By Maribel Alonso
Researchers at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are looking to help the U.S. food industry save millions annually by reducing liver abscess formations in cattle.
The prevalence of liver abscess formations in cattle continues to raise concerns among dairy and beef producers. This problem also remains a challenge for researchers, as the primary factors driving formations are not yet fully understood.
Reducing liver abscess formation is even more critical in calves born from dairy cows mated with beef sires (“dairy-beef crossbred cattle”). These crossbred calves are becoming a greater percentage of the total beef population in the beef industry and are also shown to be more susceptible to this problem [close to 50% vs 20% for traditionally raised beef cattle].