The Beef Nutrient Density Project analyzed more than 300 beef samples from North American farms and supermarkets to see how grass- and grain-fed systems affect nutrients in meat, particularly fatty acids and minerals. On average, grass-fed beef contained higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and minerals, such as iron, calcium, copper, and selenium, especially when cattle were rotationally grazed and finished on pastures with a wide variety of plants. However, there was substantial variation within both systems.

This study followed two groups of Angus heifers under different developmental programs. The aim was to increase our understanding of body compositional changes as a heifer goes through puberty and the impact of these changes on heifer reproductive performance.

How do animals adapt to cold? This study identifies HSPA12B as a key “brake gene” regulating cold resistance. Evolutionary analysis revealed strong natural selection for HSPA12B in cold-tolerant cattle breeds from northern China and the Tibetan Plateau, linking it to cold adaptation. The gene is highly active in heat-producing brown adipose tissue.

Rearing cattle for beef production has a considerable contribution to global human-related methane emissions. Cattle can be selectively bred to reduce methane production, but this requires accurate measurement of current methane emissions at an animal level. This study recorded short-term breath measurements utilizing GreenFeed units (GFU) (C-Lock, USA), a commercially available system, to observe methane production from cattle across seven trials at four sites in northern Australia.

Pigs are an important food animal species and a translational model for human disease. The development of gene editing systems such as the CRISPR/Cas9 system has greatly improved the efficiency of introducing precise genetic modifications in pigs. Although efficient, the system can introduce random DNA break in the genome and cause toxicity.

Regions of an animal’s DNA can show signs of having been shaped by natural or human-driven selection. Over generations, sheep breeds living in different environments have adapted to local conditions, and this process has left detectable marks in their DNA. In this study, we compared three groups (plain, hill, and mountain) of Sarda and Valle del Belice sheep to understand how their genomes have changed in response to the environments.

This study investigated the effects of feeding timothy forage to pair-housed Holstein calves on their growth performance. Thirty-two pairs of Holstein heifer calves were randomly assigned to a control group or a treatment group at pairing. The timothy hay group had a trough at the back of the pen with pellets until day 59, then they were transitioned to long-stem timothy hay until study completion on day 70 (7 d post-weaning).

The global beef industry continues to receive increasing pressure to reduce its environmental footprint, particularly regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Ruminant animals, such as beef cattle, naturally produce methane gas as a by-product of enteric fermentation. In addition to its environmental impacts, ruminal methane production also represents an inherent source of energetic inefficiency for the animal.

Lubabegron fumarate (LUB; tradename Experior, Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN, USA) is a novel beta-adrenergic agonist that possesses a unique mechanism of action compared to other beta-agonists used in the beef industry. Previous research has noted that high liver copper (Cu) concentrations resulted in an impaired growth response in steers fed ractopamine hydrochloride.

Soy-based ingredients can harbor high levels of trypsin inhibitor protein (analytically expressed by activity: TIU) due to inherent variability and inconsistent processing. Feeding pigs diets high in TIU has been shown to reduce pig growth performance by way of decreasing ileal nitrogen digestibility. Additionally, previous research has demonstrated a potential link between hindgut protein fermentation and pig morbidity.

Camelina sativa seeds have gained attention as a promising protein-energy alternative to soybean meal feed ingredient for ruminants. They also supply beneficial unsaturated fats, although their glucosinolate content may pose challenges for ruminant feeding.

Fatigue, as a product of exhaustive exercise, is a complex process that impacts multiple physiological systems in the horse. Refinement of blood biomarker changes over the course of post-exercise recovery are required to direct management decisions regarding the return to work. Adult Thoroughbred horses performed three incremental exercise tests to exhaustion on a high-speed treadmill at 48 h intervals with blood and muscle samples collected after each test.

The March Edition of The Giving Herd, an ASAS Foundation Newsletter

Pregnant females develop hormonal adaptations throughout pregnancy to change how their body uses nutrients and allow those nutrients to redirect to their growing offspring. One of these hormonal adaptations is that the mother becomes less responsive to insulin to redirect sugars from her own tissues to that of her offspring.

Diets for nursery pigs use highly digestible feedstuffs, such as animal protein supplements and enzyme-treated soybean meal (SBM) to help pigs adapt to solid diets, but their use can be limited by their high cost. SBM is widely used as a cost-effective protein supplement with a balanced amino acid profile. However, SBM contains anti-nutritional compounds...

The addition of feed-grade amino acids replacing a portion of intact protein sources, such as soybean meals, reduces feed costs, nitrogen excretion, and environmental impact of swine production. However, replacing too much of the intact protein source may compromise growth performance, possibly due to limited nitrogen available to synthesize non-essential amino acids.

Diarrhea in calves is one of the key factors affecting the lactation performance of dairy cows. This study offers brand new insights into the short-term and long-term effects of diarrhea in calves on subsequent lactation performance in Holstein cows.

Betaine is a natural compound found in plants and animals with bioactive properties that help cells tolerate environmental stress. Studies in rats and humans have shown it has anti-inflammatory properties and can support gut health including barrier integrity. While its benefits for humans and livestock are well-known, its effects on pets are less studied.

Food labels often include statements about how animals were raised or the environmental impact of production. For example, shoppers may see labels on meat and poultry packages that claim to be “cage free,” “raised without antibiotics,” or “sustainably farmed.” These voluntary claims are intended to differentiate food products and enhance marketability, but some question whether they are accurate.

Identifying factors that influence a sow’s lifetime productivity is difficult and time-consuming as you must wait for the female to transition completely through the swine breeding herd to gain accurate and complete production information. You must also keep females that produce fewer piglets than commercial standards so physiological and biological differences can be determined between high and low lifetime producers.