Animal breeding in organic farming

After a general introduction into the available breeding techniques for animal breeding and an overview of the organic principles, points for discussion are identified and scenario's for organically accepted breeding methods are discussed

Genetic Improvement of Livestock for Organic Farming Systems

Organic farming which experienced a constant rise over the last two decades is a system based on sustainability and on a concept tending towards functional integrity. Legislation as well as the wish to produce separately from conventional farming raise the question whether organic farming should be conducted completely apart from conventional farming or not. This paper discusses the aspects that affect animal breeding under these circumstances, e.g., maintaining genetic diversity by using local breeds and possible G×E interactions which might occur when breeds adapted to conventional farming systems are used in organic farming. Ways of modelling G×E are presented, moreover examples of G×E in dairy cattle, swine, and poultry are given. Trends in selection index theory–designing multi-trait breeding goals including functional traits on one hand, and developing methods for using customised selection indices on the other hand–support breeding work for organic farming systems. It is concluded that before the technical issues can be addressed, all parties involved, farmers, consumers as well as legislators, have to agree on the socio-cultural conditions under which organic farming should be conducted

Cattle breeding goals and production circumstances

This thesis gives the results of a study on the relationship between cattle breeding goals and production circumstances. The relationship between breeding goals and production circumstances mostly arises from the influences of production circumstances on the economic values of geneticimprovement of animal traits. The economic value of a trait expresses to what extent economic efficiency of production is improved at the moment of expression of one unit genetic uperiority of that trait. Economic values are used in defining the breeding goal (to aggregate genotypes for several traits to a so called 'aggregate genotype') and also in calculating economic revenues of breeding programmes (to value predicted genetic superiorities).The objects of this project are to study:- the methodology of deriving economic values;- the economic values of milk production traits, beef production traits and feed intake capacity of lactating cows;- the extent to which production circumstances influence economic values,Further to the latter object, three issues are to be discussed:- the important production circumstances in defining breeding goals and calculating revenues of breeding programmes;- the need for adjustment of breeding goals when structural and lasting changes in production circumstances occur;- the need for diversification of breeding goals because of heterogenity of and uncertainty about future production circumstances.MethodologyThe choice of a methodology of deriving economic values includes choices on five aspects:1. an economic versus a biological definition of efficiency;2. an interest of selection: maximize profit, minimize cost price or maximize revenues on investment;3. the definition of the production system:- level: animal, farm or national,- size or base of evaluation: fixed number of animals, fixed input of a production-factor or fixed output of a product;4. the planning term: strategic or tactical;5. the method: positive or normative approach, the latter including efficiency equations and bio-economic modelling.Literature on these aspects is reviewed in chapter one. In chapter six, the concepts of economic production theory for different perspectives (combinations of interests of selection and bases of evaluation) are given. These concepts are derived by elaboration of the influences of genetic improvement on costs and revenues, using general equations on costs and revenues of a dairy farm.In this study, efficiency of production is considered to be economic efficiency as money is the standard for measuring value.Concepts of economic production theory denote that derivation of economic values according to a specific perspective implicitely assumes a certain use of production- factors saved due to genetic improvement. Consequently, economic values derived according to different perspectives will differ when values of productionfactors differ between alternative uses. However, imposition of three conditions will lead to equal values of productionfactors and to equivalence of perspectives. These conditions are: (1) oneproduct situation or revenues of other products are negative costs, (2) equilibrium in a purely competitive industry, and (3) all costs are variable per unit product. Applicability of these conditions in now-a-days agricultural industry is limited. Practically, the individual producer's interest of selection has to be chosen, which is profit maximization, for the individual producer is the principal decision- maker in animal breeding. In general, the production circumstances, imposed by governments or the individual producer's situation, will determine the practical choice of a base of evaluation.Genetic improvement is an area of technical development, and long term effects of implementation of new techniques will be, among others, change in market prices. To include these future price changes, the theoretically appropriate level to be used in deriving economic values is the national level. In this study, modelling at farm level is used, allowing acquirement of basic knowledge on the sensitivity of economic values towards production circumstances.The choice of a planning term should be included in deriving economic values regarding (1) the choice of (exogeneous) price parameters and (2) the distinction between variable and fixed costs. In this study, a strategic planning is used: all costs are considered to be variable in time, fixed costs include only costs that are fixed with respect to the size of the farm.Derivation of economic values concerns (1) quantification of the levels of changes in physical amounts of inputs and outputs of the system as a result of a change in genetic merit, and (2) valuation of these changes in physical amounts. In this study, bio-economic modelling (using multi-equation models) is used to derive economic values. This offered good opportunities to consider a large number of elements and relationships in both quantification and valuation of changes in physical amounts.Economic valuesChapter two describes the dairy farm model used to derive economic values of milk and beef production traits and feed intake capacity. This static and deterministic model describes quantitative relationships between levels of genetic merit for the considered traits and levels of inputs and outputs of the farm, in relation to production circumstances. Inputs and outputs of the farm are calculated from feed costs, labour cost, costs of buildings and other variable and fixed costs, and revenues of selling milk and animals (beef). Intake of roughage and concentrate by lactating cows is based on the ratio between energy requirement and dry-matter intake capacity. Improvement of genetic merit of milk and beef production traits results in increase in milk and beef revenues per animal, respectively, and in increase in feed costs per animal. The economic value of feed intake capacity is derived assuming that increase in feed intake capacity allows for a cheaper composition of energy intake (an exchange from concentrate to roughage intake; chapter five). In the basic situation, the economic values of carrier, fat and protein are -.13, 7.97 and 11.27, respectively; the economic values of birth weight and mature weight are 7.35 and -.92; the economic value of feed intake capacity is 3.71 Dfl -1. cow -1.year -1.kg -1.Production circumstancesChapter three and four give the results on the sensitivity of economic values of milk and beef production traits towards production circumstances in situations without and with limitations, respectively. Chapter five deals with the results on the sensitivity of the economic value of feed intake capacity. The production circumstances considered in this study are: input and output limitations, product and production-factor prices, production levels, herd composition and roughage quality.In general, economic values are found to be mainly sensitive to production circumstances that (1) determine the possible use of production-factors saved due to genetic improvement or (2) determine the value of productionfactors for a given use. In situations without output limitations, prices of products and production-factors are of decisive importance in determining economic values of milk and beef production traits. Production levels and feed quality have no noteworthy influence on economic values of milk and beef production traits. The main result of an imposition of milk output limitations is a decrease in economic value of carrier. The imposition of roughage input limitations mainly causes a decrease in economic values of beef production traits relative to the economic values of milk production traits. Simple product output limitations strongly influence relative economic values of production traits. In situations with limitations, economic values are sensitive to product and production- factor prices, milk production level and level of mature weight. The economic value of feed intake capacity is highly sensitive to feed factors (roughage quality) and animal factors (production levels) influencing feed intake of dairy cows. Moreover, the level of the economic values of feed intake capacity is largely determined by the difference between roughage price and concentrate price.The sensitivity of economic values towards production circumstances implies that (1) production circumstances influence level of revenues of breeding programmes, and (2) losses in revenues of breeding programmes occur when circumstances used in defining the breeding goal are incorrect with regard to actual production circumstances at the moments of expression of genetic improvement. In chapter seven, these effects are quantified for two sets of aggregate genotype traits, including milk production traits, feed intake capacity and live weight, and 24 situations of production circumstances (including output limitations, milk production level, energy content roughage and product and production-factors prices). The assumed structure of the breeding programme corresponds to the situation of the total Dutch dairy cattle population.The type of output limitation is of main importance in determining the levels of economic revenues of cattle breeding programmes. Compared with a situation without limitations, imposition of milk and fat output limitations decrease revenues by 23 and 36%, respectively. In situations without limitations, milk prices and feed prices are the main circumstances to consider in determining levels of economic revenues. In situations with milk output limitations the main circumstances are milk production level, milk prices and roughage price. In situations with fat output limitations the main circumstances are milk production level and roughage price.Predicting a situation without an output limitation while actually a milk or fat output limitation exists, will lead to losses in economic revenues of 13-15 or 3-4 Dfl.cow -1per selection round, respectively. In situations with milk output limitations, adjustment of cattle breeding goals by breeding organisations is needed when considerable changes in milk production level and milk prices are observed. In situations with fat output limitations, adjustment is needed with changing milk production level and roughage price.Incorrect prediction of limitations on product output may lead to losses in economic revenues from 1 to 6% of maximum revenues. Losses for incorrect prediction of other circumstances (milk production level, milk prices, feed prices and roughage quality) are 0.0 to 1.3%. These levels of losses are, at least for reasons other than differences in output limitations, too low to justify complete diversification of dairy breeding goals within a cattle breeding programme. Future research on diversification of cattle breeding goals, including aspects of costs, should focuss on differences in output limitations, as a different circumstance between groups of farms or as an uncertain production circumstance.</TT

Genetic variances, trends and mode of inheritance for hip and elbow dysplasia in Finnish dog populations

The aims of this study were to assess genetic variances, trends and mode of inheritance for hip and elbow dysplasia in Finnish dog populations. The influence of time-dependent fixed effects in the model when estimating the genetic trends was also studied. Official hip and elbow dysplasia screening records of 42 421 dogs from seven breeds were analysed with REML. To investigate the mode of inheritance of hip and elbow dysplasia, trait distributions, genetic variances and regressions of offspring phenotypes on parental predicted breeding values were studied separately in males and in females. Genetic trends for hip dysplasia between the years 1983 and 1998 were favourable only in the Rottweiler. In elbow dysplasia, the trends were favourable after the year 1992 in all the four breeds studied but the overall changes were small. The reason for this seemed to be negligible selection pressure against these traits. Time-dependent fixed effects in the model had an influence on the estimated genetic trends, resulting either in a more negative or more positive genetic trend compared with the model from which the time-dependent effects were removed. Mitochondrial or sex-linked inheritance did not seem likely in the expression of hip and elbow dysplasia in the populations studied. Regression coefficients of offspring phenotypes on estimated parental breeding values were approximately equal to their expected value in a situation with equal parental contribution. Furthermore, the phenotypic frequency distributions of hip and elbow dysplasia grades were similar among males and females in each breed studied. No indication of major genes was found in the offspring frequency distributions within individual sires. According to these Finnish data, mode of inheritance for both hip and elbow dysplasia is polygenic (quantitative) with equal expression of the genes from both parents, although the estimates of heritability for hip dysplasia in the Rough Collie and for elbow dysplasia in the German Shepherd and the Golden Retriever were somewhat different in males compared with females

Definition of animal breeding goals for sustainable production systems

What we do is determined by the way we "view" a complex issue and what sample of issues or events we choose to deal with. In this paper, a model based on a communal, cultural, or people-centered worldview, informed by a subjective epistemology and a holistic ontology, is considered. Definitions and interpretations of sustainable agriculture are reviewed. Common elements in published definitions of sustainable agriculture and animal production among those who seek long-term and equitable solutions for food production are resource efficiency, profitability, productivity, environmental soundness, biodiversity, social viability, and ethical aspects. Possible characteristics of future sustainable production systems and further development are presented. The impact of these characteristics on animal breeding goals is reviewed. The need for long-term biologically, ecologically, and sociologically sound breeding goals is emphasized, because animal breeding determined only by short-term market forces leads to unwanted side effects. Hence, a procedure for defining animal breeding goals with ethical priorities and weighing of market and non-market values is suggested. Implementation of non-market as well as market economic trait values in the aggregate genotype, as suggested, may allow for breeding programs that contribute to sustainable production systems. Examples of breeding goals in salmon, cattle, and pigs are given, and the resulting genetic responses are evaluated with respect to economic profit (or costs) and other criteria of sustainability. Important prerequisites for breeding programs for sustainable production are appropriate governmental policies, awareness of our way of thinking, and a more communal worldview informed by a subjective epistemology and a holistic ontology

Breeding for improved welfare in pigs: a conceptual framework and its use in practice

Welfare of animals can be defined as the kind of feelings the environmental conditions bring about in the animals. These feelings depend on the needs of the animals and their degree of satisfaction. Needs of animals, and so their welfare, are partly genetically determined. Therefore, welfare can be changed by breeding. The aim of this study was to investigate how welfare of pigs under modern intensive farm conditions can be improved by genetic selection, with emphasis on the precise definition of the breeding goal and determination of the animal characteristics on which selection can be based in practice. The existing thermoregulation model was used to develop a conceptual framework that describes welfare of growing pigs and production sows with respect to each of their needs as a curvilinear function of the respective environmental conditions. The framework assumes that welfare in terms of feelings is reflected by the physiological and behavioural mechanisms the pig has to activate in order to cope with the various environmental conditions it encounters. Based on those physiological and behavioural responses to changing conditions, five welfare zones can be distinguished for each need. Breeding goals for welfare were defined in terms of the transition points between these welfare zones, such that future pigs would better cope with unfavourable or unfamiliar farming conditions, therewith quickening the domestication process, to some extent. However, as long as genetic parameters for these transition points are not available, more common welfare-related characteristics like temperament, stress resistance and robustness can be included in the breeding goal, as an alternative. For selection among potential breeding candidates, transition points between welfare zones can be determined in sib tests, thereby also collecting the data for estimating genetic parameters. As a cheaper alternative, breeding candidates could be tested under hard conditions and selected on their coping success. In addition, various behavioural tests and operant conditioning tests ( to test a pig's motivation to change its actual environment) can be carried out. Under common conditions on the farm, problems associated with coping (like incidences of diseases, injuries, and stereotypies) and/or other relevant traits ( e. g. saliva cortisol levels, longevity and even production traits) should be recorded routinely and used as selection index information. Selection for improved welfare should lead to more tolerant pigs that are better able to cope with possible unfavourable farm conditions by a more efficient use of the adaptation mechanisms they already possess. It should, however, not result in lowering husbandry standards. More research is needed to assess genetic correlations among various welfare aspects and with production traits to prevent undesired side effects in future populations of pigs

Kijk op fokken gezonde uiers: nieuwe studie wijst opnieuw op sterke relatie van celgetal en uierdiepte met aantal mastitisgevallen

Om het aantal mastitisgevallen d.m.v. fokkerij te reduceren hanteert NRS sinds een aantal jaren een uiergezondheidsindex. Die wordt berekend aan de hand van mastitisvoorspellende kenmerken. Inmiddels is nieuwe informatie beschikbaar, waarmee genetische correlaties zijn berekend en waarmee het mogelijk werd de huidige berekening van de fokwaarde uiergezondheid tegen het licht te houde

Visie op fokkerij voor de biologische landbouw

In dit rapport worden de resultaten beschreven van eenonderzoek naar de visie op fokkerij binnen de biologische landbouw in Nederland. Het doel van dit onderzoek was om, door middel van interviews en discussies met biologische veehouders en maatschappelijke organisaties, te komen tot een duidelijke visie op de fokkerij in de biologische landbouw