The current study is part of a five-year multidisciplinary grant aiming to identify dietary, genotypic and metabolic factors affecting feed efficiency while additionally analyzing the effects of feed efficiency differences on feedlot performance and carcass characteristics. The current report summarizes the six groups of steers fed over five years. Feed efficiency was relatively repeatable from the growing to the finishing phase as steers classified as highly feed efficient during the growing phase remained more feed efficient than steers previously classified as mid and lowly feed efficient. Marbling differed due to feed efficiency classification but classification effects on other carcass traits were limited. Relative to other diet combinations, steers grown with roughage-based diets and finished with byproduct-based diets excelled in finishing phase growth rate, final bodyweight and hot carcass weight with no differences detected in feed conversion or marbling score.

Data from eighteen different truck washes were used to compare the association of different service levels with Enterobacteriaceae counts. Service levels were classified into three different categories; prewash (n=78), post wash with disinfectant (n=78), and post wash without disinfectant (n=12). A total of 168 drag swabs were used for collection for the purpose of this study. Prewash services were defined as trailers before they were scraped out and washed. Post wash with or without disinfectant services were defined as after the trailers were washed and disinfectant was or was not applied. Prewash trailers tended to have higher Enterobacteriaceae counts of around 5.0 Log10CFU/m2when compared to post wash with disinfectantEnterobacteriaceae counts of around 2.2 Log10CFU/m2 and post wash without disinfectant Enterobacteriaceae counts of around 2.7 Log10CFU/m2.

Training and or retraining have an impact on the horses’ physical and psychological well-being. Training can either use positive- (PRT) or negative (NRT) reinforcement. The objective of this experiment was to determine the efficacy of using a clicker with positive reinforcement training on a filly to accept basic husbandry tasks over a 5 week period. One thoroughbred filly was used. One treatment, a PRT schedule, was used. A total of five consecutive weeks, with two 20-minute sessions were conducted. A training session included 10 tasks, with three attempts per task. Positive reinforcement training was defined as the horse successfully completing the task, getting a click and peppermint flavored horse treat. Tasks were completed in the same order during each training session; (1) touch ears (2) touch nose (3) inspect mouth (4) lift legs (5) halter on (6) saddling and (7) bridling. Each task received a scale from 1 (easy) to 4 (refusal). An average for each task by training session by week was then determined. The data will be presented descriptively. Saddling and bridle were dropped as the filly was ranked 4 (refusal). Overall baseline session one for all tasks was a 2.7 (somewhat difficult). There was not a consistent improvement over the weekly sessions for husbandry tasks; however, although scores were higher than baseline, the filly was ranked as either “easy” for two- and “some difficulty” for three other tasks. In conclusion, the filly was accepting of the PRT methodology and this in turn may improve worker safety and filly well-being.

Data from a large pig breeding company which included number born alive records from company nucleus farms, company multiplier farms, customer-owned daughter nucleus farms, and customer-owned closed herd commercial farms were used to estimate breeding values and prediction accuracies of selection for purebred Landrace and Large White females. Prediction accuracies when breeding values were estimated using purebred information only and purebred and crossbred information were compared for three customer-owned commercial herds with pedigree information on more than 70% of their Landrace/Large White crossbred females. Change in accuracy and Pearson correlations with and without crossbred daughter records were calculated for active purebred sows. Estimates were given according to the number of additional daughter records obtained when crossbred records were included in breeding value estimation. Change in accuracy increased from 0.001 to 0.23 when 0 and >20 daughter records were included, respectively. Pearson correlations between accuracy estimates decreased from 1.00 to 0.71 when 0 and >20 daughter records were included, respectively. Results suggest that the inclusion of crossbred daughter records increases selection accuracy in purebred sows and that this could impact selection and mating decisions to improve genetic progress at the commercial level.

Commercial pyrethroid pour-ons are commonly appliedin cow-calf operations to eliminate the potential for insectborne diseases and to improve productivity. However,recent literature has focused on potential negativereproductive effects in the bull after exposure to pyrethroids.While the female bovine has been primarily neglected fromthe debated pyrethroid concern on reproduction, literature inmice and rats have reported potential endocrine disruptionof sex steroids resulting from pyrethroid exposure, withpotential detrimental effects on female fertility. Theobjective was to study the effects of a commercialpyrethroid-based pour-on product, permethrin, onreproductive performance in superovulated beef heifers byassessing steroid biosynthesis and embryo quality. It washypothesized that exposure to pyrethroid pour-on at labeldose would cause minimal effects on embryoquantity/quality and steroidogenesis in the female bovine.Results from this study revealed pyrethroid-treated heifershad a tendency for reduced progesterone, but embryoquantity and quality were not affected compared to controls