Effect of Corn Type and Form of Supplement on Grazing Steers

Eighty stocker steers were grazed on bromegrass from April to the beginning of November and were provided five different feeds while on grass during the summer. Treatments evaluated included (1) mineral only; (2) free-choice supplementation in the form of liquid feed (MIX30) or (3) block format (Mintrate 40 Red); and hand-fed supplements of 60% corn:40% dried distillers grains at 0.5% of body weight on a dry matter basis offered daily where the corn was either an (4) isoline corn (ISO; parent genetic line) or (5) Enogen feed corn (ENO; includes alpha-amylase gene). Steers were weighed every 28 days while on grass and were carcass quality measured by ultrasound prior to placement in the feedlot. Hand-fed steers had greater gain than self-fed supplemented steers and these steers also had more backfat and tended to have more muscle depth coming off grass than other supplemented steers. Steers that received free-choice mineral or self-fed supplements also had lower gains than steers being hand-fed supplement. Within the first 28 days of the study, the hand-fed steers began weighing more and weighed 125 pounds more than the free-choice supplemented and control steers. On average hand-fed steers had a 0.6 lb/d greater ADG than control steers and those consuming free-choice supplement. Cost of gain was the highest with hand-fed steers at $0.27/pound, but even so profit was greatest with the hand-fed cattle

Evaluation of Implants, Clover, and Fescue Variety on Stocker Steers

Sixty-four growing steers were used in a split-plot experiment, where the whole plot was pasture, and the split-plot was implants. Whole plot treatment was a 4 × 2 facto­rial with four levels of fescue (High Endophyte, Low Endophyte, Novel, or Endophyte Free) and two levels of legume (Legumes or No Legumes). The split-plot included four implant levels (No Implant, Synovex One Grass, Revalor-G, Ralgro). Data collected were weights, hair coat scores, hair length, rectal temperature (every 28 days), and ultrasound carcass characteristics coming off grass. Steers on High Endophyte had the lowest average daily gain (ADG), longest hair, and highest temperature as compared to steers on all other fescue types. The gain differentiation was observed beginning at day 56 through the end of the study. Overall, ADG was not impacted by the addition of legume nor implant type. Steers that were not implanted had a longer hair length throughout many measurement dates. Steers grazing pastures with legumes tended to have a higher ultrasound-measured marbling score and less muscle depth. This study found that the best management strategy for fescue toxicity is to use non-endophyte or non-toxic varieties of fescue pasture. Contrary to previous research, the addition of implants and legumes for this project showed no improvement in cattle gains

Evaluation of Implants, Clover, and Fescue Variety on Stocker Steers – Year 2

Sixty-four growing steers were used in a split-plot experiment, where the whole plot was pasture, and the split-plot was the implant level. Whole plot treatment was a 4 × 2 factorial with four levels of fescue (High Endophyte, Low Endophyte, Novel, or Endophyte Free) and two levels of legume (Legumes or No Legumes). The split-plot included four implant levels (No Implant, Synovex One Grass, Revalor-G, or Ralgro). Data collected were weights, hair coat scores, hair length, rectal temperature (every 28 days), and ultrasound carcass characteristics when steers were coming off grass. Steers on High Endophyte had the lowest average daily gain (ADG) and final weight and smallest loin muscle as compared to steers on all other fescue types. The gain differentiation was observed beginning at day 56 through the end of the study. Overall, ADG was not impacted by the addition of legume. Steers that were implanted with Synovex One Grass had a greater gain, final weight, and lower hair score as compared to non-implanted steers. For many of the other measures, steers implanted with Ralgro or Revalor-G resulted in changes between non-implanted steers and those receiving Synovex One Grass. Steers on high endophyte fescue had greater final weight and ADG than non-implanted steers or those receiving Ralgro, with Synovex One Grass being intermediate. Gains for steers on endophyte free pastures were also impacted by the type of implant where Synovex One Grass steers had greater gains than non-implanted and Revalor-G steers, with Ralgro being intermediate. In this second year of research, the use of low to no endophyte fescue and the addition of implants increased gains

Nitrogen Fertilization and Harvest Management Improve Forage and Crude Protein Content in Crabgrass

Crabgrass (Digitaria spp.) is an annual summer grass that can provide high-quality forage, but optimal management strategies are unclear. Our objective was to compare the yield and quality of crabgrass (Mojo and Quick-N-Big) under different nitrogen rates and harvest management. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with five treatments and three replications for each crabgrass variety, totaling fifteen experimental units for both Mojo and Quick-N-Big, in adjacent sites. Treatments were nitrogen rates (0, 100, and 200 lb N/acre) and harvest management (cut once or twice per year) for two growing seasons (2020 and 2021). Total forage accumulation (TFA) increased with nitrogen fertilization for both cultivars. Mojo had the highest TFA in the first year (7000 lb DM/a/yr) while Quick-N-Big TFA was the highest in the second year (7635 lb DM/a/yr). The highest crude protein (CP) content was obtained with the highest N dose, ranging from 10.5 to 13% for both cultivars. Based on these results, N fertilization and harvest management can contribute to improving forage yield and crude protein of crabgrass varieties during the growing season in forage systems

Evaluation of Warm Season Annual Forages for Livestock: Biomass and Cost of Production

Seventeen warm season annual forage options were evaluated as livestock feed to be grazed, hayed, ensiled, or left as a cover crop. Treatments were planted in mid-May and terminated in late September with one harvest for silage, two hay cuttings, and three grazing rotations. One additional treatment was unharvested to serve as a cover crop. Biomass production and cost to produce final outputs were determined. Even with restricted rainfall during the summer months in 2020, the growth for the chosen forage options was at least 1,500 lb of dry matter (DM) per acre, with the exception of sun­flowers that had the lowest biomass production. Biomass production was the greatest for the forages that were left in the field as cover crop, followed by hay, then grazed, with the lowest biomass measured for the silage harvest. Monocultures of grass and sunn hemp produced as much biomass as multi-species blends that included grass or sunn hemp. Adding a high-producing grass species to sunflower and cowpeas increased biomass production compared to the respective monoculture. Regardless of harvest method, monocultures of cowpea and the blend of pearl millet + cowpea cost the most per unit of production. The lowest costs per unit of production for all harvest methods were found in three treatments: a monoculture of sorghum-sudan, the low seeding rate of pearl millet, and the blend of sorghum-sudan + sunn hemp

The evolution of diabetic chronic complications after pancreas transplantation

Pancreas transplantation is an invasive procedure that can restore and maintain normoglycemic level very successfully and for a prolonged period in DM1 patients. The procedure elevates the morbimortality rates in the first few months following the surgery if compared to kidney transplants with living donors, but it offers a better quality of life to patients

Health Outcomes of Gastric Bypass Patients Compared to Nonsurgical, Nonintervened Severely Obese

Favorable health outcomes at 2 years postbariatric surgery have been reported. With exception of the Swedish Obesity Subjects (SOS) study, these studies have been surgical case series, comparison of surgery types, or surgery patients compared to subjects enrolled in planned nonsurgical intervention. This study measured gastric bypass effectiveness when compared to two separate severely obese groups not participating in designed weight-loss intervention. Three groups of severely obese subjects (N = 1,156, BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) were studied: gastric bypass subjects (n = 420), subjects seeking gastric bypass but did not have surgery (n = 415), and population-based subjects not seeking surgery (n = 321). Participants were studied at baseline and 2 years. Quantitative outcome measures as well as prevalence, incidence, and resolution rates of categorical health outcome variables were determined. All quantitative variables (BMI, blood pressure, lipids, diabetes-related variables, resting metabolic rate (RMR), sleep apnea, and health-related quality of life) improved significantly in the gastric bypass group compared with each comparative group (all P < 0.0001, except for diastolic blood pressure and the short form (SF-36) health survey mental component score at P < 0.01). Diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension resolved much more frequently in the gastric bypass group than in the comparative groups (all P < 0.001). In the surgical group, beneficial changes of almost all quantitative variables correlated significantly with the decrease in BMI. We conclude that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery when compared to severely obese groups not enrolled in planned weight-loss intervention was highly effective for weight loss, improved health-related quality of life, and resolution of major obesity-associated complications measured at 2 years

Plasma glycerol during the acute post-exercise recovery period: Influence of exercise intensity

Intensity of exercise can influence substrate utilization, with increasing intensity resulting in lower rates of fat oxidation and the reliance on carbohydrate as the preferred fuel. Fat oxidation (or more specifically, mobilization) can be assessed via the measurement of circulating glycerol, with most prior research focusing on aerobic exercise and measurements obtained during the actual exercise bout. The present study determined the degree of fat oxidation/mobilization by measuring plasma glycerol concentrations during the one hour post-exercise recovery period following three difference exercise bouts. On four different days, exercise trained men (n=12; 23.7±1.1 years) either rested quietly or performed aerobic cycle exercise (60 min at 70% heart rate reserve), 60 s cycle sprints at 100% max wattage obtained during graded exercise testing (GXT) - a total of five, or 15 s cycle sprints at 200% max wattage obtained during GXT - a total of 10. Blood was collected before and at 1, 30 and 60 min post-exercise. Haematocrit and haemoglobin were measured to correct for changes in plasma volume. Glycerol was analysed in plasma and the area under the curve was calculated. Glycerol increased across time (P \u3c 0.0001) from pre-exercise (8.4±0.3 μg/dl) to 1 min (13.1±0.7 μg/dl), 30 min (11.3±0.6 μg/dl) and 60 min (9.1±0.5 μg/dl) post-exercise, with 1 min and 30 min post-exercise greater than pre-exercise and 60 min post-exercise (P \u3c 0.05). Area under the curve was greater (P=0.0004) for aerobic exercise (24.7±2.0 μg/dl/h), 60 second sprints (23.4±1.9 μg/dl/h) and 15 sec sprints (24.4±1.5 μg/dl/h), as compared to rest (15.3±0.8 μg/dl/h), with no differences noted between exercise bouts (P \u3e 0.05). All exercise bouts increase circulating glycerol, with no differences noted between bouts. Although previous data indicate that low intensity aerobic exercise results in greater fat oxidation than high intensity exercise (when assessed during the actual exercise session), our findings suggest that high intensity exercise may result in similar fat oxidation/mobilization as compared to aerobic exercise during the acute post-exercise period