It is important to assess ovulation detection performance in commercial dairy herds both to inves... more It is important to assess ovulation detection performance in commercial dairy herds both to investigate low reproductive performance and to enable herd managers to monitor the effectiveness of their system for detecting ovulations. A method was developed to assess ovulation detection performance that uses limited numbers of strategically collected milk samples, assesses performance over the period when herd managers are making maximal effort to detect ovulations, and when assessing proportions of ovulations detected, accounts for false positive diagnoses of estrus and for cows that have not recommenced postpartum ovulatory cycles. Milk was sampled from cows not diagnosed in estrus early in the breeding program (about d 26 in year-round calving herds and d 22 in seasonal calving herds); milk samples were also collected from cows on the day of insemination. Cows with high milk progesterone concentrations were assumed to have had undetected ovulations and false positive diagnoses of estrus, respectively. The method was successfully implemented in 161 of 167 commercial dairy herds. Positive predictive values (PPV; the proportions of ovulation diagnoses where ovulation was, in fact, imminent) were generally high in both year-round and seasonal calving herds (median values were 0.96 and 0.97, respectively), but 25% of herds had PPV <0.95. Ovulation detection sensitivities (ODS) were low in most year-round calving herds, but many seasonal calving herds had high ODS values; median ODS were 0.73 and 0.94, respectively. However, in 25% of seasonal calving herds, ODS was <0.91. These findings indicate that this method for assessing ovulation detection performance can be successfully implemented in commercial dairy herds with appropriate professional support. The wide range of ODS and the absence of correlation between ODS and PPV suggest that it is possible for managers of many commercial herds in Australia to achieve increased reproductive efficiency through increases in ODS and PPV.
Asian-australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, Mar 1, 2015
The buffalo is an important livestock resource in several countries of South Asia and the Mediter... more The buffalo is an important livestock resource in several countries of South Asia and the Mediterranean regions. However, reproductive efficiency is compromised due to known problems of biological and management origins, such as lack of animal selection and poor nutrition. Under optimal conditions puberty is attained at 15 to 18 months in river buffalo, 21 to 24 months in swamp buffalo and is influenced by genotype, nutrition, management and climate. However, under field conditions these values deteriorate up to a significant extant. To improve reproductive efficiency, several protocols of oestrus and ovulation synchronization have been adopted from their use in commercial cattle production. These protocols yield encouraging pregnancy rates of (30% to 50%), which are comparable to those achieved in buffaloes bred at natural oestrus. The use of sexed semen in buffalo heifers also showed promising pregnancy rates (50%) when compared with conventional non-sexed semen. Assisted reproductive technologies have been transferred and adapted to buffalo but the efficiency of these technologies are low. However, these latest technologies offer the opportunity to accelerate the genetic gain in the buffalo industry after improving the technology and reducing its cost. Most buffaloes are kept under the small holder farming system in developing countries. Hence, future research should focus on simple, adoptable and impact-oriented approaches which identify the factors determining low fertility and oestrus behaviour in this species. Furthermore, role of kisspeptin needs to be explored in buffalo.
Asian-australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, Apr 30, 2009
Feeding cows to support the protein, energy, vitamin and mineral requirements of the growing conc... more Feeding cows to support the protein, energy, vitamin and mineral requirements of the growing conceptus is now recognised as just one factor that influences the life-long
Norway has vast rangeland resources (292,361 km 2 ) with an estimated carrying capacity of nearly... more Norway has vast rangeland resources (292,361 km 2 ) with an estimated carrying capacity of nearly four million sheep and lambs, twice the current number. However, the intensive production system currently applied has led to more concentrate dependency, resulting in heavier animals in addition to poorer utilization of rangelands and homegrown feed. Intensive feeding systems indirectly influence the sustainability of ecosystems by promoting intensive cropping that can deplete soil fertility and threaten landscape preservation and biodiversity. By contrast, extensive grazing systems can produce environmentally and animal-friendly food products and contribute to regulating soil health, water and nutrient cycling, soil carbon sequestration, and recreational environments. In this paper, the economics of current sheep feeding practices in Norway, using a linear programming model, were compared with more extensive systems which allow for higher usage of on-farm feed resources. Changes in current sheep farming practices have the potential to increase lamb meat production relative to mutton production, in addition to improving the year-round supply of fresh meat. The investigated alternatives, using the Norwegian White Sheep (NWS) breed, suggest that delayed lambing is useful only on farms with abundant pastures available for autumn feeding. Lambs achieve a better market price than hoggets and mature sheep. Therefore, based on the current Norwegian meat market and price offered per kilogram of meat for lamb, an increase in NWS lamb production improves farm profits. On the other hand, when the aim is on greater use of homegrown feed and rangelands, this can be achieved through hogget production, and the quantity of concentrates required can be reduced substantially.
Food security in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the major issues confronting the continent. Innovat... more Food security in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the major issues confronting the continent. Innovative use of fresh water, the world’s scarcest food production resource, is vital for family-run small-holder agricultural systems, which supply up to 80% of the world’s food. Agriculture employs 70% of Tanzania’s rural population and supplies 95% of the country’s food. The goal was to measure the impact of smart drip irrigation kits on smallholder farmers’ resilience and rural poverty in Tanzania. A household survey was conducted using an exploratory sequential design in four districts (Babati, Hai, Kasulu, and Kilosa) in Tanzania. A total of 383 respondents (Micro-investing (MI) farmers, n = 195; control, n = 187) were randomly selected from a pool of 3444 farmers. Partial budgeting and enterprise economic analysis were used for the calculation of gross margins, and multivariate analysis was used for poverty analysis. Gross margin analysis showed that communities using drip-irrigated veg...
Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) is derived through deacetylation of chitin from crustacean shells.... more Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) is derived through deacetylation of chitin from crustacean shells. Previous studies reported the benefits of COS to gut microbiota, immunity and health of host species. In this study, 120 pregnant composite ewes were subdivided into treatment and control groups in duplicate. COS was supplemented via a loose lick to provide an estimated intake of COS @100–600 mg/d/ewe for five weeks pre-lambing until lamb marking. Body weight was recorded pre-treatment for ewes, and at lamb marking and weaning for both ewes and lambs. Serum immunity markers immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin A (IgA), secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), interleukin (IL)-2, IL10 and faecal sIgA were determined for ewes and lambs at lamb marking and weaning by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We found that COS can be incorporated in sheep feed without compromising palatability. Maternal COS supplementation did not influence the body weight of ewes or la...
Dairying is an important component of Pakistan's mixed crop-livestock farming systems. The na... more Dairying is an important component of Pakistan's mixed crop-livestock farming systems. The national economy engages some 8.8 million small-scale producer households. The country produces more milk than any other except for the United States and India. Yet little is known about small-scale producer microeconomics to inform policy development for improving their welfare. In this paper we aim to identify the whole farm profitability of small agricultural households, with a specific focus on milk production. We compare two contrasting agro-ecological regions within Pakistan's Punjab (irrigated Okara and rain-fed Bhakkar) using results for a single 2008-09 fiscal year of production for 212 farms. Net farm profits, taking long-run opportunity costs of labour and capital into account, showed only 10 per cent of these farms to be profitable in either district, though short-run profits, accounting for cash costs only, showed positive whole farm gross margins for 90 per cent and 80 pe...
Chronic elevation of circulating glucocorticoids in response to persistent stress induces physiol... more Chronic elevation of circulating glucocorticoids in response to persistent stress induces physiological changes that enable the animal to adapt to the adverse environment. In general these changes compromise the production efficiency of animals such as decreased growth rate and immunological function and increased lipogenesis, muscle protein catabolism and formation of wool breaks. The present study reports the efficacy of ACTH conjugated with either ovalbumin (OA) or human serum albumin (HSA) administered with Freunds adjuvants to induce humoral immune responses and suppress cortisol levels either under grazing or feedlot conditions. In experiments 1-4, grazing animals were either disturbed minimally (expt 1) or subjected to the chronic psychosocial stress of irregular disruption of social hierarchy by interchanging animals between flocks (expts 2-4) after weaning at 18kg LW. In expts 5 & 6 animals were maintained on a concentrate ration (16% protein) in a feedlot from 25 kg LW thr...
Journal of Dairy, Veterinary & Animal Research, 2017
This paper describes the forage development through farmer participatory research and enhancing f... more This paper describes the forage development through farmer participatory research and enhancing farm profitability by establishing an innovative informal strategy of developing village-based forage seed enterprises (VBFSEs) of Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) in Pakistan. The involvement of farmers in varietal selection and development is very important in ensuring the forage development and adoption of improved forage varieties in commercial production systems for increasing livestock productivity to enhance smallholder farmer's livelihoods.
The composition of porcine milk oligosaccharides (PMO) was analyzed during early lactation and th... more The composition of porcine milk oligosaccharides (PMO) was analyzed during early lactation and their relation to piglet gut microbiome was investigated. Pigs are considered ideal intestinal models to simulate humans because of the striking similarity in intestinal physiopathology to humans. The evolution of PMO was investigated in the milk from 3 healthy sows at prefarrowing, farrowing, and d 7 and 14 postpartum by Nano-LC Chip Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight mass spectrometer (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA). Previously sequenced metagenome libraries were reanalyzed to examine changes with specific gut bacterial populations. Over 30 oligosaccharides (OS) were identified in the milk, with 3-sialyllactose, lacto-N-tetraose, α1-3,β1-4-d-galactotriose, 2-fucosyllactose, and 6-sialyllactose being the most abundant species (accounting for ~70% of the total OS). Porcine milk had lower OS diversity (number of unique structures) than human milk, and appeared closer to bovine and caprine milk. In agreement with previous studies, only 3 fucosylated OS were identified. Surprisingly, their contribution to total OS abundance was greater than in bovine milk (9 vs. 1%). Indeed, fucosylated PMO increased during lactation, mirroring a similar trend observed for neutral and type I OS content during early lactation. Taken together, these results suggest that, in terms of abundance, PMO are closer to human milk than other domestic species, such as bovine and caprine milks. Metagenomic sequencing revealed that fucose-consuming bacterial taxa in the gut microbiota of piglets were qualitatively but not quantitatively different between nursing and weaning stages, suggesting that both the composition and structure of dietary glycans may play a critical role in shaping the distal gut microbiome. The similarity of both intestinal physiopathology and milk OS composition in human and porcine species suggests similar effects on gastrointestinal development of early nutrition, reinforcing the use of the pig intestinal model to simulate human intestinal models in the clinical setting.
Sialic acids (Sias) are acidic monosaccharides and red meat is a notable dietary source of Sia fo... more Sialic acids (Sias) are acidic monosaccharides and red meat is a notable dietary source of Sia for humans. Among the Sias, N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and 2-keto-3-deoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-2-nonulosonic acid (KDN) play multiple roles in immunity and brain cognition. On the other hand, N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) is a non-human Sia capable of potentiating cancer and inflammation in the human body. However, their expression within the animal kingdom remains unknown. We determined Neu5Ac and KDN in skeletal muscle and organs across a range (n = 9) of species using UHPLC and found that (1) caprine skeletal muscle expressed the highest Neu5Ac (661.82 ± 187.96 µg/g protein) following by sheep, pig, dog, deer, cat, horse, kangaroo and cattle; (2) Among organs, kidney contained the most Neu5Ac (1992–3050 µg/g protein) across species; (3) ~75–98% of total Neu5Ac was conjugated, except for in dog and cat muscle (54–58%); (4) <1% of total Sia was KDN, in which ~60–100% was unco...
Village-based Forage Seed Enterprises: A Sustainable Intervention for Rural Development in the Mixed Farming Systems of Pakistan 1
This paper describes the on-farm profitability and sustainability implications of smallholder dai... more This paper describes the on-farm profitability and sustainability implications of smallholder dairy farmers in Pakistan from an innovative informal strategy of developing village-based forage seed enterprises (VBFSEs) for berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum). The evaluation of agricultural innovations and their impact on whole farm profitability is often very difficult to relate to economic parameters. The agricultural interventions implemented in this study resulted in enhanced crop yields, but the farmers involved did not consider these gains fulfilled their economic rationale. The impact of growing improved varieties of berseem clover using research based technology and developing VBFSEs was validated through on-farm participatory research in the districts of Kasur and Okara, Punjab, Pakistan. The intervention was evaluated on the basis of net income and benefit:cost ratio to the farmers on their investment. The statistical analysis indicated that average net incomes of 512,340 Rs/ha (5,240 US$/ha) was achievable through establishing VBFSE for berseem clover when grown for both green fodder and seed production. The maximum green forage (50.58 t/ha) and seed yields (946 kg/ha) of berseem clover were produced by using improved seed and contemporary agronomic practices compared to 31.76 t/ha and 192 kg/ha, respectively with traditional methods of growing berseem clover. The average net income generated through berseem VBFSEs is eight times greater than for wheat (34,022 Rs/ha), six times more than for oats (45,541), five times more than for canola (56,083), four times more than for conventional berseem clover (67,723), and two times more than the net income from a potato crop (142,737) growing in the region. Thus berseem clover VBFSEs are more profitable than any other cash crop grown in the area, having a benefit to cost ratio of 5.32:1. They are therefore an economically viable agricultural option for smallholder farmers.
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
A field study was conducted on smallholder farmer fields between 2012 to 2014 to evaluate the per... more A field study was conducted on smallholder farmer fields between 2012 to 2014 to evaluate the performance of cv. Agaitti Berseem-2002, against local landraces exchanged between farmers (LBF1) or available from local markets (LBM1). The effects of genotype and harvesting regimen on forage production, quality and seed production were evaluated. Significant differences (P < 0.05) among genotypes and cutting treatments were recorded for forage and seed yields, and forage quality across all research sites in both years. Maximum cumulative fresh forage (89.7 t/ha) and dry matter (DM; 13.4 t/ha) yields were obtained with Agaitti Berseem-2002 when harvesting occurred five times over the season. However, maximum seed yield (1048 kg/ha) with higher 1000-seed weight (3.63 g) were obtained if forage was only harvested three times and the crop then left for seed set. Agaitti Berseem-2002 also produced forage with the higher crude protein content (27%), DM digestibility (69%), digestible organ...
The present study was conducted to determine the pattern of incorporation of dietary EPA and doco... more The present study was conducted to determine the pattern of incorporation of dietary EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) into milk, and to evaluate consequent changes in milk fat composition and sensory characteristics. Fourteen multiparous cows in early lactation were divided into two groups and were offered supplements for 10 d. While individual stalls after each morning milking, one group was offered a mixture of rumen-protected tuna oil (RPTO)–soyabean supplement (2 kg; 30:70, w/w; +RPTO) and the second group was offered the basal ration without RPTO (−RPTO). Both groups grazed together on a spring pasture after supplementation. Feeding supplemental RPTO increased the concentrations of EPA and DHA in milk fat from undetectable levels in −RPTO cows to 6·9 and 10·1 g/kg milk fat respectively. Total n-3 PUFA concentration in milk fat was increased three- to fourfold by tuna-oil supplementation (8·4 to 32·0 g/kg milk fat). There were no significant effects on milk production (35·4 v....
Because the poor growth performance of intensively housed pigs is associated with increased circu... more Because the poor growth performance of intensively housed pigs is associated with increased circulating glucocorticoid concentrations, we investigated the effects of glucocorticoid suppression by inducing a humoral immune response to ACTH on physiological and production variables in growing pigs. Grower pigs (28.6 ± 0.9 kg) were immunized with amino acids 1 through 24 of ACTH conjugated to ovalbumin and suspended in diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) dextran-adjuvant or adjuvant alone (control) on d 1, 28, and 56. The ACTH-specific antibody titers generated suppressed increases in cortisol concentrations on d 63 in response to an acute stressor (P = 0.002; control = 71 ± 8.2 ng/ mL; ACTH-immune = 43 ± 4.9 ng/mL) without altering basal concentrations. Plasma β-endorphin concentra
The process of mammogenesis involves the proliferation of mammary alveoli and their constituent e... more The process of mammogenesis involves the proliferation of mammary alveoli and their constituent epithelial cells which acquire the capacity for the synthesis of milk and its proteins. The lactational potential of a cow is not attained if these mechanisms are not fully functional at the time of peak lactation. We have identified a key period of 30 to 40 days pre-calving during which milk protein gene expression is low but inducible in mammary tissue explants in vitro with the appropriate lactogenic hormones, insulin (I), cortisol (F) and prolactin(P) (Sheehy et al. 1997). The identification of factors that limit gene induction during this period will be of commercial importance to the dairy industry. In this study we have investigated the impact of the stress-related hormone β endorphin (βEp) on the ability of I, F and P to induce β and κ casein gene expression in mammary explants from biopsies collected 30 days pre-calving. Mammary explants (each of 1mg; 20 per well) were floated in...
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