Environmental impact of the typical heavy pig production in Italy

The Italian pig sector is mainly focused on the production of heavy pigs used for the traditional dry-cured hams. At slaughter a minimum of 160 kg and 9 months age are required to comply with the production specifications of the ham consortia. Advancing livestock age and increasing fat deposition negatively affect feed conversion ratio, which is one of the main determinants of meat production environmental impact. The aim of the study was to provide a first evaluation of the environmental impact potentials of heavy pig production in Italy through a Life Cycle Assessment approach. Additional objectives were to identify the main hot spots and the most important data gaps in the analysis. A cradle to farm gate Life Cycle Assessment was performed in 6 intensive pig farms located in Northern Italy. Key parameters concerning on-farm activities, inputs and outputs were collected through personal interviews with farmers. The functional unit was 1 kg live weight. Direct land use change was considered in the emissions of imported soybean. The average pig slaughter live weight was 168.7 \ub1 33.3 kg. Environmental impacts per kg live weight were generally higher than those generated in the production of pigs slaughtered at lower weight. The global warming potential was on average 4.25 \ub1 1.03 kg CO2 eq/kg live weight. Feed chain (crop production at farm and purchased feed) was the major source of impact for all the categories and the most important hotspot of heavy pig production. Farm size and reproductive efficiency appeared important factors in the environmental burden of heavy pig production: the largest and most efficient farm (as live weight produced per sow) had impact potentials per kg live weight much lower than those generated in the less efficient farm and similar to the ones reported on pigs slaughtered at a lower weight. The wide range of impact values within farms reveals opportunities for environmental improvements in the production of the traditional heavy pig. There is a need for further data and models on methane enteric emissions and nitrogen excretions above 100 kg of live weight

Milk ejection during automatic milking in dairy cows

Tactile stimulation (manual or mechanical) of the mammary gland causes alveolar milk ejection through a neuro-endocrine reflex arc (Dzidic et al., 2004). Oxytocin is the hormone that induces the contraction of the myoepitelial cells surrounding the alveoli

Milking procedures, milk flow curves and somatic cell count in dairy cows

Recent availability of electronic mobile milk flow meters allows to study in details milk flow patterns during milking. A normal milk flow profile is characterized by an incline phase, with increasing milk flow, a plateau phase, with steady milk flow, and a decline phase. In these phases milk flow is influenced by many factors: genetic characteristics of the cows, regulation of milking machine and milking routine

Effect of season and cow cleanliness on teat apex score and milk somatic cell count

Teat end tissue could change after repeated milkings, resulting in the development of a callous ring around the teat orifice. Factors affecting teat hyperkeratosis include: teat end shape, production level, stage of lactation, lactation number, milking management (especially slow milking and over-milking). Also harsh weather conditions or sudden weather changes can affect the level of teat hyperkeratosis. Somatic cells count in milk is an indicator of udder safety and is influenced by stage and number of lactation, milking procedure, hygiene condition of cubicles and udder, seasonal variations. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of season and cow cleanliness on teat end condition and somatic cell count (SCC). A sample of 16 dairy farms (80 cows on average) were visited during winter, summer and intermediate seasons (autumn or spring) at evening milking. Hygiene score (Schreiner and Ruegg, 2003) and teat score (Mein et al., 2001) were assessed for each milking cows. Individual SCC and milk quality were obtained from AIA database. Records were Linear Score (LS) per cell count, average Udder hygiene Score (US) and average Teat Score (TS). Two classes of observations were defined on US basis: 642 or >2 score. All data (2161 observations) were analyzed using analysis of variance (proc GLM, SAS). LS showed very low values but with high variability (2.9\ub11.7 on average); TS was very good (1.8\ub10.62). Season had a significant effect (P < 0.001) on milk quality (fat and protein) with higher values during winter in comparison with other season; unexpected no effect was obtained on LS. Season also affected TS with higher value during intermediate seasons. US was significantly higher (P<0.05) during winter in comparison with other seasons. TS were significantly lower (P<0.02) in the first class (based on US) compared to the second one. The study confirmed the great effect of season on milk quality and teat conditions and showed that udder cleanliness had a positive consequence on teat apex condition

How can farming intensification affect the environmental impact of milk production? 

The intensification process of the livestock sector has been characterized in recent decades by increasing output of product per hectare, increasing stocking rate, including more concentrated feed in the diet, and improving the genetic merit of the breeds. In dairy farming, the effects of intensification on the environmental impact of milk production are not completely clarified. The aim of the current study was to assess the environmental impacts of dairy production by a life cycle approach and to identify relations between farming intensity and environmental performances expressed on milk and land units. A group of 28 dairy farms located in northern Italy was involved in the study; data collected during personal interviews of farmers were analyzed to estimate emissions (global warming potential, acidification, and eutrophication potentials) and nonrenewable source consumption (energy and land use). The environmental impacts of milk production obtained from the life cycle assessment were similar to those of other recent studies and showed high variability among the farms. From a cluster analysis, 3 groups of farms were identified, characterized by different levels of production intensity. Clusters of farms showed similar environmental performances on product basis, despite important differences in terms of intensification level, management, and structural characteristics. Our study pointed out that, from a product perspective, the most environmentally friendly way to produce milk is not clearly identifiable. However, the principal component analysis showed that some characteristics related to farming intensification, such as milk production per cow, dairy efficiency, and stocking density, were negatively related to the impacts per kilogram of product, suggesting a role of these factors in the mitigation strategy of environmental burden of milk production on a global scale. Considering the environmental burden on a local perspective, the impacts per hectare were positively associated with the intensification level

Experimental and theoretical investigation on conformational and spectroscopic properties of dimethyl dithiodiglycolate, [CH3OC(O)CH2S]2

Dimethyl dithiodiglycolate (DTG), [CH3OC(O)CH2S]2, was synthetized by complete oxidation of methyl thioglycolate (MTG) with I2, and characterized by gas chromatography coupled with electron-impact mass spectrometry. Fifteen stable conformers were found with the B3LYP/6-31 + G* approximation, with calculated populations at ambient temperature higher than 1%. The IR and Raman spectra of liquid DTG were interpreted for the first time, in terms of equilibrium between four conformers. The UV–visible spectra of DTG in solutions of ethanol, isopropanol and acetonitrile present a low-intensity band around 230 nm, interpreted mainly as arising from n → π* transitions localized at the C[dbnd]O groups, according to the prediction of TD-DFT calculations.Fil: Juncal, Luciana Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica ; ArgentinaFil: Bava, Yanina Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica ; ArgentinaFil: Tamone, Luciana Mariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica ; ArgentinaFil: Seng, Samantha. Université de Lille 1 Sciences et Technologies; FranciaFil: Tobón, Yeny A.. Université de Lille 1 Sciences et Technologies; FranciaFil: Sobanska, Sophie. Université de Lille 1 Sciences et Technologies; FranciaFil: Picone, Andrea Lorena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica ; ArgentinaFil: Romano, Rosana Mariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica ; Argentin

New Avoparcin-like Molecules from the Avoparcin Producer Amycolatopsis coloradensis ATCC 53629

Amycolatopsis coloradensis ATCC 53629 is the producer of the glycopeptide antibiotic avoparcin. While setting up the production of the avoparcin complex, in view of its use as analytical standard, we uncovered the production of a to-date not described ristosamynil-avoparcin. Ristosamynil-avoparcin is produced together with α-and β-avoparcin (overall indicated as the avoparcin complex). Selection of one high producer morphological variant within the A. coloradensis population, together with the use of a new fermentation medium, allowed to increase productivity of the avoparcin complex up to 9 g/L in flask fermentations. The selected high producer displayed a non-spore forming phenotype. All the selected phenotypes, as well as the original unselected population, displayed invariably the ability to produce a complex rich in ristosamynil-avoparcin. This suggested that the original strain deposited was not conforming to the description or that long term storage of the lyovials has selected mutants from the original population

Strain improvement and strain maintenance revisited. The use of actinoplanes teichomyceticus atcc 31121 protoplasts in the identification of candidates for enhanced teicoplanin production

Multicellular cooperation in actinomycetes is a division of labor-based beneficial trait where phenotypically specialized clonal subpopulations, or genetically distinct lineages, perform complementary tasks. The division of labor improves the access to nutrients and optimizes reproductive and vegetative tasks while reducing the costly production of secondary metabolites and/or of secreted enzymes. In this study, we took advantage of the possibility to isolate genetically distinct lineages deriving from the division of labor, for the isolation of heterogeneous teicoplanin producer phenotypes from Actinoplanes teichomyceticus ATCC 31121. In order to efficiently separate phenotypes and associated genomes, we produced and regenerated protoplasts. This approach turned out to be a rapid and effective strain improvement method, as it allowed the identification of those phenotypes in the population that produced higher teicoplanin amounts. Interestingly, a heterogeneous teicoplanin complex productivity pattern was also identified among the clones. This study suggests that strain improvement and strain maintenance should be integrated with the use of protoplasts as a strategy to unravel the hidden industrial potential of vegetative mycelium