Forage is the main feed for ruminants, but a large part of its fiber often cannot be digested and limits how much the animal can eat and how efficiently it uses nutrients. This study examined 17 different forages (grasses and legumes) using laboratory incubations that lasted up to 2,500 h.

Finishing cattle need sufficient effective fiber in the diet to support normal digestion and help mitigate digestive upsets. However, increasing fiber concentration reduces dietary energy concentration, negatively affecting growth performance. A goal of ruminant nutritionist is to include effective fiber, in the form of roughage, at as low of a concentration as possible to maximize performance but still reduce digestive disorders, while maintaining diet uniformity.

Cats rely heavily on dietary protein because they cannot produce enough arginine on their own. However, the biological mechanisms linking dietary protein to body weight change remain poorly understood. In this 180-d study, adult cats were fed diets containing low, moderate, or high protein levels.

Heat stress during early- to mid-gestation is a common challenge in commercial sow systems and can alter how nutrients are used during pregnancy while also affecting offspring performance later in life. This study evaluated whether a monoterpene-based phytogenic supplement could reduce the effects of maternal heat stress on sow growth and thermoregulation and improve piglet outcomes after weaning and transport.

This 3-yr study tested how providing shade to pregnant Bos indicus-influenced cows during the last 3 mo of pregnancy affected cows and their calves. Shade access reduced cow body temperatures, improved body condition score near calving, and altered hormone and metabolite profiles in ways that are likely to support fetal growth.

Pork lightness is an important quality trait because higher lightness values are associated with poorer eating quality, including reduced tenderness, lower juiciness, and increased off-flavor, which can negatively influence consumer repurchase decisions. Previous studies have primarily focused on the effects of extreme ultimate pH values, such as pale, soft, and exudative and dark, firm, and dry, on variation in meat quality.

The use of alternative feed ingredients in swine diets has received increasing attention as a means of improving production efficiency, feed utilization, and sustainability. This study investigates whether dietary molasses, either alone, combined with monosodium glutamate–condensed molasses soluble (MSG-CMS), or completely replaced by MSG-CMS could improve the overall performance of finishing pigs.

Weaning is a challenging stage for piglets because it often causes digestive disorders and changes in the microorganisms that live in the intestine. Dietary fiber is commonly used to reduce the impact of weaning, but different fiber sources may have different effects.

This study evaluated the effects of supplementing a direct-fed microbial (DFM) containing Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis on growth performance, nutrient digestion, methane emissions, microbial profile of ruminal fluid and feces, and metabolic profile of ruminal fluid and blood. Beef heifers received a backgrounding diet, with or without DFM.

β-glucans and bovine colostrum have been individually reported to support gut health and immune function. However, their combined effects are not well understood. This study evaluated a supplement containing both ingredients to determine whether their combination would enhance gut health and immune responses in healthy adult dogs. Over a 12-wk period, fecal characteristics, immune markers, blood chemistry, and the gut microbiota were assessed.

Adiponectin is a hormone produced by fat tissue that plays an important role in metabolism and has been linked to the risk of laminitis, a painful hoof disease, in ponies. Because adiponectin is increasingly being used as a marker of metabolic health, it is important to understand whether recent feeding affects blood test results.

Nutrition plays an important role in how animals respond to disease and stress. This study evaluated whether two dietary amino acids, leucine and lysine, can influence immune function in growing cattle. Amino acids are building blocks of protein but can also affect how immune cells function. Dietary leucine and lysine had minimal effects on general blood measures, such as red and white blood cell counts.

House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders are hoping to utilize the lame duck session of Congress after the midterm elections to advance the Farm Bill. Republicans and Democrats have both indicated their desire to reach an agreement and committee staff have used the month of October to begin reconciling differences between the House passed and Senate Agriculture Committee passed versions of the bill.

The U.S. beef packing industry has consolidated dramatically over the past 40 years, and plant size sits at the center of that story. In 1980, the four largest packers handled 36% of steer and heifer purchases (MacDonald, 2024). The average plant owned by a top-four firm processed about 417,000 cattle in 1980 and more than 1,000,000 by 2002.

The U.S. beef industry continues to navigate a complex economic environment characterized by historically low cattle inventories, strong consumer demand, and shifting international trade dynamics. As of January 1, 2026, the U.S. cattle inventory totaled approximately 86.2 million head, including 27.6 million beef cows, reflecting one of the smallest cattle populations in decades.[1]

The United States imports roughly 6.5 billion pounds of beef per year, meeting about 20% of domestic demand, and that share has been climbing as the U.S. cattle herd sits at a 75-year low. In the first half of 2026 alone, the U.S. brought in 3.3 billion pounds, up 12% from the year before. Brazil led with 717 million pounds, followed by Australia at 700 million pounds, Canada at 489 million, Mexico at 398 million, and New Zealand at 371 million.

Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (mCOOL or COOL) in the United States—especially the high-profile requirements for beef and pork—was largely unsuccessful when previously implemented. The requirement imposed significant costs with little measurable benefit in consumer demand or producer returns, faced repeated WTO rulings as discriminatory, and was repealed for muscle cuts and ground beef/pork in December 2015.

Sustainability can be defined as meeting our needs today without compromising our capabilities to meet our needs in the future (Brundtland, 1987). Classically, sustainability encompasses environmental, economic, and social pillars and the interactions and trade-offs therein.

In recent years, there have been significant public and policy commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all industry sectors. This has been driven by an increasing concern over the changing climate and the role that anthropogenic emissions play in this process.

Cattle production is a cornerstone of U.S. agriculture, but it faces growing scrutiny regarding sustainability. A key driver of industry adoption of more sustainable production systems is consumer demand for environmentally responsible food products, along with evolving opportunities for market differentiation (Ishaq et al., 2024).