Master's degree. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Cathy Williams and Dr. Bruce Jenny, for keeping me going and helping me when times where rough. I would like to thank Mr. Danny Gantt, for his assistance with the feeding and constant care for the cows in this trial. I would also like to thank West Central Cooperative for the donation of the Expeller processed Soybean meal and the Louisiana Board of Reagents for the partial funding of this trial through a grant from the

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... ana Board of Reagents Support Fund (Contract LEQSF (2003-2006)-RD-A-01). I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. H. Gale Bateman, my major professor, for his abilities to drive me to do my best work, his support, and the patience to deal with a true procrastinator. I would like to express special thanks to my friend, Dennis Price, who was going through this process with me at the same time in another department. He helped me greatly in areas that I was less knowledgeable (STATS) and he also helped me stay sane throughout this experience. Similarly, I would like to thank Justin Roberts, Jarvis Kessee, Laura Ward, and Stacy Sultan for their special help and support that is unexplainable in words. Also, I would like to thank Christie Stanley for her guidance and experience. Finally, special thanks to my family, for their support and understanding during this time. I will always be grateful for the constant encouragement they gave me along the way and with the sacrifices they made for me. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .