Animal husbandry: the period 1973—1995

In the last decade the intensification of the pig and poultry industries has continued with increases in production unit size and in efficiency. This has come about as a response to rising costs, competition and reasonable end-product prices. The dairy industry has also expanded output through increasing milk yield per cow, encouraged by favourable market support. However, efficiency of feed conversion to milk production is still not directly selected for in dairy cattle. Developments in beef cattle have been away from intensive systems of production in an effort to reduce capital expenditure and increases in sheep productivity have been largely through increased stocking rates, greater fertilizer use and better grazing systems. In the next decade there are many feasible technological advances awaiting application. The use of computer simulation is likely to assist in predicting quantitative and qualitative body compositional responses to nutrition and in increasing the efficiency of grass utilization, while microprocessor technology will be developed into artificial aids to the stockman. Studies of reproductive physiology will continue to help increase output, especially with pigs and sheep. The building of sophisticated housing is likely to be justified for pigs, poultry, dairy cattle and calves, but not for suckler beef and sheep. There is likely to be greater use of centralized breeding schemes for dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep. The future application of technology will be limited by a number of socio-economic factors. For example, the use of milk quotas to control surplus production will act as a powerful economic constraint to increased milk production and the growing public concern over animal welfare, pollution and health aspects of animal produce will exert increasing pressure on certain systems of production.

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 193-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Hasonova ◽  
I. Pavlik

Paratuberculosis (PTB) is a disease which causes considerable economic losses to producers of livestock, particularly dairy cows. Nowadays PTB is one of the most prevailing and costly infectious diseases of dairy cattle. The purpose of the present study was to review economic losses, which may be caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) above all in herds of dairy cattle. The most important losses caused by the presence of clinically ill animals have been thoroughly described: loss of milk production and poor body condition followed by death or culling. In contrast, losses arising from a subclinical disease have not been well documented and contradictory results have been published to date. The calculation of losses caused by PTB depends to a certain degree on the production system in a herd, efficiency level, herd management system and other factors. Direct economic losses are above all caused by decreased milk production concurrent to increased incidence of mastitis, changes in milk parameters and increased somatic cell counts, reproductive dysfunctions, poor feed conversion, shortened production age and increased predisposition to other diseases etc. Indirect economic losses are caused by premature culling of animals and their unrealized future income, expenses for non-active production, herd replacement, diagnostic testing, “unnecessary” veterinary care and establishing disease control programmes. Genetic value of animals and their progeny is lost. Last but not least, the reputation of the farm where MAP infected animals are kept is lost for a long-time, which is also important.


2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Rolfe

Beef cattle contribute ~7% of anthropocentric greenhouse gas emissions in Australia through the release of methane into the atmosphere. Cattle in northern Australia produce more methane per unit of beef produced because tropical grasses are generally of poor quality and elicit slower average growth rates. In this paper the level of emissions from different herds and some strategies to reduce emissions are estimated with a daily time-step model. The results indicate that few options exist to reduce methane emissions from extensive grazing systems without reducing beef production. Options to improve production or feed conversion efficiencies can generate lower levels of emissions per kg of beef produced, but can be expected to lead to increased livestock numbers and higher overall methane emissions. A woodland grazing case study from central Queensland suggests the opportunity cost of reducing each kg of methane emissions by reducing stocking rates ranges from 1.0 to 1.2 kg of liveweight beef production. A price of $23 per t of carbon dioxide equivalent would indicate that opportunity costs (ignoring fixed costs of production) of reducing emissions by adjusting stocking rates would range between $0.39 and $0.49 per kg of beef produced.


2021 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
A. Ye. Pochukalin ◽  
S. V. Pryima

The issue of registration of breeding animals of different breeds is dealt with by organizations that keep state books of breeding animals. In Ukraine, the functions of keeping state books of breeding animals in cattle breeding, pig breeding, sheep breeding and horse breeding belong to the powers of the minister, which ensures the formation of state policy in the field of animal husbandry. The issue of animal breeding books is relevant because it is an ongoing process that requires a set of measures aimed at registration, maintenance and promotion of domestic breeding livestock. The purpose of research. To monitor the state books of breeding animals (SBBA) in dairy and meat cattle breeding, sheep breeding and pig breeding for the period 2002–2010. Also, establish the number of potential females that could be entered in the stud books. Materials and methods of research. The material for the study was data on the presence of breeding cows of dairy and meat production, sows and ewes of breeds registered in the State Register of Breeding Subjects in Animal Husbandry (until 2009, the State Breeding Register, SBR) during 2002–2019. The results of research. According to the SBR, 15 dairy breeds of cattle have been registered in Ukraine. During the study period, 15 volumes of SBBA of four breeds of dairy cattle were published in Ukraine, which included information on 12331 breeding animals, including 11477 cows. The largest number of recorded breeding animals of the Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy cattle, of which 144 breeding bulls and 4989 cows, are concentrated in six volumes. In second place is the Ukrainian Red-and-White dairy cattle, namely 4554 animals. Then there is the Simmental with 871 animals, of which 809 cows, and the red steppe 1773 heads, including 1609 cows. It is established that 48.7% of breeding animals were born in the period from 1990 to 1999. A small proportion, namely 0.3%, are animals born before 1979, and only 24% after 2000. Younger animals are recorded in the breeding books of Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy cattle and Ukrainian Red-and-White dairy cattle, and older – in the books of the red steppe. Of the 14 meat breeds used in Ukraine, only 5 have breeding animals that are registered with the SBBA. The total number of meat-producing animals recorded in the SBBA is 5586, including 4649 cows. Of the twelve breeds of pigs bred in Ukraine, only seven breeds, namely the Ukrainian white steppe (1451 heads) and Ukrainian spotted steppe (974), Myrhorod breed (123), Great Black (181), Landrace (727), Poltava meat breed (290) and Ukrainian meat breed (300) during the study period were published state pedigree books. Half (50.7%) of all recorded breeding pigs have a year of birth before 2000. Young (born in 2000) animals are recorded in the breeding books of the Landrace breed and the Ukrainian white steppe, Ukrainian meat breed and Poltava meat breed, where their share varies from 64 to 98%. During the study period, 9 volumes of state books of breeding sheep were published. In addition to Tsigai (884 goals), Askanian Karakul (700), fine-wool (1168), meat-wool with crossbred wool (1917) and Sokol (443), in 2003, 2004 and 2009 3 volumes of SBBA sheep of the Prekos breed were published. The calculation of potential females that could be recorded in the state breeding books revealed the presence of 1251102 breeding animals, including 100796 ewes, 70678 sows, 71341 beef cows and 1008287 dairy cows. The largest number of potential females of different breeds in cattle breeding, sheep breeding and pig breeding in the regions of Ukraine showed a certain pattern, namely the centers for dairy cattle breeding – Vinnytsia (83395 heads), Kyiv (111650), Khmelnytsky (64667), Cherkasy (68035) regions, beef cattle breeding – Volyn (13.466 head), Chernihiv (10.907 head), sheep breeding – Kherson (13.837), Odessa (19078) and pig breeding – Dnipropetrovsk (6452), Poltava (4621). The main goal for calculating potential females was to try to determine the size of the breed in dairy and beef cattle, sheep breeding and pigs breeding. Because the more animals included in the breeding model, the better the results of genetic improvement. In addition, it is possible to address the dynamics of the development of breeding traits, identify successful methods of selection and selection, assessment of population and genetic parameters over time and the creation of breeding programs with breeds of farm animals. Conclusion. State books of breeding animals are an important element of selection. Animal information databases help to estimate the populations of domestic and transboundary breeds in general by a set of characteristics, to determine the population-genetic parameters over time and to develop programs for the improvement of farm animals. Studies have identified a significant number (1251102 heads) of breeding cows, ewes and sows, which at one time could be recorded in the breeding books of the respective breeds.


1951 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Miller ◽  
J. B. Frye ◽  
B. J. Burch ◽  
P. J. Henderson ◽  
L. L. Rusoff

2006 ◽  
Vol 2006 ◽  
pp. 86-86
Author(s):  
G Wellwood ◽  
J K Margerison

Mastitis is a complex disease causing inflammation of the udder, which has been estimated to cost the dairy farmer between £40-£117/cow per year (Stott et al., 2002). Economic loss occurs as a result of discarded milk, reduced milk yield and milk quality, increased vet costs and an increase in replacement costs. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of breed on the incidence of mastitis and somatic cell counts and milk production capabilities of Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss and Brown Swiss crossbred cows.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 531
Author(s):  
Januarius Gobilik ◽  
Stephen Todd Morris ◽  
Cory Matthew

Metabolic energy budgeting (MEB) was used to evaluate evolution over 30 years (1980–1981 to 2010–2011) in New Zealand southern North Island ‘hill country’ sheep and beef cattle systems. MEB calculates energy required by animals for body weight maintenance, weight gain or loss, pregnancy, and lactation to estimate the system feed demand and thereby provide a basis for calculating feed conversion efficiency. Historic production systems were reconstructed and modeled using averaged data from industry surveys and data from owners’ diaries of three case-study farms and reviewed for patterns of change over time. The modeling indicated that pasture productivity was 11% lower and herbage harvested was 14% lower in 2010–2011 than in the early 1980s. This productivity decline is attributable to warmer, drier summer weather in recent years. However, primarily through increased lambing percentage, feed conversion efficiency based on industry data improved over the study period from 25 to 19 kg feed consumed per kg lamb weaned, while meat production rose from 137 to 147 kg per ha per year. Similar improvements were observed for the three case farms. The New Zealand MEB model was found effective for analysis of tropical beef production systems in Sabah, Malaysia.


2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 385-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Reinemann ◽  
L. E. Stetson ◽  
N. E. Laughlin ◽  
S. D. LeMire

1983 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2329-2336 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.S. Dufva ◽  
E.E. Bartley ◽  
A.D. Dayton ◽  
D.O. Riddell
Keyword(s):  

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 579-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Hua Qiu ◽  
Chun-Ren Wang ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Zhong-Hua Sheng ◽  
Qiao-Chen Chang ◽  
...  

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