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This research introduces an innovative platform designed to manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in mixed farms. Emphasizing the urgent need to address GHG emissions, particularly methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), the platform targets mixed farming systems where the interplay of livestock and crop production significantly contributes to environmental impacts. Our methodology is grounded in comprehensive data collection, encompassing soil data, energy consumption, and detailed livestock information. Utilizing the Agricultural Internet of Things (AIoT), it facilitates real-time data acquisition and analysis, providing insights into various farm activities' GHG emissions. This approach allows for precise monitoring and management of emissions from different sources, including enteric fermentation in livestock and fertilizer use in crop production. Results from the application show its effectiveness in offering a clear and interactive visualization of GHG emissions, aiding farmers in making informed decisions for sustainable farm management. The platform's user management system, coupled with advanced data processing and visualization capabilities, underscores its potential as a vital tool for sustainable farming. Conclusively, Solution4Farming represents a significant advancement in digital agriculture, combining IoT technology with sustainable practices. Though initially designed for Romanian cattle farming, Solution4Farming's anticipated expansion to various farming environments suggests a broader impact and relevance in sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present socio-economic context and environmental sustainability trend it is a high accent on milk production related with increased milk yield per cow. This study aims to explore the influence of milking technology for Holstein dairy cows on "milk" productivity and quality, at the farm level. Over three consecutive years, the dynamics of milk quantity and its quality parameters (% fat, % protein, somatic cells count, % dry matter) were followed. The values of these parameters changed as a result of the increase of milkings frequency per day, from two in the first year of study, to three milkings per day in the following years. The results were statistically analyzed, from the point of view of significance, using the Fisher and Student tests. The comparative analysis of the 3 years of production shows that milk production had a positive evolution, both in terms of quantity and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce problems linked to mineral deficiency during broilers production, as well as to improve digestive capacity of nutrients, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of pecking stone on broilers production. The study was conducted from October 2022 to February 2023 on 207 chicks of COBB 500 strain. The chicks were divided from the first day into three (3) batches of 69 birds and each batch was split into 3 sub-batches serving as repetitions. A batch T used as a control did not receive any mineral block, while, batch A and B were respectively supplemented with pecking stones A (peck A) and B (peck A). The results obtained showed that the feed conversion ratio of the animals fed the diet supplemented with pecking stones decreased significantly (2.73 and 2.70 for the Peck A and Peck B batches respectively) compared with the control batch (2.97). Body weight gain carcass weight and the feed cost of producing one kilogram of body weight of chicken was significantly (p<0.05) ameliorated with the use of pecking stones. In general, the feed supplement based on pecking stones improved the zootechnical and biochemical parameters of the chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major challenges of animal husbandry, in addition to those related to the economic situation and the current energy crisis, is the major contribution of this sector to atmospheric pollution. Awareness of pollution sources and their permanent monitoring in order to ensure efficient management of the farm, with the aim of reducing emissions, is a mandatory issue, both at the macro level of the economic sector and at the micro level, specifically at the level of each individual farm. In this context, the acquisition of consistent environmental data from the level of each farm will constitute a beneficial action both for the decision-making system of the farm and for the elaboration or adjustment of strategies at the national level. The current paper proposes a case study of air pollutants in a cattle farm for different seasons (winter and summer) and the correlation between their variation and microclimate parameters. A further comparison is made between values estimated using the EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme, 2019) methodology for air pollutant emission and values measured by sensors in a hybrid decision support platform for farms. Results show that interactions between microclimate and pollutant emissions exist and they can provide a model for the farm's activities that the farmer can manage according to the results of the measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the efficient and sustainable use of water in recirculating aquaculture systems, in order to improve water quality, zeolite filters have been used by retaining ammonia. The efficiency of the filters was tested in systems with volumes of 220 liters of water, populated with batches of 36 carp seedlings (Cyprinus carpio) in summer I. Horizontal filters with zeolite bed and composite filters, obtained from a granular mixture of silicate glass and zeolite, were used when filtering the water. For the determination of ammoniacal nitrogen, the continuous concentration criterion (CCC) and the maximum concentration criterion (CMC) were used. After 24 and 48 hours of water filtration using clinoptilolite filters, it was found that the maximum permissible values of ammonia in the water were not exceeded. Ammonia is absorbed in relatively large quantity, zeolite improves the filtration yield, which recommends the use of these types of filters in controlled recirculating systems in aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fodder for captive-bred trout contains ingredients such as fish oil, fishmeal, blood meal, peas, soybeans, wheat, oats, rapeseed, animal protein. The quality of the ingredients is the basis of healthy, mineralizing, protein and vitaminizing feeds. Excessive use of fishmeal in the market puts pressure on the fisheries sector, which is struggling to meet demand. Algae, crustaceans, aquatic plants, insects and seeds are ingredients that could replace fishmeal by helping the fishing industry as well as sustainability of the aquatic environment. In the process of feeding trout with new, experimental feed, research has highlighted the importance of several factors for the development and growth of fish. The level of protein in the feed directly affects the body weight of the trout and the replacement of fishmeal and fish oil with other types of flour and oils can lead to a change in the taste of trout meat. Feeding and control can be of particular importance in reducing losses and increasing environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactoferrin (LF) is a protein contained in raw milk. It was found that the highest content of lactoferrin is found in human milk, but the milk of other species also contains this protein (cow, goat, buffalo, sow, mare, mouse). Lactoferrin may improve the immune system or provide an iron supplement. It has the task of transporting iron, appreciated for the first time as a mediator of iron absorption. Potential applications of lactoferrin have prompted scientists to develop this nutraceutical protein for use in animal feed, human food and pharmaceutical applications. It is known that there are currently concerns in the world about obtaining a higher amount of lactoferrin from the milk of different animal species. This paper is a review that aims to highlight the biologically active role of lactoferrin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fatty acids in milk from various species of domestic animals have many important benefits for the human body. The physical chemical characteristics of milk are influenced by many factors: animal nutrition, lactation period, storage conditions and treatments to which it has been subjected. Milk fat is directly determined by the characteristics and the different proportion of fatty acids in its composition. The fat contains over 70 different fatty acids, which sets it apart from all other animal fats. Fats are of vegetable and animal origin, vegetable fats are generally liquid (oils) and animal fats are solid (lard, butter). Fatty acids are of two types saturated and unsaturated. The saturated ones have only simple sigma type bonds (butyric, capronic, caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic acid, etc.). Unsaturated acids contain a pi bond and have longer chains (palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, etc.). It was found that cow's milk has a low fatty acid content of about 2-3%. This paper is a review of the fatty acid content of milk from different species and their importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the current situation when we observe numerous climate changes, manifested by rising air and seawater temperatures, there have been observed also, changes in recent years regarding the biology aspects of some fish species from the Romanian Black Sea coast. Trachurus mediterraneus (Steindachner, 1868) - horse mackerel, having economic importance it is necessary to observe its biology in order to develop an appropriate management required by the changes observed at the population level. This paper presents results on temporal variations of total length and weight, age composition, growth parameters and sex ratio of the Mediterranean horse mackerel from the Romanian Black Sea coast. Data were collected from commercial trap net catch and from pelagic trawl expeditions in the period 2018-2020. Significant differences were observed between the length distribution and the stations, with the specification that in 2020 individuals from classes of smaller lengths predominated compared to previous years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the work is to carry out a bibliographic study on the biological value of milk from different animal species (cow, buffalo, goat, sheep, donkey). The quality of the milk and its composition varies depending on the breed, diet, feeding practices, management system, lactation stage and animal health. Milk and products obtained from it contain most of the nutrients needed by the human body, with a high biological value. Studies have shown that the milk with the highest fat content is sheep’s milk, followed by buffalo milk, cow’s milk, goat’s milk and donkey’s milk. In addition to the genetic variation between animal breeds, feeding fodder with a fat and fiber content can lead to an increase in the fat content of milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations has been performed on biological material inside teaching waterfowl farm of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest during December 2019 - June 2020 and results are compared with those recorded in year 2001 for groups of 60 birds of races Peking, Campbell khaki and Indian Runner. During this period there were monitored and analyzed the following breeding and production parameters: body weight, egg production, egg weight, fertility, hatchability, egg weight and day-old body weight. Peking Duck had an average body weight of 2358 g for females and 2696 g for males and an egg production of 120.42 eggs/bird and an egg weight of 77,62 g and a fertility of 87.34 % and a hatchability of 54.52% and a day-old body weight of 44.04 g. Campbell khaki Duck had an average body weight of 1683 g for females and 1954 g for males and an egg production of 189.77 eggs/bird and an egg weight of 68.37 g (significantly lower compared to 2001) and a fertility of 89.61% and a hatchability of 58.42 (significantly higher) and a day-old body weight of 35.05 g (significantly lower). Indian Runner Duck had an average body weight of 1791 g for females and 2040 g for males and an egg production of 173.74 eggs/bird and an egg weight of 69.86 g (significantly higher) and a fertility of 83.31% and a hatchability of 51.11% and a day-old body weight of 37.25 g (significantly higher). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to evaluate the correlation between the conformation traits and milk production at Holstein cows in Romania. It is well known the fact that milk production is influenced by many factors like: management, genetics, nutrition, season etc. But this study wants to reveal if the milk production is correlated with the conformation traits and how they influence it. In the study were taken farms from three different areas of Romania, East, South and West, also were analyzed farms of different size (small, medium and big). The animals that took part at the study were at first, second or third lactation. For all the cows were appreciated a number of 22 characters, characters that are separated in five different groups: dairy capacity, dairy character, rump, feet & legs and mammary. All the classified animals were between 20-120 days in lactation. To avoid possible inconclusive conclusion, in the study were compared cows from same area, farm dimension and number of lactation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has described breeding and production performances of three Muscovy duck lines (spotted, white and black) during December 2019-June 2020 which has been raise on the teaching waterfowl farm Moara Domnească of the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest and results are compared with those recorded in year 2001. Each line group has been of 55 birds in size. There were monitored weekly, monthly and for whole laying cycle the following parameters: body weight, egg production, egg weight, fertility, hatchability, egg weight and day-old body weight. Spotted line had an average body weight of 2427 g for females and 4566 g for males an egg production of 59.42 eggs/bird and an egg weight of 78.21 g and a fertility of 88.48% and a hatchability of 39.79% and a day-old body weight of 47.10 g. White line had an average body weight of 2580 g for females and 4450 g for males and an egg production of 72.06 eggs/bird and an egg weight of 76.56 g and a fertility of 86.00% with a significantly lower hatchability (35.80%) and a day-old body weight of 48.32 g. Black line had an average body weight of 2262 g for females and 4750 g for males and an egg production of 52.45 eggs/bird and an egg weight of 84.72 g and a fertility of 90.24% with a significantly higher hatchability (40.90%) and a day-old body weight of 49.92 g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers need to manage better the increasing demand of food by scaling their services according to the required capacity and through the use of IT products and services. The process needs to be efficient and sustainable in order to perform safely. Lean, Agile and DevOps are leading workflow models and concepts which can be included in the process to improve the time and quality of product delivery. Agile optimizes the development of software. DevOps combines development with operations, while shortening the life cycle of software development and improves its quality. Lean enhances focus and optimizes the value stream by identifying automation opportunities and collaboration. The article presents the purpose, methodology and goals for supply chain management in farms. Farmers start from ideas and they apply practices and principles until they get the value out of the supply chain. The Lean principles are the basis of the product development flow. The practices start from finding and validating ideas for the Lean product and how it fits in the market. DevOps incorporates many lean principles and focuses on the enhancement of the collaboration between the employees who are responsible for software development and operations. Software development is based on Agile and it has the Scrum and Kanban methodologies for processes, while engineering is based on extreme programming. Methodologies in the farm supply chain management can be considered to be diagnosis instruments that allow evaluation. Farms identify and implement activities which aim to augment the benefits gained through the use of software and methodologies. Additionally, these principles can be used by academics and practitioners in complementary domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pheasant is a widespread bird in most European countries, especially raised to be hunted. The pheasant can be raised in captivity and released before hunting. Nutritionists recommend an increased consumption of pheasant meat due to its nutritional qualities. This meat contains small amounts of fat; it is rich in vitamins, minerals, calcium and has a low percentage of cholesterol and carbohydrates. The pheasant meat also contains B vitamins, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, phosphorus. It is a good aliment for people who suffer from thyroid disease, due to the large amount of iodine. It is considered that the pheasant reaches culinary maturity at the age of 6 months, at this age reaching a weight of 1.5 kg. According to studies, the slaughter yield of pheasants is 60.9% to 67.7%. Regarding body sizes, in the case of wild pheasant, the size of chest was bigger compared with the thighs. In terms of meat quality, depending on rearing conditions, were reported slightly higher values for the amount of fat in meat in farmed pheasants compared to those in the wild. Compared to broilers, the amount of protein in the dry matter of meat extracted from the breast was much higher, as it follows: 5.16% in females and 9.95% in males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of "precision livestock farming" represents the optimization of the contribution of each animal to the integrated economy of the farm. During more than three decades of applied research, precision zootechnics has gone through several stages, namely from process automation, developed to reduce human labor, to focusing attention on monitoring animal needs (health, well-being). All information collected at the farm level has the role of supporting the farmer in making optimal and fast decisions, in accordance with the animal's condition and the efficiency of the farm. Sensor technologies are being used to monitor the production and physiological condition of the animals, thereby contributing to animal welfare, animal health and food safety. Farm management is assisted by sensor systems collecting information about milk production, reproduction and animal health status. Increasingly, these innovations are leading to a more efficient performance of dairy farms, in terms of both physiology and profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of former research concerning the development of inbred lines in native silkworms breeds, established the technologic formation procedures and pointed out reduced values of inbreeding depression in the productive characteristics. The object of the present research aims are the identification and selection of the most productive inbred lines based on crossing with tester constant lines, namely the research of general combining capacity; establishing specific combining capacity by direct and reciprocal crossing and estimation of heterosis effect. The results of research emphasize that from those 14 inbreeding lines tested for combining capacity, 7 and 10 maternal lines and 3 paternal lines obtain heterosis results that demonstrate superior possibilities of turning into account the crossbreeding system in silkworms raising. The heterosis effect is obvious important foe shell weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Montbeliarde breed became known in Romania after 2009 when several animals from France were imported. This breed is robust, has easily adapted to the growing conditions in Romania and the milk has a special quality. This study was conducted in the Didactic Farm Moara Domnească on a number of 25 dairy cows during 2017-2018. The quantitative and qualitative parameters of milk production were analyzed, based on records on the farm, as well as periodical analysis reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Same as the whole European poultry industry Romanian poultry industry is facing worldwide competition and so Romanian poultry industry had to produce a product better than in other countries. This prospect depends on several factors, among them being the use of probiotics as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters. That is precisely why this paper is aiming to present the influence of probiotics on the production performance in broilers reared in industrial system. The study was conducted over the course of five consecutive growth series, using the three-phase feeding technology on two experimental batches - batch A that received feed containing probiotics in commercial quantity of 550 grams per ton of feed and batch B that received conventional feed without probiotic. The values obtained at 42 days are demonstrating the beneficial effect of pro-biotic products in all used feed recipes as body weight (2908.20 ± 53.30 g), mortality (1.912 ± 0.01 %) and specific consumption (1596.98 ± 38.98 g/kg) are better in batch A which is why probiotics can be used successfully to enhance production performances of industrial produced broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on various avian species has shown that supplementation of diets with various mineral elements can have favourable effects on production indices, production quality and bird health. In particular, chromium has proven to be an essential mineral, active biologically as a component of glucose tolerance factor, which enhances tissue sensitivity to insulin and glucose utilization. Clinical trials conducted in human patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes along with studies on production animals have led to the conclusion that chromium is beneficial to animals and people undergoing physical or metabolic stress. A brief analysis of chromium supplementation of avian species feed revealed more results of chromium supplementation in broiler nutrition compared to laying hens, which is why the present review was conducted to evaluate the results of using different chromium sources in laying hens. Summarizing the information from the scientific literature on the use of chromium in laying hens nutrition can highlight whether this nutritional strategy is useful or not for laying hens farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, the global aquaculture was 46.82%of total fish production, which means 80 million tonnes of 170.9 million tonnes. Latest researches highlighted that using the natural zeolites in aquaculture in order to maximize the use of resources (water, food, species) and to ensure the lowest negative impact on the environmentwas the most viable solution. The studies on zeolites use, clinoptilolitein particular, were focused on their use as feed additives (up to 2.5% concentration) and also as water quality improvers; this is mainly due to their ability to remove ammonia, its compounds and heavy metals, to reduce water hardness and to consequently prevent diseases and decrease the losses on fish population. A practical and efficient use of natural zeolites in aquaculture will determine increased economic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practicing of mating the individuals with a certain kinship degree leads to ostaining of inbreed lines through which crossing are ostained descendants characterized by performances superior to parental populations average. Using the inbreed lines in the hybridization process has as final result the obtaining of commercial hybrids. This is easily achievedin silkworms, species characterized by a short interval between generations and by high prolificity. Thirty silkworm inbreed lines were studied during six generations and the effect of the inbreeding on some physiological characteristics. The prolificity ranged between 632-494 eggs/layinginside the White Baneasa lines and 748-522 eggs/layingin Baneasa 75 lines. The number of eggs/layingwas lower at I6whit 10.39% in Baneasa 75 lines and 11.41% in White Baneasa lines by comparision with I0. Hatching percentage was affected by inbreeding depression beginning with I3 in both lines groups. This was lower with 6.10-15.66 percentages in White Baneasa lines and 6.80-15.90 percentages in Baneasa 75. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to carry out an external analysis of Romania's proposal to regulate the regulatory framework in the field of milk production and processing, to establish the way of marketing of dairy products, to increase consumer confidence in domestic dairy products, to eliminate falsified products from the market dairy products, to facilitate the identification of authentic products by consumers and, last but not least, to the increase in milk production due to all the measures mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of dietary natural zeolites in dairy cows diets increased recently, with the purpose of improving animal performance, health state, milk quality and to alleviate the adverse environmental effects. The purpose of our work was to study the effects of the dietary volcanic tuff given to dairy cows, on the feeding quality of the milk. The 100 days feeding trial used 80 Holstein Friesian dairy cows, with an average body weight of 545 kg, assigned to four groups (C, E1, E2, E3). The basal diet (C) was a single mixture of corn silage, alfalfa hay, corn, triticale, soybean meal and brewer's grains. The experimental diets included additionally three levels of volcanic tuff: 200 g/cow/day (E1); 350 g/cow/day (E2) and 500 g/cow/day (E3). Milk samples were collected in the end of the trial and assayed for the main nutrients. The results showed significantly (P<0.05) higher levels of: conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), 0.21% in group E3, compared to 0.14% total FAME in group C; copper, 0.103 mg/kg in group E3, compared to 0.065 mg/kg in group E1; iron, 1.56 mg/kg in group E3 and 1.44 ± 0.23 mg/kg in group E2, compared to 1.08 mg/kg in group C; zinc, 8.26 mg/kg in group E3, 7.64 mg/kg in group E2 and 6.11 mg/kg in group E1, compared to 3.24 mg/kg in group C. The use of up to 500 g volcanic tuff/dairy cow/day improved the feeding quality of the milk due to the significant (P<0.05) increase of CLA and trace elements: copper, iron, manganese, zinc, which are of major importance in human feeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge of fish characters for meat production and the correlations among them presents a major importance. Ineu carp breed can have a significant contribution by providing a high quality protein to Romanian and other consumers also. The increased human population requires a larger production of food and aquaculture production must meet this need. The study was based on the analysis of morphologic characters of descendants of five Ineu carp females. The studied characters were weight, body depth and standard length; each descendent being measured and weighed over a period of three years. The Fisher test was used to check variance homogeneity, and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to verify the interdependence of the three characters. Regarding the homogeneity of the variance, no significant differences were found (P ≥ 0.05). According to the results, the correlation between the weight and the body depth was the highest, namely 0.99; 0.95 between weight and standard length and 0.96 between standard length and body depth. In conclusion, the three production characters are strongly correlated and have a major influence on meat production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last three decades the perceptions of Romanian consumer's food has evolved quickly in response to socioeconomic changes. Because Romania is crossing a transitional phase, both economically and socially, the socio economic status (SES) and the settlement type distribution of population generated particular food consumption patterns. Approximately 45% of Romanian population live in rural areas, most of them being either land owners or growing potential food stuffs around the household. Therefore, the food consumption pattern of the rural population is greatly dependant on the household purchasing power and their own food production capacity. On the other hand, the urban population (approximately 55% of total Romanian population) is strictly dependant on the household purchasing power, which in this case is significantly higher than the rural inhabitants (Gfk, 2016), and on whether they still have relatives living in rural areas and the amount of food they receive from them. The overall aim of this study is to show the factors that may affect consumer's attitude towards quantity and origin of food consumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural and synthetic zeolites are widely used in animal nutrition as performance promoters, and their use also exerts a variety of favourable effects on the prevention or treatment of certain animal diseases in the farm. Natural zeolites provide the necessary macro and trace elements for animals, and stimulate their health and production (Quote Garcia-Lopez et al., 1992; Nikkhah et al., 2001; Sadeghia si Shawrangb, 2008; Dschaak et al., 2010; Deniz Alic Ural, 2014; Panagiotis et al., 2016). Thus the present paper has proposed the characterization of tuff in terms of its nutrient content and the study of the effects of its use in cows feeding on milk quality. Tuff has 90.49g% dry matter, 1.63g% calcium, 0.09g% phosphorus, 1793.18ppm iron. The raw ingredients used in the diets of dairy cows were: a mixture of barley and corn with a content of 87.52g% of dry matter, 9.61g% crude protein, 1.39g% ether extractives; corn cob + beans with 39.21% dry matter, 3.68g% crude protein, 1.36g% ether extractives; corn silage with a content of 28.71 g% dry matter, 1.47 g% crude protein, 0.54 g% ether extractives, and alfalfa hay with 88.87 g% dry matter, 17.23 g% crude protein, 0.92 g% ether extractives. Cow's milk had 13.51g% dry matter, 2.62 g% protein, 0.11g% calcium, 0.08g% phosphorus, 1.63 ppm iron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]