Frame Score Research Articles

89 Relationships Among Measures of Efficiency with Body Weight, Frame Score, and Body Volume in Lactating Multiparous Crossbred Beef Cattle

Abstract Sixty cows of varying frame scores (FS; 5.17 ± 1.38) were used to examine relationships between body size [BW, FS, and body volume (V)] and cow efficiency. Dry matter intake (DMI) and BW change were monitored over 64 days starting 1 month before bull turnout. Cows were fed a forage-based diet and DMI monitored using the Insentec system. Average BW (ABW; 662 ± 93.3 kg) was calculated by averaging 2-d beginning and end BW. Measurements (body length, hip height, hip width, and heart, mid, and flank girth) were collected at the beginning and end of the experiment and average V (628 ± 96.4 L) calculated. Calf BW was recorded at weaning (WW). Pearson partial correlations between body size characteristics and efficiency measures were determined using GLM (SAS) and the MANOVA/PRINTE statement. There was positive correlation (P < 0.001; r = 0.84, 0.74, 0.81) between DMI (kg) and ABW, FS, and V. There was a tendency for negative correlation (P = 0.08, 0.09; r = -0.24, -0.23) between DMI (% of BW) and ABW and V. There was positive correlation (P ≤ 0.05; r = 0.33, 0.28, 0.26) between WW (kg) and negative correlation (P < 0.001; r = -0.63, -0.57, -0.65) between WW (% of ABW) and ABW, FS, and V. There was positive correlation (P = 0.04; r = 0.26) between calf ADG and ABW, and a tendency for positive correlation (P = 0.09; r = 0.23) between calf ADG to weaning and FS. The observed correlations suggest that larger cows consume more kg of feed and wean heavier calves with greater ADG to weaning, whereas smaller cows tend to consume more feed as a percentage of BW and wean a greater percentage of cow BW. Further research is needed on the complex relationship between cow size and efficiency.

Characteristics Influencing Academic Librarians’ Political Skills: Keys to Organizational Effectiveness and Career Success

Academic librarians seldom view their organizations through the political frame. Yet, strong political skills are necessary for organizational effectiveness and career success. Using the Political Skills Inventory, survey data were collected in February 2020 from 260 U.S. academic librarians. Respondents scored in the average range on the PSI. Multiple linear regression revealed that length of service as a librarian, supervisory role, and structural frame score significantly influenced respondents’ PSI scores with a modest effect size. Honing their political skills will enable academic librarians to influence organizational decisions and forge new roles for librarians.

PSI-23 The effect of days on feed and trenbolone acetate + estradiol-17β implantation on biometric measurements of Charolais × Angus steers across serial harvest endpoints

Abstract A serial harvest study evaluated days on feed (DOF) and trenbolone acetate + estradiol-17β administration on biometric measurements across various harvest endpoints. Charolais x Angus steers [n = 80; start of trial body weight (BW) (271 ± 99 kg)] were randomly allocated to implant treatment and harvest date in a 2 x 10 factorial design. Steers were paired to minimize variation in genetic group, initial BW, frame score (FS), and adjusted final BW. Within each pair, a steer was randomly allocated to one of two treatments; implanted with Revalor-XS (REV) on d 0 and d 190 or non-implanted control (CON). Eight steers comprised of 4 pairs were randomly assigned to 1 of 10 harvest dates at d 0, 42, 84, 126, 168, 210, 252, 294, 336, and 378 DOF. At each harvest date, all steers were measured for hip height, rump length, hip width, shoulder height, 2/3 body length (BL), body depth, body width, and FS. Variables were analyzed as repeated measures via the MIXED procedure of SAS to test the fixed effects of DOF and treatment (TRT). No TRT x DOF interaction was exhibited (P ≥ 0.30) for any variable. Body width was 1.17 cm greater (P < 0.01) in REV steers and BL tended (P = 0.06) to be greater in CON steers. Hip height, rump length, hip width, shoulder height, two-thirds BL, body depth, and body width increased (P < 0.01) 1.9, 1.2, 2.2, 2.4, 4.1, 2.6, and 1.3 cm for each 42 d period, respectively. These data indicate biometric measurements were impacted by both growth enhancement technology and duration of finishing.

PSIII-10 The association of genes involved in mitochondrial function with growth, size, and feed efficiency traits in developing beef heifers

Abstract The objective was to determine if genetic markers related to mitochondrial function are associated with growth and feed intake of Bos taurus heifers fed forage-based diets. Weight data collected at birth, weaning, and as yearlings were available on 373 heifers. As yearlings, feed intake was measured using an Insentec system. Primary ancestral breeds of heifers included 204 British, 66 Continental European, 68 American Aberdeen, 29 British mix, and 6 American Aberdeen mix. Traits included DMI, ADG, G:F, adjusted birth weight (BWT), adjusted 205 weaning weight (WW), and average of start and end feed trial weight (FWT) and body volume (VOL). Heifers were genotyped using Neogen GGP150HD for beef cattle. Markers (n=56) were extracted if located within or flanking AMPK, PPARGC1A, FGF2, and SIRT1 or on mitochondrial DNA using ARS-UCD1.2 coordinates. After quality checks (minor allele frequency and call rate), 44 markers remained. No mitochondrial markers passed quality checks. For each trait, each marker was fit independently as a fixed effect in a model including year and group based on frame score (n=4), ancestry (n=5), and dam age (n=4; non-adjusted traits only). Pairwise comparisons were done using Tukey-Kramer method. No markers within FGF2 or SIRT1 had significant associations. Two markers were found significant for PPARGC1A, where Hapmap24121-BTC-039009 (P=0.0344) showed the C allele increased DMI. For weight traits, significant markers surrounding AMPK and within PPARGC1A (n=5; 0.0009≤P≤ 0.0468) identified dominance gene actions that indicate certain variants of the AMPK and PPARGC1A increased weight across time-points. For VOL, 16 of 22 markers within PPARGC1A were significant (0.0068≤P≤0.0467). Of the 16 markers, 14 identified a recessive variant that increased volume, but did not translate to increased weight. Further research is needed to better understand the roles that genetic markers for AMPK and PPARGC1A have on tissue level mitochondrial function and energy metabolism.

69 A new frame score system for Nelore cattle

Abstract Frame score (FS) systems for beef cattle generally represent the relationships among growth, body composition, reproduction and mature size, in a simple and practical form. This study aimed to: 1) develop a FS system for Nelore cattle that is biologically sound, easy to interpret, and useful for producers; and 2) estimate the genetic parameters of the FS with productive and reproductive traits. An arbitrary scale (1 to 12) was devised so that each unit corresponds to 15 kg of carcass weight (1 @), as this is a common measure used for marketing beef cattle in Brazil. Therefore, ideal carcass weight, defined as having 6 mm of backfat, would be 18 @ (269 kg) and 15 @ (224 kg) for FS = 6 males and females, respectively. Data from 36,030 animals (22,405 males, 13,565 females) raised on pasture were obtained from participating herds of the National Association of Breeders and Researchers (ANCP). Genetic parameters were estimated in uni- and bicharacteristic analyses under an animal model, using the EM-REML algorithm (AIREMLF90) and Bayesian inference (GIBBS1F90). The heritability estimate for the new FS was 0.38, and its additive genetic correlations were 0.70, 0.72, 0.77, 0.33, -0.57, 0.27, and 0.28 with BW at 365 d, BW at 450 d, hip height, longissimus muscle area, subcutaneous fat thickness, scrotal circumference at 450 d, and age at first calving, respectively. The estimated heritability and genetic correlations indicate that there is enough additive genetic variability to allow for genetic response to selection. The estimates support the notion that larger frame animals are taller, heavier, leaner and later maturing, both in body composition as well as sexually. The new frame score may be a useful tool for genetic selection of animals that are best suited to their environment.

Deep Learning for Classification and Localization of COVID-19 Markers in Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound.

Deep learning (DL) has proved successful in medical imaging and, in the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, some works have started to investigate DL-based solutions for the assisted diagnosis of lung diseases. While existing works focus on CT scans, this paper studies the application of DL techniques for the analysis of lung ultrasonography (LUS) images. Specifically, we present a novel fully-annotated dataset of LUS images collected from several Italian hospitals, with labels indicating the degree of disease severity at a frame-level, video-level, and pixel-level (segmentation masks). Leveraging these data, we introduce several deep models that address relevant tasks for the automatic analysis of LUS images. In particular, we present a novel deep network, derived from Spatial Transformer Networks, which simultaneously predicts the disease severity score associated to a input frame and provides localization of pathological artefacts in a weakly-supervised way. Furthermore, we introduce a new method based on uninorms for effective frame score aggregation at a video-level. Finally, we benchmark state of the art deep models for estimating pixel-level segmentations of COVID-19 imaging biomarkers. Experiments on the proposed dataset demonstrate satisfactory results on all the considered tasks, paving the way to future research on DL for the assisted diagnosis of COVID-19 from LUS data.

15 Factors affecting the sale price of bred heifers sold through Superior Livestock video auctions from 2010 through 2017

Abstract The objective was to evaluate potential factors influencing sale price of bred heifers sold through a video auction service. Descriptive characteristics of lots were obtained through a livestock video auction service. Data were available on 1,779 lots of bred heifers sold through video auctions from 2010 through 2017. Multiple regression with a backwards selection procedure was used to determine factors influencing sale price. Eleven factors were included in the original model. These were year, weight (linear and quadratic), region, breed description, weight variation, origin, frame score, flesh score, and size of lot (linear and quadratic). Size of lot (linear and quadratic) and weight (quadratic) did not affect sale price (P > 0.05) and therefore were not included in the final model. Breed description of the lots was characterized into five groups: English-English cross, English-Continental cross, Black Angus sired out of dams with no Brahman influence, Red Angus sired out of dams with no Brahman influence, and Brahman influenced. The United States was divided into five regions: West Coast, Rocky Mountain/North Central, South Central, South East, and Northeast, which was excluded from analysis due to few lots originating from this region. Lots of bred heifers sold for the lowest sale price (P < 0.05) in 2010 at $955/head (Table 1). In 2015, lots sold for the highest price (P < 0.05) compared with all other years ($2,725/head). Those lots originating from the Rocky Mountain/North Central region sold for the highest price (P < 0.05, $1,677/head). Red Angus sired lots sold for the highest price (P < 0.05, $1,711/head) compared with all other breed descriptions. There was an $85.00 increase in price for every 45.36 kg increase in weight. Understanding factors influencing sale price of bred heifers will allow producers to make more informed decisions.

158 Long term impact of ergot alkaloids on fetal heifer development and subsequent growth and reproductive performance

Abstract Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated physiological differences in mid-gestation cows grazing either endophyte-infected (EI) or endophyte-free (EF) tall fescue. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of in utero exposure (TRT) of either EI or EF on heifer growth, reproductive tract development and onset of puberty. Pregnant Angus and SimAngus cows were blocked by age, BW, and breed; and then randomly assigned to graze either EF (n = 27) or EI (n = 27) pastures. At parturition, heifer birthweight was recorded and placental tissues were collected to assess placental characteristics. Heifer BW, height, frame score were recorded at weaning. Assessment of puberty via measurement of BW, BCS, reproductive tract scores (RTS) and pelvic area (PA) started at 10 mo of age. Data were analyzed using a MIXED procedure of SAS and examined for effects of TRT, sire, and age. Statistical significance was determined at P < 0.05 and a tendency at 0.05); however, there was a sire by treatment interaction for ADG during onset of puberty (P < 0.05). While TRT did not affect PA or RTS (P > 0.05) at 10 mo of age, sire significantly influenced RTS (P < 0.05) thus impacting of onset of puberty. While consumption of EI fescue impacts cow performance, calf birthweight, and ratio of cotyledon to placenta weight, it has minimal effect on postnatal growth and development through 10 mo of age. Further studies are needed to determine the impact on heifer reproductive performance.

PSI-19 Bovine chromosome 19 VDR and GPRC5C genotypes are associated with udder conformation traits in crossbred beef cattle

Abstract Udder characteristics are related to infection susceptibility and a calf’s ability to suckle its dam. Teat shape, teat size, udder suspension, and udder balance are main factors producers examine when evaluating cows, as per the Beef Improvement Federation guidelines. Based on previous studies that have identified genomic regions of interest for udder conformation, our objective was to determine if CAPN3, VDR, LETM1, GPRC5C, REN, and ABHD2 genes were associated with udder conformation. Crossbred heifers born in 2014 (n = 90) and 2015 (n = 73) at the Dickinson Research Extension Center were udder scored (1 to 9 scale, where higher score is more desirable) as heifers, placed in the breeding herd, then scored at each successive calving and weaning event until calving of 2018. Heifers were genotyped on the GeneSeek Genomic Profiler 150K, where SNP were selected for this study if located within these genes based on UMD3.1 coordinates (n = 24 SNP). Average scores per animal for each udder trait were modeled using general linear model procedures of SAS with fixed effects of primary breed (n = 9), year born (n = 2), frame score group (n = 4) and individual SNP. Least square means were adjusted using the Tukey-Kramer method. Significant associations between SNP and udder characteristic were: BovineHD0500009456 (VDR; P = 0.034; teat size), ARS-BFGL-NGS-27636 (GPRC5C; P = 0.042; teat shape), and BovineHD1900016305 (GPRC5C; P = 0.011; udder balance). Previous studies in other species have found VDR and GPRC5C (both on BTA 19) to be important for udder conformation. Particularly, ontology searches suggest VDR is involved with mammary tissue involution and branching and GPRC5C is involved with cell membrane integrity and regulation of retinoic acid. If these relationships hold true in cattle, then these markers may provide a viable option for selecting improved udder conformation.

Joint Attentive Spatial-Temporal Feature Aggregation for Video-Based Person Re-Identification

Video-based person re-identification (Re-ID) remains to be a promising but challenging computer vision task, suffering from a lack of discriminative features that better aggregate both the spatial and temporal information. In this paper, we propose a joint attentive spatial-temporal feature aggregation network (JAFN) for the video-based person Re-ID, simultaneously learning the quality- and frame-aware model to obtain attention-based spatial-temporal feature aggregation. Specifically, we utilize CNN to learn the spatial features, while introducing the LSTM to separately learn the temporal features. For the feature aggregation, we introduce two attention mechanisms respectively for generating the quality and frame significance score, where the quality score measures the quality of the images for attentive spatial feature aggregation, and the frame score measures the significance of the image frames contributing to the temporal feature. Then, we utilize the set-pooling for both the quality-aware spatial feature and the frame-aware temporal feature aggregation based on the attentive scores. The residual learning is also introduced to play between the LSTM and the CNN for adaptive spatial-temporal feature fusion. Furthermore, we adopt the data balance to alleviate the data disproportions existing in datasets of the video-based Re-ID. The extensive experimental results conducted on the PRID2011, i-LIDS-VID, and MARS datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed JAFN. Furthermore, comparison results conducted on different modules and features in the JAFN show that our approach is of favorable generalization ability on attentively aggregating both the spatial and temporal features.

Carcass Production of Cattle Slaughtered at Salatiga City Slaughter House, Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia

The objective of this study was to evaluate the breed, age, sex, slaughter weight, carcass weight, and carcass percentage of cattle which was slaughtered at Slaughter House in Salatiga, Central Java. The materials used in the study were 156 head of catlle. The sampling used was incidental sampling to identify the breed, age, sex, slaughter weight and carcass weight. The data gathered were analyzed descriptively. The result showed that the sex of all the cattle slaughtered were male. The breeds of the cattle were Frisian Holstein Grade (70.51%), Simmental (15.38+3.21), Simmental-Ongole Grade (5.13%), and Limousine-Ongole Grade (5.77%). The average age of the cattle were 2.34 year old, with an average of slaughter weight of 529.34 kg, while the averages of carcass weight were 277.61 kg. The average of carcass percentage was as high as 52.56%. The conclusion of the study was the highest number of breeds of the cattle slaughtered at Slaughter House in Salatiga were young Frisian Holstein, the body weights were included in large frame score, and the carcass percentage were moderate.

Maximizing Use of an Extension Beef Cattle Data Set: Part 3—Weights and Growth

Previously, we described calving distribution and reproductive rates from CHAPS20Y, an Extension beef cattle data set. In this article, we describe CHAPS20Y data on birth weight, weaning weight, pounds weaned per cow exposed, calf age at weaning/weighing, average daily gain, weight per day age, frame score, and cow age, weight, and condition. Yearly mean weights and growth are consistent over the 20-year period, with variation among herds. Breed, management, and environmental differences may explain some of the variation. Our analysis of the CHAPS20Y data provides Extension professionals with expanded knowledge of beef cattle weights and growth and, accordingly, improved ability to help producers more effectively manage their herds.

OP-135 [AJC » Percutaneous coronary interventions in acute coronary syndromes] Assessment Of The Reperfusion Success Using TIMI Frame Score In Cases With Anterior Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Thrombus Aspiration

OP-135 [AJC » Percutaneous coronary interventions in acute coronary syndromes] Assessment Of The Reperfusion Success Using TIMI Frame Score In Cases With Anterior Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Thrombus Aspiration

Non-invasive endothelial function assessment using digital reactive hyperaemia correlates with three-dimensional intravascular ultrasound and virtual histology-derived plaque volume and plaque phenotype.

To study relationships between endothelial dysfunction (ED) and coronary atherosclerosis derived from intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and virtual histology (VH). Endothelial dysfunction was examined by EndoPAT system (Itamar Medical) in 56 patients who underwent IVUS and VH (Volcano corp.). Reactive hyperaemia index (RHI) < 2 was used for definition of ED. IVUS sequences were divided into 5 mm-long non-overlapping and adjacent vessel segments. Plaque phenotype was determined for each frame and 5 mm vessel segment was labeled according to highest frame score (from 0 for "no lesion" to 5 for "thin cap fibroatheroma; TCFA"). IVUS-VH data were collected from 41 patients suitable for three-dimensional analysis. Patients with ED exhibited larger plaque burden than those without ED (0.46 ± 0.08 vs. 0.39 ± 0.07, p = 0.014), smaller lumen area (8.59 ± 2.19 vs. 11.90 ± 3.50, p = 0.016), higher plaque risk score (2.82 ± 1.18 vs. 1.84 ± 0.90, p = 0.012), and higher number of TCFA frames (0.36 ± 0.22 vs. 0.22 ± 0.16, p = 0.038). Relative amounts of fibrous tissue correlated positively with RHI (p = 0.034, r = 0.33). The numbers of fibroatheromas and calcified plaques correlated with RHI inversely (r = -0.34, p = 0.031 and r = -0.32, p = 0.044, respectively). Endothelial dysfunction correlates with severity and phenotype of coronary lesions and can contribute to non-invasive detection of individuals with higher risk of cardiovascular events.

Performance of heifers supplemented with different levels of corn on pasture

In southern Brazil, production systems are typically extensive and rely on grazing that often results in limited forage quantity and quality, decreasing efficiency and compromising reproductive tract development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the productive performance and reproductive tract development of heifers supplemented with different levels of corn on pasture. The following supplemental treatments were evaluated: T0 [40 g trace-mineralized salt per heifer per day (80 g phosphorus/kg product)]; T1 [0.5% of body weight (BW) cracked corn + 40 g trace-mineralized salt per heifer per day]; T2 [1% of BW cracked corn + 40 g trace-mineralized salt per heifer per day], and T3 [1.5% of BW cracked corn + 40 g trace-mineralized salt per heifer per day]. Thirty-nine phenotypically homogeneous Brangus heifers (average BW = 184±17 kg, average age = 269±27 days) raised on winter pasture ( Lolium multiflorum Lam.) were randomized to 13 paddocks (one hectare each), with three heifers/paddock, to evaluate the effect of feeding different energy levels. Body condition score, average daily gain, frame score, dry matter availability, reproductive tract score, and stocking density were evaluated. The body condition score, average daily gain, reproductive tract score and stocking density increased (P<0.05) with increasing level of corn supplementation. Daily supplementation levels lower than 1.0% on Lolium multiflorum Lam. pasture can compromise the target breeding weight at 13 months of age. Therefore, daily supplementation at 1.0% of BW after weaning is a strategy to improve the economic and biological efficiency of livestock production systems, allowing to increase stocking density and to anticipate the age of heifers at first breeding.

Relationships among temperament, behavior, and growth during performance testing of bulls.

Excitable cattle are dangerous to personnel and have reduced individual performance. The aim of this study was to 1) identify objective criteria for evaluating bull temperament and 2) examine relationships among temperament, behavior, and performance of bulls during an 84-d performance test. Angus bulls ( = 60) were reared in 6 pens based on BW and age. Pen scores (PS; 1 = docile and 5 = very aggressive) were assigned on d -1, 27, 55, and 83. Exit velocity (EV), BW, time to exit the chute, and order through the chute were recorded on d 0, 28, 56, and 84. The ADG was calculated for the 84-d test period, and ultrasound data and frame score calculations were recorded on d 84. Dataloggers measured steps taken, lying time, number of lying bouts, and lying bout duration of bulls ( = 27; 3 pens) from d 3 to 28 and d 59 to 84. Bulls with a d -1 PS of 1 or 2 were categorized as calm (PScalm; = 40), whereas bulls with a PS of 3 or 4 were categorized as excitable (PSexcitable; = 20). Bulls were separated into 2 groups based on the bottom 20 EV (EVcalm) and top 20 EV (EVexcitable) on d 0. Mixed model ANOVA (SAS 9.3) was used to compare groups for the two temperament assessment methods, behavior, and growth performance. Mean EV decreased ( < 0.05) by d 84. Total lying time from d 3 to 28 was greater ( < 0.05) for PScalm bulls when compared with PSexcitable bulls. However, total lying time from d 59 to 84 was greater ( < 0.05) for EVexcitable bulls when compared with EVcalm bulls. Regardless of initial contemporary group assignment, all bulls exited the chute slower ( < 0.001) on d 84 than on d 0. The PSexcitable bulls had greater ( < 0.01) frame scores and greater ADG than PScalm bulls. The PSexcitable bulls had more ( < 0.01) backfat than PScalm bulls. However, ribeye area was smaller ( < 0.01) in EVexcitable bulls than EVcalm bulls. Based on these results, bulls appeared to have habituated over the testing period. Additionally, the potential lack of innate temperament variation may have attributed to the little difference seen among the behavioral and performance data. Therefore, temperament should be reassessed within a novel environment with new handlers to differentiate between the bull's true temperament and its ability to habituate.

Effects of residual feed intake and dam body weight on replacement heifer intake, efficiency, performance, and metabolic response.

Thirty-eight Angus-based, crossbred, nulliparous beef heifers (BW = 280 ± 26.3 kg) sired by 2 Angus sires were used to determine if dam BW affected heifer performance, DMI, residual feed intake (RFI), and endocrine markers. Heifers were housed in individual pens (2.2 by 9.1 m) equipped with 2.2 m of bunk space and fed a diet (90.4% DM, 13.7% CP, 67.2% NDF, and 56.2% TDN) consisting of 87.2% bermudagrass hay and 12.8% liquid protein supplement for a 14-d adaption period and a 70-d feeding period. Individual daily feed intake was used to calculate RFI for each heifer, and heifer was the experimental unit. Two-day beginning and end BW were recorded and hip height was used to calculate frame score (FS). Heifer dams were assigned to a light (LIT; 544 ± 21.3 kg) or heavy (HEV; 621 ± 34.8 kg) BW group on the basis of mean BW at the beginning of their lactation period the previous year to determine differences in heifer offspring DMI and RFI. Based on heifer RFI ranking, heifers were classified as positive (POS; 0.34) or negative (NEG; –0.31) RFI and low (LOW; –0.45), medium (MED; 0.00), or high (HI; 0.49) RFI for analysis of BW, FS, BW gain, and DMI. There were no dam BW group × sire interactions (P > 0.10) for all independent variables. Beginning and end BW was greater (P < 0.05) for heifers out of HEV compared with LIT BW dams. Body weight gain, ADG, FS, DMI, and RFI were not significant (P > 0.10) for heifers out of HEV compared with LIT BW dams; however, a sire effect existed (P < 0.01) for BW gain, ADG, FS, and DMI. Among RFI classifications, beginning and end BW, BW gain, ADG, and FS were not different (P > 0.10) whereas DMI was greater (P = 0.03) among heifers in the POS compared with the NEG RFI group and greater (P = 0.01) among heifers in the MED and HI compared with LOW RFI group, respectively. Plasma insulin levels were greater (P = 0.03) in the NEG compared with the POS RFI heifers, and thyroxine (T4) levels were greater (P = 0.02) in the POS compared with the NEG RFI heifers. A positive relationship existed (P ≤ 0.05) between dam BW and heifer DMI (r = 0.42), beginning and end BW (r = 0.45 and 54), and FS (r = 0.58) and between RFI and d 70 triiodothyronine (r = 0.34), d 70 T4 (r = 0.35), and d 0 and 70 combined T4 (r = 0.32), respectively. Heifers out of dams from the HEV BW group were heavier and a positive correlation existed between dam BW and heifer BW, gain, DMI, and FS, which can impact selection goals for replacement heifers.

Effect of heifer frame score on growth, fertility, and economics.

A non-traditional forage-based protocol was employed to evaluate replacement heifer growth, fertility, and economics between small frame (SF, 3.50; n = 50) and large frame (LF, 5.56; n = 50) heifers using three increasing gain growth phases. Preceding an 85 d growing-breeding period (Phase 3; P3) the heifers were managed as a common group for Phases 1 and 2 (P1 and P2). During P1, heifers grazed common fields of unharvested corn and corn residue (total digestible nutrients [TDN] 56%) with supplemental hay. For P2, heifers grazed early spring crested wheatgrass pasture (CWG; TDN 62%) that was followed by the final P3 drylot growing and breeding period (TDN 68%). Small frame heifers were lighter at the end of P1 in May and at the start of P3 breeding in August (p = 0.0002). Percent of mature body weight (BW) at the end of P1 (209 d) was 48.7% and 46.8%, respectively, for the SF and LF heifers and the percent pubertal was lower for SF than for LF heifers (18.0% vs 40.0%; p = 0.02). At breeding initiation (P3), the percentage of mature BW was 57.8 and 57.2 and the percentage pubertal was 90.0 and 96.0 (p = 0.07) for the SF and LF heifers, respectively; a 5-fold increase for SF heifers. Breeding cycle pregnancy on days 21, 42, and 63, and total percent pregnant did not differ (p>0.10). In drylot, SF heifer dry matter intake (DMI) was 20.1% less (p = 0.001) and feed cost/d was 20.3% lower (p = 0.001), but feed cost/kg of gain did not differ between SF and LF heifers (p = 0.41). Economically important live animal measurements for muscling were measured in May and at the end of the study in October. SF heifers had greater L. dorsi muscle area per unit of BW than LF heifers (p = 0.03). Small frame heifer value was lower at weaning (p = 0.005) and the non-pregnant ending heifer value was lower for SF heifers than for the LF heifers (p = 0.005). However, the total development cost was lower for SF heifers (p = 0.001) and the net cost per pregnant heifer, after accounting for the sale of non-pregnant heifers, was lower for SF heifers (p = 0.004). These data suggest that high breeding efficiency can be attained among March-April born SF and LF virgin heifers when transitioned to a more favorable May-June calving period through the strategic use of grazed and harvested forages resulting in a lower net cost per pregnant SF heifer.

An audit of the current U.S. Department of Agriculture frame size scoring system1,2

Feedlot and carcass data from steers (n = 16,700) and heifers (n = 6,357) originating from 16 different states and fed in 17 feedlots located in southwest Iowa were used to evaluate the accuracy of the USDA frame score for predicting final BW of fed cattle. Frame score was recorded by USDA or state personnel for cattle either before leaving the state of origin or on arrival at the terminal feedlot. Mixed model procedures were used to investigate relationships between USDA frame score and measures of live performance and carcass traits. Other fixed effects included in the model included USDA muscle score, sex, age classification on feedlot entry (calf: ≤270 d of age, yearling: 271-365 d of age, and long yearling: >365 d of age), BCS on feedlot arrival, number of treatments for respiratory disease, hide color, and site of frame or muscle scoring; the interactions of sex × frame score and hide color × frame score were also included; fat thickness was included as a fixed effect (covariate) in the analysis of ADG, final BW, days on feed, LM area, marbling score, and quality grade. Random effects included in the model were year of feedlot arrival and feedlot in which cattle were fed. The system accurately projects the minimum target final BW for large frame steers and heifers; however, the final BW of the smallest medium frame steers and heifers exceeds the target minimum final BW by 35 and 40 kg, respectively. When frame score was assigned post facto based on actual final BW (adjusted to 1.27 cm fat thickness), it was determined that large frame was over-assigned by graders (62 vs. 35% for steers and 54 vs. 32% for heifers, actual score vs. postharvest score, respectively), medium frame was underassigned (37 vs. 51% and 46 vs. 58% for steers and heifers), and small frame was underassigned (0.7 vs. 15% and 0.6 vs. 10% for steers and heifers; K = 0.01, P < 0.01). Across sexes, of the cattle assigned to small, medium, or large frame score, 40, 59, and 43% actually had final BW (adjusted to 1.27 cm fat thickness) within the guidelines for the target final BW of each of the frame scores (P < 0.01). The present frame score system accurately reflects the modern feedlot cattle population; however, adjustments in the assignment of frame scores to reflect changes in technologies and final weights may be warranted.

BeefSpecs fat calculator to assist decision making to increase compliance rates with beef carcass specifications: evaluation of inputs and outputs

This study evaluated the BeefSpecs fat calculator, a decision-support system developed to assist the beef industry to increase compliance rates with carcass specifications (weight and fat specifications). A challenge to the BeefSpecs calculator and a sensitivity analysis were used to evaluate the inputs and outputs of BeefSpecs. Five industry datasets (n = 80, 97, 68, 25, and 13 for Datasets 1–5, respectively) of Bos taurus, Bos indicus, and Bos taurus × Bos indicus breeds for steers and heifers were collated to challenge BeefSpecs, and a nine-way factorial matrix (n = 57 600) of input variables was created for the sensitivity analysis. There were no significant (P &gt; 0.05) differences in the mean bias between observed and predicted values in any of the datasets but there were significant (P &lt; 0.01) differences in the unity of slope for Datasets 2, 3, and 5. The root-mean-square error was 1.72, 2.61, 2.87, 2.68, and 2.00 mm for Datasets 1–5. The decomposition of the mean-square error of prediction indicated that most of the error contained in the predictions of all models was of a random nature (94%, 85%, 85%, 95% for Datasets 1–4), except in Dataset 5, which had a 47% proportion of error in the slope component. All datasets indicated little bias (0.13%, 12.19%, 12.69%, 0.60%, and 0.12% for Datasets 1–5) in the model predictions. An analysis of variance with the nine-way factorial matrix on the predicted output of final P8 fat was conducted for the sensitivity analysis. A significant (P &lt; 0.01) four-way interaction of days on feed × frame score × initial liveweight × sex was detected. Final P8 fat was sensitive to measurement error in the inputs of frame score when animals had longer feeding periods (e.g. 180 days) and to initial P8 fat when animals had lower initial liveweights (e.g. 200 kg) and higher frame scores (e.g. 7). For each unit of error in estimating frame score, BeefSpecs predicts final P8 with an error of up to 2.3 mm in heifers and up to 1.7 mm in steers. Error in the estimation of initial P8 fat of 2 mm will result in an error of up to 3 mm in the prediction of final P8 fat. The sensitivity analysis of BeefSpecs input variables (frame score and initial P8 fat) on the prediction of final P8 fat indicates that increasing the accuracy of estimating frame score and P8 fat is an issue that needs addressing.