and muscle samples for future analysis. Currently we are looking at how dam milk quality may be affected by supplementation during early gestation. To assess milk quality, we mainly looked at or we are mainly looking at milk protein and milk fat in the samples because milk quality may have an effect on calf development. As we follow these calves, we will evaluate them for performance, intake and feed efficiency and timing of purity onset to find out how dam nutrition during early gestation really affects these calves and their performance. Ultimately our goal is to take our results and based on that develop feeding strategies during early gestation that provide producers then with tools to use to improve their beef herd and all that by utilizing the advantage of fetal programming. Finally, I would like to acknowledge and to think ST genetics, Zoetis, the North Dakota Corn Council and the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station for their contribution to this project and further I would really like to think the Lifestar crews, the Lifestar crew at the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center and the crew at the beef cattle research complex for all their hard work that they contributed to this project. Thank you.