Agriculture

  2013 FEB 26 (VerticalNews) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at China Weekly News -- Current study results on Animal Science have been published. According to news reporting originating from Fukuoka, Japan, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "This study examined Japanese consumers' valuation of a good agricultural practice (GAP) label on packaged milk and investigated the effect of detailed GAP information on valuation. A total of 624 Japanese consumers were asked to select their most preferred milk through an online survey. ...read more

  2013 FEB 7 (VerticalNews) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Agriculture Week -- Fresh data on Animal Science are presented in a new report. According to news reporting out of Lincoln, Nebraska, by VerticalNews editors, research stated, "Wet distillers grains contain approximately 65% moisture. A partially dried product [modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS)] contains about 50% moisture."

  Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Nebraska, "However, both have similar nutrient composition on a dry matter basis. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of finishing diets varying in concentration of MDGS on marbling attributes, proximate composition, and fatty acid profile of beef. Yearling steers (n = 268) were randomly allotted to 36 pens, which were assigned randomly to 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% MDGS (DM basis) and fed for 176 d before harvest. The 48-h postmortem marbling score, marbling texture, and marbling distribution were assessed by a USDA grader and 1 ribeye slice (longissimus thoracis) 7 mm thick was collected from each carcass for proximate and fatty acid analyses. Treatments did not significantly alter marbling score or marbling distribution (P >= 0.05). United States Department of Agriculture Choice slices had coarser marbling texture when compared with USDA Select. Although dietary treatment affected marbling texture, no consistent pattern was evident. Diets did not influence fat content, moisture, or ash of the ribeye (P >= 0.05). For treatments 0, 10, 30, 40 and 50%, there were positive linear relationships between marbling score and fat percentage in the ribeye (P <= 0.05), and all slopes were similar (P = 0.45). Feeding MDGS linearly increased stearic, linoelaidic, linoleic, linolenic, PUFA, and n-6 fatty acids. As dietary MDGS increased, linear decreases were observed in all n-7 fatty acids and cubic relationships were detected for the 18:1 trans isomers [trans-6-8-octadecenoic acid (6-8t), elaidic acid (9t), trans-10-octadecenoic acid (10t), and trans vaccenic acid (11t)]. No effects were observed for saturated fatty acids containing 6 to 14 carbons. ...read more

  2013 FEB 7 (VerticalNews) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Agriculture Week -- New research on Animal Science is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Midlothian, United Kingdom, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "Objective and issue-neutral qualitative assessments of livestock behavior could provide a powerful assessment of welfare, augmenting quantitative measures such as autonomic and endocrine changes, which are often difficult to assess under many commercial livestock conditions. We set out to validate the use of qualitative behavioral assessment (QBA) in sheep using controlled experimental conditions (transport as a challenge) and comparing assessments against physiological variables. ...read more