New Issue of Healthy Animals Now Online

By Jim Core
June 8, 2005

The Agricultural Research Service today posted a new issue of Healthy Animals at:

www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/ha/han22.htm

This quarterly online newsletter compiles ARS news and expert resources on the health and well-being of agricultural animals and fish.

Each quarter, one article in Healthy Animals focuses on a particular element of ARS animal research. The current issue reports on research to find affordable and natural supplements to increase feed intake and weight gain in weaning piglets, instead of relying on sub-therapeutic treatments of antibiotics to increase the animal's health and productivity. Other research highlighted in this issue includes:

• A new ARS laboratory dedicated to egg safety, quality and marketability,
• A new method for treating swine-production wastewater,
• A system to treat, filter and conserve water in fresh-water fish tanks, and
• How elevated carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere could result in reduced livestock weight gains.

Professionals interested in animal health issues may want to bookmark the site as a resource for locating animal health experts. An index lists ARS research locations covering approximately 70 animal health topics. These range from specific diseases, such as Lyme disease, to broad subjects like nutrition or parasites. The site also provides complete contact information for the more than 25 ARS research groups that conduct studies aimed at protecting and improving farm animal health.

To receive an e-mail alert about each future issue's posting online, contact Jim Core, ARS Information Staff , or sign up online at:

www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/ha/subscribe.htm

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.