National Beef Quality Audit-2022: Harvest-floor assessments of hide defects, carcass defects, and offal condemnations that affect value of carcasses and by-products from market cows and bulls.

The National Beef Quality Audit ()-2022 serves as a benchmark of the current market cow and bull sectors of the U.S. beef industry and allows comparison to previous audits as a method of monitoring industry progress.

Effects of maternal inflammation on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of offspring pigs.

The objective of this research was to determine the effects of mid-gestational maternal inflammation on performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of offspring. Pregnant gilts were administered either lipopolysaccharide (LPS; n = 7) or saline (CON, n = 7) from days 70 to 84 of gestation. Gilts assigned to the LPS treatment were administered an intravenous injection of reconstituted LPS every other day with a beginning dose of 10 μg LPS/kg body weight and subsequent doses increasing by 12%, while CON gilts received intravenous injections of comparable volumes of saline.

National Beef Quality Audit-2022: in-plant assessments of quality and yield determining carcass characteristics of fed steers and heifers.

The National Beef Quality Audit - 2022 serves as a benchmark of the current fed steer and heifer population of the U.S. beef industry and allows comparison to previous audits as a method of monitoring industry progress.

Effects of supplemental methionine sources in finishing pig diets on growth performance, carcass characteristics, cutting yields, and meat quality.

Supplemental methionine (Met) is widely used within the swine industry; however, data are limited regarding the effect of Met sources on carcass cutability and meat quality. The objective was to determine the effects of L-Met (LM, 99%), DL-Met (DLM, 99%), or calcium salt of DL-Met hydroxyl analog (MHA, 84%) in finishing pig diets on carcass characteristics and meat quality. At 9 weeks of age, pigs ( = 240) were allocated to 60 single-sex pens for a four-phase finishing trial that lasted 104 d.

National Beef Quality Audit-2022: Transportation, mobility, live cattle, and hide assessments to determine producer-related defects that affect animal welfare and the value of market cows and bulls at processing facilities.

The National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA)-2022 serves as a benchmark of the current market cow and bull sectors of the U.S. beef industry and allows comparison to previous audits as a method of monitoring industry progress.

Effects of a coccidiosis challenge on dietary methionine recommendations in broilers.

Broilers are commonly exposed to coccidiosis infections, and the use of dietary strategies to reduce losses in growth performance has practical implications for the poultry industry. Methionine (Met) is typically the first limiting amino acid for broilers and is involved in metabolic and immunological pathways; however, literature is conflicting on how dietary Met requirements are affected by environmental stressors. Our objective was to assess how the Met requirement changes during coccidiosis based on results of growth performance, carcass traits, and health outcomes.

Use of Doehlert Matrix as a Tool for High-Throughput Screening of Organic Acids and Essential Oils on Miniaturized Pork Loins, Followed by Lab-Scale Validation That Confirmed Tested Compounds Do Not Show Synergistic Effects against Typhimurium.

The many possible treatments and continuously changing consumer trends present a challenge when selecting antimicrobial interventions during pork processing. Thirty-five potential antimicrobials were screened at commercial working concentrations by individually adding them to miniaturized (69 cm) disks of pork loin ends, followed by inoculation with Typhimurium ATCC 19585. Two organic acids and nine essential oils significantly inhibited counts on pork ( < 0.

Effects of feeding high oleic soybean oil to growing-finishing pigs on loin and belly quality.

Feeding growing-finishing pigs supplemental fat is a common practice in the swine industry and can result in improved feed efficiency and reduced feed intake; however, dietary lipids also play a key role in determining pork quality. Objectives of the study were to evaluate the effects of feeding graded levels of high oleic soybean oil (HOSO) on loin and belly quality. A total of 288 pig raised in two separate blocks (144 pigs each) were assigned to one of four diets containing either 25% dried distiller's grains with solubles (DDGS), 2% high oleic soybean oil (HOSO2), 4% high oleic soybean oil (HOSO4), or 6% high oleic soybean oil (HOSO6).

Differences in carcass chilling rate underlie differences in sensory traits of pork chops from pigs with heavier carcass weights.

Pork hot carcass weights (HCW) have been increasing 0.6 kg per year, and if they continue to increase at this rate, they are projected to reach an average weight of 118 kg by the year 2050. This projection in weight is a concern for pork packers and processors given the challenges in product quality from heavier carcasses of broiler chickens.

Effects of feeding high oleic soybean oil to growing-finishing pigs on growth performance and carcass characteristics.

Feeding growing-finishing pigs supplemental fat is a common practice in the swine industry and can result in improved feed efficiency and reduced feed intake; however, dietary lipids also play a key role in determining pork composition. The objectives of the current study were to evaluate the effects of feeding graded levels of high oleic soybean oil (HOSO) on growth performance and carcass characteristics. A total of 288 pigs raised in two separate blocks (144 pigs each) were assigned to one of four diets containing either 25% dried distiller's grains with solubles (DDGS), 2% high oleic soybean oil (HOSO2), 4% high oleic soybean oil (HOSO4), or 6% high oleic soybean oil (HOSO6).

Relationship between Inherent Cooking Rate and Warner-Bratzler Shear Force of Pork Chops Cooked to Two Degrees of Doneness.

The objective was to test inherent cooking rate differences on tenderness values of boneless pork chops when exogenous factors known to influence cooking rate were controlled. Temperature and elapsed time were monitored during cooking for all chops. Cooking rate was calculated as the change in °C per minute of cooking time.

Effects of ractopamine hydrochloride on nutrient digestibility and nitrogen excretion of finishing beef cattle.

The objective was to quantify the effects of the beta-adrenergic agonist (β-AA) ractopamine hydrochloride (Actogain, Zoetis, Parsippany, NJ) on nitrogen excretion and nutrient digestibility in feedlot cattle. In experiment 1, 12 Simmental × Angus steers were blocked by bodyweight (531 ± 16 kg) and used in a randomized complete block design. Dietary treatments included: 1) a control without β-AA (CON) or 2) 400 mg/steer/d ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) for 35 d before slaughter.

High inclusion rates of hybrid rye instead of corn in diets for growing-finishing pigs do not influence the overall growth performance and most carcass traits are not influenced by hybrid rye.

It was hypothesized that hybrid rye may replace corn in diets for growing and finishing pigs without impacting growth performance, carcass characteristics, or meat quality. A total of 128 pigs (23.69 ± 2.

Evaluation of the changes in composition of pork chops during cooking.

The objective was to determine the change in extractable lipid concentration during cooking of boneless pork chops to different endpoint temperatures. Pork loins (152 total) were used and three consecutive chops were cut from each loin. Chop 1 was evaluated raw (not cooked) for intramuscular fat (IMF) percentage.

Effects of space allowance and marketing strategy on growth performance of pigs raised to 165 kg.

A total of 976 pigs (PIC 327 × Camborough; PIC, Hendersonville, TN; initially 22.0 ± 1.53 kg body weight [BW]) were used in a 160-d growth study to evaluate the effects of increasing space allowance and varying marketing strategies on growth performance of pigs raised to market weights of ~165 kg.

Growth performance, carcass characteristics, fresh belly quality, and commercial bacon slicing yields of growing-finishing pigs from sire lines intended for different industry applications.

The objective was to control intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with the production and slaughter of pigs to determine effects of sire line (Pietrain vs. Duroc ancestry) on growth performance, carcass and belly characteristics, and commercial bacon yields of growing-finishing pigs. There were no differences in growth performance (P ≥ 0.

Correlation comparisons among early postmortem loin quality and aged loin and pork chop quality characteristics between finishing pigs from either Duroc or Pietrain sires.

Today, the United States exports 2.2 million tons of pork and pork products annually, representing just over 26% of U.S.

Determining the relationship between early postmortem loin quality attributes and aged loin quality attributes using meta-analyses techniques.

Meta-analyses techniques using 11 independent datasets were used to determine correlations between pork loin quality evaluated at 1-d postmortem and quality evaluated at 12- to 28-d postmortem. Datasets encompassed approximately 3,957 loins. The effects of aging on ventral loin surface quality were determined using a paired-T test.

Effects of a multielement trace mineral injection and vitamin E supplementation on performance, carcass characteristics, and color stability of strip steaks from feedlot heifers.

The objective was to evaluate the interaction of a trace mineral (TM) injection (Multimin 90) and a supranutritional concentration of dietary vitamin E (VITE) on performance, carcass characteristics, and color stability of strip steaks from feedlot heifers. Prior to trial initiation, Angus × Simmental cross heifers (N = 48) were managed on a common diet supplemented to meet the NRC recommendations. Heifers were stratified by BW and allotted to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement: 1) no supplemental vitamin E and saline injection (CONT + SAL), 2) 1,000 IU vitamin E·heifer-1·d-1 and saline injection (VITE + SAL), 3) no supplemental vitamin E and TM injection (CONT + MM), or 4) vitamin E and TM injection (VITE + MM).

Effect of hot carcass weight on loin, ham, and belly quality from pigs sourced from a commercial processing facility,

The objective was to determine the predictive abilities of HCW for loin, ham, and belly quality of 7,684 pigs with carcass weights ranging from 53.2 to 129.6 kg.

Relationships among early postmortem loin quality and aged loin and pork chop quality characteristics between barrows and gilts.

Rapid assessment of pork quality by packers necessitates using early postmortem (∼1 d) traits as an indication of aged pork quality (∼14 d). Efforts have been made to develop a grading system based on color and marbling of the ventral side of boneless loins. In order for this system to be successful, there must be a correlation between early postmortem quality traits observed by packers and the same traits observed by consumers after aging.

Growth performance, carcass quality, fresh belly characteristics, and commercial bacon slicing yields of growing-finishing pigs fed a subtherapeutic dose of an antibiotic, a natural antimicrobial, or not fed an antibiotic or antimicrobial.

The objective was to compare growth performance, belly characteristics, and bacon slicing yields of growing-finishing pigs fed a subtherapeutic dose of an antibiotic, a natural antimicrobial, or a diet containing no antibiotics or antimicrobials. Barrows and gilts (96 each, initial BW: 27.52±3.

A summary review of carcass cutability data comparing primal value of immunologically and physically castrated barrows.

The objectives were to 1) assess cutability, quality, and value of carcasses from immunologically castrated (IC) barrows compared with carcasses from physically castrated (PC) barrows and 2) evaluate the effect of hot carcass weight (HCW) on cutability and value of IC barrows summarizing U.S. data.

Pork loin quality is not indicative of fresh belly or fresh and cured ham quality.

The objective was to characterize the relationship between fresh loin quality with fresh belly or fresh and cured ham quality. Pigs raised in 8 barns representing 2 seasons [cold ( = 4,290) and hot ( = 3,394)] and 2 production focuses [lean ( = 3,627) and quality ( = 4,057)] were used. Carcass characteristics and other meat quality data were collected on 7,684 carcasses.

Effects of marketing group on the quality of fresh and cured hams sourced from a commercial processing facility.

The objective was: 1) to characterize the effect of marketing group on fresh and cured ham quality, and 2) to determine which fresh ham traits correlated to cured ham quality traits. Pigs raised in 8 barns representing 2 seasons (hot and cold) and 2 production focuses (lean and quality) were used. Three groups were marketed from each barn.