Featured Articles

  • Jun
    22
    Interpretive Summary: Short communication: Analysis of the nasal microbiota in newly received feedlot heifers according to subsequent incidence of bovine respiratory disease


    Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most common disease in feedlot cattle and costs the US cattle industry more than $2 billion annually. Such economical losses include mortality, wasted feed resources, pharmaceutical inputs, and decreased performance of morbid cattle.

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  • Jun
    22
    Interpretive Summary: Measuring welfare in rearing piglets: test–retest reliability of selected animal-based indicators


    The present study tested selected animal welfare indicators from different welfare assessment protocols, such as the Welfare Quality protocol (WQP) for pigs, with regard to test–retest reliability (TRR), consistency over time, in an on-farm study on rearing pigs. The WQP is based on the four welfare principles: 1) “good feeding”, 2) “good housing”, 3) “good health”, and 4) “appropriate behavior”, which are assessed by different welfare indicators.

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  • Jun
    22
    Interpretive Summary: Evaluating a novel consensus bacterial 6-phytase variant on growth performance of broilers fed U.S. commercial diets deficient in nutrients and energy through 63 days of age


    As any reduction in dietary nutrients can negatively impact broiler productivity mitigating these effects is imperative. Dietary reductions in minerals, amino acids, and energy can all result in decreased growth and performance.

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  • Jun
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Are infrared thermography, feeding behavior, and heart rate variability measures capable of characterizing group-housed sow social hierarchies?


    Sows that are housed in groups establish a social hierarchy to gain preferential access to needed resources, such as feed. The establishment and maintenance of this social hierarchy may lead to reduced welfare and performance for certain sows.

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  • Jun
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of early intermittent maternal separation on behavior, physiological, and growth performance in piglets


    Although management methods, such as split-suckling and foster care, in pig production can improve piglet survival rates, these methods inevitably lead to neonatal maternal separation which is an early stress on the body, and can have serious negative effects on the body. In this experiment, we investigated the effect level of neonatal maternal separation on behavior, physiology, and growth performance of piglets.

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  • Jun
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Plasma protein levels of young healthy pigs as indicators of disease resilience


    A challenge of selection for disease resilience is that it is difficult to directly select pigs that have greater resilience to multiple diseases in the healthy nucleus herd environment which is essential for breeding programs. A possible alternative is to select an indicator trait or marker that can be measured in a healthy setting, is heritable, and is associated with the genetics of disease resilience.

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  • Jun
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Genetic parameters for fleece uniformity in alpacas


    The quality of alpaca fiber is mainly assessed by a low fiber diameter. However, the fiber diameter can greatly vary along the different body locations of the animal, the industry demands not only the fineness of the fiber but also the fleece uniformity.

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  • Jun
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Genetic parameters for mouth size and their influence on growth traits in pasture-raised Nelore cattle


    Evaluating traits that allow breeders to increase production efficiency in beef production systems is important. The mouth size (MS) score is a trait easily measured and implemented by breeders. Our results showed that MS in Nelore cattle is a heritable trait, and it is favorably associated with growth traits, indicating that animals with larger mouth are heavier at weaning and gain more weight after weaning on pasture.

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  • Jun
    15
    Interpretive Summary: Reproductive performance and transcriptome analysis of ovaries at different parities in female rabbits


    The pregnancy data of 658 female rabbits from the first to sixth parities (P1 to P6) under the same mating pattern were used to assess the rate of conception at different parities. The reproductive performance and follicular development of P1, P2, and P6 female rabbits were analyzed. The results showed that conception rate was dramatically reduced in P6.

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  • Jun
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Impact of shade in beef feedyards on performance, ear temperature, and heat stress measures


    This study was performed over two separate summers to evaluate natural exposure to heat and quantify the impact that providing shade has on stress measures, estimates of body temperature, and feedlot performance.

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  • Jun
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Inclusion of Berberis vulgaris leaf in the diet of fattening lambs: effects on performance, nutrient intake, rumen fermentation, and carcass traits


    Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) leaf (BVL) is an agricultural by-product rich in plant secondary compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and tannin. The present study was aimed to first, evaluate in vitro nutritional value of BVL and second, explore the effects of BVL inclusion in finishing lambs diet (at levels of 0%, 7.5%, and 15% dry matter [DM] of diet), in partial replacement of alfalfa hay, on performance, carcass characteristics, and ruminal fermentation.

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  • Jun
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Efficacy of a bacterial 6-phytase supplemented beyond traditional dose levels on jejunal mucosa-associated microbiota, ileal nutrient digestibility, bone parameters, and intestinal health, and growth performance of nursery pigs


    After weaning, pigs start to receive solid diets throughout nursery phase with high amounts of plant-based feedstuffs containing various antinutritional and allergenic compounds. Feed enzymes have been used in nursery diets to reduce or remove the negative impacts associated with these compounds.

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  • Jun
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Metabolizable energy and apparent total tract digestibility of energy and nutrients differ among samples of sunflower meal and sunflower expellers fed to growing pigs


    Global oilseed production has been increasing due to the increased demand for oil as well as the increased demand for amino acids for livestock feeding. In addition to providing amino acids, sunflower meal (SFM) and sunflower expellers (SFE) also provide energy and other nutrients to the diets.

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  • Jun
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Evaluation of high-protein diets differing in protein source in healthy adult dogs


    Pet food trends are constantly changing. Because consumers are often focused on dietary proteins, with ingredient sources, dietary inclusion levels, and processing methods being important, they are a popular research topic. Protein sources contain different amino acid (AA) profiles and vary in digestibility, affecting protein quality.

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  • Jun
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Comprehensive RNA-seq profiling to evaluate the rabbit mammary gland transcriptome after mastitis


    Mastitis is a common disease in women and farm animals, which is an infection of mammary gland tissue resulting in pain, swelling, warmth, and redness. A survey of Spain and Portugal rabbit farms shows that the prevalence of mastitis was 4% in lactating does.

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  • Jun
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Comparison of an advanced automated ultrasonic scanner (AutoFom III) and a handheld optical probe (Destron PG-100) to determine lean yield in pork carcasses


    Pork grading is a producer-feedback system that provides carcass trait information (i.e., carcass weight, fat/lean deposition) to determine the economic value of carcasses. Packing plants generally emphasize the optimization of carcass weight and leanness by providing premium or discounted prices using a grid system. Packing plants routinely collect carcass weights while carcass leanness can be more challenging to capture.

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  • Jun
    01
    Another court rules against WOTUS


    The Sixth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals has issued a stay on enforcing the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in Kentucky. This decision means WOTUS is only law in 23 states. President Joe Biden recently vetoed a bill that would overturn WOTUS.

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  • Jun
    01
    Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2023 is introduced


    United States Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Peter Welch (D-VT) recently introduced the Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2023. The bill would expand and strengthen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for over 40 million Americans by amending the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require that SNAP benefits be calculated using the value of the low-cost food plan.

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  • Jun
    01
    Dairy industry releases plan to modernize FMMO system


    The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) sent a comprehensive proposal to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) System. NMPF has worked over the last two years to develop this plan, including more than 150 meetings with various stakeholders.

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  • Jun
    01
    New bill will expand opportunities for small meat processors


    United States Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Peter Welch (D-VT) have recently introduced the Direct Interstate Retail Exemptions for Certain Transactions (DIRECT) Act, which would allow meat and poultry products inspected by State Meat and Poultry Inspection programs to be sold by retail stores, restaurants, or similar retail-type establishments over the internet and shipped by a carrier in commerce.

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