Featured Articles

  • Oct
    13
    Interpretive Summary: In utero hyperthermia in late gestation derails dairy calf early-life mammary development


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    Late-gestation in utero heat stress in dairy cattle negatively affects the mammary microstructure and milk yield at maturity, but investigation into early-life windows of mammary development is needed to fully characterize the lifelong consequences of intrauterine heat stress on the mammary gland (MG).

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  • Oct
    13
    Infographic: Feature Collection – Biology of Lactation


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    This month’s feature collection showcases three Board Invited Reviews exploring the biology of lactation from three different perspectives. These include the impact of circadian rhythms on production efficiency, the impact of early heat stress on future cow performance, and a holistic look at how extending lactation length impacts the dairy cow’s whole production cycle and management.

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  • Oct
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of diet on feed intake, weight change, and gas emissions in beef cows


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    The beef cow utilizes about 74% of total feed energy required to produce beef. Therefore, a more thorough understanding of feed intake, weight gain, and feed efficiency traits in the beef cow is fundamental to reducing cost and improving the environmental footprint of beef production.

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  • Oct
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of supplemental methionine on health and performance of receiving beef heifers


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    Methionine supplementation can improve immune function in transition dairy cattle. Our objective was to determine if supplemental methionine could improve health and performance of newly received growing cattle.

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  • Oct
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of dietary protein content and crystalline amino acid supplementation patterns on growth performance, intestinal histomorphology, and immune response in weaned pigs raised under different sanitary conditions


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    Reducing dietary crude protein (CP) content reduces nitrogen excretion to the environment and undigested protein availability to enteric pathogens in the hind gut resulting in reduced postweaning diarrhea and improved gut health. To meet the amino acid requirements in low CP diets, supplementation of essential amino acids in nursery diets is necessary, and the availability of more feed-grade crystalline amino acids allows low CP diets to be practically formulated.

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  • Oct
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of a mildly cooked human-grade dog diet on gene expression, skin and coat health measures, and fecal microbiota of healthy adult dogs


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    This study tested the effects of a mildly cooked human-grade diet and a feed-grade extruded kibble diet on the fecal microbiome, skin and coat health measures, and expression of genes related to inflammation and oxidative stress in healthy adult dogs.

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  • Oct
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of feeding high oleic soybean oil to growing–finishing pigs on loin and belly quality


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    Feeding pigs supplemental fat to increase caloric density is a common practice in the swine industry. However, dietary fats are also a key determinant of pork fat composition and may influence product quality.

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  • Oct
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Replacement of dietary corn with corn bran plus condensed distillers solubles effects on feedlot growth performance and carcass trait responses of beef steers


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    Dry-corn milling biorefineries have the opportunity to install technology to fractionate corn prior to fermentation, which creates a product stream of fibrous bran that can be fed to cattle. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of replacing dietary corn with corn bran and condensed distillers solubles (CBCDS) or wet-corn gluten feed (WCGF) on growth performance, efficiency of dietary net energy (NE) utilization, and carcass characteristics in finishing steers.

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  • Sep
    29
    White House conference met with backlash due to anti-meat study


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    The United States White House announced for the first time in more than 50 years, that it will hold a conference on hunger, nutrition, and health. The conference is set to be held on September 28, 2022, along with the publication of a National Strategy containing actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.

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  • Sep
    29
    USDA to invest over $100 million to fight climate change in rural America


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    The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it will invest $121 million in infrastructure to combat climate change in rural parts of America. Over 280 projects throughout 49 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico will be funded.

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  • Sep
    29
    USDA to create regional food business centers


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    During a Zoom call, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $400 million in funding to create USDA Regional Food Business Centers. The Regional Food Business Centers will provide coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses access new markets and navigate federal, state, and local resources.

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  • Sep
    29
    USDA announces additional funds for meat and poultry supply chain


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    The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has announced $21.9 million in awards to 111 grant programs through the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant Program (MPIRG). This additional funding brings the total funding to $54.6 million.

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  • Sep
    29
    Report concludes fraud likely occurred in Coronavirus Food Assistance Program


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    The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published the results of an investigation into the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), noting fraud is likely. During the pandemic, USDA through the CFAP provided producers with $31 billion for various commodities.

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  • Sep
    29
    Memorandum on increasing access to federally funded research introduced


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    The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a memorandum directing federal agencies to ensure peer-reviewed articles originating from federally funded research are freely available upon publication. This guidance is to be implemented no later than the start of 2026 and applies to data that is necessary to validate scientific findings reported in the publications.

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  • Sep
    29
    Global beef market remains strong, new report finds


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    According to a new report by Rabobank, the third quarter outlook for the global beef market remains robust. Most beef retail prices continued their upward trend in quarter two or remained steady.

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  • Sep
    29
    Congress members ask USDA to delay poultry plant safety study


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    Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA), along with 34 members of Congress sent a letter to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, requesting the USDA to postpone a poultry plant safety study. The letter contains a list of over 20 questions the congressmen would like answered before September 30th.

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  • Sep
    29
    Agriculture organizations urge Senate to pass Livestock Regulatory Protection Act


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    The Livestock Regulatory Protection Act would ban the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing permits under the Clean Air Act for any carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, water vapor, or methane emissions resulting from biological processes associated with livestock production. While the EPA has not proposed any so-called “cow-taxes” on greenhouse emissions from livestock operations, there is a concern that a move in that direction could be imminent.

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  • Sep
    23
    Overview of the EAAP (ASAS Sponsored) Symposium focusing on the relationship between nutrition and reproduction in cattle


    ASAS and EAAP are long term partners. In September of 2022, ASAS Sent 14 speakers to give presentations at the 2022 EAAP meeting. Here you can read a few highlights from speakers and ASAS Sponsored symposia.

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  • Sep
    23
    Rethinking Methane from Animal Agriculture: ASAS Speaker Frank Mitloehner at EAAP


    Predicting how greenhouse gases can warm the planet is critical to finding short- and long-term solutions to global warming. At the European Federation of Animal Sciences meeting in Porto, Portugal, September 5-9, 2022, ASAS member, Frank Mitloehner from the University of California – Davis, discussed why we should rethink how methane from animal agriculture impacts global warming.

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  • Sep
    23
    Effective Nutritional Strategies to Mitigate Enteric Methane in Dairy Cattle: ASAS Member Alex Hristov at EAAP


    Research over the past decade have provided critical information on the factors that drive enteric methane emission in ruminants. At the European Federation of Animal Sciences meeting in Porto, Portugal, September 5-9, 2022, ASAS member, Alexander Hristov from Pennsylvania State University focused on nutritional strategies that can mitigate enteric methane emissions.

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