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Context and framework of the study. The organisation of livestock breeding in West and Central Africa needs to evolve rapidly in order to respond to the increasing demand for meat, in particular from ruminants. Policies related to the endemic ruminant livestock (ERL) market and related products are partly organised on a regional scale but there is clearly room for improvement and action needs to be taken at national and even local level. The proposed study supplements data previously collected by surveys carried out in the reference sites while focusing on regional and global levels. The study primarily aims at deepening the understanding of the issues at stake–as regards macro regional, political, judicial, legislative, regulatory and socioeconomic factors which influence the commercialisation of ERL through access to markets in West Africa as well as the implications of these issues for the living conditions within farmer communities. It also aims to assist in the conception and implementation of concrete strategies for producers and market participants to widen and strengthen the indigenous ruminant livestock market. The ERL area covers the wholeof the Sudanese zone ie. Gambia and Guinea in their entirety, the south and the west of Mali and the south of Senegal. The study is mainly focused on 8 of the 12 main sites covered by PROGEBE. How was the study carried out ? The present study is based on a thorough analysis of secondary data supplemented by a primary data collection targeted at households and focus groups in selected sites of ERL production zones. After defining the study framework, the report presents a synthesis of field operations undertaken. Following an analysis of the market and the comparative advantages of ERL, there is a compilation of the main constraints and possible openings impacting on the ERL market. Finally, a rational selection of options is proposed through the possibility of a support program. (Résumé d'auteur)

The MilKey project aims at assessing the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of European dairy production systems, and at identifying ‘win-win’ farmingpractices for sustainable and greenhouse gas (GHG) optimised milk production.This data collection guide was prepared to guide stakeholders wishing to conduct a sustainability assessment of dairy production systems. Specifically, the document can beused to facilitate the process of collecting and reporting the farm environmental and economic information necessary to conduct a sustainability assessment based on the MilKeydata template. The guide gathers and defines all variables included in the first four parts of the MilKey data template (i.e., Part I: General farm information and crop production,Part II: Dairy enterprise, Part III: Beef enterprise, and Part IV: Economic data).

Climate change, with its increasing frequency of environmental disturbances puts pressures on the livestock sector. To deal with these pressures, more complex traits such as resilience must be considered in our management strategies and in our breeding programs. Resilient animals respond well to environmental challenges, and have a decreased probability of needing assistance to overcome them. This paper discusses the need for operational measures of resilience that can be deployed at large scale across different farm types and livestock species. Such measures are needed to provide more precise phenotypes of resilience for use in farm management, but also for use in animal breeding. Any measure of response and recovery reflects both the animals resilience and the perceived size of the environmental disturbance, which can vary over time, depending on multiple animal and farm-related contexts. Therefore, and because universal definitions of resilience are too broad to be operational, we argue that resilience should be seen as a latent construct that cannot be directly measured and selected for. This leads to the following two points: (1) any postulated operational measure of resilience to a disturbance should be constructed from a sufficient number of indicators that each individually capture different facets of the resilience, such that when combined they better reflect the full resilience response; and (2) any postulated operational measure of resilience will have to be validated against reference measures that are the accumulated consequences of good resilience (e.g. productive lifespan or ability to re-calve). In a dairy cow case study, a practical resilience definition for dairy cattle was proposed and tested based on a scoring system containing several categories. In general terms and within a given parity, a cow receives plus points for each calving, and for a shorter calving interval, fewer inseminations and a higher milk production compared to her herd peers. She will receive minus points in case the number of inseminations increases, for each curative treatment day, and if her milk production is lower compared to her herd peers. By using readily available farm data, we were able to assess a practical lifetime resilience score, based on which cows can then be ranked within the herd. Cows that reach a next parity were shown to have a higher rank than cows that are culled before the next parity. To examine the usefulness of such a score, this resilience ranking was linked to two precision livestock technology-derived measures, related to milk yield deviations and accelerometer-derived deviations. Higher resilience ranking cows had fewer drops in milk yield and a more stable activity pattern during the lactation. This case study, taking the operational approach to quantifying and defining resilience, shows the promise of a data-driven approach for identifying resilience measures when applied within a biologically logical framework. ispartof: Peer Community Journal vol:2 status: published

International audience; Dairy farms in France are growing and increasingly surpassing herds of 100 dairy cows. This trend of concentration is accompanied by an increase in labour productivity and a diversification in the composition of the workforce on these farms (individual farmers, worker-members, partners, employees). These major changes raise questions about the working conditions of livestock farmers on these dairy large farms, which are subject to various sources of tension due to a heavy workload and external risks and hazards, which can lead to a degraded working environment with high levels of stress and mental workload. However, the farmers are expecting decent working conditions and looking for a "life like any other". We consider the working conditions on these large dairy farms and formulate the hypothesis that there are specificities according to the different types of working groups. Surveys were carried out among 49 dairy farmers managing large dairy structures in France on their working conditions and their level of satisfaction with it. The working conditions were defined by work intensity (working time, hours, free time), work organisation (distribution of tasks and responsibilities, ease of replacement, communication within groups), physical and mental workload. The results show that working conditions differ according to the three types of working groups that we have defined, but that similarities also exist. The daily working hours and work rhythms are considered to be high or very high on most of the farms. The volume of work per worker is higher for farmers with few workforce available with also less free time. Large workforce farms with wage earners have higher work rhythms and mental workload than the two other types of working groups. Conversely, it is considered moderate to low by three-quarters of the type of large workforce collectives of associates. The results show that, overall, the dairy farmers are satisfied with their working conditions. This overall positive feeling may seem contradictory at first sight with some of the results showing high working hours and work rhythms. It must be qualified by the fact that it tends to be different between the types of working groups and that the working conditions within each type are very contrasted.

International audience

In a context characterized by the existence of economic, social and environmental difficulties, this paper aims to present, in asynthetic way, a quantified inventory of the French cattle sector (milk and meat). It is based on the use of various sources ofinformation available, including data from customs, the Farm Accounting Data Network and the Mutualité Sociale Agricole.The first two parts address the question of the dynamics of the dairy and beef markets (production, consumption and trade) bydistinguishing successively between the external market (external competitiveness during the period 2000-2019) and the internalmarket (adequacy between supply and demand, end users of the products); a complementary analysis of the differentiation ofsupply makes it possible to address the role and speed of development of the various quality signs and new forms of commercialand territorial organizations. The last two parts deal with upstream players, focusing first on the competitiveness of French farmsover the long term (1990-2018), then on jobs on farms (generational renewal, transformation of farm setting-up)., Dans un contexte caractérisé par l'existence de difficultés d'ordre économique, social et environnemental, cette communication a pour ambition de présenter, de façon synthétique, un état des lieux chiffré des filières bovines (lait et viande) françaises. Elle s'appuie pour ce faire sur l'utilisation de différentes sources d'informations disponibles, dont les données des douanes, du Réseau d'Information Comptable Agricole et de la Mutualité Sociale Agricole. Les deux premières parties abordent la question de la dynamique des marchés en produits laitiers et en viande bovine (production, consommation et échanges) en distinguant successivement le marché extérieur (compétitivité externe au cours de la période 2000-2019) puis le marché intérieur (adéquation entre l'offre et la demande, utilisateurs finaux des produits) ; une analyse portant sur la différenciation de l'offre permet également d'aborder le rôle et la vitesse de développement des différents signes de qualité et de nouvelles formes de démarcations commerciales et territoriales. Les deux dernières parties traitent des acteurs de l'amont, en s'intéressant d'abord à la compétitivité des exploitations françaises sur longue période (1990-2018), puis aux emplois dans les exploitations (renouvellement générationnel, transformation des formes d'installation).

Societal expectations linked to the feeding of farm animals (without GMOs, without imported deforestation, less competition with food crops...) are intensifying and are appearing more and more as an access condition to the market for some animal products. It appeared necessary to have a complete overview of the flows of feed materials (grains, by-products and forages) through the French feed supply chain, from resources to different ways of use (human consumption, animal feed, export, energy, etc.). GIS Avenir Elevages mobilized a network of experts with the aim of constructing a methodology to detail the segmentation of feed material consumption by animal sector. A method of data reconciliation with constraint optimization was used to bring the different available data sources into coherence. Thus, for the year 2015, the total grains and by-products used by the animal feed sector was evaluated around 34 Mt standardized to 85% dry matter while those of forages was evaluated between 70 and 72.5 Mt of 100% dry matter (losses and refusals deducted). Dairy and mixed cattle were the second consumers of feed grains and by- products (24%), after poultry (34%) and before pigs (23%) and beef cattle (12%). Dairy and mixed cattle consumed 36% of the volume of soybean meal available in France, after poultry (44%), and before pigs (6%). These results give precise indicators on feed use, its sustainability, the importance of livestock in the consumption of by-products from the food industry, and self-sufficiency in protein of the French livestock sector., Les attentes sociétales relatives à l'alimentation des animaux d'élevage s'intensifient (sans OGM, sans déforestation importée, limitant la compétition avec l'alimentation humaine…) et deviennent parfois une condition d'accès au marché pour certaines productions animales. Il est ainsi apparu nécessaire de disposer d'un panorama complet des flux de matières premières (grains, coproduits et fourrages) dans le système alimentaire français depuis les ressources jusqu'à leurs différentes voies de valorisation (alimentation humaine ou animale, export, énergie…). L'étude du GIS Avenir Elevages a mobilisé un réseau d'experts des différentes filières dans l'objectif de construire une méthodologie permettant une segmentation détaillée des consommations de matières premières par filière animale. Une méthode de réconciliation des flux avec optimisation sous contraintes a été utilisée pour mettre en cohérence les différentes sources de données disponibles. Ainsi, pour l'année 2015, le total des utilisations animales de matières premières concentrées a été évalué autour de 34 Mt standardisées à 85% de matière sèche et celles de fourrages entre 70 et 72,5 Mt de matière sèche (pertes et refus déduits). Les bovins laitiers et mixtes ont été les deuxièmes utilisateurs de matières premières concentrées (24%), derrière les filières volailles (34%), et devant les porcs (23%) et les bovins à viande (12%). L'utilisation du tourteau de soja serait encore plus ciblée : 36% pour les bovins laitiers et mixtes contre 44% pour les volailles et 6% pour les porcs. Ces résultats permettent de fixer des repères précis sur l'alimentation des animaux d'élevage, sa durabilité, l'importance de l'élevage dans la valorisation des coproduits issus de l'agro-alimentaire ou encore l'autonomie alimentaire et protéique de l'élevage français.

Q fever is a zoonotic abortive disease of ruminants mostly transmitted by inhalation of aerosols contaminated by Coxiella burnetii. Clusters of cases or even epidemics regularly occur in humans but, to date, there is no consensus about the best way to carry out outbreak investigations in order to identify potential farms at risk. Although environmental samples might be useful during such investigations, there are few baseline data on the presence of C. burnetii in the environment of ruminant farms. We thus investigated dust samples from cattle, sheep and goat farm buildings in order to (a) estimate C. burnetii detection frequency and bacterial loads in the environment, and (b) determine whether this environmental contamination is associated with series of abortions attributed to Q fever. We considered 113 herds with a recent abortive episode potentially related (n = 60) or not (n = 53) to C. burnetii. Dust was sampled using a swab cloth and tested by a quantitative PCR method targeting the IS1111 gene. Coxiella burnetii DNA was detected on 9 of 50 cattle farms, 13 of 19 goat farms and 30 of 40 sheep farms. On 16 cloths, bacterial loads were higher than 108 genome equivalents, levels as high as in infectious materials such as placentas and aborted foetuses. Overall, the probability of detecting C. burnetii DNA was higher on small ruminant farms than cattle farms, in herds suspected of Q fever and in large herds. We conclude that swab cloths are a putative indicator of contamination of ruminant farms by C. burnetii.

International audience

International audience

International audience

International audience

International audience

Avec la fin des quotas laitiers, l’ouverture croissante des économies et l’accentuation de la volatilité des prix internationaux, la question de la compétitivité du secteur laitier français est placée au coeur de nombreux débats. La compétitivité est généralement définie comme la capacité d’une entreprise ou d’un pays à conquérir et/ou à conserver des parts de marché en affrontant la concurrence aussi bien sur le marché intérieur qu’à l’export. Le secteur laitier français est non seulement un acteur important des échanges européens et internationaux de produits laitiers, mais il bénéficie d’une solidité des débouchés sur le marché intérieur, y compris pour des produits à haute valeur ajoutée. La baisse de la consommation intérieure (en équivalent lait), la saturation progressive de la demande européenne et la concurrence de plusieurs autres pays partenaires de l’Union européenne constituent aujourd’hui une incitation à mieux valoriser les produits de qualité sur le marché intérieur et à orienter davantage les exportations vers des marchés plus lointains où une croissance de la demande s’exprime. Par rapport à d’autres pays concurrents, européens ou internationaux (Nouvelle-Zélande, États-Unis), le coût de production du lait en France, en particulier dans l’Ouest (principal bassin laitier français), est favorisé par une bonne maîtrise des intrants, en raison notamment d’une production fourragère abondante qui entraîne une forte autonomie pour l'alimentation des vaches laitières. Le mode d’obtention de cette autonomie élevée pèse cependant aujourd’hui sur le niveau moyen de productivité du travail et sur les charges de structure (coût de mécanisation) du fait de l'importance des fourrages désormais principalement cultivés, récoltés et distribués mécaniquement., With the end of milk quotas, the increasing openness of economies and the increased volatility of international prices, the question of the competitiveness of the French dairy sector is at the heart of many debates. Competitiveness is generally defined as the ability of a company or a country to conquer and / or maintain market share by facing competition both on the domestic and export markets. The French dairy sector is not only an important player in European and international trade in dairy products, but it has some good opportunities in the domestic market, including for high-value products. The decline in domestic consumption (in milk equivalent), the gradual saturation of the European demand and competition from several other European countries are now an incentive to develop our exports to more distant markets where demand growth is expressed. Compared to other competing countries, European or international (New Zealand, United States), the cost of producing milk in France, especially in the West (main French dairy region), is favored by low inputs, particularly because of abundant forage production (autonomy for feeding dairy cows). The way of achieving such a high level of autonomy, however, weighs today on the average level of labor productivity and on the structure of expenses (high cost of mechanization) due to the importance of forages now mostly grown, harvested and distributed mechanically.

For livestock farmers, the diversity of tasks, the freedom to act as he likes, the contact with nature and animals explain the attraction, often passionate, for an activity, in constant mutation due to technical and sociological evolutions. Gains in efficiency and productivity are diminished by the enlargement of the structures and the workload remains important. Nowadays livestock farmers seek to better balance work and private life, and to preserve their health, which implies decent working conditions, more daily serenity and a recognition of their societal role. Automation and robotization demand to acquire technological mastery, but allow time savings and bring flexibility in organizing days. The wage-earning and the feminization are developing: they modify farmers' job and could contribute more to the renewal of the generations. Environmental and animal welfare concerns lead to systems known to be more agro-ecological, but requiring new learning and complex transitions. The head-on questionings to livestock farming are offset by local initiatives demonstrating the social utility of farms which provide jobs, territorial identity and healthy products. The diversity of livestock models in the territories, complementarity between them and others agricultural and non-agricultural activities, as well as the renewal of advisory tools are part of perspectives to arouse the desire to become a farmer. This article presents, in the light of the social, societal and economic changes, the issues under dispute about the work and the profession of the livestock farmers., Pour les éleveurs, la diversité des tâches, la liberté d'agir à sa guise, la proximité avec la nature et les animaux expliquent l'attrait, souvent passionné, pour une profession en constante mutation suite aux évolutions techniques et sociologiques. Les gains d'efficience et de productivité sont rognés par l'augmentation de la taille des structures et la charge de travail reste toujours importante. Aujourd'hui les éleveurs cherchent un meilleur équilibre vie privée / vie professionnelle, à préserver leur santé et une reconnaissance de leur rôle sociétal, ce qui implique des conditions de travail correctes et plus de sérénité au quotidien. L'automatisation et la robotisation demandent d'acquérir une maîtrise technologique mais apportent de la souplesse et permettent des gains de temps. La part de salariat et la féminisation des chefs d'exploitation qui se développent, modifient le rapport au métier et pourraient contribuer davantage au renouvellement des générations. Les préoccupations, environnementales et vis-à-vis du bien-être animal, suscitent des infléchissements, notamment agro-écologiques qui nécessitent de nouveaux apprentissages et des transitions toujours complexes. Les remises en cause, parfois frontales, de l'élevage côtoient des initiatives démontrant son utilité sociale comme pourvoyeur d'emplois, d'identité locale et de produits sains. La diversité dans les territoires des modèles d'élevage, les complémentarités entre eux et avec d'autres activités, agricoles ou non, ainsi que le renouvellement des outils de conseil sont autant de perspectives pour susciter le désir de "devenir éleveur". Cet article présente, à la lumière des mutations sociales, sociétales et économiques, les questions en débat autour du travail et du métier des éleveurs.

Background Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed at the sequence level to identify candidate mutations that affect the expression of six major milk proteins in Montbéliarde (MON), Normande (NOR), and Holstein (HOL) dairy cattle. Whey protein (α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin) and casein (αs1, αs2, β, and κ) contents were estimated by mid-infrared (MIR) spectrometry, with medium to high accuracy (0.59 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.92), for 848,068 test-day milk samples from 156,660 cows in the first three lactations. Milk composition was evaluated as average test-day measurements adjusted for environmental effects. Next, we genotyped a subset of 8080 cows (2967 MON, 2737 NOR, and 2306 HOL) with the BovineSNP50 Beadchip. For each breed, genotypes were first imputed to high-density (HD) using HD single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotypes of 522 MON, 546 NOR, and 776 HOL bulls. The resulting HD SNP genotypes were subsequently imputed to the sequence level using 27 million high-quality sequence variants selected from Run4 of the 1000 Bull Genomes consortium (1147 bulls). Within-breed, multi-breed, and conditional GWAS were performed. Results Thirty-four distinct genomic regions were identified. Three regions on chromosomes 6, 11, and 20 had very significant effects on milk composition and were shared across the three breeds. Other significant effects, which partially overlapped across breeds, were found on almost all the autosomes. Multi-breed analyses provided a larger number of significant genomic regions with smaller confidence intervals than within-breed analyses. Combinations of within-breed, multi-breed, and conditional analyses led to the identification of putative causative variants in several candidate genes that presented significant protein–protein interactions enrichment, including those with previously described effects on milk composition (SLC37A1, MGST1, ABCG2, CSN1S1, CSN2, CSN1S2, CSN3, PAEP, DGAT1, AGPAT6) and those with effects reported for the first time here (ALPL, ANKH, PICALM). Conclusions GWAS applied to fine-scale phenotypes, multiple breeds, and whole-genome sequences seems to be effective to identify candidate gene variants. However, although we identified functional links between some candidate genes and milk phenotypes, the causality between candidate variants and milk protein composition remains to be demonstrated. Nevertheless, the identification of potential causative mutations that underlie milk protein composition may have immediate applications for improvements in cheese-making. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12711-017-0344-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

International audience; De nombreuses études au cours des 30 dernières années ont montré les effets des pratiques agricoles sur les composés du lait. Des combinaisons de pratiques peuvent avoir des effets antagonistes ou synergiques sur les composés du lait, mais ces effets combinés restent sous-étudiés. La recherche doit se concentrer sur la qualité intrinsèque globale du lait (incluant les dimensions sensorielles, technologiques, sanitaires et nutritionnelles) et identifier les combinaisons qui peuvent l'optimiser. L'objectif de cette étude était d'identifier quelles combinaisons de pratiques d'élevage obtenaient les meilleurs scores pour les dimensions sensorielles, technologiques, sanitaires, nutritionnelles et pour la qualité intrinsèque globale du lait. Quatre-vingt-dix-neuf fermes privées ont été visitées une fois chacune pour échantillonner leur lait en vrac et étudier leurs pratiques agricoles. Les pratiques enquêtées concernaient les caractéristiques du troupeau, la gestion de l'alimentation, les conditions d'hébergement, et les conditions de traite et de stockage du lait le jour de l'essai. Des analyses de lait de tank ont ​​été conçues pour évaluer la qualité intrinsèque globale du lait pour 2 produits cibles : le fromage au lait cru et le lait demi-écrémé UHT. Des arbres de régression ont ensuite été utilisés pour identifier les combinaisons de pratiques agricoles qui ont obtenu les meilleurs scores sur chaque dimension et sur la qualité intrinsèque globale du lait. La race et le régime alimentaire (type de fourrage) étaient les facteurs les plus influents pour les dimensions sensorielles et sanitaires et pour les scores des dimensions technologiques et nutritionnelles, respectivement, dans l'évaluation du fromage. La qualité globale du fromage était fortement corrélée positivement avec ces scores à 4 dimensions. Par conséquent, la race et le régime alimentaire sont apparus comme les pratiques les plus influentes dans l'arbre de régression pour la qualité globale du fromage. Cependant, les combinaisons de pratiques ayant abouti aux meilleurs scores de qualité diffèrent selon la dimension étudiée et le produit visé. Cela suggère que les conseils sur les pratiques d'élevage pour améliorer la qualité intrinsèque du lait doivent être adaptés en fonction de la destination finale du lait collecté. Cette approche innovante combinant des données à la ferme et des arbres de régression fournit aux gestionnaires d'exploitations un outil précieux et pratique pour hiérarchiser les pratiques en fonction de leur rôle dans l'élaboration de la qualité du lait, et pour identifier les combinaisons de pratiques qui favorisent une bonne qualité du lait et les seuils ou modalités de pratique. nécessaires pour y parvenir. Cela suggère que les conseils sur les pratiques d'élevage pour améliorer la qualité intrinsèque du lait doivent être adaptés en fonction de la destination finale du lait collecté. Cette approche innovante combinant des données à la ferme et des arbres de régression fournit aux gestionnaires d'exploitations un outil précieux et pratique pour hiérarchiser les pratiques en fonction de leur rôle dans l'élaboration de la qualité du lait, et pour identifier les combinaisons de pratiques qui favorisent une bonne qualité du lait et les seuils ou modalités de pratique. nécessaires pour y parvenir. Cela suggère que les conseils sur les pratiques d'élevage pour améliorer la qualité intrinsèque du lait doivent être adaptés en fonction de la destination finale du lait collecté. Cette approche innovante combinant des données à la ferme et des arbres de régression fournit aux gestionnaires d'exploitations un outil précieux et pratique pour hiérarchiser les pratiques en fonction de leur rôle dans l'élaboration de la qualité du lait, et pour identifier les combinaisons de pratiques qui favorisent une bonne qualité du lait et les seuils ou modalités de pratique. nécessaires pour y parvenir.

Farmers's practices and attitudes towards artificial fed lambs and their mortality in meat systems. 7. International conference on the assessment of animal welfare at farm and grip level. WAFL 2017

Livestock farming is an essential activity in many rural areas, where it contributes to the maintenance of soil fertility and farmland biodiversity, as well as to a set of social public goods including food security, rural vitality and culture. However, livestock sustainability assessments tend to focus primarily on environmental and economic dimensions; therefore, these valuations might be limited because they do not consider the complete set of associated goods and services (GS). Hence, a need exists to recognise the multiple contributions provided by livestock to human well-being and society. The objective of this study was to analyse the provision of multiple GS derived from livestock across regions in France and empirically demonstrate sets of GS that repeatedly appeared together. We designated these multiple GS provided by livestock as contributions to productive, environmental, rural vitality and cultural benefits that human populations derive directly or indirectly from livestock agroecosystems. First, we combined expert knowledge with results of a literature review to define a bundle of GS provided by livestock. We then described indicators that quantified each good or service and screened national databases to determine the availability of supporting data. Finally, we assessed the GS and their relationships (synergies or trade-offs) on a nation-wide gradient in France at the department level (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 3). Four main categories of GS were considered: provisioning (e.g. food quantity and quality), environmental quality (e.g. biodiversity, landscape heterogeneity, water quality), rural vitality (e.g. employment, rural dynamism) and culture (e.g. gastronomy and landscape heritage). Four major types of GS bundles were identified, which suggested strong contrasts among French rural areas in terms of the nature of the GS that occurred together and their levels of provision. GS bundles in France had a non-random spatial distribution. This study represents an initial step towards developing a methodology to consider GS bundles provided by livestock. Nonetheless, further research is needed to understand socio-economic, environmental, political and geographic determinants of the composition of GS bundles.

International audience; The chemical contamination levels of both conventional and organic meats were assessed. The objective was to provide occurrence data in a context of chronic exposure. Environmental contaminants (17 polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/dibenzofurans, 18 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 3 hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) isomers, 6 mycotoxins, 6 inorganic compounds) together with chemical residues arising from production inputs (75 antimicrobials, 10 coccidiostats and 121 pesticides) have been selected as relevant compounds. A dedicated sampling strategy, representative of the French production allowed quantification of a large sample set (n=266) including both conventional (n=139) and organic (n=127) raw meat from three animal species (bovine, porcine, poultry). While contamination levels below regulatory limits were measured in all the samples, significant differences were observed between both species and types of farming. Several environmental contaminants (Dioxins, PCBs, HBCD, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, As) were measured at significantly higher levels in organic samples.

Après une présentation rapide du dispositif national historique de sélection des ruminants, cet article aborde les bouleversements politiques et techniques récents auquel celui-ci est confronté, notamment la sélection génomique, dans deux espèces : les bovins et les ovins laitiers. L’accent est mis sur l’analyse des changements organisationnels liés à cette nouvelle technique de sélection, dans quatre domaines des activités de sélection : i) les rapports entre acteurs de la recherche et acteurs de la sélection : développement de nouvelles formes de partenariats public-privé, de consortium, mais aussi développement de dynamiques privées de recherche, avec une évolution des relations historiques entre les opérateurs publics (INRA) et les entreprises ; ii) les relations entre opérateurs de la sélection, avec un regroupement de ceux-ci, mais aussi une remise en question des relations de coopération historiques du fait de l’augmentation de la concurrence et des possibilités offertes par la génomique ; iii) les relations et les pratiques entre acteurs de la sélection et éleveurs, du fait de l’accélération de la production de données et iv) la gouvernance des races, du fait du développement de critères de sélection « privés » pouvant remettre en question la gestion en « bien commun » de la race. Une démarche d’accompagnement des dispositifs de sélection en ovins laitiers à la mise en œuvre de ces changements est présentée, montrant comment des acteurs s’organisent pour anticiper ces changements et maintenir les dispositifs collectifs., After a brief presentation of the historical national organization of breeding activities in France, this article considers the recent political and technical changes in the dairy cattle and sheep industry, more specifically genomic selection. It analyses the organizational implications of this new breeding technique in four areas of breeding activities: 0 between research actors and breeding actors, with the development of new forms of public-private partnerships, and the development of private research initiatives, with evolving relations between public research and breeding companies; among breeding actors, with increasing merging of companies and historical actors changing strategies from cooperation to competition; iii) between breeding actors and farmers, due to accelerating data production; iv) in the governance of the breed, due to the development of private breeding criteria questioning the management of the breed as a "common good". The article details an intervention-research process implemented to help sheep breeding actors face such changes, showing how they anticipate changes to maintain the collective organization of breeding activities and favor cooperation.

International audience; Recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (rAAVs) are used for therapeutic gene transfer in skeletal muscle, but it is unclear if immune reactivity to gene transfer and persistence of transgene are affected by pathologic conditions such as muscular dystrophy. Thus, we compared dystrophic mice devoid of alpha-sarcoglycan with healthy mice to characterize immune cell activation and cellular populations contributing to the loss of gene-modified myofibers. Following rAAV2/1 delivery of an immunogenic alpha-sarcoglycan reporter transgene in the muscle, both strains developed strong CD4 and CD8 T-cell-mediated immune responses in lymphoid organs associated with muscle CD3+ T and CD11b+ mononuclear cell infiltrates. Selective cell subset depletion models revealed that CD4+ T cells were essential for transgene rejection in both healthy and pathologic mice, but macrophages and CD8+ T cells additionally contributed as effector cells of transgene rejection only in dystrophic mice. Vectors restricting transgene expression in antigen-presenting cells showed that endogenous presentation of transgene products was the sole mechanism responsible for T-cell priming in normal mice, whereas additional and protracted antigenic presentation occurred in dystrophic animals, leading to secondary CD4+ T-cell activation and failure to maintain transgene expression. Therefore, the dystrophic environment diversifies cellular immune response mechanisms induced by gene transfer, with a negative outcome.

Breeding work is both a factor of economic performance, a succession of tasks and projects to organizeand activity that built a personal and professional identity. Taking into account all these threedimensions is necessary to understand the complexity of farmers work and to contribute to theirimprovement. A guide designed by a multidisciplinary group (sociology, economy, and animal science)and of different activities (researchers, teachers and advisors), was used to analyze 56 French farmscovering a wide diversity of production (seven agricultural sectors were represented), size of groups ofwork (from 1 to 42 workers), composition (associates, employees, volunteers...) and production basin(six regions). Comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach highlighted five profiles of farmers withsome who preferred the quality of life in farms of reasonable dimensions which can also ensure asatisfactory economic viability. In Northern Europe, survey of 19 large sized-farms showed theimportance of streamlining the process, outsourcing projects and widespread use of wage-earning thatstrongly modifies the workload of farmers. In each situation, the sense given by the farmer to his job andhis motivations illuminate techno-economic and work-organization choices. The method and its coconstruction with field advisors, are a solid 'on the ground' basis to create requests, offer servicesadapted to the key phases of the farm and also to change postures and to create cooperative supportsystems.; Le travail en élevage est à la fois un facteur de production économique, une succession de tâches et dechantiers à organiser ainsi qu'une activité qui construit son identité personnelle et professionnelle.Prendre en compte conjointement ces trois dimensions est nécessaire pour comprendre la complexitédes situations de travail des éleveurs et contribuer à leur amélioration. Un guide d’entretien conçu parun groupe pluridisciplinaire (sociologues, économistes et zootechniciens) et de différents métiers(chercheurs, enseignants et conseillers), a servi l'analyse de 56 exploitations d'élevage françaisescouvrant une large diversité d’orientation de production (sept filières sont représentées), de taille decollectifs de travail (de 1 à 42 travailleurs), de composition (associés, salariés, bénévoles…) et debassin de production (six régions). L'approche compréhensive et multidisciplinaire met en évidence cinqprofils d’éleveurs dont certains qui privilégient la qualité de vie dans des exploitations de dimensionsraisonnables peuvent aussi assurer une viabilité économique satisfaisante. En Europe du Nord,l’analyse de 20 fermes de très grandes dimensions montre l'importance de la rationalisation desprocess, de l’externalisation des chantiers et du recours généralisé au salariat qui modifie fortement lemétier des éleveurs. Dans chaque situation, le sens que donne l’éleveur à son métier et son projet devie éclairent les choix technico-économiques et d'organisation du travail. La méthode et sa coconstruction avec les conseillers, constituent une base concrète pour, "sur le terrain", susciter lesdemandes, offrir des services adaptés aux phases clés de l'exploitation et aussi inciter à desmodifications de postures et à la création de dispositifs concertés d'accompagnement.

Undercooked ground beef is regularly implicated in food-borne outbreaks involving pathogenic Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. The dispersion of bacteria during mixing processes is of major concern for quantitative microbiological risk assessment since clustering will influence the number of bacteria the consumers might get exposed to as well as the performance of sampling plans used to detect contaminated ground beef batches. In this study, batches of 25 kg of ground beef were manufactured according to a process mimicking an industrial scale grinding with three successive steps: primary grinding, mixing and final grinding. The ground beef batches were made with 100% of chilled trims or with 2/3 of chilled trims and 1/3 of frozen trims. Prior grinding, one beef trim was contaminated with approximately 10(6)-10(7) CFU of E. coli 0157:H7 on a surface of 0.5 cm(2) to reach a concentration of 10-100 cells/g in ground beef. The E. coli O157:H7 distribution in ground beef was characterized by enumerating 60 samples (20 samples of 5 g, 20 samples of 25 g and 20 samples of 100 g) and fitting a Poisson gamma model to describe the variability of bacterial counts. The shape parameter of the gamma distribution, also known as the dispersion parameter reflecting the amount of clustering, was estimated between 1.0 and 1.6. This k-value of approximately 1 expresses a moderate level of clustering of bacterial cells in the ground beef. The impact of this clustering on the performance of sampling strategies was relatively limited in comparison to the classical hypothesis of a random repartition of pathogenic cells in mixed materials (purely Poisson distribution instead of Poisson-gamma distribution).

Recessive deleterious variants are known to segregate in livestock populations as in human, and some may cause lethality when homozygous. By scanning the genome of 6,845 Manech Tête Rousse dairy sheep using phased 50k SNP genotypes and pedigree data, we searched for deficiency in homozygous haplotype (DHH). Five Manech Tête Rousse deficient homozygous haplotypes (MTRDHH1 to 5) were identified with a homozygous deficiency ranging from 84% to 100%. These haplotypes are located on OAR1 (MTRDHH2 and 3), OAR10 (MTRDHH4), OAR13 (MTRDHH5) and OAR20 (MTRDHH1), and have frequencies ranging from 7.8% to 16.6%. When comparing at-risk mating between DHH carriers to safe mating between non-carriers, two DHH (MTRDHH1 and 2) showed significant effects on decreasing artificial insemination success and/or increasing stillbirth rate. We particularly investigated the MTRDHH1 haplotype highly increasing stillbirth rate, and we identified a single nucleotide variant (SNV) inducing a premature stop codon (p.Gln409*) in theMMUTgene (methylmalonyl-CoA mutase) by using a whole genome sequencing (WGS) approach. We generated homozygous lambs for theMMUTmutation by oriented mating, and most of them died within the first 24h after birth without any obvious clinical defect. RT-qPCR and western blotting performed on post-mortem liver and kidney biological samples showed a decreased expression ofMMUTmRNA in the liver and absence of a full-length MMUT protein in mutated homozygous lambs. In parallel, MTRDHH4 and MTRDHH5 showed partial association with variants inRXFP2andASIPgenes, respectively, already known to control horned/polled and coat color phenotypes in sheep, two morphological traits accounting in the MTR breed standard. Further investigations are needed to identified the supposed recessive deleterious variant hosted by MTRDHH2 and MTRDHH3. Anyway, an appropriate management of these haplotypes/variants in the MTR dairy sheep selection program should increase the overall fertility and lamb survival.Author SummaryIn this article, we used reverse genetics screen in ovine using large genotype data available in the framework of genomic selection program in Manech Tête Rousse dairy sheep. We identified five genomic regions with a highly significant deficit in homozygous animal. These regions are thus supposed to host recessive deleterious mutations. In one of these genomic regions, we identified a nonsense mutation inMMUTthat alters the functioning of this essential gene of cell metabolism, causing perinatal mortality of homozygous lambs. In this work, we also identified other regions possibly associated with morphological appearance part of the breed standard such as polledness and coat color. Increasing knowledge in these genomic regions will help the future genetic management of the Manech Tête Rousse breed, particularly to reduce lamb mortality.

For livestock farmers, the diversity of tasks, the freedom to act as he likes, the contact with nature and animals explain the attraction, often passionate, for an activity, in constant mutation due to technical and sociological evolutions. Gains in efficiency and productivity are diminished by the enlargement of the structures and the workload remains important. Nowadays livestock farmers seek to better balance work and private life, and to preserve their health, which implies decent working conditions, more daily serenity and a recognition of their societal role. Automation and robotization demand to acquire technological mastery, but allow time savings and bring flexibility in organizing days. The wage-earning and the feminization are developing: they modify farmers' job and could contribute more to the renewal of the generations. Environmental and animal welfare concerns lead to systems known to be more agro-ecological, but requiring new learning and complex transitions. The head-on questionings to livestock farming are offset by local initiatives demonstrating the social utility of farms which provide jobs, territorial identity and healthy products. The diversity of livestock models in the territories, complementarity between them and others agricultural and non-agricultural activities, as well as the renewal of advisory tools are part of perspectives to arouse the desire to become a farmer. This article presents, in the light of the social, societal and economic changes, the issues under dispute about the work and the profession of the livestock farmers., Pour les éleveurs, la diversité des tâches, la liberté d'agir à sa guise, la proximité avec la nature et les animaux expliquent l'attrait, souvent passionné, pour une profession en constante mutation suite aux évolutions techniques et sociologiques. Les gains d'efficience et de productivité sont rognés par l'augmentation de la taille des structures et la charge de travail reste toujours importante. Aujourd'hui les éleveurs cherchent un meilleur équilibre vie privée / vie professionnelle, à préserver leur santé et une reconnaissance de leur rôle sociétal, ce qui implique des conditions de travail correctes et plus de sérénité au quotidien. L'automatisation et la robotisation demandent d'acquérir une maîtrise technologique mais apportent de la souplesse et permettent des gains de temps. La part de salariat et la féminisation des chefs d'exploitation qui se développent, modifient le rapport au métier et pourraient contribuer davantage au renouvellement des générations. Les préoccupations, environnementales et vis-à-vis du bien-être animal, suscitent des infléchissements, notamment agro-écologiques qui nécessitent de nouveaux apprentissages et des transitions toujours complexes. Les remises en cause, parfois frontales, de l'élevage côtoient des initiatives démontrant son utilité sociale comme pourvoyeur d'emplois, d'identité locale et de produits sains. La diversité dans les territoires des modèles d'élevage, les complémentarités entre eux et avec d'autres activités, agricoles ou non, ainsi que le renouvellement des outils de conseil sont autant de perspectives pour susciter le désir de "devenir éleveur". Cet article présente, à la lumière des mutations sociales, sociétales et économiques, les questions en débat autour du travail et du métier des éleveurs.

SUMMARYTo upgrade the use of permanent grasslands in livestock farming systems for their economic and environmental utility, their value needs better assessment in terms of both quantity (biomass production) and quality (nutritive value: organic matter digestibility (OMD) and crude protein content (CP)). The wide variability in permanent grassland botanical composition makes it important to understand the links between vegetation characteristics and permanent grassland value, and how far environmental factors influence this value. The current work investigated how vegetation characteristics and weather explained the variability of the biomass production and nutritive value of permanent grasslands. Two models were used to determine the best vegetation characteristics for the prediction: (i) plant functional types (PFT), proportions of grasses, legumes and forbs and weather, and (ii) two proxies for PFT (dry matter content (DMC) and phenological development at medium plant stage (MPS)), proportion of grasses, legumes and forbs, and weather. The study was conducted on a set of 190 permanent grasslands distributed over a wide range of soil, climatic and management conditions, and lasted 2 years (2009/10). For each of the permanent grasslands, climatic data, values of vegetation characteristics, biomass production and nutritive value were collected at the beginning and end of spring, and during summer and autumn regrowths. Contribution of weather was important and particularly for regrowths. Composition in terms of botanical families, plant stage and sward DMC was the common variables that explained both biomass production and nutritive value during the growing season. Biomass production was mainly explained by the proportion of legumes and forbs, MPS and DMC considering both models. Grass nutritive value was linked to the same factors, including PFT. However, the contribution of grass PFTs was lower in models. Both models could be used to predict biomass production and nutritive value:R2of the two models are quite similar. Over a wide range of environmental and management conditions, vegetation characteristics and climatic data explained almost half of the variance of forage quality and 20–40% of the variance of biomass production.

Livestock plays a major role in rural areas, where it provides economic, environmental and social services. There is a pressing need to assess the multiple positive contributions provided by livestock to society. This would be useful for society in general but constitutes a new scientific topic as well. The objective of this study was to develop a framework for the assessment of the social, economical and ecological services provided by livestock in France. Combining expert knowledge and literature review, we first defined the set of services provided by livestock. We then selected indicators to quantify the services considered at the department level considering the available databases on the French case-study. We finally assessed services and their relationships (synergies or tradeoffs) on a gradient of French departments. Four main classes of services were revealed: provisioning (e.g. food quantity and quality), environmental quality (e.g. biodiversity, diversified landscapes), rural vitality (e.g. employment, rural dynamism) and cultural heritage (e.g. gastronomy, landscape quality). Four major types of services were revealed, showing contrasted levels of services provided. The analysis of the spatial distribution of the types of services sets. The main socio-economic, ecological, political and geographical determinants of service provision will be identified in further study to inform policy makers and society.; L’élevage joue un rôle essentiel dans les territoires ruraux au sein desquels il assure de nombreux services économiques, environnementaux et sociaux. Appréhender la multiplicité des services rendus par l’élevage à la société représente donc un enjeu essentiel mais aussi un champ nouveau pour la recherche agronomique. L’objectif de cette étude est de réaliser une première quantification des services rendus par l’élevage en considérant les dimensions économiques, environnementales et sociales. Sur la base de réunions d’experts et de la revue de la littérature, nous avons d’abord proposé une qualification des services rendus par l’élevage pour définir le bouquet de services rendus par l’élevage en France. Nous avons ensuite sélectionné des indicateurs pour quantifier des bouquets de services départementaux à partir des bases de données mobilisables à l’échelle de la France. Nous avons analysé les services et leurs interrelations (synergies ou antagonismes) par une typologie de bouquets de services au niveau départemental. L’analyse met en évidence quatre catégories principales de services : approvisionnement (e.g. quantité et qualité d’aliments), qualité environnementale (e.g. biodiversité, hétérogénéité des paysages), vitalité territoriale (e.g. dynamisme rural et emploi) et identité culturelle (e.g. gastronomie, identité des terroirs). Quatre grands types de bouquets de service ont été mis en évidence présentant des niveaux contrastés d’expression des services. L’analyse de leur distribution géographique a montré une répartition non-aléatoire des types de bouquets. Une perspective de ce travail consistera à étudier les principaux leviers socio-économiques, politiques, écologiques et géographiques impliqués dans la fourniture de services pour informer les décideurs politiques et la société.

Background From domestication to the current pattern of differentiation, domestic species have been influenced by reticulate evolution with multiple events of migration, introgression, and isolation; this has resulted in a very large number of breeds. In order to manage these breeds and their genetic diversity, one must know the current genetic structure of the populations and the relationships among these. This paper presents the results of a genetic diversity analysis on an almost exhaustive sample of the sheep breeds reared in France. Molecular characterization was performed with a set of 21 microsatellite markers on a collection of 49 breeds that include five breed types: meat, hardy meat, dairy, high prolificacy and patrimonial breeds. Results Values of expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.48 to 0.76 depending on the breed, with specialized meat breeds exhibiting the lowest values. Neighbor-Net, multidimensional analysis or clustering approaches revealed a clear differentiation of the meat breeds compared to the other breed types. Moreover, the group that clustered meat breeds included all the breeds that originated from the United Kingdom (UK) and those that originated from crossbreeding between UK breeds and French local breeds. We also highlighted old genetic introgression events that were related to the diffusion of Merino rams to improve wool production. As a result of these introgression events, especially that regarding the UK breeds, the breeds that were clustered in the ‘meat type cluster’ exhibited the lowest contribution to total diversity. That means that similar allelic combinations could be observed in different breeds of this group. Conclusions The genetic differentiation pattern of the sheep breeds reared in France results from a combination of factors, i.e. geographical origin, historic gene flow, and breed use. The Merino influence is weaker than that of UK breeds, which is consistent with how sheep use changed radically at the end of 19th century when wool-producing animals (Merino-like) were replaced by meat-producing breeds. These results are highly relevant to monitor and manage the genetic diversity of sheep and can be used to set priorities in conservation programs when needed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12711-015-0131-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

National audience; Vacuum concentration and drying are valuable techniques for the removal of water and the resulting stabilization of most dairy and feed ingredients. In this study, we present methodology to calculate and compare the energy consumption for the production of dairy and feed powders at different processing stages of the dehydration process. The results show that the energy costs to produce 1 kg of dairy and feed powders were 6,120 and 20,232 kJ · kg−1 powder for pregelatinized starch and soy protein concentrate, respectively. For dairy products, the values were 9,072 and 15,120 kJ · kg−1 for fat-filled and demineralized whey powders, respectively. According to the type of product (biochemical composition, ratio of bound and free water) and process (demineralization, vacuum evaporation, lactose crystallization, roller and spray drying), the energy consumption for the production of powders could be calculated. These findings could be valuable for studies focusing on improvement of energy efficiency for dairy and feed processes.

International audience; Work is an important issue for livestock farmers nowadays and this topic draws attention from researchers as well as from advisers. The French Livestock Institute piloted a three-year partnership project aimed at studying on-farm innovations to improve farmers' working conditions. This project developed a multidisciplinary approach combining economic, sociological and technical perspectives on livestock farmers' work, and involved researchers, advisers and farmers. We chose to involve farmers in the production of data, crossing the factual and descriptive data with their experiences and views, but also asking for their opinion on the results. We also involved actors in six different regions with two goals: to conduct investigations on farms and to enable the appropriation of the method by advisers. A team composed of researchers and extensionists was in charge of designing and managing the research programme based on on-farm interviews (a total of 55). In the questionnaire the three dimensions mentioned above were addressed through sociological, economical and organizational aspects. The participants of the team pooled their own knowledge and methods to build a common questionnaire. A test was arranged in some farms with advisers as interviewers and this enabled improvements to be made to the structure of the questionnaire and to the way questions were asked. Training for the interviewers was organized. Data processing at national and regional level provided several deliverables including a national analysis, six regional analyses, farm monographs, and publications for farmers and advisers. Several local meetings took place to discuss the results with the interviewees (farmers), the interviewers (advisers) and sometimes stakeholders. The participants of the project team now consider that linking researchers, advisers and farmers in this multidisciplinary approach was very profitable. All of them say they have expanded their vision and understanding of farmers' working situations and argue that this has led them to change their research or advice practices.

Background Genetic diversity is a necessary condition for populations to evolve under natural adaptation, artificial selection, or both. However, genetic diversity is often threatened, in particular in domestic animal populations where artificial selection, genetic drift and inbreeding are strong. In this context, cryopreserved genetic resources are a promising option to reintroduce lost variants and to limit inbreeding. However, while the use of ancient genetic resources is more common in plant breeding, it is less documented in animals due to a longer generation interval, making it difficult to fill the gap in performance due to continuous selection. This study investigates one of the only concrete cases available in animals, for which cryopreserved semen from a bull born in 1977 in a lost lineage was introduced into the breeding scheme of a French local dairy cattle breed, the Abondance breed, more than 20 years later. Results We found that this re-introduced bull was genetically distinct with respect to the current population and thus allowed part of the genetic diversity lost over time to be restored. The expected negative gap in milk production due to continuous selection was absorbed in a few years by preferential mating with elite cows. Moreover, the re-use of this bull more than two decades later did not increase the level of inbreeding, and even tended to reduce it by avoiding mating with relatives. Finally, the reintroduction of a bull from a lost lineage in the breeding scheme allowed for improved performance for reproductive abilities, a trait that was less subject to selection in the past. Conclusions The use of cryopreserved material is an efficient way to manage the genetic diversity of an animal population, by mitigating the effects of both inbreeding and strong selection. However, attention should be paid to mating of animals to limit the disadvantages associated with incorporating original genetic material, notably a discrepancy in the breeding values for selected traits or an increase in inbreeding. Therefore, careful characterization of the genetic resources available in cryobanks could help to ensure the sustainable management of populations, in particular local or small populations. These results could also be transferred to the conservation of wild threatened populations.

International audience; With the objective to identify deleterious recessive mutations, we have scanned the genome of 5,271 French Manech Tête Rousse (MTR) dairy sheep using 50k SNP phased genotypes and pedigree data. Five deficient homozygous haplotypes, named MTRDHH1 to MTRDHH5, were identified. These haplotypes showed a highly significant deficit of homozygous animals ranging from 84 to 100%, and a carrier frequency ranging from 7.8 to 16.6%. By comparing at-risk matings (between carriers) and safe matings, some of these haplotypes were associated with a reduced success of artificial insemination (MTRDHH2), and/or an increased stillbirth rate (MTRDHH1 and 2) suggesting the segregation of recessive variants leading to embryo and/or perinatal lethality affecting fertility. Other haplotypes are likely to be associated with lamb morphological disorders or counter-selection based on breed standard. For each haplotype, the most probable candidate genes were highlighted based on their roles in lethal phenotypes, genetic disorders, hornless or coat color.

Séance : Mixité dans les systèmes d’élevage, polyculture élevage, exploitation et territoire; International audience; One of the principles of agroecology is that the management of animal and plant diversity within livestock farms can enhance their sustainability. To go beyond this theoretical principle, we analyze the farm operation and performance of multi-species livestock farms, i.e. farms where at least two animal species are raised. In grassland-based systems, the complementarity of sheep, cattle and horse grazing behaviour reduces the use of feed concentrates, especially for sheep. Parasite dilution in mixed grazing systems benefits small ruminants and horses, and makes it possible to reduce the number of anthelmintic treatments. Adding a small monogastric enterprise to a beef or dairy system makes it possible to value farm co-products (whey...); milk processing is often associated with on-farm processing and opens up the possibility of short-distribution channels of diversified food baskets, which enhance farm viability. Work organization plays a key role in the way different species are integrated on the same farm. Rather than focusing on the maximization of within-farm diversity only, what matters is to reach an overall consistency of the system that the farmer is able to manage. Finally, we discuss the obstacles to the scaling-out of multi-species livestock farms, linked to a socioeconomic system built to benefit from the economies of scale offered by specialisation. To overcome these obstacles, we propose levers upstream (innovating for multipurpose equipment and infrastructures), downstream (reorganizing the collect chain) and around these farms (revisiting training and advice) that must be thought out in a coupled manner.; L’agroécologie stipule que la gestion de la diversité animale et végétale au sein des exploitations d’élevage renforce leur durabilité. Pour aller au-delà de ce principe théorique, nous analysons ici le fonctionnement et les performances d’exploitations de polyélevage, c’est-à-dire de fermes dans lesquelles sont élevées au moins deux espèces animales. Dans les systèmes herbagers, la complémentarité des modes de pâturage des ovins, des bovins et des chevaux permet de réduire le recours aux aliments concentrés, en particulier pour les ovins. La dilution des parasites digestifs en pâturage mixte profite aux petits ruminants et aux chevaux, et permet d’envisager de réduire la fréquence des traitements anthelminthiques. Un atelier monogastrique de petite taille permet de valoriser les co-produits (petit lait...) ; la transformation laitière, créatrice de valeur ajoutée, et les faibles volumes de viande commercialisés sont bien adaptés à la vente en circuits courts. L’organisation du travail entre toujours en ligne de compte dans la manière d’articuler différentes espèces au sein d’une même exploitation. Plutôt que de vouloir maximiser coûte que coûte la diversité au sein du système, il s’agit avant tout de rechercher une cohérence d’ensemble que les éleveurs puissent gérer. Nous discutons enfin des freins au déploiement des fermes de polyélevage, liés à un système socioéconomique construit pour bénéficier des économies d’échelle offertes par la spécialisation. Pour dépasser ces freins, nous proposons des leviers en amont (innover pour des équipements et infrastructures polyvalentes), à l’aval (réorganiser la logique de collecte), et autour des exploitations d’élevage (revisiter la formation et le conseil) qui doivent être pensés de manière couplée.

Séance : Génétique; International audience; The economic importance of genetically improving feed efficiency has been recognized in dairy production. Feed efficiency is a genetically complex trait that can be described as units of product output (e.g., milk yield) per unit of feed input. Previous work showed that feed efficiency is heritable in many species. This study aimed to investigate the heritability for Residual Energy Intake in two breeds of dairy goats (Alpine and Saanen) under commercial conditions. Heritabilities were moderate for both breeds (0.18 ± 0.08 in Alpine and 0.20 ± 0.07 in Saanen).; L'importance économique de l'amélioration génétique de l'efficience alimentaire est reconnue en production laitière. L'efficience alimentaire est un trait génétiquement complexe qui peut être décrit comme le rapport entre production (le rendement laitier, par exemple) et les ressources destinées à cette production (alimentation). Des travaux antérieurs ont montré que l'efficacité alimentaire était héréditaire chez de nombreuses espèces. Cette étude vise à étudier l'héritabilité de l’énergie résiduelle ingérée (REI) chez deux races de chèvres laitières (Alpine et Saanen) élevées en fermes commerciales. Les héritabilités sont modérées pour les deux races (0,18 ± 0,08 en Alpine et 0,20 ± 0,07 en Saanen).

Séance : Alimentation; International audience; The objective of this study conducted on two experimental dairy sheep flocks and eight commercial farms was to evaluate the use of two blood metabolites, beta-hydroxy-butyrate (BHB) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), to assess energy balance and body reserve mobilization in dairy sheep. The kinetics of blood BHB during the day confirm that the composition of the ration and the postprandial delay are major factors of variation. Finally, assays from whole blood, serum, or heparinized or EDTA plasma differed slightly. These results emphasize the need for caution in the use of BHB and NEFA values in the exploration of metabolic disorders in dairy sheep. On 9 farms, body condition scoring (BCS) was performed on 3 occasions (one month before farrowing, during lactation and after weaning at the time of the first official milk recording) for a total of 2125 ewes. In parallel, blood BHB and NEFA concentrations were measured during lactation and at the first milk check on 466 ewes in 2nd lactation in these flocks. While plasma NEFA values were found to be positively correlated with the extent of BCS loss since late gestation, no significant relationship could be demonstrated for blood BHB.; Cette étude menée sur deux troupeaux ovin lait de stations expérimentales et dans huit fermes commerciales avait pour objectif d’évaluer l’utilisation de deux métabolites sanguins, le béta-hydroxy-butyrate (BHB) et les Acides Gras Non Estérifiés (AGNE) pour explorer le statut énergétique et la mobilisation des réserves corporelles en élevage de brebis laitières. La cinétique du BHB sanguin au cours de la journée confirme que la composition de la ration et le délai post-prandial sont des facteurs majeurs de variation. Enfin, les dosages réalisés à partir du sang total, du sérum ou du plasma hépariné ou EDTA diffèrent légèrement. Ces résultats soulignent la nécessité de prudence dans l’utilisation des valeurs de BHB et des AGNE dans l’exploration des troubles métaboliques chez la brebis laitière. Dans 9 élevages, des notes d’état corporel (NEC) ont été réalisées à 3 reprises (un mois avant la misebas, durant l’allaitement et après sevrage au moment du 1er contrôle laitier officiel) pour un total de 2 125 brebis. En parallèle, les concentrations de BHB et des AGNE sanguins ont été mesurées en allaitement et au 1er contrôle sur 466 brebis en 2e lactation dans ces troupeaux. Alors que les valeurs d’AGNE plasmatiques sont apparues positivement corrélées à l’ampleur de la perte de NEC depuis la fin de gestation, aucune relation significative n’a pu être mise en évidence pour le BHB sanguin.

Séance : Système d’élevage; International audience

Breed differences and nonadditive genetic effects for milk production traits, somatic cell score (SCS), conception rate (CR), and days to first service (DFS) were estimated for Holstein × Montbéliarde and Holstein × Normande crossbreds, using an animal model adapted from the French genetic evaluation and extended to across-breed analysis. Inbreeding and breed differences were estimated from all purebred recorded cows. Only records from 1,137 herds with Holstein × Montbéliarde crossbred cows and from 1,033 herds with Holstein × Normande crossbred cows were used to estimate crossbreeding parameters. In these herds, crossbred cows represented about 13% of the total number of recorded animals compared with

The key role of permanent grasslands for the conservation of biodiversity, and more generally for the preservation of environment quality, is clearly established. However, the total area covered by grassland is reg- ularly declining in most EU countries. A way to stop the decline of their surfaces is to underline the economic potential of grasslands for breeders and their value. In this perspective, we studied the links between forage services and biodiversity through the survey of a network of 47 permanent grasslands from Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura and Vosges. Grasslands were followed during 2 years (2009-10) considering the seasonal dynam- ic of forage characteristics and botanical and functional composition. Forage services of grasslands were esti- mated measuring production and quality (digestibility, crude protein content), and biodiversity by indicators of botanical diversity (species richness, percentage of entomophilous species, number of oligotrophic species, botanical families). We showed a strong link between quality of permanent grasslands and biodiversity. The pro- ductive grasslands presented a lesser interest for biodiversity. We also showed that permanent grasslands could provide simultaneously biodiversity and forage services or only forage services or biodiversity.; Le rôle des prairies permanentes dans la conservation de la biodiversité, et plus généralement dans la préservation de la qualité environnementale est maintenant bien établi. Cependant, leur surface totale dimi- nue régulièrement dans de nombreux pays européens. Une alternative pour stopper ce déclin est de souligner l’intérêt économique de ces surfaces dans le système fourrager et leur valeur. Dans cette perspective, nous avons étudié les liens entre les services fourragers et la biodiversité à travers l’étude d’un réseau de 47 par- celles de prairies permanentes des Pyrénées, du Massif Central, du Jura et des Vosges. Ces surfaces ont été suivies durant deux années (2009-10) en prenant en compte leur dynamique fourragère saisonnière et leur composition botanique et fonctionnelle. Les services fourragers des prairies ont été estimés à travers la mesu- re la production et de la qualité de celles-ci (digestibilité et teneur en matières azotés), et la biodiversité par des indicateurs de diversité botanique (richesse spécifique, pourcentage d’espèces entomogames, nombre d’es- pèces oligotrophes, familles botaniques). Nous avons réalisé une ACP sur les indicateurs de biodiversité. Nous avons montré un lien important entre la qualité des prairies permanentes et la biodiversité. Les prairies pro- ductives présentent un intérêt moindre pour la biodiversité. Nous avons également montré que ces surfaces pouvaient rendre simultanément des services fourragers et présenter un intérêt en termes de biodiversité.

For a farmer, the work is both a factor of economic production, a series of tasks to organize and an activity thatbuilds personal and professional identity. The Casdar project "Organization, labor productivity and sense of art ininnovative farming" addresses these three components together.Analysis of data from over fifty farms, chosen to illustrate a variety of size and composition of the group ofpermanent workforce, highlights contrasting between these three dimensions work balance. Situations characterizeconceptions of art, and work (to experiment, to manage, ...), visions of the social role of their business (produce,enroll in a territory ...), joints between private time (vacations, non-operating activity) and professional (autonomy,delegation) different. These ways of life work strongly influences the decisions and conduct of operations.Research programs on change processes and actions of technical and economic advice for adapting farms toeconomic and societal changes would benefit from better integrated., RESUME Pour un éleveur, le travail est à la fois un facteur de production économique, une succession de tâches et de chantiers à organiser ainsi qu'une activité qui construit son identité personnelle et professionnelle. Le projet Casdar "Organisation, productivité du travail et sens du métier dans des élevages innovants" aborde conjointement ces trois volets. L'analyse des données de plus de cinquante élevages, choisis pour illustrer une diversité de taille et de composition du collectif de main-d'oeuvre permanente, met en évidence des équilibres contrastés entre ces trois dimensions travail. Les situations types caractérisent des conceptions du métier (chef d'entreprise, animalier…), et du travail (expérimenter, gérer,…), des visions du rôle social de leur activité (produire, s'inscrire dans un territoire…), des articulations entre temps privé (congés, activité hors exploitation) et professionnel (autonomie, délégation) différentes. Ces façons de vivre le travail influent fortement sur les décisions et la conduite des exploitations. Les programmes de recherche sur les processus de changement et les actions de conseil technico-économique pour l'adaptation des élevages aux fluctuations économiques et sociétales tireraient avantage à mieux les intégrer.

Ce numéro d’Innovations Agronomiques correspond à la synthèse des différents projets Casdar «Innovation et Partenariat» et « Recherche Finalisée et Innovation » retenus en 2009.; International audience; Lengthening periods of grazing during wintertime might be an interesting alternative to cut down the production costs and secure the forage system. Focused on sheep production, the project was designed to clarify zootechnical effects of different winter grazing items on ewes, including production and welfare issues, with two genetic types i.e. Mouton Vendéen and Romane breed. Regarding cattle, the objective was to assess the value of associating an Out Wintering Pad (OWP) to grazing during wintertime in order to preserve grasslands facing the risk of degradation by poaching. Specific observations on the quantitative and qualitative changes of different grass species completed these devices. In addition to this experimental set, a set of exploratory surveys was associated regarding changes in farming practices carried out recently or expected to be planned. These studies confirmed the possibility of driving cattle or sheep outdoors and grazing without detrimental effects on production, including animals with rather high requirements such as ewes in late pregnancy. It is observed that the animals are able to lower the grazing height, and nevertheless grass intake still remains a significant part of the diet of cattle, and up to the total in the case of sheep. With cattle, given a possibly high risk of detrimental impact on the pasture, the opportunity of having an exit area easily accessible appears to be of high interest. However OWP investment cost is about 80% the charge of a standard barn, leachate collection device included. In the case of accumulated litter systems, with rather low straw consumption, these facilities do not require manure storage areas. Up to now the innovations which have been implemented at the farm level have barely tackled grazing practices. However more than half the sheep producers are claiming for grassland management, their expectations being mostly focussed on genetics and choices of species. These issues point out how much it is necessary to have a convincing argument demonstrating the grasslands abilities to tackle the upcoming challenges.; L’allongement des périodes de pâturage des troupeaux allaitants en phase hivernale est aujourd’hui une alternative pour maitriser les coûts de production et sécuriser le système fourrager. Ce projet avait pour objet, dans le cas des ovins allaitants, de préciser les effets sur les performances zootechniques et le bien-être animal de quelques pratiques de gestion du pâturage hivernal. Deux types génétiques très différents, le « Mouton Vendéen » et la « Romane », qualifiées respectivement d’herbagère et de prolifique ont été utilisés. Dans le cas des bovins, l’objectif était d’évaluer l’intérêt de disposer d’un parc stabilisé d’hivernage (PSH) pour allonger le pâturage tout en ayant le souci de préserver les prairies face au risque de dégradation par le piétinement. Un travail spécifique sur l’évolution quantitative et qualitative en hiver de différents couverts prairiaux complétait ces dispositifs. A ces travaux expérimentaux était associé un travail d’exploration par enquêtes auprès d’éleveurs et de techniciens des évolutions innovantes des pratiques d’élevage réalisées et envisagées. Ces travaux confirment la possibilité de conduire des bovins ou des ovins, en situation de plein air et de pâturage, sans pénaliser les performances, y compris avec des animaux présentant des besoins alimentaires élevés (brebis en fin de gestation). On constate que les animaux sont en capacité de pâturer bas et l’herbe ingérée peut représenter une part significative de la ration des bovins voire la totalité dans le cas des ovins. La possibilité de disposer d’une zone de repli facilement accessible comme le PSH dans le cas des bovins apparait particulièrement intéressante sachant que cette installation représente de l’ordre de 80 % du coût d’une place en bâtiment, en incluant un dispositif de récupération des lixiviats dont il semble qu’on ne puisse s’en dispenser. Par contre s’agissant de litière accumulée, avec des consommations de paillemodestes, ces installations ne nécessitent pas d’aire de stockage des fumiers. Si les innovations mises en place dans les élevages ont jusqu’ici peu concerné les pratiques de pâturage, plus de la moitié des éleveurs ovins expriment des attentes sur la gestion des surfaces mais en citant plutôt des argumentaire solide sur les potentialités de la prairie à répondre aux enjeux de demain.

International audience; L’enseignement supérieur agricole, en formant les futurs acteurs de l’élevage, est une cible privilégiée pour améliorer la prise en compte de la dimension sociale dans le développement durable des élevages, pilier qui est moins documenté que ceux de l’environnement et de l’économie mais incontournable à l’heure actuelle. Quelle prise en compte de cette dimension par les enseignants de ces établissements ? Entretiens auprès de 20 enseignants d’écoles d’ingénieurs agronomes et 18 enseignants de BTS agricoles

National audience

International audience; In a context of increasing societal concerns around animal production, consumers asks for products coming from grazing dairy systems and. The segmentation of collection rounds to offer milk specifically from these systems results in higher seasonal variability in milk composition that needs to be better understood. Our objective was to characterize the monthly variation of milk and plasma mineral composition and heat stability, in a factorial arrangement of two breeds of cow and three grazing systems. The experiment involved 48 cows, half Holstein-Friesian (HF) and half F1 Jersey Holstein-Friesian crossbred (JFX) at Teagasc Moorepark. The grazing systems were based on either a monoculture of perennial ryegrass, or a perennial ryegrass and white clover sward, or a multispecies pasture. Milk, blood and pasture were sampled monthly between April and June 2021. Milk heat stability increased constantly between April and June and was unaffected by either the breed or the grazing system. Milk Ca, P, Zn and citrate contents were higher with JFX compared with HF, whereas that of Cl was lower. Milk soluble Ca and P contents were unaffected by the breed. Milk contents of a large part of elements (Ca, P, Mg, K, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn), except Na and Cl, varied strongly according to the month and differently according to the considered element in interaction with the grazing system. No dominant parameters, among those prone to affect milk heat stability, could be clearly related to milk stability results. Plasma contents of all mineral elements, except Fe, strongly increased between April and June, in interaction with the grazing system for inorganic P, Mg and Zn. An important part of this variability could be related to herbage mineral content although plasma mineral contents were not clearly related to milk mineral contents. Funding by SmartCow project (H2020 N°730924) is acknowledged.

International audience

International audience; Environmental issues are now at the heart of the debates concerning the evolution of dairy production systems. The challenge of the next few years lies in supplying dairy products while insuring social, economic and environmental performances, to improve sustainability of production systems. Regarding the environment, particular attention must be paid to limiting the risks of pollution towards water, air and the conservation of biodiversity. The French ruminant breeding system, widely based on grasslands, presents a real asset due to the link to the soil and from the large part of forage in the herd's diet. The environmental efficiency, which is not directly connected to the structural characteristics, occurs in particular by the optimization of carbon and nitrogen recycling within the production systems. While the variability of the environmental burdens between farms of different systems (plain vs mountain) is low, a strong variability is observed between farms of the same system. This demonstrates that the practices, which are efficient in terms of optimising animal management and low energy consumption..., have positive environmental and economic impacts. Therefore, a significant part of the French ruminant farms should be considered as having high environmental and economic performance without disrupting the current production systems. Finally dairy farming, which acts to reduce the carbon and nitrogen losses to the air and water, promotes carbon storage and biodiversity. Beyond the production of milk and meat, dairy farming therefore plays a major role in the preservation of the environment.

S’intéresser au travail des éleveurs et à la vivabilité des exploitations devient primordial dans le contexte actuel d’interrogations fortes sur le renouvellement des éleveurs. Dans cette étude, nous qualifions l’organisation du travail de 630 exploitations réparties dans huit filières animales (bovin laitier et à viande, ovin laitier et à viande, caprin laitier et fromager, porc et volaille), spécialisées ou mixtes. Nous utilisons la méthode Bilan Travail qui quantifie par catégorie de main-d’oeuvre, les temps de travaux relatifs à la conduite des troupeaux et des surfaces et évalue une marge de manoeuvre en temps des exploitants. Chaque filière a ses spécificités renvoyant à des modèles techniques mais aussi socioculturels différents. Des proximités inattendues dans les leviers d’organisation mobilisés ont été mises en évidence entre filières herbivores et monogastriques. L’évaluation de la marge de manoeuvre en temps montre que pour 30% des exploitations enquêtées, la vivabilité est questionnée. La description de la diversité des logiques d’organisation montre qu’il y a plusieurs façons de se libérer de l’astreinte et de se ménager du temps libre. Les quatre logiques d’organisation identifiées, associées à des marges de manoeuvre en temps différentes, correspondent à des équilibres particuliers entre choix d'une production, la combinaison éventuelle avec d'autres ateliers, la dimension de l’exploitation et la configuration du collectif de travail. Mobilisés dans l’accompagnement des éleveurs pour résoudre leurs problèmes de travail, ces résultats donnent des clés pour mieux appréhender la situation de chaque exploitation, améliorer l’évaluation des marges de progrès et la pertinence des solutions envisagées., Qualifying the liveability of livestock farms from the work point of view is becoming an important issue in the present context of serious questioning regarding the replacement of livestock farmers. We analysed the diversity of work organisation on 630 French livestock farms from varied production sectors (herbivore and monogastric), being either specialized or mixed. We used the Work Assessment method, which quantifies the work duration and evaluates room for manoeuvre time for farmers. Every production sector has its specificities linked to different technical but also socio-cultural models. Some proximity has been founded between herbivore and monogastric sectors. The evaluation of the room for manoeuvre showed that for 30% of the farms surveyed, liveability is questioned. By describing the diversity of logic of work organisation, we showed that there are different ways to decrease the routine workload and get some available time. We identified four logics of work organisation leading to contrasted room for manoeuvre, which result from complex interactions between dimension and combination of activities, and collective workforce configuration. We discuss the contributions of such results for extension and development.

La détection des chaleurs est une étape clé de la mise à la reproduction dans les troupeaux pratiquant l'insémination animale (IA). La qualité de la détection est difficile à évaluer rendant délicat le conseil dans ce domaine. "DetŒstrus" est une nouvelle méthode de diagnostic et de conseil centrée sur la détection des chaleurs et utilisable par les conseillers dans les troupeaux bovins où l'IA est pratiquée. L'objectif de ce document est de présenter cette méthode et sa première évaluation sur le terrain. Cette méthode est innovante dans la mesure où elle permet de distinguer les problèmes liés à la vache (défaut de cyclicité post-partum, de niveau d'expression des chaleurs) de ceux liés aux pratiques de l'éleveur (défaut de sensibilité, de spécificité de la détection), et ainsi de proposer des solutions ciblées et adaptées aux contraintes et objectifs de l'éleveur. La méthode se présente sous la forme d'un document Excel® organisé en fiches qui servent de support lors de l'audit et se décline en deux versions (laitière et allaitante). La version laitière comprend une estimation de la sensibilité et de la spécificité de la détection grâce à des équations de prédiction utilisant des données facilement accessibles en exploitation et prenant en compte le niveau d'expression des chaleurs des vaches. La version allaitante comprend un simulateur permettant d'estimer la reprise de cyclicité post-partum dans le troupeau, et donc de planifier la surveillance des chaleurs pour une utilisation facilitée de l'IA. Un premier test en exploitation de la méthode montre que 89% des conseillers (40/45) et la totalité des éleveurs (24/24) ont jugé l'audit satisfaisant. 91% des éleveurs (21/23) se sentent "mieux armés" sur la détection des chaleurs après l'audit. La durée totale de l'audit (préparation et intervention) a été de 3h ± 1h en troupeaux laitiers et 2h10 ± 42min en troupeaux allaitants. Les retours de l'essai ont permis d'optimiser la méthode prochainement disponible en téléchargement gratuit sur le site de l'Institut de l'Elevage.