Annual Milk Production Research Articles

Understanding Constraints and Enablers of Climate Risk Management Strategies: Evidence from Smallholder Dairy Farmers in Regional South India

The adoption of effective coping strategies is crucial for successful adaptation to the impacts of climate change in the dairy sector. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the perceived constraints and motivations toward such strategies. A survey was conducted among 104 dairy farmers from three semi-arid regions of South India. The aim of the survey was to explore the dairy farmers’ perception of climate risk, how it impacts their dairy farming system, the coping strategies they employ, and the barriers they face when implementing these strategies. The survey also investigated the factors that facilitate the adoption of adaptation measures. The results indicate dairy farmers in the region perceive drought, pests and diseases, and high temperatures as the major risks associated with climate change, which has resulted in decreased dairy income, animal health problems, reduced fertility, and food intake problems for their cattle. In response to climate variability, dairy farmers have adopted various coping strategies. The most important strategies include buying livestock insurance, keeping low debt obligations, and growing drought-tolerant grass varieties. However, most farmers face significant constraints in adopting these and other strategies including a lack of climate forecast data, the high cost of adaptation activities, and weak institutional support. On the other hand, the key enabling factors that support the adoption of these strategies include milk production security, suitable feed growing conditions, and family interest. Most importantly, the study found that certain factors such as age, education, number of earning family members, annual milk production, monthly cattle expenses, and landholdings significantly influenced dairy farmers’ strategies for adapting to climate change. The study recommends that providing timely climate forecasts, implementing improved policies such as vaccination and cattle health services, and establishing strong institutional support systems can help dairy farmers become more resilient to climate change and protect their livelihoods.

Health and Infrastructural Security of Rural Households for Sustainable Livelihood: A Study in Bundelkhand Region of India

Poor health tends to be critical for marginal and small farmers who work in their own field and cannot afford to hire an alternative farmer during the time of illness. The research was conducted to assess the health and infrastructural status of farm households. The present study purposefully conducted in Bundelkhand.From each selected village a list of dairy farmers based on land holding was prepared and respondents were selected based on proportionate stratified random sampling method. Data were gathered through personal interview method with the help of the structured interview schedule. The collected data were quantified and analyzed. After data collection, the results were analyzed by using some statistical tools like percentage analysis, correlation and regression. Results revealed that among the marginal farmers the majority (59.26%) of the respondents had low health security, followed by medium and high health security i.e. 32.10 and 8.64 percent respectively. The variables such as annual income and milk production had positive and highly significant relationship with health security at the 1 percent level of significance. This shows that as the value of the annual income and milk production increases the health security of the respondents also increases. The results showed that 58.20 percent variability towards infrastructural security was due to explained or undertaken variables included in the study and the remaining was due to some other factors. The fitted regression model was observed to be significant at the 1 percent level of significance. It can be concluded that there is a need to stress upon improving their overall health and infrastructural security.

Immunological status of the blood of clinically healthy and lactating cows with mastitis

Mastitis in high yielding lactating cows is the most common disease that causes enormous economic damage to livestock farms. According to leading scientists, when studying the problem of mastitis, the greatest interest is in studying the dynamics of changes in the immunological blood indicators of cows during the occurrence and development of the inflammatory process in the udder. To conduct research, three groups of lactating Holstein cows of 2–3 lactations with an annual milk production of 7356–8000 kg of milk, belonging to one of the farms in Voronezh region, were formed. The first group (n=8) included clinically healthy animals, the second (n=8) - cows with subclinical mastitis, the third (n=8) - cows with clinically pronounced catarrhal mastitis. Blood samples were taken from all animals to determine immunobiochemical and molecular genetic indicators. The studies have established that the level of expression of the genes for the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and IL-4 was by 2.6 and 1.5 times lower, respectively, in the cows with subclinical mastitis and by 5.8 and 3.9 times lower in the cows with clinically pronounced catarrhal mastitis, respectively, in comparison with clinically healthy animals. At the same time, the expression of pro-inflammatory INF-γ was by 7.6 and 14.8 times higher in the cows with subclinical and catarrhal mastitis, respectively, compared to clinically healthy animals.

Low prevalence of bacteria harbouring the main transferable genes coding for β-lactams resistance in ovine bulk tank milk produced in Central Italy

Sheep farming for milk production is an important sector of the Italian agricultural industry. Italy has a significant annual sheep milk production, which amounted to 477.000 ton in 2021 and almost exclusively employed for cheeses production. The aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of beta-lactams-resistant bacteria (methicillin-resistant staphylococci and Gram-negative bacteria) in bulk tank ovine milk collected from 97 farms located in central Italy (Tuscany and Lazio). Samples were screened for the presence of resistant microorganisms employing selective media, bacteria were identified by 16 S rRNA gene sequencing and tested for susceptibility for different beta-lactams (penicillins, carbapenems, cephalosporins, as well as beta lactams association with beta-lactamase inhibitors). Resistant microorganisms were subjected to PCR for the detection of the main transferable gene coding for beta-lactams resistance mechanisms spread among Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. A low prevalence of methicillin resistant staphylococci (4%) and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (1%) in bulk tank milk from sheep herds raised in Central Italy was highlighted. This resistance was related to the presence of mecA gene in S. aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci. All the tested samples resulted negative for the presence of bacteria able to produce carbapenemases or ESBLs due to the presence of some of the main mobile genetic determinants in their genomes and targeted in this study. Most of the phenotypic resistance observed were instead related to the common presence of psychrotrophic bacteria in bulk tank milk belonging to Stenothrophomonas spp. which harboured L1 and L2 genes coding for inducible β-lactamases located on the bacterial chromosome. In conclusion, a low prevalence of bacteria resistant to β-lactams due to the presence of horizontally transferable genes was detected, suggesting a low selective pressure for resistant microrganisms whitin this farming system.

Pasture growth curve impacts the economic merit of extended lactation: a simulation study

Voluntarily increasing the calving interval beyond 12-months (extended lactation; EL) has possible benefits in reducing labour requirements, herd replacement rate, and surplus calf numbers. With limited information on feed balance and economic effects with EL, reductions in profitability were hypothesised. A MS Excel spreadsheet model was developed to compare calving systems: spring calving annually (Base), two herds between spring and autumn calving with 18-month calving intervals (EL18), or two herds calving in alternating springs with 24-month intervals (EL24). Weekly feed balances using pasture growth curves for four regions (Northland, Waikato, Canterbury, Southland) and partial budget analysis informed estimations of supplement costs and net income (NI). The EL24 system had lower supplement costs (-$240 /ha) and higher NI (+$439 /ha) than the Base system for Northland only. The EL18 systemalways had the highest annual milk production and total revenue, but highest supplement costs and lowest NI in the four regions. Replacement, calving, and mating costs were lower for EL systems than Base; however, costs for milking and repairs and maintenance were higher. This preliminary study indicates there is merit in investigating EL systems, particularly for Northland. Further data from EL systems are needed to increase confidence in the system’s potential.

Evaluation of the Role of Veterinarians for Outcomes Related to the Health and Production of Dairy Small Ruminants in Greece

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential benefits of veterinarians in improving the health and welfare of dairy sheep and goats by studying the associations of management practices employed in the farms with production- or health-related outcomes in sheep and goat farms in Greece. This work explored associations with ‘professional relationship with a veterinarian’ at 444 small ruminant dairy farms in an investigation performed around Greece, where 106 variables, related to infrastructure, animals, production outcomes, health management, health problems and human resources, were assessed. In 384 (86.5%) farms, a professional relationship with a veterinarian was maintained. The median value of visits made annually by veterinarians to these farms was five. In farms with a professional relationship with a veterinarian, significant differences were found in 24 variables (35.8%) related to management practices and 6 (30.0%) production- or health-related outcomes. In multivariable analysis, the following emerged with a significant association: epg counts in faecal samples (p = 0.014), average annual milk production per ewe/doe (p = 0.015), somatic cell counts in bulk-tank milk (p = 0.037), and annual incidence of clinical mastitis (p = 0.044). Moreover, associations of the characteristics of veterinarians emerged with somatic cell counts in bulk-tank milk: the gender (p < 0.0001) and the age (p = 0.004) of the veterinarians. The results attest that the application of veterinary advice and clinical services in sheep and goat dairy farms contributes to the improved health, production and welfare of animals.

Effects of grazing platform stocking rate on productivity and profitability of pasture-based dairying in a fragmented farm scenario

The area adjacent to the milking parlor, accessible for grazing by lactating dairy cows (i.e., the grazing platform [GP]), can be limited on fragmented pasture-based dairy farms. Such farms, with a moderate overall farm stocking rate, typically have a much higher stocking rate of dairy cows on the grazing platform This study quantified the effects of farm fragmentation on milk and herbage production and profitability in a whole-farm systems-scale study over 3 years (2017-2019). Four systems, each with an overall farm stocking rate of 2.5 cows/ha but with different grazing platform stocking rates (GPSR), were examined. The proportions of the overall farm area within the GP were 100%, 83%, 71%, and 63% in each of the 4 systems, respectively. Hence, the 4 systems had GPSR of 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 cows/ha. The GP was used for grazing and silage (ensiled herbage) production, and the non-GP portion of each GPSR system was used solely for silage production. Concentrate supplementation per cow was the same across all GPSR systems; approximately 10% of the annual feed budget. All systems were compact spring-calving with 24 cows per system. We discovered a lower proportion of grazed herbage in the diet with higher GPSR. All silage produced on the non-GP areas was required to support higher GPSR on each of the systems. Annual herbage production and milk production per cow were not different between GPSR systems, resulting in similar milk production per hectare of the overall system area. The economic implications of different GPSR on fragmented farms were modeled in 2 scenarios: (1) quantifying the cost associated with different levels of farm area fragmentation; (2) investigating the optimum GPSR on pasture-based dairy farms, depending on variable criteria. A greater level of farm fragmentation lowered the profitability of pasture-based dairy production. Costs of production increased with higher GPSR and longer distances between GP and non-GP areas. At a fixed GP area, it was most profitable to increase GPSR up to 4 cows/ha on the GP when milk price was high, land rental price was low, and shorter distance existed between GP and non-GP areas.

Prevalence of Dichelobacter nodosus and Fusobacterium necrophorum on dairy farms in Slovakia

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of bacteria Dichelobacter nodosus (D. nodosus) and Fusobacterium necrophorum (F. necrophorum) in non-lame dairy cows on eight Slovak dairy herds. In total, 1,631 Holstein Friesian dairy cows were included in the study. Information of the cows was collected from on-farm software included cow ID, lactation number (heifer/cow), year milk yield (kg), and DIM on collection date. The PCR method detected D. nodosus and F. necrophorum on the feet of 1,394 (85.5%) and 373 (22.1%) dairy cows, respectively (p < 0.05). No dairy farm could be found without positive samples for D. nodosus and the majority of the farms were free or had very low prevalence of F. necrophorum (0–9.1%). Statistical difference for the prevalence of D. nodosus and F. necrophorum in different Slovak regions was detected for both strains. Logistic regression revealed an association between both D. nodosus and F. necrophorum identification and annual milk production (odds ratios = 0.69 and 0.32, respectively). Our data demonstrates that D. nodosus is present on the feet of almost every dairy cow what means a potential risk for cattle to develop foot rot. Furthermore, both bacteria are associated with decreased annual milk production.

Prevalence and Potential Risk Factors of Bovine Clinical Mastitis in Bonke District, Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Ethiopia has the largest cattle population in Africa with an estimated population of 56.71 million. Among these, the cow represents the biggest portion of the cattle population of the country. Currently, around 20.7% of the total cattle heads are milking cows. 85-89 percent of milk is contributed from cattle out of the total annual national milk production in Ethiopia that ranges from 797, 9000 to 1, 197, 500 metric tons of raw milk equivalents.. However, this amount does not satisfy the national demand for milk and milk products in the country due to a number of complex and interrelated factors including inadequate feed and nutrition, widespread diseases, the poor genetic potential of local breeds, poor market chain, and inefficiency of livestock development. Concurrently, mastitis is one of the major and expensive diseases which can alter milk composition, reduce the quality and quantity of milk yield, and indeed cause the culling of dairy cows at their age of high productivity. Clinical mastitis is the types of mastitis emphasized in this study. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 lactating cows to assess the prevalence of bovine clinical mastitis and its potential risk factors in the study area. Out of these 41(10.7%) were found positive for clinical mastitis. All the potential risk factors considered in this study showed statistically significant difference (P &lt; 0.05). The present study concludes that mastitis was a key health problem of lactating cows in the area. Therefore, deliberate control measures against the disease and regular reconnaissance measures are recommended. Keywords: Bonke; bovine clinical mastitis; prevalence; risk factor.

Alternative hormone-free reproduction management of a dairy sheep flock disrupts the farm's annual feeding system calendar and its associated strategies

Hormone-free (HF) reproduction in dairy sheep is a way to meet current societal demands, but it requires being prepared for collateral impacts on related system components. The efficiency of HF practices (e.g., using the male effect for estrus induction and synchronization) is uncertain compared with hormonal treatment (HT). For example, these practices can lead to higher variability in the flock physiological stage patterns throughout the year, which has direct consequences for feeding regimens. The objective of this work was to simulate the impacts of HF reproduction management, including artificial insemination (AI), on the temporal distribution of productive performance and nutritional requirements of a conventional dairy sheep flock. Using the REPROsheep2.0 model, 6 scenarios were compared over one typical production season for the same flock (n = 597 Lacaune ewes) intensively reared in the Roquefort region of France. These scenarios depicted reproduction with HT and AI in mid-May (Early); HT and AI in July (Summer Late); HT and AI in November (Autumn Late); and their HF versions (HF-Early; HF-Summer Late, and HF-Autumn Late, respectively). In all HF scenarios, a reduction in the number of ewes lambing and consequently in the annual milk production of the farm was observed (-1 to -7%). This affected annual performance with a subsequent decrease of total annual nutritional requirements (-2 to -6%). The HF scenarios resulted in a staggering of lambing events with a 7- to 14-d shift in the appearance of milk production peaks and related nutritional requirements compared with the HT scenarios. Transitioning from conventional to HF reproduction management, while preserving AI, would increase farm workload, lengthen milking period operations, and necessitate a readjustment of feeding management strategies with regard to available feed resources. Depending on the production season, the observed delay in the distribution of nutritional requirements could be either an attractive or an unfavorable outcome for farmers. The delay may be concordant, for example, with the recently observed impacts of climate change on seasonal forage availability in Mediterranean regions (less spring herbage production and warmer temperatures) that are affecting farmers' decision-making about the most efficient use of forage and feed resources.

Sustainability and perspectives of the North Macedonian dairy industry

The subject of this review is the dairy industry in the Republic of North Macedonia. This industry can bring many economic and social benefits to society and the economy. The paper provides a description and analysis of the current situation within the dairy industry in our country. Milk production rates in our country are analyzed, with a comparative approach to production rates at global and European levels. In the Republic of North Macedonia, milk production is characterized by many traditional small farmers (80% of the total) with 1-3 cows and low annual milk productivity (2-3 thousand liters per cow). The number of large specialized farms with more than 15 cows (about 3% of the total) with annual milk production of about 5 thousand liters per cow is minimal. Only 1% of all farms have more than 50 cows. The Republic of North Macedonia is an absolute importer of milk and its products. The quantity and monetary value of imported milk and its products are many times higher than the quantity and value of exported milk. Today, the dairy industry faces various challenges in the three main pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental including fluctuating market prices, high labor costs, and demographic characteristics of the population in terms of age. In conclusion, for the dairy industry to be sustainable, all activities should be carried out in partnership with the industry (along the value chain), policymakers and a wide range of stakeholders, including consumers.

ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА КЛИНИКО-МОРФОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ ЖЕЛЕЗИСТО-КИСТОЗНОЙ ГИПЕРПЛАЗИИ ЭНДОМЕТРИЯ У КОРОВ

The article presents the material on the study of clinical and morphological indicators of endometrial glandular-cystic hyperplasia in cows. It has been established that the share of endometrial hyperplasia glandulocystica in cows accounts for 11.4% of the total number of chronic uterine diseases. Most often, this pathology is diagnosed in cows 120 or more days after calving with an annual milk production of 6000-7000 kg. Glandular-cystic hyperplasia of the endometrium is most typical of the animals of the Red-Motley and Simmental breeds with loose keeping. Endometrial hyperplasia glandulocystica is characterized by a thickening of the uterine wall up to 6.5±0.28 mm, the presence of a cavity in the uterine horns of 3.4±0.19 mm, follicular cysts in the ovaries with a diameter of 42.5±2.8 mm. Endometrial hyperplasia glandulocystica is characterized by an increase in the height of the cells of the covering epithelium up to the height of prismatic one, growth of the uterine glands with the expansion of their lumens, an increase in height and vacuolization of the glandular epithelium. In case of glandular-cystic hyperplasia, uterine glands account for 28.6%, blood vessels – 12.3%, covering epithelium – 5.7%, which is by 1.88-1.97 times more, compared to clinically healthy animals. The height of the cells of the covering epithelium in case of this pathology is higher by 13.1%, the height of the epithelial cells of the uterine glands – by 23.4%, the thickness of the endometrium – by 1.38 times, which indicates endometrial hypertrophy.

Assessment of production traits and lactation wise economics of buffalo in Punjab state of India

Buffalo is considered as the dairy animal for modern times due to its higher adaptability and productivity in the changing climatic conditions. In India, large part of the milk production comes from small and medium dairy farmers. Buffalo contributes 45.44% to the total milk production in India. With only 3.65% of the total buffalo population of India, Punjab contributes 7.91% of the total buffalo milk production. In Punjab, around 70% milk production comes from small and medium dairy farms with herd size of 2 to 10 animals, another 25% from large/commercial herds and the rest from domestic (1%) and peri-urban dairies (4%), which are concentrated around big cities. In Punjab, buffaloes produce about 56.38% of the total annual milk production in the state. The current study was conducted in three agro-climatic zones of Punjab by selected 90 buffaloes farmers in the district viz. Hoshiarpur, Patiala and Mansa by simple random sampling method. The economics of buffalo was calculated on lactation basis. The average age at 1st calving was 43 months, and inter-calving period was 469 days, lactation length (days) was 281 days, dry period (days) was 188 days, average milk yield (liters/day) was 8.3 lts/day. The lactation-wise total cost of rearing buffalo was highest in 2nd lactation i.e. Rs. 95393 and the net profit was Rs. 52335 in 4th lactation period. Thus, buffaloes contribute positively to the income which makes its rearing beneficial financially.

Determinants of technical efficiency among dairy farms in Chitwan, Nepal

Nepalese dairy sector has been showing structural changes with adoption of latest technologies like improved breeds, feeds, cultivated fodder and additives. In the context of these changes, this research was conducted to assess the technical efficiency and its determinants among dairy farms. The study was accomplished with primary data collected through face-to-face interview using semi-structured interview schedule from a sample of 240 dairy farms selected randomly using simple random sampling technique from 8 wards of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, stochastic production frontier and tobit regression model. Technical efficiency was found to be the highest in mix dairy farms (3.530) followed by cow farms (2.56) and buffalo farms (2.138). Labour was the most contributing factor in all three types of dairy farms. This study had shown that average annual income per farm should be Rs. 542000, Rs. 403225 and Rs. 611400 for getting 90% technical efficiency in milk production at buffalo, cow and mix farms, respectively. Similarly, 57% buffalo farms were operating at efficiency of 30-60%, 46% cow farms were operating at efficiency of 30%, and 67.5% mix farms were operating at efficiency of 30 to 60%. Total investment in dairy farming, training and adopting dairy as primary occupation were positively and significantly affecting technical efficiency on buffalo, cow and mix type of dairy farming system. There is still large scope to increase the annual milk production in the dairy farms of Chitwan through efficient use of available resources with the existing technologies. This is concluded that dairy farming system can be promoted efficiently by increasing total investment in dairy farming through easy access to loan, training on dairy animal production and management, ensuring dairy business as profitable primary occupation, promotion of fodder and pasture production, and securing easy access to medicines and additives.

Perdas financeiras relacionadas à retenção placentária em rebanhos leiteiros na Turquia

ABSTRACT This study aimed to calculate the financial losses related to placental retention (PR) in dairy cattle in Turkey taking into consideration the previous study results in three different geographical regions and 87 herds of Turkey. The mean prevalence of PR in dairy herds was assumed to be 5.6% (4.1-6.7%). Direct (milk losses, treatment, and involuntary culling) and indirect losses (extended calving interval and extra insemination) were calculated. In the financial analysis, direct and indirect losses were calculated according to the current prices of 2022. As a result, the financial losses per infected dairy cattle were estimated at $ 249.7 (624 Lt milk eq.). A total of 67.7% ($173) of these resulted from direct losses, and the remainder 32.3% ($82.5), were indirect losses. PR was responsible for a total of $92 million (ranged from $67-110 million) losses, which equates to 1.2% (0.8-1.14%) of the annual milk production in Turkey. In conclusion, magnitude of PR-related losses will provide evidence-based decision support to the farmers and policymakers when determining the priorities for disease mitigation and control strategies.

CROP LIVESTOCK INTERACTION PATTERNS IN FOUR SELECTED UPAZILA OF KHULNA DISTRICT

Traditional crop-livestock interaction patterns were investigated in four different Upazila under Khulna District of Bangladesh during the period from March to April, 2002. Data on different parameters viz. number of livestock and poultry, medium of cultivation, use of fertilizer and pesticides for crop production, type of integrated farming system, rate of production, quantity and use of cowdung, etc. were collected from randomly selected 117 farm family heads and were analyzed using statistical package SPSS. Most of the farmers had integrated farming approaches of which crop-ruminant-poultry (39.3%) and crop-ruminant-poultry-fish (33.3%) were remarkable ones. The average number of cattle, goats, chicken and ducks per farm family were 5.66, 2.42, 18.34 and 6.47, respectively. The average rice yield was 5.37 t ha-1. Annual milk and egg production per farm family were 140.52 kg and 110.51 respectively. On average, 81.4% and 59.1% farmers used chemical fertilizer and pesticides respectively in crop production. Per cent of farmers practiced artificial insemination and vaccination for their livestock were 29.8% and 6.8% respectively. Forty six percent of families used cowdung as fuel and 1% as manure, whereas 53% used as both fuel and manure. The maximum crop and livestock productivity from available resources was achieved through integrating crops, animals and plants. Cowdung is recommended to apply more to crop fields instead of using as fuel. Proper utilization of crop residues and products as animal feed is also emphasized.

Assessment of technical-productive aspects in Italian dairy farms equipped with automatic milking systems: A multivariate statistical analysis approach.

The aim of this study was to assess technical-productive aspects of dairy farms equipped with automatic milking system (AMS) in Northern and Central Italy. A survey was carried out on 62 dairy farms selected through convenience sampling with the following inclusion criteria: adoption of robotic milking for at least 1 yr and ability to provide farm data. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire to obtain a general description of farm characteristics and overall management practices. Through the combination of principal component analysis and k-means cluster analysis, the farms were allocated in 3 clusters. The identified clusters were described and afterward compared using one-way ANOVA or a chi-squared test. The main observed differences between clusters were the average number of lactating cows and AMS installed, average annual milk production, average AMS loading, average annual milk yield per full-time employee, average daily milk yield per cow and AMS, and the average annual veterinary costs per cow. cluster 1 (n = 24) included small-to-medium-sized semi-intensive farms with low AMS loading and low average daily milk yield per cow. In this farm typology, the AMS is not fully used and is likely perceived as a means to improve quality of life rather than profitability. Clusters 2 (n = 31) and 3 (n = 7) included, respectively, small-medium-sized and large intensive farms. These 2 farm typologies are characterized by an intensive approach to dairy cattle breeding, with average higher AMS loading, labor efficiency, and milk yield compared with the farms of cluster 1, likely due to better farm management. This classification could help dairy technicians give farmers customized management advice for the function of the cluster they belong to, and farmers falling in a specific cluster could evaluate whether they are reaching their objectives.

​​ARIMA-Genetic Algorithm Approach for Forecasting Milk Production in India

Background: Dairying in India has witnessed a radical transformation from a largely unorganised activity into a thriving organised industry. However, there are only a limited number of earlier attempts that specifically evaluated the milk production pattern of India. Moreover, most of these earlier studies are quite dated and have employed autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models, which suffer from the problem of local optima. To overcome this lacuna, we have utilised a genetic algorithm (GA) in the ARIMA framework. Its suitability to forecast the annual milk production in India has also been assessed comparatively with respect to the traditional ARIMA methodology. Methods: For the current study, data on annual milk production (in million tonnes) in India for the period from 1980 to 2019 have been utilised. For both the approaches under investigation, the whole data series is first divided into two sets, namely the training set and the testing set. The production data of 1980-2016 have been utilised for the model building purpose while retaining the last 3 years’ data for the post-sample evaluation. Result: Outcomes emanated from the post-sample assessment clearly suggest that the ARIMA-GA approach has outperformed the traditional ARIMA methodology in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) values. It is also evident that GA has substantially minimised the error related to the parameter estimation.

Dairy Sheep and Goat Farmers: Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Their Associations with Health Management and Performance on Farms

The objectives were to determine the socio-demographic profiles of small ruminant dairy farmers and to study associations with management practices, production outcomes and health parameters on their farms. In total, 325 sheep flocks and 119 goat herds across Greece were included in the study and visited for collection of information. Socio-demographic characteristics of the dairy farmers and details of management practices, production outcomes and health parameters on their farms were recorded. For the analysis of results, multivariable models were created using mixed-effects logistic regression, with farms as the random effect. Most dairy farmers were male (93.2%), most were full-time professionals in farming (89.4%) and most had a farming family tradition (86.9%). The mean age was 47.0 years and the mean farming experience was 24.3 years. For 17.3% of the farmers, the highest level of education received was primary education, for 54.3% it was secondary education, for 16.4% it was post-secondary vocational training and for 12.0% it was tertiary education. In 35.4% of dairy farms, external farm workers were employed. Of the socio-demographic characteristics, farming experience was associated with geographical location of farms, management system, breed of animals, application of quarantine measures, laboratory evaluation of feedstuffs, ultrasonographic examination for pregnancy diagnosis, application of vaccination against clostridial infections, means of calculation of bodyweight for drug administration to animals, maintenance of colostrum bank, number of annual veterinary visits, annual milk production per animal, number of newborns and somatic cell counts and total bacterial counts in milk. Further, the employment of external farm workers on the farm was associated with management system, machine-milking, number and breed of animals, application of quarantine measures, laboratory evaluation of feedstuffs, ultrasonographic examination for pregnancy diagnosis, number of annual veterinary visits, annual milk production per animal, protein content in milk and number of newborns. The findings indicate that dairy sheep/goat farming is still a family-driven business, but, nevertheless, there are now younger people among these farmers, many of them with post-secondary education. Socio-demographic characteristics may influence the management practices applied, which in turn can have consequences for production and health results of the farms.

Survey on the disposal of waste milk containing antimicrobial residues on Swiss dairy farms

Feeding waste milk containing antimicrobial residues (WMA) to calves has been associated with increased antimicrobial resistance in calves' commensal bacterial flora. The objectives of this study were (1) to document practices related to the disposal of WMA on Swiss dairy farms and (2) to evaluate the association between farm characteristics and the feeding of WMA to calves. A web-based questionnaire on practices surrounding waste milk disposal was completed by 1,625 dairy producers (10.9% of solicited producers). Logistic regression models were built to evaluate the association between herd characteristics and the practice of feeding WMA. Waste milk produced during and up to the first milking after completion of antimicrobial treatment or during the withdrawal period was fed to at least some of the calves on 47.3% of respondents' farms. Farms in organic production had lower odds of feeding WMA to calves than nonorganic farms [odds ratio (OR) 0.59]. Farms located in the eastern region of Switzerland, as opposed to those in the western region, had increased odds of feeding WMA to calves (OR 2.01). A yearly average bulk tank somatic cell count ≥150,000 cells/mL was associated with increased odds of feeding WMA to calves compared with the reference category of <100,000 cells/mL (OR 1.62). An average cow-level annual milk production ≥8,500 L was associated with increased odds of feeding WMA to calves compared with farms in the interquartile range with a production of 6,500 to 8,499 L (OR 1.24). Further research is warranted to investigate dairy farmers' motivations affecting this practice, and to quantitatively define calves' exposure to antimicrobial residues and the resulting antimicrobial resistance in calves' commensal flora on these farms.