Featured Articles

  • Oct
    19
    Interpretive Summary: Are insects a solution for feeding ruminants? Legislation, scientific evidence, and future challenges


    The growing interest of the scientific community on the inclusion of insect-derived products in ruminant diets is leading to a boost of research papers on this topic. Even though in absolute terms the increase in the number of published papers is limited—because limited is also the literature on this topic...

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  • Oct
    19
    Interpretive Summary: Development of genetically improved tropical-adapted dairy cattle


    According to recent estimates, about 80% of cattle reside in tropical or subtropical regions (Cooke et al., 2020a). The number of farmers and consumers, as well as overall production (e.g., annual milk production), is also greater in the tropics. However, cattle productivity in these regions is underwhelming compared with most temperate zones characterized by high-input farming practices and yields correlated with the fitness of the breeds to their system.

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  • Oct
    19
    Interpretive Summary: Breeds and lines of sheep suitable for production in challenging environments


    The adaptability and success of sheep are confirmed by the fact that they are the world’s most diverse mammalian livestock species, contributing some 25% to the global number of farm animal breeds (Cottle, 2010). The latter author showed that the ovine species is indeed globally successful and present in farming landscapes throughout the world, ranging from arid to high rainfall areas and from sea level to the highest mountains.

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  • Oct
    12
    Interpretive Summary: Rumen and cecum bacteria of beef cattle that differ in feed efficiency fed a forage diet


    Feed is one of the greatest costs associated with beef production. Modifying the efficiency that feed is used offers a potential mechanism to improve production efficiency.

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  • Oct
    12
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of increasing concentration of ergot alkaloids in the diet of feedlot cattle: performance, welfare, and health parameters


    Ergot alkaloids (EA) are produced by a parasitic fungus (Claviceps purpurea) during the cereal grain growth cycle. Feeding cereal grain containing EA to beef cattle can cause constriction of blood vessels, hyperthermia, gangrene of extremities (ears, hoof, and tail), reduced feed intake and growth, and even death. Feed cleaning and processing technologies have been developed to remove EA from the human food chain, thus diverting contaminated feed for livestock use.

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  • Oct
    12
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of wildfire smoke PM2.5 on indicators of inflammation, health, and metabolism of preweaned Holstein heifers


    Wildfires contribute to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution throughout the United States. Wildfire-PM2.5 exposure negatively affects human health and dairy cow production; however, the effects on calves are not known.

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  • Oct
    12
    Interpretive Summary: Genetic parameters for pulmonary arterial pressure, yearling performance, and carcass ultrasound traits in Angus cattle


    Beef cattle residing >1,500 m are subject to reduced atmospheric oxygen levels when compared with beef cattle at lower elevations which may result in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension and right-side heart failure. Breeders use pulmonary arterial pressures to identify animals at risk of right-side heart failure and to select breeding animals that are less susceptible to the problem.

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  • Oct
    12
    Interpretive Summary: Changes in gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids are involved in the process of canine obesity after neutering


    Neutering contributes to canine obesity risk. In this study, obesity rate of 60% at 21 mo after neutering was observed. Obese dogs had greater serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and leptin levels and lower adiponectin level than ideal weight dogs.

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  • Oct
    12
    Interpretive Summary: Efficient establishment of an optimized culture condition for cashmere goat primary hair follicle stem cells


    Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are indispensable for skin repair, hair growth, development, and regeneration. One major challenge in primary cell culture is achieving efficient growth while maintaining stemness to achieve a high yield.

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  • Oct
    12
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of voluntary waiting period on metabolism of dairy cows during different phases of the lactation


    Extending the voluntary waiting period (VWP) reduces the frequency of calvings. This may benefit cow health but includes the risk of fattening and low milk yield at the end of the lactation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the VWP on metabolism and body condition during different phases of the lactation and start of the next lactation.

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  • Oct
    05
    Writing Workshop September 2023


    ASAS hosted the first of two annual Writing workshops last week in Hollywood Beach, FL. The conference attendees were 25 ASAS member graduate students and young scientists from 12 different schools and agencies in the US and Canada.

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  • Oct
    05
    Interpretive Summary: Iron requirements of broiler chickens as affected by supplemental phytase


    Iron is routinely supplemented in broiler feeds to prevent possible dietary deficiencies. We carried out an experiment with the objective of evaluating the Fe requirements of broilers fed with the exogenous enzyme phytase.

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  • Oct
    05
    Interpretive Summary: Dietary lysolecithin supplementation improves growth performance of weaned piglets via improving nutrients absorption, lipid metabolism, and redox status


    Early weaning has been widely adopted to maximize productivity for swine production. However, the weaned piglets suffer from insufficient energy intake due to the reduced feed intake caused by weaning stress, which compromises the growth rate of piglets.

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  • Oct
    05
    Interpretive Summary: Influence of handling in corrals on the temperament of different breeds of beef cattle raised in Brazil


    Some scientific studies have shown the negative effect of poor handling on the welfare and temperament of animals. Furthermore, there is evidence that more reactive cattle present the highest blood cortisol concentrations indicative of stress.

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  • Oct
    05
    Interpretive Summary: A comparative study on feeding timing and additive types of broilers in a high-temperature environment


    The increasing frequency of exposure to high-temperature environments has prompted research into nutritional approaches to alleviate heat stress in chickens, but little research has been reported on feeding timing. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of feeding timing on the effectiveness of the natural antioxidants vitamin C (VC) and green tea extract (GTE).

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  • Oct
    05
    Interpretive Summary: Short communication: commercial diets for pigs in the United States contain more calcium than formulated


    Calcium is often oversupplied in pig diets because limestone, the main source of Ca in pig diets, is an inexpensive feed ingredient and is often used as a carrier in premixes or a diluent in feed ingredients. However, excess Ca may be detrimental to P digestibility and pig growth performance.

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  • Oct
    05
    Interpretive Summary: The effects of timing of high immune response phenotyping in relation to weaning on immune responses of crossbred beef calves


    Understanding the optimal time to immunophenotype beef calves is important for the accurate estimation of their genetic ability to resist disease. The compound stressors experienced by a calf during weaning may have a similar impact on the immune system as chronic stress.

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  • Sep
    28
    Interpretive Summary: EPA rejects environmental activist’s petitions


    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rejected two petitions sponsored by environmental agencies that would potentially have a negative impact on American farmers and ranchers. The petitions regarded revising the Clean Water Act regulations for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) program.

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  • Sep
    28
    Interpretive Summary: EPA releases revised WOTUS rule


    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army have issued a final rule regarding the Waters of the United States Rule (WOTUS). This announcement comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s May 2023 decision in the Sackett v. EPA case, which overturned portions of the WOTUS rule.

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  • Sep
    28
    Interpretive Summary: FMMO hearings begin


    The Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Pricing Formula hearings, held by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) began last month. The USDA will hold a hearing on proposals to amend the pricing formulas in the 11 FMMOs. Each FMMO includes a classified price plan, a system of minimum prices, terms of the order, and provisions for administering the order.

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