Maximizing Carcass Value Through Weaning Management and Stress Reduction

Oct 21, 2021

By Francis Fluharty

Many all-natural programs, commercial feedlots, and cattle producers who retain ownership through the feedlot understand that weaning programs that boost the immunity of the calf by minimizing the stress of weaning are important, as weaning can have impacts on animal health, growth rate, feed efficiency, and marbling (Duffand Galyean, 2007). Cattle Fax reported at this summer’s NCBA convention in Nashville that in a recent survey nearly 30% of cow-calf producer respondents retained ownership through thefeedlot. For those producers, and anyone trying to manage calves for a premium, understanding the relationship that weaning stress and morbidity have on USDA QualityGrades is critical.

Presently more than 80% of U.S. cattle harvested are grading Prime and Choice.

We need to understand that the days of 3% USDA Prime carcasses, and loads of 50% USDA Choice carcasses are gone. According to the . . .

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Source : osu.edu

Video: What Happens When Pigs Adapt to High Soybean Meal Diets? - Gustavo Lima

In this special rerun episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, discusses how grow-finish pigs respond to high soybean meal diets. He explains the initial drop in feed intake, changes in backfat, later adaptation, energy efficiency, amino acid utilization, and the rise in nitrogen excretion at higher inclusion levels. Listen now on all major platforms!

Click here to read the full research article: https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/...

“Once they got adapted to the diet, they can handle higher levels of inclusion of soybean meal.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University whose work focuses on swine nutrition, ingredient characterization, energy metabolism, caloric efficiency, and applied data analysis. With more than 15 years of experience in swine production across Latin America, Gustavo also brings expertise in environmental control, performance evaluation, barn ventilation, and grow-finish housing. Learn more from Gustavo Lima on The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.