The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) has released A National Study of Capital Infrastructure at Colleges and Schools of Agriculture report. The study found that there is nearly $11.5 billion in needed repairs and renovations at the buildings and supporting facilities at the Land-Grant Universities that are authorized to receive funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Farm Journal Foundation (FJF), the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), and the IHS Markit Agribusiness Consulting Group released the Benefits of Increased Investment in Agriculture Research Report. The report highlights the vital importance of public funding for agricultural research and development.

The United States House of Representatives voted 274-174 to advance the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. The Act is said to stabilize the agriculture sector and preserve rural heritage by ensuring that farmers can meet their labor needs in the future. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA).

During the last month, there have been numerous bills introduced relating to health, nutrition, and research.

The United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food and Safety Nutrition Survey (FSANS) results were released. The FSANS assesses consumers’ awareness, knowledge, understanding, and reports the behaviors relating to a variety of food safety and nutrition-related topics.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has launched AgLabs, a science-education website for students and educators.

It has been a little over a year since the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) relocated from Washington, D.C. to Kansas City, Missouri.

Within the last month, the Biden Administration has announced numerous appointees relating to health, agriculture, and research. Vivek Murthy was confirmed by the Senate and will serve as US Surgeon General. Murthy previously served as Surgeon General under the Obama Administration.

The letter was prompted by EPA sponsorship of “Plant Forward Menus for the Planet” programs at universities across the nation.

A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Science investigated the effects or oregano essential oil supplementation on growth performance, intestinal antioxidative capacity, immunity, and intestinal microbiota of young yellow-feathered chickens.

In this recent Journal of Animal Science study, Bos indicus (Nellnore) bulls were given CSFA-supplemented feed and evaluated for improvements in performance and carcass/meat characteristics. B. indicus bulls were specifically chosen because their meat is lean with a low marbling score, leaving much room for improvement.

Animal Frontiers was formed to provide general reviews on topics of Global importance to Animal Science and Animal Agriculture.

A study recently published in the Journal of Animal Science evaluated the effects of different defatted rice bran sources and processing technologies on nutrient digestibility in different intestinal segments of pigs.

A study recently published in the Journal of Animal Science evaluated the administration of bovine somatotropin and its effects on fetal and placental development in beef heifers, including steroid- and eicosanoid-metabolizing enzyme activity when administered during the first trimester.

A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Science evaluated the effects of maternal supplementation with an enriched source of monounsaturated fatty acid or of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid during the first third of gestation on productive and metabolic status of their offspring pre- and postweaning, postweaning plasma metabolites and hormones concentrations, and hypothalamic relative mRNA expression during the finishing period.

A study recently published in the Journal of Animal Science evaluated the economic and environmental impacts of these strategies that incorporated selection for pig feed:gain and dietary optimization based on a single or multiple objectives tailored to meet the population’s nutritional requirements, with the goal to optimize sustainable farm feed efficiency.

The authors of this recent Journal of Animal Science study evaluated the digestibility of HG food in dogs.

In recognition of the infographic efforts by the ASAS Journals and to enhance distribution, OUP (Oxford University Press) has begun to feature infographics on the OUP Blog each month.

Many members have noticed that we have yet to close out the March 2021 issue of Journal of Animal Science (JAS) or launch the April 2021 issue, let us begin by apologizing for the inconvenience.

The meeting venue for ICFAE is the newly opened Sweetgrass Inn on the Isle of Palms, SC.