Over the past two decades, the world has had increasing discussions on environmental sustainability. Agriculture provides basic needs of humans. As the world faces current and newly evolving challenges, we are reminded that agriculture must do its part in conserving nutrients to feed a growing population with a shrinking agricultural land mass.

Choline is a key nutrient that supports the liver and overall health of egg-laying hens, while also helping them produce eggs efficiently. Traditionally, poultry diets include use of synthetic choline chloride. In this study, we tested a novel, organic form of choline called choline propionate to assess if it could work similar or better than choline chloride.

In commercial swine farming, the ability to predict the productivity of sows is extremely valuable as it provides herd management guidance, improving the farm cost efficiency. However, sow productivity is a multifaceted phenotype that involves complex patterns between various measurable sow attributes.

To meet the growing demand for beef driven by a rising population, cattle operations must improve efficiency of nutrient utilization by the rumen and the entire digestive tract. This can be achieved by enhancing forage quality or implementing nutritional strategies that optimize forage and overall nutrient digestibility, such as supplementing cattle with Bacillus-based probiotics.

Trace minerals are added to commercial pig diets because their availability in conventional plant-based feed ingredients is typically low. Levels supplemented are sometimes far in excess of NRC recommendations. Reducing supplementation may improve environmental sustainability by reducing trace mineral waste.

Weaning is a stressful period for piglets, often leading to digestive problems that can slow down growth and weaken health. Adding fiber to their diet is one strategy to reduce these issues. In our study, we evaluated whether almond shells (AS), a by-product of almond farming, could serve as an alternative insoluble fiber source for piglets.

Animal agriculture has long been recognized as both widely accessible and adaptable to the diverse circumstances found around the world. It has served as a source of economic and cultural stability, while also offering opportunities for continued advancement. However, the relationship between people and animal agriculture is complex.

Gender equality is one of the 17 core objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015 by all 193 United Nations member states. As stated in SDG 5—Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls—“Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.”

From food commercials to the United States Department of Agriculture, there are calls for more educated agriculturalists. Meanwhile, the Food and Agricultural Education Information System published data showing that in 2022, 12.1% of the total agricultural undergraduate student enrollment was Hispanic/ Latiné (Food and Agriculutral Education System, 2025).

Animal production in the south, particularly Africa, faces several challenges that limit productivity, sustainability, and economic contribution to local and national economies. Challenges include harsh environmental conditions, climate change, limited feed resources, diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and poor animal well-being and welfare. Addressing these challenges requires concerted effort from researchers, policymakers, industry stakeholders, and farmers.

Animal science organizations have been working to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for over two decades. These efforts began with a strong focus on recruiting and retaining women in the field. In the early 2000s, women made up less than 10% of professional-level animal scientists in academia, with the exception of equine science, where female involvement has a long tradition. Today, women represent more than 50% of professional animal scientists and an impressive 80% of equine scientists.

On December 10th, the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services jointly announced a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program to help American farmers adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity, while strengthening America’s food and fiber supply.

The December Edition of The Giving Herd, an ASAS Foundation Newsletter

This experiment explored how eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation during late gestation affects the fatty acid composition of dam plasma, milk, and plasma of the offspring. Pregnant ewes were divided into three groups, each receiving a different amount of an EPA and DHA source at 0, 1%, or 2% of dry matter intake.

Non-lactating and non-dairy cattle are the largest animal source of methane emission, contributing to global warming. The use of feed additives has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy to reduce enteric methane emission from ruminants. This study aimed to investigate the effect of supplementing growing calves from 5 mo of age with the methane inhibitor 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP).

Oxidative stress is a condition that involves an imbalance of prooxidants and antioxidants, abnormally high levels of free radicals, and a decline in antioxidant defence mechanisms. Flavonoids are important feed additives, and are a group of naturally occurring polyphenols in plants that exhibit a broad variety of biological effects and have potential applications in animal feed. Ginkgo leaves are rich in flavonoids and have a strong antioxidant capacity, which can eliminate free radicals in the body and reduce oxidative stress reactions in animals.

The use of calcium formate (Ca-formate) to partially or fully replace limestone in piglet diets is a nutritional strategy to reduce the dietary buffering capacity and lower stomach pH. Phytase activity is optimal at low pH, which raises the question of whether this strategy can also increase phytase efficiency.

Bovine mastitis, a significant inflammatory response of the mammary gland, adversely impacts dairy cow health and milk production globally. Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) has been identified as the important bacterium causing mastitis in dairy cows. However, the mechanism remains to be fully elucidated.

Low birth weight (LBW) has always been an important problem in animal husbandry, contributing to high mortality and morbidity rates in the neonatal period. Placental and fetal development are regulated by hormones, and studies have shown that cortisol has the ability to regulate nutrients transport during placental development, but the specific mechanism is not clear.

Agronomic production of industrial hemp was relegalized in the United States in 2018, and the residual biomass of hemp may be useful as an alternative roughage source to cattle. Previous studies have used mostly in vitro methods to estimate the nutritional value of hemp to cattle, and data are still limited on how hemp variety and botanical parts influence estimates of the nutritional value of hemp.