Quality in smallholder dairy farming in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Dit rapport bespreekt de resultaten van een onderzoek naar de zuivelkwaliteit van kleinschalige boerderijen in Minas Gerais, Brazilië. De volgende ondewerpen kwamen daarbij aan de orde: product- en proceskwaliteit, de positie van de boeren en toekomstige kansen en bedreigingen voor deze boere

Design of farming systems for low input conditions: principles and implications based on scenario studies with feed allocation in livestock production

This study addresses the issue of designing farming systems for low input conditions. By focusing on the problem of feed (resource) allocation in livestock systems it provides clues for the design of alternative agricultural systems and systems in general. Linear programming (LP) is used to examine system behaviour under conditions of varying feed resource qualities, for individual animal production levels that range from 0.75 to 3.00 times maintenance. Milk yield, animal numbers and amounts of feed offered or refused are measures of system performance in two hypothetical cases representative for actual farming systems. Case 1 considers available feed as one aggregated resource, with an average nutritive value ranging from that of straw to that of high quality forage. It establishes the individual animal output level that is required to achieve maximum total system output from a given feed resource. In Case 2, animals of different production levels are allowed to select between two feed resources that, through proper definition of the their proportions on offer, on average represent the same feed quality scale as in Case 1. The possibility of selection, however, allows the nutritive value of the actual intake to differ from the average nutritive value of feed offered. Better feed and higher (potential) individual animal output tend to increase total system output in terms of milk, by reducing the number of animals. Nevertheless, the term 'damning objective' is introduced to express that high targets for subsystem output reduces total system output if subsystem requirements exceed resource availability. Moreover, heterogeneity of (feed) resources can increase system output by using more production units with lower individual output. The results are tested against farmers' practice and situations reported in literature. Implications for the design of sustainable systems and further research are discussed

Design of farming systems for low input conditions: principles and implications based on scenario studies with feed allocations in livestock production

This study addresses the issue of designing farming systems for low input conditions. By focusing on the problem of feed (=resource) allocation in livestock systems it provides clues for the design of alternative agricultural systems and systems in general. Linear programming (LP) is used to examine system behaviour under conditions of varying feed resource qualities, for individual animal production levels that range from 0.75 to 3.00 times maintenance. Milk yield, animal numbers and amounts of feed offered or refused are measures of system performance in two hypothetical Cases representative for actual farming systems. Case 1 considers available feed as one aggregated resource, with an average nutritive value ranging from that of straw to that of high quality forage. It establishes the individual animal output level that is required to achieve maximum total system output from a given feed resource. In Case 2, animals of different production levels are allowed to select between two feed resources that, through proper definition of the their proportions on offer, on average represent the same feed quality scale as in Case 1. The possibility of selection, however, allows the nutritive value of the actual intake to differ from the average nutritive value of feed offered. Better feed and higher (potential) individual animal output tend to increase total system output in terms of milk, by reducing the number of animals. Nevertheless, the term 'damning objective' is introduced to express that high targets for subsystem output reduces total system output if subsystem requirements exceed resource availability. Moreover, heterogeneity of (feed) resources can increase system output by using more production units with lower individual output. The results are tested against farmers' practice and situations reported in literature. Implications for the design of sustainable systems and further research are discussed

Blockade of the mental nerve for lower lip surgery as a safe alternative to general anesthesia in two very old patients

Purpose: Regional anesthesia is gaining popularity with anesthesiologists as it offers superb postoperative analgesia. However, as the sole anesthetic technique in high-risk patients in whom general anesthesia is not preferred, some regional anesthetic possibilities may be easily overlooked. By presenting two cases of very old patients with considerable comorbidities, we would like to bring the mental nerve field block under renewed attention as a safe alternative to general anesthesia and to achieve broader application of this simple nerve block. Patients and methods: Two very old male patients(84 and 91 years) both presented with an ulcerative lesion at the lower lip for which surgical removal was scheduled. Because of their considerable comorbidities and increased frailty, bilateral blockade of the mental nerve was considered superior to general anesthesia. As an additional advantage for the 84-year-old patient, who had a pneumonectomy in his medical history, the procedure could be safely performed in a beach-chair position to prevent atelectasis and optimize the ventilation/perfusion ratio of the single lung. The mental nerve blockades were performed intraorally in a blind fashion, after eversion of the lip and identifying the lower canine. A 5 mL syringe with a 23-gauge needle attached was passed into the buccal mucosa until it approximated the mental foramen, where 2 mL of lidocaine 2% with adrenaline 1:100.000 was injected. The other side was anesthetized in a similar fashion. Results: Both patients underwent the surgical procedure uneventfully under a bilateral mental nerve block and were discharged from the hospital on the same day. Conclusion: A mental nerve block is an easy-to-perform regional anesthetic technique for lower lip surgery. This technique might be especially advantageous in the very old, frail patient