The Professional Animal Scientist最新文献

{"title":"Effect of heifer development system on subsequent growth and reproduction in 2 breeding seasons","authors":"S.A. Springman,&nbsp;H.R. Nielson,&nbsp;R.N. Funston","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01697","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01697","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>A 4-yr study evaluated the effects of heifer development system on growth and reproductive performance in 2 breeding seasons. March- and May-born, crossbred heifers were stratified by BW and randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments from mid-January to mid-April: (1) ad libitum meadow hay (7.3% CP; 54.3% TDN) and 1.64 kg/d of a 32% CP supplement (HY) or (2) meadow grazing (10.3% CP; 61.7% TDN) and 0.41 kg/d supplement (MDW). In the March-born heifers, ADG during treatment was greater (</span><em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) for HY than MDW heifers (0.78 vs. 0.51<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->0.03 kg; HY, MDW), with similar pregnancy rates (<em>P</em><span> = 0.92). Calving rate and the proportion of heifers that calved in the first 21 d was also similar (</span><em>P</em> ≥ 0.33). Similarly, May-born heifers on HY treatment had greater ADG (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01; 0.59 vs. 0.35<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->0.05 kg; HY, MDW) during the treatment period, with similar (<em>P</em> = 0.69) pregnancy rates. Calving rate did not differ (<em>P</em> = 0.88) between treatments, although the proportion of heifers that calved in the first 21 d was greater (<em>P</em> = 0.02) for MDW compared with HY. Overall, heifer development system did not affect pregnancy rate in March or May replacement heifers; however, pregnancy rate of March-born heifers was greater (<em>P</em><span> &lt; 0.01) than May-born (87 vs. 70 ± 3%). The reduced pregnancy rate in May heifers may be due to declining forage quality during the late-summer breeding season and may require additional inputs to equal pregnancy rates of the March-born heifers.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 177-182"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01697","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83012682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of dietary zinc source and concentration on performance of growing-finishing pigs reared with reduced floor space","authors":"J.P. Holen ,&nbsp;Z. Rambo ,&nbsp;A.M. Hilbrands ,&nbsp;L.J. Johnston","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01684","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01684","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate effects of dietary zinc source (AA complex vs. inorganic) and increasing zinc concentration on growth performance and carcass composition<span> of growing-finishing pigs housed in crowded conditions. Maternal-line barrows and gilts (636 pigs; initial BW = 28.7 kg) were blocked by initial BW and assigned randomly within block to 1 of 5 treatments. Twelve pens were assigned to each treatment over 3 replicate trials. Treatments were (1) control (Con9)—pigs housed in an uncrowded environment (0.73 m</span></span>²<span>/pig) and fed diets based on corn, soybean meal, and dried distillers grains with solubles containing 60 mg/kg Zn (phases 1, 2, and 3), and 50 mg/kg Zn (phase 4); (2) crowded (Con11)—pigs housed at 0.60 m</span>²/pig and fed the same diets as Con9; (3) ZnAA40—same as Con11 + 40 mg/kg Zn from Zn AA complex (Availa-Zn, Zinpro Corp., Eden Prairie, MN); (4) ZnAA80—same as Con11 + 80 mg/kg Zn from Zn AA complex; and (5) inorganic zinc (ZnSO80)—same as Con11 + 80 mg/kg Zn from zinc sulfate monohydrate. Growth characteristics were determined at the end of each dietary phase (28 d). Upon completion of the trial, carcass composition and meat quality were recorded. Overall, crowding decreased ADG (<em>P</em><span><span> &lt; 0.05, SE = 0.01) for Con11 compared with Con9 pigs (0.91 vs. 0.97 kg). There were no differences in average daily feed intake (2.74, 2.66, 2.62, 2.59, and 2.65 kg; SE = 0.05) or G:F (0.368, 0.356, 0.369, 0.368, and 0.365; SE = 0.006) among Con9, Con11, ZnAA40, ZnAA80, and ZnSO80, respectively. Neither zinc source nor concentration affected fat-free lean percentage, DP, loin muscle area, or </span>backfat depth. Altogether, these data indicate that neither additional AA complexed zinc nor additional inorganic zinc influenced growth performance, carcass composition, or pork quality of pigs housed under crowded conditions.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 133-143"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01684","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87456421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating field peas as an energy source for growing and finishing beef cattle","authors":"H.L. Greenwell ,&nbsp;K.H. Jenkins PAS ,&nbsp;J.C. MacDonald PAS","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01666","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01666","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Field peas were evaluated in beef growing and finishing diets in a 2-yr experiment. A total of 114 steers (initial BW = 348 kg, SD = 22 kg) in yr 1 and 114 heifers (initial BW = 249 kg, SD = 11 kg) in yr 2 were used in a 3 × 2 factorial. The first factor was grazing supplementation (0.5% BW, DM basis) with the following treatments: (1) field pea (FP); (2) blend of 70.8% corn, 24% corn condensed distillers solubles, and 5.2% urea (CB); and (3) no supplement (CON). The second factor was presence or absence of 20% FP in finishing diets. Growing phase ADG was greatest for CB, followed by FP and CON (0.99, 0.87, and 0.69</span> <!-->±<!--> <!-->0.08 kg for CB, FP, and CON, respectively; <em>P</em><span> &lt; 0.01). There were no interactions between growing and finishing treatment, and presence of FP in the finishing diet did not affect finishing performance or carcass characteristics (</span><em>P</em> ≥ 0.20). However, grazing supplementation influenced finishing performance; CON had the greatest finishing ADG, whereas CB and FP did not differ (1.93, 1.79, and 1.79<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->0.06 kg for CON, CB, and FP, respectively; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). The CON treatment was also most efficient, followed by CB and FP, which were not different (0.145, 0.135, 0.138 ± 0.014, for CON, CB, and FP, respectively; <em>P</em> = 0.01). Field peas may be fed to growing and finishing cattle if appropriately priced. However, reduced ADG during the growing phase may result in compensatory gain in the finishing phase.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 202-209"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01666","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78209400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Use of residual feed intake as a selection criterion on the performance and relative development costs of replacement beef heifers","authors":"D. Damiran ,&nbsp;G.B. Penner ,&nbsp;K. Larson ,&nbsp;H.A. (Bart) Lardner","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01635","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01635","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Two heifers groups differing in residual feed intake (RFI) were compared with a third control (CON; n = 20) group of randomly selected heifers for performance, reproductive efficiency, and system economics to first calving and repeatability of RFI ranking, with all 3 groups selected from the same cohort. Following weaning, 70 Angus heifers (initial BW = 260 ± 3 kg; 6 mo of age) from a single cohort were fed a forage-based diet (10.0% CP; 65.2% TDN) for 93 d (period 1) where BW, DMI, ADG, G:F, and RFI were evaluated. After period 1 RFI testing, 40 heifers were classified into 2 groups [20 efficient heifers (low RFI; RFI = −1.01</span> <!-->±<!--> <!-->0.10 kg/d) and 20 inefficient heifers (high RFI; RFI = 0.77<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->0.08 kg/d)] and then selected for a second feeding trial (period 2) and compared with the 20 CON heifers. All 60 heifers in period 2 (BW = 322 ± 2.9 kg; 10 mo of age) were fed for 93 d on a similar forage-based diet (11.0% CP; 66.5% TDN). Low-RFI heifers had the lowest (<em>P</em> = 0.01) RFI value of −0.33 kg/d, followed by CON and high-RFI heifers, −0.09 and 0.42 kg/d, respectively. Control heifers tended (<em>P</em> = 0.08) to have lower ADG (0.83 kg/d) compared with low-RFI (0.92 kg/d) or high-RFI heifers (0.91 kg/d), and low-RFI heifers tended (<em>P</em> = 0.08) to have greater G:F (0.10 ± 0.003) than either CON (0.9 ± 0.003) or high-RFI heifers (0.09 ± 0.003). Spearman rank correlation for RFI between period 1 and 2 was 0.58 (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01); however, 51% of heifers had a different RFI value in period 2 compared with period 1. First-calf pregnancy rates were 80% for low RFI, 93% for CON, and 100% for high RFI (χ²; <em>P</em><span> = 0.09). Winter feed costs were ~Can$25 per heifer lower for low-RFI heifers compared with high-RFI animals. Heifers with increased feed efficiency may exhibit reduced reproductive performance, suggesting further research is needed.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 156-166"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01635","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73701671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of feeding high-moisture corn stover to gestating and lactating beef cows as an alternative to hay and corn silage on performance and reproduction","authors":"W.C. Meteer ,&nbsp;L.M. Shoup ,&nbsp;W.P. Chapple ,&nbsp;W.T. Meteer PAS ,&nbsp;D.W. Shike","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01675","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>The objectives of this study were to evaluate ensiled high-moisture corn stover<span><span> as an alternative forage for beef cows<span>. In Exp. 1, multiparous, gestating Simmental and </span></span>Angus<span><span> × Simmental cows (n = 96) were limit fed 1 of 3 treatments: (1) 60% high-moisture corn stover, 25% ground cornstalks, and 15% corn gluten feed (HMCS); (2) 60% </span>corn silage<span>, 25% ground cornstalks, and 15% corn gluten feed (SIL); or (3) 60% hay, 25% ground cornstalks, and 15% corn gluten feed (HY) from 108 ± 14 to 38 ± 14 d prepartum. In Exp. 2, lactating Simmental and Simmental × Angus cows (n = 79) were limit fed 1 of 2 treatments at calving: (1) 75% high-moisture corn stover and 25% dried distillers grains (HMCS2) or (2) 70% corn silage and 30% dried distillers grains (SIL2). Diets were limit fed to achieve </span></span></span></span><span>NASEM (2016)</span> requirements for maintenance and lactation. In Exp. 1, BW gain was greater (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) for cows fed SIL than cows fed HY or HMCS. In Exp. 2, BW gain was greater (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) for cows fed SIL2 than cows fed HMCS2; however, no differences (<em>P</em> ≥ 0.17) were detected in milk production, subsequent AI conception, or overall pregnancy rates. The similar performance of gestating cows fed hay or high-moisture corn stover indicates high-moisture corn stover is a viable hay replacement. When fed to lactating cows, high-moisture corn stover could be fed as a replacement to corn silage with no effect on milk or reproduction. Overall, feeding high-moisture corn stover is a cost-saving strategy in both stages of production.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 210-217"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01675","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89754475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sources of variation in corn silage and total mixed rations of commercial dairy farms","authors":"Paula Turiello PAS ,&nbsp;Alejandro Larriestra ,&nbsp;Fernando Bargo ,&nbsp;Alejandro Relling PAS ,&nbsp;William Weiss PAS","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01704","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01704","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Information on sources of variation in feed and diet characteristics is needed to develop appropriate strategies to reduce uncertainty and to separate true variation from that associated with measurements. The objectives were to determine sources of variation in DM content and particle size distribution in corn silage<span> (CS) and TMR. Ten dairy farms in Argentina were visited on 3 consecutive days, samples of CS and TMR were taken, and an audit of feed management was conducted. Corn silage and TMR were sampled in duplicate each day. Variance components were calculated with the Mixed Linear Models of InfoStat for CS and Generalized Linear Mixed Models for TMR. For CS, the model included the effects of farm and day within farm, and for TMR, the model included farm, pen within farm, day within pen, and feed bunk site within pen. Residual effects accounted for sampling and analytical variation. Farm was the greatest source of variation for DM and particle size distribution of CS and TMR, explaining 40 to 92% of total variation. For CS, day within farm variation was greater compared with residual variation in DM (7 and 0.6%, respectively), meaning real changes occurred from one day to the other. For TMR, daily variation in DM content was high and possibly associated with feed management errors. For particle size distribution in TMR, sampling and assaying variation was greater than feed bunk site variation, indicating increased replication and averaging is needed to increase precision.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 148-155"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01704","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84453957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of exercise and roughage source on the health and performance of receiving beef calves","authors":"M.A. Woolsoncroft,&nbsp;M.E. Youngers,&nbsp;L.J. McPhillips,&nbsp;C.G. Lockard,&nbsp;C.L. Haviland,&nbsp;E.S. DeSocio,&nbsp;W.R. Ryan,&nbsp;C.J. Richards PAS,&nbsp;B.K. Wilson PAS","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01673","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01673","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Consumer interest regarding cattle welfare has increased. This experiment evaluated exercise and roughage<span> source on calf performance and health during a 56-d receiving period. Steers (n = 94; BW = 250 ± 12 kg) were assigned in a randomized complete block design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors included (1) roughage source [30% (DM basis) hay (HY) or 15% cottonseed hulls<span> and 15% soybean hulls (HLS)] and (2) exercise [529 m of exercise (EX) 3 d/wk or no exercise (NEX)]. No differences in BW or ADG existed among treatments (</span></span></span><em>P</em> ≥ 0.24). However, HLS calves had reduced DMI from d 29 to 42, 43 to 56, and 0 to 56 (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.04) compared with HY calves. Overall, HLS and EX calves were more efficient than HY and NEX calves (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001 and <em>P</em> = 0.02, respectively). On d 56, there was an interaction for both fecal score (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) and fecal pH (<em>P</em> = 0.05) with HY + NEX having reduced fecal score and fecal pH compared with all other treatments. The number of calves that required a second antimicrobial treatment for bovine respiratory disease tended (<em>P</em> = 0.08) to be reduced for HY and NEX calves compared with HLS and EX calves. Calves that were fed HLS or exercised had greater feed conversion efficiency than calves that were fed HY or not exercised. Further investigation is needed to determine the effects of exercise on fecal characteristics and clinical bovine respiratory disease incidence.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 183-191"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01673","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79750316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Case Study: Effect of injectable castration regimen on beef bull calves","authors":"J.J. Ball PAS ,&nbsp;E.B. Kegley PAS ,&nbsp;P.A. Beck PAS ,&nbsp;J.K. Apple ,&nbsp;D.R. Cox ,&nbsp;J.G. Powell","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01671","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01671","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Castration is performed on bull calves to reduce aggressiveness and sexual activity, improve worker safety, prevent unwanted breeding, and improve meat quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a zinc solution as an injectable castration method to bull calves before weaning. Crossbred bull calves (n = 31; BW = 115 ± 26.4 kg; age = 119 ± 18.4 d) were allocated to treatments by BW and birth date. Twenty-seven bull calves were allocated to 3 injectable castration treatments (n = 9 calves per injectable castration treatment) to reflect 3 dosage levels of the zinc solution (Calviex, Cowboy Animal Health LLC, Plano, TX). On d 0, a single injection of the zinc solution was placed in each testicle. Two bull calves were castrated surgically, and 2 bull calves were left intact until weaning. Calves were weighed on d 0 and on 28-d intervals until they were weaned on d 122. Blood samples and scrotal measurements were obtained on d 0, 28, 56, 83, and 122. There were no effects (<em>P</em> ≥ 0.67) of Zn solution concentration on BW. A main effect of treatment (<em>P</em> = 0.005) showed intact bulls had greater (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001, orthogonal contrast of intact vs. castrated) serum testosterone concentrations than bulls castrated with any method. At weaning, there were no differences in growth, serum testosterone, or scrotal thickness due to the concentration of Zn solution used, and the injectable castration method resulted in similar serum testosterone concentrations compared with surgical castration, hence, resulting in successful castration.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 218-222"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01671","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73151407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Review: The importance of overall body fat content in horses","authors":"C.A. Cavinder PAS,&nbsp;E.N. Ferjak,&nbsp;C.A. Phillips,&nbsp;D.D. Burnett,&nbsp;T.T.N. Dinh","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01708","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01708","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>In several livestock species<span>, body condition can positively affect reproductive function. In horses, predictions of body fat (BF, %) are useful in achieving maximum reproductive efficiency, cost-effective nutritional management, and management of obesity-related health conditions. For decades, BF in horses has been predicted by an equation using ultrasonic scans of rump fat thickness, but the most commonly used practice by producers to evaluate energy status is the BCS system. However, the BCS system is subjective and exposed to variation, sometimes to a great extent, among evaluators. Recently, deuterium oxide (D</span></span>₂O) dilution has been validated as an accurate, objective, and minimally invasive method to estimate BF in ponies. Similarly, strong correlations have been observed between D₂O estimations of BF and BF determined by near-infrared spectroscopic analysis. Reported in only a few studies, the relationship between BCS and BF is inconclusive. In moderate to obese ponies, BCS was not found to be a sensitive indicator of BF. Conversely, data from 24 stock-type horses in our study indicated that BCS might be useful in estimating BF. In addition, research suggests that physical measurements and peripheral leptin concentrations may be used to assess energy status in horses. More investigation in these areas is warranted because there is currently limited lipid research in the equine industry.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 125-132"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01708","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89137029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Management characteristics of beef cattle production in Hawaii1","authors":"Senorpe Asem-Hiablie ,&nbsp;C. Alan Rotz ,&nbsp;J. Dale Sandlin ,&nbsp;M’Randa R. Sandlin ,&nbsp;Robert C. Stout","doi":"10.15232/pas.2017-01691","DOIUrl":"10.15232/pas.2017-01691","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A comprehensive life cycle assessment of the US beef value chain requires the collection of region-specific data for accurate characterization of the country’s diverse production practices. Cattle production in Hawaii is very different from the rest of the country due to its unique ecosystem and geographic location. A survey of cattle producers provided information on herd size and characteristics, grazing management, forage and feed sources, and marketing. Ranch survey responses represented 44% of the state’s beef cows with operation sizes varying from 5 to 10,000 cows. Most cows (79%) were maintained on operations that finished at least some of their cattle, and the majority of those operations finished cattle on forage without concentrate feeds. Cattle were kept on natural pastures ranging in size from 16 to 52,610 ha per ranch with a stocking rate of 2.4 ha/cow on cow-calf operations and 2.0 ha/animal on operations that included older growing animals. Common forage species were <em>Panicum maximum</em> (guinea or green panic grass), <em>Pennisetum clandestinum</em> (kikuyugrass), <em>Digitaria eriantha</em> (pangola or digitgrass), and <em>Trifolium repens</em> (white clover). Reported cow and finished cattle BW were 498 ± 52 kg and 493 ± 75 kg, respectively. More ranchers marketed their beef cattle through wholesalers or distributors (34%) rather than directly to consumers (24%), retailers (20%), or other channels (17%). Marketing under grass-fed certification was reported by 39% of ranches. Information obtained is being used to define management characteristics for modeling production systems and performing a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of beef cattle production.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":22841,"journal":{"name":"The Professional Animal Scientist","volume":"34 2","pages":"Pages 167-176"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.15232/pas.2017-01691","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73193531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}