Animal Sciences Commons^™

Alternatives To Corn For Baiting Wild Pigs, Justin A. Foster, Lee H. Williamson, John C. Kinsey, Ryan L. Reitz, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We examined dietary preferences of wild pigs to discern possible bait alternatives to corn. Captive trials were conducted during spring and fall 2021 in the Wild Pig Research Facility at Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Hunt, Texas, USA. We conducted 2‐choice tests by allowing wild pigs to feed ad libitum on soybeans, split peas, mealworms, and peanuts (spring 2021), and oats, acorns, earthworms, and peanuts (fall 2021), always with corn available as a second choice for reference. In each trial, we used proportion of test bait eaten versus total bait eaten, and relative access to both food sources as indices of …

Effects Of Corn Supplementation On Serum And Muscle Microrna Profiles In Horses, Clarissa Carver, Jason E. Bruemmer, Stephen Coleman, Gabriele Landolt, Tanja Hess

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Laminitis associated with equine metabolic syndrome causes significant economic losses in the equine industry. Diets high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) have been linked to insulin resistance and laminitis in horses. Nutrigenomic studies analyzing the interaction of diets high in NSCs and gene expression regulating endogenous microRNAs (miRNA) are rare. This study's objectives were to determine whether miRNAs from dietary corn can be detected in equine serum and muscle and its impacts on endogenous miRNA. Twelve mares were blocked by age, body condition score, and weight and assigned to a control (mixed legume grass hay diet) and a mixed legume hay …

Changes In Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) Relative Abundance, Crop Damage, And Environmental Impacts In Response To Control Efforts, Joseph W. Treichler, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Charles R. Taylor, James C. Beasley

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background

As the population and range of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) continue to grow across North America, there has been an increase in environmental and economic damages caused by this invasive species, and control efforts to reduce damages have increased concomitantly. Despite the expanding impacts and costs associated with population control of wild pigs, the extent to which wild pig control reduces populations and diminishes environmental and agricultural damages are rarely quantified.The goal of this study is to quantify changes in wild pig relative abundance and subsequent changes in damages caused by invasive wild pigs in response to …

Digestibility And Nutrients Of Whole Corn Plant, Gavin Harsh, Jana L. Gramkow, Robert G. Bondurant, Shelby E. Gardine, Andrea K. Watson, Terry J. Klopfenstein

UCARE Research Products

In 2013, Nebraska planted roughly nine million acres of corn, the third most in the United States and continues to grow. Therefore, beef production resources have become scarce and relatively expensive. The diminished pasture forages available for grazing cattle has ignited the importance and need for alternative uses. Nebraska has a strong advantage over several other states, as there is an abundant supply of corn residue to compensate for these shortages. The research conducted shows the differences in the amount of residue produced and digestibility of each plant part per treatment.

Objective: 1.) Determine if the amount of residue to …

Harvest Date Influence On Dry Matter Yield And Moisture Of Corn And Stover, Haibo Huang, Dan B. Faulkner, Larry L. Berger, Steven R. Eckhoff

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Harvest date greatly affects the biomass yield, moisture, and quality of corn and stover. Traditionally, corn and stover have been harvested at lower moisture levels. However, corn stover and grain can be more effectively utilized as animal feed and biomass-ethanol feedstock if they are collected before in-field dry down. This study determined dry matter yield, moisture content, and quality of corn and stover before, during, and after grain maturity in central Illinois. The two-year average kernel moisture was 37.4% (w.b.) when reaching physiological maturity. At the same time, the average stover moisture was 67.7% (w.b.). The dry matter yield of …

Interaction Between Roughages And Corn Milling Byproducts In Finishing Cattle Diets, Joshua R. Benton

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

During ethanol production, starch is the primary nutrient fermented and the remaining byproducts are excellent sources of fiber and protein. In addition, inclusion of byproducts in finishing diets may reduce the incidence of acidosis. As a result, roughage level and quality could potentially be reduced in finishing diets containing byproducts. Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of roughage and wet corn gluten feed (WCGF) in finishing cattle diets containing corn distillers grains plus solubles. Cattle fed finishing diets containing wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS) with no roughage had decreased DMI and ADG compared to cattle fed roughage. …

Evaluating Chemical Deterrence At Two Spatial Scales: The Effectiveness Of Chemical Deterrence For Sandhill Cranes In Cornfields, Anne E. Lacy, Jeb A. Barzen

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

From 2006 through 2008, 9,10 anthraquinone (sold as Avitec™) was used as a deterrent on planted corn seed in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. ICF conducted field trials in Wisconsin to determine efficacy of Avitec™ to repel sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) from germinating corn. We assessed crane use at 2 levels: between and within habitats by crane population surveys to determine crane use of fields, and corn density surveys to assess possible damage within fields. In addition, corn seed samples were taken to assess amount of active ingredient on treated corn seeds in the ground. In 2008 the concentrations …

Effect Of Feeding Das-59122-7 Corn Grain And Nontransgenic Corn Grain To Individually Fed Finishing Steers, T. J. Huls, G. E. Erickson, T. J. Klopfenstein, Matt K. Luebbe, K. J. Vander Pol, D. W. Rice, B. Smith, M. Hinds, F. Owens, M. Liebergesell

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

An experiment was conducted to evaluate feeding transgenic corn containing the cry34Ab1 and cry35Ab1 genes from a Bacillus thuringiensis strain and the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (pat) gene from Streptomyces viridochromogenes to finishing cattle compared with nontransgenic corn. Expression of the cry34Ab1 and cry35Ab1 genes confers resistance to corn rootworms, and the pat gene confers tolerance to herbicides containing glufosinate-ammonium. Sixty crossbred steers (396 kg) were individually fed either transgenic corn (DAS-59122-7; 59122), a near-isogenic, nontransgenic control (Control), and a conventional, nontransgenic corn for 109 d to evaluate nutritional equivalency (20 steers/treatment). The corn was coarsely rolled (geometric mean diameter = 4,200 …

Trends In Sandhill Crane Numbers In Eastern New Mexico, James B. Montgomery Jr.

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Following a 1980s decline in the number of cranes in the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge area of the Pecos River Valley in eastern New Mexico, peak fall migration numbers increased from 5,640 in 1989-90 to 15,790 in 2003-04 and 13,650 in 2004-05. Concurrently, hectares of corn grown for silage to feed dairy cows increased from 1,781 in 1989 to 8,013 in 2003 and 7,325 in 2004. The population goals of the NM Department of Game and Fish are being met but a downturn in the dairy industry could result in a decline in crane numbers.

Effects Of Grazing Residues Or Feeding Corn From A Corn Rootworm-Protected Hybrid (Mon 863) Compared With Reference Hybrids On Animal Performance And Carcass Characteristics, K. J. Vander Pol, Galen E. Erickson, N. D. Robbins, L. L. Berger, C. B. Wilson, Terry J. Klopfenstein, E. P. Stanisiewski, G. F. Hartnell

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

One grazing and two feeding experiments were conducted to compare the feeding value of corn residue or corn grain from a genetically enhanced corn hybrid (corn rootworm-protected; event MON 863) with nontransgenic, commercially available, reference hybrids. In Exp. 1, two 13.7-ha fields, containing corn residues from either a genetically enhanced corn rootworm- protected hybrid (MON 863), or a near-isogenic, nontransgenic control hybrid (CON) were divided into four equal-sized paddocks. Sixty-four steer calves (262 ± 15 kg) were stratified by BW and assigned randomly to paddock to achieve a stocking rate of 0.43 ha/steer for 60 d, with eight steers per …

Do Arctic-Nesting Geese Compete With Sandhill Cranes For Waste Corn In The Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska?, Gary L. Krapu, David A. Brandt, Robert R. Cox Jr.

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Numbers of arctic-nesting geese staging in spring in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of southcentral Nebraska increased dramatically from the 1970s to the 1990s, raising concerns that geese may be competing with the mid-continental population of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) for waste corn. From late February to mid-April 1998-2001, we measured temporal patterns of cropland use, evaluated habitat preferences, and compared numbers of geese using the primary crane-occupied parts of the CPRV area with numbers of sandhill cranes. Numbers of Canada geese (Branta canadensis), lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens)/ Ross’ geese (Chen …

Evidence Of A Decline In Fat Storage By Midcontinental Sandhill Cranes In Nebraska During Spring: A Preliminary Assessment, Gary L. Krapua, David A. Brandt, Deborah A. Buhl, Gary W. Lingle

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

When an ice storm killed an estimated 2,000 sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) in Nebraska on 24 March 1996, we retrieved the fresh carcasses of 118 adults to test for a decline in the condition of spring-staging cranes from that date in 1978 and 1979. We first conducted a principle component analysis on 3 morphological variables (tarsus, exposed culmen, and wing chord [flattened]) and used the first principal component (PC1) as an index of body size. Then, to account for variation in body mass due to size, we regressed body mass on …

Sterol Composition Of The Corn Root Lesion Nematode, Pratylenchus Agilis, And Corn Root Cultures, David J. Chitwood, William R. Lusby

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Sterols from mixed stages of the com root lesion nematode, Pratylenchus agilis, and uninfected corn root cultures were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Twenty-eight sterols were identified in P. agilis, including nine not previously detected in nematodes. The major sterols were 24-ethylcholest-22-enol, 24-ethylcholesta-5,22-dienol, 24-methy1cholestanol, 24-ethylcholestanol, isofucostanol, and 24-ethylcholesterol. The principal corn root sterols were 24-ethylcholesta-5,22-dienol, 24-methylcholesterol, 24-ethylcholesterol, isofucosterol, and cycloartenol. Therefore, the major metabolic transformation of sterols by P. agilis was saturation of the sterol nucleus. In addition, very small amounts of 4α-methylsterols were biosynthesized by P. agilis. The 4-methylation pathway is unique to nematodes and was …

Fifty Years Of Achievement In Agricultural Investigation, R. T. Prescott

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

In Nebraska, a hustling frontier state in 1887, the legislature hesitated not at all in taking advantage of the provisions of the Hatch Act, and now that fifty years have elapsed since the Station was founded, seventy-five years since the Land Grant College Act was passed and the U. S. Department of Agriculture established, and almost twenty-five years since the Agricultural Extension Service was added, it seems worth while to present a general summary of achievement within the state. The main object will be to show some of the important things that have been learned through the investigations of the …

A Manual For Hog Raisers, W. J. Loeffel

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

Hogs are one of Nebraska's principal sources of agricultural income. The popularity of the pig is doubtless due largely to his efficiency as a meat producer. He uses less feed to make a given gain than either the steer or the sheep. On being slaughtered, the pig dresses out a higher percentage of meat than either of the other two meat animals. Since pork is generally fatter than beef or lamb, it has a higher energy value. Pork lends itself to curing processes and, as cured meat and lard, occupies an important place in the world's commerce. Processing aids in …

The Vitamin A Content Of Soybean Silage And Of A.I.V., Molasses, And Common Corn Silages, And The Effect Of Feeding These Materials Upon The Vitamin A Content Of Milk, I. L. Hathaway, H. P. Davis, J. C. Brauer

Historical Research Bulletins of the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station

A study was made of the vitamin A content of soybean silage, and of A.l.V., molasses, and common corn silage. The silages were fed to groups of cows and the vitamin A content of their milk determined. The vitamin A determinations were made by feeding the silage or the milk to groups of rats whose body stores of this vitamin had been depleted by being fed a vitamin-A-deficient ration. Approximately 780 rats were used in these experiments. There were no apparent ill effects of feeding as much as 3.2 grams of the A.l.V. silage per rat per day for eight …

Nutrient Requirements Of Growing Chicks, F. E. Mussehl

Historical Research Bulletins of the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station

The object of our experimental work was to establish if possible certain principles of poultry nutrition, permitting later a better combination of natural feedstuffs with the highest growth efficiency.

Better Rations - More Eggs, F. E. Mussehl

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

Well-bred and well-fed hens are conceded to be economical producers of a very wholesome food product, eggs, but our hens are not miracle workers and they insist on the right kind of raw material for building the egg. Nebraska poultry growers fortunately have all the natural feeds - corn, wheat, oats, barley, and dairy and packing house by-products - readily available at lower cash prices than prevail in most other states, and so our special problem is that of combining them so that eggs may be produced at the lowest cost per dozen.

Pork Production In Nebraska, E. A. Burnett

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

This circular discusses a variety of recommendations to produce pork profitably during World War I.