Improvement of Feed Efficiency in Beef Cattle Through Selection Upon Residual Feed Intake (RFI) PDF Download

Author: Nicholas Oliver Minton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Beef cattle
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
Selecting beef cattle which metabolically are more efficient at converting feed into gain or body weight maintenance is one way to reduce feed cost in beef production. Residual feed intake (RFI) is one trait used to identify animals which are metabolically feed efficient or inefficient. Trials in the current study investigated whether animal RFI varies between trials conducted at two different stages of maturity and the influence on progeny feed efficiency when sires and dams of known RFI phenotypes are mated. We further investigated whether RFI measured postweaning or later in maturity more accurately predicted progeny feed efficiency in addition to whether ribeye area and body composition varied between steers from either RFI- or RFI+ dams. Reranking in RFI of animals did occur between trials, however; RFI phenotype was correlated (rp = 0.54; P [lesser than] 0.01) between postweaning and mature trials indicating animals identified as feed efficient or inefficient remain feed efficient or inefficient further into maturity. More efficiently mated RFI- sires and dams produced heifer and steer progeny with higher feed efficiencies (P [lesser than] 0.05; P [lesser than] 0.10, respectively) with no difference in average daily gain (P = 0.52) in comparison to progeny from RFI+ sires and dams. Postweaning dam RFI phenotype showed stronger correlations to progeny RFI phenotype (rp = 0.60; P [lesser than] 0.05) while steers from RFI- dams tended (P [lesser than] 0.10) to have larger developments in ribeye area with no variation (P [greater than] 0.10) in body composition to steers from RFI+ dams. Selection upon RFI is an accurate trait to select upon to improve herd feed efficiency as well as increase profitability in beef production.

Author: John F. Patience
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9086867561
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
'Feed efficiency in swine' has been prepared as a comprehensive treatise on the current state of our understanding of this topic which is so important to the pork industry. Each chapter is written by international authorities who understand both the science and application of their topic area. The book provides detailed insight into the many factors affecting feed efficiency, ranging from diet processing to herd health, from nutrition to physiology and from day-to-day barn management to the adoption of advanced technologies. The authors explain such practical aspects as the challenge of interpreting feed efficiency information obtained on farm or the role of liquid feeding. The authors also delve into more scientific topics such as amino acid or energy metabolism or animal physiology. This book is written for people who have a technical interest in pork production, including nutritionists, geneticists, farm management specialists, veterinarians, other academics and, of course, pork producers.

Author: Rodney A. Hill
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470959525
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Feed Efficiency in the Beef Industry provides a thorough and concise overview of feed efficiency in beef cattle. It frames the great importance of feed efficiency to the industry and details the latest findings of the many scientific disciplines that intersect and aim to improve efficient and sustainable production of nutritious beef. The vast majority of production costs are directly tied to feed. With increased demand for grains to feed a rapidly increasing world population and to supply a new demand for alternative fuels, feed costs continue to increase. In recent years, the negative environmental impacts of inefficient feeding have also been realized; as such feed efficiency is an important factor in both economic viability and environmental sustainability of cattle production. Feed Efficiency in the Beef Industry covers a broad range of topics ranging from economic evaluation of feed efficiency to the physiological and genetic bases of efficient conversion of feed to high quality beef. Chapters also look at how a fuller understanding of feed efficiency is leading to new selective breeding efforts to develop more efficient cattle. With wide-ranging coverage from leading international researchers, Feed Efficiency will be a valuable resource for producers who wish to understand the complexities, challenges, and opportunities to reduce their cost of production, for students studying the topic and for researchers and professionals working in the beef industry.

Author: Colin G. Scanes
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351648136
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 509

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Book Description
There is increasing interest in the biology of domestic animals ranging from genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, nutritional physiology, and systems biology. This book touches on all of these, with a particular focus on topics such as domestic animals as comparative models to humans, molecular regulation of growth, metabolic efficiency, reproduction, and the impact of stress on growth and development. The book concludes with a discussion on the current and future directions for researchers.

Author: Marcus McGee
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Beef cattle
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Feed efficiency is a necessary factor in beef production systems due to rising feed ingredient costs, population growth, and beef supply demands. With this known, it is important for researchers to delve into mechanisms involved in efficiency to provide producers with a knowledge base for future selection and breeding programs. Though the use of residual feed intake (RFI) is fairly well know, traditional traits are often considered more desirable due to costs associated with testing. However, previous research has provided evidence of benefits using a less biased measurement (RFI) in comparison with its counterparts (e.g. ADG, FCR, F:G etc.) Though RFI does provide indication of efficiency status, there are underlying mechanisms that also play a role in these measurements that are not completely understood. One attribute of efficiency often overlooked is feeding behavior, in which this body of work attempts to interpret via relationships with RFI. Previous research has provided has examined relationships between these two parameters, however further studies are necessary to gain a more solid foundation. Research within this dissertation will add to this knowledge base using two breeds of cattle examined for behavior traits (bunk visit frequency, bunk visit duration, feed bout frequency, feed bout duration, meal frequency, meal duration, and average meal intake) during the course of RFI evaluation. Niche breeds of beef cattle (e.g. Japanese Black Cattle) are often excluded from feed efficiency examinations, due to focuses of output, carcass quality traits, and increased specialty market value. However, the recent rise of feed ingredient costs are universal, and producers of niche breeds may benefit as well. Within this body of work, 3 cohorts of Wagyu cattle were evaluated for feeding behavior parameters with some insight towards relationships with efficiency. Red Angus cattle were also evaluated over both growing and finishing phase RFI to clarify feeding behaviors' role in efficiency. Results from these studies provide researchers with additional tools for elucidating these relationships as well as identifying specific feeding behaviors that contribute to efficiency status in beef cattle.

Author: Ashley Diane Wright
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
With feed costs representing on average 65% of the total cost of production improvements in feed efficiency could have a major impact on the beef industry. Postweaning performance and feed efficiency data were collected on 114 heifers born on the University of Arizona's V bar V Ranch. Residual feed intake (RFI) was significantly correlated with dry matter intake (DMI) (r = 0.46) and G:F (r = -0.43), while G:F was moderately correlated with initial age (r = -0.54), initial body weight (r = -0.40), and average daily gain (ADG) (r = 0.68). Residual gain (RG) was moderately correlated with RFI (r = -0.41) and highly correlated with ADG (0.62) and G:F (0.73). In addition, RG was significantly correlated (r = -0.21) with initial weight suggesting that selection for RG could lead to increased cow mature size. Heifers were sorted into three breed categories: Hereford, Hereford cross, and Wagyu cross and breed effect on performance and feed efficiency traits were analyzed. Significant differences in DMI, FCR, and RG were noted, but likely due to significant differences in age at the time of testing. RFI was not significantly different between breed groups, suggesting that RFI is less influenced by animal age than other measures of feed efficiency. In addition, sires of study heifers with 5 or more progeny were selected and progeny performance and feed efficiency traits were compared between sires. No significant differences in ADG, RFI, FCR, or RG were noted between sire progeny. This was likely due to an insufficient number of progeny used in the trial. Further research and an increased number of animals used may uncover significant impacts of sire on RFI.

Author: Fulvia Bovera
Publisher: MDPI
ISBN: 3039432524
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 535

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Book Description
This book contains the scientific contributions published within the Animals topical collection “Feeding Strategies to Improve Sustainability and Welfare in Animal Production”. Originally a Special Issue, it has turned into a permanent collection, with its first article being published in July 2019 and more than 30 published articles a year later: evidence of the great interest from the scientific community regarding the topics addressed. The articles, which are grouped by species (poultry, ruminants, pigs, etc.) and by topic, deal with a wide range of arguments that, first of all, highlight the extraordinary complexity and diversity that exists in the animal production sector, and then, the great influence that nutrition and feeding can have in terms of optimizing the use of environmental resources and improving the welfare of farmed animals. In addition, all this is closely connected with the urgent need to safeguard the resources of the planet on which we live.

Author: Jan Dijkstra
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 9780851998145
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 734

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Book Description
The first edition of this book. Published in 1993, was very well received as providing a comprehensive review of the digestion and metabolism of ruminant animals. Since its publication, much new research has been conducted in the subject and knowledge has increased. This new edition includes Dr. Dijkstra as an additional editor and four completely new chapters. These cover: the gas production technique in feed evaluation; the relationship between pasture characteristics and animal performance; calorimetry; and feed processing. Other chapters have been expanded or updated as appropriate.

Author: Dixon D. Hubbard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Beef
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description

Author: B. Leclercq
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483100790
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Leanness in Domestic Birds: Genetic, Metabolic, and Hormonal Aspects is a proceeding of a symposium held in Tours, France, from 4 to 6 August 1987. Said symposium was concerned with genetic and metabolic factors associated with leanness of poultry and accounts of research in these areas. The book is divided into six parts. Part I covers studies that involve genetics in the selection of meat leanness. Part II deals with the relationship of feed intake and metabolism to the leanness of poultry. Part III discusses the lipid metabolism in birds and its related factors and effects. Part IV talks about the use of hormones such as insulin, thyroid hormones, and corticosteroids in the control of fatness in birds. Part V covers studies involving amino acid metabolism and its relation to leanness in poultry, and Part VI talks about the applications of the studies in commercial use. The text is recommended for zoologists, agriculturists, and poultry farmers who would like to know more about the different factors that affect the leanness of domestic birds and its implications.