Utah State University

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Approximately 85% of All U.s. Beef Cattle Receive a Hormone-based, Anabolic Implant, Resulting in Improved Skeletal Muscle Growth and Production Efficiency. Although Anabolic Implants Have Been Used in Beef Production Systems for Over 60 Years, the Cellular Mechanism Through Which Anabolic Implants Improve Production Is Not Fully Understood. Further, Little Research Has Sought to Understand How the Hormones in Anabolic Implants Impact Metabolism Within Skeletal Muscle, Systemically, and Also in the Meat. It Is Important That We Improve Our Understanding of How Anabolic Implants Impact Beef Production and Meat Quality as We Strive to Enhance Sustainability and Overcome Current Challenges of Beef Production Systems. in This Research Project, We Will Utilize State-of-the-art Techniques to Assess How Different Signaling Pathways and Metabolites Are Different in the Skeletal Muscle, Blood and Liver of Beef Cattle Receiving Anabolic Implants With Different Hormone Concentrations. We Will Also Assess Nutritive Value of the Meat That Is Produced. This Research Will Provide Important Insight Into How Giving Anabolic Implants to Cattle Impacts Growth, Metabolism, and Nutritive Value of the Meat. Ultimately, This Information Will Help Improve Upon or Find Alternatives to the Use of Anabolic Implants, Resulting in Increased Efficiency for Beef Producers and Improvements in Consumer Attitude Towards Beef Products.