Phosphorus in farm roadway substrates: contrasting spatial and temporal patterns in dairy and beef farms

To what extent veterinarians active in the dairy or beef sector follow the antimicrobial therapy guidelines made available in different European countries for bovine respiratory disease (BRD) outbreaks, and whether differences in therapeutic or preventive preferences for BRD management exist, is currently unknown. Therefore, the objectives of this cross-sectional study were to compare vaccination coverage and primary antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory treatment on dairy, beef and mixed-breed farms in northern Belgium, and determine their compliance with the recommendations made by the Belgian formulary. Information on antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory drug use and vaccination coverage from 190 BRD outbreaks in 180 herds, submitted by 101 veterinarians, was analysed. Multivariable linear probability models, adjusted for clustering at the veterinarian level, were used to determine differences between dairy and beef farms. Antimicrobials and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were used in 93.5% and 81.7% of the BRD outbreaks, respectively. First-line antimicrobials were used as primary treatment in only 42.3%, 50.9% and 38.6% of dairy, beef and mixed-breed farms, respectively. Significant differences (p<0.05) were observed between dairy and beef farms in terms of use of long-acting macrolides (-17.2 percentage points [pp]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -31.9, -2.5), steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (15.2 pp; CI: 0.5, 29.8) and vaccination coverage (bovine respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus type 3 [33.1 pp; Cl: 15.7-50.6] and Mannheimia haemolytica [23.1 pp; Cl: 3.4-39.8]). The herds that participated in this study were likely among the more motivated regarding BRD control. As such, the information on vaccination coverage is likely not entirely representative of herds in the study area. Interpretation is further complicated by the fact that vaccinated herds were potentially less likely to face a BRD outbreak and therefore participate in the current study. This study reveals differences in the primary use of (N)SAIDs, type of antimicrobials used and vaccination coverage on beef and dairy farms in the study region, and also differences in the appropriateness of antimicrobial selection based on the Belgian formulary.

A voluntary control programme for Johne’s disease, the Irish Johne’s Control Programme (IJCP) has been implemented in Ireland since 2017. The objective of this observational study was to assess Irish beef and dairy farmers’ Johne’s disease knowledge, implemented management practices and IJCP opinions. A questionnaire open to dairy and beef farmers was distributed via social media and email. In total 126 responses were used for this study; these responses came from mostly young farmers (18–25 years old) and represent a small proportion of the total number of dairy and beef farmers in Ireland whose average age is 55.Most respondents claimed to know what Johne’s disease was (73%; 92/126) and associated the disease to loss of body condition (68%; 78/114) and diarrhoea (59%; 67/114). Twenty-eight respondents (mostly dairy farmers; 22/28) reported positive cases in their premises. And 38% reported to implement management practices to prevent Johne’s disease transmission within or into their herd (i.e. management of milk for calf consumption and isolation of Johne’s test-positive or newly purchased stock; 47/124).Eighteen percent (22/125) of respondents were, at the time of questionnaire or previously, members of the IJCP. The main benefits reported by some of the participating farmers were identification of positive cases (29%; 4/14), and management of milk for calf consumption (21%; 3/14). While the main disadvantage was inaccurate testing methods (50%; 10/20). The main reasons reported for the lack of participation in the IJCP were not being aware of the programme (52%; 53/102) and not having a Johne’s disease problem on the farm (48%; 49/102).In conclusion, this study suggests that while young farmers are aware of Johne’s disease, their participation in the IJCP is limited and could benefit from further promotion. Studies representing the wider farming community in Ireland are warranted to gather non-biased input and contribute to Johne’s disease control in Ireland.

Small changes in the large stock of soil organic carbon (SOC) can have a substantial influence on the climate impact of agriculture. We used information from a Swedish soil monitoring program, in combination with farm census data, to analyze decadal SOC concentrations and SOC stock changes on dairy farms compared with other farm types, and to quantify the climate impact of these changes on dairy farms. Soil monitoring data included topsoil samples from two inventories on 159 dairy farms, 86 beef farms, 318 arable farms, and 13 pig farms, taken at the same locations in 2001–2007 and 2011–2017. Concentrations of SOC on dairy farms (3.0%) were significantly higher than on arable farms (2.3%) and pig farms (2.4%), but not significantly different from beef farms (3.1%). SOC concentration was correlated with proportion of ley at farm scale. SOC stocks in the upper 20 cm increased significantly on dairy, beef, and arable farms, by 0.38, 0.14, and 0.21 Mg C ha−1 year−1, respectively, between 2001–2007 and 2011–2017. For dairy farms, this corresponded to −1.4 Mg CO2 ha−1 and approximately −0.22 kg CO2 kg−1 energy-corrected milk, demonstrating that SOC changes could have a substantial influence on the climate footprint of milk.

Tick infestation is a major problem constraining animal production and productivity in Ethiopia showing the need for tackling the situation. A crosssectional study was carried out to determine tick prevalence and associated risk factors among cattle reared on dairy, beef and free-range grazing farms of Haramaya University from November 2014 to April 2015. A total of 519 animals were randomly selected. Ticks were collected and identified under stereomicroscopic examination. A total of 384 (73.9%) animals were positive for tick infestation which was higher on both beef (79.2%) and dairy (82.3%) than on free-range grazing (32.4%) cattle with OR = 8 (95% CI 4.2-16.9) and OR= 9 (95% CI 5.0-18.8) in beef and dairy animals, respectively. Infestation was significantly lower on Borana breed (20%; 95% OR CI 0.5-1.99) than on others. Difference in infestation between sexes and among the age groups of animals were not observed (p &gt; 0.05). Of positive cattle, 52.9%, 12.8%, 7.0% and 27.3% were infested with single, two, three and four genera of ticks, respectively. In positive animals, subgenus Boophilus (51.0%), Amblyomma (58.3%), Hyalomma (48.2%) and Rhipicephalus (53.1%) tick genera were observed. Multiple tick genera infestation were more frequent in cattle managed under both beef (34.7 to 62.9%) and dairy (22.2 to 55.1%) farm types than that of free-range (4.4 to 14.8%) farm types. All the currently encountered tick genera infested 48.5%, 46.8% and 4.8% of beef, dairy and free range grazing cattle farms, respectively. The result showed all animals are found in endemic environment for tick infestation and thus the burden might cause economic loses mainly by reducing milk and meat yields, body weight gain, skin and hides quality, and risk of tick-borne diseases. Therefore, tick infestation in the study farms warrants strategic tick control approaches.Keywords: Beef farm; Dairy farm; Free-range grazing; Infestation; Tick genera

We evaluated the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance in enterococci from animal farms and the potential relation of resistance to antimicrobial use. Enterococci from faecal samples from 18 beef cattle, 18 dairy cattle, 18 swine, 13 chicken, and eight turkey farms were prospectively evaluated over a 6 year period from 1998 to 2003. We evaluated 1256 isolates of Enterococcus faecium and 656 isolates of Enterococcus faecalis. None was vancomycin resistant. Quinupristin/dalfopristin, gentamicin and ciprofloxacin resistance rates in E. faecium were 2%, 0% and 55% in beef cattle, 8%, 7% and 47% in dairy cattle, 21%, 1% and 47% in swine, 85%, 12% and 23% in chicken, and 52%, 13% and 24% in turkey isolates, respectively. For E. faecalis, gentamicin resistance rates were 0% in beef cattle, 24% in dairy cattle, 37% in swine, 32% in chicken, and 29% in turkey isolates, whereas 12%, 9%, 21%, 64% and none of isolates from beef, dairy, swine, chicken, and turkey farms, respectively, were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Quinupristin/dalfopristin resistance in E. faecium was more common on chicken and turkey farms using virginiamycin (P<0.0001 for both) compared with farms not using a streptogramin, gentamicin resistance was more common on dairy farms using gentamicin (P<0.0001) compared with farms not using this antibiotic, and ciprofloxacin resistance was more common on turkey and dairy farms using enrofloxacin compared with those with no enrofloxacin use (P=0.02 and P=0.04, respectively). For E. faecalis, gentamicin resistance was more frequently detected on dairy and swine farms using gentamicin (P<0.0001 and P=0.0052, respectively) and ciprofloxacin resistance was more common on beef farms using enrofloxacin (P<0.0001) compared with farms not using these antimicrobials. PFGE showed multiple strain types with some clones common between animals of the same animal species. This study shows the presence of a significant reservoir of antibiotic-resistant enterococci among farm animals. Resistance was more common on farms using antimicrobial agents.

To examine and compare the technical efficiency of dairy sector and the beef sector, this research introduced the main indicators of milk and beef production in the world, EU and Hungarian aggregates. Based on the data it can be said that the milk and beef production of Hungary does not occupy any significant position in the world as well as in the European Union neither today nor even in the past. If Hungry must compete in the European counties and international market, their dairy sector must focus to increase of their production efficiency as the key breakthrough point. This paper we compared technical efficiency of both dairy and beef sectors in total, for the year 2014 and 2015 separately and based on the farm size. The specific objectives of the research are: comparing dairy and beef farms efficiency in Hungary. Based on the results, we can determine which sector in Hungary is more effective. The second objective is to compare the efficiencies of both the sectors in 2014 and 2015 separately and from the results we can determine which year was more effective in terms of production efficiency and the third objective of the research is technical efficiency comparison of certain economic sizes for both sectors. In the research, we used (KOVACS, 2009) deterministic (DEA) model adapted to the Hungarian dairy farms and beef farms. For the dairy farms milk and dairy products as well as meat (other income). The input factors originated from the domestic AKI - FADN database. Summarizing the results of the research it can be conclude that the dairy sector is more effective than the beef sector in Hungary. In terms of years compared 2014 was more effective for both sector as compared with 2015. In regards to the farm size almost the same result in evaluating the scale of efficiency, which means that large economies can in most cases, manage resources more efficiently than small farms. In the examined years, based on the results of the DEA model, the VRS technical efficiency of the test for these two years was 72.90% for the dairy farms and 63.60% for the beef farms, which means that the dairy sector is more efficient than the beef sector in Hungary. The VRS technical efficiency of the research was 82.10% in 2014 and 75.10% in 2015 for the dairy farms and 77.50% in 2014 and 68.90% in 2015 for the beef farms, which means that both the dairy sector and the beef sectors followed the same trend and were more efficient in 2014 compared to the efficiency in 2015. The large size dairy farms were most effective in Hungary in the examined period (90.90%). VRS technical efficiency for small farms is 88% and the total number of small, the technical efficiency medium farms was 72.80% For the beef sector VRS technical efficiency for small farms is 71.30% and the technical efficiency medium farms was 74.40% and 70% of the beef meat producing farms in Hungary are medium sized. So, the conclusion is the small size dairy farms have a higher VRS efficiency than the small size beef farms whereas medium sized beef farms had higher VRS efficiency than the medium size dairy farms. As a conclusion, both dairy and beef sectors in Hungary have the potential to overcome technology and knowledge constraints and attain the upmost attainable productivity level through improvements in; farmer volume of production i.e. output, beef cattle technologies, and advertising, and the efficiency of the technology transfer process.&#x0D; JEL Code: Q13

A one-year prospective survey was conducted to study the incidence of and potential risk factors for farm-related injuries in Eastern Ontario. One hundred and seventeen dairy and beef farms were surveyed using a personal interview. Information was collected on demographic characteristics of the farm owners, workers, and families; characteristics of the farm operations; and information on behaviors potentially affecting injury risk. Monthly telephone contact was then maintained with the farms for one year in order to document all farm-related injuries. Overall and specific injury rates were calculated. Treatment patterns for these injuries were described. The statistical significance of several potential risk factors for injury was evaluated; assessment of relative risk estimates (RR) and adjustment for confounding factors was done using logistic regression analysis. The overall farm injury rate was 7.0 persons injured per 100 person-years (95% C.I.: 4.9,9.1, n = 547). Common patterns of injury by ICD-9-E-Code included accidents caused by farm machinery (E919.0), accidental falls (E880-8), and injuries caused by animals (E906). Variables found in multivariate logistic models to be predictive of injury occurrence were living on a beef farm (RR = 2.5; p = 0.01); increased farm work experience (trend: p less than 0.01); full-time exposure to farm work (RR = 2.5; p = 0.04); and, in farm owners, the use of prescriptions medications (RR = 2.7; p = 0.07). Forty-six percent of the farm-related injuries were treated in a hospital-based emergency department (ER). Efforts to monitor the incidence of farm injuries using an ER-based information system have the potential to significantly under-estimate the scope of the regional farm injury problem in Eastern Ontario.

A partial life cycle assessment of the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of feeding 3-nitrooxypropanol and nitrate to cattle

Genetic diversity and shedding profiles for Cryptosporidium parvum in adult cattle and their calves

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Three manuscripts form the foundation of this dissertation exploring the impact of droughts on financial markets and the economy focusing on dairy, sheep and beef farming. The first manuscript exhibited in chapter 2 advances the knowledge by empirically examining the relationships between droughts and farms’ capital structure (measured in terms of real debt and equity) in New Zealand. Using microeconomic farm-level financial information accessible from the tax authorities, we evaluate how past droughts (measured by the New Zealand Pasture Growth Index) impact farms' capital structure. We demonstrate that impact of droughts on short-term and long-term debts, equity for dairy farms, and short-term debt for sheep and beef farms is positive and statistically significant. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The second manuscript described in chapter 3 empirically tests the relationships between droughts (as measured by the New Zealand Pasture Growth Index-NZPGI) and banks' agricultural non-performing loans (NPLs) (loans overdue by 90 days or more) at the regional level. This estimation pools data from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA), the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), and Federated Farmers' farming surveys and tests the model using panel data fixed-effects regression modelling. Our results illustrate a statistically significant positive impact of droughts on dairy farming NPLs. However, we find no significant impact of droughts on sheep/beef farming NPLs.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The third manuscript stated in chapter 4 outlines the impact of droughts on dairy, sheep, and beef sector exports – measured in terms of both volume and value. This study produces estimates at the world, and income level, based on data from UN Comtrade, the World Bank, and a measure of droughts (the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index) of regularly exporting countries from 1995-2020. Findings suggest that droughts over the studied time significantly affected agricultural export quantities of dairy, sheep, and beef. We find that while high-income nations exhibit a greater decline in the export of beef and sheep both during and after droughts, medium-low-income countries show a greater reduction in the export of dairy products during droughts. We also find that the influence of droughts on export values is positive for the dairy sector while it is negative for the sheep sector.&lt;/p&gt;

The overuse of antibiotics in livestock contributes to the antibiotic resistance pandemic. The assessment of the actual antibiotic consumption is crucial in limiting the expansion of the problem effectively. The aim of this study was to provide the first qualitative and quantitative analysis of antimicrobial usage using data from paper-based registers on dairy and beef farms located in the Umbria region, Italy. Antimicrobial therapies of a one-year period were collected from 101 farms with at least 50 cattle each. Defined daily doses (DDDvet) and defined course doses (DCDvet) were calculated per administration route and antimicrobial class. The total courses administered were fewer in beef (330.7 × 10−3 DCDvet/year) than in dairy farms (1034.1 × 10−3 DCDvet/year). The use of the highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIAs) was higher (p = 0.0033) in dairy than in beef herds. In terms of DDDvet, the parenteral fluoroquinolone administration ranked second and fourth on dairy and beef farms, respectively; the consumption of beta-lactams was ten times higher on dairy than on beef farms. Our results confirm that intensive dairy management practices are associated with increased antibiotic consumption and highlight the necessity to strengthen the existing stewardship programs by involving all stakeholders in effective antimicrobial resistance reduction plans.

Farmer views on calving difficulty consequences on dairy and beef farms

Analysis of risk factors associated with bovine leukemia virus seropositivity within dairy and beef breeding farms in Japan: A nationwide survey

Prevalence and genotyping of Cryptosporidium in three cattle husbandry systems in Zambia

In this paper the author clarifies the sequence of land use change in the Auckland city's countryside and analyses it at micro-scale using the example of Clevedon area, Manukau City. Clevedon area is situated around the built-up area of Auckland and is everywhere zoned for rural land use. In this area definite changes agricultural land use to urban land use are not apparent, but agricultural use changes to other agricultural one in terms of function and quality. Three sequences of land use change based on competition between agricultural and urban uses and land use policy of the Manukau City Council are recognisable; before 1969, 1970 to 1983, and after 1984.In the 1970s and early 1980s a trend from dairy farming to beef farming and from sheep and beef farming to more specialised beef farming was apparent in the framework of traditional pastral farming. Dairy farming remained important during this period with changing ownership of land and changing location of town milk production but the less labour intensive beef farming became attractive with decreasing agricultural labour force. New Zealand pastoral farming permits such changes in livestock specialisation as the system is very flexible and not capital intensive. In fact these trends could be reversed with fluctuations of milk and meat price.In the 1980s land use change was characterised by various farms of horse raising and horticulture, and in some areas traditional pastoral uses, occupying former dairy and cattle farms. These changes had not been evident in the previous period, and the rural land use zoning encouraged them, but the trend to horse raising and horticulture became stronger in this period. The grazing of horses was associated with the purchase of rural land by other farmers and with the growing importance of the commercial blood stock and racing industry in South Auckland. The horticulture based on using labour, land and capital more intensively, and it is developed in Rural Two zone where fruit growing have priority. Availability of small parcels of land in the rural zone originating in previous periods, increasing property taxes as land values increased, and much demand for high profitability of rural land, contributed to the changes in the function of agricultural land use. In the 1980s the sequence of agricultural land use change is uni-directional. Reversion to the traditional pastoral farming of the area is not an option. Thus, in comparison with the earlier period a feedback sequence is not included in model.