Determining the rate of hoof horn growth in sheep is important for understanding the physiology and pathology of the foot and the impact of the environment and the treatment of diseased feet on foot health. It could lead to improved understanding of the interaction between hoof horn and pasture/barn floor characteristics and in methods for prevention and treatment of ovine foot diseases. In the current study, the hoof horn was measured using a previously tested protocol on all eight digits of 21 healthy yearling mule ewes on a farm in North Wales on four occasions over a period of 53 days. The mean hoof horn growth rate was 0·11 mm (s.e.m. 0·02) per day; the residual error variance was 0·024 and the R2 was 0·245. There were no significant differences between hoof horn growth rates in front and hind feet or between medial and lateral claws or over time.

The phasing out of the European Union (EU) milk quota will create opportunities for producers to expand without the constraint of quota which has limited expansion since 1984. Therefore, it will be necessary for Irish dairy producers to become more competitive by increasing performance using the least amount of inputs per unit of output and maximizing the level of technical and economic efficiency. The objectives of the current study were to measure technical, allocative and economic efficiency, and to investigate the associations of key management, qualitative and demographic characteristics on efficiency. Efficiency scores were calculated using the non-parametric methodology data envelopment analysis (DEA). The DEA results showed that on average the sample of Irish dairy producers were not fully efficient in 2008 with technical, allocative and economic efficiency results under variable returns to scale (VRS) of 0·771, 0·740 and 0·571, respectively. In a second stage analysis, Tobit regressions were used to determine the associations of key variables with the technical, allocative and economic efficiency scores. The efficiency scores were included as dependent variables and the key independent variables were a variety of management and demographic variables. Mean calving date, number of grazing days, breeding season length, milk quality, discussion group membership and soil quality were all associated with technical and economic efficiency. Milk recording, use of artificial insemination (AI) and level of dairy specialization were associated with allocative and economic efficiency only. Age and age squared were the only significant demographic associations with the efficiency scores.

Mal de Río Cuarto (MRC) is a devastating disease that reduces yield, quality and economic value of maize in Argentina. The objective of the present study was to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for reactions to MRC from recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Reactions to the endemic MRC disease were evaluated in 145 advanced F2:6 lines, derived from a cross between a resistant (BLS14) and a susceptible (Mo17) line, at four environments in the temperate semi-arid crop region of Argentina. The evaluations of disease score (SCO), disease incidence (INC) and disease severity (SEV) were carried out on each individual RIL. Low heritability estimates were found across environments for SCO (0·23), INC (0·27) and SEV (0·22). A genetic map of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers covering a total genetic distance of 1019 cM was built. QTL for resistance to MRC disease were found on different maize chromosomes. Four significant QTL, each explaining between 0·08 and 0·14 of the total phenotypic variation, were located on chromosomes 1, 4 and 10. Two QTL specific to the INC, and one specific to SEV, may be involved in different mechanisms of resistance to MRC. Although MRC reaction is highly affected by environmental effects, the QTL×environment interaction for INC and SEV was low. Most of the QTL for reaction to MRC detected in the present study were mapped to regions of the maize genome containing genes conferring resistance to various pathogens. The significant QTL across environments are good candidates to select for MRC resistance.

The control of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and its aphid vectors in minimum tillage (MT) and conventionally tilled (CT) winter barley by insecticide seed and foliar spray treatments was investigated in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Similar investigations were undertaken on winter wheat in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Aphids numbers in autumn and BYDV in spring on barley and wheat were significantly lower on MT relative to CT crops, in two of the six seasons. An insecticide spray at Zadoks growth stage (GS) 25 significantly reduced aphids and virus in both MT and CT crops in three of the six seasons of the study. An additional spray at GS 22 provided no benefit. Aphids were significantly fewer in three of the six seasons on crops grown from insecticide treated seeds, relative to untreated seeds. Both MT and CT barley sprayed at GS 25 had significantly fewer aphids than the seed treatment in one of the three seasons. Seed-treated MT and CT barley had significantly less BYDV than controls but significantly more than crops sprayed at GS 25. CT wheat grown from insecticide-treated seed had significantly less BYDV than controls. Overall, CT barley grown from insecticide-treated seed had 6-fold more BYDV than the sprayed crop, while untreated barley had 22-fold more than the spray treatment. In MT barley, the comparable values were 3- and 10-fold respectively. BYDV was almost exclusively the MAV strain. The grain yield for insecticide-sprayed CT barley was significantly greater in two of three seasons than that for untreated plots. In general, MT and CT barley receiving an insecticide spray had greater grain yield than barley grown from insecticide-treated seed, with differences being significant in one of three seasons. It is concluded that BYDV in MT and CT cereals is better controlled by applying a pyrethroid insecticide spray between GS 23 and 25, in autumn, than by treating the seed with a nitroguanidine-type insecticide. In MT crops, a single spray between GS 23 and 25 will give effective control of MAV-type BYDV.

Neural networks (NNs), especially the group method of data handling-type NN (GMDH-type NN), are new tools in modelling growth and production in poultry systems. In the present study, the GMDH-type NN was used to model early egg production (EEP, eggs/bird) in Ross 308 broiler breeders (BBs) from 24 to 29 weeks of age based on their dietary energy and nutrient intake. The selected input variables were intake levels of metabolizable energy (ME; MJ/bird/day), crude protein (CP; g/bird/day), methionine (Met; g/bird/day), and lysine (Lys; g/bird/day). A sensitivity analysis (SA) technique was utilized to evaluate the relative importance of input variables on model output. The GMDH-type NN revealed a high ability in the modelling of EEP based on the input variables investigated. The SA results indicated that the models developed showed most sensitivity to dietary intake of Met, followed by dietary intake of Lys, ME and CP, respectively. The maximum sensitivity of each input variable was considered as the optimum value for maximizing EEP in BB. The suggested optimum values for dietary nutrient intake were as follows: 1·9–2·1 MJ/bird/day for ME, 23 g/bird/day for CP, 0·65–0·8 g/bird/day for Met and 1·4–1·5 g/bird/day for Lys.

Despite practical information and applied results from numerous experimental studies and/or field observations, there is a persistent gap between scientific recommendations and on-farm reality. There are numerous published reports on the impact of dairy heifer herd management conditions on short-term, medium-term and long-term performances, but few studies on actual dairy heifer herd management practices – particularly in France. In an attempt to address this shortfall, a survey was conducted in 2010 on 449 herds located in the second largest dairy production region, the Pays de la Loire region (Western France). Economic-related aspects of heifer farming were not addressed. The essentially qualitative survey information was collected by 107 independent agricultural technologists. A quantitative analysis based on a small set of the most representative key production criteria was also conducted on a representative sub-sample of 286 herds. Mean herd size, at 46·6 cows per farm, and milk production, at 7953 kg milk/cow/lactation, were close to French national averages (47·3 cows per farm and 8109 kg milk/cow/lactation). The survey covered nine core themes and confirmed an all-round lack of precise monitoring on animal growth, as reported in earlier studies performed outside France. Most of the farmers surveyed considered animal weight a useful indicator for estimating growth performance. However, very few actually weighed their animals, despite the fact that 0·80 of the farmers surveyed aimed to calve their heifers before 30 months of age, with 0·55 of them setting a minimum calving weight target of at least 610 kg. Mean calf age at weaning was 2·9 months, but in practice this was >3·5 months in 0·31 of cases. Although farmers differ on certain practices, common core foci emerged: weight or age targets for pre-determined growth and development stages (at weaning or at service), recycling non-marketable milk for feeding young calves, essentially visual oestrus detection methods, and others. Based on the farmers’ declarations, the estimated time spent rearing a heifer from birth to calving ranges from 12 to 15 h per animal, with most farmers spending an estimated 0–2 h/day rearing their heifers. While almost two-thirds of farmers stated that rearing heifers was a necessity, 0·36 of this survey population claimed they enjoyed the work, whereas 0·02 of the farmers felt the work was purely a chore. Mirroring the conclusions from other countries, dairy heifer herd performances could be improved through better animal monitoring and management.

The aim of the current study was to analyse the environmental impacts of fattening bull systems using life cycle assessment (LCA). Three contrasting bull-fattening systems practised in France were compared. Diets H, MS and C differed by the nature of the forage consumed (hay, maize silage and wheat straw, respectively) and the proportion of concentrate, i.e. ground maize grain and soybean meal (0·51, 0·37 and 0·86, respectively) in the diets. Diet MS resulted in the lowest cumulative energy demand and in the highest acidification potential per kg of body weight gain (BWG). Eutrophication potential per kg of BWG was highest for diet C and the lowest for diet H. The relative contribution of eutrophication and acidification impacts by feeds and manure varied according to diet. The system using a hay-based diet resulted in the highest land occupation per kg of BWG and in the lowest impact per ha of land occupied for all impacts. It was found that the use of LCA, involving a multi-criteria assessment allowing the expression of results according to several functional units (kg of BWG and ha of land occupied) is essential to analyse the effectiveness of a pollution reduction strategy.

The foraging behaviour and dietary selection of free-ranging Awassi sheep and Negev goats when shepherded in the Negev Desert was determined. Measurements were made for 9 weeks (W1–W9) from the beginning of February, following winter rains and emergence of annual plants, to the end of March, after the herbaceous vegetation dried up. Since sheep are grazers and goats are intermediate feeders, it was predicted that goats would browse more and consume proportionately more browse than sheep. These predictions were only partially supported. In fact, the foraging pattern was similar between sheep and goats (Mantel test, P<0·05) until W8 and only towards the end, at W9, did patterns differ significantly (Mantel test, P=0·214) between these two ruminants. There was no difference (P=0·575) between sheep and goats in foraging; however, a period effect was found (P<0·001). In February (W2), sheep and goats grazed 0·69 and 0·71 of the time allotted for foraging and neither species browsed. Browsing commenced only at the beginning of March (W4), when goats browsed 0·08 of the time and sheep 0·07 of the allotted time for foraging. The proportion of time spent browsing increased at the end of March (W9) when annuals disappeared, but the total time spent foraging decreased: goats browsed 0·29 and grazed 0·25, while sheep browsed 0·19 and grazed 0·26 of the time allotted for foraging. Goats increased the proportion of browse consumed gradually throughout the season, whereas sheep maintained a relatively higher proportion of herbaceous plants and only in late March (W8), at which time very little herbaceous plants were available, shifted abruptly to consume mainly browse. In W8, browse composed 0·85 of the dry matter (DM) intake in goats and 0·62 of the DM intake in sheep. A simultaneous analysis of foraging time allocation and relative diet composition revealed that both small ruminants were more efficient in consuming browse than herbaceous plants, more so in goats than sheep. It was concluded that vegetation availability and foraging habits affected dietary selection. Both sheep and goats only grazed when herbaceous plants were abundantly available; differences between ruminant species were apparent when herbaceous plants became scarcer, at which time goats browsed more and consumed proportionately more browse than sheep. The results contribute to better understanding of feeding behaviour and dietary selection of sheep and goats under natural desert pastures and could be useful in the management of mixed flocks.

An experiment was carried out in 2006 in the Ebro Valley of Spain to test the differences in chemical composition, ruminal degradation, in vivo digestibility and intake between lucerne hays cut at sunrise (AM) or at sunset (PM). Measurements were carried out at 0·50 flowering during spring, summer and autumn growth cycles. PM hays showed higher contents of soluble carbohydrates, starch and total non-structural carbohydrates than AM hays. No significant differences between times of cutting were found for crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre or acid detergent lignin. Effective degradability of dry matter (DM) was higher in autumn PM hay (0·57±0·008) than AM hay (0·47±0·008). No differences between times of cutting were found for hays cut in spring or summer. Effective degradability of nitrogen was significantly higher in summer and autumn PM hays than in AM hays. However, degradability did not differ significantly between times of cutting for the hays cut in spring. Differences in organic matter digestibility averaged 0·02±0·008 in spring and 0·05±0·008 in autumn, but no differences were found between cutting times for lucerne hays in summer. For DM intake, differences between PM and AM hays were significant in spring (57±2·0 v. 46±2·0 g/kg BW0·75, respectively) and summer (60±2·0 v. 52±2·0 g/kg BW0·75, respectively), but not significant in autumn (55±2·0 v. 51±2·0 g/kg BW0·75, respectively). Finally, digestible organic matter intake in sheep was higher for PM (34±1·3, 36±1·3 and 32±1·3 g/kg BW0·75) than for AM hays (27±1·3, 30±1·3 and 27±1·3 g/kg BW0·75) in spring, summer and autumn, respectively. In conclusion, cutting lucerne at sunset could be a simple management strategy for improving the feed value of hays.

The objective of the current study was to develop Bayesian simultaneous equation models for modelling energy intake and partitioning in growing pigs. A key feature of the Bayesian approach is that parameters are assigned prior distributions, which may reflect the current state of nature. In the models, rates of metabolizable energy (ME) intake, protein deposition (PD) and lipid deposition (LD) were treated as dependent variables accounting for residuals being correlated. Two complementary equation systems were used to model ME intake (MEI), PD and LD. Informative priors were developed, reflecting current knowledge about metabolic scaling and partial efficiencies of PD and LD rates, whereas flat non-informative priors were used for the reminder of the parameters. The experimental data analysed originate from a balance and respiration trial with 17 cross-bred pigs of three genders (barrows, boars and gilts) selected on the basis of similar birth weight. The pigs were fed four diets based on barley, wheat and soybean meal supplemented with crystalline amino acids to meet or exceed Danish nutrient requirement standards. Nutrient balances and gas exchanges were measured at c. 25, 75, 120 and 150 kg body weight (BW) using metabolic cages and open circuit respiration chambers. A total of 56 measurements were performed. The sensitivity analysis showed that only the maintenance component was sensitive to the prior specification, and hence the maintenance estimate of 0·91 MJ ME/kg0·60 per day (0·95 credible interval (CrI): 0·78–1·09) should be interpreted with caution. It was shown that boars’ ability to deposit protein was superior to that of barrows and gilts, as these had an estimated maximum PD (PDmax) of 250 g/day (0·95 CrI: 237–263), whereas the barrows and gilts had a PDmax of 210 g/day (0·95 CrI: 198–220). Furthermore, boars reached PDmax at 109 kg BW (0·95 CrI: 93·6–130), whereas barrows and gilts maximized PD at 81·7 kg BW (0·95 CrI: 75·6–89·5). At 25 kg BW, the boars partitioned on average 5–6% more of the ME above maintenance into PD than barrows and gilts, and this was progressively increased to 10–11% more than barrows and gilts at 150 kg BW. The Bayesian modelling framework can be used to further refine the analysis of data from metabolic studies in growing pigs.

There is a continual requirement for grass-based production systems to optimize economic and environmental sustainability through increased efficiency in the use of all inputs, especially nitrogen (N). An N balance model was used to assess N use efficiency and N surplus, and to predict N losses from grass-based dairy production systems differing in the length of the grazing season (GS). Data from a 3-year grazing study with a 3×3 factorial design, with three turnout dates (1 February, 21 February and 15 March) and three housing dates (25 October, 10 November and 25 November) were used to generate estimates of N use efficiency and N losses. As the length of the GS increased by a mean of 30 days, milk production, milk solids production and milk N output increased by 3, 6 and 6%, respectively. The increase in milk production as the length of the GS increased resulted in a 2% decline in N surplus and a 5% increase in N use efficiency. Increasing GS length increased the proportion of grazed grass in the diet, which increased N cycling within the system, resulting in an 8% increase in milk solids/ha produced/kg of surplus N. The increased cycling of N reduced the quantity of N partitioned for loss to the environment by 8%. Reducing fertilizer N input by 20% increased N use efficiency by 22% and reduced total N losses by 16%. The environmental and production consequences of increased length of the GS and reduced N loss are favourable as the costs associated with N inputs increase.

A seasonal processing sector model was developed to simulate dairy product manufacture in Ireland. Outputs include the quantity of product manufactured, net returns and component values of milk (protein and fat) per month of year. Two milk supply profiles representative of mean calving dates of mid-February and mid-March were evaluated across three milk processing plants with differing capacities for cheese and casein. The analysis was carried out based on average Dutch National quotations over the period 2008–10. The mid-February mean calving date resulted in a lower peak supply with proportionately more milk produced in the months of January–March and October–December, which resulted in higher net returns across the three capacities analysed. Increasing the cheese and casein processing capacity resulted in higher net returns being generated.

The objectives of the present paper were to develop and evaluate empirical equations to predict fractional passage rate (kp) of forages commonly fed to goats using chemical composition of the diet and animal information. Two databases were created. The first (development database) was assembled from four studies that had individual information on animals, diets and faecal marker concentrations over time (up to 120 h post-feeding); it contained 54 data points obtained from Latin square designs. The second (evaluation database) was built using published information gathered from the literature. The evaluation database was comprised of five studies, containing 39 data points on diverse types of diets and animal breeds. The kp was estimated using a time-dependent model based on the Gamma distribution with at least two and up to 12 (rumen)+one (post-rumen) compartments (i.e. G2G1–G12G1) developed from the development database. Statistical analyses were carried out using standard regression analysis and random coefficient model analysis to account for random sources (i.e. study). The evaluation of the developed empirical equation was conducted using regression analysis adjusted for study effects, concordance correlation coefficient and mean square error of prediction. Sensitivity analyses with the developed empirical equation and comparable published equations were performed using Monte Carlo simulations. The G2G1 model consistently had lower sum of squares of errors and greater relative likelihood probabilities than other GnG1 versions. The kp was influenced by several dietary nutrients, including dietary concentration or intake of components such as lignin, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), hemicellulose, crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and animal body weight (BW). The selected empirical equation, adjusted for study effects, () had an R2 of 0·623 and root of mean square error (RMSE) of 0·0122/h. The evaluation of the adequacy of the selected equation with the evaluation database indicated no systematic bias (slope not different from 1), but a low accuracy (0·33) and a persistent mean bias of 0·0129/h. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the selected empirical equation was most sensitive to changes in dry matter intake (DMI, kg/d), BW(kg) and NDF (g/kg dry matter) with standardized regression coefficients of 0·98, −0·43 and −0·32, respectively. The sensitivity analysis also indicated that the greatest forage kp in goats is likely to be c. 0·0569/h. The comparison with a previously published empirical equation containing data on cattle, sheep and goats, suggested that the distribution of the present empirical equation, adjusted for mean bias, is wider and that kp of goats might be similar to cattle and sheep when fed high amounts of forage under confinement conditions.

The present paper develops a mixture regression model that allows for distributional flexibility in modelling the likelihood of a semi-continuous outcome that takes on zero value with positive probability while continuous on the positive half of the real line. A multivariate extension is also developed that builds on past multivariate models by systematically capturing the relationship between continuous and semi-continuous variables, while allowing for the semi-continuous variable to be characterized by a mixture model. The flexibility associated with this model provides potential applications in many production system studies. The empirical model is shown to provide a more accurate measure of mortality rates in cattle feedlots, both independently and within a system including other performance and health factors.

The effects of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, either inactivated (by osmotic pressure, designated IY) or provided as a culture containing live yeast cells (YC), on ruminal fermentation of two different diets were investigated in vitro. Total mixed rations (TMR) having forage:concentrate ratios of 0·6:0·4 (medium–high forage diet) and 0·2:0·8 (low-forage diet) were incubated in batch cultures of mixed ruminal micro-organisms to which either IY (to reach concentrations of 500 and 250 mg product/l incubation medium) or YC (at a concentration of 150 mg product/l) were added directly as powder. To evaluate the effects of the additive on ruminal microbial population, sheep used as donors of rumen fluid were allocated to three experimental groups: Control (no additive), IY and YC, that received a diet with the corresponding additive for 10 days. With both diets, YC decreased ruminal pH compared to control, whereas IY had no effect. Adding yeast products to the high-fibre diet affected total volatile fatty acid (VFA) production and VFA composition, in general with a slight increase in IY and a significantly greater increase in response to the addition of YC. Ammonia nitrogen (P=0·006), total gas production (P<0·001) and in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVD) (P<0·001) showed the highest values with YC. Methane production was higher than the control when the IY inoculum was used, and increased even more with the YC inoculum (P<0·001). With the high-concentrate TMR, no effects on total VFA concentration were observed when yeast additives were used. Similar trends were shown for lactate and methane production and total gas production, where values tended to be higher when using the YC inoculum (P values of 0·055, <0·001, 0·006 and <0·001, respectively). After 144 h of incubation, differences were observed only with the high-fibre diet in the cumulative gas production at 24 h of incubation and in the average fermentation rate, which was greater with YC, although the asymptotic gas production was not affected. These results indicate that live yeasts affect ruminal fermentation slightly more than inactivated yeasts, although both products require a regular administration and some adaptation of the ruminal microbial population for the stimulatory effects to become apparent. The effects of yeasts on ruminal fermentation are diet-dependent, being more noticeable with a high-fibre substrate, and subtle with a high-concentrate diet.

The current study was conducted to compare the responses of broiler chicks (average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (FE)) raised before and after 2000 to dietary protein and lysine through neural networks (NN). The available lysine dose-response data were extracted from the literature and arbitrarily divided into two sets of before and after 2000. The training and testing data sets derived from each group were used to develop the NN models. The developed models were subjected to a sensitivity analysis test to assess the relative importance of dietary protein and lysine on chicks’ responses. An optimization algorithm was used to find the dietary protein and lysine required for maximum ADG and FE, based on each dataset. The results showed that the NN models developed could predict ADG and FE efficiently in broiler chicks of before and after 2000, and the higher accuracies of prediction were attained by these models compared to those of regression models. Sensitivity analysis indicated that ADG and FE were more sensitive to dietary lysine, compared to protein, in both time periods. Based on the optimization results, the protein and lysine requirements for maximum ADG or FE for birds reared after 2000 were lower and higher, respectively, compared to those reared before 2000. The protein requirements for maximum ADG and FE for birds reared before 2000 were 241·3 and 247·0 g/kg diet and for lysine 10·76 and 11·18 g/kg diet, respectively. In birds reared after 2000, maximum ADG was obtained when the diet contained 224·30 g protein/kg diet and 11·75 g lysine/kg diet, whereas maximum FE was achieved with a diet containing 228·3 g protein and 13·1 g lysine.

The present paper examines the effect of the type of supplement given to grazing ewes in early lactation on the performance of ewes and lambs on temperate sown pastures. Lactating ewes grazed perennial ryegrass pastures at either low- or high-herbage masses, between days 8 and 96 of lactation. On the low-herbage mass treatments, ewes were either unsupplemented or received either an energy supplement (sugarbeet pulp) or a protein supplement (1:1 sugarbeet pulp:formaldehyde-treated soyabean meal) between days 8 and 50 of lactation. The provision of supplements or the higher herbage mass led to increases in live weight (LW) and body condition score of ewes during days 8–50 of lactation, while unsupplemented ewes on the low-herbage mass treatment lost LW and had lower body condition scores. After supplementation finished, previously supplemented ewes or those grazing the higher herbage mass lost LW and condition, while unsupplemented ewes grazing the low-herbage mass gained both LW and condition. Non-treatment factors such as ewe dentition score significantly affected ewe and lamb LW gains. Regression analyses indicated that lamb LW gains between days 8 and 50 of lactation were 40–60 g/d greater in lambs from supplemented ewes or ewes grazing the higher herbage mass cf. unsupplemented ewes. Overall, there was no difference in the response of ewes or lambs to the type of supplement. Milk yields were estimated in a subset of ewes (replicate 4). Ewes on the high-herbage mass treatment or those supplemented with protein had higher milk yields than those on the low-herbage mass treatment or those given the energy supplement. Supplemented ewes in this replicate had higher metabolizable energy intakes (MEIs). Measurements of digesta flow in a further subset of ewes indicated that both supplements resulted in greater ruminal and post-ruminal supplies of energy and protein than in the unsupplemented ewes at the lower herbage mass, but differences in ruminal and post-ruminal nutrient provision between the supplements were less than had been intended. It is suggested that this is the reason for there being no statistical difference in the performance of ewes and lambs in response to the type of supplement.