Special Issue "Beef Cattle: Advances for Sustainable Intensification"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Cattle".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Phillip Lancaster
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
Interests: energy-efficient cattle; methane emissions; sustainable beef production systems
Dr. Robert Larson
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
Interests: animal health; reproduction; production efficiency

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Livestock production accounts for ~15% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, with cattle representing 65% of livestock emissions. However, cattle allow human food production from the world’s 50 million square kilometers of grasslands, which account for 40% of the terrestrial area. Grasslands provide for soil carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, and feed for wild ungulates, among other ecosystem services. Therefore, eliminating ruminant livestock and converting grasslands to cropland to feed people is likely equally detrimental to the ecosystem, especially on ecologically sensitive land. Therefore, sustainably utilizing grasslands for human food production requires the sustainable intensification of beef cattle production systems.

Areas fruitful for sustainable intensification include genetic enhancements of forage and feed crop production to reduce input use and improve animal utilization, genetic and nutritional strategies to enhance reproductive efficiency, genetic selection to improve the energetic efficiency of animals, technologies to enhance feed utilization and animal health, and the genetic enhancement of animals to reduce the impacts of biotic and abiotic stressors. The aim of this Special Issue is to present recent research and reviews in the diverse disciplines influencing sustainable beef cattle production in order to stimulate cross-disciplinary research on this important topic.

Dr. Phillip Lancaster
Dr. Robert Larson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Beef cattle
  • Sustainable intensification
  • Forages and feeds
  • Health
  • Genetics
  • Reproduction

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Effect of Hemi-Castration on the Productivity, Histological Characteristics, and Economic Efficacy of Korean Beef Cattle
Animals 2021, 11(9), 2490; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092490 - 25 Aug 2021
Viewed by 249
Abstract
We evaluated the growth performance, serum testosterone, carcass traits, histological characteristics, and economic efficacy of castrated and hemi-castrated Korean beef cattle. Thirty-two Hanwoo calves (Initial body weight: 148.4 ± 19.8 kg) were randomly assigned into the castrated Hanwoo (CH) and hemi-castrated Hanwoo (HH) [...] Read more.
We evaluated the growth performance, serum testosterone, carcass traits, histological characteristics, and economic efficacy of castrated and hemi-castrated Korean beef cattle. Thirty-two Hanwoo calves (Initial body weight: 148.4 ± 19.8 kg) were randomly assigned into the castrated Hanwoo (CH) and hemi-castrated Hanwoo (HH) group. The experiment lasted 18 months; the animals were all slaughtered on the same day. Final body weight and average daily gain (ADG) tended to increase in the HH group compared to the CH group. Testosterone concentration was higher in HH group (5.27–14.27 ng/dL) than in the CH group (0.47–0.70 ng/dL) during the whole experimental period after castration (p < 0.05). Rib eye area was 17.08 cm2 wider in HH group than in CH group, but marbling score was improved by 3.33 in CH group compared to HH group (p < 0.01). Deposition area of adipocytes in Longissimus dorsi were higher in CH group than in HH group (p < 0.001). Net income per head was 1760 US dollar higher in the CH group than in the HH group (p < 0.04). Thus, our findings suggest that hemi-castration had positive effects on the increase in ADG and meat yield traits, with negative effects on marbling and profitability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Beef Cattle: Advances for Sustainable Intensification)
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Article
Genome-Wide Association Study Provides Insights into Important Genes for Reproductive Traits in Nelore Cattle
Animals 2021, 11(5), 1386; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051386 - 13 May 2021
Viewed by 449
Abstract
The identification of genomic regions associated with reproductive traits as well as their biological processes allows a better understanding of the phenotypic variability of these traits. This information could be applied to animal breeding programs to accelerate genetic gain. The aim of this [...] Read more.
The identification of genomic regions associated with reproductive traits as well as their biological processes allows a better understanding of the phenotypic variability of these traits. This information could be applied to animal breeding programs to accelerate genetic gain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with a scrotal circumference at 365 days of age (SC365) and at 450 days of age (SC450), gestation length (GL) as a calf trait, age at first calving (AFC), accumulated productivity (ACP), heifer early calving until 30 months (HC30), and stayability (STAY) traits, in order to identify candidate genes and biological pathways associated with reproductive traits in Nelore cattle. The data set consisted of pedigree, phenotypes, and genotypes of Nelore cattle from the “Associação Nacional de Criadores e Pesquisadores” (ANCP). The association analyses were performed using the Weighted Single-Step Genome-Wide Association method; the regions, consisting of 10 consecutive SNP, which explained more than 0.5% of additive genetic variance, were considered as a significant association. A total of 3, 6, 7, 5, 10, 25, and 12 windows were associated with SC355, SC450, GL, AFC, ACP, HC30, and STAY, respectively. The results revealed genes with important functions for reproductive traits, such as fertility and precocity. Some genes were associated with more than one trait, among them CAMK1D, TASP1, ACOXL, RAB11FIP5, and SFXN5. Moreover, the genes were enriched in functional terms, like negative regulation of fat cell differentiation, fatty acid alpha-oxidation, and sphingolipids signaling pathway. The identification of the genes associated with the traits, as well as genes enriched in the terms and pathway mentioned above, should contribute to future biological validation studies and may be used as candidate genes in Nelore breeding programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Beef Cattle: Advances for Sustainable Intensification)
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Article
Effect of Complete Replacement of Dry-Rolled Corn with Unprocessed Rye on Growth Performance, Efficiency of Dietary Net Energy Use, and Carcass Traits of Finishing Heifers
Animals 2021, 11(1), 99; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11010099 - 06 Jan 2021
Viewed by 731
Abstract
Continental crossbred beef heifers were used in a randomized complete block design experiment to evaluate the effects of replacement of dry-rolled corn with unprocessed rye on the finishing-phase growth performance and efficiency of dietary net energy (NE) use. Fifty-six heifers (433 ± 34.0 [...] Read more.
Continental crossbred beef heifers were used in a randomized complete block design experiment to evaluate the effects of replacement of dry-rolled corn with unprocessed rye on the finishing-phase growth performance and efficiency of dietary net energy (NE) use. Fifty-six heifers (433 ± 34.0 kg) were transported 241 km from a sale barn in North Central South Dakota to the Ruminant Nutrition Center in Brookings, SD. Heifers were blocked by weight grouping and allotted to treatment pens (n = 7 heifers/pen and 4 pens/treatment). Treatments included a finishing diet that contained 60% grain (diet dry matter basis) as dry-rolled corn (DRC) or unprocessed rye grain (RYE). On study day 14, all heifers were consuming the final diet and were implanted with 200 mg of trenbolone acetate and 28 mg of estradiol benzoate (Synovex-Plus, Zoetis, Parsippany, NJ, USA). The RYE heifers had decreased (p ≤ 0.01) final body weight, average daily gain, and gain efficiency; however, they tended (p = 0.08) to have a greater dry matter intake compared to DRC heifers. RYE heifers had decreased (p ≤ 0.01) observed dietary NE and decreased (p ≤ 0.01) observed-to-expected dietary NE ratio for maintenance and gain compared to DRC heifers. The dressing percentage, 12th rib fat thickness, ribeye area, and the distribution of yield and quality grades were not altered (p ≥ 0.12) by dietary treatment. The hot carcass weight, calculated yield grade, estimated empty body fat (EBF), and body weight at 28% EBF decreased (p ≤ 0.02) and retail yield increased (p = 0.01) in RYE compared to DRC heifers. These data indicate that unprocessed rye is a palatable feed ingredient for inclusion in finishing diets for beef cattle and that rye inclusion only minimally influences the carcass quality grade. The feeding value of unprocessed rye is considerably less (21.4%) than that of dry-rolled corn using current standards and approximately 91% of the NE value of processed rye (processing index = 78.8%). Rye grain fed as processed or unprocessed grain has an NE value that is less than 90% of that of dry-rolled corn. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Beef Cattle: Advances for Sustainable Intensification)

Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Evaluating the importance of factors impacting beef sustainability using a sensitivity analysis
Authors: Phillip Lancaster; Robert Larson
Affiliation: Kansas State University, USA

Title: Mineral nutrition and beef cattle health
Authors: Roberto A. Palomares
Affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Title: The role of genetic improvement of sexual precocity of heifers for sustainable intensification of beef production in the tropics
Authors: Lucia Galvão de Albuquerque
Affiliation: Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brasil

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