Featured Articles

  • Nov
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Repeatability of gaseous measurements across consecutive days in sheep using portable accumulation chambers


    TS greenhouse gas
    Global temperatures are expected to increase over the next thirty years; the implications of climate change will have a large impact on livestock population and production, which will affect food security. Ruminant animals have contributed to 39.8% of global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, but will play a role in the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions through the development of sustainable livestock production and the adoption of mitigation measures.

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  • Nov
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Myostatin suppresses adipogenic differentiation and lipid accumulation by activating crosstalk between ERK1/2 and PKA signaling pathways in porcine subcutaneous preadipocytes


    TS science research
    A study recently published in the Journal of Animal Science aimed to determine the effect of myostatin on lipid accumulation in porcine subcutaneous preadipocytes and to further explore the potential molecular mechanisms.

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  • Nov
    18
    Interpretive Summary: The effect of vitamin C on long-haul transport stress in beef steer calves


    TS cattle transport
    Long-haul transport may occur at several points during the lifespan of feedlot cattle and is a source of undesirable stress on the wellbeing of these animals. Performance can subsequently suffer and lead to reduced health and productivity.

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  • Nov
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of bone morphogenetic protein 4, gremlin, and connective tissue growth factor on estradiol and progesterone production by bovine granulosa cells


    TS bovine image
    It has been well documented that Bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) participate in the paracrine regulation of granulosa cell function in multiple species. However, it is unknown if responses to BMPs change with follicular size or interacts with connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) or BMP antagonists (e.g., gremlin) to directly affect granulosa cell function in cattle.

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  • Nov
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Feeding graded inclusion levels of raw and cooked garbanzo beans to cats


    TS garbanzo bean
    Garbanzo beans (Cicer arietinum) are a popular and important legume food protein crop in human nutrition but is not as well utilized or studied in companion animal nutrition. Because raw garbanzo beans contain anti-nutritional factors, it may potentially have negative impacts on digestibility, fecal characteristics, or the gut health of companion animals.

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  • Nov
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Fonesca appeasing substance bos indicus summary


    TS feedlot cattle 2
    Transport and feedlot entry are among the most stressful events in the lives of feedlot cattle, and the stress from these events tend to adversely impact welfare and productivity. Therefore, there is a great interest in strategies to relieve these stresses to improve welfare and performance.

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  • Nov
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of bismuth subsalicylate and encapsulated calcium-ammonium nitrate on feedlot beef cattle production


    TS feedlot cattle
    Sulfur is an important element for the ruminant animal due to its role in bacterial growth and metabolism, but high concentrations of dietary sulfur can be related to reductions in growth performance and the incidence of polioencephalomalacia.

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  • Nov
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of divergence in residual methane emissions on feed intake and efficiency, growth and carcass performance, and indices of rumen fermentation and methane emissions in finishing beef cattle


    TS Methane gas cow
    Global food production has benefitted from the ability of ruminant livestock to convert plant matter into high-quality sources or dairy and meat protein for human consumption, but ruminant derived food products have a much greater carbon intensity. Therefore, mitigation strategies to reduce enteric methane emissions from cattle have been a key research priority for livestock scientists in recent decades.

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  • Nov
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of roughage type on particle separation, rumination, fiber mat characteristics, in situ degradation, and ruminal fermentation parameters in beef steers


    TS Steer
    Physically effective neutral detergent fiber (peNDF) is essential for maintaining the rumen epithelial lining and can be estimated based on the diet's particle size and NDF concentration. Roughages have unique physical characteristics that contribute to the density of the ruminal mat and influence ingredient digestibility, retention times, and particle degradation.

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  • Nov
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Estimation of genetic parameters for superovulatory response traits in Japanese Black cows


    TS wagyu beef
    Japanese Wagyu cattle are one of Japan's greatest treasures and are famous for their excellent meat quality. In Japan, embryo transfer is widely used, and the value of Japanese Black calves is much higher than that of the other beef breeds.

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  • Nov
    04
    Interpretive Summary: Increasing dietary proportion of heat grain in finishing diets containing distillers’ grains: impact on nitrogen utilization, ruminal pH, and digestive function


    TS grain
    The use of Dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) in ruminant diets has increased drastically over the last ten years. This alternative feed resource offers a product that is very high in crude protein (CP).

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  • Nov
    04
    Interpretive Summary: Short term health impacts of feeding cats black soldier fly larvae meal


    TS cat eating
    There is currently great potential for including black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM, Hermetia illucens) in companion animal feed. Although high in protein and nutrient rich, the health impacts of including BSFLM in companion animal feed are largely unknown.

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  • Nov
    01
    Interpretive Summary: Herbage mass and allowance and animal genotype affect daily herbage intake, productivity, and efficiency of beef cows grazing native subtropical grassland


    TS grazing cow
    It is crucial that beef cow-calf systems in subtropical native grasslands, such as Campos, must improve their cow-calf and economic productivity without external inputs while still reducing the environmental impact. This could potentially be done through the control of herbage allowance, improving herbage production, cow herbage intake, and biological efficiency.

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  • Nov
    01
    Interpretive Summary: Influences on the assessment of resource- and animal-based welfare indicators in unweaned dairy calves for usage by farmers


    TS animal welfare (1)
    A study recently published in the Journal of Animal Science aimed to apply possible animal welfare indicators for unweaned dairy calves on conventional dairy farms with early cow-calf separation. An animal welfare assessment, using 7 resource-based and 14 animal-based indicators, was conducted at 42 typical Western German dairy farms (844 calves) in 2018 and 2019 by two observers.

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  • Nov
    01
    Interpretive Summary: Impacts of water quality on feed and water intake of cattle


    TS cow drinking
    Water quality can be problematic in the livestock industry due to reduced fresh water and groundwater supplies. Most water consumed by livestock tends to be saline or brackish however the effects water quality might have on overall health, feed intake and digestibility are unknown.

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  • Oct
    27
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of mannan oligosaccharides and Lactobacillus mucosae on growth performance, immune response, and gut health of weaning pigs challenged with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharides


    TS nursery, piglet (1)
    The use of prebiotics and antibiotic alternatives in pigs has been a recent hot-topic study. Mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) have been shown to improve growth performance and nutrient digestibility in weanling pigs.

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  • Oct
    27
    Interpretive Summary: Mycotoxin deactivator improves performance, antioxidant status, and reduces oxidative stress in nursery pigs fed diets containing mycotoxins


    TS nursery, piglet
    The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the supplementation of a mycotoxin deactivator composed by adsorbent clay minerals, inactivated fermentation extracts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and a blend of antioxidants, organic acids, and botanicals in diets containing added mycotoxins for nursery pigs on their performance and antioxidant status.

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  • Oct
    27
    Interpretive Summary: Dietary zinc concentration and lipopolysaccharide injection affect circulating trace minerals, acute phase protein response, and behavior as evaluated by an ear-tag–based accelerometer in beef steers


    TS cow, inejction
    The National Animal Health Monitoring System estimates that bovine respiratory disease affects 21.2% of all beef cattle placed in feedlots. Bovine respiratory disease often affects cattle during the receiving period, which can involve many stressors; identifying morbid cattle early may lead to improved animal welfare through decreased morbidity and mortality and increased treatment efficacy.

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  • Oct
    25
    Report on US Cattle Market Published for Congress


    TS report
    The Agriculture and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University recently published The U.S. Beef Supply Chain: Issues and Challenges. The book is a culmination of items presented and discussed during an AFPC workshop on cattle markets held in June 2021.

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  • Oct
    25
    R&D Spending Increases in FY 2020


    TS increased spending
    The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, part of the National Science Foundation (NSF), published the FY 2020 Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) Research and Development Survey Report. Conducted annually for university administered FFRDCs since FY 1953 and all FFRDCs since FY 2001, the survey collects information on research and development (R&D) expenditures by the source of funds and types of research and expenses.

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