Category Archives: Uncategorized
January Competitive Teams Updates
The busy competitive teams season is here. Our teams have been on the road competing and hosting clinics. Congratulations to our teams on a great start to the spring 2023 judging season. Academic Quadrathlon Team The Texas A&M University Academic Quadrathlon Team secured first place at the 2023 Regional American Society of Animal Science Academic Quadrathlon Contest. The contest was hosted by North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC from January 20-22, 2023, and 13 teams from animal science programs in the southern US competed in the event. The… Read More →
November Competitive Teams Results
Congratulations to our judging teams on successful contests this month. We are excited that the department is once again home to a National Championship Meat Judging Team. Read below for the full results from this month’s contests. Animal Welfare Judging Team The Animal Welfare Judging Team had a successful and exciting competition at the 22nd Annual Animal Welfare Assessment Contest in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nov. 18-20. 1st Place Team Overall – Undergraduate Junior Division: Erin Stockland (sophomore), Jadalea Isles (sophomore), Jillian Gordon (freshman), Isabella Fonseca (freshman) 3rd Place… Read More →
Beyond the Classroom
Beyond the Classroom: High-Impact Learning Opportunities Transform Student Experience for ANSC Student The reputation of the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Department of Animal Science, a desire to live in a new state, and a passion for agriculture instilled at an early age all led Alyson Fontenot to pursue a degree in animal science at TAMU. Alyson, a 2022 graduate of the department and now an animal science master student, is a native of Ville Platte, Louisiana, where she grew up on her family’s Brahman operation. As a member… Read More →
Meat Judging and Lamb & Goat Camps Host Youth in Aggieland
Aggieland Lamb and Goat Camp The 24th Annual Aggieland Lamb and Goat Camps were held in July hosting 185 youth exhibitors and 250 adults. These three-day camps teach the fundamentals feeding, nutrition, health, facilities, selection, and showmanship of lamb and goats. Some of the state’s leading experts also joined to talk about junior meat goat and lamb competitions. Meat Judging Camp The Texas A&M Meat Judging Team hosted 61 youth participants from 3 different states during Meat Judging Camp July 21-23. Camp was hosted at Rosenthal Meat… Read More →
Recognizing and Avoiding Heat Stress in Cattle
With the recent heat wave occurring across much of the country, it is important for producers to recognize heat stress in cattle. Here are some tips on recognizing and avoiding heat stress in cattle from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the Department of Animal Science. In warm weather, cattle should always have access to shade and water. Heat stress is more sever with high humidity. Cattle can tolerate higher temperatures with lower humidity. When moving or working cattle, check the forecast for the temperature and humidity of the… Read More →
Retail beef market embraces changes, new cuts for consumers
AgriLife Extension expert outlines some new options from familiar beef cuts Chuck flap, rib-eye filet, tomahawk steak, Denver or Sierra cuts, flat irons and tri tips – the landscape of the local grocery meat case is changing when it comes to beef cuts, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert. As the COVID-19 pandemic brought beef shortages, consumers may have noticed some different cuts of beef when their traditional selections were sold out, said Davey Griffin, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension meat specialist in the Department of Animal Science of Texas A&M… Read More →
Diet type may influence cattle behavior in confinement
Limited access to forage may cause cattle to display non-nutritive oral behaviors, which may also be “useful behavioral proxy” for rumen status. In animal behavior research, stereotypies are repetitive behaviors that an animal may perform in an effort to relieve frustration or cope with a suboptimal environment, according to a review article published in Livestock Science by Emily Ridge and Courtney Daigle with the Texas A&M University department of animal science and Margaret Foster with the Texas A&M Medical Sciences Library. They hypothesized that cattle may cope with differences… Read More →
Prenatal stress increases skeletal muscle mitochondrial volume density and function in yearling Brahman calves
Guy, CP, CL Wellman, DG Riley, CR Long, RD Randel, TH Welsh, Jr., SH White-Springer. 2020. Abstract We previously determined that prenatal stress (PNS) differentially affected methylation of DNA from leukocytes of 28-d-old calves. Specifically, COX14 (cytochrome c oxidase (COX) assembly factor) and CKMT1B (mitochondrial creatine kinase U-type) were hypomethylated and COA5 (COX assembly factor 5), COX5A (COX subunit 5A), NRF1 (nuclear respiratory factor 1), and GSST1 (glutathione S-transferase theta-1) were hypermethylated in PNS compared to non-PNS calves (P≤0.05). Our current objective was to test the hypothesis that… Read More →
Select skeletal muscle mitochondrial measures in Thoroughbred weanlings are related to race earnings and sire
Guy, CP, CM Latham, RN Owen, AL Fowler, SH White-Springer. 2020. President’s Oral Pick: Abstract QuanPfiable, cellular differences of individuals are not widely used in breeding and training decisions in the equine industry. Our objecPve was to determine if mitochondrial parameters in weanling Thoroughbreds were related to sire or lifePme race earnings. We hypothesized that weanling skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity would be posiPvely correlated with race earnings. Gluteus medius muscle samples were collected from racing-bred Thoroughbred weanlings (n=139; mean±SD; 6.0±0.4 mo) from 40 different sires over 3 years… 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 →