Featured Articles

  • 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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  • Dec
    20
    Interpretive Summary: Lycium barbarum polysaccharides alleviate LPS-induced inflammatory responses through PPARγ/MAPK/NF-κB pathway in bovine mammary epithelial cells


    TS, bovine cells
    Current research examined Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) for combating LPS-induced inflammatory responses in primary bovine mammary epithelial cells. We uncovered a preventive role of LBP in reducing detrimental effects induced by LPS including inhibition of NF-κB and MAPK along with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) activation.

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  • Dec
    20
    Interpretive Summary: Selenium decreased cholesterol levels


    TS, nellore bull
    A major goal in animal agriculture is to improve the nutritional value of animal products. One area of focus in the beef cattle industry is to use supplemental selenium to improve the antioxidant abilities of muscle and liver tissue, which may reduce the cholesterol levels of muscle tissue, resulting in a healthier product.

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  • Dec
    16
    Interpretive Summary: Tissue Dimensions Captive Bolt Swine


    TS, captive bolt dec
    Penetrating captive bolt is a commonly used and humane method for euthanizing swine that weigh less than 200kg.

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  • Dec
    16
    Interpretive Summary: Altered fecal microbiota, IgA, and fermentative end-products in adult dogs fed prebiotics and a nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus


    TS, beagle dec
    Higher demand for nutrition beyond the basic requirements of the animal has increased in the pet food industry; specifically, using pre-and probiotic ingredients to influence digestive health.

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  • Dec
    16
    Interpretive Summary: Relationship between energy intake and growth performance and body composition in pigs selected for low backfat thickness


    TS, pig pink background dec
    The progression of genetic selection for reduced carcass backfat has increased over the past 20 years, causing an altered phenotypic relationship between energy intake and carcass backfat thickness.

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  • Dec
    13
    Interpretive Summary: Increased microbial phytase increased phytate destruction, plasma inositol, and feed efficiency of weanling pigs...


    TS, weanling pig dec
    Due to stress during the post-weaning period, morbidity and mortality can be significantly increased. These stressors can be environmental, nutritional, physiological, and immunological changes.

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  • Dec
    13
    Interpretive Summary: Live yeast and yeast extracts with and without pharmacological levels of zinc on nursery pig growth performance and antimicrobial susceptibilities of fecal Escherichia coli


    TS, Escherichia coli
    Feeding pharmacological levels of Zn in the early nursery phase has become a common practice in the swine industry to alleviate post-weaning diarrhea. However, antimicrobial resistance is a concern when feeding these levels.

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  • Dec
    13
    Interpretive Summary: High inclusion rates of hybrid rye instead of corn in diets for growing-finishing pigs do not influence the overall growth performance and most carcass traits are not influenced by hybrid rye


    TS, hybrid rye
    Hybrid rye has shown minimal impact on growth performance and carcass characteristics when used to replace barley and wheat. The current study's objective is to evaluate the use of hybrid rye as a replacement for corn in diets for growing and finishing pigs without impacting growth performance, carcass characteristics, or meat quality.

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  • Dec
    09
    Interpretive Summary: Impacts of high amylopectin starch cassava on plasma glucose and the growth performance of pigs


    TS, pig growth
    In this recent Journal of Animal Science study, researchers evaluated how cassava, a high amylopectin starch, impacted the performance and other metabolic parameters of growing pigs. Pigs were fed either a corn-soybean meal LP diet, a corn-cassava-soybean meal LP diet, or a cassava-soybean meal LP diet.

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  • Dec
    09
    Interpretive Summary: Hydroxy-selenomethionine as an organic source of selenium in the diet improves boar reproductive performance in artificial insemination programs


    TS, boar research
    This was the first study of record to evaluate the effects of hydroxy-selenomethionine as a dietary supplement for boards on raw semen characteristics and quality of seminal doses, as well as the reproductive performance achieved when used for artificial insemination.

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  • Dec
    09
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of aspirin to intentionally induce leaky gut on performance, inflammation, and carcass characteristics of feedlot cattle


    TS, feedlot cattle aspirin
    The negative impacts of stress on gastrointestinal tract barrier function can result in compromised animal growth and health; aspirin is known to cause mucosal injury, leading to increased gut permeability and tight junction damage and, in turn, can be used as a model to study leaky gut in cattle.

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  • Dec
    06
    Interpretive Summary: Impacts of fiber and crude protein on performance and gut microbiota in piglets


    TS, piglet weaned
    The prophylactic use of antibiotics and pharmacological zinc were traditionally used to ward off postweaning diarrhea (PWD) in piglets. However, due to antibiotic resistance and strict regulations on the use of zinc and antibiotics in animal feed, other strategies for combatting PWD are needed.

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