When piglets are weaned, they often experience stress, diarrhea, and slower growth. To manage these challenges, antibiotics or zinc oxide are commonly used, but concerns about resistance and environmental impact have prompted interest in safer and natural alternatives. This study tested a plant-based supplement made from green tea extract, butyric acid, and vitamin K (called GBK) on young pigs.

This study presents a computer vision–based method to measure the total feed intake of dairy cows to help farmers manage feeding practices more efficiently. The system uses an overhead camera to capture color images of the feed pile and analyze changes over time.

This new study explores how to improve OPU-IVF efficiency in high-quality Wagyu cattle exposed to high temperatures. Systematic folic acid supplementation in 20 clinically healthy Wagyu heifers under controlled heat stress for 20 d significantly reduced inflammatory signaling molecules linked to heat stress, while enhancing their antioxidant capacity and increasing estrogen levels.

Inflammation is an important response of the innate immune system, but feed intake is reduced in cattle experiencing inflammatory reactions. Acute and chronic inflammation leads to appetite depression via neural and hormonal mechanisms, and may impair the ability of the rumen in digesting feed via interactions between animal hormones and ruminal microbes.

After giving birth to a calf, cows, like other mammals, experience a period of very high energy expenditure, which is often associated with negative energy balance (NEB) or metabolic stress. NEB, among others, decreases the reproductive ability of the cow. In dairy cattle, it is required that both a high milk yield is achieved, and the cow is able to conceive again as soon as possible.

Genetic evaluation is the process of combining individual animal performance and ancestry data along with information on contributing non-genetic effects, to estimate the genetic merit of individuals. This is a routine process in all developed countries, with the outcome being estimates of genetic merit for individual animals.

The introduction of genomics into genetic prediction tools has led to a significant increase in selection accuracies across livestock populations. This innovation was enabled by the development of high-density genotyping arrays in the late 2000s. These tools have been used to generate millions of genotypes since.

The global dairy sector produced 930 million tons of milk in 2022, which was processed into a wide range of dairy products for human consumption. In 2023, 160.8 million tons have been produced by EU 27, the largest global producer, followed by United States.

The increasing global population and the rising demand for sustainable food systems have highlighted the potential of agricultural co-products as viable alternatives for enhancing livestock production efficiency (FAO, 2017). Among agricultural commodities, by-products derived from agro-industrial processing present an economically and environmentally sustainable solution, aligning with the principles of a circular economy (Nath et al., 2023).

There is increasing interest in circular bioeconomy practices, technologies and products at the intersection of the circular economy and bioeconomy practices that promote more sustainable economic models, functioning within planetary boundaries (Muscat et al., 2021; Rockström et al., 2024). Circular bioeconomy approaches can recover a suite of products from some of the largest organic residue streams in livestock systems and supply chains (Ramirez et al., 2021) including: manures, processing and post-consumer streams (e.g., wastewaters and municipal sewage).

Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), notably CO2 from fossil fuel combustion, are increasingly altering the radiative balance of Earth’s atmosphere, leading to dangerous shifts in global climate (Ripple et al., 2024). In response to this human-inflicted threat, Canada, like other countries, has committed to drastically curtailing its agricultural emissions, having set a target of net-zero emissions by 2050 (Government of Canada, 2024).

The evolution of the current linear production system into a circular approach, with the use of increased quantities of biomass, requires the development of appropriate policies to encourage and potentially incentivize the circular use of biomass. This development will lead to both the potential use of new materials and allow for the safe use of currently wasted resources from sectors such as livestock production systems, including processing wastes (e.g., whey, wool, wool grease, wastewaters) or manures to produce products, such as feed and fertilizers.

With lawmakers away from Washington the week of September 22nd, they will return on September 29th with little time to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month. On September 17th, House Republicans successfully passed a “clean” continuing resolution by a vote of 217-212. The measure would keep the government funded through November 21st.

Added histidine (His) in lactating dairy cattle diets has been observed to increase milk production. This suggests that histidine might be a limiting amino acid in lactating dairy cows fed grain and grass silage-based diets. However, there is limited data available on the effects of increasing dietary histidine on performance of lactating sows.

Low birthweight piglets suffer from impaired postnatal development that negatively affects organ function, bodyweight, and health at vulnerable life stages. This leads to increased disease susceptibility and mortality, especially in male piglets.

This study investigated the effects of vitamin D₃ on the growth and differentiation of adipose cells derived from muscle tissue in Korean native cattle. Vitamin D₃ reduced cell proliferation during the growth phase, limiting the number of adipose cells.

This study evaluated the quality of different chicken-based protein sources for animal feed. Using a special method involving roosters with removed ceca (part of their digestive system), we measured how well the proteins from 4 types of chicken products were digested.

Consumption of fish oil, which contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), has health benefits. There is concern about the limited availability of fish stocks/oil, so alternative sources of EPA and DHA are sought.

Tail docking, the removal of the lamb’s tail, is a common practice on sheep operations to improve hygiene and reduce the risk of flystrike, a painful maggot infestation. Unfortunately, the rubber rings used to dock tails can cause pain and discomfort.

Endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue is an important forage for livestock operations, but cattle consuming this forage can develop fescue toxicosis with symptoms including depressed prolactin, vasoconstriction, and decreased growth rates that can persist as long as 5 wk after grazing. Isoflavones found in forage legumes, such as red clover, can alleviate fescue toxicosis symptoms.