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The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of two implant programs and differing days-on-feed (DOF) on net returns of beef feedlot heifers using sensitivity analyses of key economic factors. Crossbred beef heifers [ n  = 10,583; initial weight 315 kg (± 20.1 SD)] were enrolled across three trials (one Kansas, two Texas feedlot trials). Heifers were blocked by arrival and randomly allocated to one of six pens, resulting in a total of 144 pens and 24 blocks. Pen was randomly assigned to treatment as a 2 × 3 factorial. Implant programs were: IH + 200-Revalor-IH at initial processing, and a terminal implant after approximately 90 DOF (Revalor-200), or, XH-a single implant at initial processing (Revalor-XH). The DOF treatments were: heifers fed to a standard baseline endpoint (BASE) or heifers fed for an additional + 21 or + 42 d beyond BASE. Pen-level partial budgets were used for economic sensitivity analyses, which varied price points of single pricing components with all other components fixed. Variable components were live-fed cattle prices, base carcass prices (i.e., dressed), Choice-Select spread (CS-spread), and feed and yardage prices (FYP). For each, a Low, Mid-Low, Middle, Mid-High, and High price was chosen. Linear mixed models were fit for statistical analyses (α = 0.05). There were no significant two-way interactions ( P -values ≥ 0.14). Regardless of the variable component evaluated, XH heifers had poorer net returns than IH + 200 at all prices ( P  ≤ 0.04). Selling live, the + 21 and (or) + 42 heifers had lower net returns than BASE at every fed cattle price point ( P  < 0.01). Selling dressed, the + 21 and (or) + 42 heifers had lower returns than BASE at Low, Mid-Low, and Middle fed cattle base prices ( P  < 0.01); there were no significant DOF differences at Mid-High, or High prices ( P  ≥ 0.24). Net returns were lower for + 42 than BASE at all CS-spreads ( P  ≤ 0.03), while BASE and + 21 did not differ significantly. Longer DOF had lower net returns than BASE when selling live at every FYP ( P  < 0.01) except at the Low price ( P  = 0.14). Selling dressed, there was no significant effect of DOF at Low or Mid-Low FYP ( P  ≥ 0.11); conversely, extended DOF had lower net returns than BASE at Middle, Mid-High, and High FYP ( P  < 0.01). Overall, there was minimal economic evidence to support extending feedlot heifer DOF beyond the BASE endpoint, and when feeding longer, larger reductions in return were observed when marketing live as opposed to dressed., Competing Interests: Merck Animal Health employs JH and MS; their contributions were intellectual as they did not partake in data collection or analyses. No competitive interest was present due to non-use or evaluation of competing products. There are no conflicts of interest to disclose., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)

Research objectives were to evaluate effects of two implant programs for beef heifers fed three different durations (days-on-feed; DOF) on carcass weight and composition (primary outcomes) and feedlot performance (secondary outcomes) at commercial feedlots. Data from a randomized trial in Kansas were analyzed separately and also pooled with data from two previously published trials conducted in Texas. Heifers were randomly allocated to pens within a block, and pens were randomized to treatments in a 2 × 3 factorial randomized complete block design. Implant programs were IH + 200 - an initial Revalor-IH implant [80 mg trenbolone acetate (TBA) and 8 mg estradiol (E 2 )] and a re-implant after a mean of 98-d (± 10.8 SD) with Revalor-200 (200 mg TBA and 20 mg E 2 ), or XH - Revalor-XH, a single extended-release implant (200 mg TBA and 20 mg E 2 ). Heifers were fed to a baseline endpoint (BASE; pooled mean 166-d ± 11.9 SD), +21, or +42 additional DOF. A total of 10,583 crossbred heifers with mean initial body weight (BW) 315 kg (± 20.1 SD) were enrolled in 144 pens in 24 blocks (treatment replications) across the three trials. General and generalized linear mixed models accounting for clustering of trials, blocks, and pens were used to test for effects of treatments, with significance set at α = 0.05. The only implant program × DOF interaction in pooled analyses was for dry matter intake (DMI; P < 0.01); IH + 200 heifers had lower mean DMI than XH when fed +42 DOF. Gain:feed was higher for IH + 200 compared to XH with dead and removed animals excluded ( P < 0.01) or included ( P = 0.03). For IH + 200, hot carcass weight (HCW) increased ( P < 0.01), USDA Yield Grade (YG) distributions shifted towards lower numerical categories ( P < 0.01), and Prime carcasses decreased while Select increased compared to XH ( P < 0.01). For each incremental increase in DOF, final BW ( P < 0.01) and HCW increased ( P < 0.01), while daily gain ( P < 0.01) and gain:feed ( P < 0.01) decreased. Categories of YG were affected by DOF ( P < 0.01); there were fewer YG 1 and 2 and more YG 4 and 5 carcasses for +42 compared to BASE and +21. USDA Quality Grade (QG) distributions differed by DOF ( P < 0.01); each incremental increase in DOF resulted in more Prime and fewer Select carcasses. Without meaningful interactions, tested implant programs likely have a consistent effect when heifers are fed to similar DOF, while changes in HCW, QG, and YG may influence marketing decisions when extending DOF., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)

Objective: To compare immune responses induced by 2 commercially available vaccines with a bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV1) component following intranasal (IN) administration to colostrum-fed calves., Animals: 90 male Holstein calves (ages, 5 to 14 days)., Procedures: In a randomized complete block design, each calf received 2 mL (1 mL/nostril) of vaccine A (n = 30), vaccine B (30), or saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (30) on day 0. Blood samples were collected for determination of serum anti-BHV1 IgG titer, and nasal fluid (NF) samples were collected for determination of interferon (IFN)-α and IFN-γ concentrations and for secretory IgA titers against BHV1, Mannheimia haemolytica , and Pasteurella multocida at predetermined times for 42 days after vaccination., Results: All calves were seropositive for anti-BHV1 IgG, and the mean anti-BHV1 IgG titer did not differ significantly among the 3 groups at any time. Both vaccines induced significant transient increases in NF IFN-α and IFN-γ concentrations. On day 5, mean IFN-α concentration and the proportion of calves with detectable IFN-α concentrations for the vaccine A group were significantly greater than those for the vaccine B and control groups. On day 42, the mean NF anti- P multocida IgA titers for both vaccine groups were significantly greater than that of the control group., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Both vaccines induced innate and acquired immune responses in calves with colostral antibodies. The magnitude of the IFN-α response and proportion of calves with detectable IFN-α differed between the 2 vaccine groups. Both vaccines appeared to enhance the IgA response against P multocida .

Randomized complete block design experiments ( n = 6 experiments) evaluating steroidal implants (all from Merck Animal Health, Madison, NJ) were conducted in large-pen feedlot research facilities between 2015 and 2018 comparing an 80 mg trenbolone acetate (TBA) and 8 mg estradiol-17β (E 2 ) initial implant (Revalor-IH) and reimplanted with 200 mg TBA and 20 mg E 2 (Revalor-200; REPEATED) to a single 80 mg TBA and 8 mg E 2 uncoated; 120 mg TBA and 12 mg E 2 coated implant (Revalor-XH) at arrival (SINGLE) on growth and carcass responses in finishing heifers. Experiments occurred in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Washington, and Texas. Similar arrival processing was used across experiments where 17,675 heifers [initial body weight = 333 kg SEM (4.1)] were enrolled into 180 pens (90 pens per treatment with 65-240 heifers per pen) and fed for 145-222 d. Only REPEATED heifers were removed from their pen at reimplant. Diets contained monensin and tylosin, consisted of ingredients common to each region, and contained greater than 90% concentrate. Ractopamine hydrochloride was fed for a minimum of 28 d prior to harvest. Linear mixed models were used for all analyses; model-adjusted means for each implant group and the corresponding SEM were generated. Distributions of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) quality grade (QG) and yield grade (YG) were analyzed as ordinal outcomes. No differences ( P ≥ 0.11) were detected for any performance parameters except dry matter intake (DMI), where SINGLE had greater ( P = 0.02) DMI (9.48 vs. 9.38 ± 0.127 kg) compared with REPEATED. Heifers implanted with REPEATED had greater ( P ≤ 0.02) hot carcass weight (HCW; 384 vs. 382 ± 2.8 kg), dressing percentage (64.54 vs. 64.22 ± 0.120%), and ribeye area (91.87 vs. 89.55 ± 0.839 cm 2 ) but less ( P ≤ 0.01) rib fat (1.78 vs. 1.83 ± 0.025 cm) and calculated YG (2.82 vs. 2.97 ± 0.040) and similar ( P = 0.74) marbling scores (503 vs. 505 ± 5.2) compared with SINGLE heifers. Distributions of USDA YG and QG were impacted ( P ≤ 0.03) by treatment such that REPEATED had fewer USDA Prime and YG 4 and 5 carcasses. Heifer growth performance did not differ between implant regimens, but HCW and muscling did, perhaps indicating that REPEATED may be suited for grid-based marketing, and SINGLE might be suited for heifers sold on a live basis depending upon market conditions and value-based grid premiums and discounts. However, these decisions are operational dependent and also may be influenced by factors including animal and employee safety, stress on animals, processing facilities, time of year, labor availability, and marketing strategies., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)

Two experiments evaluated the effect of implant number, type, and total steroidal dose on live animal performance and carcass traits in heifers fed for three different days on feed (DOF). In experiment 1, heifers ( n = 3,780; 70 heifers/pen and 9 pens/treatment; initial body weight [BW] = 309 kg) were used in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors were as follows: 1) implant (all from Merck Animal Health, De Soto, KS): 200 mg trenbolone acetate (TBA) and 20 mg estradiol-17β (E 2 ) administered on arrival (SINGLE), or 80 mg TBA and 8 mg E 2 administered on arrival followed by 200 mg TBA and 20 mg E 2 after approximately 90 d (REPEATED) and 2) duration of DOF: harvested after approximately 172, 193, and 214. In experiment 2, heifers ( n = 3,719; 65 to 70 heifers/pen and 9 pens/treatment; initial BW = 337 kg) were used with the same factors as experiment 1, except DOF were 150, 171, and 192. No implant × DOF interaction ( P ≥ 0.06) was noted for any performance parameters in either experiment. Heifers administered REPEATED had improved ( P ≤ 0.05) live gain to feed ratio (G:F) and carcass-adjusted G:F and tended ( P = 0.09) to have greater hot carcass weight (HCW) in experiment 1. Increasing DOF resulted in greater ( P ≤ 0.01) live and carcass-adjusted final BW and decreased ( P = 0.01) live ADG in experiment 1. As DOF increased, HCW, HCW gain, and dressing% ( P ≤ 0.01) increased in experiment 1. The mean carcass transfer was 79.6% across the 42 d terminal window in experiment 1. In experiment 2, REPEATED had improved ( P = 0.03) carcass-adjusted G:F compared with SINGLE, but HCW was not different ( P = 0.36) between treatments. Increased DOF resulted in greater ( P ≤ 0.01) final live and carcass-adjusted BW, decreased ( P ≤ 0.01) live and carcass-adjusted ADG, and poorer ( P ≤ 0.01) live and carcass-adjusted G:F in experiment 2. In experiment 2, dressing percentage was greater ( P = 0.02) in REPEATED compared with SINGLE. Heifers given SINGLE had greater ( P = 0.01) back fat and estimated empty body fat (EBF), whereas REPEATED had fewer ( P = 0.01) Yield Grade 4 carcasses and greater ( P = 0.01) longissimus muscle (LM) area. Increased DOF resulted in greater ( P ≤ 0.04) HCW, HCW gain, dressing%, back fat, LM area, marbling, EBF%, and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Prime-grading carcasses, Yield Grade 4 and 5, and over 454-kg carcasses in experiment 2. Carcass ADG and carcass transfer indicate a 0.70 kg carcass ADG between 150 and 192 DOF, resulting in an average carcass transfer of 72.2% in experiment 2. Although feedlot growth performance and HCW did not differ between the implant regimens tested, increasing DOF resulted in decreased live growth performance while increasing the proportion of USDA prime carcasses and HCW., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)

Vitamin D (D3) supplementation may be used to increase tenderness in beef from cattle fed zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH). The study was arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial with fixed effects of ZH (no ZH or ZH fed at 8.3 mg/kg DM for 20 d with a 3-d withdrawal) and D3 (no D3 or 500,000 IU D3·steer·d for 10 d prior to harvest). Cattle ( = 466) were harvested in 2 blocks on the basis of BW with subsequent collection of carcass data. Full loins and inside rounds ( = 144 of each subprimal) were collected for fabrication of 5 steaks from the longissimus lumborum (LL), gluteus medius (GM), and semimembranosus (SM), which were aged for 7, 14, 21, 28, or 35 d. Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) was used to evaluate mechanical tenderness of LL, GM, and SM steaks at all aging periods. Slice shear force (SSF) analysis was conducted on only 14- and 21-d LL steaks. No interactions ( > 0.05) between ZH and D3 occurred throughout the entire study. Supplementing ZH resulted in increased HCW ( < 0.01), larger LM area ( < 0.01), and improved calculated yield grades ( < 0.01) with decreases in fat thickness ( = 0.02) and marbling scores ( = 0.05). Supplementation with D3 increased calculated yield grade ( < 0.01) and decreased ( = 0.01) rib eye area. Feeding ZH increased ( ≤ 0.05) WBSF of LL steaks at each postmortem age interval, whereas D3 had no effect ( > 0.05) on WBSF or SSF of LL steaks. Like for WBSF, ZH supplementation increased SSF values at 14 and 21 d postmortem ( < 0.01) compared with those for non-ZH steaks. There was an interaction between ZH and postmortem age ( < 0.01) for WBSF of LL steaks. At 7 d LL steaks from ZH steers sheared over 0.6 kg greater than non-ZH steaks; however, by 21 d this difference was reduced to an average of 0.2 kg. Differences in distribution between LL steaks below 3.0 kg from non-ZH and ZH-fed cattle were also notable ( ≤ 0.05) through 21 d of aging. At 35 d postmortem a high proportion of LL steaks (68.5%) from ZH-fed steers required less than 3.0 kg to shear. Supplementation with ZH and D3 had no impact ( > 0.05) on WBSF values of GM steaks. Feeding ZH did not alter WBSF of SM steaks, but at 28 d D3 increased ( = 0.04) WBSF values. Shear force in ZH steaks was not effectively reduced by feeding D3 for 10 d to steers prior to harvest. Aging, however, was an effective method of reducing initially greater shear force values in LL steaks and, to a lesser degree, GM steaks from ZH-fed cattle.