Pellet quality is an important determinant of downstream animal performance, as well as efficiency of production both at the mill and farm. Pellet Durability Index (PDI) is a metric used in commercial feed milling to signal the pellet quality of pelleted feeds, and what degradation of pellets might occur during subsequent handling and transportation.

With a March 14th deadline looming, Congress was able to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government through the remainder of fiscal year 2025. The resolution included mainly “level” funding for programs at their fiscal year 2024 amounts. That was true for USDA’s agricultural research accounts within NIFA, ARS, ERS and NASS. The one exception was the removal of funding in the ARS Buildings and Facilities line for fiscal year 2025.

Estimated breeding values provide an estimate of the genetic merit of an individual for specific traits helping to identify animals with superior genetic potential for growth rate, milk production, meat quality, disease resistance, and more. Over recent years, American Angus Association members have visually scored cows for teat size (TS) and udder suspension score (US), amassing approximately 42,000 records on approximately 24,000 cows.

Condemned livers result in over $15M in lost income to the U.S. beef industry annually and the main cause of condemned livers is from abscesses. Liver scoring is a four-level measurement of abscess severity: 0 (no abscesses), A− (mild abscesses), A (moderate abscesses), and A+ (severe abscesses).

If methods existed to identify gilts that will become lame in breeding herds, then these gilts could be redirected as market animals indirectly improving sow well-being, longevity, and increasing profitability. This study evaluated gilts (age 5 mo) and then observed those retained for breeding throughout their productive life.

Negative social behaviors between pigs can cause stress, which can compromise welfare. There has been significant interest in exploring the effect of diet on negative social behaviors and the wider social behavior repertoire of pigs. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of dietary lysine and tryptophan levels, 2 amino acids found in pig feed, on the social behavior of commercially housed pigs.

As a fermentable milk drink, kefir may affect gastrointestinal microbiota, but such products are poorly studied in companion animals. Our objective was to determine how commercial or traditional kefir feeding impacted the in vitro fermentation characteristics of fibers common in pet foods.

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

A group of Editors-in-Chief from leading animal science journals has published a collective perspective on today’s rapidly shifting world of scholarly publishing. Titled “Values Shared by Journals of Learned Societies, Associations, and Scientific Institutions in Animal Science” this jointly authored editorial underscores how society-owned journals preserve scientific integrity, maintain rigorous peer review, and ensure responsible access to research findings—even in an increasingly author-driven environment.

This study examined how breed and trace mineral sources affect growth and diarrhea incidence during periods of nutrient restriction and grazing. Breeds consisted of ½ Angus × ½ Nelore (ANE) and Nelore (NE) heifers, whereas mineral sources included sulfate (SUL) or hydroxychloride (HYD) sources of copper, manganese, and zinc offered to heifers from days 0 to 49.

Feeding pigs diets with lipids that contain peroxides and aldehydes has been reported to reduce pig performance. Four experiments conducted in growing pigs fed diets containing variable levels of peroxides and aldehydes confirmed that lipid oxidation products have a detrimental effect on pig performance and show that the reduction in daily gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency can be accurately predicted by analyzing dietary concentrations of peroxides and aldehydes.

Swine are exposed to a variety of nutritional stressors that can affect their well-being and productivity. One stressor of concern is the consumption of lipids that have been damaged by excessive heating. The current study obtained blood from pigs consuming peroxidized soybean oil and subsequently evaluated for markers of oxidative stress, including plasma vitamin E.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) causes significant health problems in postweaned pigs causing economic loss. In the past, antimicrobials were key for controlling ETEC until the threat of antimicrobial resistance was globally realized.

Bacterial contamination is unavoidable during the storage of boar semen. Antibiotics or chemicals in the semen extender do not clear lipopolysaccharide (LPS) released from the Gram-negative bacteria. LPS undermines sperm functionality and efficacy of semen preservation in vitro.

Whole stillage, a byproduct of ethanol production, is frequently available to beef producers as a potential low-cost feed supplement. The acidic pH of whole stillage is a concern for supplementing high-forage diets and its effects on ruminal fiber digestibility and fermentation are not well characterized.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is responsible for a disease characterized by reproductive and respiratory complications in pigs. PRRSV exhibits substantial genetic diversity throughout the genome, so it is important to utilize whole-genome sequencing to accurately depict the full variation present.

The cashmere goat is a type of livestock primarily known for its cashmere. Cashmere is a vital raw material in the textile industry, possessing significant economic value. The embryonic stage is the main stage of the formation of hair follicle structures, which directly influence both the yield and quality of cashmere.

Pig farming is an activity of great relevance for the Brazilian economy and worldwide food security. Feed efficiency, which is defined as the ability of animals to convert feed into performance outputs (e.g., body weight in pigs), is directly related to the long-term sustainability of the pig industry due to its impact on production costs and the environmental footprints of the industry. Therefore, selective breeding for improved feed efficiency has been a primary goal in the pig industry.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the growth performance and carcass traits of feedlot heifers sourced and finished in different geographical regions in the United States. Overall, heifers transported to higher ambient temperatures had decreased dry matter intake, final body weight (BW), and carcass quality, but had improved carcass cutability compared to non-transported heifers.

The delay in fertilization after ovulation or retention of ovulated oocytes in the fish body causes postovulatory aging. Postovulatory aging leads to time-dependent deterioration of oocyte quality and loss of fertilization capacity. The mechanisms behind losing oocyte quality and developmental capacity due to postovulatory oocyte aging remain elusive.