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.

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.

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.

Ruminants play a key role in the food system because they can convert fiber-rich plants into highly nutritious food for humans. However, there is a growing concern about livestock production because of its negative environmental impact, mainly due to enteric methane (CH4) emissions but also as a result of N excretion leading to nitrate (NO3−) leaching and ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions.

The methane yield (g methane/kg dry matter intake) was 34% lower in sheep fed 100% forage rape and 11% lower in sheep fed 75% forage rape compared to sheep fed 100% ryegrass-based pasture. Sheep fed 25% and 50% forage rape as part of their diet had similar methane yields to sheep fed 100% ryegrass pasture.

Given the significant negative impact of livestock disease outbreaks on animal and public health, preventing disease spread through biosecurity practices is important. In this article, we assessed the economic implications of the adoption of biosecurity practices on Irish dairy farms.

Mutton is characterized by a typical species-related flavor named “mutton flavor,” which is mainly associated with branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs), such as 4-methyloctanoic acid, 4-ethyloctanoic acid, and 4-methylnonanoic acid. Previous studies demonstrated that Allium mongolicum Regel ethanol extract (AME) reduced the concentration of BCFAs in the muscle and adipose tissues of lambs.

The zinc finger protein 280B-like, Y-linked ZNF280BY is a bovid-specific Y chromosome gene, playing important roles in testicular development and male fertility. In this study, we found that the ovine ZNF280BY was highly expressed in the testis and significantly upregulated during testicular development.

In higher temperature conditions, dairy cows under pasture-based automatic milking systems may experience heat stress, affecting their health and productive performance. In the present study, the relationships between heat stress, measured by the temperature–humidity index (THI), productive traits, and grazing behaviors were evaluated.

Copper is a nonrenewable mineral resource that is essential for all biological organisms. After banning the antibiotics, copper has received considerable attention due to its antimicrobial properties that improve performance in animals when fed over the minimum requirement.

Preslaughter acute stress can cause physiological and metabolic disorders of broilers and lead to deterioration of meat quality and high incidence of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE)-like meat, which block the development of broiler industry. Acute stress-induced imbalance of redox status and insufficient energy supply are important reasons for meat quality reduction.

Beef production systems rely on efficient cow-calf operations, that is, farms where the cow herd has a high level of fertility and pregnancies are common. Bull fertility also plays an important role in terms of pregnancy rates.

Composite breeds are commonly used in the U.S. beef industry since they provide producers with benefits such as breed complementarity and retained heterosis. However, cattle composite genomes are not well characterized.

Our study dealt with strategies on how to reduce biases (inflation and level-bias) and improve a parameter related to accuracy (stability) of genomic predictions of breeding values that combine genotyped and non-genotyped animals, which are denoted as single-step genomic predictions.

When high-risk cattle arrive at the feedlot, they have low feed consumption and a greater risk for disease because of stress, inflammation, and exposure to pathogens. Because of reduced feed consumption, newly arrived cattle may not be able to meet their energy requirement for growth during the first several weeks after feedlot arrival.

In lactating sows, nutrient requirements among individual animals vary greatly. With a single diet, lactating sows are likely to be either underfed, which results in body reserve mobilization, or overfed, which results in nutrient excretion.

It is essential to educate students about humane slaughter as it is a critical component of livestock production, particularly for animal science students who represent future stakeholders in agriculture. There is limited research about the effects of experiential learning on student comfort in participating in education regarding sensitive, yet important topics in the animal sciences.

Decreasing the frequency of protein and energy supplementation to beef cattle is often used to reduce labor and feeding costs. We hypothesized that reducing the frequency of protein and energy during third trimester of gestation of beef cows would not impact maternal performance but would be detrimental to offspring growth.

Potassium, fed as potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) in this study, is essential for swine and is a key component of numerous physiological processes such as the maintenance of electrolyte balance, neuromuscular function. Feeding high levels of chloride anions, via crystalline lysine (L-Lys HCl) has been shown to negatively impact intake and growth performance of pigs.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product (SCFP) is a yeast product containing bioactive fermentation metabolites, residual yeast cells, and yeast cell wall fragments. In this study, SCFP was investigated for its impacts on immune health, oxidative stress, and skin and hair coat health in dogs.