Meat Science Commons^™

Performance And Economics Of Supplementing Yearlings On Smooth Bromegrass Pastures, Cody A. Welchons, Robert G. Bondurant, Terry J. Klopfenstein Klopfenstein, Jim C. Macdonald, Andrea K. Watson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Ten years of performance data from 2005– 2014 were summarized to evaluate the effects of distillers grains plus solubles supplementation or fertilization of smooth bromegrass on performance and economic profitability of yearling steers with corn priced at either $3,4, or 5/bu and DGS priced at either 95, 105, or 115% the price of corn. Steers supplemented with distillers grains on non- fertilized smooth bromegrass had greater ADG (2.37 lb/d) compared with unsupplemented steers (1.69 lb/d). Unsupplemented steers grazing fertilized and nonfertilized pasture had similar gains; however, steers grazing fertilized pasture were more profitable due to savings in land rent. Supplemented …

Effect Of Pelleted Byproducts On Performance When Fed To Growing Cattle, Cody A. Welchons, Curtis J. Bittner, Dirk Burken Burken, Jim C. Macdonald, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Heifers fed a basal diet of either low or high quality forage were supplemented with a corn residue and corn by- product pellet at 0, 0.5, or 1.0% of BW. A linear increase in final BW, ADG, and feed efficiency was observed as supplement increased for heifers fed high quality forage while a quadratic response was observed for those fed low quality forage. Increasing supplement linearly decreased daily average forage dry matter intake from 16.5 lb to 12.6 lb at 0 and 1.0% of BW, respectively. Accordingly, as supplement intake increased, total dry matter intake increased linearly from 16.5 lb …

Table Of Contents 2016 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

No abstract provided.

2016 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report (Complete)

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Contents

Cow/Calf: Effects of Wintering System on Cow and Calf Performance in a Summer-Calving Intensive Production System ● How Many Clean-up Bulls Are Needed after Estrus Synchronization and Artificial Insemination? ● Economics of Rebreeding Non-pregnant Females ● Effect of MGA vs CIDR Estrus Synchronization on Estrus Response and Pregnancy Rates in 311 d Old Beef Heifers ● Comparison of TAI at GnRH Injection and Delayed Insemination of Non-estrus Beef Heifers ● Effect of Dam Age on Offspring Productivity ● Cows with Excess Androgen are Anovulatory and Have Differing Patterns of Progesterone Secretion ● Granulosa Cell Exposure to Excess Androgens Inhibits …

Differential Contribution Of Genomic Regions To Marked Genetic Variation And Prediction Of Quantitative Traits In Broiler Chickens, Rostam Abdollaha- Arpanahi, Gota Morota, Bruno D. Valente, Andreas Kranis, Guilherme J. M. Rosa, Daniel Gianola

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Background: Genome-wide association studies in humans have found enrichment of trait-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in coding regions of the genome and depletion of these in intergenic regions. However, a recent release of the ENCyclopedia of DNA elements showed that ~80 % of the human genome has a biochemical function. Similar studies on the chicken genome are lacking, thus assessing the relative contribution of its genic and non-genic regions to variation is relevant for biological studies and genetic improvement of chicken populations. Methods: A dataset including 1351 birds that were genotyped with the 600K Affymetrix platform was used. We partitioned …

Epds And Risk, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

About 30 years ago there was concern in both the beef and dairy industries that too much emphasis was being given to accuracy of genetic evaluation. This article will discuss attempts to reduce emphasis on accuracy and, thus increase emphasis on the predictor of genetic value itself which is commonly known as estimated breeding value (EBV). Accuracy is a key component of more useful measures of risk such as standard error of prediction which can be used to create confidence ranges in units of measurement for true breeding value based on the EBV and the standard error of prediction. The …

Effects Of Sorghum Wet Distillers Grains Plus Solubles In Steam-Flaked Corn–Based Finishing Diets On Steer Performance, Carcass Characteristics, And Digestibility Characteristics, E. K. Buttrey, K. H. Noel, F. T. Mccollum Iii, N. A. Cole, L. O. Tedeschi, James C. Macdonald

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of sorghum wet distillers grains (SWDGS) in finishing diets on steer performance, carcass characteristics, and nutrient digestibility. In Exp. 1, 240 steers (initial BW = 379 ± 1 kg) were fed steam-flaked corn–based diets with or without 25% SWDGS and 7.5, 10.0, or 12.5% alfalfa hay. There were no effects of alfalfa hay concentration on BW, DMI, ADG, or G:F (P ≥ 0.16). Including SWDGS reduced (P ≤ 0.05) ADG and G:F. Fat thickness decreased (P = 0.03) and DP tended to decrease (P = 0.09) linearly as level of alfalfa hay …

Effects Of Increasing Soybean Hulls In Finishing Diets With Wet Or Modified Distillers Grains Plus Solubles On Performance And Carcass Characteristics Of Beef Steers, Curtis Bittner, Brandon L. Watson, C. J. Schneider, Dirk Burken, L. J. Johnson, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Galen E. Erickson

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Two experiments evaluated feeding soybean hulls (SBH) in finishing diets that contain distillers grains plus solubles on performance and carcass characteristics. Dietary concentrations of SBH were 0, 12.5, 25, and 37.5% of diet DM. In Exp. 1, 167 crossbred yearling steers (395 ± 22 kg of BW) were fed for 117 d in a randomized block design in which pelleted SBH replaced dry-rolled corn. All diets contained 25% modified distillers grains plus solubles, 15% corn silage, and 5% liquid supplement. As SBH concentration increased, DMI decreased linearly (P = 0.04). Gain and G:F decreased linearly (P < 0.01) in response to increasing concentrations of SBH, which decreased relative energy value from 91 to 79% of corn. Hot carcass weight linearly decreased (P < 0.01) by 24 kg as SBH increased. In Exp. 2, a randomized block design used 160 backgrounded steer calves (363 ± 16 kg of BW) in a 138-d finishing study with 0, 12.5, 25, or 37.5% SBH in the meal form. Basal ingredients consisted of a 1:1 ratio of high-moisture corn and dry-rolled corn, 40% wet distillers grains plus solubles, 8% sorghum silage, and 4% dry meal supplement. There was a tendency (P = 0.12) for a quadratic increase in ADG and G:F as dietary SBH increased, with numerically greatest ADG and G:F with 12.5% SBH. Feeding 12.5 to 25% SBH with 40% wet distillers grains plus solubles (Exp. 2) had little effect on performance but decreased ADG and G:F in diets with 25% modified distillers grains plus solubles (Exp. 1).

Effects Of Fat And/Or Methionine Hydroxy Analog Added To A Molasses-Urea-Based Supplement On Ruminal And Postruminal Digestion And Duodenal Flow Of Nutrients In Beef Steers Consuming Low-Quality Lovegrass Hay, R. Lopez, G. D. Bernhard, J. E. Guerra-Liera, S. A. Soto-Navarro, L. A. Balstad, M. K. Petersen, D. V. Dhuyvetter, M. S. Brown, C. R. Krehbiel

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Five crossbred beef steers (initial BW = 338.6 ± 7.8 kg) fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannulas were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design experiment to evaluate the effects of methionine hydroxy analog (MHA) and/or yellow grease (fat) added to a molassesurea- based supplement on intake and characteristics of digestion. Steers were fed low-quality hay (long-stem lovegrass Eragrostis curvula: 3.3% CP, 76.8% NDF; DM basis) ad libitum and supplemented with 0.91 kg/d (as fed) of 1 of 4 supplements in a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial arrangement of treatments. Supplemental treatments were 1) control (no supplement, …

Erratum: Divergent Activity Of The Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor Gene Promoter Among Genetic Lines Of Pigs Is Partially Conferred By Nuclear Factor (Nf)- Kb, Specificity Protein (Sp)1-Like And Gata-4 Binding Sites, Emily A. Mcdonald, Jacqueline E. Smith, Rebecca Cederberg, Brett R. White

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mesh-Informed Enrichment Analysis And Mesh-Guided Semantic Similarity Among Functional Terms And Gene Products In Chicken, Gota Morota, Timothy M. Beissinger, Francisco Peñagaricano

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Biomedical vocabularies and ontologies aid in recapitulating biological knowledge. The annotation of gene products is mainly accelerated by Gene Ontology (GO) and more recently by Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Here we report a suite of MeSH packages for chicken in Bioconductor and illustrate some features of different MeSH-based analyses, including MeSH-informed enrichment analysis and MeSH-guided semantic similarity among terms and gene products, using two lists of chicken genes available in public repositories. The two published data sets that were employed represent (i) differentially expressed genes and (ii) candidate genes under selective sweep or epistatic selection. The comparison of MeSH with …

Extension Demonstration Project Outcomes: Industry Adoption And Translation Of Project Deliverables, Matt Spangler

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Unfortunately, the amount of feed intake data available to U.S. beef breed associations is spars compared to the amount of data available for growth traits. This makes traditional pedigree-based genetic evaluation for feed intake or efficiency challenging. However, progress in this trait complex could be made as we know that dry matter intake and various “efficiency” traits would respond favorably to selection. Table 1 below depicts the heritability (on the diagonal) and genetic correlations (on the off diagonal) of several feed efficiency traits.

Effect Of Increasing Initial Implant Dosage On Feedlot Performance And Carcass Characteristics Of Long-Fed Steer And Heifer Calves1,2, F. H. Hilscher, M. N. Streeter, K. J. Vander Pol, B. D. Dicke, R. J. Cooper, D. J. Jordon, T. L. Scott, A. R. Vogstad, R. E. Peterson, B. E. Depenbusch, G. E. Erickson

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Three experiments evaluated initial implant strategies for finishing cattle. In Exp. 1, heifers (n = 1,405; initial BW = 282 kg) were given (1) Revalor-IH followed by Revalor-200 (REV-IH/200), (2) Revalor-H followed by Revalor-200 (REV-H/200), or (3) Revalor-200 followed by Revalor-200 (REV-200/200). Intake, ADG, and G:F were not affected (P ≥ 0.14) by implant strategies, nor were HCW and LM area (P ≥ 0.16). Percent USDA Choice was greater (P < 0.01) for Rev-IH/200 compared with Rev-H/200 and Rev-200/200. Experiment 2 used steers (n = 1,858; initial BW = 250 kg) given (1) Revalor-IS reimplanted with Revalor-200 (Rev-IS/200), (2) Revalor-XS followed by Revalor-IS (Rev-XS/IS), (3) Revalor-XS followed by Revalor-S (Rev-XS/S), or (4) Revalor-XS followed by Revalor-200 (Rev-XS/200). Implanting strategies did not affect (P ≥ 0.32) DMI or G:F. Carcass traits were not different (P ≥ 0.18) among treatments, except steers implanted with Rev-XS/200 had greater (P < 0.01) LM area. In Exp. 3, steers (n = 1,408; initial BW = 305 kg) were given (1) Rev-IS/200, (2) Rev-200/200, or (3) Rev-XS/200. Gain and G:F did not differ (P ≥ 0.36) among the 3 implant strategies, nor did HCW or marbling score (P ≥ 0.15). Steers given Rev-XS/200 had greater (P < 0.01) LM area and decreased (P ≤ 0.05) 12th-rib fat and YG compared with Rev-200/200 and Rev-IS/200. Using Rev-200/200 and Rev-XS/200 increased (P = 0.03) USDA Select compared with Rev-IS/200. Using greater-initial-dose implant strategies may not affect ADG or G:F but appears to increase leanness.

Effects Of Supplemental Energy And Protein Source On Performance Of Steers Grazing Irrigated Corn Residue, Benjamin T. Tibbitts, Jim C. Macdonald, Rick N. Funston Funston, Cody A. Welchons, Robert G. Bondurant, F. Henry Hilscher

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Steer calves grazing corn residue (86 d) were assigned to 1 of 5 treatments to evaluate the effects of protein and energy supplements on steer performance. Th e 5 treatments consisted of 1) un-supplemented control (NS), 2) dry rolled corn only (CRN), 3) 89% dry rolled corn/6% molasses/5% urea (C + RDP), 4) 60/40 blend of soy- pass/soybean meal (SP), and 5) dried distillers grains plus solubles (DGS). Supplements were fed to provide equal TDN intake. Average daily gain among treatments was 1.48, 1.32, 0.53, 0.31, and −0.18 lbs. for SP, DGS, C + RDP, CRN, and NS, respectively. Only …

Comparison Of Joint Angles For Feet And Leg Conformation Traits Between Gilts At Selection And At Their Second Gestation And Sows Parity 5 And Above, Joseph D. Stock, Julia A. Calderón Díaz, Benny E. Mote, Kenneth J. Stalder

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

This study is a portion from the validation process of an objective methodology to measure feet and leg joint angles and to evaluate their relationship with sow longevity. Joint angle measurements from five feet and leg conformation traits (knee, hock, front and rear pasterns and rear stance) that have been previously described in the literature as being related with sow longevity were obtained from maternal gilts at selection and during their second gestation and compared with those obtained from 45 crossbred sows parity 5 and above. Significant differences (P < 0.05) between parities were identified in the knee, both pasterns, hock and rear stance joint angle measurements. These results suggest that as pigs age, structural changes occur. The range of which these changes occur could carry implications for the use of objective feet and leg angles towards future selection programs and protocols.

Genomic Differences Between Preweaning Survival And Mortality Of Piglets Following Pedv Outbreaks, Francesca Bertolini, John C.S. Harding, Benny Mote, Graham S. Plastow, Max Rothschild

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) is a serious and potentially devastating disease in the US and Canadian pig industries. To investigate if there is genetic resistance to PEDV a total of 156 dead and 106 surviving neonatal piglets infected with PEDV were genotyped with over 60,000 genetic markers to investigate genetic differences between the two groups. This allows for the identification of genomic regions that could be linked to susceptibility/resistance to virus infection and in cellular components that are involved in the PED virus infection cycle, providing new insights on the genetic resistance to this disease.

Joint Angles For Feet And Leg Conformation Traits In Second Gestation Sows, Joseph D. Stock, Julia A. Calderón Díaz, Benny Mote, Kenneth J. Stalder

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

This study is a portion from the validation process of an

objective methodology to measure feet and leg joint angles

and to evaluate their relationship with sow longevity. Five

feet and leg conformation traits (knee, hock, front and rear

pasterns and rear stance) that have been described in the

literature as being related with sow longevity were selected

for this study. Profile and rear stance digital images were

obtained from 277 sows during their 2nd gestation (26.7 ±

17.2 days of gestation; range 0 to 87 days). Sows were

obtained from a single gilt population and were moved to

three …

Genetic And Genomic Basis Of Antibody Response To Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome (Prrs) In Gilts And Sows, Nick V. Serão, Robert A. Kemp, Benny Mote, Philip Willson, John C.S. Harding, Stephen C. Bishop, Graham S. Plastow, Jack C.M. Dekkers

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Background: Our recent research showed that antibody response to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), measured as sample-to-positive (S/P) ratio, is highly heritable and has a high genetic correlation with reproductive performance during a PRRS outbreak. Two major quantitative trait loci (QTL) on Sus scrofa chromosome 7 (SSC7; QTL_MHC and QTL₁₃₀) accounted for ~40 % of the genetic variance for S/P. Objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters for PRRS S/P in gilts during acclimation, identify regions associated with S/P, and evaluate the accuracy of genomic prediction of S/P across populations with different prevalences of …

Rumen Bacterial Community Composition In Holstein And Jersey Cows Is Different Under Same Dietary Condition And Is Not Affected By Sampling Method, Henry A. Paz, Christopher L., Makala J. Muller, Paul J. Kononoff, Samodha C. Fernando

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The rumen microbial community in dairy cows plays a critical role in efficient milk production. However, there is a lack of data comparing the composition of the rumen bacterial community of the main dairy breeds. This study utilizes 16S rRNA gene sequencing to describe the rumen bacterial community composition in Holstein and Jersey cows fed the same diet by sampling the rumen microbiota via the rumen cannula (Holstein cows) or esophageal tubing (both Holstein and Jersey cows). After collection of the rumen sample via esophageal tubing, particles attached to the strainer were added to the sample to ensure representative sampling …

Results Of Survey Of Stakeholders Regarding Knowledge Of And Attitudes Towards Feed Intake, Efficiency And Genetic Improvement Concepts, R. L. Weaber, J. E. Kerley, H. C. Freetly, D. J. Garrick, S. L. Hansen, K. A. Johnson, M. S. Kerley, D. D. Loy, E. Marques, H. L. Neibergs, E. J. Pollak, R. D. Schnabel, C. M. Seabury, D. W. Shike, M. L. Spangler, J. F. Taylor

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Individual animal feed efficiency plays a key role in the profitability and sustainability of the US beef industry. During the growing and finishing phase of production, a 10% improvement in feed efficiency has a two-fold greater impact on profit than a 10% increase in rate of gain (Fox et al., 2001). The traits that beef producers routinely record are outputs which determine the value of product sold and not the inputs defining the cost of beef production. The inability to routinely measure feed intake and feed efficiency on large numbers of cattle has precluded the efficient application of selection despite …

Development Of Economic Selection Indices For Beef Cattle Improvement, Kathleen P. Ochsner

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Profitability is the primary goal for most beef cattle producers. The main source of long-term profitability for a beef cattle operation lies in its production efficiency relative to other operations (Harris, 1970). There are numerous approaches to achieve greater efficiency including nutrition, reproduction, management, and genetics. The goal in animal breeding and genetics is to improve animal populations and future generations of animals (Dekkers et al., 2004). Expected progeny differences (EPD) are the traditional genetic tools used to select parents. A drawback to EPD is that they represent genetic merit in only one trait while in reality multiple traits influence …

Genomic Selection For Feed Efficiency Traits, Kashly Rene Schweer

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Feed costs comprise the majority of variable expenses in beef cattle systems making feed efficiency an important economic consideration within the beef industry (Koch et al., 1963; Dickerson et al., 1974). Aside from the direct economic impact of this trait complex at the individual producer level, the projections of global population growth provide extra pressure for efficient beef cattle production as producers try to combat the growing food demand with limited resources (Eggen, 2012). Improved feed efficiency also has an environmental impact through a decreased carbon footprint as more efficient cattle have fewer days to finish, emitting less methane throughout …

National Program For Genetic Improvement Of Feed Efficiency In Beef Cattle, Jerry Taylor, Monty Kerley, Robert Schnabel, Daniel Pomp, Dorian Garrick, Stephanie L. Hansen, Dan Loy, J. R. Tait, Robert Weaber, Chris Seabury, Jon Beever, Dan Faulkner, Dan Shike, Scott Fahrenkrug, Matt Spangler, Tad Sonstegard, Harvey C. Freetly, John Pollak, Kris Johnson, Holly Neibergs

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Our goal is to sustainably reduce feed resources required to produce beef via the rapid development and deployment of novel nutritional, genomic and genetic improvement technologies.

We will strengthen the international competitiveness of US agriculture and enable increased food production by increasing the animal protein produced without additional feed inputs and with a reduced greenhouse gas footprint.

Comparison Of Wet And Dry Distillers Grains Plus Solubles To Corn As An Energy Source In Forage-Based Diets, Nerissa Ann Ahern, Brandon L. Wingeyer, Terry J. Klopfenstein, James C. Macdonald, Galen E. Erickson, Andrea K. Watson

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Four experiments compared wet or dry distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS or DDGS) to corn as energy sources in forage-based diets. In Exp. 1, 66 individually fed steers (268 kg of initial BW) were fed a 60:40 blend of sorghum silage and alfalfa hay and supplemented at 0, 0.33, 0.67, or 1.0% of BW with either WDGS or DDGS. In Exp. 2, 160 steers (286 kg of initial BW) were fed 25% WDGS or 33.6% dry rolled corn (DRC) in 35% sorghum silage and grass hay diets (DM basis). In Exp. 3, 60 individually fed steers (231 kg of initial …

Vegfa Splicing: Divergent Isoforms Regulate Spermatogonial Stem Cell Maintenance, Kevin M. Sargent, Debra T. Rozell, Ningxia Lu, William E. Pohlmeier, Andrea S. Cupp

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Despite being well-known for regulating angiogenesis in both normal and tumorigenic environments, vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) has been recently implicated in male fertility, namely in the maintenance of spermatogonial stem cells (SSC). The VEGFA gene can be spliced into multiple distinct isoforms that are either angiogenic or antiangiogenic in nature. Although studies have demonstrated the alternative splicing of VEGFA, including the divergent roles of the two isoform family types, many investigations do not differentiate between them. Data concerning VEGFA in the mammalian testis are limited, but the various angiogenic isoforms appear to promote seminiferous cord formation and to …

Genome To Phenome: Improving Animal Health, Production, And Well-Being – A New Usda Blueprint For Animal Genome Research 2018–2027, Caird Rexroad, Jeffrey Vallet, Lakshmi Kumar Matukumalli, James Reecy, Derek Bickhart, Harvey Blackburn, Mark Boggess, Hans Cheng, Archie Clutter, Noelle Cockett, Catherine Ernst, Janet E. Fulton, John Liu, Joan Lunney, Holly Neibergs, Catherine Purcell, Timothy P. L. Smith, Tad Sonstegard, Jerry Taylor, Bhanu Telugu, Alison Van Eenennaam, Curtis P. Van Tassell, Kevin Wells

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

In 2008, a consortium led by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) published the “Blueprint for USDA Efforts in Agricultural Animal Genomics 2008–2017,” which served as a guiding document for research and funding in animal genomics. In the decade that followed, many of the goals set forth in the blueprint were accomplished. However, several other goals require further research. In addition, new topics not covered in the original blueprint, which are the result of emerging technologies, require exploration. To develop a new, updated blueprint, ARS and NIFA, along with scientists in the …

The Role Of Direct-Fed Microbials In Conventional Livestock Production, Joe O. Buntyn, Ty Schmidt, David J. Nisbet, Todd R. Callaway

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Supplementation of direct-fed microbials (DFM) as a means to improve the health and performance of livestock has generated significant interest over the past 15+ years. A driving force for this increased interest in DFM is to reduce or eliminate the use of low-dose antibiotics in livestock production. This increased attention toward DFM supplementation has generated an extensive body of research. This effort has resulted in conflicting reports. Although there has been considerable variation in the design of these studies, one of the main causes for this lack of consistency may be attributed to the variation in the experimental immune challenge …

Determination Of Yolk Contamination In Liquid Egg White Using Raman Spectroscopy, K. Cluff, G. Konda Naganathan, D. Jonnalagada, I. Mortensen, R. Wehling, Jeyamkondan Subbiah

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Purified egg white is an important ingredient in a number of baked and confectionary foods because of its foaming properties. However, yolk contamination in amounts as low as 0.01% can impede the foaming ability of egg white. In this study, we used Raman spectroscopy to evaluate the hypothesis that yolk contamination in egg white could be detected based on its molecular optical properties. Yolk contaminated egg white samples (n = 115) with contamination levels ranging from 0% to 0.25% (on weight basis) were prepared. The samples were excited with a 785 nm laser and Raman spectra from 250 to 3,200 …

Metabolic And Body Temperature Responses To Environmental Conditions Across Seasons In Finishing Steers, Bradley M. Boyd, Terry L. Mader, Curtis J. Bittner Bittner, Dirk Burken, Henry Hilscher, Gene Wijffels, John B. Gaughan, Megan Sullivan, Judy Cawdell- Smith, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Two trials (summer and winter) were conducted with 80 steers each at the UNL ARDC near Mead, Neb. Continuous body temperature was collected throughout both trials and blood samples were taken every other week until four weeks prior to harvest. Th is resulted in a total of 6 collections for the summer and 8 collections for the winter. Blood measures responded differently between seasons with significant quadratic interactions between collection time and season suggesting environmental conditions affect blood metabolites.

Effects Of Shade And Feeding Zilpaterol Hydrochloride To Finishing Steers On Performance, Carcass Quality, Heat Stress, Mobility, And Body Temperature, Bradley M. Boyd, Steven D. Shackelford, Kristin E. Hales Hales, Tami M. Brown- Brandl, Meredith L. Bremer, Matthew L. Spangler, Tommy L. Wheeler, David A. King, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A finishing study evaluated the effects of shade and feeding zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) on performance, carcass quality, mobility, and body temperature. No effect on body temperature, or performance was observed for shaded cattle versus cattle in open pens. Feeding ZH increased HCW, LM area and decreased yield grade. Zilpaterol hydrochloride increased respiration rate but did not significantly affect body temperature or mobility. Across all treatments mobility decreased with time, therefore, cattle were least mobile at the time of harvest.