Herd Groups Research Articles

Genetic diversity and origin of Kazakh Tobet Dogs

The Kazakh Tobet is an indigenous Kazakh dog breed that has been used to guard livestock since ancient times. To understand the genetic structure and phylogenetic relationship of the Kazakh Tobet breed with other herding and livestock guarding dog breeds, we analysed short tandem repeat data of 107 Kazakh Tobet dogs from different regions of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, as well as whole genome sequencing data from two Kazakh Tobet dogs and 43 dogs from 24 working breeds. Our results indicate a high genetic diversity of the Kazakh Tobet, with the average number of alleles per locus ranging from 6.00 to 10.22 and observed heterozygosity ranging from 76 to 78%. The breed has a complex genetic structure characterised by seven different clusters. The neighbour-joining tree constructed based on 14,668,406 autosomal and the maximum likelihood tree based on mitochondrial D-loop sequences indicate a common genetic heritage between the Kazakh Tobet, the Central Asian Shepherd Dog and the Turkish Akbash. The presence of haplotype A18 in the Kazakh Tobets supports the hypothesis of the ancient origin of the breed, which was previously suggested by archaeological finds and written sources. These results provide an important genetic basis for the ongoing efforts to improve the Kazakh Tobet breed, to ensure its preservation as an independent genetic lineage and to recognise a breed on an international level.

Noncombat injury and illness prevalence and working score percentage quantify the impact on duty availability in US Army Special Operations military working dogs.

This cross-sectional study determined the 2-year period prevalence and quantified the impact on working status of noncombat injury and illness by a working score percentage (WSP) based on the number of duty days lost (DDL). 126 dogs from 9 US Army Special Operations kennels. Dog injury and illness events between May 1, 2021, and April 30, 2023, were recorded to determine period prevalence and calculate a WSP metric to quantify loss of duty status. 93 health events occurred in 62 of 126 (49.2%) dogs over a 24-month period resulting in 4,130 DDL. The period prevalence was 25 of 126 (19.8%) for dental injuries, 20 of 126 (15.9%) for musculoskeletal injuries, and 13 of 126 (10.3%) for gastrointestinal illnesses. Musculoskeletal conditions resulted in the highest total DDL at 1,472 (35.6%) in 20 dogs, followed by neurologic conditions at 950 (23%) in 4 dogs and heat injuries at 521 (12.6%) in 7 dogs. The total population 24-month mean WSP was 88.1% (95% CI, 86.6 to 89.5). The mean WSP for 43 dogs with acute events was 96.0% (95% CI, 95.0 to 97.0), and the mean WSP for 14 dogs with chronic events was 55.2% (95% CI, 47.8 to 62.5). Quantifying the impact of noncombat illness and injury on the working status of military working dogs is the first step to identify risk factors, develop preventive strategies, resource veterinary care requirements, and improve these canine athletes' health and welfare. The metrics developed in this study can be used to evaluate the population health of working, herding, and sport dogs.

Multivariate analysis of herd structure and genetic resource indicators in seedstock beef cattle herds.

Genetic, environmental, technological and financial resources are used differently in cattle herds that participate in the same breeding programme. The percentages of calves sired by sires within their own herd or from external herds vary across herds, as do the intensities of use of reproductive biotechnologies. These divergences may be related to differences in the indicators of genetic performance for economic traits. The aim of this study was to determine the factors related to herd structure and genetic resource utilization that exert the greatest influence on the genetic merit of seedstock herds within a Nellore breeding programme. The database comprised 21 factors, along with genomic-enhanced expected progeny differences (GE-EPDs) for growth, reproductive and carcass traits, as well as a selection index of animals from 128 herds. By combining principal component analysis and cluster analysis, we were able to group the herds. We identified statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the mean values of the factors, GE-EPDs and genetic trends among the groups of herds. Differences in the percentage of sires from external herds and in sire age between the groups of herds were the factors most associated with differences in mean GE-EPDs and genetic trends. Using young sires from other herds or lineages is an effective strategy in animal breeding. By enhancing genetic variability, this approach does not only improve the genetic quality of herds but also accelerates genetic progress in desired traits over time. Therefore, to ensure the success of this strategy, it is crucial that seedstock herds undergo a thorough selection process aimed at maximizing the genetic potential of future generations of beef cattle.

Improvements in swine herd biosecurity reduce the incidence risk of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in breeding herds in the Midwestern United States.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a significant disease of swine. The purpose of this study was to determine whether application of a comprehensive, science-based approach to breeding herd biosecurity, known as next-generation biosecurity (NGB), could reduce PRRS incidence risk across a large commercial production company. Pigs (381,404 sows across 76 breeding herds). From 2009 to 2020, the annual incidence risk of PRRS in sow farms managed by the same company averaged 33%, ranging from 20% to 50%. To measure the effect of NGB on PRRS incidence risk, a retrospective cohort study was conducted from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023, across breeding herds managed by the same company. During the analysis, 2 groups of herds emerged: those that implemented protocols for all phases of NGB (NGB COMPLETE), and those that implemented all described protocols of biosecurity except for air filtration (NGB INCOMPLETE). During the 2-year assessment period, 56 breeding herds were classified as NGB COMPLETE, while 20 herds were NGB INCOMPLETE. The PRRS incidence risk in NGB COMPLETE herds was 8.9% as compared to 40.0% in NGB INCOMPLETE herds. From disease year 1 (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022) and disease year 2 (July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023), system-wide PRRS incidence risk was 8.6% and 9.2%, respectively. The association between NGB status and PRRS incidence risk for the 2-year period was statistically significant at a P value of .006. Results of the present report provided evidence that improvements in biosecurity result in lower PRRS incidence risk under large-scale commercial swine production conditions.

Testing and characterization of herding dogs' behaviors.

Breeding for phenotype in herding dogs (HDs) mainly relies on their performance in national field trial competitions, which has been shown to be inadequate for identifying HDs suited for real livestock farming conditions. In this study, a different field trial with a new scoring system consisting of 28 items to consider was designed to assess young HDs, the results of which culminated in a statement of adequate phenotype (AP) or non-adequate phenotype (NAP). An AP HD was defined as being able: to control the direction of a flock, to keep it grouped close to a handler when needed, to confront animals it is dealing with in a respectful manner, and able to create movement of the flock without excessive disturbance, threatening or attacking it through chasing, or uncontrolled biting. This innovative trial is composed of a pre-test (PT) and a test (T) phase. To evaluate its efficiency in detecting AP/NAP, 460 French Border Collies aged between 8 and 24 mo, underwent the trial. Its average duration (PT + T) was 3min and 16s (SD = 26s). According to experts' assessments (Gold Standard), 16.5% of tested HD reached an AP score, and the Idele scoring system correctly identified 93.3% of them (sensitivity). Specificity and accuracy values were of 96.1% and 95.7%, respectively (P value < 0.0004). Recursive feature elimination identified 25 of the 118 features (categories of items) from the scoring system as significant predictors of AP/NAP. An AP HD was statistically defined as a dog who completed the PT and T phases, showed keenness, correct position in relation to the handler, and absence of prey drive. Four environmental effects significantly influenced AP/NAP: the field trial session, the owner's experience with HDs, the conditions of the HD's first contact with livestock, and the type of livestock with which the HD is accustomed to working (P-values <0.0005, <0.05, <0.05, and <0.007, respectively). Inter-evaluator agreement was substantial (0.70). The field trial proved to be a short, easily implemented, standardized, reproducible method for detecting AP/NAP. Hence, the field trial and its scoring system could provide a basis for a breeding program based on phenotype pending additional testing of HDs and genetic analyses.

Consensus-reaching process in multi-stage large-scale group decision-making based on social network analysis: Exploring the implication of herding behavior

Multi-stage large-scale group decision-making refers to a decision-making system with a large number of democratic evaluations provided by decision-makers and a multi-stage dynamic decision-making process. This method can provide the evaluation values of different decision-makers at heterogeneous stages, collect dynamic and complex decision-making information, and obtain objective decision-making results. Here, we consider large-scale group decision-making in the context of social networks, and develop a consensus-reaching process based on herding behavior. Decision-makers are identified based on the characteristics of information gradient dissemination, risk aversion, and authority obedience, and divided into different groups by how much herding behavior they exhibit. Guided by the referenced preferences obtained from a recommendation mechanism, the modification model considering the adjustment willingness and minimum adjustment cost, optimizes the preferences of low-consensus decision-makers in the strong and no herding groups. Meanwhile, the punishment model, which seeks the minimum degree of group consensus that satisfies the consensus threshold condition, optimizes the weight of the low-consensus decision-makers in the weak herding group. Finally, we present an illustrative example of emergency generation selection during the Spanish energy crisis to verify the rationality and soundness of the proposed multi-stage large-scale group decision-making approach.

PROTOTYPE APLIKASI RECORDING TERNAK TERINTEGRASI DENGAN SISTEM IDENTIFIKASI DAN SERTIFIKASI TERNAK DI KABUPATEN KEBUMEN

The Government of the Department of Agriculture and Food / Dinas Pertanian dan Pangan (Distapang) of Kebumen Regency has utilized information technology to register livestock and provide identity cards to livestock with the Livestock Card Database System. With this system, Distapang Kebumen can quickly find out the livestock population and household of farmers. Kebumen Regency is one of the best cattle breeding areas at the national level, namely for PO cattle. Therefore, the Agriculture and Food Service Office of Kebumen Regency provides a Breeding Certificate /Surat Keterangan Layak Bibit (SKLB) for livestock. SKLB will increase trust and satisfaction of livestock breed users, and will certainly increase the price of livestock. To make SKLB, Distapang uses the help of the SKLB Recording and Printing System ... Unfortunately, between the Livestock Card Database System and the SKLB Recording and Printing System is not integrated, so there is one job carried out by two officers, namely livestock data collection. Data on making livestock cards comes from forms filled out by data officers in the village area from livestock, while data recording comes from recording officers from members of the herd group / designated officers. The output of this research is in the form of an Android-based recording application prototype design, which is integrated with the Livestock Card Database System as an Identification System, and the SKLB Recording and Printing System as a System for Animal Certification

Evaluation of Alfaglandin C and associated factors on efficiency of cows’ estrus synchronization and artificial insemination in North Shoa Oromia, Ethiopia

Synchronization of estrus involves handling the estrus cycle so that a large number of cows can be bred at approximately the same time. Proper cow/heifer selection as well as efficient coordination are all key elements for the success of synchronization programs which were lacking in the study area. The study was conducted with the objective to evaluate the effect of Alfaglandin C and fixed factors on estrus synchronization and efficiency of Artificial Insemination (AI) in North Shoa zone of the Oromia region. The study population encompassed indigenous and crossbred cows and heifers found in six purposively selected kebeles (smallest administrative unit within a district) from the three selected districts (Wucale, Dagam and Kuyuu). Multistage sampling procedure was used to select target districts, kebeles and experimental cows/heifers. A total of 180 cows and heifers fulfilling estrus synchronization criteria were selected purposively and injected with synchronizing hormone (Alfaglandin C). The level of significance among categorical variables was determined using the chi-square (x2) test. About 70.6% of the cows and heifers injected with Alfaglandin C exhibited estrus. Exhibition of estrus following hormone injection was significantly (p&lt;0.05) lower in Wuchale district compared with that of the other two districts. Likewise, the agroecology, farming system, herd group, and breed had a significant (p&lt;0.05) effect on estrus exhibition. Among cows and heifers inseminated following estrus exhibition, 62.2% conceived as confirmed by pregnancy diagnosis (PD) test conducted at 45-day post AI, which dropped to 58.3% as observed by the PD test conducted three months’ post AI. Agroecology, farming system, herd group, and genotype of cows and heifers showed significant (p&lt;0.05) influence on the conception rate (CR). The highest CR was observed among cows of Kuyuu district, which was significantly (p&lt;0.05) different from that of the other two districts. The overall calving rate was 91.1%. The semi-intensive part of the study also showed better estrus synchronization response and better reproductive performances which directly associated with the management practices. Treating industrial byproducts, better management, and promoting AI can achieve better estrus synchronization and efficiency of artificial insemination. Key words: alfaglandin C, calving rate, conception rate, district, estrus exhibition, pregnancy diagnosis

Effect of reproductive management programs that prioritized artificial insemination at detected estrus or timed artificial insemination on the economic performance of primiparous Holstein cows of different genetic merit for fertility

The objective of this randomized controlled experiment was to evaluate the effect of reproductive management programs that prioritized artificial insemination (AI) at detected estrus (AIE) or timed AI (TAI) during the first lactation on the economic performance of dairy cows of different genomically enhanced predicted transmitting ability for fertility. Lactating primiparous Holstein cows from 6 commercial farms were stratified into high, medium, and low fertility groups based on a reproduction index value calculated from multiple genomically enhanced predicted transmitting abilities to predict the number of days to achieve pregnancy. Within herd and fertility group, cows were randomly assigned either to a program that prioritized AIE (P-AIE; n = 1,416) and used TAI for cows not AIE for all AI services or another that prioritized TAI and had an extended voluntary waiting period for first service and prioritized TAI for second and greater AI services (P-TAI; n = 1,338). Cash flow (CF) per cow accumulated for the experimental (first) and second calving interval (CIN) and cash flow per slot per 28 mo after calving in the experimental lactation were calculated. Market and rearing heifer cost values were used for estimating CF. For cows in the high fertility group, a positive effect of delayed pregnancy on milk income during the first lactation was observed (+$248 for P-TAI) but was insufficient to generate significant differences in CF between treatments mainly because of milk income compensation in the second lactation (+$125 for P-AIE) and minor reductions in reproductive cost and gains in calf value for the P-AIE treatment. In this regard, CF for 2 CIN was greater for the P-TAI treatment by $61 and $86 for market and rearing replacement heifer cost, respectively. Similarly, CF per slot was favorable to the P-TAI treatment but only by $13 and $47 for market and rearing replacement heifer cost, respectively. For cows in the low fertility group, CF was numerically in favor of the P-AIE treatment due to a pregnancy and herd exit dynamics that resulted in gains in milk income over feed cost during the first ($29) and second ($113) lactation. Differences in CF for the 2 CIN were $58 and $47 for market or rearing heifer value, respectively, and $77 and $19 for market and rearing heifer values, respectively for the slot analysis. Differences in CF between cows of different genetic merit for fertility were consistent across treatment and estimation method. Of note, cows in the low fertility group had greater CF than cows in the high fertility group in all comparisons, ranging from $198 per cow for 2 CIN to as much as $427 per slot. For the low fertility group, greater milk production contributed directly (milk income over feed cost) and indirectly (reduced culling) to increased CF. We concluded that genetic merit for fertility and CF are associated because cows of inferior genetic potential for fertility had greater CF than cows of superior genetic for fertility despite some increased costs and reduced revenues. Also, the magnitude of the CF differences observed for cows of different genetic merit for fertility managed with the P-AIE or P-TAI program may be valuable to commercial dairy farms but did not allow to conclusively support the choice of a type of reproductive management strategy for cows of different genetic merit for fertility.

Intramammary infections and risk factors in freshly calved heifers in Swedish dairy herds

Subclinical mastitis can be common among freshly calved heifers (FCH), but the prevalence differs between herds, possibly due to variation in risk factors. The aims of this observational study were to identify differences in occurrence of intramammary infection (IMI) in FCH between herds with documented good or poorer first-parity udder health based on cow somatic cell count (CSCC) in early lactation, and to study herd differences in animal factors important for udder health, such as udder and hock skin lesions and animal cleanliness. Three groups of herds were included: those with high proportions of FCH with low CSCC (≤75,000 cells/mL) at the first 2 milk recordings after calving (LL), herds with high proportions of FCH with high CSCC (>100,000 cells/mL) at the first and low CSCC at the second recording (HL), and herds with high proportions of FCH with high CSCC at both recordings (HH). Thirty-nine herds (13 LL, 11 HL, 15 HH) were visited 3 times during a 12-mo period for observation of cleanliness and hock lesions, and sampling of udder and teat skin using swab cloths of milk-fed calves, early-pregnant heifers, and late-pregnant heifers. In 25 (9 LL, 9 HL, 7 HH) udder quarter samples from colostrum and milk on d 3 to 4 after calving were taken by the farmers from FCH during one year. The farmers also provided information on calving (individual or group), use of restraint and oxytocin at milking, and presence of teat and udder skin lesions. Bacterial growth in swab samples and quarter samples was investigated by culturing, and a selection of isolates was genotyped using whole-genome sequencing. Cleanliness, hock and udder skin lesions other than udder-thigh dermatitis, and growth of bacteria in swab samples did not differ between herd groups. It was more common that FCH from LL herds, compared with FCH in HH and HL herds, calved in a group of animals. Use of restraint at milking was more common in LL herds than in HH herds, whereas presence of udder-thigh dermatitis was lowest in LL herds. Specific infection was found in 14% of 5,593 quarter samples from 722 FCH. The most common IMI was Staphylococcus chromogenes. Growth of Staphylococcus simulans was more common in HH than in LL and HL herds. In colostrum samples, Staphylococcus haemolyticus was more common in HL and HH than in LL herds. The proportion of quarters with the same specific infection at both samplings was higher in HH than in LL herds and tended to be higher in HH than in HL herds. The proportion of quarters with Staph. chromogenes IMI at both samplings tended to differ between herd groups and was highest in HH herds. Whole-genome sequencing found the same sequence type of Staph. chromogenes and Staphylococcus aureus in both samples in almost all quarters with the same infection at both samplings. The differences in IMI between herd groups were in line with the higher somatic cell count in HH herds. The reasons for the predominance of Staph. chromogenes IMI in FCH need further studies.

Dogs (14–18th centuries AD) from Nadym Gorodok archaeological site (Western Siberia, Russia): Morphology and function

AbstractAn osteological collection of dogs from an aboriginal population settlement (Nadym Gorodok) in Western Siberia is described in this work. There were numerous bones (more than 1600) well preserved in the permafrost cultural layer, including almost complete skeletons of dogs of various ages. Craniological characteristics and reconstructions of the size and functions of the aboriginal dog were studied. The analysis of the finds showed that there was a large number of dogs in Nadym Gorodok in the 14–18th centuries AD. Dogs were bred on site in the settlement. During the 4 centuries, middle‐size dogs of the same build were kept in Nadym Gorodok. In size and general skull shape, the dogs were similar to the modern laika breed. The dogs were used mainly for hunting. During a hunt, dogs stalked prey and pulled sledges as a draft animal. There were no herding dogs.

Sentimen Analisis Vaksin Covid-19 Menggunakan Naive Bayes Dan Support Vector Machine

Vaccine administration in Indonesia has now reached the booster vaccine stage, various types of vaccines have been given to the Indonesian people from the Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna, Pfizer vaccines, etc. Not a few Indonesian people use several types of vaccines that are offered up to booster vaccines, but there are some people who think they are still infected with this Covid virus with severe symptoms. Another opinion is that there is also a vaccine. In 2019, people were shocked by a new virus from Wuhan, China, namely the corona virus or called COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019). The government invites the public to get the Covid-19 vaccine in order to form herd immunity or group immunity to the Covid-19 virus. Sentiment analysis can be used to evaluate a service performance and so on. So the author will conduct a comparison between the Naive Bayer Classifier method and the Support Vector Machine to find out which method is more efficient in knowing people's accurate views of the Covid-19 vaccine. The performance test results of the two methods show that the performance of the Naive Bayes Classifier method (Accuracy 72.88%, Precision 43.49%, Recall 54.95%, and average performance 57.10%) is higher than the average performance of the Support Vector Machine method (Accuracy 77.00% , Precision 75.00%, Recall 7.70%, and average performance 53.52%). Based on the average performance value of the Naive Bayes Classifier method, it can be considered more efficient than the Support Vector Machine method.

Bifurcation analysis in a discrete predator–prey model with herd behaviour and group defense

&lt;abstract&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this paper, we utilize the semi-discretization method to construct a discrete model from a continuous predator-prey model with herd behaviour and group defense. Specifically, some new results for the transcritical bifurcation, the period-doubling bifurcation, and the Neimark-Sacker bifurcation are derived by using the center manifold theorem and bifurcation theory. Novelty includes a smooth transition from individual behaviour (low number of prey) to herd behaviour (large number of prey). Our results not only formulate simpler forms for the existence conditions of these bifurcations, but also clearly present the conditions for the direction and stability of the bifurcated closed orbits. Numerical simulations are also given to illustrate the existence of the derived Neimark-Sacker bifurcation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/abstract&gt;

Assessing the spatial and temporal patterns and risk factors for acquisition of Ixodes spp. by companion animals across Canada

Climatic and land use changes have contributed to substantial changes in the abundance, distribution, and activity patterns of ticks in Canada, which have led to an increased risk of tick bites and tick-borne pathogen exposure for companion animals. The objectives of this study were to describe current spatial and temporal patterns of Ixodes spp. on companion animals in Canada and explore the association between tick bites and dog and cat demographic factors. Ticks were collected for one year (April 2019 – March 2020) from 94 veterinary clinics. Included with each submission was a short questionnaire containing owner-reported information on travel history, date of removal and suspected location of tick acquisition, and animal-specific demographic factors. Ticks were identified morphologically using a stereomicroscope, standard keys, and through PCR analyses. Mixed effect multivariable logistic regression models were built to explore the association between an Ixodes scapularis bite and animal demographic factors; veterinary clinic was included as a random effect. Approximately 2300 submissions were received from clinics across Canada, totalling 4425 ticks. The most common Ixodes spp. was I. scapularis (n = 2168), followed by Ixodes pacificus (n = 172) and Ixodes cookei (n = 155). Ixodes scapularis were well distributed in regions across central and eastern Canada. Ixodes cookei was found in eastern Canada, with the greatest numbers from Quebec and New Brunswick. Ixodes pacificus submissions were restricted to British Columbia. Across eastern Canada, dogs of the herding, mixed breed (large and small), sporting, working, terrier, and toy breed groups, and spayed cats were all found to have higher odds of acquiring I. scapularis, compared to other tick species. For the dog model, significant interactions were found between predictor variables age and sex. Regional information on tick distribution, seasonality, and risk factors for acquisition contribute to evidence-based veterinary practices for tick and tick-borne disease control in Canada.

Longevity and the association with cattle health in Dutch dairy farms

Longevity of a herd is defined as the average age of all cattle over two years old at the moment of death (either natural, by euthanasia or by slaughter), and is increasing since 2018. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between longevity and cattle health indicators in Dutch dairy herds. Anonymized census data were available for 16,200 Dutch dairy herds (∼98 % of the dairy herds) between 2016 and 2020. All herds were categorized into one of six longevity groups: herds with a high longevity (>seven years old), increasing longevity (mean increase of one year and two months between 2017 and 2020), median longevity (∼five years and eight months, without major fluctuations in longevity), decreasing longevity (mean decrease eight months), low longevity (<four years and ten months) and a varying longevity of ∼five years and eight months, with fluctuation in longevity throughout the study period. Data were aggregated to herd and quarter of the year level. Cattle health parameters were analysed with multivariable population-averaged models with health indicators as dependent variables, and longevity and other management and herd level factors as explanatory variables. Belonging to the group of herds with a high longevity was associated with lower calf- and cow mortality, a higher percentage of cows with a high somatic cell count (HSCC), fewer inseminations per pregnancy for heifers and more inseminations for cows, a higher antibiotic use in adult dairy cows and a lower antibiotic use in calves compared to the average Dutch dairy herd. Further analysis showed that the higher percentage of cows with a HSCC could be explained by the higher share of older cows. Herds with a low longevity had a higher calf- and cow mortality, a lower percentage of cows with a HSCC, more inseminations for heifers and fewer for cows, lower antibiotic use in cows and higher antibiotic use in calves compared to the average Dutch dairy herd. To conclude, there were differences in cattle health between groups of herds with a different longevity.

RESPON MASYARAKAT TERHADAP PROGRAM VAKSINASI COVID-19 DI KABUPATEN POSO PROVINSI SULAWESI TENGAH

This study discusses vaccination, where the government's efforts to protect the health of its citizens from the Covid-19 virus are carried out simultaneously in Indonesia. This study aims to describe and analyze the extent of public knowledge and experience of the Covid-19 vaccination program and the response shown by the community to accept or reject the vaccination. Qualitative research method with the stages of observation and in-depth interviews as well as conducting a literature review related to the research focus. The rhesults showed that the knowledge and experience of the people of Moengko Baru Village about vaccination was still lacking and varied, where more information was obtained from social media, mass media so that they believed in hoax news circulating and would indirectly affect the response to behavior, attitudes and actions in vaccinating. However, some people already have good knowledge of the vaccination and are willing to be vaccinated for health and for immunity against diseases/viruses. The Government of Poso Regency has carried out a socialization program in the community so that the public better understands the importance of vaccination in the formation of herd immunity or group immunity.

Environmental impacts of cow's milk in Northern Italy: Effects of farming performance

A Life Cycle Assessment was conducted on 55 dairy farms located in Northern Italy to investigate the effect of dairy farming performance on the environmental impact of milk production. Feeds used in diet formulation were analyzed for nutrients contents by near-infrared reflectance technique, and the real composition was used to estimate methane emissions from enteric fermentation and manure handling. The functional unit was 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk at the farm gate. The results were expressed according to the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method version 2.0 for 19 impact indicators through SimaPro® software v9.0.35. Five main data categories were considered: water used on the farm, off-farm feeds, energy resources, on-farm feeds, and bedding materials. Dairy farms were ranked into high-, mid-, and low-performing herds according to the average milk yield (>32.6; 25.4–32.6; <25.4 kg milk/cow/d; respectively). Statistical analysis between groups of herds was performed using JMP (JMP® Pro 15.2.0). The environmental impacts of indicators were lower (P < 0.05) in high-performing herds compared with low-performing herds and lower (P < 0.05) for climate change, climate change-biogenic, climate change-fossil, photochemical ozone formation human health (POCP), and eutrophication terrestrial when compared with mid-performing herds. Similar values among groups were observed for acidification, ionizing radiation human health, and ozone depletion potential indicators. The off-farm and on-farm feeds categories had the highest share of value of impact indicators. The enteric fermentation and manure handling significantly contributed to greenhouse gas emissions, whereas particulate matter formation and POCP were mainly related to barn management. Results from this research could be helpful in the dairy sector through the completeness of the expected impact indicators evaluated by the PEF method. • Environmental impacts of fifty-five dairy farms in Northern Italy were assessed at farm gate. • Product Environmental Footprint guidelines were used to express results for nineteen impact indicators. • Dairy farms were ranked into high-, mid- and low-performing herd groups. • A low environmental impact characterized high-performing herds. • The off-farm and in-farm feeds data categories were most responsible for impact indicators values.

Genetic trends of Mexican zebu cattle populations

In Mexico, the genetic evaluations in Zebu breeds began in 2011 and there are no studies about the genetic progress achieved. Thus, this research aimed to quantify and analyse the genetic progress for growth traits in the Mexican Zebu beef cattle populations Nellore, Sardo Negro, Gyr, Indubrasil, and Guzerat. The genetic trends were obtained through weighted regression (by the number of animals) of estimated breeding values for direct birth weight, direct and maternal weaning weight, yearling weight, and weight at 540 days of age, on the year of birth. Genetic trends were also estimated by the four selection paths, groups of herds, and weighted averages of the sires' breeding values. The results showed genetic gain as expected of genetic improvement. Nellore presented the highest positive gains for all the traits, and Gyr had the smallest gains among the breeds. Guzerat showed contrary trends for weights until weaning, and had more favourable trends for weights after weaning than the other breeds. The genetic gains obtained for the growth traits reflected the strong influence of the selection made via the maternal paths. The results between weighted and unweighted average breeding values indicate no effective strategy for disseminating genetic material with high breeding values. The genetic gains obtained in the whole populations were due to the main groups of herds. Thus, to achieve further genetic progress, it is necessary to design a cooperative breeding program with a strategy for disseminating that genetic material. Highlights The evaluated populations are developed in the context of tropical livestock, with specific selection criteria and objectives. Genetic trends assess the direction and magnitude of genetic change. The results in the genetic trends show the consequences of the genetic improvement schemes carried out by the breeders. For breeders, it is important to evaluate and monitor genetic improvement schemes, and where appropriate, adjust, or redefine selection criteria and objectives.

Estimating the Effect of a Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Control Program: An Empirical Study on the Performance of Dutch Dairy Herds.

More and more European countries have implemented a bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) control program. The economic effects of such programs have been evaluated in simulations, but empirical studies are lacking, especially in the final stage of the program. We investigated the economic (gross margin) and production effects (milk yield, somatic cell count, and calving interval) of the herds obtaining BVDV-free certification based on longitudinal annual accounting and herd performance data from Dutch dairy herds between 2014 and 2019, the final stages of the Dutch national BVDV-free program. This study was designed as a case-control study: two types of case herds were defined for two analyses. The case herds in the first analysis are herds where the BVDV status changed from “BVDV not free” to “BVDV free” during the study period. The not-free status refers to a herd that participated in the BVDV-free program but had not yet obtained the BVDV-free certification. In the second analysis, the case herds started participating in the Dutch BVDV-free program during the study period and obtained the BVDV-free certification. Control herds in both analyses were BVDV-free during the entire study period. Potential bias between the covariates of the two herd groups was reduced by matching case and control herds using the propensity score matching method. To compare the differences between case and control herds before and after BVDV-free certification, we used the time-varying Difference-in-Differences estimation (DID) methodology. The results indicate that there was no significant change in milk yield, somatic cell count, calving interval, and gross margin upon BVDV-free certification. There are several possible explanations for the non-significant effects observed in our study, such as the final stage of the BVDV control program, not knowing the true BVDV infection situation in case herds and not knowing if control measures were implemented in case herds prior to participating in the BVDV-free program. In our study, the effects of BVDV-free certification might have been underestimated, given that the Dutch BVDV control program became mandatory during the study period, and some of the case herds might have never experienced any BVDV infection. The results of this study suggest that in the final stage of the BVDV control program, the program may no longer have a clear benefit to the herd performance of participating dairy herds. When designing national programs to eradicate BVDV, it is therefore important to include incentives for such farms to motivate them to join the program.

Valued personality traits in livestock herding Kelpies-Development and application of a livestock herding dog assessment form.

Livestock herding dogs contribute greatly to the rural economy of Australia. However, their selection currently lacks a cohesive or methodical approach. For example, there is no accessible tool for assessing Australian livestock herding dogs’ suitability for work. The purpose of the current study was to devise a herding dog assessment form, the Herding Dog Assessment Form–Personality (HDAF-P), to facilitate collection of data on relevant behavioural phenotypes of large numbers of working Kelpies and to apply the HDAF-P to identify personality traits needed for herding dog performance. The focus was on creating a succinct form that was salient and accessible to livestock herding dog owners. Wherever practical, terms and methods from published personality questionnaires were integrated. Seventeen terms were included as behavioural descriptors in the HDAF-P which was then used by 95 owners to assess a sample of 228 of their working Kelpies. Owners were also asked to rate the overall ability of their dog(s). Of these dogs, 210 (all twelve months or older) were fully described and their data were used in the analysis. Thus, the study was designed to reveal which personality traits are most critical to the overall ability of the herding dogs and to undertake an exploratory analysis of the patterns of dog behaviour revealed by the HDAF-P in non-juvenile dogs. The traits that showed the strongest correlations (using Kendall’s Tau correlation analysis) with overall ability were initiative (T = 0.41, p < 0.001), persistence (T = 0.36, p < 0.001), intelligence (T = 0.32, p < 0.001), confidence (T = 0.36, p < 0.001) and nervousness (T = -0.30, p < 0.001). An exploratory principal component analysis of trait scores revealed that 64.5% of the variance could be explained by four components that share several similarities with those reported by previous dog personality studies. These findings confirm that the HDAF-P has potential for the practical assessment of livestock herding dog personality and can elucidate traits that should be considered for prioritisation in training and breeding to optimise herding dog ability.