Featured Articles

  • Feb
    08
    Interpretive Summary: Rehydration post-transport: duration of oral fluid therapy on behavior, biochemical measures of hydration, and health of neonatal dairy calves


    Most male calves are sold and transported from the dairy farm soon after birth. Typically, calves are transported without access to milk and/or water, and they often arrive at calf-raising facilities with varying degrees of dehydration.

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  • Feb
    01
    Interpretive Summary: FDA releases antimicrobial report


    The United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) published the 2022 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals. This year, the FDA published the results in an interactive dashboard that allows users to interact with the data and create data visualizations using criteria such as antimicrobial drug class, species, and year.

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  • Feb
    01
    Interpretive Summary: Some states looking to ban cell-cultured meat


    A House bill introduced in Arizona would prohibit cell-cultured animal products. House Bill 2121 would restrict the production and sale of cell-cultured animal products, citing public health concerns and harm to the ranching industry and state economy. If law, those who violate the legislation would face a penalty of up to $25,000.

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  • Feb
    01
    Interpretive Summary: USDA launches the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer


    The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that 35 states, along with five United States territories, and four Tribes plan to be the first to launch the new, permanent summer grocery benefits program for children in summer 2024. The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) will serve over 20 million children and provide nearly $2.5 billion in grocery benefits, accounting for 70% of the children in the United States eligible to participate in the program.

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  • Feb
    01
    Interpretive Summary: Judge upholds FSIS new swine inspection system


    In a recent legal battle, a federal judge has ruled in favor of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), upholding the adoption of the New Swine Inspection System (NSIS). Several animal rights and environmental organizations challenged the final rule, which addresses the modernization of inspection at market hog slaughter establishments.

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  • Feb
    01
    Interpretive Summary: House passed Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act


    The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act was recently passed by the United States House. The bill would allow whole and low-fat percentage milk to be included in the National School Lunch Program. The legislation passed with a 330-99 vote and will now move on to the Senate for consideration.

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  • Jan
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Rumen fermentation of meal-fed sheep in response to diets formulated to vary in fiber and protein degradability


    We estimated apparent appearance, apparent disappearance, appearance, and disappearance rates of rumen volatile fatty acid (VFA) of sheep in response to the different degradability of nutrients using time-series fermentation indicators with regular meal feeding.

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  • Jan
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Exploring zinc deficiency using serum Zn levels: consequences and potential solutions in suckling pigs


    At weaning, young pigs may experience a decrease in serum Zn levels which can predispose them to diarrhea, particularly when fed diets with nutritional Zn levels. For several decades, this gap has been covered by using therapeutic levels of Zn. However, due to the negative collateral effects of these supra doses, from June 2022 in the EU the maximum level of Zn allowed in piglet diets is 150 mg/kg.

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  • Jan
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Variability in feed intake the first days following weaning impacts gastrointestinal tract development, feeding patterns, and growth performance in nursery pigs


    Poor adaptation to solid feed after weaning is often associated with a reduced digestive function and growth in nursery pigs. The reasons driving an early acceptance of feed and its consequences are still largely unknown. We investigated the effects of high and low feed intake between d1-3 after weaning on gastrointestinal development and morphometrics 1-wk after weaning and growth performance and feeding patterns in the nursery phase.

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  • Jan
    25
    Interpretive Summary: A revised model of energy transactions and body composition in sheep


    Based on prior work by Oltjen et al. (2006), a revised dynamic, mechanistic model was developed to improve the prediction of the composition of protein and fat in the body of growing ruminants. The revised model calculates heat production (HP) internally as a function of fasting HP, heat associated with feeding, and HP from changes in fat and protein within the body.

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  • Jan
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Combined purebred and crossbred genetic evaluation of Columbia, Suffolk, and crossbred lamb birth and weaning weights: systematic effects and heterogeneous variances


    Combining multiple breeds in a genetic evaluation allows for their direct comparison. However, differences in management and other systematic effects among breeds may affect the evaluation. Estimates of genetic merit of sires may also be biased by heterosis in crossbred progeny.

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  • Jan
    17
    Interpretive Summary: The effect of chronic, non-pathogenic maternal immune activation on offspring postnatal muscle and immune outcomes


    Maternal inflammation or immune activation impacts fetal development and subsequently the offspring’s postnatal performance. In particular, maternal immune activation may be detrimental to fetal muscle development and alter postnatal immune responses, both of which are vital in determining livestock efficiency.

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  • Jan
    17
    Interpretive Summary: Short-term responses of meat ewes facing an acute nutritional challenge in early-mid lactation


    Climate change is imposing unexpected nutritional challenges to livestock (in time and magnitude). In this context, the individual adaptive capacity to respond to, and recover from those environmental fluctuations is an increasingly important trait to be considered in the daily management operations by the farmer and in future selection programs.

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  • Jan
    17
    Interpretive Summary: Dietary of different forms of Humulus scandens on growth performance and intestinal bacterial communities in piglets


    Humulus scandens (Hu), also referred to as Humulus japonicus, is an herb. Hu is reported to possess multiple biological functions, such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antimycobacterial, antioxidative, antimutagenic, and antitumor. Moreover, Hu contributed to improving the production performance of livestock.

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  • Jan
    17
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of litter management systems on incidence and severity of footpad dermatitis among broilers at finisher stage


    Pododermatitis (FPD) is the inflammation of the paw of chickens affecting some performance characteristics of chickens negatively. To assess the impact of different litter management systems on the incidence and severity of pododermatitis on broiler finishers raised in a humid tropical environment, an experiment was conducted using 180 male broilers divided among 3 groups.

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  • Jan
    17
    Interpretive Summary: Copper metabolism and its implications for canine nutrition


    Copper nutriture of the dog has recently received increased attention in the USA and European Union due to reports of apparent copper-associated hepatitis (CAH). Recent trends in canine nutrition have led to new questions regarding proper dietary copper concentrations in canine diets.

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  • Jan
    17
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of monensin and cashew nut-shell extract on bacterial community composition in a dual-flow continuous culture system


    Methane emissions from ruminants constitute an important environmental concern to society and hold particular relevance within the dairy industry. Antibiotics such as monensin and secondary plant metabolites such as cashew nut-shell extract (CNSE) are used to manipulate the ruminal microbiome to improve energy efficiency and to reduce methane emissions from ruminants.

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  • Jan
    17
    Steve and Patty Armbruster's Story


    Having grown up on a wheat and beef cattle operation near Burlington, Oklahoma, animal agriculture has always held a special place in my heart. With a passion for making a positive impact on the world, for animals and humans, my career was shaped by diverse experiences. Throughout my career, I have experienced the inestimable benefits of ASAS membership, and I want to ensure that others have the same privileges and opportunities.

    Supporting ASAS in perpetuity was a natural and important decision for Patty and me, as it has been an integral part of my life since graduate school. However, when I was asked to share the "story" of why we included ASAS in our estate plan, I found it difficult to express my thoughts meaningfully in writing. In my search for the right words, I returned to the ASAS website, where I had previously reflected on the evolution, mission, and vision of our organization. I was also able to read about the countless members whose lives have been transformed because of charitable contributions to the Foundation.

    If you are seeking to articulate your passion for ASAS and leave a lasting impact, perhaps this exercise will help you as it did me. It is with great pride that we are ASAS Foundation 1908 Society members. Together, we can share the journey and shape the future.

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  • Jan
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Amino acid standardized ileal digestibility together with concentrations of digestible and metabolizable energy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and soybean meal for gestating sows


    Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast (SCY) is commonly used as an additive in feed (<1% of the formulation), but there is a limited amount of available information about its function as a promising source of proteins for pig diets, and especially, the nutritive value of yeast protein for gestating sows remains to be clarified.

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  • Jan
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Unveiling the influence of adaptation time on xylanase and arabinoxylan-oligosaccharide efficacy


    This study investigated the effects of xylanase and arabinoxylan-oligosaccharide supplementation on viscosity, nutrient and energy digestibility in growing pigs fed a high-fiber diet mainly composed of corn over three time periods. Twenty pigs were surgically fitted with cannula in their jejunum and ileum for sample collection.

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