The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has released a request for information regarding capabilities for science support for the S&T Food, Agriculture, and Veterinary Defense Program (FAV-D). DHS recently established the Office of Health Security to refocus department efforts on human and agriculture security.

The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) brings together stakeholders from various parts of the food and healthcare systems. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced almost $8 million to GusNIP’s Produce Prescription Project, as part of the American Rescue Plan to be administered by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released the FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) for July 2022. The FFPI is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.

Expanding Local Meat Processing Act, a companion act to the Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the United States Act (A-Plus Act), has been introduced to the Senate. The bill would reduce regulatory red tape to enable livestock auction market owners to invest in small meat packing operations.

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act or the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 was passed by both the House and Senate with bipartisan support. The Act will strengthen American manufacturing, supply chains, and national security while investing in research and development, science and technology, and the workforce of the future to keep the United States as the international leader in specific industries.

The Solicitor General of the United States, Elizabeth Prelogar, has filed a brief in support of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) lawsuit against California’s Proposition 12. The Proposition mandates farm animal confinement standards and directs the Department and the Department of Public Health to jointly promulgate regulations to implement the provisions for specified farm animals and the sale of specified products derived from them.

A new study from researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looked at how American food-buying behaviors have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers also examined how these behaviors changed through the development of vaccines and as case numbers fluctuated.

For more than a decade, starch-degrading enzymes (amylolytic enzymes) have been used as a strategy to increase total-tract starch degradation to increase milk yield of dairy cows. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of starch-degrading enzymes on starch digestion and milk yield in dairy cows.

Gluconate salts have been reported to be metabolized by microbes in the gastrointestinal tract to yield butyrate. Butyrate has shown potential to enhance functionality of the gastrointestinal tract by increasing the absorptive surface area, enzyme activity, and the barrier function.

Feeding live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii (SB) in pig diets is recommended to promote a better health and reduce antibiotic use during critical periods like weaning. Our study was conducted to determine if SB added to the diet of sows during the last 2 mo of gestation and the 4 wk of lactation may contribute to support the health and performance of their piglets before and after weaning.

Newly weaned pigs are susceptible to multiple stressors that may lead to postweaning diarrhea, thereby causing significant economic losses in the swine industry. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains are the major agents causing diarrhea in newly weaned pigs.

Resource efficiency, the ratio of inputs to outputs, is essential for both the economic and environmental performance of aquaculture. The data from commercial rainbow trout farms showed that from 1980 onwards, the farm-level feed conversion ratio (FCR) improved by 53.4%, and the specific nitrogen and phosphorus loading from the farms decreased by over 70%.

Treats are commonly given to dogs to create a better relationship with the owner. Most treats on the market are baked and wheat based as this grain has gluten that provides good texture attributes and facilitates production.

Canned wet foods are often blamed for poor oral health in dogs, but comparison between wet and dry foods is not commonly done. We used 12 healthy adult dogs to determine differences in oral health measures, breath odor, and oral bacteria populations of dogs consuming wet or dry foods.

Unlike human babies, calves do not receive protective immune proteins (immunoglobulins) from the mother before birth, so a sufficient volume of immunoglobulin-rich colostrum of adequate quality must be consumed within hours of birth. It can be a challenge to meet this requirement for all dairy calves.

Broiler chicken weight gain is a result of genetics and nutrition, with increased muscle mass attributed to accelerated embryonic myogenesis and posthatch muscle growth. During the avian incubation period, in ovo injection may be used as a strategy to deliver exogenous supplements into growing embryos for improving skeletal muscle development and growth.

Beta-adrenergic agonists (β-AAs) are supplemented to pigs and cattle to improve growth performance, carcass weight, and loin muscle area. Little is known about the mechanism taking place within individual cells by which β-AAs achieve this outcome.

The largest tissue in the body, skeletal muscle, is a heterogeneous mix of fibers that are categorized based on their primary source of energy production and speed of contraction. Evidence suggests that Thoroughbred horses with a greater percentage of type IIA, fast-twitch, oxidative fibers are more successful than those with fewer.

Heat stress (HS) and Zearalenone (ZEN), a toxic feed contaminant, affect growth, production efficiency, and animal welfare, and can cause death. As HS and ZEN independently increase oxidative stress, an imbalance of free radical production and clearance, and the likelihood of ZEN contamination during heat events, we hypothesized concomitant exposure would induce oxidative stress in pig skeletal muscle more than either agent alone.

One of the longest standing regional projects, the NC1184 group consists of 26 member agriculture experiment stations with a rich history of benchtop discovery in muscle biology with translation to the meat and livestock production sectors.