SDSU Calf Value Discovery 2013/2014 Summary Report

The Calf Value Discovery Program (CVD) allows cow‐calf producers to gain knowledge of the finishing segment of the beef cattle industry and the marketing of fed cattle. Specifically, CVD provides an opportunity for cow‐calf producers to learn how their calves perform in a feedlot and their carcass value when sold in a value‐based marketing system. Each producer taking part in the program could consign 5 or more steers weighing between 500 and 800 pounds to the CVD program. Animals were finished at VanderWal Yards (Bruce, SD) in a calf‐fed program using typical diets and management protocols. Carcass and feedlot performance information from calves were returned to producers for use in making future management decisions to improve profitability

SDSU Calf Value Discovery 2012/2013 Summary Report

The Calf Value Discovery Program (CVD) allows cow‐calf producers to gain knowledge of the finishing segment of the beef cattle industry and the marketing of fed cattle. Specifically, CVD provides an opportunity for cow‐calf producers to learn how their calves perform in a feedlot and their carcass value when sold in a value‐based marketing system. Each producer taking part in the program could consign 5 or more steers weighing between 500 and 800 pounds to the CVD program. Animals were finished at VanderWal Yards (Bruce, SD) in a calf‐fed program using typical diets and management protocols. Carcass and feedlot performance information from calves were returned to producers for use in making future management decisions to improve profitability

Comparison of Two Different Methods to Harvest Drought‐Damaged Corn

Two methods of harvesting drought‐stressed corn as large round bales were compared in this study. Three acres of drought‐stressed corn were cut and either baled as high‐moisture bales and wrapped in plastic (BALEAGE), or allowed to completely dry and baled with a conventional large round baler (DRY). Core samples were analyzed for moisture, CP, ADF, NDF and in vitro NDF and DM digestibility. Samples from the BALEAGE treatment were lower in CP than those from the DRY treatment. Concentrations of ADF and NDF did not differ between BALEAGE and DRY. Dry matter and NDF digestibility were also similar between the treatments. The challenges of physically handling the bales from the BALEAGE treatment and in maintaining the integrity of the plastic barrier limit the usefulness of this technique compared to either chopping the corn for silage or harvesting the corn as dry, large round bales

SDSU Calf Value Discovery 2011 Summary Report

The Calf Value Discovery Program (CVD) allows cow-calf producers to gain knowledge of the finishing segment of the beef cattle industry and the marketing of fed cattle. Specifically, CVD provides an opportunity for cow-calf producers to learn how their calves perform in a feedlot and their carcass value when sold in a value-based marketing system. Each producer taking part in the program could consign a minimum of 5 steers weighing between 500 and 800 pounds to the CVD program. Animals were finished in a calf-fed program using typical diets and management protocols at VanderWal Yards (Bruce, SD). Carcass and feedlot performance information from calves were returned to producers for use in making future management decisions to improve profitability

Influence of source and amount of dietary protein on the performance and reproductive function of first-calf heifers

Increasing the amount of dietary protein above the NRC requirement increased weight gain of nursing first-calf heifers. Feeding a protein source with higher ruminal escape potential and increasing protein in the diet both improved calf gains. No significant changes in reproductive function or milk production were observed from either source or amount of dietary protein

A sirtuin in the African trypanosome is involved in both DNA repair and telomeric gene silencing but is not required for antigenic variation

Silent information regulator 2 (Sir2)-related proteins or sirtuins function as NAD(+)-dependent deacetylases or ADP ribosylases that target a range of substrates, thereby influencing chromatin structure and a diverse range of other biological functions. Genes encoding three Sir2-related proteins (SIR2rp1-3) have been identified in the parasitic trypanosomatids, early branching protozoa with no previously reported transcriptional silencing machinery. Here we show that, in the mammalian-infective bloodstream-stage of the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei, SIR2rp1 localizes to the nucleus while SIR2rp2 and SIR2rp3 are both mitochondrial proteins. The nuclear protein, SIR2rp1, controls DNA repair and repression of RNA polymerase I-mediated expression immediately adjacent to telomeres. Antigenic variation, however, which involves the silencing and Pol I-mediated transcriptional switching of subtelomeric variant surface glycoprotein genes, continues to operate independent of SIR2rp1