Meat Science Commons^™

Impacts Of 40 Years Of The Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory On Beef Cattle And Range Systems, Jack C. Whittier, Kelly W. Bruns, Rick N. Funston Funston, Jerry D. Volesky, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Don C. Adams

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

The University of Nebraska (UNL) Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory (GSL) is a 12,800-acre research ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills. In 1978, Elmer “Pete” and Abbie Gudmundsen gifted the former Rafter C Ranch to the University of Nebraska Foundation. Thus, 2018 was the 40th year of UNL oversight of GSL. To the credit of UNL Administration, GSL development for range livestock research was delegated to a team of Research and Extension Specialists chaired by Dr. Don Clanton. Other members of that original team were Jim Nichols, Range Science; Gene Deutscher, Reproductive Physiologist; Dick Clark, Agricultural Economist; and Ivan Rush, Beef Extension Specialist. …

Evaluation Of Lactation Demands On Nutrient Balance In Two Calving Seasons In Range Cows Grazing Sandhills Upland Range, Travis Mulliniks, Don C. Adams

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A modeling study evaluated the effects of milk production level on nutrient balance in March-and May-calving cows grazing Sandhills upland range during the breeding season. Forage quality of upland range peaks in June and steadily declines in July until November. In March-calving cows, metabolizable protein (MP) and energy were deficient by July 1 in all milking potential cows, which is exacerbated in greater milking potential cows. May-calving cows with 20 to 30 lbs of milk are predicted to enter the breeding season with a deficiency in MP and energy. In an effort to match cow type to environment in the …

Impact Of Cow Size On Cow-Calf And Subsequent Steer Feedlot Performance, Molly Benell, Jacki A. Musgrave, Rick N. Funston Funston, J. Travis Mulliniks

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

This study retrospectively evaluated the effect of cow size on cow-calf performance and post-weaning steer feedlot performance of cows at the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, Whitman. Cows were categorized at small, medium, or moderate within cow age from 13 years of data. Small cows had decreased reproductive performance, weaned smaller calves, and produced steer progeny with smaller carcass weights. In this dataset and under the environmental and management conditions at Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, overall productivity of the cowherd decreased as cow size decreased with 1,150 to 1,200 lb cow being the most productive cow size.

Effects Of Maternal Late Gestation Nutrition On May-Born Steer Progeny, Alicia C. Lansford, Jacki A. Musgrave, T. L. Meyer, Rick N. Funston

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

May-calving dams were assigned to graze either sub-irrigated meadow or upland range with or without supplementation (1 lb/d 33% CP). Treatment began at approximately 160 d of gestation. Supplementation continued for 85 ± 2 d, while grazing system treatment continued for 116 ± 2 d. Steer progeny were backgrounded after weaning and then assigned to either a short or long yearling feedlot system. Dam supplementation tended to decrease marbling score within both feedlot systems. Short yearling steers had an increased percentage of carcasses grade USDA low Choice or greater if their dams grazed meadow in late gestation. Long yearling steers …

Effects Of Maternal Late Gestation Nutrition On May-Born Heifer Progeny, Alicia C. Lansford, Jacki A. Musgrave, Rick N. Funston Funston

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

May-calving dams in late gestation grazed either sub-irrigated meadow with or without supplement or upland range with or without supplement. Supplementation was 1 lb/d of a 33% CP (DM) supplement. Heifer progeny from these dams were followed through their first and second breeding seasons. Both dam grazing and supplement treatment affected heifer progeny BW and BCS. Heifers born to dams who grazed meadow in late gestation attained a greater percentage of mature BW at the start of their first breeding season and increased pregnancy rates as primiparous cows. Grazing of meadow by May-calving dams in late gestation may increase stayability …

Economic Analysis Of Beef Systems, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Shebly E. Loeffelholz, Karla H. Jenkins Pas, Andrea K. Watson, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Economic analysis of complete beef production systems is important. An analysis of 5 systems was conducted. Three of the systems were based on cows calving in March, June or August and grazing Sandhills range and corn residue. The other 2 systems were based on complete confinement feeding or confinement in the summer and corn residue grazing in the winter. The range-based systems gave similar results, however, complete confinement was not competitive. Partial confinement with stalk grazing was competitive with range-based systems. Stalk grazing is very economical and important for many cow-calf systems.

The Effect Of Cow Udder Score On Subsequent Calf Performance In The Nebraska Sandhills, Joslyn K. Beard, Jacki A. Musgrave, Rick N. Funston Funston, J. Travis Mulliniks

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Cow records were evaluated over a 5-yr period to investigate how cow udder score affected calf growth and carcass performance. Cows from 2 calving herds, March and May, were classified as bad or good based on udder scores recorded at calving. Calves suckling dams with bad udders performed similarly during the pre-weaning period to good udder counterparts, with no differences in overall steer feedlot performance between udder groups. However, steers suckling good udder cows had heavier carcass weights and greater back fat thickness.

2019 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Cow/Calf

• The Effect of Cow Udder Score on Subsequent Calf Performance in the Nebraska Sandhills
• Economic Analysis of Beef Systems
• Effects of Prepartum Nutrition on May-Calving Cows and Progeny
• Effects of Maternal Late Gestation Nutrition on May-Born Heifer Progeny
• Effects of Maternal Late Gestation Nutrition on May-Born Steer Progeny
• Impact of Cow Size on Cow-Calf and Subsequent Steer Feedlot Performance
• Evaluation of Lactation Demands on Nutrient Balance in Two Calving Seasons in Range Cows Grazing Sandhills Upland Range
• Impacts of 40 Years of Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory on Beef Cattle and Range Systems

Growing

• Confined Cow-Calf Production System and Post-Weaning Management …

Impact Of Corn Silage Inclusion On Finishing Cattle Performance, Hannah C. Hamilton, F. Henry Hilscher, Zachary E. Carlson Carlson, Brad M. Boyd, Andrea K. Watson, Jim C. Macdonald, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Cattle fed high grain diets with little to no roughage are typically at greater risk for acidosis and reduced dry matter intake and average daily gain. An individual feeding study was conducted to compare different inclusions of corn silage used as a roughage source on finishing performance and liver abscess rate. Treatments consisted of 3 inclusions of corn silage at 0, 7.5 and 15% of the diet DM and a control treatment with 7.5% alfalfa. There were no differences for live animal performance or carcass characteristics. There were also no differences in liver abscess incidence. Feeding corn silage at 15% …

Evaluation Of Genotype Quality Parameters For Sowpro90, A New Genotyping Array For Swine, Hiruni R. Wijesena, Gary A. Rohrer, Dan J. Nonneman, Brittney N. Keel, Jessica L. Petersen, Stephen D. Kachman, Daniel C. Ciobanu

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Understanding early predictors of sow fertility has the potential to improve genomic predictions. A custom SNP array (SowPro90 produced by Affymetrix) was developed to include genetic variants overlapping quantitative trait loci for age at puberty, one of the earliest indicators of sow fertility, as well as variants related to innate and adaptive immunity. The polymorphisms included in the custom genotyping array were identified using multiple genomic approaches including deep genomic and transcriptomic sequencing and genome-wide associations. Animals from research and commercial populations (n = 2,586) were genotyped for 103,476 SNPs included in SowPro90. To assess the quality …

Coding Sequences Of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Atpase Regulatory Peptides And Expression Of Calcium Regulatory Genes In Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis, Stephanie J. Valberg, Kaitlin Soave, Zoe J. Williams, Sudeep Perumbakkam, Melissa Schott, Carrie J. Finno, Jessica L. Petersen, Clara Fenger, Joseph M. Autry, David D. Thomas

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Background: Sarcolipin (SLN), myoregulin (MRLN), and dwarf open reading frame (DWORF) are transmembrane regulators of the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium transporting ATPase (SERCA) that we hypothesized played a role in recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER).

Objectives: Compare coding sequences of SLN, MRLN, DWORF across species and between RER and control horses. Compare expression of muscle Ca²⁺ regulatory genes between RER and control horses.

Animals: Twenty Thoroughbreds (TB), 5 Standardbreds (STD), 6 Quarter Horses (QH) with RER and 39 breed-matched controls.

Methods: Sanger sequencing of SERCA regulatory genes with comparison of amino acid (AA) …

Yes-Associated Protein 1 Is Required For Proliferation And Function Of Bovine Granulosa Cells In Vitro, Michele R. Plewes, Xiaoying Hou, Pan Zhang, Aixin Liang, Guohua Hua, Jennifer R. Wood, Andrea S. Cupp, Xiangmin Lv, Cheng Wang, John S. Davis

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is a major component of the Hippo signaling pathway. Although the exact extracellular signals that control the Hippo pathway are currently unknown, increasing evidence supports a critical role for the Hippo pathway in embryonic development, regulation of organ size, and carcinogenesis. Granulosa cells (GCs) within the ovarian follicle proliferate and produce steroids and growth factors, which facilitate the growth of follicle and maturation of the oocyte.We hypothesize that YAP1 plays a role in proliferation and estrogen secretion of GCs. In the current study, we examined the expression of the Hippo signaling pathway in bovine ovaries and …

Postnatal Β2 Adrenergic Treatment Improves Insulin Sensitivity In Lambs With Iugr But Not Persistent Defects In Pancreatic Islets Or Skeletal Muscle, Dustin T. Yates, Leticia E. Camacho, Amy C. Kelly, Leah V. Steyn, Melissa A. Davis, Andrew T. Antolic, Miranda J. Anderson, Ravi Goyal, Ronald E. Allen, Klearchos K. Papas, William W. Hay Jr, Sean W. Limesand

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Placental insufficiency causes intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and disturbances in glucose homeostasis with associated β adrenergic receptor (ADRβ) desensitization. Our objectives were to measure insulin-sensitive glucose metabolism in neonatal lambs with IUGR and to determine whether daily treatment with ADRβ2 agonist and ADRβ1/β3 antagonists for 1 month normalizes their glucose metabolism. Growth, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and glucose utilization rates (GURs) were measured in control lambs, IUGR lambs and IUGR lambs treated with adrenergic receptor modifiers: clenbuterol atenolol and SR59230A (IUGR-AR). In IUGR lambs, islet insulin content and GSIS were less than …

Ractopamine Hcl Improved Cardiac Hypertrophy But Not Poor Growth, Metabolic Inefficiency, Or Greater White Blood Cells Associated With Heat Stress In Concentrate-Fed Lambs, Rebecca M. Swanson, Kristin A. Beede, Micayla D. Freeman, Morgan L. Eggleston, Ty B. Schmidt, Jessica L. Petersen, Dustin T. Yates

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Heat stress decreases livestock performance and well-being (Hahn, 1999; Nienaber and Hahn, 2007), causes metabolic dysfunction that decreases growth efficiency (O’Brien et al., 2010), and alters cardiovascular function (Crandall et al., 2008). Each year, heat stress costs the livestock industry up to $2.5 billion (St-Pierre et al., 2003). Ractopamine HCl acts as a nutrient repartitioning agent (Beermann, 2002); classified as a β adrenergic agonist (βAA), it shares pharmacological properties with adrenaline (Beermann, 2002). βAA increase muscle mass and decreases fat deposition through unknown mechanisms (Beermann, 2002). In feedlot cattle, they increase growth efficiency and improve carcass yield and merit (Scramlin …

Body Composition Estimated By Bioelectrical Impedance Analyses Is Diminished By Prenatal Stress In Neonatal Lambs And By Heat Stress In Feedlot Wethers, Rachel L. Gibbs, Caitlin N. Cadaret, Rebecca M. Swanson, Kristin A. Beede, Robert J. Posont, Ty B. Schmidt, Jessica Lynn Petersen, Dustin T. Yates

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Body composition correlates to carcass value in livestock, which makes the ability to accurately estimate body composition in the live animal beneficial (Berg and Marchello, 1994). Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a clinical tool used to assess body composition in humans (Lukaski et al., 1985), but its use in livestock has been minimal. Lean and fat content contribute to profitability for livestock producers, and poor body composition can be caused by stress that occurs either during in utero development (De Blasio et al., 2007) or during postnatal growth (Boyd et al., 2015). Maternal hyperthermia-induced placental insufficiency (Brown et al., 2015) …

Farm Animals Are Important Biomedical Models, Debora L. Hamernik

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

This issue of Animal Frontiers, “Farm animals are im- portant biomedical models,” describes several examples in which cattle, sheep, pigs, or chickens provide an excellent physiological model for studies related to human health or disease (Figure 1). While previous reports have discussed the use of domestic animals as dual-purpose models that benefit agricultural and biomedical research (Ireland et al., 2008), this issue of Animal Frontiers provides additional and novel examples of the value of farm animals for biomedical re- search. Because farm animals are larger in size than labora- tory species, scientists are able to collect larger volumes and …

The Heritability Of Pampiniform Plexus Vessel Size And Varicocoele In Boars, Tasha R. Gruhot, Lea A. Rempel, Matthew L. Spangler, Stephen D. Kachman, Benny E. Mote

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Ultrasonography was used to capture a coronal–sagittal image of the veins of the pampiniform plexus (PP) and the testicular artery of 327 maternal‐line boars at approximately 6 months of age at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. Varicocoele was diagnosed by two methods. Method 1 diagnosed varicocoele when the average vessel area on one side of the scrotum was 1.5 times larger than the average vessel area on the other side of the scrotum. Method 2 diagnosed varicocoele when the average vessel area on one side of the scrotum of a boar was 1.5 times larger than the average vessel on the …

Adaptation Strategies: Ruminants, John B. Gaughan, Veerasamy Sejian, Terry L. Mader, Frank R. Dunshea

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

• Growing populations and reduced access to arable land mean that animal production systems will either need to intensify and/or produce more from a reducing land and other resource base.

• Variable and unpredictable environmental conditions mean that animal production faces numerous challenges. In add- ition to climate, these challenges include increased disease risk, increased nutritional deficiencies, and lack of capital to support diversification.

• Predicted changes in climate will impose selection pressures on traits important for biological fitness (and production).

• Genetic adaptation is important for the future of livestock systems. Animal adaptation involves trade-offs, which must be considered when selecting animals for …

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Livestock Animals To Study Infertility In Women, Mohamed A. Abedal-Majed, Andrea S. Cupp

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

• Anovulation is a major cause of infertility in mammalian females.

• Ovarian research in humans is challenging due to the shortage of “normal tissue” that can be obtained from women that are trying to get pregnant.

• Livestock animals provide valuable resources to investigate the optimal intra-follicular environment required to facilitate folliculogenesis and translate to humans.

• Different livestock models may be more useful depending on the specific biological process studied.

Effect Of Environmental Temperature And Β-Adrenergic Agonist Supplementation On Rumen Volatile Fatty Acid Production In Sheep, Erin M. Duffy, Hannah C. Hamilton, Ty B. Schmidt, Dustin T. Yates, Jessica Lynn Petersen

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Many environmental and dietary factors affect ruminant livestock performance (Ames, 1980; Carberry et al., 2012). Energy used by ruminants is mainly derived from volatile fatty acids (VFA), including acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which are produced by bacterial fermentation of carbohydrates (Barcroft et al., 1944). With the importance of VFA production in ruminants (Bergman, 1990), it is essential to understand how various conditions livestock may be subjected to, such as ambient conditions and diet, can affect VFA production.

With the profound role of VFA production in energy status of the ruminant, and given that heat stress (HS) events can affect ruminal …