An undergraduate researcher at Texas Tech has earned top regional recognition for distilling complex animal nutrition science into a three-minute presentation, a task that underscores a growing emphasis on public-facing research.
Fernanda Berumen’s presentation is titled, ‘Using a High-Quality Fibrous Co-product to Apprise the Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Beef Cattle Diet Type on Ruminal Degradability Kinetics.’
Fernanda Berumen, a senior in the Department of Animal & Food Sciences, won first place in the Undergraduate Three-Minute Thesis Competition at the annual meeting of the American Society of Animal Science - Southern Section, held this year in Rogers, Arkansas.
The competition, which includes 13 states in the U.S., along with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, challenges students to present sophisticated research to a general audience in just three minutes, using a single static slide.
Berumen’s presentation, with the title “Using a High-Quality Fibrous Co-product to Apprise the Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Beef Cattle Diet Type on Ruminal Degradability Kinetics,” explored how diet composition and live yeast supplementation affected how cattle digest alternative feed ingredients available in the livestock industry, which are a key factor for livestock efficiency and resiliency.
Her findings point to measurable benefits. By supplementing beef cattle diets with live yeast, she found meaningful improvements on ruminal degradability of key nutrient fractions, including an increase in the rate of degradation of the high-quality co-product (wet corn gluten feed) when such an ingredient was studied on animals consuming high-starch diets! Current findings are novel, given that live yeast strategies have been traditionally assessed on low-starch diets only.
The research suggests that pairing high-quality fibrous co-products with live yeast on beef cattle finisher diets are just as promising as it would be with traditional low-quality fiber ingredients in grower diets. It opens a new realm of opportunities on how to better utilize live yeast in the cattle industry.
Berumen conducted her research under the guidance of Jhones Sarturi, an associate professor specializing in beef cattle nutrition and metabolism. His work focuses on the digestive physiology of ruminants, with an emphasis on maximizing the value of forages, grains, and agricultural co-products.
“We work to enhance production efficiency while promoting resilient practices,” Sarturi said. “Using models that range from in vivo to in vitro, we evaluate feeding technologies before and after animal consumption to unveil their mechanisms of action and propose novel strategies for their use. Beef and milk are vital sources of nutrition, and our research helps ensure these products are produced efficiently, responsibly, and with resilience.”
Sarturi joined Texas Tech in 2013 after research appointments at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Amarillo and graduate study at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he earned his doctorate in animal science with a focus on ruminant nutrition.
For Berumen, who is from Abilene, Texas, the award reflects not only scientific skill but the ability to communicate it; convert numbers into information; a skill increasingly prized in all fields. She plans to graduate from Texas Tech in May.
CONTACT: Jhones O. Sarturi, Associate Professor, Department of Animal & Food Sciences, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-4926 or j.sarturi@ttu.edu
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