Less Stress, More Gains

New research estimates $90.50/hd return on investment for carcass value and 
$60.00/hd ROI for live weight among finishing cattle receiving FerAppease® at initial 
processing and reimplantation

When cattle experience stress during transportation and receiving at the feedlot, producers are in turn leaving dollars on the table. This stress can lead to productivity losses and health challenges, like immunosuppression and bovine respiratory disease (BRD).¹ A trial involving high-risk cattle during a 60-day feedlot receiving period found that cattle receiving maternal bovine appeasing substance (mBAS) – also known as FerAppease – at initial processing and two weeks later had an 83% reduction in mortality, decreased physiological stress markers and improved immunity parameters compared to the control group,² despite participating steers being subject to industry-standard practices that induce stress like transportation, castration and adjusting to a new environment.

FerAppease is applied topically behind the poll and across the muzzle of livestock. The active ingredient is a synthetic analogue of the mBAS, which is naturally secreted from the mammary gland of animals to help reduce the perception of threat among nursing animals. 

“This study helped quantify the positive impact of FerAppease on high-risk cattle on both animal well-being and producer profitability,” said Reinaldo Cooke, Ph.D., Burkhart Endowed Professor for Beef Cattle Research at Texas A&M University and researcher on the study. “The results beg the question, ‘what are the benefits to low-risk, easy-keeping cattle?’”

FerAppease has a low cost of application – roughly $3.00/hd per 10 mL dose for animals over 200 lbs. – making it an affordable solution for producers seeking to reap the benefits of minimizing the effects of stress at various points of time in an animal’s life. 

“Due to the nature of how we handle and process cattle [on trailers, through squeeze chutes, etc.], we have hypothesized that every animal – regardless of risk or health status – could benefit from FerAppease application when being handled,” said Rodrigo Bicalho, DVM, Ph.D., CEO of FERA.

Latest Research From Texas A&M University Reports Positive Impact of FerAppease on Low-Risk Finishing Cattle

To further investigate this theory, Dr. Reinaldo Cooke conducted a research trial³ to understand the impact on performance and carcass quality of administering mBAS to finishing cattle.

In the study, 240 Angus yearling steers were sourced from a stocker operation where they had been backgrounded prior to purchase and transported six hours by trailer to the research feedyard in Bushland, Texas. The body weight was recorded upon arrival on all steers. After the group rested together for 24 hours, steers received one of two treatments – 10 mL of mBAS (FerAppease) or 10 mL of mineral oil (control; placebo). The respective treatments were applied topically during routine intake processing at the feedyard, which also included vaccination, deworming and implantation. The cattle were distributed into 30 drylot pens according to arrival weight and treatment, resulting in 15 pens per treatment and eight steers per pen. The steers were finished for 138 days with free-choice access to water and total-mixed rations (TMR) offered once daily. The TMRs were the same between treatment groups and pens. On day 75 of the finishing period, all cattle were re-implanted and received a second dose of their respective treatment (FerAppease vs. control). 

Offering an Affordable Solution with a High Return On Investment

Noting the importance of financial profitability to producers, a pen-basis economic analysis was done to quantify the impact of administering FerAppease to these finishing steers (Table 1).

This calculation showed a 10:1 return on investment based on live weight ($60 profit difference per hd or $480 profit difference per pen) and a 15:1 return on investment based on carcass value ($90.50 profit  difference per hd./$724 profit difference per  pen) with the low cost of approximately $3 per head per application of FerAppease ($47.60 for both applications per pen), according to Cooke’s estimates.

Table 1. Productive and economical responses of pens containing beef steers administered mBAS (n=15) or mineral oil (control; n=15) 

Steers That Received FerAppease Had 0.17 lb Per Day Higher ADG, 15.6 lb Higher Hot Carcass Weight Than Control 

Upon completion of the study, improvements in both live and carcass performance were observed for steers that received FerAppease. Average daily gain from d 0 to d 138 was 5.14 lbs/d for cattle receiving FerAppease, a 0.17 lb per day increase in gain when compared to the control group (4.97 lbs/d). The increase in ADG was more significant after reimplant (d 75 to d 138) – 4.34 lbs/d for the group receiving FerAppease compared to 4.05 lbs/d for the control group – a nearly 0.30 lb per day increase among those receiving FerAppease.

A notable increase in hot carcass weight among steers receiving FerAppease compared to the control group was also observed. The treated cattle had an average carcass weight of 984.2 lbs. compared to 968.6 lbs. for the control group – a 15.6 lb. difference with the same 60.9% dressing percentage for both groups.

“While the gains alone indicate a positive response to mBAS treatment, it’s important to note that these gains were achieved with an increase in carcass quality. The marbling score of steers treated with FerAppease was 508.1, compared to 481.7 among the control group. This led to 94.9% of the treated steers grading Prime or Choice, compared to 87.9% of the control steers,” said Cooke. “With other technologies, there are typically trade-offs between efficient weight gain and carcass quality. This study showed that, in addition to the gain, the carcasses of cattle that received FerAppease were more valuable.”

These observations come as no surprise to Bicalho who emphasizes the all-around benefits of lowering livestock stress.

“Stress compromises animal performance, health and carcass quality,” Bicalho said. “By addressing and reducing stress through all-natural FerAppease, we are setting livestock up to perform better on both hoof and rail.”

Reduce cattle stress and improve your bottom line.

1. Duff, G. C., and M. L. Galyean. 2007. Board-invited review: recent advances in management of highly stressed, newly received feedlot cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 85:823–840. doi:10.2527/jas.2006-501

2. Pickett, A.T., Cooke R.F., et al. 2024. Administering the maternal bovine appeasing substance improves overall productivity and health in high-risk cattle during 60-d feedlot receiving period. J. Anim. Sci. 102. doi:10.1093/jas/skae221

3. Cooke, R.F. 2025. Administering the maternal bovine appeasing substance to finishing cattle. Publication pending. Data on file with FERA Diagnostics & Biologicals.