URBANA, Ill. – Chances are you’ve heard of or even taken probiotics: supplements delivering “good microbes” to the gut, providing a wide range of health benefits. If you’re really up on your gut health, you may also be aware of prebiotics: supplements designed to fuel the good microbes already living in our guts.

URBANA, Ill. ­–The Division of Nutritional Sciences graduate training program at the University of Illinois received a $150,000 Higher Education Challenge Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to jumpstart development of courses as part of a proposed new certificate program focused on food/ feed regulations and nutrition policy. The new program will prepare graduate students for leadership positions in industry and government.

URBANA, Ill. – University of Illinois researchers have developed a new technique to determine the fertility of sperm samples in cattle.

“This work is a part of a five-year project to develop dairy cattle that are resistant to heat and diseases in tropical areas. We want to donate these cows to developing countries to increase their food production,” said Matthew B. Wheeler, professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Illinois. 

Unless you’re a companion animal lover, a vegan foodie, or a science geek, the word “extrusion” might not hold much meaning. However, extrusion is an everyday term that describes a process crucial to the food and feed industries.

URBANA, Ill. – Vortex Global is pleased to announce a donation of slide gates and diverters that will optimize operations within the new Feed Technology Center at the University of Illinois and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The facility, currently under construction, will be a national hub for new discoveries and advancement in animal management, nutrition, and production.

URBANA, Ill. – With more ethanol in production and a greater ability to upcycle co-products into animal feed ingredients, companies are creating custom products and partnering with University of Illinois researchers to test for quality and digestibility.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Animal Science, Illinois researchers show a new high-protein distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) product from Marquis Energy has greater energy and protein digestibility than conventional DDGS.

URBANA, Ill. ­– Pigs that eat soybean as a regular part of their diet may be better protected against viral pathogens, a new study from University of Illinois shows. The researchers attribute the effect to isoflavones, a natural compound in soybeans.

URBANA, Ill. – Food additives get a bad rap, but a natural ingredient from orange peels and apple skins, pectin, is a thickener safely added to many food products, most notably jellies. The additive is also the subject of a University of Illinois experiment highlighting both the power and the challenges of public-private partnerships in university research.

URBANA, Ill. – Life is unpredictable during foaling season, in the best of times. When a pregnant horse is due to give birth, foaling attendants are on call 24 hours a day.

In the case of the University of Illinois horse farm, the 70-80 students enrolled in FoalWatch sign up for all-night shifts on the farm, ready to assist veterinarians and mama horses. But when COVID-19 hit, all that changed.

URBANA, Ill. – Recent regulatory restrictions around antibiotic use in livestock challenge the feed industry, but research from the University of Illinois shows a probiotic product – Clostridium butyricum – can achieve the same growth-promoting results as antibiotics.