bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
68 Wildfire smoke simulations and the effects of smoke exposure on cattle acute phase protein response
Authors: Rezende Aline , Ferri Erica , Ramalho Ana Laura , dos Santos Carlos Eduardo , Ferreira Matheus , Rezamand Pedram , Skibiel Amy , Wollstein Katherine , Cruickshank Jenifer , Ranches Juliana 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
The incidence of and acreage burned by wildfires are globally increasing, with predictions of more devastating fires in the future. The impacts of wildfire smoke exposure on have been of research interest over the years, although the scope of the literature is limited. Evaluating the effects of wildfire smoke exposure is challenging because of the unpredictability of fires, limiting the ability of researchers to evaluate this phenomenon. For this study, a wildfire smoke simulation was created to evaluate the effects of smoke exposure on beef cattle health, performance, and behavior. Heifers [n = 8 Angus x Hereford; body weight (BW) = 532 kg; 8 mo of age) were acclimated to individual pens in a completely closed barn for 7 d (d -7 to -1). Heifers were maintained in the barn for 36 d and exposed to wildfire smoke simulation for 7 consecutive days (d 0 to 7) while inside the barn. Heifers were individually fed alfalfa hay ad libitum, and feed intake was recorded daily. Health scores were collected daily from each heifer by 4 trained technicians, and blood samples were collected weekly for evaluation of acute phase proteins, cytokines, hormones, and hematology. Heifer behavior was recorded continuously using 4 cameras for the length of the study. Air quality was monitored daily every 1 min, using 2 air quality monitors. Preliminary data were analyzed using MIXED procedure of SAS. Heifers were considered the experiment unit serving as its own control, where variables were analyzed over time. Significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Air quality, assessed with PM2.5, changed over time (P &lt; 0.0001), reaching a daily average of 159 µg/m3 during the smoke simulation period. Although the air quality daily average was above the EPA standard (35 µg/m3), the smoke dissipated during the day, leading to wide variation in the 24 h-cycle (7.60 to 433 µg/m3; P &lt; 0.0001), which might not truly represent air quality conditions during wildfires. Regardless, heifer plasma ceruloplasmin concentration increased over time (P = 0.05), reaching a peak during smoke exposure (29 mg/mL), which was maintained (P = 0.39; 27 mg/mL) for 1 wk post-smoke exposure before returning to nadir (23 mg/mL). An increase in acute phase proteins stimulated by smoke exposure has been observed in cattle naturally exposed to wildfires. Therefore, exposure to wildlife smoke might elicit an inflammatory response, potentially leading to reduced cattle performance, which could be accompanied by changes in behavior. This research was supported by the intramural research program of the USDA-NIFA, Award #2023-68008-39173.
66 Australian decision support tools for prediction of ruminant performance: Current tools and potential applications
Authors: Dougherty James C H , Liedloff Adam C , Watt Lucy J , Keogh Thomas , Thomas Dean T , Oddy V Hutton 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
Australia is one of the largest beef and lamb producers in the world, with a wide diversity of grazing systems ranging from intensive, integrated crop-livestock systems in the temperate south to the extensive, low-input beef systems of the hot, arid rangelands of north and central Australia. To help understand and predict animal performance across these diverse production systems, Australian researchers have built decision support tools (DSTs) specifically for these grazing conditions. Some examples of DSTs designed for Australian ruminant production systems include the GRAZPLAN suite of software models, the Crop and Livestock Enterprise Model (CLEM), DairyMod, BreedCow, and the Drought and Supplementary Feeding Calculator (DAFSC), and many of these include a biophysical model based on the Australian ruminant feeding standards. Widely used for a range of industry and research applications, these tools are key to helping the livestock industry improve the environmental and economic sustainability of livestock production in the face of a changing climate. Historically DSTs have been used by producers to predict animal performance for a given feedbase, allowing for prediction of short-term (≤ 30 d) performance and optimizing supplemental feeding. Over time, the use of DSTs has shifted and expanded, and they are increasingly being used in tactical forecasting to help explore the impacts of different management strategies in response to variation in seasonal feed, climate, and rain forecasts. Because these tools can represent a wide range of temperate and tropical pasture species and animal genotypes, they can be used to explore the effects of using different breeds and species to respond to climate change, or to explore the effects of genetic selection within herds. Tools that use a systems approach to modelling, such as GRAZPLAN, CLEM, and Breedcow, can also be used to help producers navigate sustainability credentialling, compare the effects of management strategies on environmental sustainability and economic sustainability, as well as to explore the broader impacts of on-farm management decisions in terms of sustainability and efficiency at the regional or food system level. While these tools were developed for Australian production systems, many of these have international parallels, such as beef and sheep grazing systems in the semi-arid rangeland of the western USA and central Queensland and New South Wales; sheep grazing in the Mediterranean rangelands of California and the southern coast of Western Australia; and the temperate pasture-based diary regions of Tasmania, New Zealand, and Ireland. Because of these similarities, the ability of these models to flexibly represent diverse production systems gives them strong potential for use by industry and research at a broader scale by international audiences.
182 Converting spring-born heifers into a summer-calving herd increases subsequent cow longevity and productivity
Authors: Mulliniks Travis , Goodnight Tim , Musgrave Jacki A , McCarthy Kacie L 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
Developing replacement heifers is one of the most expensive and complex management decisions for a cow-calf producer, which also has long-term implications for profitability. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of converting spring-born heifers into a summer-calving herd on growth, reproductive performance, longevity, and productivity compared with early or late-born May heifers. Over a 3 yr period, Red Angus/Simmental crossbred heifers (n = 273) were utilized to determine the impact of converting March-born heifers (Convert; n = 90) to a May-calving herd compared with May-born heifers on reproductive performance, body weight (BW), and calf performance from a yearling to 5 yr of age. May-born heifers were retrospectively grouped into 2 different groups: heifers born in the first 21 d of calving as a heifer calf (Early; n = 123) or heifers born after the 21 d of calving as a heifer calf (Late; n = 60). Heifers were exposed to bulls for a 45-d breeding season with a bull-to-heifer ratio of 1:20. Heifers were synchronized with a single injection of prostaglandin F2α (5-mL i.m.; Lutalyse, Zoetis, Parsippany, NJ) 5 d after bulls were introduced in the pasture for breeding. Data were analyzed as a randomized design using the MIXED procedure (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC, USA). All binomial data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX. Heifer served as the experimental unit with treatment and year developed set as fixed effects. Heifer BW at December, May, July, and pregnancy check (Oct) were greater (P &lt; 0.01) for Convert heifers with no difference between Early and Late born heifers. Heifer BCS at pregnancy check was not different (P = 0.13) among heifer treatment groups. However, pregnancy rate tended (P = 0.08) to increase for Convert heifers with no difference between Early and Late born May heifers. After 5 yr of age, retention rate was increased (P = 0.04) in Convert cows compared with Early and Late May-born cows with no difference (P = 0.84) between the two May-born heifer groups. Total kilograms of calf weaned was greater (P = 0.04) in Convert cows than their counterparts with no differences (P = 0.94) between Early and Late May-born cows. This study implies that selecting replacement heifers from an earlier calving season for replacements in a later calving season increases the longevity and long-term productivity of the cowherd than selecting heifers within the same calving season. This may be even more important in resource-poor breeding environments that create reproductive challenges for heifers and rebreeding young cows.
457 Prediction of methane emissions using rumination time and milk mid-infrared spectral data via artificial neural networks
Authors: Lopes Lucas S F , Shadpour Saeed , Miglior Filippo , Tulpan Dan , Schenkel Flávio S , Baes Christine F 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
Cattle methane emissions (ME) account for approximately 6% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Given the challenges in measuring ME directly from individual animals, there is a need for the development of novel indirect methods. Rumination time (RT) and milk mid-infrared spectral data (MIR) show promise for the indirect assessment of ME in dairy cows. Both traits have been used as indicators of reproduction, production, and gas emission traits. Methodologies combining the use of MIR and machine learning algorithms such as artificial neural networks (ANN) for the prediction of ME have been successful; however, the inclusion of RT has not been assessed. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of RT on milk MIR-based models using ANN for the prediction of ME. One-week averages for RT, ME, and MIR from first-lactation Canadian Holstein cows (n = 412) were calculated. Six data sets were evaluated using a multilayer perceptron ANN. All sets included age at calving, season of calving and days in milk as model factors, but varied in using milk MIR data points (1,060 or 235) and including or not including RT. The ANN architecture consisted of one input layer, one hidden layer with one or more neurons, and one output layer. Results showed that sets using both RT and milk MIR data achieved correlations from 0.5 to 0.6 between predicted and observed ME. Notably, the inclusion of RT did not improve the performance of the models. Predictions may be improved through the use of larger data sets, the use of daily records, and inclusion of data across herds and lactations. Optimizing parameters of the ANN could also improve predictions. Further research is needed to fully assess the potential of RT as a predictor of ME in dairy cows.
450 Understanding communication barriers: Demographic variables and language needs in the interaction between English-speaking agriculture professionals and Spanish-speaking animal caretakers
Authors: Aguiriano Allen Jimena Martinez , Pietrosemoli Silvana , Schmidt Marcelo , Garcia Arlene , Salazar Leonor , Awosile Babafela 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
This study focused on assessing the language needs of English-speaking animal professionals in their interactions with the Hispanic/Spanish-speaking animal caretakers. A survey was administered to a target audience of non-Spanish speaking and bilingual animal professionals to identify communication gaps while interacting with Hispanic caretakers. The data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics, including ordinal regression analyses, to examine the impact of demographic variables on respondents’ answer choices. Results showed that English-speaking professionals struggled with written and oral communication, which differed compared with bi-lingual professionals (P &lt; 0.05). Additionally, female professionals showed differences in their responses to statements regarding the aspects of the Spanish language deemed necessary for interacting with Hispanic animal caretakers, as well as the topics likely to be addressed when agriculture professionals communicate with animal caretakers (P &lt; 0.05). Hispanic professionals demonstrated a significant inclination towards strong disagreement with respect to the major issues encountered when interacting with Hispanic animal caretakers, particularly in understanding written information provided by animal caretakers in Spanish. These findings indicate that there are communication gaps that need to be addressed to improve communication with on-farm Hispanic animal caretakers and consequently contribute to enhancing animal health, welfare, and production.
122 Impact of an active-dry yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077) delivered via free-choice mineral on growth parameters of beef cow-calf pairs grazing native rangelands
Authors: Adams Paige R , Jolly-Breithaupt Melissa L , Villot Clothilde , Spare Mark , Karges Kip 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
Throughout the grazing season, cows are exposed to forages of varying nutritive quality that must be efficiently utilized for reproductive and lactation performance for ranch profitability. Season, environment, and forage varieties can impact forage quality and animal performance. Supplementing active-dry yeast improves fiber digestibility; however, supplementing active-dry yeast to grazing, lactating beef cows has not been evaluated extensively. Therefore, the study objective was to evaluate the effects of feeding an active-dry yeast to range beef cows via free-choice mineral 30 d prior to calving through weaning on calf growth performance and cow body condition score (BCS). Multiparous red Angus cows (n = 436; 6.5 ± 1.9 yr) grazed open native rangeland near Medicine Lodge, Kansas from February to August 2023. At trial initiation, cows were sorted by initial BCS onto one of two mineral treatments: 1) CON; no yeast (n = 213 cows) or 2) SC 1077; Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077 (1 x 1010 cfu/g; n = 223 cows). Mineral consumption was targeted at 113.4 g/d with fresh mineral added to feeders when depleted every 2 to 3 d. Mineral consumption and yeast viability was reported monthly. Individual calf birth weights were recorded on a 25% randomized sub-set group for each treatment due to management practice feasibility with treatment means extrapolated across the entire herd for calf gain calculations. At time of weaning, individual calf body weights (BW) and cow BCS were collected. The data were fitted using a linear model in R including treatment group, calf sex and cow age, wherein the difference between dietary groups was assessed through ANOVA. Statistical significance was considered at P ≤ 0.05. Neither treatment × cow age nor sex × treatment interactions were observed for all measured parameters (P ≥ 0.26). Mineral consumption (83.0 ± 9.1 g/d) was not different between the two treatments for the length of the trial (P = 0.55). Measured calf birth weights (31.9 ± 0.30 kg) were not different for the sub-set group (P = 0.44). Weaning weight, ADG, and BW gain were greater for SC 1077 calves compared with control calves for both the sub-set and entire herd (P ≤ 0.01). The SC 1077 mineral treatment improved cow BCS at time of weaning compared with controls for both sub-set groups and entire herd (P ≤ 0.02). Pregnancy rates were not different between treatments for the entire herd (P = 0.99) and the sub-set group (P = 0.32); however, a 6.8% numerical increase in pregnancy rate was observed for SC 1077. To conclude, providing SC 1077 via free-choice mineral improved cow BCS and calf growth parameters which could be attributed to improved cow rumen function and fiber digestibility.
130 Meta-analysis of the impact of Quebracho and Chestnut tannin extract supplementation on the growth performance in growing and finishing beef cattle
Authors: Lee Mingyung , Manella Marcelo Q , Desrues Olivier , Tedeschi Luis O 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
Integrating tannin extracts (TE) into the diet of growing and finishing beef cattle has shown promise in optimizing protein utilization while potentially mitigating methane emissions. Despite these potential benefits, there is a notable gap in a comprehensive analysis of the influence of TE on growth rate. This study addressed this gap by collecting data on the supplementation of a blend of condensed (from Schinopsis spp.) and hydrolyzable (from Castanea spp.) tannins, which has about 70% total tannins, and its impact on critical metrics, such as average daily gain (ADG, kg/d), dry matter intake (DMI, kg/d), and feed efficiency ratio (FER, g/kg). Our objective was to conduct meta-regression analyses to understand better the nuanced effects of condensed tannin supplementation on the overall performance of beef cattle during the critical stages of growth and finishing. The dataset was constructed by collecting published studies that reported in vivo experimental data on growing and finishing beef cattle supplemented with different levels of TE. It contained 132 observations from 35 publications. The meta-analysis was conducted by linear regression with a mixed-effects model fitted by the restricted maximum likelihood method using the nlme package of R software (ver. 4.3.1). Studies were assumed as random variables, and their interaction with the intercept and slope were included in the regression. The number of animals per treatment was used as a study-specific weight. Studies accounted for 32%, 35%, or 27% of the total variance when regressing ADG, DMI, or FER, respectively, on TE (% DM). After adjusting for random effects, the ADG increased (P &lt; 0.001) with increasing levels of dietary TE (P &lt; 0.001): 1.344 (± 0.0071) + 0.240 (±0.0298) × TE (n = 99, r2 = 0.40). It was observed that as the dietary TE level increased, its impact on the ADG tended to decrease from 0.33 kgּ d-1ּ % TE-1 when fed up to 0.5% TE to 0.24 kgּ d-1ּ % TE-1 when fed up to 1.5% TE, suggesting a possible nonlinear relationship between these two variables. Similarly, DMI decreased slightly (P &lt; 0.001) at 0.61 kg/d/% TE, but with a lower precision (n = 115, r2 = 0.14). Consequently, FER increased (P &lt; 0.001) at 17 kgּ d-1ּ % TE-1 (n = 93, r2 = 0.34). Initial findings suggest that incorporating TE into the diet of growing and finishing cattle, up to a concentration of 0.5% DM, positively influences the growth rate and enhances FER while minimally affecting DMI. Subsequent research endeavors should delve into a more intricate examination of optimal TE inclusion levels and explore additional performance indicators for a comprehensive understanding of its impact.
126 The inclusion of Aspergillus oryzae prebiotic counteracts the decline on neutral detergent fiber digestibility associated with increased intake level, on corn silage and sorghum silage-based diets
Authors: Podversich Federico , Maderal Araceli B , de Vargas Juan J , Fernandez-Marenchino Ignacio , Tarnonsky Federico , Cuervo Wilmer , Gomez Camila , Schulmeister Tessa M M , Bargo Fernando , Ipharraguerre Ignacio R , DiLorenzo Nicolas 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
The inclusion of Aspergillus oryzae prebiotic (AOP; Amaferm, Biozyme Inc., St Joseph, MO) in ruminant diets has been proven to stimulate cellulolytic ruminal microorganisms, although, its positive effect on nutrient digestibility seems to be diet dependent. Our objective was to evaluate how AOP influences the apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) at varying levels of intake, for diets with different forage sources and inclusion levels. Data were compiled from 3 experiments containing 4 diets for backgrounding cattle, assessing the use of AOP as a feed additive. The studies were Exp. 1): corn silage-based diet (CS; n = 24 steers), Exp. 2-A): sorghum silage-based diet (SS; n = 20 heifers), Exp. 2-B): citrus pulp and cotton gin byproducts-based diet (BP; n = 20 heifers), and Exp. 3): bermudagrass hay-based diet (BH; n = 24 steers). Separate ANCOVA analyses by diet were conducted using SAS, including in the model the effect of treatment (TRT; AOP vs. No AOP) and the interaction between TRT and level of intake (dry matter intake; DMI). Level of intake was calculated as percentage of body weight (DMI/BW). Least square mean differences between treatments were conducted at different levels of intake at which both treatments were represented. For apparent total tract digestibility of DM and NDF (NDFD), the TRT × DMI/BW interaction was significant (P ≤ 0.05) in the case of the CS and SS diets, but not in the BP and BH diets (P ≥ 0.10). For both silage diets, NDF and DM digestibility decreased as the level of intake increased. Consequently, the positive effect of AOP on NDFD was greater at increased levels of intake (3.3 and 3.5% of the BW for CS and SS, respectively), resulting in 9.8% improvement on NDFD for the CS diet (P = 0.04, 37.9 vs. 41.6% for No AOP vs. AOP, respectively) and 25% improvement in the SS diet (P = 0.01, 42.5 vs. 53.2% for No AOP vs. AOP, respectively). At a moderate intake (2.5% of the BW), AOP improved NDFD by 6.0 and 14.1% for the CS and SS diets, respectively (P ≤ 0.05). While at reduced intake (1.8 and 1.7% of BW, for CS and SS), NDFD did not differ (P ≥ 0.10) between treatments for either CS (47.9%) or SS (56.5%) diets. In conclusion, the inclusion of AOP in silage-based diets attenuates the decline on apparent total tract digestibility of NDF associated with increased feed intake, helping to maintain digestibility closer to its maximum potential. Whereas, at reduced levels of intake, it is more unlikely to observe a positive effect of AOP on fiber digestibility.