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Animal Production & Protection

ARS’s Animal Production and Protection (APP) program aims to improve the health, well-being, and efficiency of livestock, poultry, and aquatic food animals to ensure a productive and safe food supply. Emphasis is placed on germplasm characterization, improvement, and conservation; understanding the mechanisms of disease resistance; and the development of vaccines and tools to prevent, control, or eradicate diseases that threaten our food supply or public health.

 

In This Section

Targeting Taste Buds, Targeting Grazing

Scientists are taking grazing to a new level by developing sheep that prefer or tolerate the bitter taste of plants.

Determining Risk of Avian Influenza

ARS researchers studied the transmission dynamics of avian influenza virus in disease outbreaks of both commercial and backyard flocks.

Protecting American Cattle From Ticks

ARS scientists collaborated to sequence and assemble the genomes of the ticks that cause cattle fever and anaplasmosis.

Liver and Onions - Hold the Abscess

Changes in cattle rumen associated with liver abscesses remain well after the early development of rumen acidosis caused by high corn diets.

New Ways to Sterilize Mosquitoes

ARS researchers collaborated with scientists from the University of Florida to develop a simpler method to sterilize mosquitoes.

Better Water, Happier Fish

Scientists found that fish raised in reused water faced significantly higher mortality rates that those grown in tanks supplied with fresh spring water.

Leftovers Make Good Fish Food

Researchers determined that clam byproducts and hemp fibers meet the nutritional needs of farmed fish Florida pompano.

Stopping a Deadly Virus at the Border

ARS researchers collaborated with Kansas State University to reduce the potential consequences of the Japanese encephalitis virus entering the United States.