natural selection during environmental change?

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librarian

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Jul 26, 2013
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Knox County Nebraska
I am relocating from upstate NY to NE Nebraska.  I am wondering about taking animals with me, or acquiring locally adapted animals when I arrive. I do like the stuff I have, but want to be realistic.  What I have is already paid for, which is important. This is only a handful of seedstock.  I am keeping all the Shorthorns, but I have made several good Shorthorn crosses which I am wondering about taking or not. The crosses are 2 and 3 year olds.
The question is about epigenetics and the changes I might expect the brood cows to experience moving from a moist environment with lots of low protein watery grass to a dry environment with less grass of higher protein. (I think that is the situation, I can use a good explanation of the differences in grass types and the nutritional implications for gestating cows).
Any theories on timing would be appreciated.  Overwinter bred animals or move animals in the Spring?  Same with young stock.
I am just getting ready to put the bull out and expect to calve early summer on pasture.  I am wondering how fetal programming actually works and if the fetus will be programmed for the environment of conception and early gestation and then be born into something different where the environmental triggers are altered and results will be compromised.  Or do environment triggers just reach deeper into the total range of the expression for DNA, if the environment is challenging, and the new environment will act on a different portion of the total range of genetic potential within the animal?
I am just overthinking it because I like to understand and need help understanding.
My basic idea is to take very young stock and let them adapt. The few older animals that go will have to do the best they can and I can begin sorting for adaptability when the time comes. 
So, I am asking for some natural selection and functional management information.  It's grass and grass hay for diet.  They have to make it on that to be in the program.

Also, in looking for land out there,:
The area breaks between what was once "Loess mixed-grass prairie on loess soils. The vegetation is rather dense, and the ground is not usually visible among the plants. The prairies are almost entirely converted to cropland in level areas and to rangeland in more dissected terrain."
and what was once " Upland tall-grass prairies: The original luxuriant, perennial, sod-forming and bunchgrasses on uplands in the eastern third of the state are now mostly eliminated by agrarian activities. Fragments of virgin prairie remain in areas too steep to plow, in odd corners unsuited for cropland, and in railroad rights-of-way. Forbs are numerous and conspicuous. Species diversity is maintained by occasional burning, which stimulates the native species but harms the aggressive, introduced ones such as musk thistle, Kentucky bluegrass, and smooth brome-grass."
How much difference will I see in grazing success between these land types?
 

idalee

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Aug 18, 2013
Messages
188
Your cattle will do just fine.  Thirty-three years ago I married a wonderful lady from upstate New York.  Over a period of 2 plus years we moved more than 140 head of dairy cattle from a typical Eastern tie-stall dairy to our Southern Idaho open corral dairy with no barns and only windbreaks and straw bedding in the winter.  If anything,  the cattle did better out here.  Take all of them and let the cattle tell  you who works best in the new environment. 
 

Duncraggan

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Jun 2, 2012
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821
My 2-cents worth is that you must be absolutely up to date with vaccinations for the prevalent diseases of the area.
I moved my herd 320km about 5 years ago and lost way too many to disease.
Diseases and accidents have the uncanny ability to select your best animals and cattle adapt more easily to a new environment than the owner does!
Good luck with the move.
 

librarian

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Jul 26, 2013
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Location
Knox County Nebraska
Thanks for your encouragement and for giving this some thought.  I really had not considered vaccinations until you mentioned it, so thanks for the reality check.  This business is always a lot simpler than I make it out to be as well as a lot more complex.
 

JPS

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Oct 11, 2011
Messages
46
Location
columbus
I would expect the cattle to travel well.  Cattle usually make the transition to hard grass better than the reverse transition.  Roy Lovaas told me of someone moving a herd from NY to Nebraska, I assume he was talking of you.  Where are you headed to?  I live near Columbus, NE.  My web site is www.fairviewshorthorns.com

If I can be of help let me know.
 

librarian

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Jul 26, 2013
Messages
1,629
Location
Knox County Nebraska
I am heading for Knox County.  I like the hilly country around there.  I was looking around the ASA site one time to see who had Impossible Dream progeny and the Sonderman name a while back, so it will be nice to see your herd some day.
Thanks for the introduction.  The Shorthorns I have seem to be a very resilient and adaptable group, as Lovaas cattle are bred to be. They originated in Minnesota and never missed a beat when they came out to NY. In fact, they all moved up in breeding back the first year, after transport in  the spring and calving in the new environment a month later.  I have my stake in the ground in Nebraska, but don't have enough land yet to bring the cattle, so I may not be able to make it this year, but I am impatient to get West of the Mississippi again.  I shouldn't worry about the cows, I guess they'll be fine.
 
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