Nutritive Value, In Vitro Fermentation, and Methane Production of Cactus Cladodes, Sugarcane Bagasse, and Urea

Simple SummaryCyclical droughts affecting arid and semiarid regions promote direct negative impacts on agriculture, with deficits of water availability for the maintenance of crops destined for human supply and animal production, with direct and indirect socioeconomic effects. Although livestock rearing is one of the few viable economic activities for these regions, forage production in terms of quantity and quality is a critical obstacle to support the herd over the year. Research was developed to find a forage adapted to these climates. Cactus cladodes have been used as a traditional ingredient in ruminant diets in dry areas as a solution to forage scarcity. Many traditionally used sources of forage, fresh or conserved, can be added to diets with cactus. However, the limiting factor to their inclusion would be market availability and price. This study showed that cactus cladodes associated with sugarcane bagasse (a high available crop residue) present the same nutritive value of conserved crops as silages and hay. Cactus (Opuntia and Nopalea) are essential for ruminant production systems in arid and semiarid regions due to the limitation of forage production caused by the low precipitation.This study evaluated the effect of different roughages fed to sheep on nutrient and water intake, ingestive behavior, nitrogen balance, microbial protein synthesis, fermentation parameters, and methane production using an in vitro gas production system. The treatments consisted of five diets: cactus cladodes Nopalea (NUB) and Opuntia (OUB), both with the addition of sugarcane bagasse (SB) and urea/ammonium sulfate (urea/as); Tifton hay (TH); corn silage (CS); and sorghum silage (SS), also with added urea/as. The NUB provided greater (p <= 0.03) intakes of dry matter (1024 g/d), digestible organic matter (670 g/d), and crude protein (161 g/d) than those on the SS. The NUB provided greater (p < 0.01) dietary water intake (3023 g/d) than TH. The time spent on rumination was shorter (p < 0.01), and the idle time was longer in animals fed NUB and OUB than TH and CS. Microbial protein synthesis was not affected (p = 0.27). The final pH (6.4) of the incubation fluid and the concentration of NH3-N (39.05 mg/dL) were greater for NUB and OUB. Ruminal parameters and methane production were little or not affected by tested forages. We recommend using cactus cladodes in combination with sugarcane bagasse and urea/as in sheep diets

Sustainable intensification of livestock production on pastures

Growing human population and limited natural resources require a sustainable intensification of agricultural production systems. The ‘green revolution’ was successful in increasing world food production, but unintended consequences, including pollution of groundwater, soil erosion, climate change, and intensive use of agrochemicals, left a large footprint in the environment. Sustainable livestock intensification (SLI) implies greater productivity and more efficient use of natural resources, reducing the impact of livestock systems in the environment. Approaches to reach this goal include diversification of plant species and plant functional groups, multiple ruminant species, improvement in feeding techniques and grazing management, plant breeding for improved nutrient use efficiency, integrated crop-livestock systems, and silvopasture systems. Greater use of forage legumes appears to be an opportunity for SLI in extensive C4 grass-based pastureland commonly found in vast areas of Latin America. Grasslands in the 21st century will also be valued for multiple services they provide to humankind, and mechanisms of payment for these services are needed. A more ‘holistic’ approach will improve the social and economic sustainability of livestock systems. Achieving long-term sustainability must match short-term profits. Diversification of the products and services provided by grassland ecosystems is key to reach SLI in the near future

High Prevalence of Cefotaxime Resistant Bacteria in Grazing Beef Cattle: A Cross Sectional Study

Although the over-use of antibiotics during food animal production is a potential driver of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms (ARMs), a high prevalence of cefotaxime resistant bacteria (CRB) has been observed in grazing animals raised without antibiotic supplementation. In this cross-sectional study, the prevalence and concentration of CRB in beef cattle on grazing farms were investigated. Fecal samples from the recto-anal junction of cattle (n = 840) and environmental samples (n = 258) were collected from 17 farms in North and Central Florida in the United States, and a survey of farm characteristics, animal husbandry practices, and antibiotic usage was conducted. CRB were detected in fecal samples from 47.4% of all cattle, with the prevalence ranging from 21.1 to 87.5% on farms, and significantly higher (P &lt; 0.001) in calves compared to adult cows (54.1 vs. 41.8%). Environmental samples had a higher prevalence than fecal samples (P &lt; 0.001), with CRB detected in 88.6% of water, 98.7% of soil, and 95.7% of forage samples. Compared to the concentration (log CFU/g) of CRB in fecal samples (2.95, 95% CI: 2.89, 3.02), the concentration of CRB was higher (P &lt; 0.001) in soil and forage samples (5.37, 95% CI: 5.16, 5.57) and lower (P &lt; 0.001) in water samples (1.08, 95% CI: 0.82, 1.36). Soil microbiota from farms with high prevalence of CRB clustered closer together and the proportion of Phylum Proteobacteria was higher on farms with high prevalence of CRB resistance. Large farming operations were associated with a 58% higher likelihood of CRB detection in fecal samples. Regular cleaning of drinking troughs and the addition of ionophores to feed were associated with CRB reduction in fecal samples. Taken together, the widespread of CRB into both cattle seldom treated with cephalosporin antibiotics and the surrounding environment suggests the environment is a natural source of antimicrobial resistance in beef cattle

Direct-fed microbial: Animal nutrition and reproduction responses

Manipulating the gastrointestinal microbial ecosystem to enhance animal performance and reproductive responses has been one of the main goals of animal science researchers and veterinarians. Recent restrictions to the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters led researchers to seek alternative practices that can show promise both from the standpoint of efficacy as well as from the practical and economic aspects. One of the alternatives that surfaced as very promising in the last few decades is the use of direct-fed microbials (DFM) as a means to modulate the effects of the gastrointestinal microbiome on the host immune status, health and productivity. Direct-fed microbials or probiotics is a term most commonly reserved for live, naturally occurring microorganisms that can be supplemented orally to animals to cause a beneficial effect in the host animal. The main objective of this special focus is to expand the knowledge on the mode of action of different microorganisms used as additives as well as to explore novel species of microorganisms and their potential contributions to enhance animal performance and health in ruminants and non-ruminants

Current and Future Reproductive Technologies and World Food Production

X, 249 p. 37 illus., 18 illus. in color.online re

Feeding Strategies to Mitigate Enteric Methane Emission from Ruminants in Grassland Systems

Ruminants produce approximately 30% of total anthropogenic methane emissions globally. The objective of this manuscript was to review nutritional enteric methane abatement practices for ruminants that are applicable under grazing conditions. A total of 1548 peer-reviewed research articles related to the abatement of enteric methane emissions were retrieved and classified into four categories: non-experimental, in vitro, in vivo confined, and in vivo grazing. The methane abatement strategies for grazing systems were arranged into grazing management and supplementation practices. Only 9% of the retrieved papers have been conducted under grazing conditions. Eight grazing management practices have been evaluated to reduce methane emissions. Decreasing the pre-grazing herbage mass reduced the methane emission per unit of product. Other grazing management practices such as increased stocking rate, decreased forage maturity, rotational stocking, and incorporating tannin-containing or non-tannin-containing feeds showed contradictory results. Nitrogen fertilization or silvopastoral systems did not modify methane emissions. Conversely, supplementation practices in grazing conditions showed contradictory responses on methane emissions. Lipid supplementation showed promising results and suggests applicability under grazing conditions. Identifying and implementing grazing strategies and supplementation practices under grazing conditions is required to increase efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of these systems

Determinación de la emisión de metano entérico de novillos Brahman en pastoreo en el ecosistema de bosque tropical seco de Costa Rica

This research was conducted to determine the actual enteric methane emission of Brahman steers grazing different unfertilized grass species in the tropical dry forest ecosystem: naturalized, Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu, and B. decumbens cv. Basilik. In each grass, availability of dry matter, digestibility, crude protein, and fiber content were determined; and for methane emission, the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) technique was used to measure it. The daily methane emission per animal was similar (P>0.05) among grass species (168.0±6.2, 178.8±6.2 and 166.4±6.2 g, for natural, B. brizantha and B. decumbens respectively). According to estimated consumption levels, differences were detected in the amount of methane emitted per unit of dry matter intake (DMI), being higher (P 0.05) entre as espécies de pastos (168.0 ± 6.2, 178.8 ± 6.2 e 166.4 ± 6.2 g, para o natural, B. brizantha e B. decumbens, respectivamente). De acordo com os níveis de consumo estimados, foram detectadas diferenças na quantidade de metano emitido por unidade de consumo de matéria seca (CMS), sendo maior (P 0.05) entre las especies de pastos (168.0 ± 6.2, 178.8 ± 6.2 y 166.4 ± 6.2 g, para el natural, B. brizantha y B. decumbens respectivamente). De acuerdo con los niveles de consumo estimados, se detectaron diferencias en la cantidad de metano emitido por unidad de consumo de materia seca (CMS), la cual resultó mayor (P < 0.01) en pasto natural (21.8 ± 0.7 g CH4 kg-1 CMS) que en B. brizantha (19.6 ± 0.8 g de CH4 kg-1 CMS); un nivel intermedio se determinó con B. decumbens (20.3 ± 0.8 g de CH4 kg-1 CMS). La energía consumida emitida como metano y expresada como Mp presentó un rango entre 6.0 y 6.6 %, y, a medida que el consumo aumentó, la eficiencia de utilización de energía mejoró y disminuyó el factor de conversión, entendido como la relación entre la cantidad de metano emitido y el consumo de alimento, ambos expresados en términos de energía

Use of n-alkanes to estimate feed intake in ruminants: a meta-analysis

International audiencePrecise techniques to estimate feed intake by ruminants are critical to enhance feed efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient losses to the environment. Using a meta-analysis, we evaluated the accuracy of the n-alkane technique to predict feed intake in cattle and sheep and assessed the relationships between feed intake and fecal recovery (FR) of n-alkanes. The database was composed of 28 studies, including 129 treatments (87 and 42 for cattle and sheep, respectively) and 402 animals (232 cattle and 170 sheep) fed at troughs, from published studies. Relationships between observed (in vivo measurement) and predicted feed intake by C31:C32 and C32:C33 n-alkane pairs were evaluated by regression. Meta-regression addressed the relationships between the difference in FR of n-alkane pairs and the error in intake estimation, as well as the amount and duration of C32 n-alkane dosing. Regression of observed intake on n-alkane-based estimates revealed good relationships in cattle (adjusted R2 = 0.99 for C31:C32, and adjusted R2 = 0.98 for C32:C33; P < 0.0001) and in sheep (adjusted R2 = 0.94 for C31:C32, and adjusted R2 = 0.96 for C32:C33; P < 0.0001). FR of natural n-alkanes showed a coefficient of variation of about 15% and 16% for C31 and C33, respectively, in cattle. In sheep, the coefficient of variation was 8% and 14% for C31 and C33, respectively. The relationships between the difference of FR of n-alkane pairs and the error in feed intake estimation in cattle were characterized by an adjusted R2 = 0.83 for C31:C32 (P < 0.0001) and adjusted R2 = 0.93 for C32:C33 (P < 0.0001). In sheep, they were characterized by an adjusted R2 = 0.69 for C31:C32 (P < 0.001) and adjusted R2 = 0.76 for C32:C33 (P < 0.001). The n-alkane technique provided the reliability for estimating feed intake in cattle and sheep in barn experiments. The present meta-analysis demonstrated that without correction for differences in FR of n-alkane pairs, deviation in feed intake prediction would occur. However, further research is necessary to determine the relationship between the n-alkane dosing procedure (daily amount and duration of dosing) and FR of n-alkane

Strains used in this study.

<p>Strains used in this study.</p