Lameness is defined as impaired movement or deviation from normal gait. There are many factors that can contribute to lameness, including but not limited to: infectious disease, genetic and conformational anomaly, and toxicity that affects the bone, muscle, and nervous systems. Metabolic bone disease is another cause of lameness in swine production and can be caused by inappropriate levels of essential vitamins or minerals.

Stressors, including limited access to feed, heat stress, transportation, and disease are factors that reduce integrity of the gut epithelial barrier in livestock. Feeding Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products (SCFP) mitigated immunological, aflatoxin, and subclinical mastitis challenges, heat stress, and grain-based subacute ruminal acidosis indicating it also could alleviate gut damage.

Barefoot racing is a common practice within the harness racing industry, as it may make a horse run faster. However, not all horses have hooves of sufficient quality to withstand the wear from the track surface during racing, creating a risk of hoof damage.

The elevated maternal serum bile acid (BA) levels in late gestation leads to accumulation of BA in fetal tissues, and thus increases the risk of fetal mortality and metabolic disease of offspring. It has confirmed that BA disordered and oxidative damage are intimately related.

Two mice lines obtained by divergent selection for birth weight residual variance were used to determine whether environmental factors could differently affect the homogeneous and heterogeneous lines. The maximum temperature 1 wk before parturition (MXTW) had the higher impact on the birth weight of the animals.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of diet, restricted feeding and weight loss on body composition, voluntary physical activity, blood hormones and metabolites, and fecal metabolites and microbiota of overweight cats. Overweight cats were allotted to a control diet (OR) or weight loss diet (FT) and fed to lose ~1.0% body weight/week for 24 wk.

The ability to accurately and precisely predict microbial protein synthesis is crucial in predicting the supply of metabolizable protein in beef cattle. We updated a database previously used to predict microbial crude protein (CP) supply in beef cattle. Then we evaluated the utility of using total digestible nutrients (TDN) and different measures of energy intake to predict ruminal microbial protein synthesis.

Markers are elements supplied to an animal to help determine the digestibility of various feedstuffs. Studying digestibility allows us to improve how nutrients are used by animals and reduce production costs and environmental impact.

During fiber digestion in the rumen, enteric methane is produced. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Recently several studies have focused on developing synthetic compounds and their utilization as specific inhibitors of methanogenesis.

Approximately 60% to 80% of phosphorus (P) in feedstuffs of plant origin is stored in the form of phytic acid. Phytase is an enzyme used in swine diets to improve the digestibility of phytate-bound P. As phytase sources continue to advance, their efficacy must be evaluated.

Heat stress disturbs the body’s normal behavioral, immunological, and physiological functions through direct and indirect actions facilitated by alterations in energy balance. Overall, heat stress impairs animal productivity.

Grazing lands cover above one-third of Earth’s ice-free terrestrial surface, playing a key role as suppliers of ecosystem services, such as livestock feed production, water supply, erosion control, carbon storage, biodiversity conservation, etc. Since grasslands are reliant on weather, primarily rainfall and temperature, climate variability largely affects their performance.

A group of House Republicans recently sent a letter to Congress, calling for the opposition of the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act (EATS Act). The bill would prohibit state laws that impose additional requirements on agriculture producers in other states.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published draft guidance for defining the appropriate duration of use in antibiotics used in the feed of food-producing animals and is seeking public comment. The guidance provides information to sponsors of certain antimicrobial animal drug products who are interested in voluntarily establishing appropriately defined durations of therapeutic administration to food-producing animals where none currently exist.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced over $27 million in grants to underserved and veteran farmers, ranchers, and foresters. The funding will provide training, outreach, and technical assistance to help them own and operate successful farms, ranches, and forest lands.

The American Farmers Feed the World Act of 2023 was introduced to ensure that United States-grown commodities remain the cornerstone of international food aid. Currently, the United States Agency for International Development’s Food for Peace Program funds much of the nation's food aid. Under the terms of the bill, the program would be required to spend at least half its funds on purchasing and distributing American commodities.

The Butcher Block Act was recently introduced into the Senate by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) to increase competition and capacity in the meat processing industry. The Butcher Block Act would create grant and loan opportunities through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enable small and mid-sized meat processing facilities to expand their operations.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an investment of $23 million to support dairy businesses and producers under the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives (DBI) grant program. The initiatives support small and mid-sized dairy businesses in the development, production, marketing, and distribution of dairy products.

More students will have access to school meals due to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) recent announcement that expands the availability of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. The announcement means that an estimated 3,000 more school districts in high-need areas will now have the option to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a new partnership with the Urban School Food Alliance to help schools continue to invest in nutritious school meals. The over $60 million in grants will provide training and tools to school districts that will help them purchase high-quality foods while keeping costs low. In recent years schools have faced challenges in obtaining healthy foods consistently, efficiently, and effectively.