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Introduction: E. coli is a ubiquitous bacterium commonly used as a sentinel in antimicrobial resistance studies. Here, E. coli was isolated from three groups (sick calves, healthy calves and bedding material), to assess the presence of antimicrobial resistance, describe resistance profiles, and compare these resistances among groups. Material and methods: Samples were collected from calves and calving pens from 20 dairy farms. Using the disc diffusion method, E. coli isolates were screened for antimicrobial resistance against seven antimicrobials: Amoxicillin, Ceftiofur, Gentamicin, Enrofloxacin, Trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole, Florfenicol and Oxytetracycline. Isolates resistant to all these seven antimicrobials were tested again against an extended 19 antimicrobial drug panel and for the presence of the most common E. coli pathogenicity genes through PCR. Results & discussion: Three hundred forty-nine E. coli isolates were obtained; most isolates were resistant to a single antimicrobial, but 2.3% (8) were resistant to 16 to 19 of the antimicrobials tested. The group with the highest percentage of multiresistant isolates was the calves with diarrhea group. Younger calves provided samples with higher antimicrobial resistance levels. Conclusions: There is a high rate of antimicrobial resistance in dairy farms calving pens. These bacteria could not only be a resistance gene reservoir, but also could have the potential to spread these determinants through horizontal gene transfer to other susceptible bacteria. Measures should be taken to protect colonization of younger calves, based on hygienic measures and proper management.

In the pig, intrauterine crowding can greatly affect postnatal characteristics, among which birth weight and locomotion. In a previous study, we discovered that piglets with a low birth weight/low vitality (L piglets) have a reduced motor performance compared to piglets with a normal birth weight/normal vitality (N piglets). A possible explanation is that L piglets lack the energy to increase their motor performance to the level of that of N piglets. Blood glucose levels (GLU) and glycogen concentrations in skeletal muscle of the front (GLYFRONT) and hind leg (GLYHIND) and the liver (GLYLIVER) at birth and during the first 96 h postpartum were compared between L and N piglets. GLU at birth was the same for both groups. After birth, GLU immediately increased in N piglets, whereas it only increased after 8 h in L piglets. L piglets showed a lower GLYHIND at birth and did not use this glycogen during the first 8 h postpartum, while N piglets showed a gradual depletion. GLYLIVER at birth was 50% lower for L piglets and was unused during the studied period while N piglets consumed half of their GLYLIVER during the first 8 h. Based on these results, it is possible that lower glycogen concentrations at birth, the delayed increase in GLU and the lower use of glycogen during the first 8 h after birth negatively affect motor performance in L piglets. However, based on this study, it is unclear whether the low mobilization of glycogen by L piglets is a consequence, rather than a cause of their lower motor performance.

Broiler house systems are operated for the primary purpose of providing the appropriate conditions suitable to have a significant efficiency of animal production. The major environmental conditions in the poultry building are controlling the hygro-thermal parameters (temperature and relative humidity) and contaminant gases (NH 3 , CO 2 ). In this paper, a poultry house prototype is monitored and controlled using the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) tool like LabVIEW. A full prototype is designed and an efficient hybrid control strategy is implemented to control in real-time the poultry house climate. In the suggested approach, a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is combined with a proportional, integral, derivative (PID) controller tuned by fuzzy rules. The proposed method, fuzzy logic, and On/Off controllers were tested by experimental measures and studies in a prototype model over 30 days during hot climates. The comparison results showed that the root mean square error of temperature and relative humidity response with the MFLPID controller (0.8 °C, 1.34%) were lower than that of FLC (1.16 °C, 1.86%) and On/Off controller (2.09 °C, 3.08%). The mean value of CO 2 concentration with MFLPID (2461 ppm) was lower than that of FLC (3294 ppm) and On/Off controller (3624 ppm). However, the mean value of NH 3 concentration was limited in small value (<5 ppm) for all controllers. The performance of the daily weight gained by the chickens for the MFLPID system was found to be 97%, which is higher than that of FLC (88%) and On/Off (80%). The energy consumption of the actuators can be saved at 43% and 14% with MFLPID compared to the On/Off and fuzzy controllers. These results indicate that the proposed control strategy is more efficient in the application of the poultry farming sector., (© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The sustainability of the livestock sector in sub-Saharan Africa is negatively affected by limited access to high-quality fodder in adequate quantities. The effects of climate change further exacerbate feed availability. Therefore, there is a need to develop feasible cost-effective strategies for improving the year-round feed supply. Improved planted forages such as Brachiaria grass have been recommended as one of the strategies of alleviating feed scarcity, especially in drier agro-ecological zones. This study analyses the socio-economic determinants of adoption and the impact of adopting Brachiaria grass for feed sufficiency and increased milk production. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method was used to assess the determinants and impact of the adoption of Brachiaria grass. Empirical results indicate that the adoption of Brachiaria grass led to a significant increase in milk production by 27.6% and feed sufficiency by 31.6%. The positive impact of Brachiaria grass is consistent with the role of agricultural technologies in improving the productivity, income, and welfare of smallholder farmers. The adoption of Brachiaria grass is influenced by age of farmer, tropical livestock unit (TLU), type of animal breed, perceived benefits of the technology, access to extension, and farmer group membership. The study recommends holistic policy approaches that promote the widespread adoption of Brachiaria grass. There is also a need for an effective information dissemination pathway for Brachiaria grass., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

Introduction: E. coli is a ubiquitous bacterium commonly used as a sentinel in antimicrobial resistance studies. Here, E. coli was isolated from three groups (sick calves, healthy calves and bedding material), to assess the presence of antimicrobial resistance, describe resistance profiles, and compare these resistances among groups., Material and Methods: Samples were collected from calves and calving pens from 20 dairy farms. Using the disc diffusion method, E. coli isolates were screened for antimicrobial resistance against seven antimicrobials: Amoxicillin, Ceftiofur, Gentamicin, Enrofloxacin, Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, Florfenicol and Oxytetracycline. Isolates resistant to all these seven antimicrobials were tested again against an extended 19 antimicrobial drug panel and for the presence of the most common E. coli pathogenicity genes through PCR., Results & Discussion: Three hundred forty-nine E. coli isolates were obtained; most isolates were resistant to a single antimicrobial, but 2.3% (8) were resistant to 16 to 19 of the antimicrobials tested. The group with the highest percentage of multiresistant isolates was the calves with diarrhea group. Younger calves provided samples with higher antimicrobial resistance levels., Conclusions: There is a high rate of antimicrobial resistance in dairy farms calving pens. These bacteria could not only be a resistance gene reservoir, but also could have the potential to spread these determinants through horizontal gene transfer to other susceptible bacteria. Measures should be taken to protect colonization of younger calves, based on hygienic measures and proper management., (© 2019 The Author(s).)

In the pig, intrauterine crowding can greatly affect postnatal characteristics, among which birth weight and locomotion. In a previous study, we discovered that piglets with a low birth weight/low vitality (L piglets) have a reduced motor performance compared to piglets with a normal birth weight/normal vitality (N piglets). A possible explanation is that L piglets lack the energy to increase their motor performance to the level of that of N piglets. Blood glucose levels (GLU) and glycogen concentrations in skeletal muscle of the front (GLY FRONT ) and hind leg (GLY HIND ) and the liver (GLY LIVER ) at birth and during the first 96 h postpartum were compared between L and N piglets. GLU at birth was the same for both groups. After birth, GLU immediately increased in N piglets, whereas it only increased after 8 h in L piglets. L piglets showed a lower GLY HIND at birth and did not use this glycogen during the first 8 h postpartum, while N piglets showed a gradual depletion. GLY LIVER at birth was 50% lower for L piglets and was unused during the studied period while N piglets consumed half of their GLY LIVER during the first 8 h. Based on these results, it is possible that lower glycogen concentrations at birth, the delayed increase in GLU and the lower use of glycogen during the first 8 h after birth negatively affect motor performance in L piglets. However, based on this study, it is unclear whether the low mobilization of glycogen by L piglets is a consequence, rather than a cause of their lower motor performance., (© 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)