Featured Articles

  • Jan
    13
    Interpretive Summary: Assessment of diagnostic accuracy of biomarkers to assess lung consolidation in calves with induced bacterial pneumonia using receiver operating characteristic curves


    TS, calf
    Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most economically significant disease for cattle producers in the United States, affecting 16.2% of cattle on feed.

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  • Jan
    13
    Interpretive Summary: A time-series effect of phytase supplementation on phosphorus utilization in growing and finishing pigs fed a low-phosphorus diet


    TS, growingfinishing pigs
    The current study's authors aimed to determine a time-series effect of phytase on phosphorus (P) utilization in growing and finishing pigs. Growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients, P excretion, and plasma concentrations of minerals were evaluated during two experiments.

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  • Jan
    13
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of dietary leucine and tryptophan on serotonin metabolism and growth performance of growing pigs


    TS, growingfinishing pigs (1)
    Tryptophan is often a limiting amino acid in corn-soybean meal-based diets of pigs and plays a vital role in appetite regulation. However, this mechanism competes with other large neutral AA such as Val, Leu Ile, Tyr, and Phe. Standard corn and sorghum diets fed to pigs are rich in Leu and may reduce pig feed intake and growth performance.

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  • Jan
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Myersocough beef cowcalf pairs housing drylot


    TS, cattle drylot
    Drylots are becoming a more common method of managing cow/calf pairs because they provide more flexibility for nutritional management, calving monitoring and provide shelter from wind and rain to decrease maintenance nutrition requirements in the winter. However, limited work has focused on the impact of dry-lot cow/calf management on cow/calf behavior and performance around the time of weaning.

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  • Jan
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Sodium dichloroacetate and glucose supplementation in growing-finishing pigs fed a low-protein diet


    TS, finishing pigs
    Managing low protein diets in pigs is challenging because reduced dietary protein frequently leads to impaired growth performance and increased intramuscular fat. Supplementation with essential amino acids (particularly lysine, tryptophan, threonine, and methionine) is helpful, however may not fully ameliorate the negative impacts of a low protein diet.

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  • Jan
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Reproductive performance and longevity in energy restricted gilts


    TS, lambs (1)
    Longer reproductive lives are highly sought after in sows because it increases the profitability of commercial farms. Sows that reach their fourth parity and produce large litters are highly desired.

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  • Jan
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Impacts of intermittent maternofetal oxygenation on IUGR lambs


    TS, lambs
    Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) caused by placental insufficiency is highly problematic because fetal hypoxemia leads to low birthweight and impaired growth in livestock. Ways to counter the negative impacts of placental insufficiency are therefore necessary to increase the productivity and health of IUGR-born livestock.

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  • Jan
    03
    Interpretive Summary: Impacts of silymarin on the reproductive performance of sows


    TS, nursery pig (1)
    Silymarin is a flavonolignan extracted from milk thistle fruit and seeds. It has traditionally been used to reduce liver inflammation and toxicity in both humans and animals but may also potentially increase milk production during lactation.

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  • Jan
    03
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of dietary spray-dried plasma protein on nutrient digestibility and growth performance in nursery pigs


    TS, nursery pig
    Dietary spray-dried plasma protein (SDPP) is widely used in nursery pig diet due to its high nutrient contents and growth-promoting effects. In the present work, two sources of SDPP were evaluated for energy and amino acid (AA) digestibility and growth performance in nursery pigs.

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  • Dec
    27
    Study Finds Seaweed Could Reduce Methane Emissions from Livestock


    TS, seaweed methane reduction
    Promising research is being performed at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) at Queen’s University Belfast, feeding seaweed to farm animals. The technique is said to reduce methane by at least 30%.

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  • Dec
    27
    Industry Groups Provide Comments to FSIS About Cell-Cultured Meat Labeling


    TS, Cell-Cultured Meat Labeling
    NCBA agrees that the labeling of these products is important. Danielle Beck, Senior Executive Director of Government Affairs, noted a survey where 74% of consumers agreed that there should be a clear indication of whether the meat, they are purchasing is either lab-grown or conventionally produced.

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  • Dec
    27
    FAO Publishes The State of Food and Agriculture 2021


    TS, food supply
    The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently published The State of Food and Agriculture 2021. The report comes after the COVID-19 pandemic showed vulnerability within the agrifood system globally.

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  • Dec
    27
    EPA Releases Report on Environmental Impact of Food Waste


    TS, EPA
    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste, to inform policymakers, researchers, and the public about the environmental impact of food waste. The report includes benefits to reduced food waste as well as knowledge gaps.

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  • Dec
    27
    Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act Introduced


    TS, dairy cow
    The bill is designed to direct the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to initiate the process of holding Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) hearings within six months to provide an opportunity for producers to have a seat at the table when any potential changes in how Class I milk prices are calculated is discussed.

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  • Dec
    27
    Cures 2.0 Bill Introduced


    TS, vaccine
    “The federal government has shown, time and time again, that when it’s given the resources needed to accomplish the impossible, there’s not much it cannot do,” DeGette and Upton said in a press release. By creating ARPA-H, we will be bringing together some our nation’s greatest minds to help find cures to these devastating diseases.

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  • Dec
    27
    Bipartisan Request to Hold Mexico Accountable on Biotech Policy


    TS, biotechnology
    A bipartisan letter from more than 70 members of Congress was sent to President Joe Biden regarding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The letter urges President Biden to pursue a declaration from Mexican President López Obrador that Mexico will follow the biotech provisions established in USMCA.

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  • Dec
    27
    Bill to Protect Meatpacking Workers Introduced


    TS, meat packing plant worker
    During the height of the pandemic, it was revealed that over 59,000 meatpacking and processing workers contracted COVID-19, and at least 269 died. PAMWA would provide protections for meatpacking workers along with systemic reforms, such as creating a fair market that allows independent farmers, ranchers, and local food systems to succeed.

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  • Dec
    27
    APHIS Issues Final Rule Regarding Handling of Animals


    TS, animal welfare
    The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule modifying the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations to include a requirement for a contingency plan for the handling of animals during an emergency.

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  • Dec
    27
    APHIS Announces Funds for Animal Health


    TS, animal health
    The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently announced over $16.3 million to 64 different projects with states, universities, and other partners for animal health protection.

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  • Dec
    20
    Interpretive Summary: Efficient approximation of reliabilities for single-step genomic best linear unbiased predictor models with the Algorithm for Proven and Young


    TS, science background
    The estimated breeding value (EBV) of an animal measures its genetic merit. For calculating EBVs, pedigree and genomic information are jointly used in a procedure called single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ssGBLUP). Genetic evaluations report each EBV with its reliability, which measures how accurate the breeding value estimation was.

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