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The mineral profile of meat is important for human nutrition, but little is known of the effects on it of type of bovine meat (veal vs beef), farming system, and the breed or breed combination of calves. The longissimus thoracis of 104 carcases of intensively fattened veal calves (4 breed combinations), 115 intensively fed young beef bulls (6 breed combinations), and 12 young bulls from dairy farms were sampled for mineral profiling covering: 6 essential macro-minerals (Na, Mg, P, S, K and Ca), 5 essential micro-minerals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn) and 5 environmental micro-minerals (B, Al, Ni, Sr and Si). Veal and beef meat were found to differ in the contents of all the minerals, except P, Mn and Ni; beef was not greatly affected by farming system. The mineral profile was negligibly affected by the breed combination in beef × dairy crossbred veal calves and young bulls, but there were larger differences in the mineral profiles of young bulls obtained from suckler cows compared with those obtained from dairy cows.HIGHLIGHTS Veal and beef meat from beef × dairy crossbreeds differ in their contents of almost all macro- (except P) and micro-minerals (except Mn and Ni). Farming system does not affect the mineral profile of beef fattened intensively by specialised fatteners or extensively by dairy farmers. The breed combination in beef × dairy crossbreds has a negligible effect on the mineral profile of veal and beef meat.

Iodoform has been shown to be an enteric methane-reducing agent. This study aimed to investigate if iodoform differentially affected maize (MS) and clover grass silage (GS). These substrates were used in four 22 h in vitro gas production fermentations with and without 0.032 mg/g of dry matter substrate of 0.064% iodoform in zeolite (IZ). The results of organic matter degradation (dOM, g/g), volatile fatty acids (VFAs, mMol/L), partitioning factor (PF, mg/mL), total gas production (TGP, mL/g OM), and periodic hydrogen and methane yield (mL/g OM) were evaluated. The interaction between substrate and IZ for dOM was significant with significantly less in GS. The interaction between substrate and additive was continuously significant for TGP. The additive in GS numerically decreased the TGP, but significantly increased TGP in MS. The interaction between substrate and additive was sporadically significant with methane, increasing the yield when IZ was added to MS, but a consistent, non-significant, decrease in yield was found when IZ was added to GS. Total VFA production and propionate content increased in both substrates with the addition of IZ, but only significantly in GS. Iodoform significantly decreased the efficiency of microbial conversion (PF) in both substates. Differential effects of iodoform on GS and MS were evident. More research is needed to determine the modes of action of iodoform.

ABSTRACT: Cheese presents extensive variability in physical, chemical, and sensory characteristics according to the variety of processing methods and conditions used to create it. Relationships between the many characteristics of cheeses are known for single cheese types or by comparing a few of them, but not for a large number of cheese types. This case study used the properties recorded on 1,050 different cheeses from 107 producers grouped into 37 categories to analyze and quantify the interrelationships among the chemical and physical properties of many cheese types. The 15 cheese traits considered were ripening length, weight, firmness, adhesiveness, 6 different chemical characteristics, and 5 different color traits. As the 105 correlations between the 15 cheese traits were highly variable, a multivariate analysis was carried out. Four latent explanatory factors were extracted, representing 86% of the covariance matrix: the first factor (38% of covariance) was named Solids because it is mainly linked positively to fat, protein, water-soluble nitrogen, ash, firmness, adhesiveness, and ripening length, and negatively to moisture and lightness; the second factor (24%) was named Hue because it is linked positively to redness/blueness, yellowness/greenness, and chroma, and negatively to hue; the third factor (17%) was named Size because it is linked positively to weight, ripening length, firmness, and protein; and the fourth factor (7%) was named Basicity because it is linked positively to pH. The 37 cheese categories were grouped into 8 clusters and described using the latent factors: the Grana Padano cluster (characterized mainly by high Size scores); hard mountain cheeses (mainly high Solids scores); very soft cheeses (low Solids scores); blue cheeses (high Basicity scores), yellowish cheeses (high Hue scores), and 3 other clusters (soft cheeses, pasta filata and treated rind, and firm mountain cheeses) according to specific combinations of intermediate latent factors and cheese traits. In this case study, the high variability and interdependence of 15 major cheese traits can be substantially explained by only 4 latent factors, allowing us to identify and characterize 8 cheese type clusters.

Microorganisms are present everywhere and can influence a variety of processes. In agriculture and husbandry, the level of microbial activity can be crucial information, yet the methods for determining microbial activity are usually very long, complex, and costly. In this work, a novel and easy-to-use method, already in use for determining soil microbial activity, named Fertimetro was tested as a fast and cheap solution for measuring microbial activity in silages, in vitro rumen fluids, and manure and slurry. The method was adjusted for the specific conditions of the new testing environments. The results indicate that this method is adequate for measuring cellulolytic microbial activity in vitro rumen fluids, with a coefficient of repeatability (RT%) 92.2 at 24 h and 87.5 at 48 h, and also for cellulolytic microbial activity measures in manure RT% 39.0. While, due to the specific conditions in silages and slurry, this method is less adequate for measuring cellulolytic microbial activity in these environments. This work demonstrates that Fertimetro method can be used in different environments as an easy and cheaper alternative for measuring microbial activity, especially if the interest is only in quantifying the microbial activity and not in knowing the microbial species. 1. Fertimetro is an easy-to-use and not costly method to evaluate microbial activity in different environments. 2. This method is very adequate for measuring cellulolytic microbial activity in vitro rumen fluids and manure.

The milk Fourier-transform infra-red spectrometry (FTIRS) can be used to predict the enteric methane emissions (EME) at population level. In this study, the variability in FTIRS predicted EME traits due to the breed of cow, farm, the production level of individual cows within herds, and their interactions were evaluated. A dataset obtained from milk recordings, which covered four breeds (Holstein, Brown Swiss, Simmental and Alpine Grey), 6,430 herds, 115,819 cows, and 1,759,706 test-day milk/spectra records was used. The herds were stratified into 5 production levels considering their average daily milk energy production; individual cows within herd were similarly stratified considering their individual production levels. The EME traits were predicted directly from milk FTIR spectra or indirectly from six informative milk FA predicted from milk spectra. The statistical model included, separately for each trait and method, breed, herd intensiveness level, cow production level, and their interactions, year, month, parity, and lactation stage. The direct and indirect methods yielded similar results in predicting CH4 yield per kg of DMI and CH4 intensity per kg of fat-protein corrected milk. The indirect method was reliable in predicting daily EME production per cow, the indirect one did not. EME was affected by the breed x herd production intensiveness interaction, and to a lesser degree, by the breed x cow production level interaction. A better understanding of the complex interactions influencing EME in dairy herds was achieved. This would be useful for the genetic improvement, the environmental certification of farms, and for setting prices in milk payment schemes.HIGHLIGHTS Causes of variation of the FTIR predicted EME were studied at population level using data from 6,430 herds and 1,759,706 milk spectra records Reliable daily EME estimates were achieved from 6 six informative fatty acids predicted from milk spectra EME was influenced by the interaction breed × level of herd intensiveness and, to a lesser extent, by the individual production level

ABSTRACT: The study of the complex relationships between milk metagenomics and milk composition and cheese-making efficiency as affected by indoor farming and summer highland grazing was the aim of the present work. The experimental design considered monthly sampling (over 5 mo) of the milk produced by 12 Brown Swiss cows divided into 2 groups: the first remained on a lowland indoor farm from June to October, and the second was moved to highland pastures in July and then returned to the lowland farm in September. The resulting 60 milk samples (2 kg each) were used to analyze milk composition, milk coagulation, curd firming, and syneresis processes, and to make individual model cheeses to measure cheese yields and nutrient recoveries in the cheese. After DNA extraction and Illumina Miseq sequencing, milk microbiota amplicons were also processed by means of an open-source pipeline called Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (Qiime2, version 2018.2; https://qiime2.org). Out of a total of 44 taxa analyzed, 13 bacterial taxa were considered important for the dairy industry (lactic acid bacteria, LAB, 5 taxa; and spoilage bacteria, 4) and for human (other probiotics, 2) and animal health (pathogenic bacteria, 2). The results revealed the transhumant group of cows transferred to summer highland pastures showed an increase in almost all the LAB taxa, bifidobacteria, and propionibacteria, and a reduction in spoilage taxa. All the metagenomic changes disappeared when the transhumant cows were moved back to the permanent indoor farm. The relationships between 17 microbial traits and 30 compositional and technological milk traits were investigated through analysis of correlation and latent explanatory factor analysis. Eight latent factors were identified, explaining 75.3% of the total variance, 2 of which were mainly based on microbial traits: pro-dairy bacteria (14% of total variance, improving during summer pasturing) and pathogenic bacteria (6.0% of total variance). Some bacterial traits contributed to other compositional-technological latent factors (gelation, udder health, and caseins).

Abstract Precision livestock farming technologies are used to monitor animal health and welfare parameters continuously and in real time in order to optimize nutrition and productivity and to detect health issues at an early stage. The possibility of predicting blood metabolites from milk samples obtained during routine milking by means of infrared spectroscopy has become increasingly attractive. We developed, for the first time, prediction equations for a set of blood metabolites using diverse machine learning methods and milk near-infrared spectra collected by the AfiLab instrument. Our dataset was obtained from 385 Holstein Friesian dairy cows. Stacking ensemble and multi-layer feedforward artificial neural network outperformed the other machine learning methods tested, with a reduction in the root mean square error of between 3 and 6% in most blood parameters. We obtained moderate correlations (r) between the observed and predicted phenotypes for γ-glutamyl transferase (r = 0.58), alkaline phosphatase (0.54), haptoglobin (0.66), globulins (0.61), total reactive oxygen metabolites (0.60) and thiol groups (0.57). The AfiLab instrument has strong potential but may not yet be ready to predict the metabolic stress of dairy cows in practice. Further research is needed to find out methods that allow an improvement in accuracy of prediction equations.

ABSTRACT: Bovines produce about 83% of the milk and dairy products consumed by humans worldwide, the rest represented by bubaline, caprine, ovine, camelid, and equine species, which are particularly important in areas of extensive pastoralism. Although milk is increasingly used for cheese production, the cheese-making efficiency of milk from the different species is not well known. This study compares the cheese-making ability of milk sampled from lactating females of the 6 dairy species in terms of milk composition, coagulation properties (using lactodynamography), curd-firming modeling, nutrients recovered in the curd, and cheese yield (through laboratory model-cheese production). Equine (donkey) milk had the lowest fat and protein content and did not coagulate after rennet addition. Buffalo and ewe milk yielded more fresh cheese (25.5 and 22.9%, respectively) than cow, goat, and dromedary milk (15.4, 11.9, and 13.8%, respectively). This was due to the greater fat and protein contents of the former species with respect to the latter, but also to the greater recovery of fat in the curd of bubaline (88.2%) than in the curd of camelid milk (55.0%) and consequent differences in the recoveries of milk total solids and energy in the curd; protein recovery, however, was much more similar across species (from 74.7% in dromedaries to 83.7% in bovine milk). Compared with bovine milk, the milk from the other Artiodactyla species coagulated more rapidly, reached curd firmness more quickly (especially ovine milk), had a more pronounced syneresis (especially caprine milk), had a greater potential asymptotical curd firmness (except dromedary and goat milk), and reached earlier maximum curd firmness (especially caprine and ovine milk). The maximum measured curd firmness was greater for bubaline and ovine milk, intermediate for bovine and caprine milk, and lower for camelid milk. The milk of all ruminant species can be used to make cheese, but, to improve efficiency, cheese-making procedures need to be optimized to take into account the large differences in their coagulation, curd-firming, and syneresis properties.

Abstract Metabolic disorders, including hepatic lipidosis and ketosis, severely affect animal health status and welfare with a large economic burden in dairy herds. The gold standard for diagnosing hepatic lipidosis is the liver biopsy, which is impractical and invasive for the screening at farm level. Ultrasound (US) imaging is a promising technique for identifying liver dysfunction, but standardized specifications in physiological conditions are needed. Herein, we described the features of four US measurements, namely the liver predicted triacylglycerol (pTAG) content, liver depth (LD), and portal vein area (PVA) and depth (PVD) and we investigated their associations with a set of hematochemical (HC) indicators in 342 clinically healthy Holstein Friesian dairy cows. Liver pTAG content was negatively associated with hematocrit and positively with globulin, whereas PVA was negatively associated with thiol group levels, and LD positively with ceruloplasmin. We found significant interactions between some HC parameters and parity: in particular, creatinine, thiol groups and globulin for PVA, and aspartate aminotransferase, paraoxonase and ceruloplasmin for PVD. This study offers new insights on variations in liver function occurring after calving and pave the way for the potential use of minimally invasive techniques for prompt detection of metabolic disorders in dairy herds.

Several local sheep breeds of the Alpine regions are in danger of extinction as a result of mountain farms being abandoned. Three fattening trials were carried out on 4 breeds of the Veneto region (Foza, Lamon, Alpagota, and Brogna) on a total of 115 ewes and suckling lambs, weaned lambs and heavy lambs slaughtered at 1356 ± 267, 104 ± 24, 219 ± 26, and 342 ± 14 d of age, respectively. The results confirmed that the adoption of total mixed diets resulted in good in vivo and post mortem performances of culled ewes (64 kg slaughter weight, 48% dressing percentage), suckling lambs (21 kg, 50%), weaned lambs (30 kg, 42%) and heavy lambs (61 kg, 48%). Carcass compactness and fatness increased with the age of the lambs, whereas the proportions of lean meat and bone decreased. Meat lightness and cooking losses decreased with age, whereas redness and chroma increased. The meat quality of culled ewes was like that of heavy lambs. Carcass conformation and composition (aside from size traits), and the quality of the meat differed little among the four Alpine breeds. These results show that local breeds are potentially valuable sources of lamb and mutton meat across different seasons, paving the way for strategies to develop and promote the meat with the involvement of high-quality restaurants and meat retailers.Highlights Compared to outdoor grazing, the adoption of indoor diets resulted in good in vivo and post-mortem performances of ewes, suckling lambs and heavy lambs. Autochthonous Alpine breeds are potentially valuable sources of high-quality lamb and mutton across different seasons of the year. This potential could be exploited in developing a prestigious product aimed at high quality restaurants and butchers. The subsequent demand for the product would, in turn, contribute to the survival of the local sheep breeds of Alpine regions.

To promote local food products could be a valuable strategy for preserving autochthonous sheep breeds. A total of 115 lambs and ewes of local sheep breeds (Alpagota, Bogna, Foza and Lamon) of the Veneto region were used to evaluate the effect of different feeding systems on the production and quality of lambs and mutton meat. We carried out three fattening trials involving 24 ewes and their 31 suckling lambs, 24 weaned lambs, and 24 heavy lambs, fed indoor diets with or without a rumen-protected conjugated linoleic acids (rp-CLA) supplement (C18:2c9,t11 and C18:2t10,c12) to improve the nutritional value of the meat. Controls were a group of 12 pasture-fed weaned lambs. The weaned lambs at pasture had good fattening performances (33 kg live-weight at slaughter, 45% dressing percentage), whereas lambs fattened indoors on hay and some concentrates had lower weight (28 kg) and dressing percentages (41%), and require improvements to their feed. Feeding the animals on total mixed diets resulted in good in vivo and post mortem performances of culled ewes (64 kg slaughter weight, 48% dressing percentage), suckling lambs (21 kg, 50%) and heavy lambs (61 kg, 48%), showing that valuable supplies of lamb and mutton meat can be obtained across different seasons. Supplementing indoor diets with rp-CLA does not modify the animals’ performances nor the organoleptic traits of meat.Highlights Intensive indoor fattening allows to obtain suckling, weaned and heavy lambs and mutton from culled ewes all-year-round beyond the seasonal supplies of traditional feeding system. The supplementation of indoor diets with rp-CLA does not modify the animals’ performances, slaughter traits or meat organoleptic traits.

The present technical note describes design, development and validation of an automated equipment for measurement of kinetics of gas production during fermentation in glass bottles. The overall repeatability and precision of the developed system was evaluated and compared with the manual gas measurement technique in respect to characterization of the fermentation kinetics of ruminant livestock feeds. Two incubations were carried out, during which the GP of six different feeds was measured with the automated system or manual technique. During a 48-hour incubation period, pressure data were collected at 15-minute intervals using automated equipment, yielding 192 head-space pressure measurements for each bottle. In manual measurement, incubations were performed with the nominal 60-mL serum bottle, and headspace pressure was read using a digital pressure gauge and then released at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 36, and 48 hours of incubation. The automated equipment recorded greater GP (+11.5%, over the 48-h incubation) than the manual measurement, and the repeatability and coefficient of repeatability values indicated that the GP data obtained with manual equipment were less repeatable. The automated equipment measures the fermentative GP kinetics with greater precision and repeatability than manual technique. • An automated batch GP equipment was designed, developed and validated, and a comparison was made with GP data obtained manually using a digital pressure gauge. • The automated equipment provided more reliable and repeatable data compared with manual measurement. • The automated equipment is available with lower cost and more functionality.

Cheeses are produced by many different procedures, giving rise to many types differing in ripening time, size, shape, chemical composition, color, texture, and sensory properties. As the first step in a large project, our aim was to characterize and quantify the major sources of variation in cheese characteristics by sampling 1050 different cheeses manufactured by over 100 producers and grouped into 37 categories (16 with protected designation of origin, 4 traditional cheese categories, 3 pasta filata cheese categories, 5 flavored cheese categories, 2 goat milk categories, and 7 other categories ranging from very fresh to very hard cheeses). We obtained 17 traits from each cheese (shape, height, diameter, weight, moisture, fat, protein, water soluble nitrogen, ash, pH, 5 color traits, firmness, and adhesiveness). The main groups of cheese categories were characterized and are discussed in terms of the effects of the prevalent area of origin/feeding system, species of lactating females, main cheese-making technologies, and additives used. The results will allow us to proceed with the further steps, which will address the interrelationships among the different traits characterizing cheeses, detailed analyses of the nutrients affecting human health and sensorial fingerprinting.

Meat flavor is an important aspect of meat quality that also influences consumer demand, and is therefore very important for the meat industry. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute in large part to the flavor of meat, and while increasing numbers of articles are published on this topic, reviews of these articles are very scarce. Therefore, our aim was to perform a bibliometric analysis of the scientific publications on VOCs in meat over the period 2000–2020. We selected 611 scientific sources from the Scopus database related to VOCs in meat (seafood excluded). The bibliometric information retrieved included journals, authors, countries, institutions, keywords, and citations. From this analysis, we drew up a list of the most important journals, authors, countries, and institutions, and the trends in VOC research on meat. We conducted a social network analysis (SNA) to identify the collaborations among the many authors and countries, and a keyword analysis to generate a network map of the authors’ keywords. We also determined which meat species were most frequently chosen as research subjects, traced the evolution of the various methods/instruments used, and explored the research tendencies. Finally, we point out the need for further research in defining meat quality, improving meat flavor, identifying adulterants, and certifying the authenticity of meat.

Dairy cows have high incidences of metabolic disturbances, which often lead to disease, having a subsequent significant impact on productivity and reproductive performance. As the milk fatty acid (FA) profile represents a fingerprint of the cow’s nutritional and metabolic status, it could be a suitable indicator of metabolic status at the cow level. In this study, we obtained milk FA profile and a set of metabolic indicators (body condition score, ultrasound liver measurements, and 29 hematochemical parameters) from 297 Holstein–Friesian cows. First, we applied a multivariate factor analysis to detect latent structure among the milk FAs. We then explored the associations between these new synthetic variables and the morphometric, ultrasonographic and hematic indicators of immune and metabolic status. Significant associations were exhibited by the odd-chain FAs, which were inversely associated with β-hydroxybutyrate and ceruloplasmin, and positively associated with glucose, albumin, and γ-glutamyl transferase. Short-chain FAs were inversely related to predicted triacylglycerol liver content. Rumen biohydrogenation intermediates were associated with glucose, cholesterol, and albumin. These results offer new insights into the potential use of milk FAs as indicators of variations in energy and nutritional metabolism in early lactating dairy cows.

Growth, conformation, carcase and meat quality traits of crossbred calves obtained in the Alps from selected Belgian Blue sires (BB) and Brown Swiss (BS), Simmental (Si) and Rendena (Re) dams were studied, emphasising differences on dairy and dual purpose maternal breed. Six pens with five heifers (3 BB × BS, 1 BB × Si, 1 BB × Re) and six pens with four young bulls (2 BB × BS, 1 BB × Si, 1 BB × Re) were used. In total 53 crossbred calves were tested: 30 from BS dams and 23 from dual purpose (12 from Si and 11 from Re dams). Growth performances were measured, carcases were scored for muscle conformation and fatness, the fifth rib was dissected, and the Longissimus thoracis (LT) was analysed. The maternal breed had significant effects when the calves from dairy cows (BB × BS) were compared to those of the dual purpose breeds (BB × Si and BB × Re), as at slaughter the former were 1.2% taller, 6.0% less in vivo muscle score, 5.0% less carcase muscle score, with a 13% greater proportion of bone in the rib, and their LT had 12.5% less drip losses, but 3% greater cooking losses and 25% greater shear force. It was concluded that when using a BB as a sire, the dam breed has influence on the growth performance traits of the derived crossbreds, but the major influence would regard the carcase and meat quality traits. In the Alps, these differences are reflected in different sold prices of the crossbred calves from dairy and dual purpose breeds at local auctions.

Essential oils (EOs) are generally considered as an alternative to antibiotics because of their antimicrobial properties. Despite their vast variety, their volatile nature poses hindrance on their use in animal feeds, which demands a high degree of stability. This study aimed at testing the susceptibility of three EOs (mixtures of EOs based on cinnamaldehyde, named Olistat-Cyn, Olistat-G, and Olistat-P) in two forms (free: fEOs; and microencapsulated: mEOs) to in vitro ruminal degradation using the Ankom DaisyII technique. The microencapsulation was made using a matrix based on vegetable hydrogenated fatty acids. Compared to the fEOs, which were completely degraded within 48 h of in vitro incubation, the mEOs showed a low ruminal disappearance. In comparison to the fermentation profile at 0 h, Olistat-G significantly decreased the pH and the total protozoa number after 48 h, while the total VFAs increased. However, the other EOs (Olistat-Cyn and Olistat-P) had no effect on the rumen fermentation parameters. In conclusion, the protection of EOs from ruminal degradation by microencapsulation was found to be very effective to ensure rumen by-pass. Among the EOs, Olistat-G was capable of changing rumen fermentation, potentially reducing methane emissions.

The aim of the present study was to develop a FTIR method to quantify amounts and proportions of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammonia nitrogen (N-NH3) in fermentation fluids collected in vitro using innovative Bayesian models as chemometric technique. A set of 170 fluids, collected before and after 4 in vitro incubations of 8 diets in 5 replication plus 5 blanks, were analysed for VFA, N-NH3 and scanned using the MilcoScan FT2 (Foss Electric, Hillerød, Denmark) in the spectral range between 5000 and 900 cm-1. A Bayes B model was used to calibrate equations for each fermentative trait. The calibration equation predicts well VFA and N-NH3 amounts in calibration and also in validation (R2 VAL ranged from 0.93 to 0.83 for isovaleric and n-butyric acid, respectively). However, the prediction of VFA expressed as proportions of total amount was much less accurate (R2 VAL ranged from 0.81 to 0.52 for iso-valeric and n-butyric acid, respectively). In conclusion, FTIR and Bayesian models can be used as tools to accurately predict VFA amounts in vitro.

The aim of this study was to investigate the rumen bacteria in terms of genetic biodiversity and variation due to different physical form of corn in cow diet. A total of twenty dry cows were fed for 3 months with the same diet, only differed for corn physical form, ten received corn grains, while the other ones received corn flour. To investigate the biodiversity of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis has been conducted and then the sequencing has been carried out using Ion Torrent PGM™ System. Bacterial population was tested using R statistical software. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance (Kruskal-Wallis, 1952) confirmed that the bacterial populations were different when the animals were fed grain compared with flour corn. Both the OUT’s abundance (Operational Taxonomic Unit) and the biodiversity indexes presented a significant difference among the two sample groups, underlining the large changes that take place even with small diet modifications in ruminal environment. There is still the need to deepen how exactly the diet changes the rumen phylogenetic structure and the consequences on bacteria’s activity.

The utilization of animal donors of rumen fluid for laboratory experiments can raise ethical concerns, and alternatives to the collection of rumen fluids from live animals are urgently requested. The aim of this study was to compare the fresh rumen fluid (collected at slaughter, W) with that obtained from a continuous fermenter (RCF) and three methods of rumen fluid preservation (refrigeration, R, chilling, C, and freeze-drying, FD). The fermentability of different inoculum was evaluated by three in vitro tests (neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and crude protein (CP) degradability and gas production, NDFd, RDP and GP, respectively) using six feeds as substrates. Despite the two types of inoculum differed in terms of metabolites and microbiota concentration, the differences in vitro fermentability between the two liquids were less pronounced than expected (−15 and 20% for NDFd and GP when the liquid of fermenter was used and no differences for RDP). Within each in vitro test, the data obtained from rumen and from fermenter liquids were highly correlated for the six feeds, as well as between W and R (r: 0.837−0.985; p < 0.01). The low fermentative capacity was found for C and, particularly, FD for liquids. RCF could be used to generate inoculum for in vitro purposes and short-term refrigeration is a valuable practice to manage inoculum.

Summer transhumance to alpine pastures (ALP) is widespread in dairy systems of alpine regions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of transhumance of Brown Swiss cows to ALP on the yield, composition, and coagulation properties of milk (MCP), and on cheese yield (CY). The study involved 12 multiparous cows kept at a mountain lowland permanent farm (PF), which were divided into two equal groups: One remained at the PF, the other was moved to the ALP (1860 m above sea level) from July to September. Every month (June to October), daily milk yield (MY) and body condition score (BCS) were recorded, and individual milk samples (n = 60, 2000 mL each) were collected to assess milk composition, MCP, and CY. Compared with PF, ALP cows had a reduced MY and BCS, which was maintained on return to the PF, greater fat and lower protein contents of milk. Neither MCP nor CY were affected by summer transhumance. In conclusion, summer transhumance did not affect the cheese making efficiency of milk but depressed MY and consequently daily cheese yield, which was nearly 2 kg/d lower for the ALP than the PF cows and was only partially recovered after returning to the PF in autumn.

The dietary fibre of 24 foods was analysed for its proportions of insoluble and soluble (SDF) fractions and for its contentof high methoxyl pectins (HM), low methoxyl pectins (LM) and protopectin. The fractional extraction and quantitativedetermination of pectins were performed on the total dietary fibre residue, following the procedure suggested byRobertson (1979). Total pectin content (TP), calculated as sum of the three fractions, ranged from 2.4 to 49.8 g/kg ofdry matter. The variation coefficient of TP measurements repeated on the same foods were, on average, 2%. Total pectincontent was 49.8 g/kg DM in dried beet pulp and averaged 33.8+_0.3 g/kg DM in fruits and vegetables, 13.2+_8.4 g/kgDM in legumes and tubers and only 2.8+_0.5 g/kg DM in cereals. HM fraction prevailed in apple and pear samples (>40%of TP), while LM and protopectin largely prevailed in legumes and vegetables. A strong variability among foods was foundfor the TP/SDF ratio. In general, within each food category, increasing levels of SDF were associated with decreasing valuesof TP/SDF ratio. Since many foods contain low amounts of pectins, care in the development of calibration curves forspectrophotometric reading is required. Finally, the whole procedure for pectin extraction and quantification on dietaryfibre of food is very complex and time-consuming.

A simplified approach to predict the amount of slurry produced by growing pigs at farm level is proposed. The inputs are initial (LWi) and final (LWf) live weights, production (t) and empty (empty) periods, feed consumption (FC), dry matter (DMD), N digestibilities and farm water consumption per pig (FWC). Estimates of the amount of water required (or arisen) per kg of feed for the various physiological functions were estimated by running a published mathematical model using data representing the ordinary conditions of rearing. Water excretion was estimated in two ways depending on: 1) free access (ad lib) to water; 2) restricted access (forced). In the first case, the proportion of water consumed (wiad lib) and those excreted with the urine (wuad lib) and the faeces (wfec) were quantified to be 2.9, 1.72 and 0.33 kg per kg of feed, respectively. From the urinary excretions of N and minerals, obtained as the difference between the digestible nutrient intakes and the retentions, the model predicted a urinary DM content of 2.1% (by weight). In the second case, for pigs receiving drinking water in forced ratio with the feed (wiforced), the urinary production was calculated as wuforced=(wiforced+wf+wo)-(wd+ws+wg+wfec+we), where wf=water content in feed (0.12 kg/kg), wo=water arising from nutrient oxidation (0.25 kg/kg), wd=water required for digestion (0.08 kg/kg), ws=water demand for protein and lipid synthesis (0.06 kg/kg), wg=water retained in body tissues (0.14 kg/kg) and we=water lost through evaporation (0.96 kg/kg). Estimates of fresh slurry production (faeces+urine) were regressed against the values resulting from empirical literature equations and referred to pigs fed water:feed ratios of 2.5:1, 2.9:1 and 4:1. The resulting regression (R2=0.97), with a slope close to unity (1.05), indicated that the approach can be extended to predict the farm fresh slurry production with pigs having free access to water or kept on different water:feed ratios. In agreement with international literature, but not with the current Italian national standards, estimates of mature slurry productions ranged from 1.5 to 2.9 ton/pig/year with DM contents ranging from 8.3 to 3.7%. At farm level the use water meters is recommended as from FWC minus the estimated water consumption (FWCexp) the farmer can evaluate the extra wastage and adjust the predicted mature slurry production.

The objective of this experiment is to evaluate the changes of particle size distribution and chemical composition of the total mixed ration (TMR) based on hay as the main forage component (“dry” TMR) and distributed once (7.00 am) or twice (7.00 am and 1.00 pm) daily to 32 lactating cows. The trial was divided in two periods of 14 days each. Diet (DM=53.7%) was formulated in order to assure the nutritional requirements of cows producing 24 kg/d of milk (crude protein=14.4% DM; NDF=40.9% DM; milk FU=0.88/kg DM) and additional amounts of concentrates were distributed using automatic feeders. Four TMR samples were collected daily (7.00 am, 10.00 am, 1.00 pm, 4.00 pm) for six days during each experiment period for a total number of 48 feed samples. Each feed sample was subjected to the estimation of the particle size distribution using the separator of Pennsylvania State University composed of two sieves (diameters of 19 and 8 mm) and a collector on the bottom, and to the determination of the chemical composition. Changes of all three particle size fractions for TMRs were observed during the day with distributions of the TMR both once and twice daily. With the once daily distribution, the large particles fraction increased linearly (P

The paper provides a practical procedure to estimate the chemical composition of pigs, their compositional growth and the expected feed intake from measurements of body weight (BW) and backfat thickness (P2) serially performed in vivo. A farm data set provided information on 920 individuals including BW, measured at 71 ± 4 (t1), 126 ± 5 (t2) and 184 ± 5 (t3) days of age, of P2 at t2 and t3, and of voluntary daily feed intake (FI), recorded over the period from t2 to t3 by automated IVOG feeders. Body lipid mass was estimated as L= (9.17 + 0.70*P2) *BW/100 and the other chemical constituents were predicted from fat free empty body mass using Gompertz growth functions and allometry. Using individual changes of body composition from age t2 to t3, energy requirements for maintenance and growth and the corresponding predicted feed intakes (PFI) were estimated. Measured FI were analysed for the effects of month, batch (within month), BWt2, P2t2, average metabolic weight, average daily gain and variation of P2 from t2 to t3. The same model was run again replacing the direct simple body measurements (BW and P2) with the estimated values of PFI as source of variation. Results. The Gompertz estimates of mature protein mass (Pm), relative growth rate parameter (B) and lipid to protein ratio at maturity were 43.5 ± 5.8 kg, 0.0116 ± 0.0011 d-1 and 1.81 ± 0.30, respectively. The current protein mass averaged 18.5 + 1.6 kg and the daily retentions of protein and lipid were 177 ± 21 and 239 ± 62 g/d, respectively. FI and PFI averaged 2.824 ± 0.448 and 2.814 ± 0.393 kg/d, respectively. In the ANOVA of the FI data, the replacement of direct body measurements by PFI did not change the proportion of variance explained (83%) and the RSD (0.199 g/d). The two sets of residual feed intake values obtained from the two ANOVA were highly correlated (RSD = 0.043 kg/d; R2= 0.961). Agreement between predicted and determined feed intakes provided a reasonable guarantee to the estimated (based on BW and P2) changes of body composition. Thus, a scheduled protocol of measurement of BW and P2 over the course of growth, coupled with the use of allometry, can be proposed to estimate in vivo the change of the chemical status of pigs kept under non limiting conditions.

The effects on growth performance and on some health parameters due to the inclusion of sugar beet pulp in antibioticfreediets for weaned piglets were evaluated on a commercial farm. A conventional diet (C) and one containing 120 g/kgof sugar beet pulp (SBP) were fed to 668 weaned piglets from 21 to 64±3 days of age. Every two weeks, live weight andfeed consumption (FC) of the two groups were recorded by pens. Fecal samples were collected from 8 pairs of piglets foreach treatment to evaluate the evolution over the time of the apparent digestibility of the nutrients, as well as the volatilefatty acids content and the microbial count in the feces. The dietary treatment did not affect FC. In comparison to C, SBPslightly reduced average daily gain over 36 to 49 (528 vs. 498 g/d; PPSBP increased from 465 to 638 g/kg. The differences between diets became significant after 36 days of age (PFrom 29 to 35 days of age higher contents of water (793 vs. 713 g/kg; Ppropionic (108 vs. 81 μmol/kg dm; Pclostridia (1.3 vs. 2.3 log10/g; Pthe SBP piglets compared to those of C. These differences progressively disappeared with time. Some piglets showedclinical signs of purulent arthritis and meningitis, but no signs of diarrhea were observed. The SBP group showed, withrespect to C, a significantly lower number of piglet deaths caused by meningitis (15 vs. 30 ‰, respectively; χ2, Pand a significantly lower number of piglets removed because lack of growth (33 vs. 76 ‰, respectively; χ2, Pclear evidence to explain this result was found, however it was concluded that the inclusion of 12% of sugar beet pulpin antibiotic-free diets can improve the health status of piglets with little effect on growth performance.

The aim was to evaluate the effect of low-protein (LP) or low-amino acid diets on digestibility, energy and nitrogen (N) utilisation in 2 genetic groups (GG) of pigs (129±11 kg BW). Duroc×Large White (A) pigs were chosen to represent a traditional GG for ham production, and Danbred Duroc (D) pigs to represent a GG with fast growing rate and high carcass lean yield. Dietary treatments: a conventional diet (CONV) containing 13.2% CP, and two LP diets, one with LP (10.4%) and low essential AA (LP1), the second with LP (9.7%) and high essential AA (LP2). Compared to CONV, LP2 had the same essential AA content per unit feed, while LP1 the same essential AA content per unit CP. Feed was restricted (DMI=6.8% BW0.75). Four consecutive digestibility/balances periods were conducted with 24 barrows, 12 A and 12 D. Metabolic cages and respiration chambers were used. No significant difference between diets was registered for digestibility. Nitrogen excreted: 41.3, 33.4 and 29.0 g/d (P=0.009), for CONV, LP1 and LP2 diets, respectively. Nitrogen retention was similar between the diets. Heat production (HP) was the lowest for LP diets. There was a tendency (P=0.079) for a lower energy digestibility in D group. The D pigs also had a higher HP and hence a lower retained energy in comparison with the A pigs. In conclusion: it is possible to reduce N excretion using very LP diets and LP-low AA diets; Danbred GG have a higher heat production and a lower energy retention than A pigs.

A mechanistic mathematical model was run to simulate the effect on average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of two different kind of pigs and two different feeding regimes. Theoretical values, taken from literature, were used as inputs to describe a poor and a improved genotype. To describe the feed, experimental measurements of feed composition and feed consumption, taken over 5 consecutive periods of growth from two groups of pigs, from 25 to 160 kg of live weight, were also used as inputs. The simulated ADG and FCR values were compared with the experimental performance. Across periods the experimental pigs showed ADG and FCR within the simulated ranges obtained for the theoretical pig genotype. It was concluded that the model was sensible to the variations of pig genotype and of feeding regime. It provided reasonable response both in term of pattern and magnitude.

This survey was aimed to evaluate the characteristics of dairy farms in the North- Eastern part of Po valley in terms of ration composition, milk yield and N and P excretions. Eightynine farms, with Italian Holstein Friesian cows, were selected in order to cover different situations in term of farm size and milk yield (MY). MY and quality were obtained from the national database of functional controls. Each farm was visited in order to collect information about ingredients and chemical composition of rations used. Farms were classified in four groups differing for dietary crude protein density (LCP15.3% DM) and for MY (LMY30 kg/d). N and P excretions were quantified by following a mass balance approach. Dietary crude protein content (CP) was not correlated to milk yield (MY) and quality. The estimated amounts of N excreted, discounted for 28% of N losses in atmosphere, were 78.5, 78.2, 87.2 and 89.1 kg/cow/year, and P excreted were 20.2, 18.6, 18.7 and 19.8 kg/cow/year for the LCPLMY, LCPHMY, HCPLMY, HCPHMY groups, respectively. On corn silage and cereals based rations, a dietary CP of 14.3% DM can support 31 kg MY/cow/day.

Experimental data of feed consumption and composition, recorded over 5 consecutive short periods of growth from 30 crossbred male pigs divided 2 two groups and fed two restricted feeding regimes from 25 to 160 kg LW, were used to run a model in which a set of theoretical values, to describe the potential chemical growth of the pig, was preliminarily assumed. Simulated values of average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were the outputs. Estimates of protein mass at maturity (Pm, kg) and relative growth rate (B, d-1) for each feeding regimes where successively obtained through an optimization procedure which has minimized the coefficients of variation of the differences between the estimates and the measurements of ADG and FCR. The very similar values of Pm (33.7 and 33.2 kg), and B (0.0104 and 0.0105 d-1), obtained for the two feed treatments suggested that these values can be used as operational data to describe the growth parameters of the experimental pigs used.

Effects of Butyl-Hydroxyl-Toluene (BHT) and of Red Chicory Extract (RCE) on kinetics of gas production (GP) and rumen degradability values (OMd, NDFd and in vitro true OM degradability - IVTOMD) of two feeds (meadow hay and corn meal) were evaluated using an in vitro automatic batch system. For each feed 2 increasing dosages (0.15 and 1.5 mg/g of feed) of BHT and RCE and a Control (C) were tested in 4 replications and 2 incubations. First incubation lasted 72h, the 2nd one was stopped at the times on which half of GP was produced (t½), which were 9 and 16 h for corn and hay, respectively. From the supernatants of the 2nd incubation, VFA, NH3, N content of the residual NDF were analysed and the microbial N balance was computed. The 2 feeds significantly affected rumen fermentation parameters; BHT significantly increased asymptotic GP, t½ and IVTOMD (P

In vitro degradability with DaisyII (D) equipment is commonly performed with 0.5g of feed sample into each filter bag. Literature reported that a reduction of the ratio of sample size to bag surface could facilitate the release of soluble or fine particulate. A reduction of sample size to 0.25 g could improve the correlation between the measurements provided by D and the conventional batch culture (BC). This hypothesis was screened by analysing the results of 2 trials. In trial 1, 7 feeds were incubated for 48h with rumen fluid (3 runs x 4 replications) both with D (0.5g/bag) and BC; the regressions between the mean values provided for the various feeds in each run by the 2 methods either for NDF (NDFd) and in vitro true DM (IVTDMD) degradability, had R2 of 0.75 and 0.92 and RSD of 10.9 and 4.8%, respectively. In trial 2, 4 feeds were incubated (2 runs x 8 replications) with D (0.25 g/bag) and BC; the corresponding regressions for NDFd and IVTDMD showed R2 of 0.94 and 0.98 and RSD of 3.0 and 1.3%, respectively. A sample size of 0.25 g improved the precision of the measurements obtained with D.

The fermentation properties of the following feeds: pelleted barley (PB), toasted and pelleted barley (TPB), pelleted maize (PM) and toasted and pelleted maize (TPM) were studied using an in vitro gas production (GP) technique. Each feed sample (0.5g) was incubated (3 replications), with rumen fluid collected from 3 grazing lactating dairy cows. The kinetics of GP were automatically recorded for 72h. The amounts of DM disappeared (DMd) and the volatile fatty acid yields (VFA) were measured. On barley, compared to simple pelleting, toasting significantly (P

The aim of this study was to compare meat quality of organically and conventionally raised Simmental calves. Fifteen organic and fourteen conventional carcasses were considered, 8th rib and M. Longissimus thoracis were sampled on each carcass. Different tissues percentage of 8th rib were evaluated and meat colour, chemical and fatty acids composition of M. Longissimus thoracis were analysed. Fat percentage of 8th rib of organic calves was lower (P

Growth performance and N excretion of double muscled Piemontese (DMP) bulls were investigated. Forty-eight DMP bulls (LW 279 kg), divided in 4 groups, housed in 12 pens, were fed 2 rations (TMR) differing for crude protein density (diets HP: CP=14.7% DM; diets LP: CP=11.0% DM) and top dressed with 80 g/d of rumen protected CLA (CLA) or with 65 g/d of hydrogenated soybean oil (HSO). DM intake was measured, weekly and on pen basis, from the weights of feed distributed and orts. Bulls were weighted monthly. Trial lasted 334 d. Data were analysed by ANOVA. Over the whole trial, no effects due to CP, to additive (A) or to CPxA were found on final LW (670 kg), average daily gain (1.187 kg/d), DM intake (8.50 kg/d), and on SEUROP (5.2 points) and cold dressing (67.3%). Interaction CPxA affected (P