Teresa A. Davis, PhD, ASAS Fellow, former ASAS President, and past chair of the ASAS Public Policy Committee was elected as a new member of The National Academy of Medicine (NAM). The academy announced the election of 90 regular members and 10 international members during its annual meeting on October 21, 2024.

Gastrointestinal nematodes or worm parasites in grazing livestock and horses are a major health challenge due to worldwide prevalence of the parasite’s resistance to available dewormers. Pharmaceutical companies have limited interest in development of new products because of cost and the likelihood that worms will develop resistance to new compounds and continue to market older dewormers.

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) are the most important health issue for small ruminants in many world regions. The GIN parasitism causes welfare concerns and severe economic losses related to reduced productivity, cost of treatment, and, eventually, mortality.

Cattle, sheep, goats, and their associated industries are a vital component in the development of rural areas and sustainable land use strategies in Europe. With 77 million bovines and 74 million sheep and goats in the EU (Eurostat, 2023), ruminant production is deeply linked to European culture.

Egg production in the United States has changed significantly in the last century. From the 1920s to the 1960s, egg production underwent a significant evolution, driven by advancements in breeding and husbandry practices (Kidd and Anderson, 2019).

Developing deworming programs for horse farms based on scientific evidence has become more challenging as the concern over the development of anthelmintic resistance (AR) by internal parasites has continued to grow over the past few decades. The once simple recommendation of “deworm horses every two months” has become outdated and is strongly discouraged by many experts in the field as it is believed to hasten the development of AR in parasites which renders commonly used deworming drugs less effective.

The October Edition of The Giving Herd, an ASAS Foundation Newsletter.

Beef cattle are often provided supplements to compensate for seasonal nutrient deficiencies. However, one of the challenges to strategic supplementation is controlling individual intake variation. The most common method to regulate intake of self-fed supplements is the use of salt.

The growing aquaculture production can greatly affect the aquafeed industry and cause problems, especially in providing fish meal (FM) for diets. Price and production instability in FM can restrict producers’ ability to produce aquafeed. Therefore, it is advised to use plant proteins such as soybean meal (SBM), which has high protein, reasonable price, and relatively balanced amino acids profile.

Piglets are particularly susceptible to stress due to the abrupt changes they face during weaning. These stressors cause a surge of oxidation and inflammation, particularly in the intestinal tract. Inflammation in the intestine causes a loss in its barrier function and facilitates the translocation of harmful compounds.

Egg-laying is a crucial and intricate trait in chickens. To comprehensively explore the egg-laying mechanism in chickens, we analyzed the host transcriptome, gut microbiota, and metabolome during the pre-laying, peak-laying, and late-laying periods. Transcriptome analysis of the tissues related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-liver (HPL) axis revealed the dynamic gene expression of hormone secretion and amino acid metabolism.

The objective of this study was to determine how a veterinary gastrointestinal diet impacts the fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota concentrations of adult cats treated with metronidazole. All cats were fed a leading grocery brand diet (GBD) during a 2-wk baseline, dosed orally with metronidazole (20 mg/kg BW twice daily) for 2 wk, then randomly allotted to one of 2 treatments [GBD; BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet GI Gastrointestinal Support (BB)] and fed for 4 wk.

During the development of heifers for cow replacement, producers must invest substantial resources in each animal for over 15 mo. While the use of resources is equivalent across heifers being developed on a farm, a substantial proportion of the animals will not produce a calf.

Soybeans are commonly included in animal diets, often in the form of soybean meal, as a source of energy and high-quality protein. Aside from these macronutrient fractions, soy also includes many minor components that have the potential to both positively and negatively impact the growth and health of nonruminant animal species used in production agriculture.

The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that the particle size of field peas and the location where field peas are grown may affect the apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients and gross energy, concentrations of net energy (NE), the apparent ileal digestibility of starch, and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA).

Birds display remarkable diversity in the distribution and morphology of scales and feathers on their legs. However, the genetic and developmental mechanisms controlling this diversity are complex and remain largely unknown. Feathered legs are a phenotypic trait of domestic chickens, which have undergone intense selection.

Metabolic availability (MA) of an amino acid (AA) is the portion of a dietary AA that is both digestible and available for protein synthesis. Peas are a commonly used protein source in grain-free dog foods, often included in large proportions. Methionine (Met) is an essential AA and the first limiting AA in peas so knowing the MA of Met in peas can ensure sufficient bioavailable Met is provided in these diets.

GPS sensors play a pivotal role in modern livestock tracking, enabling producers and researchers to monitor grazing livestock, understand their behavior, and assess health indicators. Despite their widespread use, effectively interpreting the gathered data poses challenges due to positioning inaccuracies.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) are long-chain omega-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that have important biological effects on reproduction through their involvement in hormone and series 3 prostaglandin synthesis. Ruminant tissues are naturally almost devoid of omega-3 long-chain PUFA, specifically EPA and DHA.

One of the main alternatives of additives to modulate the microbial population in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), especially in the intestine, is the use of direct-fed microbials (DFM). This class of additives comprises all the feed products that contain a live or naturally occurring source of microorganism.