A food safety and public health research team with Texas Tech’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences has received $100,000 for Salmonella research from animal-health company Zoetis. The research funds will help provide resources to better understand and describe the ecology of Salmonella in cattle populations, as well as discover and evaluate tools that might ultimately result in a safer food supply, officials with the Madison, N.J.-based firm said today (May 22).  more »

Sara Trojan, an experienced researcher in cow/calf nutrition and management, has been named a visiting assistant professor in Texas Tech University’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences.  more »

Researchers at Texas Tech and Iowa State University found that the pork industry can generally use less bedding year-round than it currently does when transporting swine. The change could improve overall animal well-being and could save the industry an estimated $10.1 million per year. The study was funded by the Pork Checkoff.  more »

The drought and a killing heat that gripped Texas for the better part of a year has sharply reduced quail numbers with the die-off of adult game birds ratcheting up into the hundreds of thousands, followed by pint-sized chick reproduction reports.  more »

The assembly-line efficiency of U.S. meatpackers and swine processors goes off the rails a bit for about 4 percent of the 100 million pigs transported annually to butchering day. But something as simple as an adequate bed of wood shavings or wheat straw underfoot and matched to the weather goes a long way in improving animal survival, report Texas Tech researchers.  more »

A standout Texas Tech animal science professor was honored with two major awards on Feb. 8 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Animal Science-Southern Section in Corpus Christi. Program officials noted that Tech’s Chance Brooks “is an innovative researcher who has made outstanding contributions the livestock industry.”  more »

A research scientist from the University of Iceland’s Institute of Biology has joined the Texas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit at Texas Tech, university officials announced today (Aug. 13). The unit is a partnership between Texas Tech, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife Management Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  more »