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Effect Of Sample Processing Procedures On Measurement Of Starch In Corn Silage And Corn Grain, M. B. Hall, D. R. Mertens

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Methods for processing feedstuffs before analysis can affect analytical results. Effects of drying temperature (corn silage), preservation method (corn grain), and grinding method (corn silage and grain) on starch analysis values were evaluated. Corn silage samples dried at 55 or 105°C and grain samples dried at 55°C were ground to pass the 1-mm screen of an abrasion mill or cutting mill and analyzed for free glucose and starch corrected for free glucose. Starch analyses were performed in triplicate to assess the effect of treatment on precision of starch determination. Drying at 105°C decreased free glucose and tended to decrease starch …

Initial Response Of Evapotranspiration From Tallgrass Prairie Vegetation To Co2 At Subambient To Elevated Concentrations, H. W. Polley, H. B. Johnson, P. A. Fay, J. Sanabria

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

A series of weighing lysimeters in which tallgrass prairie species had been planted were exposed to a subambient to elevated gradient in CO₂ in a field chamber. Lysimeters with intact monoliths of three soil types were represented along the CO₂ gradient. We used regression analysis to determine how CO₂ effects on evapotranspiration per unit of soil surface area (ET_soil) and per unit of leaf area (ET_la) depended on variation in leaf area index (LAI) and diurnal changes in environmental variables during the initial 6 weeks of CO₂ treatment.

Growth And Feed Efficiency Of Juvenile Channel Catfish Reared At Different Water Temperatures And Fed Diets Containing Various Levels Of Fish Meal, Menghe H. Li, Edwin H. Robinson, Brian C. Peterson, Terry D. Bates

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus do not feed well at low temperatures. It is generally thought that a diet containing fish meal enhances feed palatability at low temperatures since fish meal is highly palatable to fish. There is a lack of information on the effects of fish meal levels on the growth performance of channel catfish reared at low temperatures. Therefore, a study was conducted in a recirculating system to examine the effects of fish meal levels on the feed consumption, weight gain, and feed efficiency of juvenile channel catfish reared at various temperatures. Fish with an initial weight of 9.6 …

Improving Grassland Profitability In The Mid-Continental Usa By Breeding For Improved Forage Digestibility: Lessons Learned And Applications To South American Grasslands Lncrementos Na Lucratividade De Pastagens No Centro Continental Dos Estados Unidos Da America Do Norte Pelo Melhoramento Para Melhor Digestibilidade De Forragens: L I~6esap Rendidas E Implicaq6es Para Pastagens Na America Do Sul, Kenneth P. Vogel, Cesar Heraclides Behling Miranda

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

In the early 1970's research was initiated by the cooperative USDA-ARS and University of Nebraska grass breeding program to develop perennial grasses adapted to the mid-continental USA with improved forage quality. The initial breeding and animal evaluation work focused on switchgrass (Panicurn virgatum) but has since expanded to several other warmand cool-season perennial grasses. The in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) test was selected as the measure of forage quality that was used in the breeding work because of its previous successful application on improving bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon). In all of the grass species that we …

Enteric Bacteria Of Field-Collected Colorado Potato Beetle Larvae Inhibit Growth Of The Entomopathogens Photorhabdus Temperata And Beauveria Bassiana, Michael B. Blackburn, Dawn E. Gundersen-Rindal, Donald C. Weber, Phyllis A. W. Martin, Robert R. Farrar Jr.

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The nematode Heterorhabditis marelatus fails to reproduce in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, possibly due to interference from the enteric bacteria of the beetle. Specifically, the enteric bacteria inhibit the growth of Photorhabdus temperata, the enteric symbiont of the nematode, in vitro. However, previous work was based on a laboratory culture of L. decemlineata, and we wished to determine if similar bacteria were present in the field. Therefore, we cultured the enteric bacteria of fourth-instar larvae collected from the field at two locations in Maryland and Virginia. Representatives of the genera Pantoea, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas …

Sex-Specific Feeding Rates And Provisioning Of Fruit To Nestling Bell's Vireo, Greg H. Farley

The Prairie Naturalist

Provisioning of fruit to nestlings and possible sex-specific differences in feeding rate have not been reported for Bell's vireo (Vireo bellii; Brown 1993). While studying nesting ecology of Bell's vireo on Konza Prairie Biological Station, Geary and Riley counties, Kansas, I quantified feeding rate by sex and food type delivered to nestlings. Sex was determined by capturing adults with mist-nets and inspecting for a cloacal protuberance, as well as conducting behavioral observations of uniquely-marked individuals. Males sing regularly while moving around territories, as well as during incubation (Nolan 1960). I assigned "female" to the individual in these socially …

Trans Fatty Acids Provide Evidence Of Anthropogenic Feeding By Black Bears, Gregory W. Thiemann, Randal S. Stahl, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, Stewart W. Breck

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Bears (Ursus spp.) that become conditioned to anthropogenic food sources pose a risk to human safety and generally need to be relocated, rehabilitated, or destroyed. Identifying food-conditioned bears may be difficult if the animal is not captured or killed while immediately engaged in the nuisance behavior. Fatty acid signature analysis has been used to examine the dietary habits of bears and other carnivores and is based on the predictable incorporation of ingested fatty acids into the consumer’s fat stores. Unusual fatty acids that are available in only a few food types may be particularly useful dietary markers. In this …

Demographics Of Non-Hunted White-Tailed Deer Populations In Suburban Areas, Anthony J. Denicola, Dwayne R. Etter, Thomas Almendinger

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Burgeoning deer populations in urban and suburban areas, along with the inherent problems stemming from this increase, are becoming increasingly widespread. To address these problems, wildlife biologists need quality baseline data of herd composition for harvest and treatment forecasts for management and fertility control research programs. In this study, we provide white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population data from 4 areas where localized suburban white-tailed deer populations were substantially reduced utilizing sharpshooting as a management tool. In each area, legal hunting was nonexistent for >10 years preceding the sharpshooting program. The areas ranged in size from 300 ha to …

Deer–Vehicle Collision Prevention Techniques, Lauren L. Mastro, Michael R. Conover, S. Nicole Frey

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Every year in the United States approximately 1.5 million deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) occur resulting in >29,000 human injuries, >200 human fatalities, 1.3 million deer fatalities, and >1 billion dollars worth of property damage. Despite the magnitude of this problem, there are relatively few well-designed studies that have evaluated techniques that can be used to reduce DVCs. Techniques to reduce DVCs fall into 4 categories: reducing the number of deer (Odocoileus spp.), reducing the number of vehicles, modifying deer behavior, and changing motorist behavior. Techniques to reduce the number of deer include decreasing the deer population or excluding deer from …

Gnrh Immunocontraception Of Male And Female White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Lowell A. Miller, James P. Gionfriddo, Jack C. Rhyan, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Donald C. Wagner, Gary J. Killian

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Immunocontraceptive vaccines based on gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) have been tested in adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), but their effects on fawns are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if early immunization against GnRH would induce a long-lasting immune response in fawns, and if it would delay or prevent sexual development. We gave primary and subsequent booster injections of a KLH-GnRH/Freund’s vaccine to 6 male and 6 female fawns. This vaccine contained the same active ingredients as GonaCon™ vaccine, but it contained Freund’s adjuvant instead of AdjuVac™ adjuvant. Two 450-μg injections were given 1 month apart …

Landscape And Traffic Factors Influencing Deer–Vehicle Collisions In An Urban Enviroment, Janet W. Ng, Charlene Nielson, Colleen Cassady St. Clair

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) are steadily increasing across North America. The increase is particularly pronounced in urban green spaces where deer (Odocoileus spp.) populations and road densities are high. In the greater city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 333 DVCs occurred from 2002 to 2004. To identify landscape and traffic correlates of these collisions, we built 3 statistical models. The first model assessed the importance of local variables and was based on a spatial precision of the nearest intersection to which collisions were referenced. The second model was based on landscape characteristics and used the nearest township intersection to aggregate collisions. …

Total Body Water Estimations In Healthy Men And Women Using Bioimpedance Spectroscopy: A Deuterium Oxide Comparison, Jordan R. Moon, Sarah E. Tobkin, Michael D. Roberts, Vincent J. Dalbo, Chad M. Kerksick, Michael G. Bemben, Joel T. Cramer, Jeffrey R. Stout

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Total body water (TBW) estimations have been used to estimate body composition, particularly fat-free mass, to aid in nutritional interventions, and to monitor hydration status. In the past, bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) devices have been used to estimate TBW. Previous investigations have examined the validity of the XiTRON 4000B (XiTRON Technologies) BIS device for estimating TBW. Recently, a new BIS device (Imp™ SFB7) has become available, claiming greater precision when estimating TBW. The Imp™ SFB7 (SFB7) is based on similar BIS principles, while offering increased portability and a greater range of frequencies when compared to older devices, such as the …

Minimal Nutrition Intervention With High-Protein/Low-Carbohydrate And Low-Fat, Nutrient-Dense Food Supplement Improves Body Composition And Exercise Benefits In Overweight Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Christopher M. Lockwood, Jordan R. Moon, Sarah E. Tobkin, Ashley A. Walter, Abbie E. Smith, Vincent J. Dalbo, Joel T. Cramer, Jeffrey R. Stout

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Exercise and high-protein/reduced-carbohydrate and -fat diets have each been shown separately, or in combination with an energy-restricted diet to improve body composition and health in sedentary, overweight (BMI > 25) adults. The current study, instead, examined the physiological response to 10 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance exercise (EX) versus exercise + minimal nutrition intervention designed to alter the macronutrient profile, in the absence of energy restriction, using a commercially available high-protein/low-carbohydrate and low-fat, nutrient-dense food supplement (EXFS); versus control (CON).

Methods: Thirty-eight previously sedentary, overweight subjects (female = 19; male = 19) were randomly assigned to either CON (n …

Pre-Workout Consumption Of Celsius® Enhances The Benefits Of Chronic Exercise On Body Composition And Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Jeffrey R. Stout, Jordan R. Moon, Sarah E. Tobkin, Christopher M. Lockwood, Abbie E. Smith, Jennifer L. Graef, Kristina L. Kendall, Travis W. Beck, Joel T. Cramer

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The functional beverage Celsius®, has recently been shown, after acute and chronic (28 days) consumption, to increase resting metabolism and serum blood markers of lipolysis in healthy, college-aged men and women. The purpose of this study was to examine the combined effects of a 10-week exercise program while consuming Celsius® on body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness changes in sedentary men and women.

The Effect Of Beta-Alanine Supplementation On Neuromuscular Fatigue In Elderly (55–92 Years): A Double-Blind Randomized Study, Jeffrey R. Stout, B. Sue Graves, Abbie E. Smith, Michael J. Hartman, Joel T. Cramer, Travis W. Beck, Roger C. Harris

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Ageing is associated with a significant reduction in skeletal muscle carnosine which has been linked with a reduction in the buffering capacity of muscle and in theory, may increase the rate of fatigue during exercise. Supplementing beta-alanine has been shown to significantly increase skeletal muscle carnosine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of ninety days of beta-alanine supplementation on the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWC_FT) in elderly men and women.

Methods: Using a double-blind placebo controlled design, twenty-six men (n = 9) and women (n = 17) (age ± …

Beta-Alanine Supplementation And High-Intensity Interval Training Augments Metabolic Adaptations And Endurance Performance In College-Aged Men, Abbie E. Smith, Ashley A. Walter, Kristina L. Kendall, Jennifer L. Graef, Christopher M. Lockwood, Jordan R. Moon, Travis W. Beck, Joel T. Cramer, Jeffery R. Stout

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the effects β-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on endurance performance.

Improving Human Health With Beef Products, Marilynn Schnepf

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The optimum diet for humans has been the subject of much debate ever since it was discovered in the nineteenth century that certain nutrients in food were essential for human health. Nutrition science is a relatively young science with new information being presented about the role that foods and the nutrients they contain play in human health. The connection between the foods we eat and overall health is becoming more evident. The role that meat and specifically beef plays in our diets continues to be a topic of interest among the public as well as nutrition researchers. The purpose of …

Colorado Homestead Ranches – Our Success Story: How Do We Sell Branded Beef Direct To The Consumer, Robbie Baird Levalley, Dawn D. Thilmany, Dale Dexter, Jim Ayer, Susan Ayer, Karl And Joetta Burns, Jess, Lynda, Calvin, Tracy, And Chad Campbell, Steve And Wendy Kossler, Mark, Hank, And Robbie Levalley, Mark And Jody Roeber, Norm And Susan Smith

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Colorado Homestead Ranches (CHR) markets natural beef, pork and lamb direct to Western Slope consumers. CHR is a partnership of six ranches that own their own USDA packing plant, a wildgame processing facility, and two storefronts. CHR markets direct to consumers via retail and farmers markets, restaurants, and wholesale distributors. CHR produces and markets value added sausage, jerky, meat sticks, and ready to cook entrees. The current strategic position of CHR is marketing of a niche, differentiated line of beef products, targeted at consumers who want a consistent quality product, raised on Colorado ranches, with natural production practices.

Cow Condition And Reproductive Performance, Julie Walker, George Perry

Range Beef Cow Symposium

It has been understood for decades that reproductive performance is the most important factor affecting production efficiency of a cow-calf enterprise. To maintain a yearly calving interval (one calf every 365 days), a cow must re-breed in 80 to 85 days after calving. With the nutrient priority of beef cattle being body maintenance, growth, lactation, fetal growth, breeding, and body reserve according to Short et al. (1990) indicates that reproduction is low on the list. Body condition score at parturition has been implicated as the single most important factor affecting postpartum interval to estrus and pregnancy in multiparous cows.

Why Did We Change To June Calving?, Paul D. Redd

Range Beef Cow Symposium

We finally admitted we were violating our own principles, for 50 years we have said:
We believe it makes good cow sense to:
1- Use yearling bulls
2- Sell the old bull
3- Buy only top end performance bulls
4- Buy the best bulls you can find.
5- Take advantage of hybrid vigor
6- Don’t buy fat bulls
7- Make Mother Nature your partner. Build a cow herd adapted to work efficiently in your country (your environment). Keep those good producing cows that wean a good calf every year. Cull the cows that don’t pull their weight.
8- Select four …

Benefits Of Weaning Calves At Younger Than Traditional Ages, Trey Patterson

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The term “Early Weaning” tends to be used rather loosely in the Beef Industry, and producers can find many articles claiming benefits of early weaning. A few questions arise. How early is early weaning? Is there economic benefit to weaning early? We will address these questions in this paper.

At the Range Beef Cow Symposium XIV, Whittier (1995) categorized early weaning as 1) weaning before the start of the breeding season (birth to 90 days) or 2) weaning during the breeding season (90 to 160 days). Weaning calves before the start of the breeding season has shown to improve reproductive …

Successful Ai And Synchronization Secrets: It’S In The Details, G. Cliff Lamb

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Estrous synchronization and artificial insemination (AI) are reproductive management tools that have been available to beef producers for over 30 years. Synchronization of the estrous cycle has the potential to shorten the calving season, increase calf uniformity, and enhance the possibilities for utilizing AI. Artificial insemination allows producers the opportunity to infuse superior genetics into their operations at costs far below the cost of purchasing a herd sire of similar standards. These tools remain the most important and widely applicable reproductive biotechnologies available for beef cattle operations (Seidel, 1995). However, beef producers have been slow to utilize or adopt these …

Heifer Development – Then And Now, Richard N. Funston, Jeremy Martin, Andy Roberts

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Studies in numerous species provide evidence that diet during development can partially control physiological changes necessary for puberty (Frisch, 1984). Energy balance or plane of nutrition influences reproductive performance in heifers and cows (Short and Adams, 1988; Butler and Smith, 1989; Swanson, 1989; Randel, 1990; Robinson, 1990). Numerous studies have reported inverse correlations between post-weaning growth rate and age at puberty (Wiltbank et al., 1966, 1969, 1985; Short and Bellows, 1971; Arije and Wiltbank, 1971; Ferrell, 1982), and pregnancy rates in heifers were shown to be dependent upon the number displaying estrus prior to or early in the breeding season …

Nutrition During Gestation And Fetal Programming, K. A. Vonnahme

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Historically, considerable efforts have been made to understand how nutrition impacts health and productivity during the postnatal period. While maternal nutrition during pregnancy plays an essential role in proper fetal and placental development, less is known about how maternal nutrition impacts the health and productivity of the offspring. Indeed, the prenatal growth trajectory is sensitive to the direct and indirect effects of maternal dietary intake from the earliest stages of embryonic life when the nutrient requirements for conceptus growth are negligible (Robinson et al., 1977). Not only is neonatal health compromised, but the subsequent health may be “programmed” as offspring …

Preparing Calves For The Feedlot, Daniel U. Thomson

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Evidence based medicine is a balancing act between data and experience (Apley and Thomson, 2003). Decision making with just experience and no data has been termed “wizardry.” This would be similar as to saying we used drug A last year and they all died. This year we used drug B and they all lived. Great! Scientists and statisticians need not apply to work in this environment. The friendly drug representative that sells drug B is the expert. Paralyzed indecision is using only data with no experience to make decisions. This is the art of trying to fix problems from a …

The Immune System And Recovery From Sickness In Cattle, Gordon W. Brumbaugh

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Ideally, all diseases could be prevented and beef animals on-feed would finish healthy and with the highest quality of meat. That isn’t realistic for most diseases. In spite the best efforts, some animals will become sick and require treatment. Calves with bovine respiratory disease (BRD) that required more than one treatment had decreased quality of meat and economic returns than did calves that did not develop BRD or responded after one treatment. (Hicks, 2006; McNeill, 1999; Wagner, et al., 2006) Calf-hood diseases in heifer calves had measurable effects on maternal performance for several years. (Waltner-Toews et al., 1986; van der …

I. Basic Principles Used In The “Sandhills Calving System” And How They Apply To Other Production Environments, David R. Smith

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Diarrhea is one of the most likely reasons young beef calves become sick or die.(45) Besides its detriment to calf health and well-being, calf scours is costly to cattle producers due to poor calf performance, death, and the expense of medications and labor to treat sick calves. (3, 41) In addition, catching and treating young calves puts herd owners and their employees at risk of injury, and many producers become disheartened after investing long hours to treat scouring calves during an already exhausting calving season.

Calf scours is a complex disease, with many interrelated causes.(1, 2, 37) Agent, host, and …

Delivery Of Supplements Of Rangelands, Kenneth C. Olson, Adele Harty

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Supplementation of cows grazing rangelands is often beneficial to overcome nutrient deficiencies or imbalances. However, supplemental feeds and their delivery to the cow herd are expenses and thus supplementation decisions should be carefully made to ensure that costs are minimized and benefits in terms of cow performance exceed supplementation costs. When supplementing cows, there are questions that producers should ask themselves to determine the best management practices to provide the most cost effective supplement program for their operation. The first among these is the type of supplement to be provided in terms of whether it will provide the correct nutrient …

Creating Value And Preserving Margin With Commercial Cows, Jim Lerwick

Range Beef Cow Symposium

If the object of the game is to do what one enjoys while making outstanding margin, we in the cow business have enjoyed one of the greatest opportunities in decades. Even though drought has made it an unequal distribution, and disease and politics have added considerable confusion, turning grass and other feed stuffs into marketable calves has been good. We have had challenges to enhance value for specific markets with new technologies. We have seen our aged cow and bull markets influenced heavily by border issues as well as premium meat markets disrupted by embargos and restrictions. Feed price has …

Use Of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy For Qualitative And Quantitative Analyses Of Grains And Cereal Products, Panjama Cheewapramong

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of the first part of the study was to develop a simplified near-infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy method for detecting insect larvae in individual wheat kernels. Discriminant analysis, based on Mahalanobis distances calculated from log 1/R data at only four discrete wavelengths, yielded better results for classification of sound and insect infested wheat kernels than principal component analysis (PCA) using the spectral region from 1100 to 1900 nm. This simplified technique was then used to detect 3- and 4-week-old larvae of granary and maize weevils in wheat kernels. A model developed from a calibration set containing sound kernels and …