TOOLS TO RETAIN ADDED VALUE IN DAIRY FARMS: THE SOUTH KOREA CASE

South Korea witnessed an increase in the average size of dairy farms over the past decade, probably because of high production costs especially relevant for farms with less than 40 heads. Korean dairy farms have production costs that are 63.9% higher than the international milk price, and the producer support by the Korean government is 2.5 times higher than the average of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Considering a possible reduction of public support, and the increasing market openings, one of the objectives for farmers would be to try retaining on farm a higher added value for their dairy products such as cheese and fermented milk. Out of this perspective, and on the basis of a questionnaire that involved the great part of the farmers that produce cheese, this paper describes three possible tools for the valorization of dairy products: short supply chains and direct marketing, dedicated supply chains with certification and labels and the approach values based supply chains

The Return of Large Carnivores and Extensive Farming Systems: A Review of Stakeholders' Perception at an {EU} Level

Conflicts between large carnivores and human activities undermine both the maintenance of livestock practices as well as the conservation of carnivores across Europe. Because large carnivore management is driven by a common EU policy, the purpose of this research was to assess stakeholders\u2019 perception towards bears and wolves at an EU level. We conducted a systematic search and subsequent analysis of 40 peer-reviewed studies collected from 1990 to September 2020 within Member States of the EU. Rural inhabitants and hunters exhibited the most negative attitude compared to urban inhabitants and conservationists, whose attitude was more positive. We showed that direct experience with predators as a consequence of ongoing re-colonization may have affected the degree of acceptance of certain categories and that the long-term coexistence between humans and carnivores does not necessarily imply increased tolerance. To encourage coexistence, we recommend monitoring changes in attitudes over time relative to carnivore population dynamics

Prah ružmarina kao dodatak prehrani prepelica: učinak na rast, svojstva trupa, sastav krvne plazme, crijevnu mikrofloru i imunost

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feed supplementation with rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) powder (RP) on the performance, carcass traits, blood variables, antibody responses, and gut microbiota of quails. 270 one-day-old male Japanese quails were allotted to 6 dietary treatments with 3 replications (15 birds per pen). The diets contained RP at levels of 0 g/kg of feed (CON), 5 g/kg of feed (T05), 10 g/kg of feed (T10), 15 g/kg of feed (T15), 20 g/kg of feed (T20) or 25 g/kg of feed (T25). The trial lasted 42 days. Body weight and feed intake were measured weekly by pen, and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated. Blood samples were collected for assessing the humoral immune response to Newcastle vaccination at the 29th and 42nd days of age. Analysis of caecal microflora was performed on one quail per replication on the 14th and 42nd days of age. At slaughter, the carcasses and the organs were weighed, and blood constituent analyses were performed. Quails fed with RP had higher weight gain (P0.05) or the caecal microbiota of the quails (P>0.05). RP increased the antibody titre against vaccinations on the 29th day of age (P 0,05) ni na crijevnu mikrofloru prepelica (P > 0,05). Prah ružmarina povećao je titar protutijela na cjepivo 29. dan (P < 0,05) i smanjio omjer LDL-a i HDL-a u plazmi (P < 0,05). Dodatak praha ružmarina do 25 g/kg po obroku poboljšao je svojstva i imunost prepelica a da nije negativno utjecao na njihovu crijevnu mikrofloru

Variability in the characteristics of fresh meat and thighs in relationship to genetic type of the heavy pig

The variability in the characteristics of fresh meat and thighs in relationship with genetic type was studied on 22 lots of heavy pigs, comprising 615 female and castrated males, randomly chosen during slaughtering in groups of 20 to 30 animals per lot. Four different genetic types reared for the production of the San Daniele dry-cured ham PDO were considered: two traditionals (Large White or Duroc x (Landrace x Large White) and two industrial hybrids (GOLAND and DANBRED). Fresh meat samples from longissimus dorsi muscle were collected to perform chemical and physical analysis. The right trimmed thighs were used to evaluate some morphological parameters along with weight losses during seasoning. The genetic type confirmed its important influence on pig carcass, meat and ham quality. The two industrial types, DANBRED in particular, tended to present a lower back fat values and a leaner carcass than the two Italian genetic types. Within the most important characteristics for the production of dry cured hams (subcutaneous fat thickness and seasoning losses) the highest differences were found among the industrials genetic types, which cannot be simply considered as an undifferentiated homogenous group

Comparison of longissimus thoracis physical quality traits and the expression of tenderness-related genes between Goudali zebu breed and Italian Simmental × Goudali crossbreed

The aim of this trial was to compare some meat physical quality traits and the expression of some tenderness-related genes between Goudali (G, Bos indicus) breed and Italian Simmental × Goudali (SimGoud, SG, Bos taurus x Bos indicus) crossbreed. Ten G and 12 SG bulls, aged 31 ± 0.49 months, bred in the same farm and conditions in Western Highland Plateau Savannah of Cameroon were considered. Physical quality traits of longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle such as water losses, colour parameters and rheological properties were determined together with ultimate pH (pHu). The mRNA early post-mortem abundance of calpain-1 (Capn1), calpain-2 (Capn2), calpastatin (Cast), caspase 3 (Casp3), caspase 9 (Casp9), αB-crystallin (Cryab), heat shock proteins 27 (Hsp27), 40 (Hsp40) and 70 (Hsp70) was detected by qPCR. The Capn1, Cast, Hsp27 and Hsp70, early post-mortem protein content was determined by ELISA. The meat of G bulls had greater values of lightness (p < .05) and cooking loss (p < .05) than SG. The expression of Hsp70 in G was greater at mRNA (p < .05) level than SG. None of the other variables considered was significantly different between G and SG breeds. Whereas crossbreeding with Italian Simmental breed changed the colour and ameliorated the water retention capacity of G meat, tenderness and the expression of tenderness-related genes, both at mRNA and at protein level, were not significantly different between the pure local breed and the crossbreed. In comparison with pure Goudali, crossbreeding Goudali with Italian Simmental breed has a limited impact on meat traits in tropical conditions

Correction to: Application of some trees/shrubs in ruminant feeding: a review

n/

Gas Chromatography Combustion Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry to detect differences in four compartments of Simmental cows fed on C3 and C4 diets

Fatty acids (FAs) metabolism in animals represents an important field of study since they influence the quality and the properties of the meat. The aim of this study is to assess the possibility to discriminate the diets of cows in different animal compartments and to study the fate of dietary FAs in the bovine organism, using carbon isotopic ratios. Five FAs, both essential (linoleic and linolenic) and non-essential (palmitic, stearic, and oleic) in four compartments (feed, rumen, liver, meat) of animals fed two different diets (based on either C3 or C4 plants) were considered. For all compartments, the carbon isotopic ratio (δ13C) of all FAs (with few exceptions) resulted significantly lower in cows fed on C3 than C4 plants, figuring as a powerful tool to discriminate between different diets. Moreover, chemical reactions taking place in each animal compartment result in fraction processes affecting the δ13C values. The δ13CFAs tendentially increase from feed to meat in group C3. On the other hand, the δ13CFAs generally increase from rumen to liver in group C4, while δ13CFAs of rumen and meat are mostly not statistically different. Different trends in the δ13CFAs of the two groups suggested different FAs fates depending on the die

Hair cortisol and testosterone concentrations and semen production of Bos taurus bulls

The experiment was aimed to evaluate the usefulness of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in revealing the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis due to the passage of young bulls from genetic rearing stations to artificial insemination (AI) centre and the influence of this passage on hair testosterone concentrations (HTC). Hair samples on 33 yearling bulls were collected at the time of arrival (ST1) to the AI centre and 3 more hair samples (ST2, ST3, ST4) were collected at monthly intervals. After the end of quarantine each animal was submitted to the standard procedures for collection and production of semen. Overall HCC were significantly affected by period of collection (p\u2009\u2009.05). The effect of breed was observed only for HTC that was higher in PRI than BS (p\u2009\u2009.05). On the contrary, the effect of breed was evident. The results of this study replicated the effects of a major environmental stressor on mean cortisol concentrations assessed in hair, and add to the growing body of evidence that HCC is an effective and simply collected marker for long-term activity of the HPA system in response to persistent environmental challenge

Effect of feed restrictions on performance, blood variables and immunity of broiler chickens

Genetic selection has led to an increase in performance and lean tissue deposition in broiler chickens which have become increasingly susceptible to disease. To reduce this susceptibility, various feed restriction programs have been proposed, albeit with highly variable results. This study investigated the effects of the duration and intensity of quantitative feed restriction in the early rearing period on the performance, blood parameters and immunity of broiler chickens. Two hundred and seventy chicks were randomly assigned to a 4 7 2 factorial arrangement to examine the effects of 2 durations (7 and 14 d) and 4 levels of feed restriction (5, 10, 15, and 20%). One control (Con) group was included. Feed intake (FI) and weight gain (WG) were recorded, and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) calculated weekly. At slaughter (42 d of age), blood was collected, and the carcass composition and characteristics of the gastrointestinal tract were assessed. In comparison with the Con, feed restrictions improved FCR (P<0.01), increased relative weight (RW) of the breast (P<0.05), and abdominal fat (P<0.01), and reduced the RW, as well as the dimension of some gut segments. Feed restriction showed limited influence on blood variables, the humoral immune response to Influenza and Newcastle disease vaccinations, and on response to injection of sheep red blood cells. Feed restrictions up to 20% for 7 or 14 d are an appropriate strategy to improve the FCR and the RW of breast, with a limited effect on blood variables, and without significant effects on the immunity of broiler chickens