Pioneering UF/IFAS Cattle Scientist Recognized At World Dairy Expo

Oct 09, 2015

A University of Florida emeritus graduate research professor in the Department of Animal Sciences was recognized last week at the 2015 World Dairy Expo for his decades of work in cattle reproduction.

Virtus Nutrition honored several researchers, including William Thatcher, as the company launched the Fatty Acid Forum Legacy Series at the expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Virtus showcased the significance of dairy research and the scientists who pioneered numerous dairy cattle nutrition breakthroughs. Some of the scientists’ findings serve as resources for nutritionists and producers now and for future generations.

Thatcher, an active emeritus UF/IFAS faculty member, is considered one of the world’s leading experts in animal reproduction. He played a key role in establishing links between the intake of fatty acids by dairy cows and their effects on improving reproduction.

Dietary supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids helps regulate lactating dairy cows by modulating metabolic, reproductive and immune functions that, in turn, enhance fertility and lactation. This leads to increased productivity of the dairy herd, Thatcher said.

“I am very pleased and humbled to have our research recognized by Virtus Nutrition,” he said. “It is a recognition of the integrated efforts of my students, scientific colleagues at the University of Florida and our cooperative dairy producers to bring this research in lipid biology to the point of technology transfer, which benefits the dairy industry.”

The dairy cow is an excellent experimental model for humans, as it relates to different aspects of reproduction and lactation, Thatcher said. By understanding the molecular control systems altered by polyunsaturated fatty acids, farmers can feed cattle different fatty acids to improve dairy cattle fertility. Potential application to humans warrants further investigation, he said.

“The research topics that are covered by these dedicated legacy professors built the core biology that our current-day models and systems in the industry can utilize to make better decisions and reduce risk of misuse or less profitable outcomes when integrating fatty acids into dairy diets,” said Kevin Murphy, global technical director for Virtus Nutrition.

Source: ufl.edu

Video: US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Eric van Heugten, PhD, professor and swine extension specialist at North Carolina State University, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean Meal 360°: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Soybean meal offers pig producers a high-value proposition. It’s a high-quality protein source, providing essential and non-essential amino acids to the pig that are highly digestible and palatable. Studies now show that soybean meal provides higher net energy than current National Research Council (NRC) requirements. Plus, soybean meal offers health benefits such as isoflavones and antioxidants as well as benefits with respiratory diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

One of several ingredients that compete with the inclusion of soybean meal in pig diets is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).

“With DDGS, we typically see more variable responses because of the quality differences depending on which plant it comes from,” said Dr. van Heugten. “At very high levels, we often see a reduction in performance especially with feed intake which can have negative consequences on pig performance, especially in the summer months when feed intake is already low and gaining weight is at a premium to get them to market.”

Over the last few decades, the industry has also seen the increased inclusion of crystalline amino acids in pig diets.

“We started with lysine at about 3 lbs. per ton in the diet, and then we added methionine and threonine to go to 6 to 8 lbs. per ton,” he said. “Now we have tryptophan, isoleucine and valine and can go to 12 to 15 lbs. per ton. All of these, when price competitive, are formulated into the diet and are displacing soybean meal which also removes the potential health benefits that soybean meal provides.”