Wet Corn Gluten Feed Supplementation of Calves Grazing Corn Residue

Incremental levels of wet corn gluten feed were fed to calves grazing corn residues. Based on statistical and economical analysis of the data collected, feeding wet corn gluten feed (5.0-6.5 lb/ head/day; DM basis) will increase stocking rate on corn residue and reduce winter costs by 11%. Given that 3.5 lb DM/day wet corn gluten feed will meet the protein and phosphorus needs of calves, and feeding above 6.0 lb/d will not increase gains, wet corn gluten feed should be fed at 3.5-6.0 lb DM/day, producing gains from 1.28- 1.88 lb/day

A Systems Approach to Production From Weaning to Harvest

Although some summer and fall calving occurs, the majority of calves in the Northern States are born in the spring. Therefore, to have a consistent supply of feeders entering feedlots, a variety of stocker programs are used. About 30% of calves produced in the U. S. enter the feedlot as calf-feds. Some of these calf-feds are weaned and enter the feedlot 30 to 40 days later. It is also common for calves to be backgrounded two to six months before entering the feedlot. Many calves enter yearling programs. These cattle are nutritionally restricted to varying degrees and for various times. They make compensatory gain on grass and then make additional compensatory gain when they enter the feedlot (Klopfenstein et al., 1999). Because of the great variety of cattle production systems, cattle enter the feedlot at varying weights, ages and nutritional backgrounds. Ranchers have an opportunity to add value to their calves by backgrounding them. Ranches have forage resources. It may be possible, in some cases at least, to optimize the use of those forage resources by backgrounding calves produced on the ranch. We have conducted research on backgrounding programs over the past 15 to 20 years. We also feed 600 or more calf-feds each year. We want to share those observations and the appropriate economics with you. Compensatory Gain on Grass. In the mid 1980\u27s we conducted a two year study on compensatory gain (Lewis et al., 1990). We had three levels of winter gain on crop residues and measured summer gain. The cattle made 88% compensation. More restricted cattle in the winter made up 88% of the gain they did not make relative to the higher gaining winter calves. Five years of data were summarized from our Scottsbluff Research Center (Hayden et al., 1997). Calves were fed for two rates of winter gain. Slow gaining calves grazed cornstalks and fast gaining calves were limit-fed a high energy diet. They then grazed (summer) for two or four months. The calves that grazed season long (four months) made 57.6% compensation. Those that grazed only two months made 38.2% compensation. During the last two years of the study, British breed steers were compared to Continental cross steers. Compensation was the same (54.3 and 52.5%) suggesting that frame size does not affect degree of compensation

Predicting Amount of Compensatory Gain

In North American beef production systems, the entire spectrum of restriction and compensation is found. The area of compensatory gain is complex and not well understood, but critically important to the economics of cattle feeding. Several compensatory gain studies from the University of Nebraska have been compiled. The range in compensation observed with cattle grazing season-long is 19-88 percent with a mean of 53 percent. From these grazing studies, days of restriction appear to be related to percentage compensation. In the feedlot, even relatively short restrictions trigger compensatory gain; however, feed efficiency response to compensatory gain i

Cyclic cycle systems of the complete multipartite graph

In this paper, we study the existence problem for cyclic $\ell$-cycle decompositions of the graph $K_m[n]$, the complete multipartite graph with $m$ parts of size $n$, and give necessary and sufficient conditions for their existence in the case that $2\ell \mid (m-1)n$

Structure and functional motifs of GCR1, the only plant protein with a GPCR fold?

Whether GPCRs exist in plants is a fundamental biological question. Interest in deorphanizing new G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), arises because of their importance in signaling. Within plants, this is controversial as genome analysis has identified 56 putative GPCRs, including GCR1 which is reportedly a remote homologue to class A, B and E GPCRs. Of these, GCR2, is not a GPCR; more recently it has been proposed that none are, not even GCR1. We have addressed this disparity between genome analysis and biological evidence through a structural bioinformatics study, involving fold recognition methods, from which only GCR1 emerges as a strong candidate. To further probe GCR1, we have developed a novel helix alignment method, which has been benchmarked against the the class A – class B - class F GPCR alignments. In addition, we have presented a mutually consistent set of alignments of GCR1 homologues to class A, class B and class F GPCRs, and shown that GCR1 is closer to class A and /or class B GPCRs than class A, class B or class F GPCRs are to each other. To further probe GCR1, we have aligned transmembrane helix 3 of GCR1 to each of the 6 GPCR classes. Variability comparisons provide additional evidence that GCR1 homologues have the GPCR fold. From the alignments and a GCR1 comparative model we have identified motifs that are common to GCR1, class A, B and E GPCRs. We discuss the possibilities that emerge from this controversial evidence that GCR1 has a GPCR fol

A Comparison of Synovex ONE® Alone to Synovex Choice® Followed by Synovex Plus® as Implant Strategies for Finishing Heifers

A commercial feedlot study utilizing 1,737 crossbred heifers (initial BW 690 lb) compared the effect of two implant strategies [Synovex ONE Feedlot (day 0) or Synovex Choice (day 0) followed by Synovex Plus (day 95)] on performance and carcass characteristics. No differences were observed in carcass weight, final body weight, or gain, but heifers implanted with Synovex ONE Feedlot had slightly greater feed conversion and greater intake than heifers implanted using Synovex Choice/Synovex Plus. Heifers implanted with Synovex Choice/Synovex Plus had lower marbling score and yield grade, higher dressing percentage, and greater loin muscle area compared to heifers implanted with Synovex ONE Feedlot. Cattle implanted with Synovex ONE Feedlot showed a tendency for better quality grading compared to heifers implanted with Synovex Choice/Synovex Plus. These data suggest that implanting heifers with Synovex ONE Feedlot gives comparable growth to heifers implanted with Synovex Choice followed by Synovex Plus, with some changes in fatness when fed equal days

Multiple plant-wax compounds record differential sources and ecosystem structure in large river catchments

© The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 184 (2016): 20-40, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2016.04.003.The concentrations, distributions, and stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) of plant waxes carried by fluvial suspended sediments contain valuable information about terrestrial ecosystem characteristics. To properly interpret past changes recorded in sedimentary archives it is crucial to understand the sources and variability of exported plant waxes in modern systems on seasonal to inter-annual timescales. To determine such variability, we present concentrations and δ13C compositions of three compound classes (n-alkanes, n-alcohols, n-alkanoic acids) in a 34-month time series of suspended sediments from the outflow of the Congo River. We show that exported plant-dominated n-alkanes (C25 – C35) represent a mixture of C3 and C4 end members, each with distinct molecular distributions, as evidenced by an 8.1 ± 0.7‰ (±1σ standard deviation) spread in δ13C values across chain-lengths, and weak correlations between individual homologue concentrations (r = 0.52 – 0.94). In contrast, plant-dominated n-alcohols (C26 – C36) and n-alkanoic acids (C26 – C36) exhibit stronger positive correlations (r = 0.70 – 0.99) between homologue concentrations and depleted δ13C values (individual homologues average ≤ -31.3‰ and -30.8‰, respectively), with lower δ13C variability across chain-lengths (2.6 ± 0.6‰ and 2.0 ± 1.1‰, respectively). All individual plant-wax lipids show little temporal δ13C variability throughout the time-series (1σ ≤ 0.9‰), indicating that their stable carbon isotopes are not a sensitive tracer for temporal changes in plant-wax source in the Congo basin on seasonal to inter-annual timescales. Carbon-normalized concentrations and relative abundances of n-alcohols (19 – 58% of total plant-wax lipids) and n-alkanoic acids (26 – 76%) respond rapidly to seasonal changes in runoff, indicating that they are mostly derived from a recently entrained local source. In contrast, a lack of correlation with discharge and low, stable relative abundances (5 – 16%) indicate that n-alkanes better represent a catchment-integrated signal with minimal response to discharge seasonality. Comparison to published data on other large watersheds indicates that this phenomenon is not limited to the Congo River, and that analysis of multiple plant-wax lipid classes and chain lengths can be used to better resolve local vs. distal ecosystem structure in river catchments.J.D.H. was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 2012126152. V.V.G. was partly supported by the US National Science Foundation, grants OCE-0851015 and OCE-0928582. Parts of this work were supported by the DFG Research Center/Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean in the Earth System” at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Science, University of Bremen.2017-04-0

Effects of Backgrounding and Growing Programs on Beef Carcass Quality and Yield

Clearly, the future of the beef cattle industry in the United States depends on the quality of the product. The majority of calves are born in the spring; therefore, to have a consistent supply of feeders entering feedlots and to take advantage of forages, a variety of stocker programs exist. Cattle enter the feedlot at varying weights and ages and from different nutritional backgrounds, and this variation could produce differences in carcass quality. The economically important measures of carcass quality are yield grade and quality grade. They are directly related: as cattle fatten in the feedlot, both quality grade and yield grade increase. Because cattle are commercially fed to fat-constant end points, it is logical to make comparisons at equal fat end points. Then, marbling (percentage Choice) becomes the primary quality criterion. We analyzed data from 534 cattle serially slaughtered and found that the percentage grading Choice increased 12 ± 1 percentage units for each 1-mm increase in rib fat. Marbling score increased 30 units (200 = slight 00) for each 1-mm increase in fat. To determine the effect of rate of winter gain on carcass quality, 372 calves over 5 yr were wintered at .23 or .61 kg/d gain. When adjusted to equal rib fat after summer grazing and finishing, there was no difference in quality grade. To test the effect of summer gain on carcass quality, 418 calves over 7 yr were followed through the feedlot after gaining .57 or .84 kg/d on grass. When compared at equal rib fat, there was no difference in quality grade. Shear force values and consumer taste panels were used to evaluate steaks from 90 cattle from calf-fed and yearling production systems. Calf-feds were 14 mo of age at slaughter and yearlings were 19 or 21 mo. Each group was serially slaughtered. There was no effect of an additional .39 cm of rib fat on shear force, juiciness, tenderness, flavor, or overall palatability. Calf-feds were significantly more tender than yearlings, but the risk of an undesirable steak from yearlings was \u3c .2% based on shear force and \u3c 2.8% based on the consumer taste panel. If cattle are fed to a common rib fat end point, and within the range of rates of winter and summer gains reported herein, we conclude that the backgrounding program has little or no effect on marbling or carcass quality grade

Sorting Strategies in an Extensive Forage Utilization Beef Production System

One hundred sixty crossbred steer calves were stratified by weight and allotted into four groups to test three sorting strategies against an unsorted control to compare methods of sorting long yearling steers to decrease variation in carcass weight and fat thickness, increase pounds of carcass weight sold, and increase profitability. Sorting by weight upon entry into the feedlot or by weight and fat thickness at the end of the feeding period increased average carcass weight. No statistical differences in variation or profitability were found, although numerical differences were present

Comparison of Performance and Economics of a Long-yearling and Calf-fed System

Performance and economics of calf feeding and feeding long-yearlings was compared from University of Nebraska research conducted from 1996 to 2004. All calves in these studies were spring born and purchased the subsequent fall. The heaviest calves (292 ± 5 kg) were placed into the feedlot and fed an average of 168 d (calf-feds), whereas the lighter calves (239 ± 5 kg) were placed into a long-yearling system consisting of corn residue grazing followed by summer grazing before entering the feedlot for finishing. Long-yearlings were fed in the feedlot for an average of 90 d. At the beginning of the finishing period, long-yearlings were 143 kg heavier than calf-feds (P \u3c 0.01). Although daily DMI was greater for long-yearlings (P \u3c 0.01), calf-feds consumed more total DM during finishing (P \u3c 0.01). Long-yearlings had greater ADG compared with calf-feds during finishing (P \u3c 0.01); however, calf-feds were 18.7% more efficient (P \u3c 0.01). Long-yearlings were 38 kg heavier (P \u3c 0.01) than calf-feds and had 24 kg heavier hot carcass weight (P \u3c 0.01). Quality grade was not affected by production system (P \u3e 0.10); however, calf-feds had 0.15 cm greater fat thickness (P \u3c 0.01). Long-yearlings were more profitable than calf-feds (P \u3c 0.01) due to lower feed cost (P \u3c 0.01), yardage (P \u3c 0.01), and initial animal cost (P \u3c 0.01). However, long-yearlings had higher interest cost (P \u3c 0.01) and total cost (P = 0.02). Long-yearlings produced greater final BW leading to an improvement in profitability compared with calf-feds