Workshop on quality and nutrition value of organic milk and meat

The workshop was arranged at the Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding PAS in Jastrzębiec (IGAB), Poland, 19.-20. November 2009. The aim of the workshop was to encourage cooperation between Norwegian and Polish scientists specialized in organic animal breeding and organic milk and meat production. The organic market in Europe is growing annually from 2 to 15% depending on a country. Establishing scientific contacts with Norwegian researchers will positively influence the development of Polish organic scientific sector, which will transfer further the obtained knowledge and experience direct to the farmers. The workshop enabled Norwegian scientists to establish contacts with scientists from Poland and from other Central-European countries. The agenda of the meeting took into account the discussion on challenges and scientific ideas together with German, Austrian and Czech scientists. The workshop allowed presentation of contemporary organic breeding and production strategies for optimizing production methods in achieving high quality of organic milk and meat with high nutritive value for consumer. The presentations are available at the website: http://www.ighz.edu.pl/?p0=4&p1=32&p2=134&p3=135 During the second day of the workshop, the participants worked together and made outlines of future cooperation based on the presentations given on the first day. The workshop was funded by the Polish-Norweagian Research Fund (PNRF 284–A II– 2/08

Bridge Structures Cracks – What Made that Phenomena so Common?

AbstractThe common phenomena – cracks appearance on newly built reinforced concrete bridge structures - is being detected in Poland for several years now. That phenomena is regarded as threatening in case of bridge structures, despite the fact that reinforced concrete theory considers cracks as a standard concrete performance. Cracks are very likely to appear on concrete surface. Cracks are usually detected during concrete surface treatment before protective coating laying. Cracks appear on monolith structures, mainly at the slab spans and foreheads as well as, at support columns in a minor range. Concrete surface cracks openings reach up to 2mm size. The experience gained throughout consulting works on cracked structures are discussed in that paper. The influence of concrete surface mechanical cleaning prior the protective coatings laying on the crack “visual” intensification was also discussed herein. Crack openings measurement rules, as well as the most common mistakes made during the crack measurements and their real value assessment were described in the paper. The maximal crack opening allowances fluctuations in Polish and European concrete Codes were also discussed here. It was proved that the spotted crack opening increase is caused by the codes changes and by bold reinforcing cover. The bold cover is regarded as the corrosion protection of reinforcing bars. The cover bold and crack opening allowance dependency was discussed in the paper. The effect of Euro codes and the Minister of Transport and Maritime Economy Ordnance from May 30th 2000 titled “Technical requirements for highway engineering structures and their locations” simultaneous obligation on reinforced concrete structures cracks assessment was deliberated.At the conclusion the necessary modifications in crack assessment practice were claimed. The cracks should be assessed on the basis of homogenous code system. Their openings are dependent straight forward from the reinforcement cover thickness. One should avoid crack measurement at the sections, at which the crack edges are mechanically shattered. The crack opening assessment should be dependent on cover thickness. The rod anti shrinkage activity reaches the cover depth approximately to the depth equal to the rod diameter only. That fact should be taken under consideration during crack assessment

Polen und Deutschland arbeiten in der ökologischen Tierzucht zusammen

Wie kann die ökologische Tierzucht vorangebracht werden? Länderübergreifende Kooperationen bieten die Möglichkeit, Synergien zugunsten der Erhaltung von Rassen und deren züchterische Weiterentwicklung zu bilden.Ein neues deutsch-polnisches Projekt 1 nutzt diese Möglichkeiten. Aufgrund der gemeinsamen Geschichte Polens und Deutschlands bestehen bei einzelnen Nutztierrassen genetische Vermischungen bis hin zu engen Verwandtschaften.Um die Forschung im Bereich ökologische Tierzucht in beiden Ländern zu koordinieren, sollen deutsch-polnische Netzwerke gebildet werden. Sie erleichtern die Kooperation zwischen Forschungsinstitutionen, mit Züchtung befassten landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben, Zuchtorganisationen, staatlichen Institutionen im Bereich Tierzucht,Verantwortlichen für tiergenetische Ressourcen und ökologischen Verbänden. Ein wichtiges Projektziel ist deshalb die Identifizierung aller Ebenen und Akteure, die für die Entwicklung einer dem ökologischen Landbau dienlichen Zucht notwendig sind.Es sollen Voraussetzungen dafür geschaffen werden, die Entwicklung der ökologischen Tierzucht auf eine breitere Grundlage zu stellen

Improvement of calf behaviour and veal quality using rearing at foster cows

The experiment was carried out at the ecological farm Ekofarma Kaszubska in Poland. Ten Holstein-Friesian bulls of the same age were selected for the experiment and divided into two experimental groups. Five calves were raised in a pen without access to their mothers. They were taken with whole milk served from a bucket equipped with a teat. The remaining five bulls were reared at two foster cows. The rearing lasted six months, after which the animals were slaughtered. During the rearing, behavioural observations of each of the experimental groups were carried out every month for 3 hours. During the observation, the number of ‘licking cases’ of the pen equipment or other calf was counted. The study was conducted in three identical replications one after the other. The collected experimental data were statistically analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics. It was found that calves reared with suckler cows gained weight faster and were characterised by better muscle class (assessed in the EUROP system) compared to the control group. Behavioural assessments showed less adverse behaviours, such as licking other calves or pen equipment, in the suckling group compared to the control group. This difference was most evident in relation to calves up to 3 months of age. No significant differences were found between the groups of older calves. This is due to the increased need for calves to suck in the first weeks of life. Strong urine drinking tendencies were demonstrated in both groups, so this type of behaviour would not be related to the rearing system, but rather to mineral deficiencies in the diet. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the increased availability of milk, and the frequent natural intake of milk directly from the udder, have a positive effect on calves’ growth and well-being

Use of somatic cell count as an indicator of colostrum quality

The impact of cow mammary gland diseases on the quality of colostrum is not conclusively defined; research results are conflicting. However, it is widely believed that mastitis lowers the level of immunoglobulins and the quality of the colostrum produced. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the influence of somatic cell counts (SCC) on the colostrum immuno-stimulating and chemical components. The experiment was conducted on an experimental organic dairy farm in which a herd of approximately 250 cows was kept in a freestall housing system, with the average performance exceeding 6,000 kg of milk per lactation. Colostrum and milk samples were taken individually from each cow seven times during the experiment: from the first to second day after calving–twice per day, and from the third to fifth day after calving–once per day. Therefore, after preliminary analyses, the cows were divided into two groups based on the cytological quality of their colostrum at the first collection: 1. SCC �400,000 cells/ml (good quality colostrum; GCC– 18 cows), 2. SCC � 400,000 cells/ml (low quality colostrum; LCC– 22 cows). The study found almost double the concentration of immunoglobulins and essential fatty acids in first milking colostrum in the GCC group than in colostrum from the LCC group. In addition, an increase in the concentration of lysozyme in first milking colostrum was associated with a decrease in the concentration of immunoglobulins. In addition, the increase in the level of lysozyme was associated with a decrease in the concentration of immunoglobulins. In conclusion, the SCC of first milking colostrum can be used as an indicator of colostrum quality

Age of cows, as a factor shaping the level of immunostimulating properties of colostrum

A characteristic feature of the organic system of production is the lower productivity of cows. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of cow age and collecting number on the level of immunostimulating colostrum components in an organic farm. From the basic herd specializing in organic milk production, 40 cows of the Polish Holstein-Friesian Black and White breed were selected: 10 primiparous, 10 cows in 2nd lactation, 10 cows in 4th lactation and 10 cows in 5th lactation. The colostrum samples were collected according to the following scheme: the first one maximum of two hours after calving, the second on the same day and the third and fourth on the following day. For three consecutive days samples were taken once a day (7 colostrum samples from each cow). Statistically significant differences in the level of bioactive components of colostrum with immunostimulating properties has been shown due to the time of intake from calving and significant differences in the level of these components due to the age of cows. Multiparous cows synthetized colostrum with a higher content of total protein, casein and non-fat dry matter than the primiparous. Variability of the immunoglobulin content of colostrum obtained in 1st and in the 2nd collecting after calving was higher in multiparous cows than in primiparous cows. Furthermore, it has been shown that there was a clear correlation between the quality of colostrum and the age of cows. In conclusion, a high impact of the interaction of age of cows x collecting number on the development of colostrum stimulating ingredients in the organic production system has been demonstrated

Relationship between the Quality of Colostrum and the Formation of Microflora in the Digestive Tract of Calves

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the quality of colostrum and the formation of intestinal bacterial microflora in calves from birth to day 7. Seventy-five multiparous Polish Holstein–Friesian cows were selected. Colostrum samples were collected individually up to two hours after calving. The analysis was carried out on 75 calves; which were divided into three groups based on the colostrum quality class of the first milking. Faecal samples were collected rectally from each calf on its seventh day of life. Calves were weighed twice; on days 0 and 7 of life. It has been shown that with a higher concentration of colostrum protein fraction, primarily immunoglobulins, the colonization of anaerobic bacteria occurs faster. Colostrum with a density >1.070 g/cm3 promoted the significant development of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium spp. which at the same time contributed to the reduction of unfavorable microflora, such as Coliforms or Enterococci. Regardless of the initial body weight, daily weight gains were highest for calves fed with colostrum with a density >1.070 g/cm3. The study showed a significant influence of colostrum quality class on the formation of the intestinal microflora and the daily weight gains of calves

Interaction between the level of immunoglobulins and number of somatic cells as a factor shaping the immunomodulating properties of colostrum

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between immunoglobulins and SCC as a factor in shaping the content of the immunostimulatory components of colostrum. Seventy-eight multiparous Polish Holstein–Friesian cows were selected for the experiment. Colostrum samples were collected immediately after calving (up to a max. of 2 h). The cows were divided into groups according to the following levels: Immunoglobulins (IG class)—(IG1) over 50 g/L, (IG2) up to 50 g/L; SCC class—(SCC1) up to 400 000/ml, (SCC2) 400–800 000/ml, (SCC3) over 800 000/ml. Colostrum assigned to the IG1 SCC1 group had a statistically significant higher (p ≤ 0.01) concentration of both whey proteins and fatty acids compared to the IG1 SCC2 and SCC3 groups. The concentration of IgG, IgM, and IgA was shown to be higher in IG1 SCC1 than IG2 SCC3 by 226%, 149%, and 115%, respectively. The concentration of lactoferrin was shown to be higher in IG1 SCC1 than IG2 SCC3 by 149%. The determination of colostrum quality based on the concentration of immunoglobulins in the colostrum may not be sufficient because serum IgG concentrations at birth show a linear increase relative to colostrum SCC. A breakdown of colostrum into quality classes, taking into account the level of SCC, should therefore be introduced