A consensus study that explored Heritable Genetic Modification in Food Animals was released by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) on April 23, 2025, noting the study committee’s conclusion that overall, food derived from genome-edited animals is generally safe to eat. The committee also addressed the benefits of biotechnology to agricultural productivity and sustainability, while investigating potential risks.

The 2025 International Livestock Congress (ILC) held March 4-5 in Houston, Texas, during the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, brought together global industry leaders, scholars, and policymakers to address critical issues shaping the future of animal agriculture. With the theme "Effectively Communicating Sound Science and the Value of Animal Agriculture to Society," this year’s Congress underscored the importance of data-driven decision-making, sustainability, and public engagement in shaping policies that impact the livestock and meat industries.

The Trump Administration has directed agencies to evaluate additional reductions in the federal workforce as well as cuts to programs. Many agencies have offered a second round of deferred resignations and deferred retirements. While final numbers are not yet available, it appears that a larger number of federal workers are electing to leave service as a result of the second round...

The April Edition of The Giving Herd, an ASAS Foundation Newsletter

Richard Coffey's ASAS Journey

Dogs with digestion problems can have an unbalanced digestive flora. This means the proportion of healthy and unhealthy bacteria that live in their gut is not well balanced. We used an experimental model to mimic the gut bacteria of dogs with soft stools. In the model, we looked at how a test product affected the gut bacteria.

Traditional aspirin forms are known to cause stomach and intestinal damage. Enhanced liquid aspirin is a stable aspirin form which is thought to negate the negative effects of aspirin on the gastrointestinal tract. Feeding ELA improved body weight gain and several markers of intestinal function.

The ergot alkaloids produced by endophyte-infected (EI) varieties of tall fescue are beneficial to the plant but detrimental to cattle, as they induce different negative responses that are commonly referred to as fescue toxicosis (FT). The increased ambient temperature and humidity commonly experienced during the summer aggravate the symptoms of FT and this interaction significantly reduces animal performance and productivity.

The Mashona cattle, a Bos taurus and Bos indicus composite, were brought from Zimbabwe to New Mexico in the 1990s. Since then, they have been valued by ranchers in hot and humid areas for their resistance to pests, heat, and maternal characteristics, making them ideal for crossbreeding. This study aimed to explore the genetic background and diversity of Mashona cattle in the United States by analyzing 24 samples from Tennessee State University.

Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, is traditionally defined as the increase in the performance of crossbred progeny relative to the average performance of their purebred parents. These heterosis effects may vary depending on the breed of animals in the original cross; however, breed-specific estimates are difficult to obtain because of the resources required to estimate the effects. The Germplasm Evaluation Program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center is designed to evaluate crosses of 18 different prominent U.S. beef cattle breeds.

The Dublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Livestock (2023) was initiated during the International Summit on the Societal Role of Meat, held in October 2022 in Dublin. Scientific evidence in support of the declaration was provided through a variety of oral presentations by leading experts and a series of articles published in a previous Themed Issue of Animal Frontiers (Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2023, ISSN 2160-6056, EISSN 2160-6064). Since the declaration was issued for the publishing of this editorial, over 1,200 verified scientists from around the world have signed to document their agreement.

Ruminants present variability in enteric methane (CH4) emissions over time and due to changes in dietary characteristics; however, limited information exists regarding the re-ranking according to CH4 emissions of growing steers during the backgrounding and finishing phases, and the effect of using metabolic modulators such as growth-promoting implants, on gas flux. In this experiment, 46 Angus steers were evaluated during the backgrounding and finishing phases.

Globally there is a requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing food production to meet the nutritional demands of the growing population. In this study, linseed oil, a temperate brown seaweed, or an extract of the brown seaweed were mixed into concentrate feed and offered to growing beef bulls every morning and evening.

High dietary levels of zinc oxide (ZnO) have been used in swine production to prevent/control postweaning diarrhea. However, such strategy has been demonstrated to stimulate bacterial resistance to antibiotics and metals.

Luteolin (Lut) is a natural flavonoid extract from various plants and exhibits multiple biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antibacterial, and antiviral effects. Importantly, Lut can form metal complexes with trace metal elements, enhancing its resorption and utilization in animals.

High-starch diets in rabbit farming may pose health risks. Therefore, we focused on fats, another key energy source for monogastric animals, and investigated the effects of replacing part of the dietary starch with fats of equivalent digestible energy.

Pellet quality is an important determinant of downstream animal performance, as well as efficiency of production both at the mill and farm. Pellet Durability Index (PDI) is a metric used in commercial feed milling to signal the pellet quality of pelleted feeds, and what degradation of pellets might occur during subsequent handling and transportation.

With a March 14th deadline looming, Congress was able to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government through the remainder of fiscal year 2025. The resolution included mainly “level” funding for programs at their fiscal year 2024 amounts. That was true for USDA’s agricultural research accounts within NIFA, ARS, ERS and NASS. The one exception was the removal of funding in the ARS Buildings and Facilities line for fiscal year 2025.

Estimated breeding values provide an estimate of the genetic merit of an individual for specific traits helping to identify animals with superior genetic potential for growth rate, milk production, meat quality, disease resistance, and more. Over recent years, American Angus Association members have visually scored cows for teat size (TS) and udder suspension score (US), amassing approximately 42,000 records on approximately 24,000 cows.

Condemned livers result in over $15M in lost income to the U.S. beef industry annually and the main cause of condemned livers is from abscesses. Liver scoring is a four-level measurement of abscess severity: 0 (no abscesses), A− (mild abscesses), A (moderate abscesses), and A+ (severe abscesses).