Category Archives: AgriLife Research
ANSC Students Present at Summer Research Conferences
It’s been a busy summer for our undergraduate and graduate students in the department of animal science. Many students have traveled across the world presenting research at various industry conferences. Their work is preparing them for a future in teaching, research, Extension, livestock and dairy production, and in industries involving food technology, livestock products and livestock management. 75th Reciprocal Meat Conference June 12-15, 2022; Des Moines, Iowa Trent Schwartz (PhD Animal Science, Emphasis in Meat Science) Does more inherently tender beef need to be aged as long as… Read More →
J. Gill, Canon receive Vice Chancellor Awards in Excellence
Vice Chancellor’s Awards recognize Texas A&M AgriLife personnel Recipients honored for outstanding excellence Texas A&M AgriLife faculty and staff were honored Jan. 14 during the Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence ceremony, which followed the annual State of AgriLife Address, both held virtually this year. The awards, established in 1980, recognize the commitment and outstanding contributions displayed across Texas A&M AgriLife and celebrate the contributions and achievements of faculty, students and staff members. Recipients represent personnel in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M… Read More →
Innovative agricultural solutions necessary to advance human health, sustain natural resources
Texas A&M AgriLife shares leading research at global EarthX conference By Carrie Baker, carrie_baker@tamu.edu As the world’s population increases, scientists and agriculturalists face a growing challenge to produce more, higher quality food for consumers while using fewer natural resources and taking care to appropriately manage and conserve the resources that still exist. Patrick Stover, Ph.D., vice chancellor for Texas A&M AgriLife, dean of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, discussed this challenge as he delivered the keynote address on the second day… Read More →
Texas A&M AgriLife organizes veterinarian network, mentoring program
Leading change in veterinary response to large animal production A group of Texas A&M AgriLife faculty are establishing a rural veterinarian network to provide education and assistance with a goal of making rural veterinary practices sustainable. Many rural large animal practices are operated by older vets, and younger veterinary professionals are going to pet care because it’s more lucrative, said Tom Hairgrove, DVM and Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service cattle veterinary specialist in the Texas A&M University Department of Animal Science. That could result in the reduction of rural large animal practices…. Read More →
Can we produce more animal protein without damaging the environment?
In an effort to make sure the animal protein supply is sustainable, a Texas A&M AgriLife researcher is using mathematical modeling to connect the dots between increasing production efficiency in livestock operations and minimizing environmental impacts. Luis Tedeschi, an AgriLife Research ruminant nutritionist, and his team in the Texas A&M University Department of Animal Science recently published a paper on sustainable livestock intensification, “Modelling a Sustainable Future for Livestock Production,” in Scientia. The team concluded that an integrated smart-farming approach employing innovative pasture systems and modeling-based decision support tools could help create more sustainable… Read More →
Stopping SARS-CoV-2 along the farm-to-plate supply chain
Texas A&M AgriLife-led study tracking down cause, transmission of coronavirus in food processing From live cattle entering a packing plant to the consumer’s kitchen table, a Texas A&M AgriLife-led research project aims to develop an accurate way to predict potential contamination with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, throughout the food supply chain. Sapna Chitlapilly Dass, Ph.D., a meat science research assistant professor in the Texas A&M College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science, will lead the two-year, $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture… Read More →
A New Herd
Growing up on his father’s livestock and crop operation in Rhodesia, Dr. G. Cliff Lamb was surrounded by cattle, pigs and sheep almost from the moment he was born. The lifestyle influenced his interest in livestock reproduction and still informs his perspective today as head of the Department of Animal Science in Texas A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In Africa, Lamb also saw what can happen to food production in times of unrest. His homeland erupted into civil war from 1976 to 1979, resulting in… Read More →
Brahman-type cattle may require less nitrogen; feeding them accordingly could reduce nitrogen emissions
Texas A&M AgriLife study to identify differences in nitrogen metabolism between primary cattle subspecies By Kay Ledbetter 806-677-5608 | skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu A recently funded Texas A&M AgriLife study will determine differences in nitrogen requirements between Brahman type cattle and other cattle. Measuring these differences may allow cattle producers to reduce the protein in cattle diets by allowing for precise diet formulations. “Implementation of precision diet formulation in cattle diets can be the answer to producing a more affordable beef with a smaller environmental impact,” said Tryon Wickersham, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research,… Read More →
Beef’s greatest talent is protein upcycling
By Lacey Newlin, 580-748-1892, lnewlin@hpj.com “There are some really highly educated people out there who are actively against the beef industry,” said Tryon Wickersham, associate professor of animal nutrition at Texas A&M University. “I don’t think there is going to be anything we can do to change that. I think they will be against everything we do, no matter how we do it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t mount a defense or stop educating the consumers about the value we bring to their plates.” Wickersham spoke recently… Read More →
Poole awarded 2020 Southern Section of the ASAS Emerging Young Scholar Award
January 25, 2020 – Dr. Rebecca Poole is the recipient of the 2020 Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Emerging Young Scholar Award, presented to her this week during the annual 2020 Southern Section ASAS Meeting held in Chattanooga, TN. A native of North Carolina, Rebecca “Becky” Poole received her B.S. in Animal Science (2014) from North Carolina State University (NCSU). She received her M.S. in Animal and Poultry Sciences (2016) from Virginia Tech and Ph.D. in Animal Science from NCSU (2019). While working towards… Read More →