Travis Whitney - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Travis Whitney
Translational Animal Science
Encroaching plant species in West Texas continues to significantly reduce livestock production ca... more Encroaching plant species in West Texas continues to significantly reduce livestock production capacity and cause an imbalance between plant and livestock ecology. Juniperus ashei and Juniperus pinchotii are encroaching species rarely used by browsing animals, mainly due to phytochemical defenses. Juniperus spp. contain large concentrations of monoterpenes in their essential oil profiles to deter herbivory. Since 2003, two divergent bloodlines of meat goats have been selected to consume low or high (LJC or HJC) amounts of juniper foliage, through screening fecal samples with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. However, it remains unclear whether HJC goats expressed a physiological ability to consume a greater amount of juniper or if they were colonized by a ruminal microbial population that could detoxify juniper phytochemicals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of 0.00 and 1.97 mM of camphor on the mixed ruminal microorganism fermentation after 0, 1, 2, 4, 1...
Translational Animal Science
The microbial population in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminant animals aids in the utilizatio... more The microbial population in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminant animals aids in the utilization of forages with high levels of secondary plant compounds. Two divergent bloodlines of meat goats have been selected by screening fecal samples with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy to assess the goat’s consumption of high or low levels of Juniperus sp. leaves containing several monoterpenes, including camphor. The mechanism by which these goats can consume greater concentrations of Juniperus spp. leaves than their counterparts is unclear, and therefore, this study was designed to determine if differences existed between the ruminal microbial populations of the low and high juniper-consuming bloodlines (LJC vs. HJC) by analyzing their ruminal microbiota and fermentation end products. In the present study, concentrations (0.00, 0.5, 0.99, 1.97, or 5.91 mM) of camphor were added to mixed ruminal microorganism fermentation. Five LJC and five HJC goats were fed a juniper-free diet (n ...
Translational Animal Science
We evaluated the impacts of substituting cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain (SG) with dried ... more We evaluated the impacts of substituting cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain (SG) with dried distillers` grains with solubles (DDGS) in lamb feedlot diets on the dry matter intake (DMI), the growth performance, blood serum analysis, feces phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), wool production and quality, carcass traits, adipose tissue fatty acid (FA) profiles, and sensory panel tests. For 72 d, Rambouillet wether lambs (n = 44, initial body weight, BW = 28.8 ± 3.3 kg) were individually fed ad libitum pelleted diets containing DDGS that replaced 0% (0DDGS), 25% (25DDGS), 50% (50DDGS), or 75% (75DDGS) of the CSM and SG in a completely randomized design trial. Linear and quadratic effects of DDGS levels on the response variables were analyzed. Treatment × day interactions (P < 0.001) were observed for BW and DMI. As the DDGS level was increased, DMI (from days 21 to 70), lamb BW (from days 56 to 70), average daily gain, blood urea nitrogen and P, and fecal P linearly increased (P ≤ 0...
Journal of Animal Science, 2021
Hi-A™ corn is a unique type of lines and hybrids that were developed by the Texas A&M AgriLife Co... more Hi-A™ corn is a unique type of lines and hybrids that were developed by the Texas A&M AgriLife Corn Breeding Program and have high anthocyanin and antioxidants. A completely randomized design trial was used to evaluated effects of Hi-A and low-A (regular) corn cobs and bermudagrass hay (BGH) in feedlot diets fed to female Rambouillet lambs (n = 10/treatment), with initial body weight (BW) of 30.7+1.2 kg, on dry matter intake (DMI), BW, average daily gain (ADG), and growth:feed ratio (G:F). After 14 days of adaptation, lambs were individually fed a total mixed ration with 80% concentrate and 20% of one of the roughages (Hi-A, low-A, or BGH) for 63 days. Hay was chopped, while cobs were ground using a hammermill with a 9.52-mm screen. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. The BW was not affected by the diet but increased (P < 0.001) during the trial. Diet did not influence the ADG. However, the ADG was lower (P < 0.001) in the d-42 (0.12 kg/d) than the rest of the tr...
Insects, 2020
Ticks and tick-borne diseases are a significant economic hindrance for livestock production and a... more Ticks and tick-borne diseases are a significant economic hindrance for livestock production and a menace to public health. The expansion of tick populations into new areas, the occurrence of acaricide resistance to synthetic chemical treatments, the potentially toxic contamination of food supplies, and the difficulty of applying chemical control in wild-animal populations have created greater interest in developing new tick control alternatives. Plant compounds represent a promising avenue for the discovery of such alternatives. Several plant extracts and secondary metabolites have repellent and acaricidal effects. However, very little is known about their mode of action, and their commercialization is faced with multiple hurdles, from the determination of an adequate formulation to field validation and public availability. Further, the applicability of these compounds to control ticks in wild-animal populations is restrained by inadequate delivery systems that cannot guarantee accu...
Livestock Science, 2020
Two experiments were used to evaluate the effects of using cotton gin trash (CGT) treated with ur... more Two experiments were used to evaluate the effects of using cotton gin trash (CGT) treated with urea and exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE) on feed chemical composition, in vitro dry matter digestibility and gas production (Trial 1), and apparent in vivo digestibility, intake and growth performance of feedlot Santa Ines lambs (Trial 2). The Trial 1 used a completely randomized 2×4 factorial design with four replications of treating CGT with urea (0 and 6%) and EFE (0, 2, 4, 6 g/kg; 75% cellulase, 25% hemicellulase). The Trial 2 used a complete randomized design with 8 replications to evaluate the use of CGT treated with 6% urea and one of four EFE concentrations (0, 2, 4, 6 g/kg) in 50% concentrate and 50% CGT diets; the control diet contained untreated CGT. In Trial 1, there was interaction between urea and EFE dose for DM, EE, ADF, TN, and fractions A and C of nitrogen (P < 0.001). Urea reduced all cell wall components (P < 0.05) except for hemicellulose (P > 0.05). Increasing EFE resulted in a linear decrease of NDF, ADF, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Both urea and EFE increased (P < 0.05) IVDMD. There was an interaction (P < 0.001) between urea and EFE for TN and nitrogen fractions A and C. Independently of EFE dose, urea affected all carbohydrate fractions. Increasing EFE linearly increased (P < 0.001) NFC and decreased (P < 0.008) fractions B2 and C. An EFE vs. urea interaction (P < 0.02) affected L, CGP, BIO and TDOM. The CGT pre-treated with urea and 2 g/kg of EFE generated the greatest total gas production but urea without EFE resulted in the least gas production. In Trial 2, increasing EFE linearly increased DM and OM intakes and quadratically NFC intake; as well as linearly increased (P < 0.002) DM, OM and NFC digestibilities. However, fiber apparent digestibility (ADF and FC) was negatively affected by EFE (P < 0.05). Final BW, BW gain and ADG linearly increased with EFE dose (P < 0.02). Combining urea and EFE was efficient in reducing structural cell wall components and improving the in vitro digestibility and gas production of CGT. The EFE improved OM, fiber and NFC digestibility and DM, OM and NFC intake that supported greater growth performance of feedlot sheep. separated into seed, lint, motes, and gin trash (Rogers et al., 2002). Cotton gin trash (CGT) is a waste product of the cotton industry that basically is a mixture of fragments of burs, stems, leaves fragments, cotton lint, a few immature cottonseeds and dirt (Brown et al., 1979; Myer, 2007). The ginning of spindle-harvested cotton will typically result in 0.29 kg of CGT per 1 kg of baled cotton (Myer, 2007). India, China, United States, Brazil and Pakistan are the five world largest cotton producers. In the regions where cotton is produced and
Journal of Animal Science, 2020
In a randomized design study, lambs were individually fed with ad libitum access to 70.9% concent... more In a randomized design study, lambs were individually fed with ad libitum access to 70.9% concentrate diets for 56 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained cottonseed meal (CSM), sorghum grain, and cottonseed hulls, but no dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS). Four treatment diets were similar to CNTL but did not contain CSM. Corn DDGS replaced 0% (0DDGS), 33% (33DDGS), 66% (66DDGS), or 100% (100DDGS) of the sorghum grain in the treatment diets. At 48-h postmortem, the longissimus muscle (LM) was removed from the carcass, cut into chops, frozen, thawed, cooked, and evaluated by a trained sensory panel. Lambs fed CNTL were compared with 0DDGS using contrasts and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated among the four DDGS diets. Lambs fed CNTL had greater (P ≤ 0.03) hot carcass weight (HCW) and LM area than lambs fed 0DDGS. As DDGS incrementally replaced sorghum grain, marbling linearly decreased (P = 0.03), LM area tended to linearly increase (P =...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) were fed diets replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with d... more Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) were fed diets replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). Lambs were fed with ad libitum access to 70.9% concentrate diets for 61 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained CSM, sorghum grain, and other concentrates, but no DDGS. The four treatment diets were similar to CNTL, but did not contain CSM. Corn DDGS replaced 0%, 33%, 66% or 100% of the sorghum grain in the treatment diets. Lambs fed CNTL were contrasted to those fed 0% DDGS and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated within the four treatment diets. At 48-h postmortem, the longissimus muscle was removed from the carcass, frozen, thawed, cooked, and volatiles were collected using SPME/GC/MS. One volatile, 3-methyl,1-butanol was greater (P = 0.03) in CNTL, while 0DDGS had effectively no volatile present. For linear effects, 1-heptanol (fruity aroma) and 2-pentyl furan (caramel aroma) tended to increase linearly (P =...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
Abstract: Encroaching plant species in West Texas continue to significantly reduce livestock prod... more Abstract: Encroaching plant species in West Texas continue to significantly reduce livestock production capacity and cause an imbalance between plant and livestock ecology. Juniperus ashei and J. pinchotii are encroaching species, mainly due to evolutionary measures, such as phytochemicals that deter herbivory. These plants contain large percentages of monoterpenes in their essential oil profiles. Since 2005, two divergent bloodlines of meat goats have been selected to consume low or high (LJC or HJC) amounts of juniper foliage, through the use of screening fecal samples with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Through the breeding process, it became unclear whether the HJC goats expressed a physiological ability to consume a greater amount of juniper or if there was a ruminal microorganism advantage in which the microbes where less susceptible to the juniper phytochemicals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the ruminal fermentation byproduct impact of 0.00 and 1.97 mM ...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
Carcass and sensory panel traits were evaluated in Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) fed feedlot diets wh... more Carcass and sensory panel traits were evaluated in Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) fed feedlot diets where cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain were replaced with dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). In a randomized design study, lambs were individually fed ad libitum 70.9% concentrate diets for 61 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained CSM, sorghum grain, and other concentrates, but no DDGS. Four treatment diets were similar to CNTL, but did not contain CSM. Corn DDGS replaced 0% (0DDGS), 33% (33DDGS), 66% (66DDGS) or 100% (100DDGS) of the sorghum grain in the treatment diets. Lambs fed CNTL were contrasted to those fed 0DDGS and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated within the four treatment diets. At 48-h postmortem, the longissimus thoracis was removed from the carcass, frozen, thawed, cooked, and evaluated by a trained sensory panel. Lambs fed CNTL had greater (P ≤ 0.03) hot carcass weight (HCW) and ribeye area (REA) than lambs fed 0DDGS. A...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
Effects of replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with dried distillers grains with so... more Effects of replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) in Dorper ram lamb (n = 46) feedlot diets on growth performance and rumen fluid parameter were evaluated. In a randomized design study, lambs were individually fed ad libitum 70.9% concentrate diets for 56 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained CSM, sorghum grain, and other concentrates, but no DDGS. Four treatment diets were similar to CNTL, but had no CSM which was replaced 0% (0DDGS), 33% (33DDGS), 66% (66DDGS) or 100% (100DDGS) of the sorghum grain. Lambs fed CNTL were compared to 0DDGS and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated within the four DDGS diets. A treatment × day interaction was observed (P < 0.001) for lamb BW, but not for ADG, DMI, or G:F (P > 0.10). Lambs fed CNTL had greater (P ≤ 0.02) BW on d 42 and 56 and greater (P < 0.01) overall ADG and G:F than lambs fed 0DDGS. On d 42 and 56, lamb BW quadratically increased (...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
The majority of U.S. lambs are born during late winter or early spring, which can create downstre... more The majority of U.S. lambs are born during late winter or early spring, which can create downstream variability in carcass quality if commercial lamb harvest is to be relatively constant throughout the year. Flavor is an important quality determining characteristic of sheep meat and is influenced, in part, by animal age at harvest. However, management practices to mitigate the risk of objectionable flavors in meat from old crop lambs or yearlings are not well known. Yearling (16.8 ± 0.14 mo) Rambouillet wethers were assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups, which consisted of feeding a 20% ground sorghum-sudangrass hay diet for 40 d (JUN0; n = 10), a 20% ground juniper diet for 40 d (JUN40; n = 10), or a 20% ground hay diet for 20 d followed by a 20% ground juniper diet for 20 d (JUN20; n = 10). Wethers were harvested on day 41 and a whole bone-in loin and a boneless inside leg roast were fabricated from one side each of carcass. After grilling (loin chop) or convection air roasting (leg...
Journal of Animal Science, 2017
Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quali... more Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-60).Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of selected electronic transfer technology, i.e., digital imagery, utilized by Range Extension Specialists in Texas to assess rangeland conditions. The study was conducted near College Station, Texas during the Spring semester of 1999. Rangeland sites were assessed by three Range Extension Specialists; these sites represented actual quantity of forage tonnage per acre, height, stem diameter of woody species, percent weed and woody species, and weed and woody species identification. One objective was to determine the relationship between ''on-site'' and ''in-office'' recommendations made by Range Extension Specialists using digital images. The findings were: 1. No statistically significant differences existed among the five ''in-office'' Range Extension Specialists when making quantitative rangeland observations for tonnage per acre, while using only 35mm digitized images. However, there was a high degree of variation in the observations. 2. "In-office'' Range Extension Specialists were extremely variable and tended to underestimate when assessing forage biomass per acre, although their estimates corresponded with an increase in actual forage tonnage per acre. Additional findings were: 1. Only the height of mesquite observation gave evidence to suggest any differences among "in-office'' specialists. 2. Much variation existed in all observations within and among specialists, except for height of mesquite. 3. "In-office" specialists varied extremely in assessing all the range sites, except for mesquite height and stem diameter sites. 4. The species of plants significantly affected accuracy in correctly identifying plants. The second objective was to determine the relationship between the quality of 35mm camera digitized images and digital camera images. The finding was that no statistically significant difference existed for the type of camera used when making rangeland observations in this study. Overall conclusions were that Range Extension Specialists cannot accurately make rangeland recommendations from digital images using existing technology and no difference existed for the type of camera used when making estimations in this study
Journal of Animal Science
Journal of Animal Science, 2015
Rising feed costs and recurring feed shortages necessitate the investigation into alternative and... more Rising feed costs and recurring feed shortages necessitate the investigation into alternative and underutilized feed resources. Nutritional characteristics of Juniperus species are either unknown or limited to leaves and ground material from small stems. Therefore, the objective was to quantify nutritional characteristics, 48-h true IVDMD (tIVDMD), microbial gas production, and secondary compound characteristics of entire woody plant material of 4 Juniperus species-Juniperus pinchotii, Juniperus monosperma, Juniperus ashei, and Juniperus virginiana-at immature and mature stages of growth. Immature plants had greater CP concentrations and lower NDF concentrations (P < 0.001) than mature plants regardless of species. Mature plants also had greater (P < 0.001) concentrations of ADF compared with immature plants with the exception of J. virginiana. In general, immature J. pinchotii, J. monosperma, and J. ashei had greater (P < 0.02) tIVDMD and total 48-h and asymptotic gas production than mature plants. Immature J. monosperma and J. pinchotii plants were more digested (tIVDMD; P < 0.001) than immature J. virginiana and J. ashei, but tIVDMD did not differ in mature plant material across species. Condensed tannins (CT) were greater (P < 0.001) in immature J. pinchotii and J. ashei than mature plants; differences in CT concentrations among immature species were also detected (P < 0.04). Volatile oil yields were similar across maturity and species with 1 exception: immature J. pinchotii yielded more (P < 0.02) volatile oil than mature material. Volatile oil composition across species varied and contained a range of 65 to 70 terpene compounds. The dominant terpenes across species were generally greater (P < 0.05) in immature vs. mature plant material with the exception of J. virginiana. Labdane acids were negligible in J. pinchotii, J. ashei, and J. virginiana and greater in J. monosperma (P < 0.001). Ground material from mature juniper species, although inferior in nutritional quality compared with immature plants, is comparable to traditional lowquality roughage ingredients. Given that J. pinchotii has been successfully fed in lamb feedlot diets, the similarities of J. pinchotii, J. ashei and J. monosperma suggest that all three species have potential to be effective roughage ingredients.
Livestock Research for Rural Development
Livestock Research for Rural Development
Meat Science, 2015
We hypothesized that ground juniper and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) fed to lambs... more We hypothesized that ground juniper and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) fed to lambs would have no negative effects on end products. Lambs were individually fed diets containing mainly sorghum grain and oat hay (control) or DDGS-based diets consisting mainly of DDGS, sorghum grain, and oat hay (0JUN), or 33% (33JUN), 66% (66JUN), or 100% (100JUN) of the hay replaced by juniper. Lambs fed control had greater (P&amp;lt;0.03) shrunk BW and HCW vs. lambs fed 0JUN, but other carcass characteristics and sensory panel traits were similar (P&amp;gt;0.23). As juniper increased in the DDGS-based diets, HCW increased quadratically (P=0.01) and LM fatty acid composition was altered. Feeding juniper did not negatively affect (P&amp;gt;0.57) off-flavor in chops, but enhanced (linear, P&amp;lt;0.05) juiciness, tenderness, and flavor intensity. Lambs fed diets with a combination of oat hay and ground juniper appeared to produce the most acceptable carcasses and lamb chops.
Translational Animal Science
Encroaching plant species in West Texas continues to significantly reduce livestock production ca... more Encroaching plant species in West Texas continues to significantly reduce livestock production capacity and cause an imbalance between plant and livestock ecology. Juniperus ashei and Juniperus pinchotii are encroaching species rarely used by browsing animals, mainly due to phytochemical defenses. Juniperus spp. contain large concentrations of monoterpenes in their essential oil profiles to deter herbivory. Since 2003, two divergent bloodlines of meat goats have been selected to consume low or high (LJC or HJC) amounts of juniper foliage, through screening fecal samples with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. However, it remains unclear whether HJC goats expressed a physiological ability to consume a greater amount of juniper or if they were colonized by a ruminal microbial population that could detoxify juniper phytochemicals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of 0.00 and 1.97 mM of camphor on the mixed ruminal microorganism fermentation after 0, 1, 2, 4, 1...
Translational Animal Science
The microbial population in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminant animals aids in the utilizatio... more The microbial population in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminant animals aids in the utilization of forages with high levels of secondary plant compounds. Two divergent bloodlines of meat goats have been selected by screening fecal samples with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy to assess the goat’s consumption of high or low levels of Juniperus sp. leaves containing several monoterpenes, including camphor. The mechanism by which these goats can consume greater concentrations of Juniperus spp. leaves than their counterparts is unclear, and therefore, this study was designed to determine if differences existed between the ruminal microbial populations of the low and high juniper-consuming bloodlines (LJC vs. HJC) by analyzing their ruminal microbiota and fermentation end products. In the present study, concentrations (0.00, 0.5, 0.99, 1.97, or 5.91 mM) of camphor were added to mixed ruminal microorganism fermentation. Five LJC and five HJC goats were fed a juniper-free diet (n ...
Translational Animal Science
We evaluated the impacts of substituting cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain (SG) with dried ... more We evaluated the impacts of substituting cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain (SG) with dried distillers` grains with solubles (DDGS) in lamb feedlot diets on the dry matter intake (DMI), the growth performance, blood serum analysis, feces phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), wool production and quality, carcass traits, adipose tissue fatty acid (FA) profiles, and sensory panel tests. For 72 d, Rambouillet wether lambs (n = 44, initial body weight, BW = 28.8 ± 3.3 kg) were individually fed ad libitum pelleted diets containing DDGS that replaced 0% (0DDGS), 25% (25DDGS), 50% (50DDGS), or 75% (75DDGS) of the CSM and SG in a completely randomized design trial. Linear and quadratic effects of DDGS levels on the response variables were analyzed. Treatment × day interactions (P < 0.001) were observed for BW and DMI. As the DDGS level was increased, DMI (from days 21 to 70), lamb BW (from days 56 to 70), average daily gain, blood urea nitrogen and P, and fecal P linearly increased (P ≤ 0...
Journal of Animal Science, 2021
Hi-A™ corn is a unique type of lines and hybrids that were developed by the Texas A&M AgriLife Co... more Hi-A™ corn is a unique type of lines and hybrids that were developed by the Texas A&M AgriLife Corn Breeding Program and have high anthocyanin and antioxidants. A completely randomized design trial was used to evaluated effects of Hi-A and low-A (regular) corn cobs and bermudagrass hay (BGH) in feedlot diets fed to female Rambouillet lambs (n = 10/treatment), with initial body weight (BW) of 30.7+1.2 kg, on dry matter intake (DMI), BW, average daily gain (ADG), and growth:feed ratio (G:F). After 14 days of adaptation, lambs were individually fed a total mixed ration with 80% concentrate and 20% of one of the roughages (Hi-A, low-A, or BGH) for 63 days. Hay was chopped, while cobs were ground using a hammermill with a 9.52-mm screen. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. The BW was not affected by the diet but increased (P < 0.001) during the trial. Diet did not influence the ADG. However, the ADG was lower (P < 0.001) in the d-42 (0.12 kg/d) than the rest of the tr...
Insects, 2020
Ticks and tick-borne diseases are a significant economic hindrance for livestock production and a... more Ticks and tick-borne diseases are a significant economic hindrance for livestock production and a menace to public health. The expansion of tick populations into new areas, the occurrence of acaricide resistance to synthetic chemical treatments, the potentially toxic contamination of food supplies, and the difficulty of applying chemical control in wild-animal populations have created greater interest in developing new tick control alternatives. Plant compounds represent a promising avenue for the discovery of such alternatives. Several plant extracts and secondary metabolites have repellent and acaricidal effects. However, very little is known about their mode of action, and their commercialization is faced with multiple hurdles, from the determination of an adequate formulation to field validation and public availability. Further, the applicability of these compounds to control ticks in wild-animal populations is restrained by inadequate delivery systems that cannot guarantee accu...
Livestock Science, 2020
Two experiments were used to evaluate the effects of using cotton gin trash (CGT) treated with ur... more Two experiments were used to evaluate the effects of using cotton gin trash (CGT) treated with urea and exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE) on feed chemical composition, in vitro dry matter digestibility and gas production (Trial 1), and apparent in vivo digestibility, intake and growth performance of feedlot Santa Ines lambs (Trial 2). The Trial 1 used a completely randomized 2×4 factorial design with four replications of treating CGT with urea (0 and 6%) and EFE (0, 2, 4, 6 g/kg; 75% cellulase, 25% hemicellulase). The Trial 2 used a complete randomized design with 8 replications to evaluate the use of CGT treated with 6% urea and one of four EFE concentrations (0, 2, 4, 6 g/kg) in 50% concentrate and 50% CGT diets; the control diet contained untreated CGT. In Trial 1, there was interaction between urea and EFE dose for DM, EE, ADF, TN, and fractions A and C of nitrogen (P < 0.001). Urea reduced all cell wall components (P < 0.05) except for hemicellulose (P > 0.05). Increasing EFE resulted in a linear decrease of NDF, ADF, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Both urea and EFE increased (P < 0.05) IVDMD. There was an interaction (P < 0.001) between urea and EFE for TN and nitrogen fractions A and C. Independently of EFE dose, urea affected all carbohydrate fractions. Increasing EFE linearly increased (P < 0.001) NFC and decreased (P < 0.008) fractions B2 and C. An EFE vs. urea interaction (P < 0.02) affected L, CGP, BIO and TDOM. The CGT pre-treated with urea and 2 g/kg of EFE generated the greatest total gas production but urea without EFE resulted in the least gas production. In Trial 2, increasing EFE linearly increased DM and OM intakes and quadratically NFC intake; as well as linearly increased (P < 0.002) DM, OM and NFC digestibilities. However, fiber apparent digestibility (ADF and FC) was negatively affected by EFE (P < 0.05). Final BW, BW gain and ADG linearly increased with EFE dose (P < 0.02). Combining urea and EFE was efficient in reducing structural cell wall components and improving the in vitro digestibility and gas production of CGT. The EFE improved OM, fiber and NFC digestibility and DM, OM and NFC intake that supported greater growth performance of feedlot sheep. separated into seed, lint, motes, and gin trash (Rogers et al., 2002). Cotton gin trash (CGT) is a waste product of the cotton industry that basically is a mixture of fragments of burs, stems, leaves fragments, cotton lint, a few immature cottonseeds and dirt (Brown et al., 1979; Myer, 2007). The ginning of spindle-harvested cotton will typically result in 0.29 kg of CGT per 1 kg of baled cotton (Myer, 2007). India, China, United States, Brazil and Pakistan are the five world largest cotton producers. In the regions where cotton is produced and
Journal of Animal Science, 2020
In a randomized design study, lambs were individually fed with ad libitum access to 70.9% concent... more In a randomized design study, lambs were individually fed with ad libitum access to 70.9% concentrate diets for 56 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained cottonseed meal (CSM), sorghum grain, and cottonseed hulls, but no dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS). Four treatment diets were similar to CNTL but did not contain CSM. Corn DDGS replaced 0% (0DDGS), 33% (33DDGS), 66% (66DDGS), or 100% (100DDGS) of the sorghum grain in the treatment diets. At 48-h postmortem, the longissimus muscle (LM) was removed from the carcass, cut into chops, frozen, thawed, cooked, and evaluated by a trained sensory panel. Lambs fed CNTL were compared with 0DDGS using contrasts and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated among the four DDGS diets. Lambs fed CNTL had greater (P ≤ 0.03) hot carcass weight (HCW) and LM area than lambs fed 0DDGS. As DDGS incrementally replaced sorghum grain, marbling linearly decreased (P = 0.03), LM area tended to linearly increase (P =...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) were fed diets replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with d... more Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) were fed diets replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). Lambs were fed with ad libitum access to 70.9% concentrate diets for 61 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained CSM, sorghum grain, and other concentrates, but no DDGS. The four treatment diets were similar to CNTL, but did not contain CSM. Corn DDGS replaced 0%, 33%, 66% or 100% of the sorghum grain in the treatment diets. Lambs fed CNTL were contrasted to those fed 0% DDGS and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated within the four treatment diets. At 48-h postmortem, the longissimus muscle was removed from the carcass, frozen, thawed, cooked, and volatiles were collected using SPME/GC/MS. One volatile, 3-methyl,1-butanol was greater (P = 0.03) in CNTL, while 0DDGS had effectively no volatile present. For linear effects, 1-heptanol (fruity aroma) and 2-pentyl furan (caramel aroma) tended to increase linearly (P =...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
Abstract: Encroaching plant species in West Texas continue to significantly reduce livestock prod... more Abstract: Encroaching plant species in West Texas continue to significantly reduce livestock production capacity and cause an imbalance between plant and livestock ecology. Juniperus ashei and J. pinchotii are encroaching species, mainly due to evolutionary measures, such as phytochemicals that deter herbivory. These plants contain large percentages of monoterpenes in their essential oil profiles. Since 2005, two divergent bloodlines of meat goats have been selected to consume low or high (LJC or HJC) amounts of juniper foliage, through the use of screening fecal samples with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Through the breeding process, it became unclear whether the HJC goats expressed a physiological ability to consume a greater amount of juniper or if there was a ruminal microorganism advantage in which the microbes where less susceptible to the juniper phytochemicals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the ruminal fermentation byproduct impact of 0.00 and 1.97 mM ...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
Carcass and sensory panel traits were evaluated in Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) fed feedlot diets wh... more Carcass and sensory panel traits were evaluated in Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) fed feedlot diets where cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain were replaced with dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). In a randomized design study, lambs were individually fed ad libitum 70.9% concentrate diets for 61 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained CSM, sorghum grain, and other concentrates, but no DDGS. Four treatment diets were similar to CNTL, but did not contain CSM. Corn DDGS replaced 0% (0DDGS), 33% (33DDGS), 66% (66DDGS) or 100% (100DDGS) of the sorghum grain in the treatment diets. Lambs fed CNTL were contrasted to those fed 0DDGS and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated within the four treatment diets. At 48-h postmortem, the longissimus thoracis was removed from the carcass, frozen, thawed, cooked, and evaluated by a trained sensory panel. Lambs fed CNTL had greater (P ≤ 0.03) hot carcass weight (HCW) and ribeye area (REA) than lambs fed 0DDGS. A...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
Effects of replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with dried distillers grains with so... more Effects of replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) in Dorper ram lamb (n = 46) feedlot diets on growth performance and rumen fluid parameter were evaluated. In a randomized design study, lambs were individually fed ad libitum 70.9% concentrate diets for 56 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained CSM, sorghum grain, and other concentrates, but no DDGS. Four treatment diets were similar to CNTL, but had no CSM which was replaced 0% (0DDGS), 33% (33DDGS), 66% (66DDGS) or 100% (100DDGS) of the sorghum grain. Lambs fed CNTL were compared to 0DDGS and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated within the four DDGS diets. A treatment × day interaction was observed (P < 0.001) for lamb BW, but not for ADG, DMI, or G:F (P > 0.10). Lambs fed CNTL had greater (P ≤ 0.02) BW on d 42 and 56 and greater (P < 0.01) overall ADG and G:F than lambs fed 0DDGS. On d 42 and 56, lamb BW quadratically increased (...
Journal of Animal Science, 2019
The majority of U.S. lambs are born during late winter or early spring, which can create downstre... more The majority of U.S. lambs are born during late winter or early spring, which can create downstream variability in carcass quality if commercial lamb harvest is to be relatively constant throughout the year. Flavor is an important quality determining characteristic of sheep meat and is influenced, in part, by animal age at harvest. However, management practices to mitigate the risk of objectionable flavors in meat from old crop lambs or yearlings are not well known. Yearling (16.8 ± 0.14 mo) Rambouillet wethers were assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups, which consisted of feeding a 20% ground sorghum-sudangrass hay diet for 40 d (JUN0; n = 10), a 20% ground juniper diet for 40 d (JUN40; n = 10), or a 20% ground hay diet for 20 d followed by a 20% ground juniper diet for 20 d (JUN20; n = 10). Wethers were harvested on day 41 and a whole bone-in loin and a boneless inside leg roast were fabricated from one side each of carcass. After grilling (loin chop) or convection air roasting (leg...
Journal of Animal Science, 2017
Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quali... more Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-60).Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of selected electronic transfer technology, i.e., digital imagery, utilized by Range Extension Specialists in Texas to assess rangeland conditions. The study was conducted near College Station, Texas during the Spring semester of 1999. Rangeland sites were assessed by three Range Extension Specialists; these sites represented actual quantity of forage tonnage per acre, height, stem diameter of woody species, percent weed and woody species, and weed and woody species identification. One objective was to determine the relationship between ''on-site'' and ''in-office'' recommendations made by Range Extension Specialists using digital images. The findings were: 1. No statistically significant differences existed among the five ''in-office'' Range Extension Specialists when making quantitative rangeland observations for tonnage per acre, while using only 35mm digitized images. However, there was a high degree of variation in the observations. 2. "In-office'' Range Extension Specialists were extremely variable and tended to underestimate when assessing forage biomass per acre, although their estimates corresponded with an increase in actual forage tonnage per acre. Additional findings were: 1. Only the height of mesquite observation gave evidence to suggest any differences among "in-office'' specialists. 2. Much variation existed in all observations within and among specialists, except for height of mesquite. 3. "In-office" specialists varied extremely in assessing all the range sites, except for mesquite height and stem diameter sites. 4. The species of plants significantly affected accuracy in correctly identifying plants. The second objective was to determine the relationship between the quality of 35mm camera digitized images and digital camera images. The finding was that no statistically significant difference existed for the type of camera used when making rangeland observations in this study. Overall conclusions were that Range Extension Specialists cannot accurately make rangeland recommendations from digital images using existing technology and no difference existed for the type of camera used when making estimations in this study
Journal of Animal Science
Journal of Animal Science, 2015
Rising feed costs and recurring feed shortages necessitate the investigation into alternative and... more Rising feed costs and recurring feed shortages necessitate the investigation into alternative and underutilized feed resources. Nutritional characteristics of Juniperus species are either unknown or limited to leaves and ground material from small stems. Therefore, the objective was to quantify nutritional characteristics, 48-h true IVDMD (tIVDMD), microbial gas production, and secondary compound characteristics of entire woody plant material of 4 Juniperus species-Juniperus pinchotii, Juniperus monosperma, Juniperus ashei, and Juniperus virginiana-at immature and mature stages of growth. Immature plants had greater CP concentrations and lower NDF concentrations (P < 0.001) than mature plants regardless of species. Mature plants also had greater (P < 0.001) concentrations of ADF compared with immature plants with the exception of J. virginiana. In general, immature J. pinchotii, J. monosperma, and J. ashei had greater (P < 0.02) tIVDMD and total 48-h and asymptotic gas production than mature plants. Immature J. monosperma and J. pinchotii plants were more digested (tIVDMD; P < 0.001) than immature J. virginiana and J. ashei, but tIVDMD did not differ in mature plant material across species. Condensed tannins (CT) were greater (P < 0.001) in immature J. pinchotii and J. ashei than mature plants; differences in CT concentrations among immature species were also detected (P < 0.04). Volatile oil yields were similar across maturity and species with 1 exception: immature J. pinchotii yielded more (P < 0.02) volatile oil than mature material. Volatile oil composition across species varied and contained a range of 65 to 70 terpene compounds. The dominant terpenes across species were generally greater (P < 0.05) in immature vs. mature plant material with the exception of J. virginiana. Labdane acids were negligible in J. pinchotii, J. ashei, and J. virginiana and greater in J. monosperma (P < 0.001). Ground material from mature juniper species, although inferior in nutritional quality compared with immature plants, is comparable to traditional lowquality roughage ingredients. Given that J. pinchotii has been successfully fed in lamb feedlot diets, the similarities of J. pinchotii, J. ashei and J. monosperma suggest that all three species have potential to be effective roughage ingredients.
Livestock Research for Rural Development
Livestock Research for Rural Development
Meat Science, 2015
We hypothesized that ground juniper and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) fed to lambs... more We hypothesized that ground juniper and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) fed to lambs would have no negative effects on end products. Lambs were individually fed diets containing mainly sorghum grain and oat hay (control) or DDGS-based diets consisting mainly of DDGS, sorghum grain, and oat hay (0JUN), or 33% (33JUN), 66% (66JUN), or 100% (100JUN) of the hay replaced by juniper. Lambs fed control had greater (P&amp;lt;0.03) shrunk BW and HCW vs. lambs fed 0JUN, but other carcass characteristics and sensory panel traits were similar (P&amp;gt;0.23). As juniper increased in the DDGS-based diets, HCW increased quadratically (P=0.01) and LM fatty acid composition was altered. Feeding juniper did not negatively affect (P&amp;gt;0.57) off-flavor in chops, but enhanced (linear, P&amp;lt;0.05) juiciness, tenderness, and flavor intensity. Lambs fed diets with a combination of oat hay and ground juniper appeared to produce the most acceptable carcasses and lamb chops.