Meat Science Commons^™

Managing The Beef Breeder Herd In Southern Western Australia, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

Kilograms of beef produced per hectare is a significant driver of profit for a beef business. Cow longevity (length of productive life) plays an important role in achieving a profitable business. A balanced approach to genetic selection and nutritional management are essential factors underpinning the efficiency of the breeding herd.

Characterizing And Evaluating Growth Performance And Poultry Production Efficiencies Using Conventional And Novel Monitoring Methods On Modern Broilers And Japanese Quail, Travis Tabler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The poultry industry is integral to the global agricultural system as consumption rates continue to rise worldwide. With the global population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, there is an increasing need for efficient and sustainable animal protein sources. Feed efficiency is a significant factor in poultry production costs, as feed accounts for 50 to 70% of total production costs. Given increasing concerns surrounding feed efficiency improvements, there is a focus on the genetic improvement of broiler digestibility to improve nutrient utilization and reduce production costs. Water availability is also of critical concern for the poultry industry, as estimates …

Meat Tenderness: Advances In Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Mechanisms And New Technologies, Robyn D. Warner, Tommy L. Wheeler, Minh Ha, Xin Li, Alaa El-Din Bekhit, James Morton, Rozita Vaskoska, Frank R. Dunshea, Rui Lui, Peter Purslow, Wangang Zhang

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

Meat tenderness is an important quality trait critical to consumer acceptance, and determines satisfaction, repeat purchase and willingness-to-pay premium prices. Recent advances in tenderness research from a variety of perspectives are presented. Our understanding of molecular factors influencing tenderization are discussed in relation to glycolysis, calcium release, protease activation, apoptosis and heat shock proteins, the use of proteomic analysis for monitoring changes, proteomic biomarkers and oxidative/nitrosative stress. Each of these structural, metabolic and molecular determinants of meat tenderness are then discussed in greater detail in relation to animal variation, postmortem influences, and changes during cooking, with a focus on recent …

The Ovarian Follicle Of Ruminants: The Path From Conceptus To Adult, Jennifer L. Juengel, Robert A. Cushman, Joëlle Dupont, Stéphane Fabre, Richard G. Lea, Graeme B. Martin, Francesca Mossa, Janet L. Pitman, Christopher A. Price, Peter Smith

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

This review resulted from an international workshop and presents a consensus view of critical advances over the past decade in our understanding of follicle function in ruminants. The major concepts covered include: (1) the value of major genes; (2) the dynamics of fetal ovarian development and its sensitivity to nutritional and environmental influences; (3) the concept of an ovarian follicle reserve, aligned with the rise of anti-Müllerian hormone as a controller of ovarian processes; (4) renewed recognition of the diverse and important roles of theca cells; (5) the importance of follicular fluid as a microenvironment that determines oocyte quality; (6) …

Managing And Buying Bulls, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

Weaning percentage and therefore conception rate, can significantly influence profitability in the breeder herd.

Bulls need to be managed to optimise their performance for the mating period to maximise conception rates. For producers retaining females in the breeding herd, bulls can have a significant impact on future herd productivity through the genetics they pass on.

Various tools are available to assess how a bull will perform before purchase, including visual appraisal, obtaining a bull breeding soundness examination (BBSE) and utilising estimated breeding values (EBVs).

Review: Perspective On High-Performing Dairy Cows And Herds, J. H. Britt, R. A. Cushman, C. D. Dechow, H. Dobson, P. Humblot, M. F. Hutjens, G. A. Jones, F. M. Mitloehner, P. L. Ruegg, I. M. Sheldon, J. S. Stevenson

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

Milk and dairy products provide highly sustainable concentrations of essential amino acids and other required nutrients for humans; however, amount of milk currently produced per dairy cow globally is inadequate to meet future needs. Higher performing dairy cows and herds produce more milk with less environmental impact per kg than lower performing cows and herds. In 2018, 15.4% of the world's dairy cows produced 45.4% of the world's dairy cow milk, reflecting the global contribution of high-performing cows and herds. In high-performing herds, genomic evaluations are utilized for multiple trait selection, welfare is monitored by remote sensing, rations are formulated …

Estimation Of Breed-Specific Heterosis Effects For Birth, Weaning, And Yearling Weight In Cattle, Lauren N. Schiermiester, R. M. Thallman, Larry Kuehn, Stephen D. Kachman, Matthew L. Spangler

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Heterosis, assumed proportional to expected breed heterozygosity, was calculated for 6834 individuals with birth, weaning and yearling weight records from Cycle VII and advanced generations of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) Germplasm Evaluation (GPE) project. Breeds represented in these data included: Angus, Hereford, Red Angus, Charolais, Gelbvieh, Simmental, Limousin and Composite MARC III. Heterosis was further estimated by proportions of British × British (B × B), British × Continental (B × C) and Continental × Continental (C × C) crosses and by breed-specific combinations. Model 1 fitted fixed covariates for heterosis within biological types while Model 2 fitted …

Genome-Wide Prediction Of Age At Puberty And Reproductive Longevity In Sows, Julie Kathleen Tart, Rodger K. Johnson, Justin W. Bundy, N. N. Ferdinand, A. M. Mcknite, Jennifer R. Wood, Phillip S. Miller, M. F. Rothschild, Matthew L. Spangler, Dorian J. Garrick, Stephen D. Kachman, Daniel C. Ciobanu

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Traditional selection for sow reproductive longevity is ineffective due to low heritability and late expression of the trait. Incorporation of DNA markers into selection programs is potentially a more practical approach for improving sow lifetime productivity. Using a resource population of crossbred gilts, we explored pleiotropic sources of variation that influence age at puberty and reproductive longevity. Of the traits recorded before breeding, only age at puberty significantly affected the probability that females would produce a first parity litter. The genetic variance explained by 1-Mb windows of the sow genome, compared across traits, uncovered regions that influence both age at …