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Kawai Lab
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A lab that studies differences in how cattle and horses eat, to consider grazing that makes use of forests and wild grasslands.
AboutAbout the lab
Sustainable livestock production using forests and grasslands as a whole
Associate Professor Masahito Kawai studies how cattle and horses eat and digest, researching better grazing and feeding methods.
At the Shizunai Livestock Farm, the entire wide area of land including forest is used to raise Hokkaido Native horses and Japanese Shorthorn cattle, practicing livestock production that does not rely on imported grain feed.
It is a field where, in addition to livestock nutrition, feed, behavior, and grassland, researchers can work across disciplines on themes surrounding livestock, such as insects and wild animals living on the farm, soil, and forests.
The lab is based at the Shizunai Livestock Farm of the Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere in Shinhidaka Town, in the Hidaka region.
Key terms
- Hokkaido Native Horse
- A native horse that has long been kept in Hokkaido. Also called "Dosanko"
- Japanese Shorthorn
- A beef cattle breed kept in the Tohoku region and Hokkaido. It has a dark reddish-brown coat
- Rumination
- When cattle and similar animals bring swallowed feed back to the mouth, chew it again, and then digest it
ResearchResearch themes
By comparing cattle and horses, which are both herbivorous livestock but differ in how they eat and digest, the lab explores grazing and feeding methods suited to each type of livestock. It also examines grazing methods that use forests and wild grasslands as feed resources and can be sustained over the long term while preserving the ecosystem.
*Illustrative imageComparing how cattle and horses eat and digest
Although both are herbivorous livestock, cattle and horses differ in intake amount, digestibility, whether they ruminate, feeding time, the plants they select, and the areas they roam. The lab clarifies these differences by comparison and considers grazing and feeding methods suited to each type of livestock.
*Illustrative imageGrazing that makes use of forests and wild grasslands
As a system for raising livestock on the land, the lab focuses on grazing that regards forests and wild grasslands as feed resources not yet in use. It examines grazing management methods that can be continued over the long term while preserving the ecosystem.
MembersFaculty
- Associate ProfessorMasahito Kawai
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Japanese Shorthorn = Cattle of the World: Japanese Shorthorn (female) ( ) (cropped)” JIRCAS Library from Tsukuba, Japan / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Comparing how cattle and horses eat and digest: “Caballos en Lois” Siurle / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Grazing that makes use of forests and wild grasslands: “Pony grazing in Bignell Wood, New Forest - geograph.org.uk - 135768” Jim Champion / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Genetics and Reproduction Lab): “Bovine Blastocyst” Pandal00m / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cell and Tissue Biology Lab): “Prosciutto di Parma, Tagliere, Italia” Luca Dea / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Livestock Production Systems Lab): “NRCSWI00094 - Wisconsin (6833)(NRCS Photo Gallery)” Photo by Bob Nichols, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Animal Functional Nutrition Lab): “Holstein Friesian cows strip-grazing a turnip field - geograph.org.uk - 5284652” Evelyn Simak / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
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