Featured Articles

  • Sep
    07
    Interpretive Summary: Update of nutritional requirements of goats for growth and pregnancy in hot environments


    Goats serve as a valuable source of income in agriculture, supplying both milk and meat. Their adaptability to diverse environments makes them a viable choice among rural households for livestock, especially in harsh environments. Research has been dedicated to refining goat feeding systems and determining their nutritional requirements.

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  • Sep
    07
    Interpretive Summary: Livestock-wildlife conflicts: A struggle for land use and conservation in the U.S. Mountain West


    Livestock production in the Intermountain West of the United States (U.S.) largely depends on grazing access to U.S. government-owned “public lands”, which also provide habitat for many of North American’s iconic wildlife species.

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  • Sep
    07
    Interpretive Summary: Genetic selection for dairy calf disease resistance traits: opportunities and challenges


    Genetic selection is a viable option to help improve calf health. Producer recorded calf disease data comprised of 69,695 Holstein calf disease records for respiratory problems (RESP) and diarrhea (DIAR). Across analyses, heritability estimates for RESP and DIAR ranged from 0.02 to 0.07, indicating the potential for selection.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: Dairy groups comment on the FDA’s draft guidelines for plant milk-alternative labeling


    The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) have submitted public comments on the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) draft guidance for plant milk-alternative labeling.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: FDA request input on antimicrobial use in animals


    The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking public comments on a new report, which discusses a potential framework for establishing a public-private partnership (PPP) to collect and analyze antimicrobial use (AMU) data from food-producing animals. The report was created for the FDA by the Reagan-Udall Foundation (the Foundation) and summarizes the work completed over a multi-year cooperative agreement funded by the FDA.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: Lawsuit filed against Massachusetts’ Question 3


    A group of pork producers have filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts against the Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals (Question 3). Passed by voters in November 2016, Question 3 imposes confinement requirements on out-of-state pork producers and prohibits the sale of pork meat within the state from offspring of an animal confined in a manner inconsistent with Massachusetts' requirements, regardless of where in the nation the animal was raised.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: New bill proposes senior nutrition taskforce


    A new bipartisan bill has been introduced to improve nutrition in older adults. The Senior Nutrition Taskforce Act of 2023 would establish an interagency taskforce to address hunger and help seniors, as well as adults with disabilities, better access healthy foods.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: Preserving Family Farms Act reintroduced


    United States Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Mike Kelly (R-PA) have reintroduced the Preserving Family Farms Act of 2023. The bill would modify tax law, allowing farmers and ranchers to pay estate taxes based on the value of their land for agricultural use.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: Some of the Endangered Species Act’s listings will soon be modified


    Two resolutions to nullify the Biden Administration’s Endangered Species Act listings have passed the Senate and the House of Representatives and will now go to the President’s desk for signature. The two listings would nullify the lesser prairie chicken listing and the northern long-eared bat listing. Matters of the Endangered Species Act are typically left to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, to decide which animals and plants to list as endangered or threatened and how to rebuild their populations.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: The Farmland Security Act of 2023 is introduced


    United States Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a new bill, designed to increase the transparency and oversight of foreign ownership in America’s agricultural industry. The Farmland Security Act of 2023 builds on the Farmland Security Act of 2022, by ensuring that all foreign investors who buy American agricultural land report their holdings and strengthens the penalties for those who evade the required filing.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: US to provide relief for Ukrainian farmers


    Through the Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI)- Ukraine, the United States announced it will provide $250 million in aid to Ukrainian agriculture producers and farmers. AGRI- Ukraine is an initiative started last year to support Ukrainian agriculture exports and combat global food security issues exacerbated by the Russian invasion.

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  • Aug
    31
    Interpretive Summary: USDA to increase competition in agriculture sector


    The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a partnership with attorney generals in 31 states and the District of Columbia to enhance competition and protect consumers in food and agricultural markets, including in grocery, meat, and poultry processing, and other markets. The partnership will assist state attorneys general in tackling anticompetitive market structures in agriculture and related industries that are raising prices and limiting choices for consumers and producers.

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  • Aug
    24
    Interpretive Summary: The effects of stocking density on behavior and biological functioning of penned sheep under continuous heat load conditions


    There is a high demand for Australian sheep to be exported to the Middle East, and for live export voyages which depart during an Australian winter, heat, and humidity increase rapidly as ships cross the equator and approach destination countries. Concern about sheep becoming heat stressed during these voyages has increased, and industry attention has focused on the potential role of stocking density in determining heat stress risk in this context.

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  • Aug
    24
    Interpretive Summary: Methane emissions and 13C composition from beef steers consuming binary C3–C4 diets


    Investigating methods for reducing enteric methane emissions from ruminant livestock are important to reduce environmental impacts and improving production efficiency through reduced energy losses. This experiment evaluated the effects of increasing proportion of rhizoma peanut hay (a C3 legume) into bahiagrass hay (a C4 grass) on intake and methane production in beef steers.

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  • Aug
    24
    Interpretive Summary: Duration of ergovaline exposure influences serotonin-mediated vasoactivity of bovine mesenteric vasculature


    Consumption of ergot alkaloids found in endophyte-infected tall fescue can lead to symptoms of fescue toxicosis, such as vasoconstriction, in ruminant livestock species. Ergovaline is one of the primary ergot alkaloids responsible for causing vasoconstriction when toxic varieties of fescue are consumed.

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  • Aug
    24
    Interpretive Summary: Endocrine changes during the peripartal period related to colostrogenesis in mammalian species


    This manuscript reviews and compares hormonal and functional changes occurring in the conceptus (embryo and its extra-embryonic membranes) and their effects on the mammary gland during development from pregnancy to colostrum formation and milk production in multiple mammalian species. Declining activity of gestagens at the end of pregnancy is crucial to allow for both parturition and onset of milk production in most mammals.

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  • Aug
    24
    Interpretive Summary: Metagenomics analysis reveals the performance of homo- and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria in alfalfa silage fermentation, bacterial community, and functional profiles


    Current studies are aimed towards utilizing certain lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains with high-yielding beneficial organic acid production for enhancing the quality of forages during preservation (otherwise known as ensiling) and to improve animal feed production.

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  • Aug
    24
    Interpretive Summary: Melatonin supplementation promotes muscle fiber hypertrophy and regulates lipid metabolism of skeletal muscle in weaned piglets


    Due to its extensive biological functions, melatonin has been widely used in animal production in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of melatonin on growth performance, muscle development, and lipid metabolism of weaned piglets.

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  • Aug
    17
    Interpretive Summary: Forages and Pastures Symposium: revisiting mechanisms, methods, and models for altering forage cell wall utilization for ruminants


    The underlying principles of forage cell wall utilization by ruminants have been known for over 50 years, but a significant amount of knowledge of the structure and synthesis of critical components of the plant cell wall, mechanisms and methods to alter its digestibility, and assessment techniques to quantify its components as well as their fermentability has been accumulated in the last 30 years.

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  • Aug
    17
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of dietary zinc/copper ratios on the metabolism of zinc and copper in weaned pigs


    Zinc oxide and copper sulfate are commonly used as growth promoters and alternatives to antibiotics to prevent diarrhea in weaned piglets but their use in post-weaning pigs diets has been challenged due to environmental issues and concerns related to bacterial resistance to antibiotics and heavy metals.

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