A study on the effects of rumen acidity on rumination time and yield, composition, and technological properties of milk from early lactating holstein cows

The use of high grain rations in dairy cows is related to an increase in rumen acidity. This study investigated whether the rumen acidity status affects rumination time (RT), and the production, composition, coagulation properties (MCPs) and cheese yield (CY) of milk. One hundred early-lactating Holstein cows with no clinical signs of disease and fed total mixed rations were used. Rumen fluid was collected once from each cow by rumenocentesis to determine pH and volatile fatty acid (VFA) content. The cows were classified according to the quartile of rumen acidity (QRA), a factor defined by multivariate analysis and associated with VFA and pH. Rumen fluid pH averaged 5.61 in the first quartile and 6.42 in the fourth, and total VFA content increased linearly with increasing rumen acidity. In addition, RT increased as rumen acidity increased, but only in the daily time interval from 08:00 to 12:00. Milk yield linearly decreased as rumen acidity increased, whereas QRA did not affect pH, fat or protein contents of milk. Furthermore, the MCPs, assessed by lactodynamograph, and CY were unaffected by QRA. It is suggested that differences in rumen acidity have little influence on the nutrient content, coagulation properties and CY of milk

Effect of dairy farming system, herd, season, parity, and days in milk on modeling of the coagulation, curd firming, and syneresis of bovine milk

The objectives of this study were to characterize the variation in curd firmness model parameters obtained from coagulating bovine milk samples, and to investigate the effects of the dairy system, season, individual farm, and factors related to individual cows (days in milk and parity). Individual milk samples (n=1,264) were collected during the evening milking of 85 farms representing different environments and farming systems in the northeastern Italian Alps. The dairy herds were classified into 4 farming system categories: traditional system with tied animals (29 herds), modern dairy systems with traditional feeding based on hay and compound feed (30 herds), modern dairy system with total mixed ration (TMR) that included silage as a large proportion of the diet (9 herds), and modern dairy system with silage-free TMR (17 herds). Milk samples were analyzed for milk composition and coagulation properties, and parameters were modeled using curd firmness measures (CFt) collected every 15 s from a lacto-dynamographic analysis of 90min. When compared with traditional milk coagulation properties (MCP), the curd firming measures showed greater variability and yielded a more accurate description of the milk coagulation process: the model converged for 93.1% of the milk samples, allowing estimation of 4 CFt parameters and 2 derived traits [maximum CF (CFmax) and time from rennet addition to CFmax (tmax)] for each sample. The milk samples whose CFt equations did not converge showed longer rennet coagulation times obtained from the model (RCTeq) and higher somatic cell score, and came from less-productive cows. Among the sources of variation tested for the CFt parameters, dairy herd system yielded the greatest differences for the contrast between the traditional farm and the 3 modern farms, with the latter showing earlier coagulation and greater instant syneresis rate constant (kSR). The use of TMR yielded a greater tmax because of a higher instant curd-firming rate constant (kCF). Season of sampling was found to be very important, yielding higher values during winter for all traits except kCF and kSR. All CFt traits were affected by individual cow factors. For parity, milk produced by first-lactation cows showed higher kCF and kSR, but delays in achieving CFmax. With respect to stage of lactation, RCTeq and potential asymptotic CF increased during the middle of lactation and stabilized thereafter, whereas the 2 instant rate constants presented the opposite pattern, with the lowest (kCF) and highest (kSR) values occurring in mid lactation. The new challenge offered by prolonging the test interval and individual modeling of milk technological properties allowed us to study the effects of parameters related to the environment and to individual cows. This novel strategy may be useful for investigating the genetic variability of these new coagulation traits. \ua9 2015 American Dairy Science Associatio

Milk metagenomics and cheese-making properties as affected by indoor farming and summer highland grazing

The study of the complex relationships between milk metagenomics and milk composition and cheese-making efficiency as affected by indoor farming and summer highland grazing was the aim of the present work. The experimental design considered monthly sampling (over 5 mo) of the milk produced by 12 Brown Swiss cows divided into 2 groups: the first remained on a lowland indoor farm from June to October, and the second was moved to highland pastures in July and then returned to the lowland farm in September. The resulting 60 milk samples (2 kg each) were used to analyze milk composition, milk coagulation, curd firming, and syneresis processes, and to make individual model cheeses to measure cheese yields and nutrient recoveries in the cheese. After DNA extraction and Illumina Miseq sequencing, milk microbiota amplicons were also processed by means of an open-source pipeline called Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (Qiime2, version 2018.2; https://qiime2.org). Out of a total of 44 taxa analyzed, 13 bacterial taxa were considered important for the dairy industry (lactic acid bacteria, LAB, 5 taxa; and spoilage bacteria, 4) and for human (other probiotics, 2) and animal health (pathogenic bacteria, 2). The results revealed the transhumant group of cows transferred to summer highland pastures showed an increase in almost all the LAB taxa, bifidobacteria, and propionibacteria, and a reduction in spoilage taxa. All the metagenomic changes disappeared when the transhumant cows were moved back to the permanent indoor farm. The relationships between 17 microbial traits and 30 compositional and technological milk traits were investigated through analysis of correlation and latent explanatory factor analysis. Eight latent factors were identified, explaining 75.3% of the total variance, 2 of which were mainly based on microbial traits: pro-dairy bacteria (14% of total variance, improving during summer pasturing) and pathogenic bacteria (6.0% of total variance). Some bacterial traits contributed to other compositional-technological latent factors (gelation, udder health, and caseins)

Problematiche geoambientali del territorio veneziano

Venezia, la sua laguna ed il territorio circostante sono un patrimonio artistico, storico, culturale ed ambientale tra i più noti al mondo. Il fragile equilibrio, tipico delle lagune, è per Venezia particolarmente vulnerabile; essa infatti risulta modellata da un forte contributo antropico, iniziato secoli or sono con le note deviazioni fluviali, ed è oggi esposta ad azioni antropiche di particolare rilevanza, quali quelle derivanti dalla presenza della zona industriale di Marghera che s'affaccia proprio sulla laguna. Questo delicato equilibrio è legato al particolare assetto geologico-territoriale dell'area veneziana. In questa relazione, forzatamente molto schematica in quanto sintetizza decenni di studi ed indagini a livello sia scientifico che tecnico-applicativo, si vuole indicare l'insostituibile apporto della geologia anche in un'area urbana, quale quella Veneziana. Questo "complesso urbano" è composto da una serie di centri: insulari (centro storico, Murano, Burano, Torcello, ecc.), litorali (Lido, Chioggia, Jesolo), di terraferma ed industriali (Mestre, Scorzè, Marghera, Malcontenta, Fusina, ecc.). Altra caratteristica del complesso veneziano è l'interazione dei vari centri urbani che, malgrado la dislocazione geografica, interagiscono nelle varie problematiche geoambientali con strette relazioni causa-effetto. Questa nota, frutto della collaborazione tra Enti di Ricerca, Pubbliche Amministrazioni e Liberi Professionisti, evidenzia la necessità di lavorare in modo sinergico per affrontare al meglio le complesse tematiche geologico-ambientali che si riscontrano in questo tipo di studi

The History of the School of Animal Science at the University of Padova (Padua) and the Evolution of Animal Science in Italy

In its 800-year history, the University of Padova (Padua, Italy) has come to play an important role in the development of animal science in Italy and Europe. Having founded the oldest university botanical garden (1545; UNESCO World Heritage Site) and anatomical theatre (1595), and awarded the first university degree to a woman (Elena-Lucrezia Cornaro-Piscopia, 1678), the University instituted the Public School of Agriculture (Orto Agrario) in 1765 and the Collegium Zooiatricum in 1773. Between 1986 and 1995, under the leadership of Professor Mario Bonsembiante, animal scientist and rector, the scientific-technological center of Agripolis was established, including the Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (with the experimental farm and veterinary hospital), the Istituto Zooprofilattico delle Venezie, and Veneto Agricoltura. Agripolis rapidly became the most innovative center in Italy for teaching, research, and extension services in the fields of agricultural, animal, veterinary, food and environmental sciences. In the last 35 years, the number of Italian animal scientists has remained almost constant, but they have moved on to more innovative research topics closer to society’s demand and concerns, and significantly enhanced their international standing,reaching the first position in Europe and the fourth in the world in terms of citations

Effect of genetic type and low protein diets on the environmental footprint of intensive medium-heavy pig production system

This study aims to evaluate the effect of two different genetic groups and of the dietary protein content (16.1 vs 14%, conventional - CONV vs low crude protein - LCP) on the environmental footprint of the intensive medium-heavy pigs (final BW of 145 kg) system in northern Italy through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The experiment involved 92 barrows with the same age, originated by the same maternal line and by two different commercial paternal lines intended for medium-heavy pig production. Pigs were allotted 12 individuals per pen and fed according to the same feeding curve, based on a moderate restricted feed allowance increased on a week by-week basis. The LCA model included emissions related to animal handling, manure storage and feedstuffs production. The functional unit was 1 kg of body weight gained (BWG). Impact categories assessed were (mean values into brackets): global warming (GWP, 2.3 kg CO2-eq), acidification (AP, 48 g SO2-eq) and eutrophication (EP, 24 g PO4-eq). Impact values were analyzed with a mixed model testing the effect of diet and genetic group. All the impact categories were affected by diet (P<0.001) and genetic group (P<0.05). The LCP diet showed lower values of GWP, AP and EP than CONV diet (-18, -12 and -3%, respectively). Low protein diets can effectively reduce the environmental footprint of intensive pig production, with no effects on productive performances. However, feedstuffs type and origin should be considered to not nullify the emissions savings

Management factors affecting the environmental impact of cereal-based dairy farms

This study aimed to assess the environmental impact (cradle-to-farm gate LCA) of milk production of cereal-based dairy farms in northern Italy and to analyse which traits related to farm management (MAN_F), lactating cows’ ration composition (DIET_F), and animal responses (ANI_F) could be identified as main determinants to address specific mitigation strategies. Data originated from 28 dairy farms. The functional unit was 1 kg of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM). Impact categories were global warming (GWP), acidification (AP) and eutrophication (EP) potentials and land occupation (LO). Impact values were analysed with a linear model to test separately the effects of MAN_F, DIET_F and ANI_F variables. One kg FPCM was associated with an average impact of 1.10 kg CO2-eq (GWP), 17.1 g SO2-eq (AP), 6.0 g PO4-eq (EP), and 1.3 m2/y (LO). Regarding MAN_F, GWP and LO linearly decreased with increasing values of stocking rate and feed self-sufficiency (FSS), whereas minimum EP was found for intermediate FSS values (50% DM). Regarding DIET_F, GWP linearly decreased at increasing levels of dietary inclusion of cereal silages, whereas AP and EP linearly decreased at decreasing dietary crude protein (CP) content values. Among ANI_F, GWP and EP were quadratically associated with milk yield (MY), evidencing the lowest values at intermediate MY (9100 ± 477 kg FPCM/cow per 305d-lactation). The GWP, AP and EP decreased with decreasing age at first calving. These results can contribute at drawing good practices for farmers and consultants to promote more environmentally sustainable dairy production while supporting farm functioning and farmers’ income.HIGHLIGHTS Farm and animal determinants of Life Cycle Assessment of cereal-based dairy farms were studied. Mitigation effects can be achieved by operating on farm organisation, cow’s diet, and animal responses. Good practices for farmers and consultants can be proposed for a better dairy production sustainability