Estimates of global population growth are often cited as a significant challenge for global food production. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be approximately two- billion additional people on earth, with the greatest proportion of that growth occurring in central Africa. To meet recommended future protein needs (60 g/d), approximately 120 million kg of protein must be produced daily. The production of ruminant meat (particularly beef cattle) offers the potential to aid in reaching increased global protein needs. However, advancements in beef cattle production are necessary to secure the industry’s future sustainability. This article draws attention to a subset of sustainable beef cattle production challenges, including the role of ruminant livestock in meeting global human protein needs, the environmental relationships of advanced beef cattle production, and big data and machine learning in beef cattle production. Considering the significant quantities of resources necessary to produce this form of protein, such advancements are not just a moral imperative but critical to developing advanced beef cattle production practices and predictive models that will reduce costs and liabilities and advance industry sustainability.

The FRUVEDomics study investigates the effect of a diet intervention focused on increasing fruit and vegetable intake on the gut microbiome and cardiovascular health of young adults with/at risk for metabolic syndrome (MetS). It was hypothesized that the recommended diet would result in metabolic and gut microbiome changes. The 9-week dietary intervention adhered to the US Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines for Americans and focused on increasing fruit and vegetable intake to equal half of the diet. Seventeen eligible young adults with/or at high risk of MetS consented and completed preintervention and postintervention measurements, including anthropometric, body composition, cardiovascular, complete blood lipid panel, and collection of stool sample for microbial analysis. Participants attended weekly consultations to assess food logs, food receipts, and adherence to the diet. Following intention-to-treat guidelines, all 17 individuals were included in the dietary, clinical, and anthropometric analysis. Fruit and vegetable intake increased from 1.6 to 3.4 cups of fruits and vegetables (P < .001) daily. Total fiber (P = .02) and insoluble fiber (P < .0001) also increased. Clinical laboratory changes included an increase in sodium (P = .0006) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .04). In the fecal microbiome, Erysipelotrichaceae (phylum Firmicutes) decreased (log2 fold change: -1.78, P = .01) and Caulobacteraceae (phylum Proteobacteria) increased (log2 fold change = 1.07, P = .01). Implementing a free-living 9-week diet, with intensive education and accountability, gave young adults at high risk for/or diagnosed with MetS the knowledge, skills, and feedback to improve diet. To yield greater impact, a longer diet intervention may be needed in this population.

Black cherry is an ecologically important high-value wood. A decline of its regeneration has been reported in the USA, which could be associated with a lack of pollination. This study was conducted to identify insects visiting black cherry flowers, to determine whether insects captured on the flowers carry black cherry pollen and to identify the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by flowers of black cherry. A two-year insect survey was conducted before, during and after the black cherry bloom. A total of 9533 insects were captured in traps and Diptera was the most abundant (64.1%). Significantly more insects in Diptera, Lepidoptera and Thysanoptera were captured in the traps installed in the canopy than those on the ground, and Anthalia bulbosa (Diptera: Hybotidae) was the dominant species. Electron microscopy analyses demonstrated that insects captured in the canopy indeed carried black cherry pollen. Black cherry flowers emitted a VOC blend that is composed of 34 compounds and dominated by β-ocimene and several phenylpropanoids/benzenoids. This floral VOC profile is similar to that of other pollinator-dependent Prunus species. This study reports pollinator insects and associated VOCs, for the first time, that could play a significant role in the pollination and regeneration of black cherry.

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between neck circumference (NC) and other anthropometric measures and examine cut-off points for males and females according to existing waist circumference cut-off levels in this age group. Across 8 universities, 1562 students underwent a physical assessment. Spearman rho correlations (ρ) were calculated to determine associations between NC and other continuous variables of health. Receiving operating characteristic curves were constructed to assess the optimal cut-off levels of NC of males and females with central obesity. Participants were predominantly Caucasian (67%), female (70%), and outside of Appalachia (82%). Forty-one percent of males and 34% of females had a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m². In both sexes, significant positive correlations were seen between NC and body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, and systolic blood pressure (all p-values < 0.0001). NC ≥ 38 cm for males and ≥33.5 cm for females were the optimal cut-off values to determine subjects with central obesity. NC has been identified to closely correlate with other anthropometric measurements related to disease and could be used as a convenient, low-cost, and noninvasive measurement in large-scale studies.

The essential roles of Fe oxides in stabilizing long-term soil organic carbon (SOC), especially aromatic dissolved organic carbon (DOC_aro), are well-established in forest soils and sediments. We chose to focus on these processes in agricultural soils in which the input and translocation of native DOC to deeper soils are impacted by management practices. We quantified SOC, Fe oxide bound SOC (Fe-bound OC), and the DOC_aro sorption in a forest, a cropland, and a pasture soil at 0–10 and 10–25 cm. Significantly larger amounts of Fe oxides in the cropland soil were observed compared to the forest and pasture soils at both depths (p < 0.05). Land management practices and depth both significantly influenced the Fe-bound OC percentage (p < 0.05). Larger maximum sorptions of DOC in the cropland (315.0 mg kg⁻¹) and pasture (395.0 mg kg⁻¹) soils than the forest soil (96.6 mg kg⁻¹) at 10–25 cm weres found. DOC_aro sorption decreased in the three soils at 0–10 cm (slope of −0.002 to −0.014 L² mg⁻² m⁻¹) as well as the forest soil at 10–25 cm (−0.016 L² mg⁻² m⁻¹) with increasing equilibrium DOC concentration. Conversely, the cropland and pasture soils at 10–25 cm increased (0.012 to 0.014 L² mg⁻² m⁻¹). The different sorption behaviors of DOC_aro in these surface soils indicate that the forest, cropland, and pasture-managed soils may have more complex and various sorption behaviors in stabilizing DOC_aro and non-DOC_aro.

Improving the efficiency, economic viability, and environmental sustainability of beef cattle production requires tools to identify resource-efficient animals. Validated tools to measure, monitor, and verify individual feed and water intake are needed. Here, we verify the validity of the Vytelle In-Pen Weighing Position to passively collect daily full body weights and assess the use of an integrated flow meter with a commercial waterer as a tool to measure daily water intake. This study involved 103 bulls (40 Charolais and 63 Angus) and 54 heifers (25 Charolais and 29 Angus). These animals were fed in a facility with feed intake nodes, In-Pen Weighing, and metered waterers. Body weights collected on the chute scale and total water usage measured by a residential water meter were used to evaluate body weight and water intake measured at the In-Pen Weighing Positions. We confirmed that In-Pen Weighing is highly correlated to chute weighing (Spearman’s correlation coefficient, ρ = 0.99, p < 0.0001). We observed high correlation of total water use measured at the In-Pen Weighing units with the facility’s total water use (ρ = 0.9999, p < 0.0001). This validates the accuracy of the in-pen water meters, but not the precision of applying water consumption to individual animals. The use of such passive monitoring equipment has the potential to help improve the sustainability of animal agriculture.