The efficiency of use of feed protein for milk protein production is very poor, particularly for animals offered conserved forages. Contributing to this is the inefficient capture of rumen degradable N in situations where a readily fermentable energy supply is not available for use by the rumen microbial population. The incorporation of a whole crop cereal into a conserved forage could increase rumen protein efficiency. This experiment was carried out to investigate the milk production of dairy cows offered a conserved forage of a whole crop barley and kale bicrop compared with grass silage, and a mixture of the two.

The ‘standard’ human approach test has been used extensively since the early 1980's to assess fear responses in most farmed species. However, in recent years, there has been considerable debate questioning its efficacy given the short duration of the familiarisation period and the suitability of the location of the testing environment, i.e. the home pen versus a novel arena (Pedersen, 1997). It is possible that the test simply reflects an animal's level of motivation to explore the novel arena and any novel objects therein rather than a specific response to the presence of a human. This work addresses both the length of acclimatisation period and the location of the test arena.

It is well established that the weaning process is one of the most stressful periods for a piglet, which can alter its immune function and performance. Pigs have no specified dietary requirement for vitamin C with it being provided via colostrum and endogenous production. However, during stressful periods, physiological requirements increase, and supplementation may be required. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin C supplementation in high and low stress weaning systems on performance and immune function of weaner pigs.

In suckler cows follicular development resumes early in the postpartum period, but failure of successive dominant follicles to ovulate results in a prolonged interval from calving to first ovulation (postpartum interval, PPI). Calf isolation and restricted suckling induce ovulation of either the current or subsequent dominant follicle (DF), probably due to changes in LH pulsatility, but this ovulation is generally silent and followed by an 8-10 day cycle due to lack of progesterone priming. The aim of this study was threefold: 1) to examine the acute effects of calf isolation and restricted suckling on LH pulse frequency and PPI, 2) to determine if progesterone priming would eliminate silent heats and short cycles, and 3) to determine if oestradiol treatment would cause atresia of the current dominant follicle and induce new wave emergence providing a “fresh” dominant follicle at progesterone withdrawal.

Trace element deficiencies have been reported throughout the UK and are known to decrease the productivity and welfare of animals. Selenium deficiency is characterised by muscular myopathy, white muscle disease or stiff lamb disease. Subclinical deficiencies can also cause reduced growth rate and impaired immune function. In ruminant animals, cobalt is required for the synthesis of vitamin B12 and deficiency leads to Pine, characterised by emaciation, anaemia and listlessness. Trace element deficiencies can be due to either a single element or multiple elements. Situations occur particularly in sheep where cobalt and/or selenium are deficient but where copper supplementation can be toxic. To correct these deficiencies, a single long-lasting and effective treatment in the form of a soluble glass bolus has been designed to release cobalt and selenium. This new bolus is similar to the commercial Cosecure® bolus, which is a Co/Se/Cu soluble glass, in which zinc replaces the copper.

Changing management in UK lowland pasture systems has lead to larger fertiliser inputs, increased intensity and frequency of cutting and a movement towards silage rather than hay based systems. This has lead to changes in both floral diversity and the seasonal characteristics of sward architectural complexity, which include the loss of key vegetation structures at critical times of the year. e.g., seed heads. This has had large impacts on invertebrate communities in pasture systems and is thought to be the cause of large-scale declines in both the abundances and diversity of invertebrates (Duffey et al., 1974). This decline in invertebrate abundance has also been linked to a concomitant decline in farmland bird populations reliant on invertebrates as a food sources (Vickery et al., 2001). By manipulating cattle grazing, cutting and fertiliser regimes in intensively managed pasture systems the role of vegetation structure for a variety of invertebrate communities has been investigated.

The importance of considering public opinion in technology development and use is widely recognised. Several studies have assessed public opinion on modern biotechnologies used in animal production systems (Eurobarometer, 1997), but few have focused on specific technologies. The aim of this study was to evaluate attitudes to two defined technologies, bovine somatotrophin (BST) and automated milking systems (AMS), as part of a wider study of the role of ethical analysis in technology assessment. The preliminary results described below highlight only certain aspects of a much more comprehensive survey.

Postal surveys of consumers and farmers were conducted in the Spring/Summer of 1998. The farmers’ population sample (n=1,000) was randomly selected from the National Farmers Union Dairy Farmers database. The selection, based on an nth term sample, was stratified for geographical region only.

Subclinical laminitis syndrome is associated with the appearance of haemorrhages in the sole and white line (Vermunt 1992). Feeding diets with a high proportion of concentrates to forage has been associated with an increased severity or incidence of sole haemorrhages (Weaver 1979; Livesey and Fleming 1984). It is widely accepted that using high levels of starchy feed ingredients may increase the risk or severity of subclinical laminitis syndrome. This experiment was designed to study the development of subclinical laminitis syndrome by feeding diets which differed in starch and fibre content when animals were bedded on chopped straw or wood shavings.

A total of 40 Holstein heifers were divided into 4 groups in a 2 x 2 factorial experiment. The duration of the study was from shortly before calving until 12 weeks after calving. Heifers were housed in cubicles on rubber mats with either chopped straw or wood shavings as bedding.

The calpain enzyme system plays an important role in the proteolytic events leading to the conversion of muscle to meat in livestock species. Increasing evidence suggests that calpastatin, the inhibitory component of the system, correlates negatively with tenderness in beef and pigs (Koohmaraie et al., 1995; Sensky et al., 1998). In this study, the immunoreactivity of calpastatin in three pig breeds with different meat quality traits have been measured.

Thirty-six female pigs, comprising equal numbers of Duroc (D), Large White (LW) and Duroc x Large White (50:50 DxLW) breeds were reared under identical conditions at a commercial pig unit and slaughtered at a commercial slaughterhouse on the same day by electrical stunning and severance of the carotid arteries. Carcass weight, backfat thickness, pH45 and pHu were all monitored.

Micronisation or infrared processing has been used as a thermal process of feedstuffs. In this technology, feeds are subjected to rapid surface and internal heating by the application of infrared light. This energy is absorbed by the product and causes constituent molecules to vibrate, resulting in rapid internal heating. A major advantage of micronisation over other heat treatment methods is the shorter heating time applied during processing. The effects of micronisation of cereals on starch structure and digestibility of starch and crude protein (CP) and performance of pigs has been investigated (Zarkadas and Wiseman, 2001). However, data on ruminal starch and protein degradability of micronised cereals, especially corn grain are limited. Furthermore, the effect of micronisation on the type of corn true protein escaping from the rumen is lacking. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of micronising corn grain on ruminal kinetic parameters of dry matter (DM), CP and starch and to determine the types of corn true protein escaping from the rumen to small intestine by using SDS-PAGE.

A non-invasive method is proposed for determining the extent of degradation in the rumen, based on the gas production technique and mathematical modelling. The exercise involves developing both a statistical model and a kinetic model (France et al., 2000). The statistical model shifts (or maps) the gas accumulation profile obtained using a faecal inoculum to a rumen gas profile, thus obviating the need for rumen sampling. The kinetic model determines the extent of degradation in the rumen from the shifted profile. It is presented as a generalised mathematical function, allowing any one of a number of alternative equation forms to be selected.

In dairy farm animals, production of milk and its components varies in a curvilinear pattern over the course of the lactation. Knowledge of the lactation curve may provide a worthwhile information source about the pattern of milk production which in turn could be used for herd management decisions. Moreover, inter-relationships among lactation curve parameters could be utilised in applied animal breeding programmes to change more effectively the shape of the lactation. Many studies have been undertaken to apply different mathematical models to obtain more accurate prediction of the shape of the lactation curve among which the incomplete gamma function first proposed by Wood (1967) has been broadly used by previous research workers (Rekaya et al., 2000; Tekerli et al., 2000). The main objective of the present research was to apply Wood’s function for estimating phenotypic correlations among lactation curve parameters in Iranian first lactation buffaloes.

The live weight range 20-40 kg is a critical phase for lean growth optimisation. One of the constraints on efficient pig growth is floor space allocation which is often seen as a compromise between maximum performance and economic return / unit of floor space. It is documented that a reduction of floor space, usually by removing or increasing the number of pigs in the pen, decreases both pig growth and feed intake (Kornegay et al 1984). Interpretation of these experiments is difficult, as the modification of other pen resources such as feeding space are not adjusted for. It is therefore hypothesised that by reducing floor space provision whilst at the same time increasing feeding opportunity will optimise pig performance. The objective of this experiment was to test this hypothesis.

The effect of pregnancy on milk yield and composition has long been recognised (Erb, 1952), yet it is not currently directly accounted for in genetic evaluations. In the UK, total lactation yields are adjusted for the effect of calving interval (CI) with adjustment factors (Brotherstone, 1987) which assume a constant effect across gestation stage (GS). The effect of pregnancy however varies with gestation stage (Coulon, 1995) and is different from the effect of CI. In genetic evaluation based on test day models, it is essential to account for the direct effect of pregnancy specific to individual records. The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of gestation stage on daily milk yield and its components in first lactation.

There has been a shift over the last few years in the profile of diseases that veterinarians encounter in the dog. Improvements and developments in antibiotics, antihelminthics and more effective vaccines have controlled many of the infectious diseases that have caused problems in the past. As a result, there has been a relative increase in diseases that have a genetic basis.

Diets for growing-fattening pigs are normally low in fat and based on cereals, which supply approximately two thirds of the total energy required by pigs. Restricted concentrations of oil (between 2 and 10% of total dry matter) have been used to improve growth rate and feed efficiency. Palm oil and oil palm by-products have been used as the main energy source in the growth cycle as substitutes for cereals (Ocampo and Lean 1999). The objective of this experiment was to evaluate three oils as dietary substitutes for maize grain in growing-fattening pigs, based on growth performance and carcass characteristics using ultrasonic measurements.

Fermentation of the increasingly energy-dense rations offered to meet the nutrient demands of today's high yielding dairy cows ought to adversely rumen fibre degradation. Not only could rumen fluid pH be depressed below that assumed critical to cellulolysis for extended periods of time but the quantity of readily fermentable carbohydrate available will further exacerbate this effect. These, together with the reduced rumen retention time of feed particles associated with high feeding levels could significantly limit fibre degradation. This in vitro study was designed to identify the pH at which degradation becomes impaired, the extent of this depression and whether the effect varies according to the feedstuffs offered.

Recommended P concentrations in pig diets have been reduced recently (NRC, 1998) but few studies have evaluated these throughout both the growing and finishing stages (Harper et al., 1997). These new recommended P concentrations were based on feed intakes of 1.8 and 2.8 kg/d for growers and finishers respectively which are much higher than the feed intakes of 1.4 and 2.1 kg/d currently achieved in normal UK commercial practice. This suggests that dietary P concentrations should be increased from NRC (1998) estimates to approximately 6 g/kg to ensure adequate growth performance and structural soundness of UK pigs. Phytase enzyme has also been shown to improve the bioavailability of dietary P (Harper et al., 1997). This experiment was designed to examine the effects of grower/finisher diet P concentration and presence of phytase on growth performance and finisher bone thickness and strength.

Despite many promising characteristics as a low-input home-grown protein source, red clover (Cv) silage supplies deficient amounts of rumen available carbohydrates to allow an efficient use of the available forms of soluble N. An in vitro experiment was designed in order to determine the optimum rate of inclusion of a rumen degradable carbohydrate source to optimise rumen microbial N yield of Cv silage.

Embryonic loss between day 8 and 16 after insemination is a major cause of reproductive wastage in cattle. Plane of nutrition in the peri-ovulatory period is inversely related to both systemic progesterone and embryo survival in pigs and sheep. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term changes in plane of nutrition during the peri-ovulatory period on systemic progesterone and on embryo survival in cattle.