Intensive Production Systems Research Articles

Review on Poultry Production, Trends and Development Strategies in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has considerable livestock resource and poultry population is second ranked preceded by Cattle. Besides their important and numbers, little is known about their production systems, population growth, egg utilization trends and development strategies in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian poultry population is almost entirely composed of indigenous chicken and recent estimates showed that poultry 81.7%, 10.9%, and 7.4% are indigenous, hybrids and exotic, respectively. The distribution of poultry population in Ethiopia is diverging from region to region. Oromia region has the largest number of poultry population followed by Amhara, South Nation and Nationality People of Ethiopia (SNNP). Poultry production system in Ethiopia is indigenous and an integral part of farming system. Based on the objective, breed, flock size, housing, feeding, health, biosecurity level and technology used, the poultry production system in Ethiopia can be classified into extensive or scavenging, semi-intensive, small-scale intensive and large scale commercial poultry production system. The extensive scavenging and small-extensive scavenging systems are the dominant forms of poultry production in Ethiopia. The poultry population growth over the year almost stagnant because of high poultry mortality due to lack of adaptation of introduced exotic poultry, diseases, predators prevalent in the scavenging production systems and limited expansion of commercial poultry production both in terms of number of operators and volume of operation. The poultry sector did not have a clear roadmap guiding its development until the recent production of the LMP. The future study should be attention onto expansion of large scale commercial poultry production system, constraints of poultry population growth, adaption of introduced exotic poultry breeds and the reason for eggs sale and household consumption fluctuated.

A Study on the Metabolic Rate Change Pattern in F2 Hybrid Sturgeon, the Bester (Huso huso × Acipenser ruthenus), during the Early Developmental Stage

The primary goal in aquaculture is to maximize the growth and survival of farmed fishes at a minimal cost, which requires an understanding of the changes in metabolism undergone by different fish breeds during development. In particular, highly intensive aquaculture production systems, such as recirculating aquaculture systems, require a better understanding of oxygen consumption. Ontogenetic phase shifts (i.e., sudden changes) in metabolism have been observed in several aquaculture species during early development, and such metabolic phase shifts may help to predict the oxygen consumption of aquaculture species during different stages of their development. Here, I analyzed the pattern of metabolic changes in the F2 hybrid sturgeon, the bester (Huso huso × Acipenser ruthenus; hereafter, referred to as the F2 bester), during its early development. I observed ontogenetic phase shifts in metabolism in the F2 bester at body mass values of about 0.2 and 0.8 g. Thus, the F2 bester undergoes ontogenetic phase shifts in metabolism during early development, which can help to characterize oxygen consumption at a specific developmental period. Therefore, oxygen can be appropriately adjusted and replenished during breeding.

Carbon footprint of transhumant sheep farms: accounting for natural baseline emissions in Mediterranean systems

Abstract Purpose Transhumance has rarely been analyzed through LCA approaches, and there is little evidence about its emissions level when conducted under different practices (by truck or on foot) or compared to sedentary livestock systems. Moreover, mobile pastoralism is strongly linked to natural resources by its seasonal grazing patterns, thereby occupying the niche of wild herbivores. Considering natural emission baselines in these ecosystems could have relevant effects when estimating their carbon footprint. Materials and methods Inventory data of 20 sheep farms was collected to estimate the carbon footprint (CF) of lamb meat produced. Farms were divided into three sub-groups representing typical management practices in the region: (1) sedentary (SED), (2) transhumance by truck (THT), and (3) transhumance on foot (THF). Livestock GHG emissions were modeled according to herd structure and IPCC guidelines. Off-farm emissions from external feeds and fuels were accounted based on existent LCA databases. A natural baseline of wild herbivores was established from the population of red deer reported in a hunting preserve, previously considered to be a reference for the natural carrying capacity in Mediterranean ecosystems. GHG emissions of wild herbivores were estimated through two methods based on (1) IPCC guidelines and (2) allometric regression equations. Results and discussion Carbon footprint ranged from 16.5 up to 26.9 kgCO2-eq/kg of lamb liveweight (LW). Significant differences were identified among sedentary and transhumant farms, the latter consistently showing lower CF values (SED: 25.1 kg CO2-eq/kg LW, THT: 18.3 kg CO2-eq/kg LW, THF: 18.2 kg CO2-eq/kg LW). Sedentary farms resulted in higher GHG emissions (+ 27%) and higher CO2 and N2O, contributions derived from the consumption of additional feeds. Both methods applied to compute emissions for wild herbivores led to similar results (25.3–26.8 Mg CO2-eq/km2), comparatively lower than estimation for transhumant sheep (47.7 Mg CO2-eq/km2). When considering natural baseline emissions, the CF of transhumant lamb meat is reduced by almost 30%, reaching values quite below those reported for intensive lamb production systems in Spain. Conclusions From our results, mobility of grazing livestock can be considered as a strategy promoting climate change mitigation. This is achieved mainly by reducing the need of external feeds, while maximizing the use of local forage resources that otherwise would be difficult to valorize. Further reductions in the CF result when considering natural baseline emissions. The application of this new GHG accounting perspective could have relevant implications when aiming at climate neutrality of grazing-based ruminant systems.

Metabolomics-Based Mechanistic Insights into Revealing the Adverse Effects of Pesticides on Plants: An Interactive Review.

In plant biology, metabolomics is often used to quantitatively assess small molecules, metabolites, and their intermediates in plants. Metabolomics has frequently been applied to detect metabolic alterations in plants exposed to various biotic and abiotic stresses, including pesticides. The widespread use of pesticides and agrochemicals in intensive crop production systems is a serious threat to the functionality and sustainability of agroecosystems. Pesticide accumulation in soil may disrupt soil-plant relationships, thereby posing a pollution risk to agricultural output. Application of metabolomic techniques in the assessment of the biological consequences of pesticides at the molecular level has emerged as a crucial technique in exposome investigations. State-of-the-art metabolomic approaches such as GC-MS, LC-MS/MS UHPLC, UPLC-IMS-QToF, GC/EI/MS, MALDI-TOF MS, and 1H-HR-MAS NMR, etc., investigating the harmful effects of agricultural pesticides have been reviewed. This updated review seeks to outline the key uses of metabolomics related to the evaluation of the toxicological impacts of pesticides on agronomically important crops in exposome assays as well as bench-scale studies. Overall, this review describes the potential uses of metabolomics as a method for evaluating the safety of agricultural chemicals for regulatory applications. Additionally, the most recent developments in metabolomic tools applied to pesticide toxicology and also the difficulties in utilizing this approach are discussed.

Vaccination Upregulates Th1 Cytokines in the Lung of Pigs Experimentally Infected with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhy) is the causative agent of enzootic pneumonia, characterized by high morbidity and low mortality rates in intensive swine production systems. To better understand the mechanisms underlying the protection of an inactivated whole cell vaccine, we investigated the immunohistochemical differences in the cytokine expression in vaccinated and non-vaccinated pigs experimentally infected with Mhy. Four-week-old Mhy-negative pigs (n = 24) were allocated to negative control (n = 8), or one of two Mhy-infected groups: vaccinated (n = 8) and non-vaccinated (n = 8). Infection was carried out by a combination of trans-tracheal and aerosol route. Lung samples were processed for histopathological and immunohistochemical studies, by using antibodies against Mhy, IL1-α, IL1-β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, Il-8, IL-10, IL-12p35, IL-13, IL-17A, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and CD-4 lymphocytes. Although all cytokines increased in both infected groups, IL-2, IL-12, and IFN-γ were significantly overexpressed in vaccinated pigs. These findings, in conjunction with the decrease of macroscopic and histological lesions in vaccinated animals, indicate the importance to enhance Th1 response in the immunization strategies to control Mhy infection.

How Much Complexity Is Required for Modelling Grassland Production at Regional Scales?

Studies evaluating the complexity of models, which are suitable to simulate grass growth at regional scales in intensive grassland production systems are scarce. Therefore, two different grass growth models (GrasProg1.0 and APSIM) with different complexity and input requirements were compared against long-term observations from variety trials with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) in Germany and Denmark. The trial sites covered a large range of environmental conditions, with annual average temperatures ranging from 5.9 to 10.3 °C, and annual rainfall from 536 to 1154 mm. The sites also varied regarding soil type, which were for modelling categorised into three different groups according to their plant available water (PAW) content: light soils with a PAW of 60 mm, medium soils with a PAW of 80 mm, and heavy soils with a PAW of 100 mm. The objective was to investigate whether the simple model performed equally well with the given low number of inputs, namely climate and PAW group. Evaluation statistics showed that both models provided satisfactory results, with root mean square errors for individual cuts ranging from 0.59 to 1.28 t dry matter ha−1. The model efficiency (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency) for the separate cuts were also good for both models, with 81% of the sites having a positive Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency value with GrasProg1.0, and 72% with APSIM. These results reveal that without detailed site-specific descriptions, the less complex GrasProg1.0 model can be incorporated into a simple decision support tool for optimising grassland management in intensive livestock production systems.

Potential and limitations of crowdsourced data for high-resolution rice mapping in Madagascar: The importance of representation

Given the projected population growth and rice consumption in Madagascar, assessing its rice production potential is important. Existing spatial representations of rice are characterized by coarse resolutions and diverge widely. Mapping rice production based on remote sensing offers a potential solution to this problem but its application in Sub-Saharan Africa is hindered by scarce ground truth data and a complex array of cropping systems. While crowdsourcing initiatives provide data that could in principle be used to overcome this hurdle, their usefulness in rice mapping is hitherto underexplored. Here, we investigate the usefulness of crowdsourced data to enhance the mapping of rice production areas in the data-poor context of Madagascar. At present, dedicated crowdsourcing initiatives only limitedly cover rice but do provide sufficient information to build a dataset of data points characterizing a No-Rice class. On the other hand, geotagged pictures from social media, which do document rice production areas, predominantly represent 'scenic' fields appealing to social media contributors, i.e. irrigated, intensive rice production systems. The archetypal nature of these data leads to distinct feature signatures. Consequently, these data could be successfully used for rice mapping in the Lake Alaotra basin, which is characterized by the type of intensive rice cropping that is well-represented by the crowdsourced data. However, it was not possible to construct an accurate map of rice production in the greater Antananarivo region or at the national scale using crowdsourced data as they do not sufficiently represent the present variety in rice production systems. The value of crowdsourced data thus depends on the representativeness of the data, which in turn depends on the application and can be improved through applying a probabilistic sampling design. Our study also highlights the need for data representation checks prior to data augmentation or classification for future applications wanting to construct credible maps using crowdsourcing within their sampling design for which we present a multi-faceted evaluation framework.

Heat Shock Protein Response to Stress in Poultry: A Review.

Compared to other animal species, production has dramatically increased in the poultry sector. However, in intensive production systems, poultry are subjected to stress conditions that may compromise their well-being. Much like other living organisms, poultry respond to various stressors by synthesising a group of evolutionarily conserved polypeptides named heat shock proteins (HSPs) to maintain homeostasis. These proteins, as chaperones, play a pivotal role in protecting animals against stress by re-establishing normal protein conformation and, thus, cellular homeostasis. In the last few decades, many advances have been made in ascertaining the HSP response to thermal and non-thermal stressors in poultry. The present review focuses on what is currently known about the HSP response to thermal and non-thermal stressors in poultry and discusses the factors that modulate its induction and regulatory mechanisms. The development of practical strategies to alleviate the detrimental effects of environmental stresses on poultry will benefit from detailed studies that describe the mechanisms of stress resilience and enhance our understanding of the nature of heat shock signalling proteins and gene expression.

Optimizing Straw Management to Enhance Carbon and Nitrogen Efficiency and Economic Benefit of Wheat-Maize Double Cropping System

The optimization of annual straw management can improve the yield, income, and carbon and nitrogen efficiency of wheat-maize double cropping systems. Based on a long-term positioning trial started in 2012, five straw management methods were considered, C100 (100% return), C75 (75% return+25% harvest), C50 (50% return+50% harvest), C25 (25% return+75% harvest), and C0 (100% harvest). We analyzed the effects of farmland carbon and nitrogen inputs and their ratios on crop yield, carbon and nitrogen use efficiency, and economic benefits in wheat and maize anniversaries with different straw managements. The results showed that: ① the amount of straw returning to the field resulted in a significant difference in carbon and nitrogen input. The annual carbon and nitrogen inputs from crop residues decreased by 1.76 t·hm-2 and 34.28 kg·hm-2, respectively, with a 25% reduction in straw returning. The C/N ratios under the C100-C0 treatment were 18.62, 17.03, 15.64, 12.54, and 9.61, respectively. ② Grain yield first increased and then decreased with the decrease in the C/N input ratio, and the effect of straw management on wheat yield was greater than that on maize. Compared with that under C100 and C0, the average grain yield of wheat and maize under the C50 treatment increased by 13.34%-13.67% and 16.10%-17.71%, respectively, and the total grain yield of wheat and maize increased by 14.98% and 15.68%. ③ The annual grain yield and carbon agronomy efficiency were the best with the C/N input ratio of 15.64 (in the C50 treatment), which were 15.71% and 0.29 kg·kg-1, respectively. The carbon production efficiency continued to increase with the decrease in the C/N input ratio, and there was a significant negative correlation between them. The nitrogen production efficiency increased first and then decreased with the decrease in the C/N input ratio. The nitrogen production efficiency of the C50 treatment was the highest (0.64 kg·kg-1), which was significantly higher than that of C100 by 32.63%. ④ The C50 treatment had the highest economic income and net income, which were 46200 yuan·hm-2 and 33400 yuan·hm-2, respectively. Compared with that of C100, the economic income of grain and straw feed increased by 5600 yuan·hm-2 and 3200 yuan·hm-2, respectively. In conclusion, the optimal C/N input ratio can be achieved by optimized straw management; 50% straw returning and 50% harvest in a wheat-maize double-cropping intensive production system can promote carbon agricultural efficiency and nitrogen production efficiency and obtain the maximum grain yield and economic benefits.

Physico-Chemical Parameters, Oxidative Stress, and Fatty Acid Profile of American Pekin Ducks (Anas Platyrhynchos Domesticus) Raised under Different Production Systems

Rearing of American Pekin ducks in different production systems plays a vital role in the determination of the internal climatic conditions of the house for optimum health and meat quality parameters. The experiment was designed to evaluate the influence of different rearing systems fed on kitchen waste on meat quality parameters of American Pekin ducks. A total of 180 ducklings (10 days old) were distributed randomly into three experimental groups; intensive production system (IPS), free-range production system (FRPS), and pool with yard production system (PYPS). We investigate the physicochemical parameters, meat coloration, oxidative stress, and fatty acid (FA) profile of Pekin ducks. Ducks reared in PYPS showed better physico-chemical parameters and meat coloration than those of ducks reared in IPS and FRPS. Drip loss % and cooking loss % are significantly low in FPRS while (L*) l-lightness, (a*) redness, and (b*) yellowness are significantly higher in IPS (p≤0.05). The oxidative stress was reduced in PYPS due to the natural behavior of ducks. Moreover, the fatty acid profile was improved in PYPS fed with 100% kitchen waste. In conclusion, this experiment confirmed that ducks reared in PYPS improve their meat quality parameters, fatty acid, and oxidative stress.

Age at weaning of lambs raised in an intensive production system

Context Early weaning is an alternative that may shorten the production time, and improve growth, and carcass quality. Aims The effects of different weaning ages on growth performance and carcass characteristics of Dorper × Santa Inês lambs were evaluated. Methods Initially, 33 crossbred lactating ewes Dorper × Santa Inês with initial bodyweight (BW) of 53.16 ± 9.17 kg (mean ± s.d.) were penned individually with their lambs (nine females and 36 males; 6.59 ± 0.30 kg of initial BW and 10 ± 2.22 days of age) 10 days after birth and used in a randomised complete block design (three treatments and 11 blocks). Each pen was individually equipped with a creep feed system for the lambs. The lambs received the initial diet, and the ewes were confined and received a diet with 400 g/kg of roughage and 600 g/kg of concentrate. Lambs were weaned at ages of either 45 days (W45), 60 days (W60) or 75 days (W75). At weaning, the ewes were removed from the pens and the lambs remained in the same pen for 15 days, receiving the initial diet. After 15 days of weaning, only the males continued received the finishing diet until 165 days of life. After the finishing period, the lambs were slaughtered to measure the carcass characteristics. Key results There was no influence of weaning age on BW, body condition score, dry-matter intake, and milk production and composition of ewes. Additionally, there was no effect of treatments on the lambs‘ performance. Conclusion In an intensive production system, weaning at 45, 60, and 75 days provided similar growth performance and carcass characteristics. Implications Therefore, weaning at 45 days may be an option for farmers.

Influence of dietary manipulation on coping with stress in pig production

Abstract Pigs for commercial production are often housed intensively because of its benefits, such as proper management of the animals, record‑keeping, feed and water provision and management. However, intensive systems of production may also produce stress in animals, arising from operations such as weaning, feed reduction or manipulation, and vaccination. In Africa, pig farmers feed cassava peels to pigs to reduce the cost of production despite its low protein content and anti‑nutritional factor (hydrocyanide). However, little is known about the effect of this feed change in terms of stress on weaners. In this study, we replaced maize with cassava peels and supplemented the diets with a fixed amount of tryptophan (Trp) to investigate its effect on performance, haematology, behavioural response of pigs to weaning, and their response to metabolic stress. Crossbred weaner pigs were used and randomly assigned to three treatments in a completely randomised design. Each treatment had three replicates and each replicate had three animals. The feeding trial lasted for four weeks. Dietary manipulations did not influence the growth performance characteristics and behavioural response of the animals. Packed cell volume, haemoglobin, red blood cell counts, and neutrophils were significantly (p < 0.05) higher for 20 % cassava peel as a replacement for maize but lower for a 40 % cassava peel‑based diet when compared with the control group. Feeding cassava peels as a replacement for maize in weaner pigs may be carefully considered, although further studies in this direction are recommended.

Simulating fish farm enrichment and fallowing impacts reveals unequal biogeochemical recovery of benthic variables

Finfish aquaculture is playing an increasing role in global food provision, with accompanying increases in benthic impacts under intensive pen production systems. Deposited faeces under and near fish pens affect the seafloor environment and biogeochemical functioning. To maintain healthy coastal environments, many fish farms operate by alternating input and fallowing periods to allow benthic coastal receiving environments to recover from excess organic matter inputs. Here, we used flow-through annular flume mesocosms to simulate sustained organic matter inputs to the benthos with a subsequent fallowing period of no inputs. To quantify the effects of excess organic matter loading on benthic receiving environments, we carried out repeated closed-system flux studies to quantify the benthic carbon mineralisation processes, with a focus on benthic oxygen, inorganic and organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphate, and sulphide fluxes, along with the redox state throughout the input and recovery period. We found that recovery periods were input-dependent, with parameters requiring longer fallowing periods to recover following larger inputs. While some benthic parameter fluxes such as dissolved organic carbon, sulphide, and ammonium returned to their pre-input state relatively rapidly (1-2 mo) following cessation of inputs, others such as sediment oxygen demand, ammonium, and redox required longer (>7 mo) to recover. Our results suggest that in situations where the benthic macrofaunal community has been severely impaired, extended fallowing periods may be required in order to permit the biogeochemical composition of the seabed to return to a more natural state, with implications for farm-consenting permits and planning as well as operational fallowing practices.

Effects of implementing a semi-stall-feeding system on goat kid survival and farmer adoption in western Odisha

A study was conducted over an eight-month period in 2016 with the objective of implementing and evaluating a semi-stall-feeding system in comparison to the traditional grazing system on goat farms in Kandhamal district, Odisha. Sixteen households across two villages were randomly selected from a sampling frame of farmers that owned at least four adult female goats. Four households from each of the two villages were randomly assigned to the control group (C) that engaged in traditional grazing of goats and four households to the supplemented group (S) which applied semi-stall-feeding (concentrate feeding at 2% of the herd's total body weight of goats). The potential outcomes of a transition to intensive goat production system were assessed by monitoring growth, survival, and milk quality on goat farms. Farmers' input concerning technology adoption was documented. Survivability was 4.26 times greater for kids in the supplemented than control group. Adult and kid weights did not differ among the groups. Sixty-three per cent of participating farmers were interested in supplementing their goats after the project and willing to pay between 1.5 to 15.0 USD/ household per month on goat feed. Results from this study will help policymakers about the potential impact of reducing goat dependence on grazing land and tribal farmer receptivity to goat system intensification.

Effects of grain-based diets on the rumen and fecal bacterial communities of the North American bison (Bison bison).

To overcome the challenges of pasture-finishing of bison, producers commonly feed them with higher energy, grain-based diets to reach the desired market weight. However, decades of research on domesticated ruminants have shown that such diets can have profound effects on the composition of gut microbial communities. To gain further insight, the 16S rRNA gene-based study described in this report aimed to compare the composition of ruminal and fecal bacterial communities from two herds of bison heifers (n = 20/herd) raised on different ranches that were both transitioned from native pasture to a grain-based, free-choice diet for ~100 days prior to slaughter. Comparative analyses of operational taxonomic unit (OTU) composition, either by alpha diversity indices, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), or on the most abundant individual OTUs, showed the dramatic effect of a diet on the composition of both rumen and fecal bacterial communities in bison. Indeed, feeding a grain-based diet resulted in a lower number of rumen and fecal bacterial OTUs, respectively, compared to grazing on pasture (p < 0.05). PCoA revealed that the composition of the rumen and fecal bacterial communities from the two herds was more similar when they were grazing on native pastures compared to when they were fed a grain-based, free-choice diet. Finally, a comparative analysis of the 20 most abundant OTUs from the rumen and fecal communities further showed that the representation of all these species-level bacterial groups differed (p < 0.05) between the two dietary treatments. Together, these results provide further insights into the rumen and fecal microbiomes of grazing bison and their response to grain-based diet regimens commonly used in intensive ruminant production systems.

Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Newcastle disease in backyard chickens in West Kordofan State, Sudan.

Newcastle disease (ND), a major constraint to poultry production worldwide, is a highly contagious disease of many species of domestic, exotic, and wild birds caused by ND virus (NDV). Epidemiological studies are lacking regarding ND in village chickens, including the traditional and intensive production systems used in Sudan. However, it is necessary to develop appropriate strategies to control the disease. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the flock- and bird-level seroprevalence of NDV in backyard chickens in West Kordofan State, Sudan, and to identify the risk factors associated with ND in the study area. The seroprevalence of the circulating NDV and bird-level risk factors associated with ND was determined in backyard chickens from March to October 2017, in six villages (Alnowara, Alleait, Geibaish, Baiad, Sougoh, and Alnuhoud) in the Geibaish and Elnuhoud localities of West Kordofan State. Using the hemagglutination-inhibition test, the bird- and flock-level seroprevalences of antibodies to NDV were estimated as 20.6% (78/378) and 45% (18/40), respectively. Bird-level NDV seropositivity in backyard chickens was significantly associated with the reason for raising chickens, type of housing, contact with neighboring poultry, contact with wild birds, and chicken mortality caused by infectious diseases (p ≤ 0.05). This study indicated that NDV is circulating in backyard chickens and may act as a potential source of infection for other birds and thus persistence of ND among local traditionally managed chickens in the areas of West Kordofan State. Risk factors contributing to ND occurrence are important for designing appropriate prevention and control strategies.

The effects of spring feeding strategy on pasture productivity, sward quality, and animal performance within intensive pasture-based dairy systems

The objective of this research was to evaluate how different feeding strategies based on various pasture availability (PA) treatments within intensive seasonal production systems affected pasture production and utilization, sward quality, and the milk production, body weight (BW), and body condition score (BCS) of dairy cows. The performance data were obtained from a 3-yr experiment conducted previously (2018-2020, inclusive). In total, records from 208 spring-calving dairy cows were available for analysis. The animals were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 PA grazing treatments in spring that varied in average pasture cover (measured as herbage mass available above 3.5 cm) that was established via different pasture management strategies in the previous autumn. Thus, the opening average pasture cover across all paddocks on February 1 was 1,100 kg of dry matter (DM)/ha for high pasture availability (HPA), 880 for medium pasture availability (MPA), and 650 for low pasture availability (LPA), respectively. The measurements were taken over an 8-wk period during the first grazing rotation in spring, commencing on February 16 (±2 d) and finishing when all paddocks were grazed once on April 12 (±5 d). Paddocks that were part of the HPA treatment showed the highest pregrazing herbage masses and pregrazing sward heights (1,645 kg of DM/ha and 8.2 cm, respectively) compared with MPA (1,412 kg of DM/ha and 7.5 cm, respectively) and LPA (1,170 kg of DM/ha and 6.9 cm, respectively). Owing to the differences in PA, daily herbage allowance was greatest for HPA (11.7 kg of DM/cow), intermediate for MPA (10.2 kg of DM/cow), and lowest for LPA (8.8 kg of DM/cow), with the remaining feed deficit composed of additional daily grass silage supplementation (0.8, 1.5, and 2.8 kg of DM/cow for HPA, MPA, and LPA, respectively), while the daily concentrate and daily total feed allowance were equal between treatments during spring (2.7 and 15.0 kg of DM/cow). Despite salient differences in fresh pasture used, complementing pasture intake with grass silage did not affect daily or cumulative milk, solids-corrected milk, fat, or protein yield or milk constituents. Similarly, BW and BCS were also unaffected by PA treatment. The results highlight the importance of high spring pasture utilization and grazing efficiency achievable with higher pregrazing herbage masses, which also allow larger animal intakes from grazed pasture as the cheapest feed source during spring. Moreover, targeting an adequate pasture supply at the commencement of calving increases the grazing days per hectare and lowers the requirement for supplementary feed on farm, particularly when facing increasing variability in climatic conditions.

Enhancing quality-driven food consumption policies in Tunisia

In Tunisia, food security policies’ objectives are increasing production to satisfy the growing demand and reduce the food deficit rate (35% per year). Since 1980, intensive production system and government subsidies for basic commodities were used to enhance food availability. This article aims to analyze food quantitative security policy impact on Tunisian consumption model versus Mediterranean diet and to readjust policies for qualitative food security. Based on five-year National Statistics Institute surveys on household consumption from 1985 to 2015, ANOVA analysis shows the need to address rural and urban consumption separately. Three groups were identified through clustering by consumption deviation degree compared to 1985. Variables of consumption evolution were determined by linear regression: price, income, location, domestic production and a quality factor measuring the conformity degree with Mediterranean diet. In order to achieve a better adherence to Mediterranean diet, new measures and synergy should take place at several levels policy makers, producers and consumers.

Food, health and sustainability.

This review makes a case for taking an integrated 'food systems' approach to explore the links between health and sustainability rather than treating them as separate topics. Unlike more linear 'farm-to-fork' conceptions, a systems approach emphasises the links between domains and sectors, helping avoid perverse effects where an intervention at one point in the system can have unanticipated consequences at other points. Adopting this approach, the review argues that food security and sustainability are as much a socio-cultural as a technical challenge requiring the combined forces of researchers from the natural and social sciences together with a range of stakeholders from government, business and civil society. Meeting the twin challenges of health and sustainability will require changes to intensive food production systems, dietary change and reductions in current levels of food waste. The review explores why dietary practices are so resistant to change seeking alternatives to the deficit thinking that pervades much advice on 'healthy eating'. It explores the locus of responsibility for food system change, emphasising the asymmetrical power relations that shape contemporary dietary choices. The review includes an example of food system research, the H3 project (healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people), which seeks to transform UK food systems 'from the ground up', adopting the principles outlined in the body of the review.

Effect of Probiotics on Tenebrio molitor Larval Development and Resistance against the Fungal Pathogen Metarhizium brunneum.

In recent years, the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) has demonstrated its potential as a mass-produced edible insect for food and feed. However, challenges brought on by pathogens in intensive production systems are unavoidable and require the development of new solutions. One potential solution is the supplementation of probiotics in the insect's diet to obtain the double benefits of improved growth and enhanced immune response. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diet-based probiotic supplementation on T. molitor larval survival, growth, and resistance against a fungal pathogen. Three probiotic strains, namely Pediococcus pentosacceus KVL-B19-01 isolated from T. molitor and two commercialized strains for traditional livestock, Enterococcus faecium 669 and Bacillus subtilis 597, were tested. Additionally, when larvae were 9 weeks old, a pathogen challenge experiment was conducted with the fungus Metarhizium brunneum. Results showed that both P. pentosaceus and E. faecium improved larval growth and larval survival following fungal exposure compared to the non-supplemented control diet. Since B. subtilis did not improve larval performance in terms of either development or protection against M. brunneum, this study suggests the need for further research and evaluation of probiotic strains and their modes of action when considered as a supplement in T. molitor's diet.