Meat Science Commons^™

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 …

Longitudinal Study Of Humoral Immunity To Bovine Coronavirus, Virus Shedding, And Treatment For Bovine Respiratory Disease In Pre-Weaned Beef Calves, Aspen M. Workman, Larry A. Kuehn, Tara G. Mcdaneld, Michael L. Clawson, John Dustin Loy

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Background: Bovine coronavirus (BCV) is associated with respiratory infections in cattle of all ages; however, a temporal study to evaluate the effect of BCV immunity on virus shedding and bovine respiratory disease (BRD) incidence in pre-weaned beef calves has not been reported. Thus, we report here a prospective study in three herds of crossbred beef calves (n = 817) with endemic BCV. Serial blood samples for measurement of serum anti-BCV antibody titers and nasal swabs for detection of BCV and other common viral and bacterial BRD pathogens were collected from all calves or subsets of calves at predetermined times …

The Impact Of Heat Load On Cattle, Angela M. Lees, Veerasamy Sejian, Andrea L. Wallage, Cameron C. Steel, Terry L. Mader, Jarrod C. Lees, John B. Gaughan

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Heat stress and cold stress have a negative influence on cattle welfare and productivity. There have been some studies investigating the influence of cold stress on cattle, however the emphasis within this review is the influence of heat stress on cattle. The impact of hot weather on cattle is of increasing importance due to the changing global environment. Heat stress is a worldwide phenomenon that is associated with reduced animal productivity and welfare, particularly during the summer months. Animal responses to their thermal environment are extremely varied, however, it is clear that the thermal environment influences the health, productivity, and …

Maternal Age Influences The Number Of Primordial Follicles In The Ovaries Of Yearling Angus Heifers, Sarah C. Tenley, Renata Spuri Gomes, Shelby L. Rosasco, Emmalee J. Northrop, Jerica J. J. Rich, Anthony K. Mcneel, Adam F. Summers, Jeremy R. Miles, Chadwick C. Chase Jr., Clay A. Lents, George A. Perry, Jennifer R. Wood, Andrea S. Cupp, Robert A. Cushman

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The number of antral follicles detectable by ultrasonography in heifers is influenced by age of the dam, because daughters of primiparous cows have fewer antral follicles than daughters of mature cows. We, therefore, hypothesized that heifers with primiparous dams would have fewer primordial follicles in their ovaries than heifers born to mature (4+ y) cows. Angus heifers (n=464) were submitted for ultrasonographic evaluation of antral follicle number at 325, 355, and 385 d of age. Ovaries were collected from a random subset of heifers (n=79) and processed for histological evaluation to determine number of primordial follicles. A greater percentage of …

Reducing Methane Production With Corn Oil And Calcium Sulfate: Responses On Whole-Animal Energy And Nitrogen Balance In Dairy Cattle, J. V. Judy, G. C. Bachman, T. M. Brown-Brandl, S. C. Fernando, K. E. Hales, P. S. Miller, R. R. Stowell, P. J. Kononoff

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The addition of fat and calcium sulfate to diets fed to ruminants has resulted in a reduction in methane production, but the effects on energy balance have not been studied. A study using indirect calorimetry and 16 multiparous (8 Holstein and 8 Jersey; 78 ± 15 d in milk; mean ± standard deviation) lactating dairy cows was conducted to determine how mitigating methane production by adding corn oil or calcium sulfate to diets containing reduced-fat distillers grains affects energy and nitrogen balance. A replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 35-d periods (28 d of adaption and 4 d …

Use Of Indirect Calorimetry To Evaluate Utilization Of Energy In Lactating Jersey Dairy Cattle Consuming Common Coproducts, M. A. Reynolds, T. M. Brown-Brandl, J. V. Judy, K. J. Herrick, K. E. Hales, A. K. Watson, Paul J. Kononoff

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The use of coproducts as an alternative feed source is a common practice when formulating dairy rations. A study using 12 multiparous (79 ± 16 d in milk; mean ± standard deviation) lactating Jersey cows was conducted over 5 mo to evaluate the effects of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) or canola meal on milk and gas production. A replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design was used to compare 4 dietary treatments. Treatments comprised a control (CON) containing no coproducts, a treatment diet containing 10% (dry matter basis) lowfat DDGS (LFDG), a treatment diet containing 10% high-fat DDGS …