2011 and 2012 Early Careers Achievement Awards: improving the production, environmental, and economic efficiency of the stocker cattle industry in the southeastern United States.

Grazing forages on small-grain fields can be a profitable "second crop" for grain producers and an opportunity for cow-calf producers to retain ownership of weaned calves. The increasing costs of conventional tillage and movement of soil nutrients into surface water creates a need for more sustainable production practices to be incorporated by producers into wheat pasture production systems. Research at the Livestock and Forestry Research Station near Batesville, AR, and the Southwest Research and Extension Center near Hope, AR, has been conducted over a 9-yr span to characterize the impacts of pasture systems on forage production, animal performance, soil quality, water runoff, and the economics associated with the stocker cattle enterprises.

Effects of establishment method and fall stocking rate of wheat pasture on forage mass, forage chemical composition, and performance of growing steers.

Stocking rate is a fundamental variable for managing pastures, and there is a distinct relationship between stocking rate and animal performance for each forage type. This research was conducted to determine the effects of fall stocking rate (SR) and method of establishment of wheat pasture planted into dedicated crop fields on animal performance during the fall and subsequent spring. There was a factorial arrangement of tillage methods used in the establishment of wheat pasture and fall stocking rates.

Noni puree (Morinda citrifolia) mixed in beef patties enhanced color stability.

Ground beef, mixed with 0, 2, 4, and 6% Noni puree, was formed into 150-g patties, aerobically packaged, and displayed in retail for 5d. After 2 and 3d, patties with higher concentrations of Noni were perceived as redder and less discolored (P<0.05) by visual panelists.

IFN-γ, IL-21, and IL-10 co-expression in evolving autoimmune vitiligo lesions of Smyth line chickens.

The Smyth line (SL) of chicken is an excellent animal model for human autoimmune vitiligo. In SL vitiligo (SLV), postnatal loss of melanocytes in feathers appears to be due to cell-mediated immunity. In this study, leukocyte infiltration and associated expression (RNA) of immune function-related cytokines in growing feathers were investigated throughout SLV development and progression.

BDM1, a phosducin-like gene of Fusarium graminearum, is involved in virulence during infection of wheat and maize.

Fusarium graminearum is a common pathogen of wheat and maize throughout the world. Despite recent advances in the elucidation of the genetic basis of virulence, significant gaps in the regulatory network underlying pathogenesis remain to be filled. In particular, little is known at the molecular level about the overlap among mechanisms of pathogenicity on maize and wheat.

Effects of L-carnitine supplementation on quality characteristics of fresh pork bellies from pigs fed 3 levels of corn oil.

Crossbred pigs (n = 216) were used to test the effect of supplemental L-carnitine (CARN) on the fatty acid composition and quality characteristics of fresh pork bellies from pigs fed diets formulated with different inclusion levels of corn oil. Pigs were blocked by BW (43.6 ± 1.

How is the instrumental color of meat measured?

Peer-reviewed journal articles (n=1068) were used to gather instrumental color measurement information in meat science research. The majority of articles, published in 10 peer-reviewed journals, originated from European countries (44.8%) and North America (38.

Compositional and instrumental firmness variations within fresh pork bellies.

Fresh pork bellies (n=24) were cut into 15 sections to measure the intra-belly variation in compositional and mechanical firmness characteristics. Length and width of each belly was measured before the belly was divided into 3 rows (D = dorsal; C = central; and V = ventral) and 5 columns (labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from cranial to caudal), resulting in 15 belly sections of equal dimensions. The belly section with the greatest compression value was D-1, whereas the lowest compression value was found in the V-4 section (column×row, P<0.

Cookery method and end-point temperature can affect the Warner-Bratzler shear force, cooking loss, and internal cooked color of beef longissimus steaks.

Steaks from 60 beef ribeye rolls were used to test the interactive effects of cookery method and end-point temperature on Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and internal cooked color. Pairs of longissimus thoracis (LT) steaks were assigned to combinations of 3 different end-point temperatures and 5 cookery methods. The forced-air convection oven (FAC) required the longest time and produced the reddest internal color, regardless of end-point temperature.

A circadian rhythm regulating hyphal melanization in Cercospora kikuchii.

Many metabolic and developmental processes in fungi are controlled by biological rhythms. Circadian rhythms approximate a daily (24 h) cycle and have been thoroughly studied in the model fungus, Neurospora crassa. However relatively few examples of true circadian rhythms have been documented among other filamentous fungi.

First Report of Black Root Rot Caused by Thielaviopsis basicola on Soybean (Glycine max) in Arkansas.

Thielaviopsis basicola (Berk. & Broome) Ferraris (synonym Chalara elegans Nag Raj & Kendrick) is a soilborne plant-pathogenic fungus reported in many parts of the world. In Arkansas, T.

Consumer responses for tenderness and overall impression can be predicted by visible and near-infrared spectroscopy, Meullenet-Owens razor shear, and Warner-Bratzler shear force.

Beef ribeye rolls (n=40) from Select, low Choice, top (upper 2/3) Choice, and Prime quality grade carcasses were used to determine the relationship of visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (VNIR) reflectance, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and Meullenet-Owens razor shear (MORS) with consumer responses for tenderness and overall impression. Steaks (2.54 cm) were cut and assigned to either 14 or 28d aging (n=4/aging period).

Fresh and cooked color of dark-cutting beef can be altered by post-rigor enhancement with lactic acid.

Fresh and cooked color of dark-cutting (DC) beef strip loins (mean pH=6.56) enhanced with 0.25, 0.

Short-term foraging dynamics of cattle grazing swards with different canopy structures.

The objective of the present experiment was to describe the sward canopy structures of 3 different wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) pastures and relate them to short-term herbage intake rate and foraging dynamics by steers. Pastures were sampled for leaf and stem fractions at the bottom, middle, and top canopy strata.

Net changes in antibiotic concentrations downstream from an effluent discharge.

Many studies have shown the occurrence of antibiotics and degradation products in streams; however, relatively little work has applied a functional perspective to antibiotic transport and uptake. This study examined net changes in antibiotic concentrations downstream from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent discharge and estimated net uptake length (Snet), net uptake velocity (v(f-net)), and net areal uptake rate (Unet) of antibiotics over a 3-km stream reach at Mud Creek, northwest Arkansas, USA, during June, September, and December 2006. Ten antibiotics and one degradation product (azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, erythromycin-H2O, ofloxacin, sulfachloropyridazine, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, and trimethoprim) were found at least once at Mud Creek downstream from the effluent discharge.

Influence of wet-aging on bloom development in the longissimus thoracis.

The longissimus thoracis (LT) from USDA Select beef carcasses was used to test the effect of aging period (0, 7, 14, 21, 28, or 35d) on bloom development (n=10/aging period). After aging, two 2.54-cm-thick, non-adjacent steaks were cut and instrumental color of the LT was measured at 10-min intervals for 2h.

Influence of vacuum-aging period on bloom development of the beef gluteus medius from top sirloin butts.

The gluteus medius (GM) from USDA Select beef carcasses was used to test the effect of aging period on bloom development. Top sirloin butts (IMPS #184) were randomly allocated to 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35d vacuum-aging at 2°C (n=10/aging period). Each week, aged top sirloin butts were faced before two 2.

Effects of nutritional modifications on the water-holding capacity of fresh pork: a review.

Although genetics and preslaughter handling and management have the greatest impact on pork quality - especially water-holding capacity (WHC) - modifications to swine diets may offset the negative effects of genotype and/or pig handling on pork quality or improve quality attributes of pork from pigs with the genetic potential for good quality. There is little evidence that pork WHC is altered by the lysine or protein level (and source), cereal grain, or fat source used in growing-finishing diets. Yet, recent research indicates that feeding low-starch, high-fibre, high-fat, glycogen-reducing diets effectively improves the WHC of pork.

Feeding feedlot steers fish oil alters the fatty acid composition of adipose and muscle tissue.

Sixteen steers (441±31.7kg initial body weight) consumed two high concentrate diets with either 0 or 3% fish oil to determine the impact of fish oil, an omega-3 fatty acid source, on the fatty acid composition of beef carcasses. Collected tissue samples included the Longissimus thoracis from the 6th to 7th rib section, ground 10th to 12th rib, liver, subcutaneous adipose tissue adjacent to the 12th rib, intramuscular adipose tissue in the 6th to 7th rib sections, perirenal adipose tissue, and brisket adipose tissue.

Chemical composition and in situ dry matter and fiber disappearance of sorghum x Sudangrass hybrids.

Three sorghum x Sudangrass hybrids were planted in twelve 0.2-ha plots to test the effect of date of harvest and hybrid on plant maturity, DM yield, chemical composition, and in situ DM and fiber disappearance. Sweet Sunny Sue (a non-brown midrib (BMR) hybrid; nonBMR), NutriPlus BMR (a BMR hybrid; NP-BMR), and Dry Stalk BMR (a BMR hybrid; DS-BMR) were planted on 26 June 2003 at 22.

Ruminal in situ disappearance kinetics of dry matter and fiber in growing steers for common crabgrass forages sampled on seven dates in northern Arkansas.

Southern crabgrass (Digitaria ciliaris [Retz.] Koel.) is often viewed as an undesirable weed, largely because it encroaches upon field and forage crops, gardens, and lawns.