“For far too long, farmers and ranchers have been forced to pay into these programs only to see their dollars go to trade and lobbying organizations that work against their very existence. USDA has failed to act, so it’s time for Congress to step in and do what’s right for family farmers and ranchers,” said Joe Maxwell, President of the Family Farm Action Alliance.

The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) have recently been involved in two cases related to the beef industry. The first against the nation’s 4 largest beef producers and the second against the Beef Checkoff Program.

The Massachusetts House recently voted on the Question 3 initiative, prohibiting the sale of pork that does not meet the state’s production standards. Overwhelmingly, the House decided 156-1 to delay the initiative until January 1, 2023. Previously, it would have taken effect starting in 2022. The Massachusetts Senate still must vote on the decision.

President Joe Biden announced the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), external advisors charged with making science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White House. Thirty leaders were selected, containing the most diverse group in United States history.

Replacing corn with rice in diets for weaning or growing pigs has been studied in the past and has demonstrated improved growth performance and nutrient digestibility, but there is limited information about corn replacement with brown rice on growth performance, immune status, and gut microbiota of weanling pigs.

Bovine liver abscesses continue to be a primary concern facing beef production efficiency and, despite current mitigation strategies, significant variation exists in the rate of liver condemnation.

The authors of this recent Journal of Animal Science study hypothesized that supplementation with the amino acid taurine would attenuate oxidative stress in broiler chickens. Injury from oxidative stress happens when the body’s ability to control free radicals is overwhelmed.

Livestock transportation may cause significant economic losses in the swine industry due to the animal's stress response. Previous research has linked road transportation to many factors negatively impacting the animal's physiological status; release of glucocorticoids, inhibition of antibodies following vaccination, and interferes with the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, to name a few.

Stress from weaning and transport leads to poor piglet health outcomes such as diarrhea and increased susceptibility to infections. In the past, feeding prophylactic antibiotics prevented gastrointestinal disease and reduced piglet morbidity and mortality. In this recent Journal of Animal Science study, researchers fed nursery pigs GLN or antibiotics and then compared their intestinal health and gut microbiomes.

Specific research objectives within any lab are crucial; however, Dr. Wettemann states that opportunities for deviation and originality for new ideas should be encouraged. This is how students will ultimately solve the questions.

Feeding time can directly impact sow performance and stress levels. Depending on the time of day and length of time animals are fed, physiological and behavior changes may occur. How such changes impact animal welfare and performance, however, are poorly understood.

The rumen is essential for digestion and absorption in ruminant animals. Thus, feed ingredients, whether roughage or concentrate, must first be digested by enzymes from microbes in the rumen to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs).

Over two-thirds of the total Phosphorus in plant-based ingredients used in swine diets are present as inositol hexakisphosphate, more commonly known as phytate, and is poorly available to the pig. Deficient Phosphorus levels can have adverse effects on growth performance and the eutrophication of water.

The selection of swine for production typically occurs in a purebred, high health, biosecure nucleus herd. However, this selection and management system limits industry capabilities to genetically select for traits the confer disease resistance and antibody response to pathogen challenges.

Cashmere fiber is a main product of cashmere goats that is produced by secondary hair follicles, and, like wool, the cashmere fiber is composed of hair-keratins and keratin-associated proteins.

Methionine is a limiting amino acid in swine diets, but because of its high requirement by pigs and its low concentration in many feed ingredients, supplementation with synthetic sources of methionine is common in diets fed to pigs.

A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Science evaluated the behavioral and physiological response in goats during isolation with and without visual contact with their herd- or pen-mates.

Residual feed intake (RFI) is a desired heritable trait in beef cattle. Animals with lower RFI are more feed efficient although epigenetic variations can impact this trait. The environmental circumstances and molecular mechanisms behind how epigenetics leads to variations in RFI however are not well understood.

Finding efficient ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing performance is crucial for optimizing the production of feedlot steers. In this recent Journal of Animal Science article, researchers studied how feeding ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) impacted the performance and greenhouse gas emissions of feedlot steers.

A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Science investigated the links between metabolic rate and feed efficiency in the European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax, a major species in European mariculture.