bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
124 Fundamentals of Distilled Beverages: Spirits and Their Raw Materials
Authors: Rhoades Liz
Published: October 2021

Distilling the alcoholic beverage category down, sugar + yeast = ethanol. However, the manufacturing processes for these beverages are complex and unique. Utilizing a myriad of raw material inputs to produce numerous outputs is no small feat. This presentation will provide an overview of the distilled beverage landscape and will discuss some of the key product types, substrates, ancillary ingredients, and their manufacturing processes. On a fundamental level, we will also consider what by-products are created during the process of making these beloved liquids and how that might relate back to the animal industry.
121 Use of Fermentation Co-products in Pet Food and Animal Feeds
Authors: Zijlstra Ruurd T
Published: October 2021

Fermentation is used to create foods and beverages that are enjoyed by people around the world. Similarly, fermentation creates direct opportunities for feed application such as fermented liquid feed or fermented feedstuffs. Other opportunities exist: fermentation followed by extraction of a main product for human or biofuel application also creates co-products that require application in petfood or animal feeds for valorization. Indeed, cereal grains are fermented to produce beer, distilled spirits, or bioethanol and their associated co-products can be fed either wet or dry. For example, traditional beer production using fermentation of barley grain produces abundant brewer’s spent grains and also brewer’s spent hops and yeast as co-products. Brewer’s spent grains are mostly fed wet to ruminants due to its greater fiber content than barley grain and avoiding the cost of its drying required for compound feed application. Wet brewer’s yeast can be used as feedstuff in liquid feed systems for swine. Dried brewer’s yeast can be considered for pet food application due to included nutrients, nucleotides, mannan oligosaccharides, and β-glucans. Other cereal grains such as corn and rice are also used for beer production. Whiskey is produced using fermentation of an array of cereal grains, and distiller’s co-products have traditionally been fed wet or dry mostly to cattle. For the last two decades, large-scale production of ethanol as biofuel has created the co-product distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) as commodity feedstuff. Subsequently, DDGS has been used in livestock feed and petfood as protein source. With animal feed application, dietary inclusion of fermentation co-products provides opportunities for circular agriculture whereby nutrients excreted by livestock will be applied to soil to support grain production. Finally, depending on price and quality, fermentation co-products may be part of pet food and livestock feed formulations to achieve competitive cost and functionality.
125 Nutritional and Extra-nutritional Compounds in Fruit and Vegetable Waste and Their Potential for Use in Dietary Supplements
Authors: Martinez Mario M
Published: October 2021

Since the beginning of the 20th century, fruits and vegetables have historically been promoted as an important part of the human diet. The plethora of epidemiological and intervention studies has shown, since then, positive associations between fruit and vegetable intake and improved health outcomes and/or prevention of certain chronic diseases. In this regard, dietary fiber has traditionally been viewed as having beneficial effects due to inherent physical properties of solution viscosity and insoluble particles coupled with fermentation by colonic bacteria. However, it is now clear that they exert an important function as a carrier for phytonutrients, which is particularly important for fruits and vegetables, which often have high contents of bioactive phytonutrients such as polyphenols. Remarkably, production and processing of fruit and vegetables for human consumption results in a large amount of food waste due to their high-water contents, fast respiration rate, high sensitivity to environmental factors, and/or presence of inedible parts. Although the utilization of fruit and vegetable waste as animal feed is limited due to their low content of digestible energy, their rich palette of dietary fibers and polyphenols could make it a rich source of health-promoting dietary compounds. As an example, interest in the ability of dietary fibers and (poly)phenolic compounds to influence carbohydrate metabolism and colonic health could make problematical fruit and vegetable biomass a game-changer source of dietary supplements. This presentation will cover recent progress on the nature of interactions between polyphenols and the plant cell wall, how this affects polyphenol bioaccessibility and bioavailability during digestion, and how processing can result in dietary supplements with tailored structure and solubility of their dietary fibers and chemical stability and bioaccesibility of their (poly)phenolic compounds.
127 Equine Nutraceuticals: Is Science Finally Catching up to Fiction?
Authors: Pearson Wendy
Published: October 2021

Nutraceutical supplements have become requisite fare in equine stables across North America and Europe, and a robust marketing engine has propagated the notion that every horse owner has the ability to contribute to the management – and even treatment – of some of the most important health and performance issues facing the modern horse. The voracious appetite of horse owners and managers for these supplements has vastly outpaced research into equine-specific efficacy, safety or toxicity of the majority of available products. Indeed, even government regulators have been left scrambling to accommodate the unique characteristics of nutraceuticals for horses within existing feed and drug guidelines, whilst the groundswell of consumer demand creates a fertile and attractive venue for a myriad of equine nutraceutical products. This presentation will identify peculiarities of horses and horse enthusiasts which define the opportunities and challenges associated with equine nutraceutical products. The current state of scientific inquiry will be explored, focusing on supplements targeting common equine health issues including arthritis, laminitis and gastrointestinal disorders. This critical mass of scientific evidence is then compared with popular marketing of equine nutraceuticals, in order to caliper the distance between science and fiction.
129 Maternal Nutrition and in Ovo Feeding Affect Gut Health and Performance of Poultry
Authors: Jha Rajesh , Das Razib , Mishra Pravin
Published: October 2021

Maintaining a healthy gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is critical for better nutrient utilization, optimum performance, and overall health of poultry. Thus, several nutritional strategies have been tried to improve poultry’s gut health. More recently, different nutrients and feed additives are being used in poultry diets with some success when antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) are not an acceptable option anymore. However, effective modulation of gut health depends on the methods and timing of the compound being available to host animals. Routinely, the alternatives to AGP like prebiotics, probiotics, symbiotic, enzymes, and other nutrients are provided in feed or water to poultry. However, the GIT of the newly hatched poultry is functionally immature, despite going through significant morphological, cellular, and molecular changes toward the end of incubation. Thus, the early growth and development of GIT are of critical importance to enhance nutrients utilization and optimize the growth performance of poultry. Maternal nutrition and in ovo feeding have been used and found to be effective in improving gut health but with inconsistent results. The effects of maternal nutrition on the development and viability of embryo and post-hatch growth performance of birds are documented. However, there is limited information on how maternal nutrition affects the gut health of chicks. In contrast, information on the same from in ovo feeding of nutrients and feed additives has increased in recent years. The results show that in ovo feeding can be a good tool to modulate gut health of post-hatch birds positively. However, more information is needed on the proper route and time of inoculation, optimum doses, and effective combination of different compounds to maximize the benefits of in ovo feeding technique in poultry production.
136 Beef as a Functional Food for Improving Human Nutrition and Health
Authors: Wu Guoyao
Published: October 2021

Beef is an abundant source of all proteinogenic amino acids (AAs; in both adequate amounts and balanced ratios) and physiologically essential nonproteinogenic AAs (taurine and β-alanine). The content and bioavailabilities of proteinogenic AAs in beef are greater than those in plant-sourced foods. Taurine (a potent anti-oxidant) is essential for the integrity and functions of tissues, including eyes, heart, and skeletal muscle, whereas β-alanine is required for the production of antioxidative and neuromodulatory dipeptides. Furthermore, beef contains a large amount of creatine (essential for energy metabolism in tissues, particularly brain and skeletal muscle), anti-oxidative dipeptides (carnosine and anserine), and 4-hydroxyproline (an anti-inflammatory nutrient that maintains intestinal integrity and inhibits colitis). There are myths that plants provide all nutrients that are available in animal-sourced foods. However, taurine, vitamin B12, creatine, carnosine, and anserine are absent from plants, whereas β-alanine and 4-hydroxyproline are low or negligible in plants. Like other animal-sourced foods, beef plays an important role in the optimum growth of children and the prevention of anemia in humans, as well as maintaining muscle mass, delaying ageing, and mitigating sarcopenia in adults, while meeting the high demands of exercising individuals for high-quality protein. Some epidemiological studies raised concern that the consumption of red meat might increase risks for chronic diseases in humans, including obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and cancers. However, findings from many epidemiological and clinical studies do not support these claims. Beef-derived AAs and other nutrients enhance the metabolism (e.g., nitric-oxide and glutathione syntheses) and the functions of monocytes, macrophages, lymphocytes, and other cells of the immune system, thereby helping the human host to kill pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. The latter include severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Therefore, beef is a functional food for optimizing human growth, development, and health.
537 Animal Growth and Development—A Scorecard and Recalibration
Authors: Gerrard Dave E , Rhoads Robert P , Jiang Honglin , El-Kadi Samer , Gilbert Elizabeth R , Grant A L
Published: October 2021

The ASAS Public Policy Committee (PPC) provides updates of Grand Challenges (GCs; www.asas.org/about/public-policy/asas-grand-challenges) to clearly articulate research priorities, to provide science-based information for shaping public policy, and to enhance future funding for research and education programs in animal sciences (AS). In this nexus symposium for 2021, PPC examines previous stated priorities and provides a progress report card and offers additional perspectives and recommendations for research needed to address some of the GCs continuing to face animal agriculture. Among the GC topics is growth and development, a rather broad field of inquiry focused on improving the overall growth efficiency of meat producing animals. The genesis of this discipline and its popularity grew mainly in response to heightened efforts by pharmaceutical companies to identify, develop and adopt novel new growth promotants. This included a myriad of work on the highly heralded technologies involving estrogenic and androgenic implants, somatotropin, and beta-adrenergic agonists. Because the potential application of these technologies was so broad, many disciplines within the animal sciences became involved in the process of creating knowledge around these drivers of productivity. In the process, our understanding of how tissues grow in response to these compounds, under a myriad of other conditions, and our fundamental understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating growth and development, expanded significantly. Areas of significant expansion included but were not restricted to: satellite cell biology and myogenesis, whole body and tissue-specific protein synthesis and degradation, growth factor biology, adipogenesis, and repartitioning of nutrients throughout the body. In our quest to increase productivity and product quality, coupled with advances in scientific techniques, long-existing and emerging genetic mutations with desirable traits were studied and mechanisms undergirding their biology began to develop. Applying the most innovative tools for the detailed manipulation of cellular processes, great strides were made during this time. However, this eclectic area of investigation is perhaps more important than ever given the inevitable replacement of growth promotant technologies with new and emerging genomic technologies. Many biological research challenges lie ahead such as applications of gene editing, RNA control, and epigenetic regulation through fetal programming. This presentation will review some of the significant advances made in the growth and development area and explore where significant gains may be possible in the future.
148 Multiple Dysregulated Novel Pathways and Genes in Aleutian Mink Disease Revealed by Selection Signatures and Gene Network Analyses Using Whole-genome Sequence Data
Authors: Vahedi Seyed Milad , Karimi Karim , Ardestani Siavash Salek , Miar Younes
Published: October 2021

Aleutian disease (AD) is a chronic persistent infection in domestic mink caused by Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV). Female mink’s fertility and pelt quality depression are the main reasons for the AD’s negative economic impacts on the mink industry. A total number of 79 American mink from the Canadian Center for Fur Animal Research at Dalhousie University (Truro, NS, Canada) were classified based on the results of counter immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) tests into two groups of positive (n = 48) and negative (n = 31). Whole-genome sequences comprising 4,176 scaffolds and 8,039,737 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to trace the selection footprints for response to AMDV infection at the genome level. Window-based fixation index (Fst) and nucleotide diversity (θπ) statistics were estimated to compare positive and negative animals’ genomes. The overlapped top 1% genomic windows between two statistics were considered as potential regions underlying selection pressures. A total of 98 genomic regions harboring 33 candidate genes were detected as selective signals. Most of the identified genes were involved in the development and functions of immune system (PPP3CA, SMAP2, TNFRSF21, SKIL, and AKIRIN2), musculoskeletal system (COL9A2, PPP1R9A, ANK2, AKAP9, and STRIT1), nervous system (ASCL1, ZFP69B, SLC25A27, MCF2, and SLC7A14), reproductive system (CAMK2D, GJB7, SSMEM1, C6orf163), liver (PAH and DPYD), and lung (SLC35A1). Gene-expression network analysis showed the interactions among 27 identified genes. Moreover, pathway enrichment analysis of the constructed genes network revealed significant oxytocin (KEGG: hsa04921) and GnRH signaling (KEGG: hsa04912) pathways, which are likely to be impaired by AMDV leading to dams’ fecundity reduction. These results provided a perspective to the genetic architecture of response to AD in American mink and novel insight into the pathogenesis of AMDV.
149 Integration of Selection Signatures Analyses and Weighted Single-step GWAS to Prioritize Candidate Genes for Body Conformation Traits in Pigs
Authors: Vahedi Seyed Milad , Ardestani Siavash Salek , Do Duy Ngoc , Karimi Karim , Miar Younes
Published: October 2021

Body conformation traits such as body height (BH) and body length (BL) have been included in the swine industry’s selection criteria. The objective of this study was to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes for pig conformation traits using an integration of selection signatures analyses and weighted single-step GWAS (WssGWAS). Body measurement records of 5,593 Yorkshire pigs of which 598 animals were genotyped with Illumina 50K panel were used. Estimated breeding values (EBVs) for BH and BL were computed using univariate animal models. Genotyped animals were grouped into top 5% and bottom 5% based on their EBVs, and selection signatures analyses were performed using fixation index (Fst), FLK, hapFLK, and Rsb statistics, which were then combined as a Mahalanobis distance (Md) framework. The WssGWAS was conducted to detect the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the studied traits. The top 1% SNPs (n=530) from Md distribution that overlapped with the top 1% SNPs from WssGWAS (n = 530) were used to detect the candidate genes. A total of 31 and six overlapped SNPs were found to be associated with BH and BL, respectively. Several candidate genes were identified for BH (PARVA, DCDC1, SYT1, CASTOR2, RGSL1, RGS8, RBMS3, TGFBR2, and HS6ST1) and BL (SNTB1, AK7, PAPOLA, KSR1, CHODL, and BMP2), explaining 2.58% and 0.42% of the trait’s genetic variation, respectively. Our results indicated that integrating data from the signatures of selection tests with WssGWAS could help elucidate genomic regions underlying complex traits.
150 Effect of Ergot Alkaloids and a Mycotoxin Deactivating Product on in vitro Rumen Fermentation Using the Rumen Simulation Technique (RUSITEC)
Authors: Sarich Jenna , Stanford Kim , Schwartzkopf-Genswein Karen S , McAllister Tim A , Blakley Barry , Penner Gregory B , Ribeiro Gabriel O
Published: October 2021

A rumen simulation technique (RUSITEC) investigated effects of ergot alkaloids (E) and a mycotoxin deactivating product (Biomin® AA; B) on nutrient digestion, rumen fermentation, total gas and methane emissions. Fermenters received a finishing diet of 90:10 concentrate:barley silage. Using a randomized complete block design, treatments were assigned (4 vessels/treatment) within two RUSITECs in a 2 × 2 factorial. Treatments included: 1) control diet, 2) control + 1 g B, 3) control + 20 ppm E, and 4) control + 20 ppm E + 1 g B. The study had a 14-d experimental period, with 7-d adaptation and 7-d sample collection. Data were analyzed in SAS using PROC mixed including fixed effects of E, B, and E×B interaction. Random effects included RUSITEC apparatus and cow rumen inoculum (n = 4). Ergot decreased dry matter disappearance (DMD) (P < 0.05; 87.9 vs. 87.2%) and organic matter disappearance (OMD) (P < 0.05; 88.8 vs. 88.4%). Adding B increased OMD (P < 0.05; 88.3 vs. 88.9%) and neutral detergent fiber disappearance (NDFD) (P < 0.01); however, an E×B interaction was observed for NDFD (P < 0.01) with B promoting greater increases with E. Ergot decreased acetate proportions (P < 0.01) and increased isovalerate (P < 0.05). Consequently, acetate:propionate was reduced (P < 0.05) with E. Inclusion of B increased total volatile fatty acids (P < 0.01), and proportions of acetate (P < 0.05) and propionate (P < 0.05), and decreased valerate (P < 0.01), isovalerate (P < 0.01), and caproate (P < 0.01). Treatments did not affect (P ≥ 0.17) ammonia-N, total gas, or methane production (mg/d or mg/g of OM fermented). In conclusion, E reduced OMD and acetate production, but these responses were reversed by the addition of B.
158 The Identification of Pig Calcium-sensing Receptor (pCaSR) Expression in Porcine Intestinal Enterocytes
Authors: Zhao Xiaoya , Hui Qianru , Azevedo Paula , Nyachoti Martin , O Karmin , Yang Chengbo
Published: October 2021

Enterocytes play important roles in nutrient absorption, while the intestinal porcine enterocyte cell line (IPEC-J2) is a non-transformed and permanent commercial cell line. The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) has been identified as calcium ions and L-amino acids sensor in the gut and studies have demonstrated that the CaSR is involved in nutrient digestion and absorption, as well as gut barrier function. Although the expression of CaSR on the basal membrane of the villus has been found in other animal species, its expression in porcine enterocytes (pCaSR) has not been investigated to date. To investigate the expression of pCaSR in isolated porcine enterocytes and IPEC-J2, cell sorting of ileal enterocytes by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) based on sucrase-isomaltose as enterocytes marker were performed to obtain pure porcine enterocytes. The digital droplet PCR (ddPCR), immunofluorescence staining, and Western blotting were applied for the detection of pCaSR expression at the gene and protein levels, respectively. Our results showed that about 3.3% of upper epithelial cells were characterized and sorted as pure porcine enterocytes, while the other cells were negative to the enterocytes marker. In addition, neither the isolated porcine enterocytes nor the IPEC-J2 expressed the pCaSR. In summary, pure porcine enterocytes could be obtained by using FACS with the sucrase-isomaltase as enterocytes marker but pCaSR is not expressed in either isolated porcine enterocytes or IPEC-J2, which provides new insights for future work exploring the role of pCaSR in the intestine.
154 Virulence Potential of Antimicrobial Resistant Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli from Poultry in a Caenorhabditis Elegans Model
Authors: Yang Chongwu , Diarra Moussa , Rehman Muhammad Attiq , Li Linyan , Yu Hai , Yin Xianhua , Aslam Mueen , Carrillo Catherine , Yang Chengbo , Gong Joshua
Published: October 2021

This study investigated virulence potential of poultry antimicrobial resistant extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC). A total of 46 E. coli isolates from poultry meat, feces, or humans were sequenced and identified as ExPEC. Based on their characteristics, eight of these ExPEC isolates were evaluated for their potentials using a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model. The life-span of C. elegans in response to these eight isolates was examined in three life-span experiments: 1) E. coli OP 50 (negative control), K88+ enterotoxigenic E. coli strain JG280 (positive control), and an ExPEC isolate from human urinal tract infection; 2) three ExPEC isolates from chicken and turkey retail meats; 3) four ExPEC isolates from chicken feces with different antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles or a various number of virulence genes (VGs). All 46 isolates belonged to 24 serotypes among which 6 were of serotype O25:H4 Sequence Type 131 (ST131). Interestingly, all ST 131 isolates from chicken or turkey retail meats clustered with a human UTI isolate belonging to the similar serotype and ST type. The types and numbers of AGRs and VGs varied among the eight selected isolates for C. elegans model. The human ExPEC induced a similar effect as the JG280 on reducing (P < 0.05) survival of C. elegans. Interestingly, chicken and turkey meat ExPEC isolates, caused similar negative impacts on the survival of worms as the human ExPEC. Additionally, fecal ExPEC isolates reduced (P < 0.05) the survival of C. elegans compared to OP50. However, the survival of C. elegans was not reduced with an increasing number of VGs and did not seem to be affected by AMR profiles. This study indicated the virulence potential of ExPEC isolates from retail poultry meat or feces. The relationship between specific AMR profiles and/or numbers of VGs with pathogenicity in these E. coli isolates deserves further investigations.
156 Genome-wide DNA Methylation Profile of Mammary Gland Tissues from Holstein Cattle Producing Various Milk Protein Yields
Authors: Wang Mengqi , Dudemaine Pier-Luc , Bissonnette Nathalie , Zhao Xin , Ibeagha-Awemu Eveline M
Published: October 2021

Milk protein content is attracting considerable attention due to increasing demand for high-quality products. Epigenetic marks including DNA methylation have demonstrated considerable potential to contribute to the achievement of increased gain in bovine milk traits. To investigate potential roles of DNA methylation in regulating milk protein productivity, whole genome bisulfite sequencing was used to profile the global DNA methylation of mammary gland (MG) tissues from Canadian Holstein cows producing milk with high protein (HMP) (>4.0%, n = 5) or low protein (LMP) (< 3.0%, n = 7) contents. Bioinformatics processing using standard tools and construction of the methylation landscape of MG was based on methylation sites with ≥10× coverage. A total of 2420 differentially methylated CpG (DMC) sites, including 1842 with higher and 578 with lower methylation levels (FDR< 0.1) were identified when HMP group was compared with LMP group. DMCs were most abundant on chromosomes 2 (n=347) and 27 (N=535), respectively. The most DMCs were annotated to mRNAs, followed by lncRNAs, pseudogenes and rRNAs. Eight genes harbored five or more DMCs each, including LOC112443250 (5S ribosomal RNA) and LOC112443149 (liprin-alpha-1-like, LIP1) (harbored 20 hypermethylated and 1 hypomethylated sites, each), followed by miR-2287-1 (12 hypomethylated sites), etc. LIP1, a liprin family member interacts with LAR family members to play important roles in MG development. MiR-2287-1 and other family members are frequently identified in MG tissues and milk and are associated with many livestock diseases. Interestingly, among the DMCs that overlap with QTLs related to milk production were clusters on chromosomes 27 (N=534) and 14 (N=91) that associated with milk protein yield. In conclusion, DNA methylation showed potential involvement in the genetic variation underlying milk protein content and MG biological processes. More analysis with a higher sample size is however necessary to adequately quantify the involvement of DNA methylation in the regulation of milk protein content and mammary gland development.
157 Starch and Dry Matter Digestibility Values Are Not Associated with Improved Growth and Feed Efficiency in Weanling Pigs Fed a Therapeutic Multi-antimicrobial-supplemented Diet
Authors: Chen Jiali , Wang Min , Archbold Tania L , Wang Weijun , Fan Wenyi , Yin Xindi , Cheng Laurence , Fan Ming Z Z
Published: October 2021

The porcine terminal small intestinal starch digestive activity and capacity undergo further developmental changes during the acute and adaptive weaning transition. Objective of this study was to address the hypothesis that weanling porcine growth promotion associated with therapeutic antimicrobials was mediated via improving intestinal starch digestion. A total of 170 crossbred barrows (n = 34 pens; 5 barrows/pen), weaned on d 19–21 with an average initial BW of 6.9±0.1 kg, were randomly assigned to two dried whey, corn and SBM-based diets, i.e., control vs. antimicrobials, for 21 d according to a randomized complete block design. The therapeutic multi-antimicrobial diet was supplemented with aureomycin 220, tiamulin 31.2 and ZnO 2,358 at mg/kg diet. The apparent ileal, cecal and total tract digestibility values of total starch and DM were determined by using the titanium dioxide as the digestibility marker (0.30% in the diets). There were no differences (P > 0.05) in the starch digestibility at the ileal (control, 98.3±0.9% vs. antimicrobials, 98.3±0.5%), cecal (control, 96.3±0.6% vs. antimicrobials, 97.1±0.6%) and total tract (control, 98.5±0.3% vs. antimicrobials, 98.7±0.3%) levels between the two diets. Furthermore, there were no differences (P > 0.05) in the DM digestibility at the ileal (control, 75.7±2.2% vs. antimicrobials, 72.7±2.0%), cecal (control, 80.6±1.2% vs. antimicrobials, 81.3±1.2%) and total tract (control, 85.8±0.8% vs. antimicrobials, 84.7±0.9%) levels between the two diets. The Spearman’s correlation analyses revealed no significant associations (P > 0.05) between the growth performance endpoints of ADG, ADFI and F: G and the digestibility values of total starch and DM at the levels of ileal, cecal and total tract. Our results suggest that starch is near complete digestion at the distal small intestine, thus not limiting growth and feed conversion efficiency of weanling pigs fed corn and SBM-based diets. Hence, therapeutic multi-antimicrobial effects are unlikely channeled through modulating digestive utilization efficiency of starch and DM in weanling pigs.
166 Livestock Resiliency: Concepts and Approaches
Authors: Baes Christine F , Miglior Filippo , Schenkel Flavio S , Goddard Ellen , Kistemaker Gerrit , van Staaveren Nienke , Cerri Ronaldo , Sirard Marc Andre A , Stothard Paul
Published: October 2021

Genetic improvement of health, welfare, efficiency, and fertility traits is challenging due to expensive and fuzzy phenotypes, the polygenic nature of traits, antagonistic genetic correlations to production traits and low heritabilities. Nevertheless, many organizations have introduced large-scale genetic evaluations for such traits in routine selection indexes. Medium and high-density arrays can be applied in genomic selection strategies to improve breeding value accuracy, and also in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify causative mutations responsible for economically important traits. Genomic information is particularly helpful when traits have low heritability. The objective here is to provide a framework for including health, welfare, efficiency, and fertility traits taken from large-scale genetic and genomic analyses and identifying areas of potential improvement in terms of trait definition and performance testing. General tendencies between trait groups confirmed that a number of moderate unfavourable correlations (+/-0.20 or higher) exist between economically important trait complexes and health, welfare, and fertility traits. A number of trait complexes were identified in which “closer-to-biology” phenotypes could provide clear improvements to routine genetic and genomic selection programs. Here we outline development of these phenotypes and describe their collection. While conventional variance component estimation methods have underpinned the genomic component of some traits of economic interest, performance testing for health, welfare, efficiency, and fertility traits remains an elusive goal for breeding programs. Although our results are encouraging, there is much to be done in terms of trait definition and obtaining better measures of physiological parameters for wide-scale application in breeding programs. Close collaboration between veterinarians, physiologists, and geneticists is necessary to attain meaningful advancement in such areas. We would like to acknowledge the support and funding from all national and international partners involved in the RDGP project through the Large Scale Applied Research Project program from Genome Canada
167 Impacts on Biodiversity, Environment and Society of Beef Production in the Mexican Tropics: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach
Authors: Huerta Adriana Rivera , Hernández Patricia Güereca
Published: October 2021

Beef production exerts strong environmental pressures and can also generate negative social effects. In this study, the impacts on biodiversity, environment and society of beef production in the Mexican tropics, were evaluated through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The functional unit of the study was 1 kg live weight of calf and focused on three productive systems: native silvopastoral (NSP), intensive silvopastoral (ISP) and monoculture (MC). This research was divided into four analysis steps. (1) social impacts; (2) damage to biodiversity; (3) methane emissions and 4) environmental LCA impacts. Using the Social-LCA, we evaluated 18 social indicators, grouped into five categories: human rights, working conditions, health and safety, socio-economic repercussions, and governance. The results showed similarities between the three livestock systems, which revealed a deficient social performance. For projecting the biodiversity damage of pasture land use from an LCA perspective, characterization factors (CFs) were estimated. CFs consist of dimensionless figures representing the potential for damage per unit area of pasture land (potential species loss per m2). The CFs were calculated for three levels of pasture land use intensity (minimal/NSP, light/ISP, intense/MC). Based on the characterization factors developed, the MC showed the least potential species loss. Enteric methane emissions from the production systems were determined using the IPCC Tier 2. The results revealed that the emissions values from enteric methane calculated with Tier 1 overestimated the emissions compared to Tier 2 methodology. LCA indicated a lower environmental impact of the MC on four of the seven categories analyzed, highlighting its lower contribution to climate change and reducing species loss. However, consumption of water and scarcity of fossil fuel resources increased. To achieve tropical sustainable livestock farming, further lines of research should be aimed at evaluating its economic impacts and propose management systems that guarantee better social and environmental performance.
172 Scenario-based Training Is an Effective Tactic for Teaching Applied Livestock Management Practices to Extension Personnel
Authors: Ivey Jennie L , Strickland Lew G , Rhinehart Justin D
Published: October 2021

Developing livestock and equine trainings to empower county Extension agents is challenging, especially when spanning in-person and online delivery modules. Real life application of training concepts is difficult, particularly when participants have varied backgrounds and experience. Thus, we assessed if scenario-based training modules were an effective training method across in-person and virtual formats. The same scenario-based training was delivered at three, regional in-person trainings (n = 42), and one virtual training (n = 32). Training format consisted of four, species-specific lectures addressing various production topics. Small groups then developed recommendations for a specific scenario, followed by a debriefing session consisting of group reactions and specialist recommendations. Topic-area application to county programs, instructor effectiveness, and overall benefit of the training session were evaluated (Qualtrics, in-person n = 26, 62% completion; virtual n = 17, 53% completion). Data were assessed using analysis of variance and mean comparisons (α=0.05), with Tukey’s pairwise post hoc analysis where appropriate (STATA 16). Across all sessions, likert scale responses (1=poor and 5=excellent, n = 43) indicated lecture sessions were applicable to county areas of need across material content (mean±SD, cattle=4.71±0.57, equine=4.64±0.50), teaching effectiveness (cattle=4.77±0.42, equine=4.75±0.43), and overall quality (cattle=4.68±0.57, equine=4.67±0.51), respectively. Scenario-based training benefit was not influenced by the number of times an agent had attended in-service training on livestock species, agent appointment (youth vs. adult educator), or training location (p >0.05). Attendance at previous in-service trainings (cattle P = 0.005; equine P = 0.013) and agent appointment (cattle P = 0.0006; equine P = 0.05) had a significant impact on the number of questions agents reported to have received on scenario topics in the last 12 months. More topic area questions were reported by agents with adult education responsibilities and previous training attendance. Based upon these results, scenario-based training is an effective in-person and virtual training tool for 4-H and adult Extension agents of varying experience.
173 Grazing Cover Crops: Effects of Cattle Removal Date on Forage Production and Cattle Performance
Authors: Carrell Russell C , Dillard Sandra L , Mullenix Mary K , Gamble Audrey , Muntifering Russ B
Published: October 2021

Use of cool-season annual cover crops through grazing has been shown to be a potential tool in extending the grazing season, while still mitigating environmental risks associated with warm-season row crop production. Although data describing the effects of grazing on soil health are not novel, effects of grazing length on animal performance and cover crop production are limited. The objective was to determine cattle performance and forage production when grazing a cool-season annual cover-crop. Twelve, 1.2-ha pastures were established in a four species forage mix and randomly allocated to be grazed through either mid-February (FEB), mid-March (MAR), or mid-April (APR) with a non-grazed control (CON). Three tester steers were randomly placed in each paddock and a 1:1 forage allowance was maintained in each paddock using put-and-take steers. Animals were weighed every 30 d for determination of average daily gain (ADG). Forage was harvested bi-weekly and analyzed for forage production, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Fiber fractions were measured using an ANKOM fiber analyzer (ANKOM Tech, Macedon, NY). All data were analyzed using MIXED procedure of SAS version 9.4 (SAS Inst., Cary, NC). Differences in forage mass were detected between CON and FEB (3,694.75 vs. 2,539.68 kg/ha; P < 0.003), CON and MAR (3,694.75 vs. 1,823.45 kg/ha; P < 0.001), and CON and APR (3,694.75 vs. 1,976.23 kg/ha; P < 0.001). Differences in total gain/acre were detected between APR and MAR (212.24 vs. 101.74 kg/ha; P < 0.0001), APR and FEB (212.24 vs 52.65 kg/ha; P < 0.0001), and FEB and MAR (101.74 vs. 52.65 kg/ha; P < 0.003). No differences were detected for tester ADG (1.23 kg/day, P = 0.56), NDF (44.9%, P = 0.99), or ADF (27.2%, P = 0.92) among treatments. These results indicate that cattle removal date effected forage yield and total gain/hectare.
175 GPS Tracking Collars and Accelerometers Provide Detailed Tracking of Foraging Behavior and Space Use in Grazing Steers in Bermudagrass and Tall Fescue Pasture
Authors: Parsons Ira L , Karisch Brandi B , Webb Stephen L , Stone Amanda E , Catrett Cassidy C , Dentinger Jane E , Norman Durham A , Street Garrett
Published: October 2021

Previous research in feedlot studies has demonstrated that cattle feeding behavior is driven by internal metabolic processes and external environmental stimuli and serves as an indicator of animal health, nutritional status, and growth and feed quality and availability. However, technology has only recently allowed measurement of foraging behavior in grazing cattle. Objectives of this study were to measure frequency and duration of foraging bouts, meals, and total distance traveled during meals in grazing steers. The study was conducted as part of a larger grazing study on a 10-hectare Bermudagrass and Tall Fescue pasture, overseeded with Annual Ryegrass, located at the HH Leveck Animal Research Center, Mississippi State, MS. Using tri-axial accelerometers and GPS information from 10 crossbred steers, we examined foraging and meal bout frequency and duration and distance and speed traveled per meal for the period of March 2019. Observed animal behavior was used to train a randomforest model to predict foraging behavior, with model accuracy and sensitivity of 0.95 and 0.93, respectively. We found individual foraging bouts occurred on average 2,849 bouts per day and took on average 5.0 ± 1.8 min (range: 3–9 min), and that steers fed on average 205 ± 52.8 min/day (range: 120–270 min/day). Steers had an average of 9.5 ± 2.9 meals/day, that took on average, 89.3 ± 93.9 min/meal (range: 0.5–938.5 min/meal). Steers traveled an average of 412.4 ± 93.9 meters per meal, with an average foraging speed between 0 and 0.63 m/s. Traveling distance while foraging was positively correlated with meal length (0.83, P < 0.01) and foraging speed (0.70, P < 0.01). These results show that cattle grazing behavior can be accurately quantified in grazing cattle and warrants further research to examine associations between animal efficiency and performance, forage quality, and pasture management.
179 The Effect of Sward Type on the Performance of Co-grazed Cattle and Sheep
Authors: Beaucarne Gaspard , Grace Cornelia , Shackleton Jane , Kennedy Jean , Sheridan Helen , Boland Tommy
Published: October 2021

A farmlet study was established to evaluate the effect of four sward types on the performance of heifers and lambs co-grazing: a perennial ryegrass only sward (PRG) receiving 170 kg N/ha each year; a permanent pasture (PP) receiving 135 kg N/ha each year; a six species mix (2 grasses, 2 legumes, 2 herbs) at 70 kg N/ha each year (6SP); and a 12 species mix (3 grasses, 4 legumes and 5 herbs) at 70 kg N/ha each year (12SP). Each farmlet (9 ha) was rotationally grazed with 20 dairy cross heifers (13 months old) and 22 ewes plus lambs from April to November 2020. Heifers and lambs were finished for slaughter from herbage only diets. Heifers were weighed monthly and drafted for slaughter on three occasions when their estimated fat class on the EUROP grid scale reached 3-. Lambs were weighed fortnightly and drafted for slaughter at 42 kg [lambing to weaning (July 7th)], 44 kg (weaning to September) and 46 kg (after September 1st) to obtain a target carcass weight of 21 kg. Average daily gain (ADG) was higher for heifers grazing the 6SP sward (1.13 kg/day) than the PRG (0.99 kg/day) or PP swards (1.03 kg/day; P < 0.05). Kill out percentage (KO%) was higher for heifers grazing the 12SP sward (48.9%) compared to the PP sward (47.2%; P < 0.01). Lamb ADG was higher for lambs grazing the 6SP sward (0.38kg/day) compared to lambs grazing either the PP (0.32kg/day) or the PRG sward (0.29kg/day) (P < 0.01). Lamb KO% was higher for lambs grazing the 12SP sward (49.4%) compared to those grazing the PRG (45.7%) and the PP swards (44.5%; P < 0.01). Lambs grazing the 6SP sward had reduced days to slaughter (109) compared to lambs grazing the PP (137) and PRG (149) swards (P < 0.01). In conclusion, co-grazing multispecies swards improved overall heifer and lamb performance.
183 Designing Research for Beef Cattle Production in Extensive Environments
Authors: DelCurto Timothy , Wyffels Sam
Published: October 2021

Designing research for beef cattle production in rangeland environments is an ongoing challenge for researchers worldwide. Specifically, creating study designs that mirror actual production environments yet have enough observations for statistical inference is a challenge that often hinders researchers in efforts to publish their observations. Numerous journals will accept “case study” or observational results that lack valid statistical inference. However, these journals are limited in number and often lack impact. Approaches are available to gain statistical inference by creating multiple observations within a common group of animals. Approaches to increasing statistical observations will be discussed in this presentation. Modeling animal behavior and performance on extensive rangeland landscapes is commonly practiced in wildlife ecology and, more recently, has been published in Animal Science journals. Additionally, new technology has made it possible to apply treatments (e.g., supplementation studies) to individual animals on extensive environments where large, diverse herds/flocks of cattle/sheep are managed as a single group. Use of individual animal identification (EID) and feed intake technology has opened a wide range of research possibilities for beef cattle production systems research in rangeland environments. Likewise, global positioning system (GPS) collars and activity monitors have created the opportunity to evaluate animal grazing behavior in remote and extensive landscapes. The use of multiple regression models to evaluate resource use in extensive environments will, in turn, help managers optimize beef cattle production and the sustainable use of forage/rangeland resources. Embracing new technologies such as GPS, activity monitors, EID tags, and feed intake monitors combined with multiple regression modeling tools will aid in designing and publishing beef cattle production research in extensive rangeland environments.
184 Statistical Analysis of Grazing Research
Authors: Smith William B
Published: October 2021

Research in the area of pastures, forages, and grazing livestock has a storied history within the realm of statistical analysis. Unlike traditional experiments in ruminant nutrition, in which an animal is fed individually and data are collected to assess the applied treatment, research on the grazing animal presents its own unique set of challenges. The collection of data on multiple scales (e.g., animal, pasture, landscape, time) brings into question the appropriate assignment of the experimental unit, and variance and covariance estimates must account for both the spatial and temporal effects of the environment. Oftentimes, the designs, assumptions, and rules-of-thumb taught to us in graduate school do not meet muster to adequately address the intricacies of this situation. This presentation will seek to address these complications and present statistically-sound solutions to obtain the maximum information from experimental data. First, a historical examination will be offered of how grazing experiments were originally handled. Next, conjecture will be offered as to why these methods may not remain valid and how advances in computing power and statistical theory allow us to obtain more information from the experiment. Finally, solutions to common scenarios will be offered whereby a more adequate or complete description of the experiment may be obtained.
185 Opportunities and Challenges of Conducting Grazing Experiments in Pasturelands
Authors: Vendramini Joao , Sollenberger Lynn , Silveira Maria Lucia L
Published: October 2021

Grasslands cover approximately 30% of the world area and research conducted in pasturelands has been crucial to realize the benefits of grassland contributions to livestock production and ecosystem services. The Forage and Grazing Terminology Task Force has developed a list of recommended nomenclature for grazing lands research and this effort has been a landmark to avoid misleading terms in research reports. Other challenges remain. The intrinsic variability of pastureland research data limits the capacity of researchers to detect differences among treatments. In addition, the quantity of resources and labor required by pastureland experiments may lead researchers to decrease the size of experimental units and/or number of replicates, exacerbating the limitations in detecting differences among treatments. In general, experimental units in grazing studies encompass relatively large areas, which may pose a challenge to identifying representative sampling units that reflect the experimental area. The use of indirect measurements to estimate forage mass is a feasible approach to increase the representativeness of forage quantity evaluations. The nutritive value determination of forage samples from grazing studies also has many limitations. The collection of samples representing the animal diet and the methods of nutritive value determination, primarily digestibility, are major areas of concern. For animal performance evaluations, determination of the correct experimental unit has been a frequent issue. Among animal measures, forage intake is one of the most influential factors affecting animal performance and the existent methodology to estimate forage intake by grazing animals has limitations, reducing the accuracy of the results. Development and validation of mathematical models to estimate the benefits of grasslands on livestock performance and ecosystem services are important steps in the evolution of grassland science, but in some cases additional data are needed to support this effort.
190 Where Should Forage Courses Be Housed?
Authors: Redmon Larry
Published: October 2021

Forages as a discipline and forage workers in general are declining nationwide. Why is this? Could it the department in which forage courses are taught? This discussion will be a brief look at where forages are currently taught and where might they be taught to increase their exposure to undergraduate students.