Featured Articles

  • Oct
    25
    Animal Welfare Question in Massachusetts Delayed


    TS animal welfare
    The Massachusetts House recently voted on the Question 3 initiative, prohibiting the sale of pork that does not meet the state’s production standards. Overwhelmingly, the House decided 156-1 to delay the initiative until January 1, 2023. Previously, it would have taken effect starting in 2022. The Massachusetts Senate still must vote on the decision.

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  • Oct
    25
    Members of PCAST Announced


    TS member
    President Joe Biden announced the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), external advisors charged with making science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White House. Thirty leaders were selected, containing the most diverse group in United States history.

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  • Oct
    21
    Interpretive Summary: Potential use of ground brown rice for weanling pigs


    TS weanling pig (1)
    Replacing corn with rice in diets for weaning or growing pigs has been studied in the past and has demonstrated improved growth performance and nutrient digestibility, but there is limited information about corn replacement with brown rice on growth performance, immune status, and gut microbiota of weanling pigs.

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  • Oct
    21
    Interpretive Summary: Characterization of bacterial DNA identified in abscessed and non-abscessed bovine hepatic tissue at the time of harvest


    TS Holstein steers
    Bovine liver abscesses continue to be a primary concern facing beef production efficiency and, despite current mitigation strategies, significant variation exists in the rate of liver condemnation.

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  • Oct
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Dietary taurine protects against oxidative stress in broiler chickens


    TS broiler chicken
    The authors of this recent Journal of Animal Science study hypothesized that supplementation with the amino acid taurine would attenuate oxidative stress in broiler chickens. Injury from oxidative stress happens when the body’s ability to control free radicals is overwhelmed.

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  • Oct
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Homeopathic supplementations effects on stress response of growing pigs from road transportation


    TS livestock trailer
    Livestock transportation may cause significant economic losses in the swine industry due to the animal's stress response. Previous research has linked road transportation to many factors negatively impacting the animal's physiological status; release of glucocorticoids, inhibition of antibodies following vaccination, and interferes with the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, to name a few.

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  • Oct
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Impacts of L-glutamine in swine nursery diets


    TS Nursery Pig
    Stress from weaning and transport leads to poor piglet health outcomes such as diarrhea and increased susceptibility to infections. In the past, feeding prophylactic antibiotics prevented gastrointestinal disease and reduced piglet morbidity and mortality. In this recent Journal of Animal Science study, researchers fed nursery pigs GLN or antibiotics and then compared their intestinal health and gut microbiomes.

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  • Oct
    14
    Interpretive Summary: Triennial reproduction symposium: L.E. Casida Award for Excellence in Graduate Education: mentoring graduate students in animal science


    TS grad students
    Specific research objectives within any lab are crucial; however, Dr. Wettemann states that opportunities for deviation and originality for new ideas should be encouraged. This is how students will ultimately solve the questions.

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  • Oct
    14
    Interpretive Summary: Behavioral and stress responses to feeding time in pregnant sows


    TS pig feed
    Feeding time can directly impact sow performance and stress levels. Depending on the time of day and length of time animals are fed, physiological and behavior changes may occur. How such changes impact animal welfare and performance, however, are poorly understood.

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  • Oct
    14
    Interpretive Summary: Establishment of a bovine rumen epithelial cell line


    TS Rumen Cow
    The rumen is essential for digestion and absorption in ruminant animals. Thus, feed ingredients, whether roughage or concentrate, must first be digested by enzymes from microbes in the rumen to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs).

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  • Oct
    14
    Interpretive Summary: Heat processing increased the digestibility of phosphorus in soybean expeller, canola meal, and canola expeller fed to growing pigs


    TS Feeder Pig
    Over two-thirds of the total Phosphorus in plant-based ingredients used in swine diets are present as inositol hexakisphosphate, more commonly known as phytate, and is poorly available to the pig. Deficient Phosphorus levels can have adverse effects on growth performance and the eutrophication of water.

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  • Oct
    07
    Interpretive Summary: 129 Genomic Relationship Between PRRSV Wild-type Infection and PRRSV...


    TS pigresearch
    The selection of swine for production typically occurs in a purebred, high health, biosecure nucleus herd. However, this selection and management system limits industry capabilities to genetically select for traits the confer disease resistance and antibody response to pathogen challenges.

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  • Oct
    07
    Interpretive Summary: A highly polymorphic caprine keratin-associated protein gene identified and its effect on cashmere traits


    TS cashmere goat
    Cashmere fiber is a main product of cashmere goats that is produced by secondary hair follicles, and, like wool, the cashmere fiber is composed of hair-keratins and keratin-associated proteins.

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  • Oct
    07
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of supplemental d-methionine in comparison to l-methionine on nitrogen retention...


    TS weanling pig
    Methionine is a limiting amino acid in swine diets, but because of its high requirement by pigs and its low concentration in many feed ingredients, supplementation with synthetic sources of methionine is common in diets fed to pigs.

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  • Oct
    04
    Interpretive Summary: Social isolation of goats: significance of visual contact...


    TS Goat Isolation
    A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Science evaluated the behavioral and physiological response in goats during isolation with and without visual contact with their herd- or pen-mates.

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  • Oct
    04
    Interpretive Summary: Epigenetic changes in the offspring of heifers fed a restricted maternal diet


    TS calf
    Residual feed intake (RFI) is a desired heritable trait in beef cattle. Animals with lower RFI are more feed efficient although epigenetic variations can impact this trait. The environmental circumstances and molecular mechanisms behind how epigenetics leads to variations in RFI however are not well understood.

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  • Oct
    04
    Interpretive Summary: Ractopamine hydrochloride improves performance and reduces...


    TS cow
    Finding efficient ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing performance is crucial for optimizing the production of feedlot steers. In this recent Journal of Animal Science article, researchers studied how feeding ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) impacted the performance and greenhouse gas emissions of feedlot steers.

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  • Oct
    04
    Interpretive Summary: An investigation of links between metabolic rate and feed efficiency in European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax


    TS Fish Farm
    A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Science investigated the links between metabolic rate and feed efficiency in the European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax, a major species in European mariculture.

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  • Sep
    30
    Interpretive Summary: Assessment of visceral organ growth in pigs from birth...


    pig
    Visceral organs are essential for life in all animals due to their role in various aspects of digestive physiology, including the digestion of feedstuffs, absorption of nutrients, and metabolism of absorbed and circulating nutrients.

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  • Sep
    30
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of dietary inclusion of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) extract on lamb muscle metabolomics and physicochemical properties in meat


    lamb (1)
    A study recently published in the Journal of Animal Science evaluated the effects of increasing levels of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) extract as a feed additive for lambs and its effect on metabolic profile of the muscle and instrumental meat quality traits. The major components of meat, proteins and lipids, are susceptible to oxidation leading to off-flavors and color changes, which can cause consumer rejection of the product and may lead to loss in nutritional quality and generate compounds.

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