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There is an ever-imminent need for career-ready graduates from collegiate agriculture programs. Generational shifts in attitudes and background experiences of agricultural students challenge educators to maintain curricular programming which establishes a successful career trajectory for students. Students studying animal science and/or agricultural economics were surveyed to understand their perception of how collegiate curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular experiences (coursework, club participation, relevant work, international experience, advising/mentoring, college life, and professional networking) contribute to their anticipated career success. A best-worst scaling experiment was used to force respondents to make tradeoffs between the collegiate experience attributes in a manner designed to be free of scale biases. Responses were related back to additional demographical and experience/perception characteristics of respondents through various approaches. Based on their responses, students solely in a pre-veterinary Animal Science curriculum represented a particularly interesting category of students regarding their beliefs and reported experiences. Students indicated relevant work experience was overwhelmingly the most critical of the 7 factors they were asked to evaluate. Further research should investigate possible disconnects between student perceptions and reality in higher education.

A total of 606 sows (PIC 1050) and their progeny (PIC 1050 × 280) were used to determine if feeding gestating and lactating sows a proprietary strain of Pichia guilliermondii as a whole-cell inactivated yeast product (WCY ; CitriStim, ADM Animal Nutrition, Quincy, IL) improves sow and litter performance in a commercial production system. Once confirmed pregnant at d 35 post-breeding pregnancy check, sows were fed a basal gestation control (CON) diet (0.55% SID lysine) or the control diet fortified with 0.15% of the WCY replacing corn in the CON diet. Dietary treatments were also fed in lactation (1.05% SID lysine) once sows were moved into farrowing crates on approximately d 112 of gestation until weaning. Sows supplemented with WCY in gestation and lactation had increased total born piglets by 0.45 pigs (P < 0.04), piglets born alive (14.27 vs. 13.85; P < 0.04), and, therefore, heavier born alive litter weights (P < 0.001) compared to CON fed sows. A greater post cross-foster litter size (P < 0.001) meant that litter size at weaning was increased by 0.54 pigs when sows were fed WCY compared to CON (P < 0.001). However, litter weaning weights and 21-d adjusted litter weaning weights were similar (P > 0.158), although numerically greater, for WCY fed sows. Pigs from CON fed sows were 0.35 kg heavier at weaning compared to pigs from WCY fed sows (P < 0.001). This increase in weaning weight of pigs from CON fed sows is partially explained by their 0.93 d longer lactation (P < 0.001) and may also be due to the smaller litter size throughout lactation. The percent of litters treated for scours decreased from 38.3 to 14.2% when sows were fed WCY (P < 0.001). The distribution of birth and weaning weights was not impacted (P > 0.2461) by treatment. In conclusion, feeding gestating and lactating sows a proprietary strain of Pichia guilliermondii as a whole-cell inactivated yeast product increased the number of pigs born and weaned, and decreased the prevalence of scours during lactation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American swine industry relies on a model where facilities for farrowing are often geographically isolated from those used later for weanfinish, which necessitates multiple coincident stressors including weaning, mixing, transportation and feed/ water restriction. Previous studies indicate this combined stress reduces subsequent growth performance; however, the specific impact of each stressor on an average, objectively healthy piglet is not well understood, nor is the acute physiological response to this life event. The objective of this study was to determine the effect these stressors on thyroid function, intestinal health, and body weight (BW) in average, healthy pigs. In this study, a total population of 588 piglets were weighed the day prior to weaning and 230 piglets with the lowest Z-scores for BW were selected (5.74 ± 0.70 kg). Piglets (n = 70) were weaned directly into nursery pens and provided with feed and water, 70 were transported for 10 h with no access to feed and water, and 70 were grouped together into 2 large pens with no access to feed and water for an equivalent 8 h period. The remaining 20 piglets were not weaned and served as an unstressed control group. A total of 10 pigs from each group were euthanized at 32 and 56 h post-weaning for tissue sampling. Ileal villi height, crypt depth, and goblet cell numbers were measured, and no treatment effects observed (P > 0.05). Serum triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations were measured pre-treatment (t = 0), 24 h (t = 24), 48 h (t = 48), and immediately following euthanasia (t = 32 or 56 d). There were no significant differences in serum T3 among treatments at t = 0. At all-time points post stress event, control piglets had greater T3 concentrations compared with feed restricted (P < 0.05) and transported (P < 0.05) pigs. Weaned pigs at t = 32, t = 48, and t = 56 had decreased T3 concentrations (P < 0.05) and weaned pigs tended (P = 0.0584) to have decreased t = 24 T3 concentrations compared with pigs remaining with the sow. The remaining pigs (n = 50) per weaning group were weighed weekly throughout the nursery phase and every 3 wk in the grow-finish phase to determine the impact of each stressor on growth. There was no significant effect of weaning treatment on BW at any time point (P > 0.10). Carcass data including carcass weight, loin and backfat depths, and lean percentage were measured at time of slaughter with no significant differences found among groups (P > 0.60). As no effect on growth weight or carcass characteristics were observed between treatment groups in average pigs, this suggests that it may be beneficial to transport average pigs the longest distance, while minimizing transport for pigs on either end of the weaning weight spectrum. Further research is needed to compare effects of weaning and transportation stressors on average and weight extremes of weaned pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed sex pigs (n = 720) were placed in 12 rooms (Purdue Swine Environmental Research Building) to measure the effect of reduced crude protein (CP), amino acid (AA)-supplemented diets on growth and the carcass. Pigs were blocked by body weight (BW) and gender and allotted to room and pen (10 mixed-sex pigs/pen). Pigs were fed a nine-phase, wean-finish program. Control pigs consumed corn-soybean meal-distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) diets containing no to minimal (Met) synthetic AA. The 2X diet was formulated to meet the seventh most-limiting AA, and balanced using synthetic AAs to meet all AA needs. The 1X diet was formulated to meet a CP value halfway between the control and 2X diet, and also balanced using synthetic AAs to meet all AA needs. Diets were formulated to identical net energy concentrations and balanced to meet standard ileal digestible NRC 2012 AA requirements. Pit vacuum samples were collected at the end of each growth phase for analyses of nitrogen, C and dry matter (DM). Pigs fed the Control and 1X diet grew faster (P < 0.005), had greater gain:feed (P < 0.001), and were heavier at market (P < 0.001) than animals fed the 2X diet. No consistent effects of diet were observed on average daily feed intake. Carcass data were analyzed for sex, diet and sex*diet effects. Reductions in dietary CP resulted in a linear reduction in ammonium nitrogen excretion per kg of BW gain in Nursery (P < 0.001) and Grow-Finish (P < 0.001) phases. Reductions in dietary CP, with synthetic AA supplementation resulted in a linear reduction in total nitrogen excreted per kg BW gain in the Grow-Finish phase (P < 0.001) and overall (P < 0.001). Total mineral excretion per kg gain was reduced in pigs fed 1X and 2X diets compared with control-fed pigs (P < 0.005). Reductions in dietary CP of ~3 and 5%-units from wean-finish result in reductions of total N excretion of 11.7 and 24.4%, respectively. Reduced performance and carcass characteristics observed in pigs fed the 2X diets indicates an inaccurate estimate of NRC 2012 AA requirements or ratios to lysine in a low CP diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]