Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Larry Miller, CSREES representative, provided administrative reports. Officers for next year include: Chair: Bill Hahn, Vice Chair: Warrie Means, Secretary: Warrie Means . January 6 7, 2005 was chosen for meeting dates, in Ames, Iowa. Station annual reports were distributed. Cooperative opportunities between investigators associated with the research project were discussed. The meeting concluded with presentations of station research.

Objective 1: Improve meat quality, safety, and value at all levels of the supply chain to enhance competitiveness and to evaluate economic impact of these new approaches. Research on the role of genetic variations in calpastatin in meat tenderness has resulted in definition of previously unidentified alleles in calpastatin that are associated with pork quality traits, including tenderness. Producers are using ultrasound techniques to predict marbling and carcasses yield in cattle and swine breeding stock. These tools will improve the profitability of the beef industry by generating progeny that have leaner, higher quality carcasses. Work completed in this project this year focused on improving the accuracy of this powerful technology. The extent to which genetics influence broiler breast composition and quality was studied using outbred by inbred advanced intercross lines of chickens. Searches for genes affecting poultry meat quality traits are underway to provide information to add value to poultry in the production, processing, and retail segments of the industry. Feeding supranutritional levels of Vitamin E to market animals during the finishing period may not only prevent premature off-color development in fresh beef and poultry, but may also provide some protection from oxidative conditions. In addition, it has also been shown that these high levels of Vitamin E may aid in increasing the rate of muscle protein proteolysis in beef during the early postmortem aging period. The degradation of the intermediate filament protein desmin, a substrate of the naturally occurring calcium-dependent enzyme calpain in muscle is related to water holding capacity and tenderness of pork. This may allow for improved methods for producing products with greater tenderness and water holding capacity and possibly improved processing functionality. Recent research findings suggest that if significant oxidation of proteins occurs in whole muscle fresh meat products before tenderization is complete, further tenderization will be significantly hindered and palatability of the product will be compromised. Since irradiation is a highly oxidizing process, if whole muscle products are irradiated, timing of irradiation must be considered to ensure that adequate tenderization has occurred prior to irradiating. Pork proteins mixtures may be softened with addition of a modified pork collagen ingredient, thus improving the texture of low-fat products. These results document that increasing the utilization and value of a relatively low value pork meat component is feasible. Pork fat color from pigs fed barley was whiter than for those fed corn. Less than half of the corn fed samples would qualify for the Japanese export market (no. 1 and 2). However, 100% of the barley fed pork would qualify for the Japanese export market. Trained sensory panels and shear force values were used to predict consumer responses to beef, using Activa" TG-RM to bind muscles after removing excess seam fat and connective tissue, yields of retail cuts from value cuts of beef, and using clam-shell cookers as methods to prepare steaks for sensory analysis. An experiment was designed to determine whether the meat state (fresh vs. frozen-thawed) and explosive charge shape for hydrodynamic pressure processing (HDP) would have an effect on meat tenderness and microbial reduction as well as to determine if there was a correlation between successful tenderization and microbial reduction. U.S. Select grade boneless beef strip loins were treated with HDP as either fresh (never frozen) or after a freeze-thaw cycle. Overall, aged HDP-treated samples had lower shear force values compared to the aged controls. Previously frozen and thawed samples had lower shear force values compared to fresh loins. Results imply that the initial bacterial populations and types of microorganisms could influence the effectiveness of HDP, with no relationship between microbial reduction and tenderness improvement. Vacuum packaged koshered (salted) meat typically undergoes a rapid color change (turning brown) with the formation of an objectionable odor during refrigerated storage. Alterations in muscle structure have been suggested to affect the oxidative activity of salt. Since HDP has been shown to physically disrupt portions of myofibrils without distorting the physical shape of the piece of meat, a study was designed to evaluate the effect of HDP along with the koshering/salting process on fresh meat color, odor and microbial loads. HDP was more effective in inhibiting the normal microflora than either salting or the combination of salting with HDP. After 14 days of refrigerated storage, salted samples had greater than 80% surface discoloration (brown color) compared to less than 40% discoloration on the surface for the control (non-salted), HDP and combination salting with HDP. HDP reduced the surface discoloration of koshered/salted meat samples to a level similar to that of the control. Through genetic and dietary strategies, todays pork has less fat and more edible lean tissue. This decrease in fat has negatively influenced meat tenderness. Pork loin muscles treated with HDP improved in tenderness by an average of 22% when compared to their matched non-treated controls. Also noted in this study, was a wide variation in tenderness improvement to HDP treatment (-6% to 46%) which is being further investigated. A study was designed to determine the effect of three initial concentrations ranging from 2 to 6 log10 colony forming units on the reductions of a cocktail of six strains of E. coli O157:H7 (EHEC) in ground beef by HDP. The initial concentrations of EHEC were 3.11 log10 CFU/g, 4.46 log10 CFU/g and 6.34 log10 CFU/g. After HDP treatment, the EHEC populations were reduced by 0.2 logs for the lowest initial inoculation level and by 0.1 logs for the other initial inoculations. Some of the challenges that the beef industry has experienced over the years have been inconsistency in tenderness and the inability to distinguish between tough and tender beef before cooking. Our protein chemistry laboratory is developing a rapid, noninvasive method for screening beef samples for tenderness without having to cook them. Current research involves utilizing HPLC and CE techniques for the purpose of analyzing water soluble proteins as tenderness predictors. This technique may be suitable for other meat species. A prediction system for ruminant animal growth and composition was refined by using sheep datasets from Nebraska and New South Wales. This includes adjustments in the model for gain of muscle protein and loss of body fat at near maintenance feeding, and more precisely estimated variable maintenance parameters. The model predicts gain and composition more accurately than the current United States NRC or Australian SCA systems. Wagyu longissimus muscle was more tender than Limousin muscle after 14 d, but not 1 d, of postmortem aging. Tenderness differences between Wagyu and Limousin steaks were not explained by collagen attributes or calpastatin activity, proteolytic degradation rate may have contributed to tenderness advantages of Wagyu., Sunflower oil did not affect palatability but increased conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content of muscle by up to 500% especially during the backgrounding period. Yellow restaurant grease in beef feedlot diets increased CLA content without decreasing palatability. The effectiveness of a web/CD based Dairy beef: Maximizing quality and profits was evaluated and the program was effective in promoting intended practice changes by dairy producers to reduce carcass defects and to market cull dairy animals more profitably. Objective 2: Evaluate the impacts of the changing structure of the meat industry including price discovery under alternative pricing systems, trading institutions and methods of delivery. Empirical analysis of the relationship between the USDA voluntary Nebraska dressed weight cattle price report and the South Dakota mandatory dressed weight price report indicates that the information in the voluntary price report was an accurate proxy for South Dakota transactions during the period mandatory price reporting was required in South Dakota. This conclusion supports the supposition that the voluntary price reporting system was an efficient mechanism for providing spot price information to the SD market--- Variability in the rate of return to retained ownership is a function of systematic (market risk) and unsystematic risk (risk associated with management). Empirical analysis indicates unsystematic risk explains a majority of the variability in the rate of return to retained ownership. Aside from the related issues of market concentration and consolidation in agricultural industries, the results of laboratory markets suggest that the trading institution and method of delivery can strongly influence market outcomes. Total surplus and seller earnings are greater in auction trading than in private negotiation trading with spot delivery. An examination of consumer perceptions of food safety and food quality for beef products was undertaken in the United States and the United Kingdom. The findings revealed that USDA inspection signals food safety to U.S. consumers while other types of certifications such as Certified Angus Beef signal quality. British consumers prefer private certifications to government certifications. American consumers, on the average, did not perceive organic and natural beef products as being of higher than average quality. However, British consumers did view organic products as having higher than average quality. Results of a study that examined the determinants of livestock prices in northern Kenya confirm the importance of livestock characteristics and exogenous events such as low rainfall. The imposition of health quarantines on livestock was shown to have a significantly negative effect on livestock prices. This indicates that the Kenyan approach to disease control favors highlands ranchers, where disease is less prevalent, and consumers at the expense of poorer pastoralists in the dry lands of northern Kenya. In order to assess consumers perceptions of a mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program, a consumer survey indicated consumers are willing to pay an average of $389.47 per household annually in order to obtain a COOL program for all types of meat products. Consumers are willing to pay premiums of 26.5%, 30.6%, and 42% of the original market price for steak, pork chops and chicken breast, respectively, to obtain Certified U.S.-labeled meat. Results also indicate that consumer preferences for country-of-origin labeled chicken products, which are not currently included in the mandatory COOL program, differ from consumer preferences for Certified U.S.-labeled beef and pork. Other conclusions drawn from the survey responses indicate that food safety inspection, freshness, and high quality grade are the three attributes consumers ranked the highest among 15 meat characteristics. Studies on U.S. wholesale meat demand for lamb differentiated by three country of origin (United States (domestic), Australia, and New Zealand) estimated cross-price elasticities of demand, as well as the transmission of international prices to the domestic market. An econometric model for U.S. demand for beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey allowed measurement of how taste/technology shifts have affected the demand for meat by species. State-space econometrics allowed a test for unit roots in meat consumption, another type of taste/technology shift.

Ciobanu, D. C., S. M. Lonergan, M. Malek, J. R. Woollard, E. H. Lonergan, and M. F. Rothschild. 2003. New alleles in the calpastatin gene associated with tenderness in pigs. 2003 ISU Swine Research Report. Fausti, S.W., Diersen, M. 2003. Did voluntary price reporting system fail to provide price transparency in the cash market for dressed steers: Evidence from South Dakota. Economics Staff Paper 2003-5. South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD. Fausti, S.W., Johnson, B. Epperson, W. and Grathwohl, N. 2003. Risk and the economic incentive to retain ownership of steer calves. Economics Staff Paper 2003-6. South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD. Fausti, S.W., Sun, H. Diersen, M. 2003. Discontinued voluntary price report for live cattle: Will they be missed by producers. Economics Staff Paper 2003-4. South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD. Hassen, A., D. E. Wilson, and G. H. Rouse. 2003. Estimating heritability of percentage of intramuscular fat and ribeye area measures by scan session in Angus bulls and heifers. 2003 Iowa State Univ. Beef Research Report. A. S. Leaflet R1823. Hassen, A., D. E. Wilson, and G. H. Rouse. 2003. Estimation of heritability and repeatability of ultrasound ribeye area measures using random regression models. 2003 Iowa State Univ. Beef Research Report. A. S. Leaflet R1824. Hassen, A., D. E. Wilson, and G. H. Rouse. 2003. Heritability and repeatability of ultrasound predicted percentage of intramuscular fat measures in Angus bulls and heifers. 2003 Iowa State Univ. Beef Research Report. A. S. Leaflet R1825. Minick, J. A., D. E. Wilson, and D. R. Strohbehn. 2003. Genetic analysis of the Iowa beef tenderness and carcass evaluation project. 2003 Iowa State Univ. Beef Research Report. A. S. Leaflet R1826. Oltjen, J.W., A.B. Pleasants, T.K. Soboleva and V.H. Oddy. 2003. Ruminant growth and composition model. In: Progress in Research on Energy and Protein Metabolism (W.B. Souffrant and C.C. Metges, Eds.) pp. 209-212. European Assoc. for Anim. Prod. Publ. No. 109. Rosa, A.J.M., E. Schafhouser, A. Hassen, G. H. Rouse, D. E. Wilson, and J. M. Reecy. 2003. Use of molecular markers to determine parentage in multiple sire pastures. 2003 Iowa State Univ. Beef Research Report. A. S. Leaflet R1828. Rouse, G. H., D. E. Wilson, J. R. Tait, M. Anderson, A. Hassen. 2003. Body composition changes in bulls from weaning to yearling Part I - muscle, waste fat, and taste fat deposition. 2003 Iowa State Univ. Beef Research Report. A. S. Leaflet R1822. Tait, J. R., G. H. Rouse, and D. E. Wilson. 2003. Comparison of ultrasound and carcass measures to predict percentage of beef retail product from four primal cuts - final report. 2003 Iowa State Univ. Beef Research Report. A. S. Leaflet R1827. REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES Belew, J.B., J.C. Brooks, D.R. McKenna, and J.W. Savell. 2003. Warner-Bratzler shear evaluations of 40 bovine muscles. Meat Sci. 64:507-512. Ciobanu, D. D., J. W. M. Bastiaansen, S. M. Lonergan, H. Thomsen, J. C. M. Dekkers, G. S. Plastow and M. F. Rothschild. 2004. New alleles in calpastatin gene are associated with meat quality traits in pigs. Journal of Animal Science. (Accepted). Davis, K. J., J. G. Sebranek, E. Huff-Lonergan and S. M. Lonergan. 2004. Effect of aging on moisture enhanced pork loins. Meat Science 66:519-524. Davis, K. J., J. G. Sebranek, E. Huff-Lonergan, D. Ahn, and S. M. Lonergan. 2004. Influence of irradiation on quality of moisture enhanced pork loins. Meat Science. (In Press). (On line January 1, 2004) Doerscher, D. R., J. L. Briggs and S. M. Lonergan. 2003. Effects of pork collagen on thermal and viscoelastic properties of purified porcine myofibrillar protein gels. Meat Science. 66:181-188. Foote, M. R., R. L. Horst, E. J. Huff-Lonergan, A. H. Trenkle, F. C. Parrish, Jr., and D. C. Beitz. 2004. The use of vitamin D3 and its metabolites to improve beef tenderness. Journal of Animal Science 82:242-249. Greiner, S. P., G. H. Rouse, D. E. Wilson, L. V. Cundiff, and T. L. Wheeler. 2003. Prediction of retail product weight and percentage using ultrasound and carcass measurements in beef cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 2003 81: 1736-1742. Greiner, S. P., G. H. Rouse, D. E. Wilson, L. V. Cundiff, and T. L. Wheeler. 2003. The relationship between ultrasound measurements and carcass fat thickness and longissimus muscle area in beef cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 2003 81: 676-682. Greiner, S. P., G. H. Rouse, D. E. Wilson, L. V. Cundiff, and T. L. Wheeler. 2003. Accuracy of predicting weight and percentage of beef carcass retail product using ultrasound and live animal measures. J. Anim. Sci. 2003 81: 466-473. Harris, K.B., W.G. Pond, H.J. Mersmann, E.O. Smith, H.R. Cross, and J.W. Savell. 2003. Evaluation of fat sources on cholesterol and lipoproteins using pigs selected for high or low serum cholesterol. Meat Sci. 66:55-61. Hassen, A., D. E. Wilson, and G. H. Rouse. 2003. Estimation of genetic parameters for ultrasound-predicted percentage of intramuscular fat in Angus cattle using random regression models. J. Anim. Sci. 2003 81: 35-45. Holzer, Z., B.B. Berry, A. Williams-Campbell, A. Spanier and M.B. Solomon. 2003. Effect of koshering and hydrodynamic pressure on beef color, odor, and microbial loads. J. Muscle Foods (In Press). Houser, T., S. M. Lonergan, and J. G. Sebranek. 2003. Effects of irradiation on properties of cured ham. Journal of Food Science 68:2363-3265. Kim, J-J, F. Farnir, J.W. Savell, and J.F. Taylor. 2003. Detection of QTL for growth and beef carcass fatness traits in a cross between Bos taurus (Angus) and Bos indicus (Brahman) cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 81:1933-1942. Kolle, D.S., and J.W. Savell. 2003. Using Activaä TG-RM to bind beef muscles after removal of excessive seam fat between the M. longissimus thoracis and M. spinalis dorsi and heavy connective tissue from within the M. infraspinatus. Meat Sci. 64:27-33. Lonergan, S. M., N. Deeb, C. A. Fedler and S. J. Lamont. 2003. Breast meat quality and composition in unique chicken populations. Poultry Science 82:1990-1994. Lorenzen, C.L., R.K. Miller, J.F. Taylor, T.R. Neely, J.D. Tatum, J.W. Wise, M.J. Buyck, J.O. Reagan, and J.W. Savell. 2003. Beef Customer Satisfaction: Trained sensory panel ratings and Warner-Bratzler shear force values. J. Anim. Sci. 81:143-149. McKenna, D.R., C.A. Morris, J.T. Keeton, R.K. Miller, D.S. Hale, S.D. Harris, and J.W. Savell. 2003. Consumer acceptability of processed ostrich meat products. J. Muscle Foods 14:173-179. McKenna, D.R., D.A. King, and J.W. Savell. 2003. Comparison of clam-shell cookers and electric broilers and their effects on cooking traits and repeatability of Warner-Bratzler shear force values. Meat Sci. 66:225-229. McKenna, D.R., D.B. Griffin, H.K. Johnson, B.R. Covington, and J.W. Savell. 2003. Retail yields from beef chuck and round subprimals from two grade groups when merchandised as single muscle cuts. J. Anim. Sci. 81:1482-1487. McKenna, D.R., D.S. Strachan, R.K. Miller, G.R. Acuff, and J.W. Savell. 2003. Cranberry juice marinate improves sensory and microbiological properties of vacuum-packaged lamb chops. J. Muscle Foods 14:207-220. McKenna, D.R., T.D. Maddock, and J.W. Savell. 2003. Water-holding and color characteristics of beef from electrically stimulated carcasses. J. Muscle Foods 14:33-49. Melody, J. L., S. M. Lonergan, L. J. Rowe, T. W. Huiatt, M. S. Mayes, and E. Huff-Lonergan. 2004. Early postmortem biochemical factors influence tenderness and water-holding capacity of three porcine muscles. Journal of Animal Science. (In Press). Menkhaus, D.J., O.R. Phillips, A.F.M Johnston, and A.V. Yakunina. 2003. Price discovery in private negotiation trading for forward and spot deliveries. Review of Agricultural Economics 25:89-107. Menkhaus, D.J., O.R. Phillips, and C.T. Bastian. 2003. Impacts of alternative trading institutions and methods of delivery on laboratory market outcomes. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85:1323-1329. Menkhaus, D.J., O.R. Phillips, and K.T. Coatney. 2003. Shared agents and competition in laboratory English auctions. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85:829-839. Phillips, O.R., D.J. Menkhaus, and K.T. Coatney. 2003. Collusive practices in repeated English auctions: Experimental evidence on bidding rings. American Economic Review 93:965-979. Podolak, R., M.B. Solomon, A.M. Williams-Campbell, M.N. Liu and J.R. Patel. 2003. Effect of hydrodynamic pressure processing on the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground beef. J. Food Prot. (Submitted). Ringkob, T. P., D.R. Swartz, and M.L. Greaser. 2004. Light microscopy/image analysis of thin filament lengths utilizing dual probes on beef, chicken and rabbit myofibrils. J. Anim. Sci. 82: (accepted) Rowe, L. J., K. R. Maddock, S. M. Lonergan, and E. Huff-Lonergan. 2004. Influence of early postmortem protein oxidation on beef quality. Journal of Animal Science. (In Press). Rowe, L. J., K. R. Maddock, S. M. Lonergan, and E. Huff-Lonergan. 2004. Oxidative environments decrease tenderization of beef steaks through inactivation of µ-calpain. Journal of Animal Science. (In Press). Schilling, M.W., N.G. Marriott, H. Wang and M.B. Solomon. 2003. Characteristics of USDA Utility cow beef subjected to blade tenderization and hydrodynamic shock waves. J. Muscle Foods 14:131-142. Williams-Campbell, A., M.B. Solomon and J.S. Eastridge. 2003. Microbial reduction and tenderness improvement in fresh or frozen thawed beef strip loins treated with hydrodynamic pressure processing. Meat Sci. (Submitted). ABSTRACTS Asmus, A. E., E. P. Berg, J. L. Melody, S. M. Lonergan, and E. Huff-Lonergan. 2003. Degradation of calcium regulating and intermediate filament proteins is related to fresh pork quality. J. Anim. Sci. 81 (Suppl. 1):74. Doerscher, D. R., S. M. Lonergan and J. L. Briggs. 2003. Thermal and viscoelastic properties of purified porcine myofibrillar gels when mixed with commercially available pork collagen. Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. Fausti, S.W., Diersen, M. 2003. Did Voluntary Price Reporting System Fail to Provide Price Transparency in the Cash Market for Dressed Steers: Evidence from South Dakota. Abstract in the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Vol. 28. Fausti, S.W., Keimig, R. Diersen, M. Kim, H. Santos, J. 2003. Mandatory Versus Voluntary Price Reporting: An Empirical Investigation of the Market Transparency Controversy. Abstract in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Vol. 35 No. 2, p.433. Hassen, A., D. E. Wilson, and G. H. Rouse. 2003. Evaluation of serially measured body weight data in young Angus bulls and heifers. J. Anim. Sci. 81(Suppl. 2):35. Hassen, A., D. E. Wilson, G. H. Rouse. 2003. Heritability and repeatability of back fat and rump fat thickness in Angus cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 81 (Suppl. 1): 88. Knight, T. J., J. A. Minick, R. G. Tait, Jr., G. H. Rouse, D. E. Wilson, D. R. Strohbehn, J. M. Reecy, A. E. Wertz, A. H. Trenkle, and D. C. Beitz. 2003. Redesigning beef cattle to have a more healthful fatty acid composition. J. Anim. Sci. 81(Suppl. 1):87. Lonergan, S. M., N. Deeb, C. A. Fedler and S. J. Lamont. 2003. Breast meat quality and composition in unique chicken populations. Poultry Science Abstracts of Papers p. 48. Maddock, K. R., E. Huff-Lonergan, L. J. Rowe, and S. M. Lonergan. 2003. Effect of pH and ionic strength on calpastatin inhibition of µ- and m-calpain. J. Anim. Sci. 81 (Suppl. 1):74. Maddock, K. R., L. J. Rowe, E. Huff-Lonergan, and S. M. Lonergan. 2003. Effects of oxidation on inactivation of calpastatin in beef. J. Anim. Sci. 81 (Suppl. 1):74. Melody, J. L., L. J. Rowe, T. W. Huiatt, S. M. Lonergan, and E-Huff-Lonergan. 2003. Relationship between µ-calpain autolysis and immunolocalization in pork myofibrils. Proc. Recip. Meat Conf. (In Press). Moore, D. A., J. Kirk, F. Garry, W. Wailes, J. Dalton, J. Busboom, D. J. Klingborg, M. Payne, J. Marchello, and M. Poe. 2003. Dairy beef: maximizing quality and profits - an educational program for dairy producers. J. Dairy Sci. Ringkob, T. P. 2003. Comparing pork fat color from barley and corn fed pork using image analysis. Proceedings of Reciprocal Meats Conference. 56:122. Rouse, G. H., D. E. Wilson, J. R. Tait, A. Hassen, and A. G. Rouse. 2003. Body composition changes in Angus Bulls from weaning to yearling measured serially with real-time ultrasound. J. Anim. Sci. 81(Suppl. 2):49. Rowe, L. J., K. R. Maddock, A. Asmus, S. M. Lonergan, and E. Huff-Lonergan. 2003. Effects of oxidation on beef tenderness and µ-calpain activity. J. Anim. Sci 81 (Suppl. 1):74. Rowe, L. J., K. R. Maddock, A. Trenkle, S. M. Lonergan, and E. Huff-Lonergan. 2003. Influence of early postmortem protein oxidation on beef quality. J. Anim. Sci 81: (Suppl. 1):73. Solomon, M.B. and V.G. Pursel. 2003. Improving pork tenderness using hydrodynamic pressure. J. Anim. Sci. 81(Suppl. 1):314. Tait, Jr., R. G., D. E. Wilson, and G. H. Rouse. 2003. Comparison of beef cattle ultrasound and carcass measures to predict percent retail product yield from the four primals. J. Anim. Sci. 81(Suppl. 2):49. Wall, P. B., G. H. Rouse, D. E. Wilson, R. G. Tait, and W. D. Busby. 2003. A feedlot model: predicting carcass quality and yield grade at re-implant time using real-time ultrasound. J. Anim. Sci. 81(Suppl. 1):97. Westphalen, A. D., J. L. Briggs and S. M. Lonergan. 2003. Effects of varying pH in porcine myofibrillar protein on rheological and water holding properties. Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Hahn, Jones, and Davis. 2003. Levels or differences in meat demand specification. American Agricultural Economics Association Summer Meetings, 22-30 July 2003, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Paper can be found at AgEcon Search http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/ Jones, Hahn and Davis. 2003. Demand for U.S. lamb and mutton: A two stage differential approach. American Agricultural Economics Association Summer Meetings, 22-30 July 2003, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Paper can be found at AgEcon Search http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/ Menkhaus, D.J., O.R. Phillips, and C.T. Bastian. 2003. Impacts of alternative trading institutions and methods of delivery on laboratory outcomes. Principal Paper Presented, American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, July 2003. Also presented as a seminar USDA, ERS, Markets and Trade Economics Division, Washington, DC, September 2003. Oltjen, J.W., A.B. Pleasants, T.K. Soboleva and V.H. Oddy. 2003. Parameters for a refined model of ruminant growth and composition. In: Proceedings of Western Sec. American Society of Animal Science 54:229-230. Rothschild, M. F., D. Ciobanu, S. Lonergan, and K. Stalder. 2003. Identification of genes for carcass merit and meat quality in the pig. Proceedings of the National Swine Improvement Federation. GRADUATE STUDENT M.S. THESIS TITLES Asmus, A. E. 2003. Relationships between oxidation and µ-calpain autolysis, degradation of Ca2+ -regulating proteins, and pork quality. Master of Science Thesis, Iowa State University. Erwin, Kelly. 2003. Retail beef cut prices: Impacts and implications for promotion and R&D dollars. M.S. Plan B Paper, University of Wyoming. Gardner, M. A. 2003. Postmortem considerations for optimizing ultimate pork quality. Master of Science Thesis, Iowa State University. Gittings, Lance. 2002. The effects of concentration on an experimental private negotiation with spot delivery market. M.S. Thesis, University of Wyoming. Spangler, M. L. 2003. Bull-half sib steer comparisons: phenotypic correlation and carcass prediction using ultrasound. Master of Science Thesis, Iowa State University. Wall, P. B. 2003. Using ultrasound to predict body composition changes in steers at 100, 65, and 30 days before harvest. Master of Science Thesis, Iowa State University.