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The UK is the largest lamb meat producer in Europe. However, the low profitability of sheep farming sector suggests production efficiency could be improved. Although the use of technologies such as Electronic Identification (EID) tools could allow a better use of flock resources, anecdotal evidence suggests they are not widely used. The aim of this study was to assess uptake of EID technology, and explore drivers and barriers of adoption of related tools among English and Welsh farmers. Farm beliefs and management practices associated with adoption of this technology were investigated. A total of 2000 questionnaires were sent, with a response rate of 22%. Among the respondents, 87 had adopted EID tools for recording flock information, 97 intended to adopt it in the future, and 222 neither had adopted it, neither intended to adopt it. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multivariable logistic regression modelling were used to identify farmer beliefs and management practices significantly associated with adoption of EID technology. EFA identified three factors expressing farmer’s beliefs–external pressure and negative feelings, usefulness and practicality. Our results suggest farmer’s beliefs play a significant role in technology uptake. Non-adopters were more likely than adopters to believe that ‘government pressurise farmers to adopt technology’. In contrast, adopters were significantly more likely than non-adopters to see EID as practical and useful (p≤0.05). Farmers with higher information technologies literacy and intending to intensify production in the future were significantly more likely to adopt EID technology (p≤0.05). Importantly, flocks managed with EID tools had significantly lower farmer- reported flock lameness levels (p≤0.05). These findings bring insights on the dynamics of adoption of EID tools. Communicating evidence of the positive effects EID tools on flock performance and strengthening farmer’s capability in use of technology are likely to enhance the uptake of this technology in sheep farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As tropical cattle ranching continues to expand, successful conservation will require an improved understanding of the relative impacts of different livestock systems and landscape structure on biodiversity. Here, we provide the first empirical and multi-scale assessment of the relative effects of livestock intensification and landscape structure on biodiversity in the threatened tropical dry forests of Mesoamerica., We used a dataset of dung beetles (169,372 individuals from 33 species) collected from 20 1-km2 landscapes, ranging from zero-yielding forest sites to high-yield cattle ranches and maize farms, to investigate the relative effect of livestock intensification (net cattle production; macrocyclic lactone use; annual dung production) and landscape structure (landscape composition and configuration) at multiple spatial scales on different attributes of dung beetle communities using a multi-model averaging approach., Dung beetle species richness, biomass and composition were more strongly related to landscape structure than to livestock intensification., Forest cover was the best predictor of dung beetle assemblages, being positively related to species diversity and biomass across multiple spatial scales. The use of macrocyclic lactones was strong and negatively related to dung beetle communities at the local scale., Synthesis and applications: Maximising forest protection through a 'land sparing' strategy is likely to be the best strategy for reducing negative impacts of cattle farming on Neotropical dung beetle communities. However, increasing or maintaining yields while reducing agrochemical inputs will be important for conserving on-farm biodiversity and the ecosystem services that dung beetles provide in livestock-dominated landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated crop-livestock systems hold potential to achieve environmentally sustainable production of crop and livestock products. Although previous studies suggest that integrated crop-livestock systems improve soil health, impacts of integrated crop-livestock systems on water quality and aquatic ecosystems are largely unknown. This review (i) summarizes studies examining surface water quality and soil leachate for management practices commonly used in integrated crop-livestock systems (e.g., no-till, cover crops, livestock grazing) with emphasis on the Northern Great Plains ecoregion of North America, (ii) quantifies management system effects on nutrient and total suspended solids concentrations and loads, and (iii) identifies information gaps regarding water quality associated with integrated crop-livestock systems and research needs in this area. In general, management practices used in integrated crop-livestock systems reduced losses of total suspended solids, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in surface runoff and soil leachate. However, certain management practices (e.g., no-till or reduced tillage) reduced losses of total N (relative median change = -65%), whereas soluble P losses in runoff increased (57%). Conversely, practices such as grazing increased median total suspended solids (22%), nitrate (45%), total N (85%), and total P (25%) concentrations and loads in surface runoff and aquatic ecosystems. An improved understanding of the interactive effects of integrated crop-livestock management practices on surface water quality and soil leachate under current and future climate scenarios is urgently needed. To close this knowledge gap, future studies should focus on determining concentrations and loads of total suspended solids, N, P, and organic carbon in runoff and soil leachate from integrated crop-livestock systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural activities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), southern Brazil, have traditionally been quite intensive and led to decreased overall soil quality, and to depletion of soil organic matter and nutrients. There have been attempts at restoring soil quality by using integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLS). ICLS in association with no-tillage (NT) potentially increase soil organic matter content and nutrient supplies. The aim of this work was to assess the influence of grazing intensity in three different treatments [viz., intensive grazing (IG), moderate grazing (MG) and no grazing (NG)] on the mineralogy of an Oxisol in an integrated soybean–cattle beef production system in southern Brazil by using various types of methods and tests. Mineralogical XRD analyses of the clay fraction (< 2 μm) showed it to consist mainly of kaolinite and 2:1 clay minerals of the hydroxy-interlayered mineral (HIM) type. The reflections for 2:1 clay minerals under the IG treatment were better defined than those for the minerals under NG, which suggests the prevalence of HIMs. The 2:1 clay minerals in the IG group exhibited expandable layers. Splitting the clay fraction into three subfractions according to size (< 0.05 μm, 0.05–0.1 μm and 0.1–2 μm) exposed considerable alterations. Thus, hydroxy-aluminum interlayered vermiculite (HIV-Al) was present irrespective of treatment. Also, the HIV-Al reflection was better defined under IG and MG than under NG, which suggests strong aluminization of 2:1 clay minerals. Chemical analyses revealed a decrease in total organic carbon (TOC) with increasing depth in all treatments. The decrease was especially marked under NG by effect of the absence of animals favoring accumulation of plant shoots. pH water was higher under IG as a result of the removal of aluminum from the soil solution increased aluminization of 2:1 clay minerals. K concentrations in solution were low under IG as a result of the formation of HIMs and/or swelling layers with exchangeable K; by contrast, solution K levels under NG where high owing to the absence of HIMs. The presence of animals, which increases K availability through animal wastes, may have resulted in competition between exchangeable K + and Al 3 + to form HIMs. Without splitting the clay fraction it would have been impossible to confirm the mineralogical alteration in 2:1 phyllosilicates due to the impact of ICLS systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal variability in the availability of forage reduces the production and economic performance of livestock systems. The marginal value of feed (MVF, the possible gross economic benefit of additional feed on offer during an annual cycle), was assessed under the expected variability of climate and prices in a cow-calf operation from the Flooding Pampas, Argentina. Herbage mass accumulation (HMA) was simulated on a daily basis over 20 different years with DairyMod, grouped by month and season and where the HMA was equal or below 50% of its long-term average, it was tagged as “Dry”. Typical monthly pasture growth rates were synthetically depicted for average years (Average), or with dry autumn (D-Au), winter (D-Wi), spring (D-Sp) or summer (D-Su) conditions. These pasture growth curves were incorporated into whole-farm scenarios which were modelled with SIMUGAN, a bio-economic whole-farm model. Farm scenarios were baseline (unchanged HMA) or with additional 10% of the annual HMA. This additional feed was either evenly distributed across each month of the year (all year), or the full amount provided in one of the four seasons. These scenarios were repeated in a factorial design across a range of stocking rates (SR; 0.9–1.3 cows/ha) on an average year or years including one dry season (D-Au, D-Wi, D-Sp orD-Su). SIMUGAN results were fed to an ad-hoc built model to calculate production and market risk profiles. In years with average HMA, MVF were always below 0.05 US$/kg DM but the presence of a dry season caused significantly higher MVF. Years with dry autumn presented the highest economic responses when the extra feed was fed during autumn or winter. MVF analyses showed a positive impact of additional forage only above 1.1 head/ha and this increased with SR, whereas MVF at the low SR were mostly negative due to extra hay making costs. At 1.1 and 1.2 head/ha, allocating additional feed in autumn produced a higher return (0.04 and 0.08 US$/kg DM) than feed provided at other times of the year (averaging 0.02 and 0.05 US$/kg DM). Otherwise, at 1.3 SR extra feed in winter always had the highest MVF (up to 0.19 US$/kg DM). Bio-physical variables of livestock demand and seasonality of pasture growth were the main drivers of MVF variability. Overall, the framework developed by integrating forage, livestock and economic models “in a series” effectively identified the economic feasibility of changes to the farm feed-base under different climatic and livestock management conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-smart approaches have gained momentum in tropical, agricultural development. However, to date, few studies have examined whole-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) balances in smallholder crop-livestock systems. This study aimed to quantify GHG balances at farm-scale, identify GHG hotspots and assess mitigation options in coffee-dairy farms undergoing agricultural intensification in Central Kenya. In recent decades, decreasing farm size has forced the shift from extensive practices to zero-grazing systems and higher nitrogen (N) inputs. We hypothesised that different farm strategies and intensification levels determine the farm’s GHG balance. A farm typology was constructed through principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering from 125 farms surveyed. Four farm types were identified ranging relatively from small to large farms, low to high livestock intensities, and low to high N input rates. Whole-farm GHG balances were estimated using an adapted version of the Cool Farm Tool (CFT). Farms were found to be net sources of GHG, averaging from 4.5 t CO 2 eq ha −1 yr −1 in less intensive farms to 12.5 t CO 2 eq ha −1 yr −1 in high intensive farms. Within the farm GHG hotspots identified, methane (CH 4 ) from enteric fermentation processes accounted for 26–39% of total farm GHG emissions; nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and CH 4 from manure management systems (MMS) for 26–38%; soil background and fertilizer induced N 2 O emissions for 24–29%; off-farm production of feeds and agrochemicals for 10–22%; and crop residue management (CRM) for the remaining 1–3%. Within the mitigation practices assessed, zero-grazing stalls already lowered the livestock maintenance energy requirements, reducing enteric fermentation emissions. Stall-feeding, however, brings the necessity-opportunity to manage the manure and our results showed that MMS can be a determining factor in the GHG balance. Increasing the frequency of manure collection from stalls in favour of solid storage systems can reduce N 2 O emissions by up to 75%. Furthermore, dry manure storage reduced the CH 4 emissions of liquid slurry systems by more than 70%. Further benefits in terms of carbon (C) sequestration were identified along farm types from manure and crop residues applications in soils (with averages of −1.3 to −2.3 t CO 2 eq ha −1 yr −1 ) and biomass growth in agroforestry systems (−1.2 to −2 t CO 2 eq ha −1 yr −1 ). Together, soils and woody biomass offset 25–36% of farm emissions. We conclude that reduced farm size and increased livestock density lead to higher emissions per unit area, though this increase is smoothed by larger negative fluxes in soils (by higher C inputs) and woody biomass (by higher tree densities) until a steady state is reached. Average yield-scaled emissions, or product carbon footprints (CFs), resulted in 1.08 kg CO 2 eq kg coffee berry −1 , 0.64 kg CO 2 eq kg maize −1 and 1.05 kg CO 2 eq kg milk −1 on average. CFs did not always differ between farm types and intensification levels, meaning that increases in productivity were not higher than increases in GHG fluxes from intensification. This may be due to: 1) increases in productivity are the result of more processes other than N inputs; and/or 2) emissions from N inputs are overestimated by EFs and GHG calculators. Smallholders may benefit in the near future from climate initiatives and further field characterisation, models calibration and monitoring are required to overcome critical levels of uncertainty and provide more accurate estimations of GHG balances at farm-scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an original accounting of changes in livestock production efficiency per livestock category in historical perspective and connects livestock consumption with land requirements and virtual land trade. We use France as a demonstration study and account for productivity changes in terms of energy. Feed rations composition are reconstructed per livestock production and feed crop group over time to account for changes in land use in relation to dietary changes. Land requirements for consumption in France dropped by 28% over the study period besides an increase by 35% of the human population and by 53% of the livestock consumption. The two-fold increase in agricultural productivity is due, for half, to energy conversion efficiency improvements and for half to agricultural yields. Overall, the livestock energy conversion efficiency increased by 45% from 1961 to 2010, poultry gained 84%, pork 17%, sheep&goat 67% and cattle 27%. The feed share of oilcrops and cereals in animal rations doubled against a drop by 35% of feed from pastures. Virtual land imports for oilcrops in relation to livestock consumption in France today amount to 0.9 million ha against a maximum of 1.9 million ha in 1979. Besides its dependence on oilcrops imports, the French livestock sector displays net virtual land exports ranging from about 2.5–5.3 million ha per year over the study period. Gross virtual land trade is today five times higher than the net virtual trade. The difference highlights the share of circular product loops in increasingly integrated agricultural markets at the international scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to adapt to decrease farm vulnerability to adverse contextual events has been extensively discussed on a theoretical basis. We developed an integrated and operational method to assess farm vulnerability to multiple and interacting contextual changes and explain how this vulnerability can best be reduced according to farm configurations and farmers' technical adaptations over time. Our method considers farm vulnerability as a function of the raw measurements of vulnerability variables (e.g., economic efficiency of production), the slope of the linear regression of these measurements over time, and the residuals of this linear regression. The last two are extracted from linear mixed models considering a random regression coefficient (an intercept common to all farms), a global trend (a slope common to all farms), a random deviation from the general mean for each farm, and a random deviation from the general trend for each farm. Among all possible combinations, the lowest farm vulnerability is obtained through a combination of high values of measurements, a stable or increasing trend and low variability for all vulnerability variables considered. Our method enables relating the measurements, trends and residuals of vulnerability variables to explanatory variables that illustrate farm exposure to climatic and economic variability, initial farm configurations and farmers' technical adaptations over time. We applied our method to 19 cattle (beef, dairy, and mixed) farms over the period 2008-2013. Selected vulnerability variables, i.e., farm productivity and economic efficiency, varied greatly among cattle farms and across years, with means ranging from 43.0 to 270.0 kg protein/ha and 29.4-66.0% efficiency, respectively. No farm had a high level, stable or increasing trend and low residuals for both farm productivity and economic efficiency of production. Thus, the least vulnerable farms represented a compromise among measurement value, trend, and variability of both performances. No specific combination of farmers' practices emerged for reducing cattle farm vulnerability to climatic and economic variability. In the least vulnerable farms, the practices implemented (stocking rate, input use: : :) were more consistent with the objective of developing the properties targeted (efficiency, robustness: : :). Our method can be used to support farmers with sector-specific and local insights about most promising farm adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crops and livestock play a synergistic role in global food production and farmer livelihoods. Increasingly, however, crops and livestock are produced in isolation, particularly in farms operating at the commercial scale. It has been suggested that re-integrating crop and livestock systems at the field and farm level could help reduce the pollution associated with modern agricultural production and increase yields. Despite this potential, there has been no systematic review to assess remaining knowledge gaps in both the social and ecological dimensions of integrated crop and livestock systems (ICLS), particularly within commercial agricultural systems. Based on a multi-disciplinary workshop of international experts and additional literature review, we assess the current knowledge and remaining uncertainties about large-scale, commercial ICLS and identify the source of remaining knowledge gaps to establish priorities for future research. We find that much is understood about nutrient flows, soil quality, crop performance, and animal weight gain in commercial ICLS, but there is little knowledge about its spatial extent, animal behavior or welfare in ICLS, or the tradeoffs between biodiversity, pest and disease control, greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, and drought and heat tolerance in ICLS. There is some evidence regarding the economic outcomes in commercial ICLS and supply chain and policy barriers to adoption, but little understanding of broader social outcomes or cultural factors influencing adoption. Many of these knowledge gaps arise from a basic lack of data at both the field and system scales, which undermines both statistical analysis and modeling efforts. Future priorities for the international community of researchers investigating the tradeoffs and scalability of ICLS include: methods standardization to better facilitate international collaborations and comparisons, continued social organization for better data utilization and collaboration, meta-analyses to answer key questions from existing data, the establishment of long term experiments and surveys in key regions, a portal for citizen science, and more engagement with ICLS farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Given the important role of nitrogen input from livestock systems in terrestrial nutrient cycles and the atmospheric chemical composition, it is vital to have a robust estimation of the magnitude and spatiotemporal variation in manure nitrogen production and its application to cropland across the globe. In this study, we used the dataset from the Global Livestock Impact Mapping System (GLIMS) in conjunction with country-specific annual livestock populations to reconstruct the manure nitrogen production during 1860–2014. The estimated manure nitrogen production increased from 21.4 TgNyr−1 in 1860 to 131.0 TgNyr−1 in 2014 with a significant annual increasing trend (0.7 TgNyr−1, p < 0.01). Changes in manure nitrogen production exhibited high spatial variability and concentrated in several hotspots (e.g., Western Europe, India, northeastern China, and southeastern Australia) across the globe over the study period. In the 1860s, the northern midlatitude region was the largest manure producer, accounting for ∼ 52% of the global total, while low-latitude regions became the largest share (∼48%) in the most recent 5 years (2010–2014). Among all the continents, Asia accounted for over one-fourth of the global manure production during 1860–2014. Cattle dominated the manure nitrogen production and contributed ∼ 44% of the total manure nitrogen production in 2014, followed by goats, sheep, swine, and chickens. The manure nitrogen application to cropland accounts for less than one-fifth of the total manure nitrogen production over the study period. The 5 arcmin gridded global dataset of manure nitrogen production generated from this study could be used as an input for global or regional land surface and ecosystem models to evaluate the impacts of manure nitrogen on key biogeochemical processes and water quality. To ensure food security and environmental sustainability, it is necessary to implement proper manure management practices on cropland across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock systems play a key role in global sustainability challenges like food security and climate change, yet many unknowns and large uncertainties prevail. We present a systematic, spatially explicit assessment of uncertainties related to grazing intensity (GI), a key metric for assessing ecological impacts of grazing, by combining existing data sets on (a) grazing feed intake, (b) the spatial distribution of livestock, (c) the extent of grazing land, and (d) its net primary productivity (NPP). An analysis of the resulting 96 maps implies that on average 15% of the grazing land NPP is consumed by livestock. GI is low in most of the world's grazing lands, but hotspots of very high GI prevail in 1% of the total grazing area. The agreement between GI maps is good on one fifth of the world's grazing area, while on the remainder, it is low to very low. Largest uncertainties are found in global drylands and where grazing land bears trees (e.g., the Amazon basin or the Taiga belt). In some regions like India or Western Europe, massive uncertainties even result in GI > 100% estimates. Our sensitivity analysis indicates that the input data for NPP, animal distribution, and grazing area contribute about equally to the total variability in GI maps, while grazing feed intake is a less critical variable. We argue that a general improvement in quality of the available global level data sets is a precondition for improving the understanding of the role of livestock systems in the context of global environmental change or food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The 43rd Committee on World Food Security (CFS) convention reiterated the importance of livestock towards eliminating food insecurity across the globe. Livestock provides extensive services and products which are critical in addressing the issues of hunger, malnutrition, health and diseases. However, despite such importance, livestock systems across the globe continue to face the challenge of sustainability. In this research article, using ethnographic research techniques, we examine the Beitbridge livestock systems to understand the vulnerabilities within the system and current efforts to overcome. The article identifies that the Beitbridge livestock system, similar to many others, faces numerous socio‐ecological and political economy challenges. Also, in the past engagement of the author and the community, it emerged that there was limited use of digital technologies within the community. Therefore, this study explore whether digital technologies can contribute towards sustainability of livestock and if so, how. The major findings of the study are that, DTs have affordances which can be exploited to contribute towards the sustainability of the livestock system. However, in order for this to happen, there is need for convergence of conditions e.g. presence of supporting institutions and improvement of digital infrastructure. These findings confirm the need for context based studies on DTs. The findings of the study provide practitioners and policy makers ‘something to think about’ in the development of DTs and supporting systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucellosis is a considerable public health and economic burden in many areas of the world including sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and former USSR countries. The collapse of the USSR has been cited as a driver for re-emergence of diseases including brucellosis, and human incidence rates in the former Soviet republics have been estimated as high as 88 per 100,000 per year. The aim of this paper is to examine the historical trends in brucellosis in Kazakhstan and to explore how livestock systems, veterinary services and control policies may have influenced them. In conclusion, a brucellosis epidemic most likely began before the collapse of the USSR and high livestock densities may have played an important role. Changes to the livestock systems in Kazakhstan, as well as other factors, are likely to have an impact on the success of brucellosis policies in the future. Incentives and practicalities of different policies in smallholder settings should be considered. However, the lack of reliable estimates of brucellosis prevalence and difficulties in understanding exactly how policy is being applied in Kazakhstan, which is a vast country with low population density, prevent firm conclusions from being drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, animal welfare (AW) is gaining ground worldwide because of pressure from importing countries, as well as the demand from a more conscious society regarding the living conditions of farm animals. Despite the growing concern about AW, there are few studies of stock person's welfare and how it might influence AW. The treatment of animals connects to stockpersons' attitudes and behaviour, which in turn are associated with several human factors such as initial experience in the activity, welfare, quality of working conditions and human-animal relationship. Many authors have investigated this relationship and its association with positive attitudes of stock persons towards animals, which consequently influence AW and productivity. However, currently, there is no highlighted concern about the human issue, as the stock person welfare (SW), believed to be a key aspect of a successful implementation of AW programs. The present work suggests a broader view concerning AW, its relation to SW and the importance of improving both aspects in livestock systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop-livestock production systems play an important role in the livelihoods of many rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) but are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. Understanding which farming options will give the highest return on investment in light of climate change is critical information for decision-making. While there is continued investment in testing adaptation options using on-farm experiments, simulation models remain important tools for ‘ex-ante’ assessments of the impacts of proposed climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSA). This study used the Ruminant model and the Trade-offs Analysis model for Multi-Dimensional Impact Assessment (TOA-MD) to assess how improved livestock management options affect the three pillars of CSA: increased productivity, improved food security, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Our sample was stratified into: 1) households with local cow breeds ( n = 28); 2) households with improved dairy cow breeds ( n = 70); and 3) households without dairy cows ( n = 66). Results showed that the predicted adoption rates for improved livestock feeding among households with improved dairy cows (stratum 2) were likely to be higher compared to households with only local cows (stratum 1). Both households with local cows and those with improved cows had increased income and food security. However, overall poverty reduction was only modest for households with local cows. Expected methane emissions intensity declined with adoption of improved livestock feeding strategies both in stratum 1 and stratum 2, and greater impacts were observed when households in stratum 2 received an additional improved cow breed. Providing a cow to households that were not keeping cows showed substantial economic gains. Additional research is, however, needed to understand why those farms currently do not have cows, which may determine if the predicted adoption rates are feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smallholder crop–livestock farming systems have an important role to play for food security in Sub-Saharan Africa, but they have to cope with the effects of climate variability and change. In this study, we test the impacts of different interventions in two contrasting mixed farms in Northern Burkina Faso against the background of plausible current and future climate scenarios. For this purpose, we developed a dynamic farm-household modeling framework around existing tools: crop and animal production models APSIM and LivSim, the household model IAT and the climate generator Marksim. The two farms (a small and a larger) were selected and parameterized based on information collected in a household survey. Tested interventions included different crop fertilization and animal supplementation levels, mulching with crop residues and an alternative livestock feeding strategy. Baseline (2013) and a 2050 projection based on IPCC RCP 8.5 describe two climate scenarios (90 years) for comparison. The maximum level of inputs increases farm energy production by + 90% and + 76% compared to the baseline for the small and the larger farm, respectively. Input levels maximizing net incomes are moderate, though higher than those currently used in both farms. The inter-annual distributions of net income show that the use of external inputs increases both upside and downside risks, i.e. the probability of getting both very high and very low results. This is because the interventions are more effective at increasing the highest yields in good years than at preventing the low production levels of some years. The 2050 climate scenario has a negative impact on energy production and potential income, especially for the scenarios with high input levels. Downside risks could partly explain why farmers do not currently use optimal input levels, and the results suggest that these constraints could intensify with climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of population growth, urbanization and climate change, agricultural systems around the world face enormous pressure on the use of resources. There is a pressing need for wide-scale innovation leading to development that improves the livelihoods and food security of the world's population while at the same time addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation. A variety of promising climate-smart interventions have been identified. However, what remains is the prioritization of interventions for investment and broad dissemination. The suitability and adoption of interventions depends on a variety of bio-physical and socio-economic factors. Also their impacts, when adopted and out-scaled, are likely to be highly heterogeneous. This heterogeneity expresses itself not only spatially and temporally but also in terms of the stakeholders affected, some might win and some might lose. A mechanism that can facilitate a systematic, holistic assessment of the likely spread and consequential impact of potential interventions is one way of improving the selection and targeting of such options. In this paper we provide climate smart agriculture (CSA) planners and implementers at all levels with a generic framework for evaluating and prioritising potential interventions. This entails an iterative process of mapping out recommendation domains, assessing adoption potential and estimating impacts. Through examples, related to livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa, we demonstrate each of the steps and how they are interlinked. The framework is applicable in many different forms, scales and settings. It has a wide applicability beyond the examples presented and we hope to stimulate readers to integrate the concepts in the planning process for climate-smart agriculture, which invariably involves multi-stakeholder, multi-scale and multi-objective decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated crop-livestock systems in regions with dry winters could be a viable option to increase food production during periods of irregular rain and reduced pasture availability. A corn ( Zea mays L.) silage production system with cover crops of (a) the weedy growth of signal grass [ Urochloa decumbens (Stapf) R. Webster “Basilisk”] and (b) palisade grass [ Urochloa brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) R. Webster ‘Marandu’ and ‘Piatã’], both with a 0.20- and 0.45-m silage cutting height, was employed in the summer and autumn. Yellow oat ( Avena byzantina cv. São Carlos) was oversown in these systems in the winter and spring. The pasture production, the daily ration intake, the performance and carcass characteristics of lambs ( Ovis aries ) grazing these pastures in a semi-feedlot system (supplemented with silage and concentrate), and the revenue were investigated. The experiment was repeated in the same location for two growing seasons (2010–2011 and 2011–2012) on a Typic Haplorthox in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. Analyzing the system as a whole, intercropping corn silage with palisade grass cv. Marandu (followed by palisade grass cv. Piatã) with a cutting height of 0.45 m combined with yellow oat oversowing was the most robust option for enhancing productivity. The pasture formation for lamb finishing in a semi-feedlot system, the reduction of silage and concentrate intake, and greater live weight and carcass gains per hectare were key attributes for improving the economic viability of this integrated crop-livestock system. Thus, these crop systems were a viable option for the diversification of agricultural activities in tropical regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-smart agriculture aims to improve food security by increasing productivity and producer incomes, strengthening resilience to climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For the livestock sector, improved genetics is often identified as a climate-smart option. While there is evidence in commercial systems that improved genetics is effective, extensive livestock systems in marginal environments have received less attention. This study in Mongolia compares flocks of two indigenous breeds: flocks of pure Mongol breed and flocks of Mongol-Barga breed crosses. It finds that cross-breeding can increase productivity (measured by live weight of animals) and improve adaptation to winter cold (measured by reductions in weight loss during winter-spring), while not increasing the intensity of GHG emissions (measured as kg CO 2 e emitted per kg live weight marketed) (p < 0.05). The effects of cross-breeding on GHG emissions are strongly dependent on the structure of flocks and off-take. Productivity and winter adaptation are significantly improved for the cross-bred flocks compared to pure Mongol flocks (p < 0.05), but management practices also have a significant impact. Programs to promote climate-smart practices in extensive livestock systems should adopt an integrated approach combining improved animal management and marketing with breeding activities, rather than promoting single practices, such as cross-breeding with indigenous breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the paper is to do a critic study of the use of typology methodologies within pasture-based farming systems (PBFS), especially those situated in less favoured areas, showing in each case the more relevant variables or indicators determining the farming system classification. Another objective is to do an overview of the most used farming system typology methodologies in general. First some considerations about the concept of farming system and approaches to its study have been done. Next, the farming system typology methodologies have been showed in general to different farming systems, but addressed preferably to PBFS. The different tools integrated in these methodologies have been considered: sampling methods, sources of data, variables or indicators obtained from available data and techniques of analysis (statistical or not). Methods for farming system classification have been presented (expert methods, analytical methods or a combination of both types). Among the statistical methods, the multivariate analysis has been overall treated, including the principal component analysis and the cluster analysis. Finally, the use of farming system typology methodologies on different pasture-based farming systems has been presented. The most important aspects considered are following: the main objective of the typology, the main animal species, the employed methods of classification and the main variables involved in this classification.

Los factores que determinan la adopción de prácticas de conservación a nivel agropecuario son específicos de los sitios de estudio e identificarlos es necesario para tomar decisiones a nivel local. Objetivo: en el presente trabajo, tomando como referencia cinco categorías de factores relacionados con la adopción de prácticas de conservación, se buscó identificar aquellos factores que determinan la adopción de prácticas de conservación del agua en sistemas ganaderos de una cuenca alto andina con prioridad de conservación en el departamento de Caldas (Colombia). Métodos: en el estudio se cuantificaron algunas variables, obtenidas a través de una encuesta realizada entre Febrero-Abril del 2009 a 69 tomadores de decisión de predios ganaderos del sector, las cuáles fueron incluidas en un modelo de regresión Logit para explicar la adopción. Las variables significativas fueron graficadas para medir el efecto que ejercen sobre la probabilidad de adopción. Resultados: los resultados del modelo muestran que aunque los factores relacionados con aspectos biofísicos de los predios (NAC y LIM) y los factores de riesgo e incertidumbre (TEN y CAP) son significativos, en la zona de estudio existen otros factores que también son significativos, como los relacionados con los tomadores de decisión (EDU) y los recursos de dotación de los predios (TAM). Conclusiones: con relación al efecto de las variables significativas sobre la probabilidad de adopción, no es preciso llegar a una conclusión sobre cuál o cuáles son las más importantes, sin embargo, los resultados del modelo y la determinación de los efectos, ofrecen elementos para dirigir las acciones de conservación en la zona, permiten generar algunas recomendaciones en tal sentido y pueden servir de referente en zonas ganaderas relacionadas con ecosistemas acuáticos alto andinos.Os fatores que determinam a adoção de práticas de conservação agrícola são específicos dos locais de estudo. Objetivo: usando como referência 5 categorias de fatores relacionados com a adoção de práticas de conservação ao nível pecuário, neste estudo tentou se identificar os fatores que determinam a adoção de práticas de conservação da água nos sistemas pecuários da bacia alta do rio Guarinó em Caldas. Métodos: no estudo quantificaram-se algumas variáveis obtidas através de enquetes realizados desde Fevereiro até Abril do 2009, para 69 tomadores de decisão, as quais foram incluídas em um modelo de regressão logística para explicar a adoção. As variáveis significativas foram plotadas para medir o efeito que exercem sobre a probabilidade de adoção. Resultados: os resultados do modelo demonstram que embora os fatores relacionados com aspectos biofísicos dos prédios (NAC e LIM) e os fatores de risco e incerteza (TEN e CAP) foram significativos, na zona de estudo existem outros fatores que também foram significativos: os que tem relação com os tomadores de decisão (EDU) e os recursos de dotação dos prédios (TAM). Conclusões: em relação ao efeito das variáveis significativas sobre a probabilidade de adoção, não é preciso chegar a uma conclusão sobre qual ou quais são as de maior importância, entretanto, os resultados do modelo e a determinação dos efeitos, oferecem elementos para dirigir as ações de conservação da região que permitem gerar algumas recomendações. Nesse sentido, podem servir como referência em regiões pecuárias que tenham relação com ecossistemas aquáticos andinos.Factors determining the adoption of water conservation practices are specific to the study sites and need to be identified to develop local policies. Objective: identify factors that determine the adoption of water conservation practices in cattle farms in a high Andean watershed, given that this area is considered a conservation priority in Caldas province, Colombia. Methods: in this study, five factor categories related to the adoption of conservation practices were used as a reference. The study quantified variables obtained by survey from February to April 2009. A total of 69 farmers were surveyed. A Logit regression model was used to explain adoption of conservation practices. Significant variables were plotted to measure their effect on the probability of practice adoption. Results: model results show that although factors related to biophysical properties (NAC and LIM) along with risk and uncertainty factors (TEN and CAP) were significant, other factors are also significant in the study area, such as those related with decision makers (EDU) and farm resources (TAM). Conclusions: regarding the effect of significant variables on the probability of adoption, it is not necessary to reach a conclusion about which ones are most important; however, the model results and the determination of the effects offer keys to direct the conservation actions in the area, allowing to generate recommendations in this regard that can be used as reference in cattle areas around high Andean aquatic ecosystems.

Dada la baja producción de forrajes de alta calidad y la problemática ambiental relacionada con la actividad ganadera a nivel regional, en el presente trabajo se presentan los resultados de una investigación realizada en sistemas de producción ganadera del trópico alto del Departamento del Cauca, entre los Municipios de Silvia, Totoró, Puracé y Sotará. El trabajo tuvo como objetivo el establecimiento de una línea base de especies arbóreas y arbustivas con aptitud forrajera potencialmente utilizables en sistemas de producción Bovina para zonas de clima frío departamental, arrojando como resultado una línea de 17 familias que en la actualidad están siendo usadas a través de diferentes arreglos en los sistemas ganaderos. La investigación se desarrolló a partir del reconocimiento y recolección de información primaria con ayuda de los productores de la zona, seguida de la sistematización y análisis para la identificación de aquellas especies con mayor aparición y uso. Si bien se encontró un significativo número de especies, es necesario profundizar el estudio en algunas de éstas, dado que la información respecto a su desarrollo fenológico y su comportamiento en sistemas ganaderos aún es desconocido. Así, los resultados encontrados se constituyen en una fuente de información para el diseño de sistemas de producción ganadera más eficientes para zonas de clima frío, a la vez que en la base para la formulación de futuras propuestas de investigación relacionadas con el campo de la agroforestería en ecosistemas regionales.Devido à baixa produção de forragens de alta qualidade e a problemática ambiental relacionada com a atividade pecuária á nível regional, no presente trabalho se apresentam os resultados de uma pesquisa relacionada em sistemas de produção pecuária do tropico alto do Departamento do Cauca, entre os Municipios de Silvia, Totoró, Puracé e Sotará. O trabalho teve como objetivo o estabelecimento de uma línea base de espécies arbóreas e arbustivas com aptidão forrageira potencialmente utilização em sistemas de produção Bovina para zonas de clima frío departamental, arrojando como resultado uma línea de 17 famílias que na atualidade estão sendo usadas á través de diferentes arranjos nos sistemas pecuários. As pesquisas se desarrolham á partir do reconhecimento e recopilação de informação primaria com ajuda de os produtores da zona, seguida da sistematização e analises para a identificação de aquelas espécies com maior aparição e uso. Si bem se encontro um significativo numero de espécies, é necessário aprofundar o estudo em algumas de estas, dado que a informação respeito á seu desarrolho fenológico e seu comportamento em sistemas pecuários é desconhecido hasta agora.Given the low production of high quality fodder and environmental issues related to livestock at the regional level, this paper presents the results of research conducted in livestock production systems of tropical high Cauca Department, among the municipalities Silvia, Totoro, Sotara and Purace. The study aimed to establish a baseline of tree and shrub species with fitness forage utilization in beef production systems for cold climates department, dropping a line resulted in 17 families are currently being used by different arrangements livestock. La research systems developed from the recognition and primary data collection with the help of local producers, followed by the systematization and analysis for the identification of those species with higher occurrence and use. Although there were a significant number of species, further study is necessary in some of these, since information about their phenological development and behavior in cattle production systems is still unknown. Thus, the findings constitute a source of information for the design of livestock production systems more efficient in cold climates, while the basis for the formulation of future research proposals related to the field of agroforestry regional ecosystems.

The impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) extends beyond the farm-level to other stakeholders warranting the need for a collaborative approach to combat AMR while optimising production objectives and safeguarding human health. This study maps out the effect of AMR originating from poultry production in Senegal and highlights the entry points for interventions from stakeholders' perspectives. A causal loop diagram (CLD) was developed following a group model building procedure with 20 stakeholders and integrated with network analysis by translating the CLD into an unweighted directed network. Results indicate that with an eigenvector centrality of 1, 0.85, and 0.74, the production cost, on-farm profit, and on-farm productivity, respectively are the most ranked influential variables driving the complexity of AMR in the poultry production system. Two reinforcing feedback loops highlight the dual benefits of improving on-farm productivity and increasing on-farm profit. However, one balancing feedback loop that revolves around the causal link between producers' investment in qualified human resource personnel to ensure good farm management practices underline the financial implication of producers' investment decisions. The findings provide precursory groundings for the development of a quantitative SD model, the formulation of intervention scenarios and ex-ante impact assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the interventions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Aboah, Ngom, Emes, Fall, Seydi, Faye and Dione.)

Livestock and aquaculture production is under political and social pressure, especially in the European Union (EU), to decrease pollution and environmental damage arising due to animal agriculture. The EU has banned the use of antibiotics and other chemicals, which have been shown to be effective in promoting growth and reducing environment pollutants because of the risk caused to humans by chemical residues in food and by antibiotic resistance being passed on to human pathogens. As a result of this, scientists have intensified efforts in exploiting plants, plant extracts or natural plant compounds as potential natural alternatives for enhancing the livestock productivity. This paper discusses work on the effects of various phytochemicals and plant secondary metabolites in ruminant and fish species. The focus is on (i) plants such as Ananas comosus (pine apple), Momordica charantia (bitter gourd) and Azadirachta indica (neem) containing anthelmintic compounds and for their use for controlling internal parasites; (ii) plants containing polyphenols and their applications for protecting proteins from degradation in the rumen, increasing efficiency of microbial protein synthesis in rumen and decreasing methane emission; for using as antioxidants, antibacterial and antihelmintic agents; and for changing meat colour and for increasing n-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid in meat; (iii) saponin-rich plants such as quillaja, yucca and Sapindus saponaria for increasing the efficiency of rumen fermentation, decreasing methane emission and enhancing growth; for producing desired nutritional attributes such as lowering of cholesterol in monogastric animals; for increasing growth of fish (common carp and Nile tilapia) and for changing male to female ratio in tilapia; and for use as molluscicidal agents; (iv) Moringa oleifera leaves as a source of plant growth factor(s), antioxidants, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and various glucosinolates and their degraded products for possible use as antibacterial, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and antipest agents; (v) Jatropha curcas toxic variety with high levels of various phytochemicals such as trypsin inhibitor, lectin, phytate and phorbol esters in seeds limiting the use of seed meal in fish and livestock diets; and the use of phorbol esters as bio-pesticidal agent; and (vi) lesser-known legumes such as Entada phaseoloides seeds containing high levels of trypsin inhibitor and saponins, Sesbania aculeate seeds rich in non-starch polysaccharides and Mucuna pruriens var. utilis seeds rich in l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and their potential as fish feed; Cassia fistula seeds as a source of antioxidants; and the use of Canavalia ensiformis, C. gladiata and C. virosa seeds containing high levels of trypsin inhinitor, lectins and canavanine. The paper also presents some challenges and future areas of work in this field.

Crop-livestock integration promises more sustainable farming systems, but is constrained by organizational and technical issues at the farm level. Developing locally-adapted crop-livestock systems between specialized farms remains theoretical due to a lack of methods for their design and of analysis of benefits and limits for their monitoring. This article presents a method for participatory design and assessment of territorial crop-livestock systems and its application to a group of organic farmers specialized in crop or livestock production in southwestern France. We developed an adapted assessment framework for territorial crop-livestock systems. We used it firstly to produce a diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses of farming systems then to identify the potential for new crop-livestock interactions between farms and finally we designed and assessed crop-livestock integration scenarios with farmers. The technical and organizational options for change were selected to satisfy objectives of partners, illustrated by specific performance criteria (biological regulation, work management economic viability, social learning and capacity building, embeddedness of agriculture in the territory, integration in public policies). This study shows the crucial role of an adaptive methodology that includes ad hoc indicators to support the design of sustainable farming systems that considers specific agroecosystem, constraints and objectives of farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock can contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and by increasing soil carbon sequestration. Packages of mitigation techniques can bring large environmental benefits as illustrated in six case studies modeled in the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model developed by FAO. With feasible technical interventions in livestock production systems, the mitigation potential of each of the selected species, systems and regions ranges from 14 to 41 %. While comparably high mitigation potentials were estimated for ruminant and pig production systems in Asia, Latin America and Africa, large emission reductions can also be attained in dairy systems with already high levels of productivity, in OECD countries. Mitigation interventions can lead to a concomitant reduction in emissions and increase in production, contributing to food security. This is particularly the case for improved feeding practices and better health and herd management practices. Livestock systems also have a significant potential for sequestrating carbon in pasturelands and rangelands through improved management, as illustrated in two of the six case studies in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African mixed crop-livestock systems are vulnerable to climate change and need to adapt in order to improve productivity and sustain people's livelihoods. These smallholder systems are characterized by high greenhouse gas emission rates, but could play a role in their mitigation. Although the impact of climate change is projected to be large, many uncertainties persist, in particular with respect to impacts on livestock and grazing components, whole-farm dynamics and heterogeneous farm populations. We summarize the current understanding on impacts and vulnerability and highlight key knowledge gaps for the separate system components and the mixed farming systems as a whole. Numerous adaptation and mitigation options exist for crop-livestock systems. We provide an overview by distinguishing risk management, diversification and sustainable intensification strategies, and by focusing on the contribution to the three pillars of climate-smart agriculture. Despite the potential solutions, smallholders face major constraints at various scales, including small farm sizes, the lack of response to the proposed measures and the multi-functionality of the livestock herd. Major institutional barriers include poor access to markets and relevant knowledge, land tenure insecurity and the common property status of most grazing resources. These limit the adoption potential and hence the potential impact on resilience and mitigation. In order to effectively inform decision-making, we therefore call for integrated, system-oriented impact assessments and a realistic consideration of the adoption constraints in smallholder systems. Building on agricultural system model development, integrated impact assessments and scenario analyses can inform the co-design and implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies.F [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock managers dealing with inter and intra-annual forage quality dynamics use a variety of adaptive systems to cope. In higher rainfall areas, managers may have the ability to manipulate forage quantity and quality through for age management tactics such as grazing management, fertilization and use of seeded forages. In more semiarid and arid areas, forage dynamics are more heavily controlled by climatic factors. In these regions, adaption of animal management systems, such as by adjusting the match-up between seasonal nutrient demand and supply through manipulation of the animals’ physiological state, or through the use of mobility, may be more appropriate. Understanding factors affecting forage dynamics and how managers develop systems to adjust is important to helping these managers to deal with future changes in climate and land use. This review describes livestock system adaptations used to deal with high and variable inter- and intra-annual forage dynamics primarily found in arid and semiarid production zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruminant production systems are important producers of food, support rural communities and culture, and help to maintain a range of ecosystem services including the sequestering of carbon in grassland soils. However, these systems also contribute significantly to climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while intensification of production has driven biodiversity and nutrient loss, and soil degradation. Modeling can offer insights into the complexity underlying the relationships between climate change, management and policy choices, food production, and the maintenance of ecosystem services. This paper 1) provides an overview of how ruminant systems modeling supports the efforts of stakeholders and policymakers to predict, mitigate and adapt to climate change and 2) provides ideas for enhancing modeling to fulfil this role. Many grassland models can predict plant growth, yield and GHG emissions from mono-specific swards, but modeling multi-species swards, grassland quality and the impact of management changes requires further development. Current livestock models provide a good basis for predicting animal production; linking these with models of animal health and disease is a priority. Farm-scale modeling provides tools for policymakers to predict the emissions of GHG and other pollutants from livestock farms, and to support the management decisions of farmers from environmental and economic standpoints. Other models focus on how policy and associated management changes affect a range of economic and environmental variables at regional, national and European scales. Models at larger scales generally utilise more empirical approaches than those applied at animal, field and farm-scales and include assumptions which may not be valid under climate change conditions. It is therefore important to continue to develop more realistic representations of processes in regional and global models, using the understanding gained from finer-scale modeling. An iterative process of model development, in which lessons learnt from mechanistic models are applied to develop ‘smart’ empirical modeling, may overcome the trade-off between complexity and usability. Developing the modeling capacity to tackle the complex challenges related to climate change, is reliant on closer links between modelers and experimental researchers, and also requires knowledge-sharing and increasing technical compatibility across modeling disciplines. Stakeholder engagement throughout the process of model development and application is vital for the creation of relevant models, and important in reducing problems related to the interpretation of modeling outcomes. Enabling modeling to meet the demands of policymakers and other stakeholders under climate change will require collaboration within adequately-resourced, long-term inter-disciplinary research networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rabies is a viral disease that can cause fatal encephalomyelitis both in animals and humans. Although incidences of the disease in cattle have been reported, insight in the economic impact of the disease in livestock remains limited. By affecting cattle in subsistence systems, rabies may have extensive economic impacts at household and country levels, in addition to the effects on human health. This study presents estimates of the direct economic impact of rabies at herd level in two representative subsistence cattle-farming systems in Ethiopia, the mixed crop-livestock and pastoral production systems. The economic impacts were assessed by a structured questionnaire administered to 532 cattle-owning households. These households were selected from four districts within two administrative zones; each zone representing a cattle production system. Rabies incidence rates of 21% and 11% at herd level were calculated for the mixed crop-livestock and pastoral production systems, respectively. The incidence rate at cattle level was the same in both systems., i.e. 2%. Herd-level incidence rates were higher in the mixed crop-livestock system than in the pastoral system (P < 0.05). Average economic losses per herd due to rabies were estimated at 49 USD per year for the mixed-crop livestock system, and at 52 USD per year for the pastoral system; whereas in affected herds the average losses per year were 228 USD (range 48–1016 USD) in the mixed crop-livestock system, and 477 USD (range 173–1140 USD) in the pastoral system. The average herd-level economic losses were not significantly different between the farming systems; however once the herd was affected, the losses were significantly higher for the pastoral system than for the mixed crop-livestock system (P < 0.01). The losses due to rabies in cattle are relatively high for pastoral households, due to their complete dependency on livestock for their livelihoods. Although the current estimates only account for the direct losses resulting from cattle mortality, the estimates already indicate the potential economic gains from a rabies intervention in the dog population, of which the benefits can be shared by the public health sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enteric methane (CH) generated in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminant represents the source of the greatest direct greenhouse gas (GHG) released from the livestock sector. We evaluated the global potential reduction of enteric CH emissions released from dairy cattle through amendment of their traditional diets in 183 countries aggregated to 11 regions. Amending dairy cattle diets involves increasing the concentration of lipid (up to 6 %) and decreasing the concentration of fiber, without affecting the total gross energy intake (GEI). Enteric CH emissions were calculated by using a mathematical model developed to include dietary intervention. In 2012, we found a global potential reduction of 15.7 % of enteric CH4 emissions from dairy cattle. The highest potential reduction per unit of milk produced occurs in Africa followed by South America and Asia (55, 46 and 34 %, respectively). The amended diets proposed here, mostly affect the regions in which demand for animal source protein will be greatest in the future. Because lipid supplementation may result in an indirect effect on CH and nitrous oxide (NO) emissions from manure management, they were also estimated. Methane emissions from manure management would decrease by 13 %, while NO emissions would increase by 21 % due to diet amendment. On balance, the total potential reduction of GHG emissions through diet amendment was 104 MtCOeq annually. Moreover, amending diets would increase global milk production by 13 %. This study evaluated a global potential reduction of GHG emissions directly released from dairy cattle, however, future advancements dealing with the analysis of the upstream emissions associated to these diet changes are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retrospective studies were conducted in Kafta-Humera and Wukro areas of Tigray region of Ethiopia. A retrospective study was carried out on 12 herds consisting 2144 Begait cattle from pastoral and agro-pastoral areas to assess herd composition and calf-crop. To evaluate the reproductive performance, 210 cows were selected randomly from pastoral, agro-pastoral, confinement and crop-livestock production systems. All necessary data of reproductive parameters were collected through questionnaire surveys, group discussions and follow-up observations. SPSS software was applied to analyze the data. The result of the present study showed that the average calf-crop of 53% and 42.1% and annual calf mortality rate of 20.8% and 9.4%, were observed for pastoral and agro-pastoral production systems, respectively. The mean age at first service (AFS), age at first calving (AFC) and calving interval (CI) in months were 34.9, 43.9 and 12.9 in pastoral, 35.9, 45.0 and 14.0 in agro-pastoral, 34.4, 44.9 and 15.0 in confinement and 40.5, 49.5 and 19.6 in crop-livestock production systems, respectively. AFC and CI were significantly ( P < 0.05) affected by site and production system. Significantly longer AFS, AFC and CI were noticed in crop-livestock system than in the other 3 production systems. However, CI was not affected by age and parity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop-livestock integrated systems possess some uniqueness in soil and plant hydro-physical properties and processes. To obtain a better understanding of these systems, it is necessary to evaluate them with indices that take into account several attributes. Our study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the least limiting water range in determining the influence of grazing intensities on soybean yield in an Oxisol managed in a long no-till, integrated soybean-beef cattle system. We evaluated an 11 year trial located in southern Brazil, with soybean summer cropping and black oat + Italian ryegrass winter grazing and different winter grazing intensities, namely intensive, moderate and no grazing. Intensive grazing only results in the most superficial soil layer compaction. Long-term moderate grazing, on the other hand, leads to intermediate compaction, not negatively affecting surface or subsurface soil physical properties. The least limiting water range is an inadequate indicator of soil physical quality in integrated soybean-beef cattle system, provided no direct relations with soybean yields. Under normal rainfall conditions, soybean yield depend mainly on rainfall amount and distribution, rather than on soil quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing climatic scenario with apprehended rise in global temperature is likely to affect the livestock adversely vis-à-vis production and reproduction. This has prompted more focus in addressing the unfavorable effects of thermal stress in livestock system. Presuming that the trace element zinc is indispensible for cellular antioxidant system and immune function, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of zinc treatment on heat stress alleviation and immune modulation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of indigenous and crossbred transition cows. Twelve cows, six each of Sahiwal and Karan Fries (KF) in their second parity with confirmed pregnancy were selected for the experiment. The blood samples were collected at −21, 0 and +21 days in relation to expected date of calving. The experiment was carried out in vitro after isolating PBMC from whole blood. The 48 h cultured PBMC were subjected to assorted levels of exposures viz. 37 °C, 42 °C to impose heat stress and 42 °C+zinc to alleviate heat stress and modulate immunity. The PBMC viability was 86%, 69% and 78%, respectively. The mRNA expression of heat shock proteins (HSP 40, 70 and 90α) and Interleukin-10 (IL-10) production varied between the two breeds vis-à-vis days and levels of exposure. The mRNA expression of HSP40 and HSP70 was significantly ( P <0.05) higher in Karan Fries than the Sahiwal cows. Both the breeds showed maximum expression of HSP on the day of parturition, more so in KF than Sahiwal. There was a significant ( P <0.05) difference in the HSP mRNA expression at different levels of exposure. Zinc treatment to heat stressed PBMC caused a significant ( P <0.05) down regulation of HSP. For immune status, anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10 in the culture supernatant was accessed. The IL-10 was significantly ( P <0.05) higher in Karan Fries (168.18±14.09 pg/ml) than the Sahiwal cows (147.24±11.82 pg/ml). The IL-10 concentration was highest on the day of calving. Zinc treatment reduced the IL-10 concentration. From the study, it could be concluded that the zinc supplementation in heat stressed PBMC can ameliorate thermal stress and modulate immune response which can act as a model for reducing heat stress during the periparturient period in tropical livestock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk is an important source of cash and nutrients for many households in developing countries. Yet, our understanding of the role of dairy production in livelihoods and nutritional outcomes is hindered by the lack of decent quality household survey data. Data on milk off-take for human consumption are difficult to collect in household surveys for a number of reasons which make accurate recall challenging for the respondent (continuous production and seasonality among others), introducing possibly severe biases in the computation of full household incomes and farm sales, as well as in the estimation of the contribution of livestock (specifically dairy) production to agricultural value added and the livelihoods of rural households. This paper presents results from a validation exercise implemented in Niger, where alternative survey instruments based on recall methods were administered to randomly selected households, and compared to a 12-month system of physical monitoring and recording of milk production. The results of the exercise show that reasonably accurate estimates via recall methods are possible, and provide a clear ranking of questionnaire design options that can inform future survey operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock systems are high emitters of CH4, recognized as a greenhouse gas, which comes from fermentation in the rumen, so the objective is to reduce it. An alternative is the increase of phenolic compounds in cattle feed to regulate the rumen microbiota. Five treatments were used: 1) mixture of Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus atrophaeus, Azospirillum brasilense (BA), 2) Azospirillum brasillense (AZ), 3) mixture of Azospirillum brasilense, Glomus spp, Trichoderma spp, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas flourescens, Bacillus mucilaginosus (BH), 4) chemical fertilizer (FQ) and 5) control (T) without fertilization. Data were analyzed with ANOVA (p≤0.05) and Tukey mean comparison in RStudio®v4.0. Maximum height was recorded with AZ (13.2 cm). Flavonoid concentration was higher with AZ, BH and BA (0.187-0.222 µg/mL EC); while FQ showed the lowest concentration. For phenols, T showed the highest concentration (0.355 µg/mL EAG) and the lowest in AZ (0.172 µg/mL EAG) (p=2.2e-16). The results suggest that biofertilization is suitable for increasing the concentration of polyphenols and MVH height, so it could be considered a strategy to reduce ruminal methanogenesis without reducing production, besides being an environmentally friendly alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]