Performance Of Production System Research Articles

Cultural profiles evaluation and their impact on the performance of production systems in Colombian companies using data analytics

Strategically managing production systems is crucial for creating value and enhancing the competitive capabilities of companies. However, research on organizational culture within these systems is scarce, particularly in the Colombian context. This research aims to evaluate cultural profiles and their impact on the performance of production systems in Colombian firms. The regional focus is vital as cultural and contextual factors can vary significantly between regions, influencing organizational behavior and performance outcomes. To achieve this, we make a study in a sample of Colombian companies, with participation from working students of the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD). We used a data analytics approach to collected data. The results will be relevant to both the scientific community and business practitioners. This research seeks to determine whether the perception of the work environment within a company influences the perceived performance of the company. The findings will provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between organizational culture and production system performance, offering a foundation for business decision-making and enhancing competitiveness in Latin American context.

Sustainability Assessment of Agricultural Waste Biogas Production System in China Based on Emergy and Carbon Evaluation Methods

Biogas production is widely recognized as an effective solution for addressing agricultural waste treatment in rural areas. However, its development is often hindered by economic and environmental constraints. This study combined emergy evaluation and carbon footprint analysis methods to establish a new environmental radius assessment model for evaluating the ecological performance and optimization direction of an agricultural waste biogas production system, using a biogas production company in China as a case study. Compared with the straw return model and straw power generation model, the results of emergy indicators and carbon accounting showed that the biogas production model had a lower environmental load and higher economic output and level of emergy sustainability. Additionally, the biogas production system was found to reduce 0.47 kg of carbon emissions per 1 kg of agricultural waste utilized. The application of the biogas production model in rural areas had high ecological sustainability and carbon emission reduction benefits. Environmental radius assessment results confirmed that the reasonable changes in resource collection distance could further enhance the ecological sustainability, carbon mitigation ability, and economic benefits of the biogas production system. The environmental radius assessment method offers a new approach to the location planning of agricultural waste biogas utilization companies in rural areas.

Productive, Physiological, and Environmental Implications of Reducing Crude Protein Content in Swine Diets: A Review

Pig production is one of the most important providers of high-quality proteins and amino acids (AAs) to human nutrition. In this sector, feeding has an important economic and environmental impact. A strategy to reduce production costs and negative sustainability effects is reducing dietary crude protein (CP) contents with or without AA supplementation. This review addresses the different aspects related to this strategy, particularly the effects on growth performance and pork traits in piglets and growing and finishing pigs, as well as the physiological molecular mechanisms’ underlying effects. Insight is also provided into the effects of dietary CP reduction on the productive performances of alternative pig production systems and breeding boars and sows. Finally, an overview is conducted on the effects of dietary CP reduction on ammonia, odor, and greenhouse gas emissions arising from pig production systems. Overall, CP reduction may lead to production losses, albeit they can be, to some extent, hindered by adequate AA supplementation. Losses are particularly relevant during the post-weaning phase, whereas in finishing pigs, it may bring additional benefits, such as high intramuscular fat contents in some markets or improved gut barrier function with benefits to the animals’ health and welfare, as well as decreased ammonia emissions to the environment.

Microarray-based evaluation of selected recombinant timothy grass allergens expressed in E. Coli and N. Benthamiana

BackgroundTimothy grass (Phleum pratense) is a significant source of allergens, and recombinant allergens are increasingly used for diagnostic purposes. However, the performance of different recombinant allergen production systems in diagnostic assays needs further investigation to optimize their use in clinical settings.ObjectiveThe main objective of this study was to analyze and compare the diagnostic performance of recombinant timothy grass allergens produced in E. coli and N. benthamiana using a custom-made microarray chip.MethodsRecombinant timothy grass allergens Phl p 1, Phl p 2, Phl p 5, Phl p 6, Phl p 11, and Phl p 12 were produced in E. coli and/or N. benthamiana. A total of 113 patient serum samples were tested to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, inter-assay variability, and correlation of allergen-specific IgE detection compared to commercial multiplex tests (ALEX and ISAC). Additionally, the prevalence of sIgE to these allergens was assessed.ResultsPhl p 1, Phl p 2, Phl p 5, Phl p 6 and Phl p 11 showed high or very high positive correlation in immunoreactivity with other commercial multiplex tests. Notably, Phl p 11 fused with maltose-binding protein (MBP) demonstrated high diagnostic specificity and sensitivity, with a 0.3 arbitrary cut-off value. However, a high intra-assay variation was observed. The study also assessed specific IgE prevalence to timothy grass allergens within the tested patient cohort.ConclusionsRecombinant allergens from both E. coli and N. benthamiana demonstrated strong diagnostic potential on the microarray platform, with Phl p 11 (MBP-fused) showing particularly high performance. High intra-assay variation highlights the need for further optimization in allergen formulation and microarray storage conditions. These results highlight the potential of recombinant allergens for diagnostic applications, despite challenges with allergen stability in microarray formats. Specific IgE prevalence to timothy allergens revealed a sensitization profile consistent with findings from multiple studies.Graphical

Towards better understanding the economic and environmental sustainability of alternative agricultural cropping production systems through integrated modelling

We explore and develop an integrated model to enhance understanding and evaluation of the economic and environmental sustainability performance of alternative agricultural cropping production systems. More specifically, our developed Environmentally Sustainable Residual Income Decomposition Modelling (ESRIDM) integrates accounting decomposition analysis, Water and Economic Sustainability Performance Measurement (WESM), system thinking, modular thinking, Environmentally Sustainable Residual Income (ESRI) theory, into a holistic modelling system influenced by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) approaches.The ESRIDM is theorised and applied in the context of nitrogen management in Australian Cotton production through a detailed case study and comparative analysis of three nitrogen fertiliser options. We find the ESRIDM is able to: (i) provide an overall assessment of the economic and environmental sustainability performance of each scenario modelled; (ii) increase the transparency of the production system to enable the identification of key issues which influence the likely suitability of each scenario; (iii) enable an analysis of probable outcomes under various alternatives; (iv) evaluate the feasibility of regulatory option modelled. While this paper offers a novel perspective to a specific context, ESRIDM is designed to be adapted to a variety of contexts with a view to contributing to the evolution of more sustainable systems of production more generally.

Temporal effect of flaxseed oil in boar’s diet on semen quality, antioxidant status and in-vivo fertility under hot humid sub-tropical condition

The present study investigates the temporal effects of flaxseed supplementation on boar semen quality, antioxidant status, and in-vivo fertility under high-temperature humidity index (THI) conditions in a sub-tropical climate. Twelve Hampshire crossbreed boars were randomly assigned to control and treatment groups, with the treatment group receiving flaxseed oil supplementation. Semen samples were collected and analyzed for semen quality parameters, sperm kinematics, and antioxidant status. Fertility outcomes were assessed through in-vivo mating trials. Flaxseed supplementation resulted in time dependent significant improvements in semen volume, sperm concentration, total and progressive sperm motility, sperm quality parameters, and antioxidant status. Fertility outcomes, including farrowing rates and litter sizes, were also enhanced in the flaxseed-supplemented group. These findings highlight the potential of flaxseed supplementation to improve boar fertility under high ambient stress conditions, with implications for optimizing reproductive performance in swine production systems.

PSI-29 Enhancing growth performance and reducing environmental impact with dietary protease supplementation in growing pigs fed high- and low-density diets

Abstract Exogenous protease has emerged as a promising solution for enhancing protein digestion and utilization in animal diets, offering potential benefits for both animal performance and environmental impact mitigation in pig farming. In a 6-wk trial involving 140 growing pigs [initial body weight (BW) = 24.10 ± 1.66 kg], the effects of dietary protease supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and noxious gas emission were investigated. Pigs were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial design with two levels of nutrient density and 0 or 125 g/ton supplementation of protease. The pigs were blocked by BW and housed in 28 pens with each pen consisting of 5 pigs (3 barrows and 2 gilts). The experimental design employed a randomized complete block design with 7 replicate pens per treatment. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA, with differences between means assessed using Tukey’s test (P < 0.05). Results revealed no significant interaction (P > 0.05) between nutrient density and protease supplementation concerning growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and noxious gas emission. Pigs subjected to high-density diets exhibited greater (P < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) and gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) compared with those on low-density diets. While protease supplementation did not impact ADG and average daily feed intake (ADFI), there was a tendency towards reduced (P = 0.08) G:F throughout the 6-wk period. Pigs fed high-density diets demonstrated significantly greater (P < 0.05) apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE) compared with their counterparts on low-density diets. Furthermore, the inclusion of protease significantly increased (P < 0.05) ATTD of GE. However, no discernible differences were noted among diets regarding the ATTD of dry matter and nitrogen. Regarding noxious gas emission, protease supplementation did not significantly affect total mercaptans and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emission. Nonetheless, there was a notable trend towards reduced (P = 0.06) ammonia gas (NH3) emission with protease inclusion. Similarly, nutrient density did not exhibit a significant effect (P > 0.05) on noxious gas emission. In conclusion, the results of the study underscore the importance of nutrient density and protease supplementation in optimizing pig performance and environmental sustainability in swine production systems. Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and refine strategies for maximizing the benefits of these dietary interventions.

Development of a pig wean-quality score using machine-learning algorithms to characterize and classify groups with high mortality risk under field conditions

Mortality during the post-weaning phase is a critical indicator of swine production system performance, influenced by a complex interaction of multiple factors of the epidemiological triad. This study leveraged retrospective data from 1723 groups of pigs marketed within a US swine production system to develop a Wean-Quality Score (WQS) using machine learning techniques. The study evaluated three machine learning models, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and Gradient Boosting Machine, to classify groups having high or low 60-day mortality, where high mortality groups represented 25 % of the groups among the study population with the highest mortality values (n=431; 60-day mortality=9.98 %), and the remaining 75 % of the groups were of low mortality (n=1292; 60-day mortality=2.75 %). The best-performing model, Random Forest (RF), outperformed the other ML models in terms of accuracy (0.90), sensitivity (0.84), and specificity (0.92) metrics, and was then selected for further analysis, which consisted of creating the WQS and ranking the most important factors for classifying groups as high or low mortality. The most important factors ranked through the RF model to classify groups with high mortality were pre-weaning mortality, weaning age, average parity of litters in sow farms, and PRRS status. Additionally, stocking conditions such as stocking density and time to fill the barn were important predictors of high mortality. The WQS was developed and correlated (r = 0.74) with the actual 60-day mortality of the groups, offering a valuable tool for assessing post-weaning survivability in swine production systems before weaning. This study highlights the potential of machine learning and comprehensive data utilization to improve the assessment and management of weaned pig quality in commercial swine production, which producers can utilize to identify and intervene in groups, according to the WQS.

Performance analysis and optimization of a zero-emission solar-driven hydrogen production system based on solar power tower plant and protonic ceramic electrolysis cells

The solar-driven high-temperature steam electrolysis is promising for efficient large-scale H2 production. In this study, a comprehensive component-to-system model and optimization framework is developed to investigate the performance of a zero-emission H2 production system based on solar power plant and protonic ceramic electrolysis cell. Compared to previous system studies, the detailed description of cell internal operating characteristics is realized by integrating multi-physics simulation and artificial neural network. After parametric analyses, it is found that the system energy/exergy efficiency and co-generation performance are complicated by each subsystem. And the optimal system performance (ηth = 50.63 %, Z = 179.63 $·h−1 and ηex = 33.03 %, Z = 178.94 $·h−1, with LCOE = 0.172 $·kWh−1 and ZH2 = 6.497 $·kg−1) is obtained considering cell operating features and system energy-exergy-economic factors through multi-objective optimizations. Besides, the tradeoff between system maximum H2 production capacity and cell internal thermal conditions is revealed. This study can facilitate the development of zero-emission green H2 production driven by renewable energy.

Characterization of smallholder irob cattle production system: contributions to develop a breeding program.

An exploratory survey (i) to investigate livestock production system, reproductive and production performance of Irob cattle and (ii) to recognize constraints to cattle production was conducted in eastern Tigray zone, northern Ethiopia. Six tabias (the smallest administrative unit consisting of several villages) were chosen using purposive sampling method and households from each tabia were randomly selected. Mixed crop-livestock farming system dominates the study area. Overall herd size was 5.3 ± 2.7, with each herd comprising of 1.7 ± 1.2 cows, 1.4 ± 0.9 oxen, 0.5 ± 0.7 heifers, 0.5 ± 0.7 bulls and 1.2 ± 0.9 calves. Cattle are kept for draught power (index = 0.43), milk (index = 0.32), income (index = 0.15), manure (index = 0.06) and crop threshing (index = 0.04). Major feed resources in the study area were natural pasture, crop residue and cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica). Overall mean (± SD) for age at first services (AFS), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), days open (DO), daily milk yield (DMY) and lactation length (LL) was 28.3 ± 3.9 months, 37.4 ± 5.5 months, 15.5 ± 4.1 months, 6.5 ± 1.8 months, 1.7 ± 0.4L and 7.4 ± 2.0 months, respectively. There was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in performance traits between districts. Well-known cattle production constraints in order of significance were feed, disease and parasites, AI, water and veterinary service. In conclusion, the study shown importance of taking into account the production environment in developing breed improvement program and recommends fit management system.

Bioeconomic and sustainability performance of dairy-beef steer and heifer production systems differing in stocking rate

There is little published research on dairy-beef heifer systems or comparisons of heifer and steer dairy-beef production. Furthermore, given its impact on the productivity and economics of dairy-beef systems, any comparison of gender must also consider potential interactions with stocking rate (SR). The objective of this study was to evaluate the variability of physical and economic performance, greenhouse gas emissions, feed-food competition and pasture land-use of dairy-beef production steer and heifer systems at differing stocking rates. Performance data from a two (gender: Steers and Heifers) x two (SR: Low and High) x two (breed-types: Early-maturing (EM) and Late-maturing (LM) factorial experiment was used to parameterize a bio-economic farm systems model. Low SR animals were heavier, had higher fat scores and better conformed at slaughter. High stocking rate resulted in greater carcass output per hectare and subsequently were, on average, 22 % more profitable than their Low SR counterparts. Late-maturing animals were found to be more profitable than early-maturing, and steers were more profitable than heifers. GHG emissions of the eight treatments investigated ranged from 10.7 to 17.7 kgs of carbon dioxide equivalents (kg CO2eq) per kilogram of carcass weight produced, with both High SR and heifer systems having lower GHG emissions per kg of product than their Low SR and steer counterparts. Human edible protein efficiency was only favorable for the steer systems. High SR systems had, on average, lower land use per kg of product than their Low SR counterparts. Results from this study indicate that no single treatment was optimal across the range of performance metrics considered.

Opportunities to integrate Ecosystem Services into Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): a case study of milk production in Brazil

World dairy production is growing rapidly having increased by 339 million tons over the last twenty years. However, it remains unclear how anthropic activities in the milk sector can impact the Ecosystem Services (ES) supply to society. The aim of this study was to propose and determine the Net Environmental Performance (NEP) of different milk production systems. For this purpose, a case study on a confined compost barn farm, located in southeastern Brazil was selected as reference scenario and compared with three other systems. The mapping of ES benefits was carried out using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services, while environmental impacts were calculated using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA results and ecosystem benefits were combined and converted into monetary units to calculate the NEP per 1 kg of milk. The results indicated that semi-confined systems had the worst environmental performance (90 % more impacts) compared to the compost barn milk system. On the other hand, confined systems generate few ES benefits, but their environmental impacts were lower for most LCA impact categories (up to 87 % minimized impacts) compared to semi-confined systems. Finally, we concluded the confined systems in SP and PR showed the best NEP (1.07 and 1.48) aiming for both environmental impacts and ES benefits to fit the win–win situation.

Economic utility of Colombian Romosinuano cattle

The objective of this study was to quantify the economic utility in Romosinuano production systems by developing a bioeconomic model assumed cow-calf, cow-calf plus stocker (CCPS), and complete cycle operations. Each system produced males for sale and females for replacement. Input parameters were established from breed data collected by AGROSAVIA. Revenues were estimated using the official cattle price, and production costs were quantified per activity. In the results, for cow-calf operations, the maximum economic utility was 244.12 USD. CCPS, yielded 231.86 USD, and Complete cycle, 268.94 USD. The genetic progress per generation for W240, W480, W24 and CI was + 3.8 kg, + 5 kg, + 5.9 kg, and -1 d, respectively. The price of livestock was the sensitized variable with the greatest impact on maximum economic utility (± 118.64 USD to ± 155.44 USD), followed by mineral supplementation (16.31 USD to ± 37.34 USD). The sensitized variables with the lowest impact were food (± 1.62 USD to ± 1.8 USD) and health plan supplies (± 6.03 USD to ± 9.13 USD). It is concluded that economic utility defined as a composite trait influenced by the characteristics that shape it favors genetic progress and the identification of animals with optimal performance in different bovine production systems.

Innovative and efficient integrations of desalination plants coupled absorption, adsorption, and humidification-dehumidification desalination units employing external heat recovery techniques

Thermal desalination technologies have been developed recently to solve some pressing problems, such as high energy expenditure, increasing fuel costs, and environmental problems related to conventional plants. However, these technologies still need to be enhanced in terms of water production and gain output ratio (GOR). This paper presents innovative and efficient combined thermal desalination plants consisting of absorption (ABDS), adsorption (ADDS), and humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination units to enhance energy utilization, water production, and overall system performance. Four innovative combined desalination plants employing different external heat recovery scenarios are presented and compared. The result from each scenario is evaluated and compared with those of the standalone ABDS and with other studies found in the literature at the same heat source temperatures. The heat source is mainly utilized to drive the ABDS plant. The ADDS and HDH are driven by the heat rejection from the ABDS components with different external heat recovery scenarios. Results illustrated that the maximum freshwater production generated from the proposed scenarios ranges between 1.57 and 2.94 m3.day−1 with a GOR of between 1.38 and 1.75 at 120 °C. Raising heat source temperatures from 55 to 120 °C decreased the improvement in the water productivity from 618.5 to 224 % and decreased the enhancement in the GOR from 222.8 to 99 %. In scenarios where the ADDS and HDH are driven by the heat rejection from the absorption and condensation process of the ABDS, the maximum freshwater production results from the ABDS unit. On the other hand, in scenarios where the ADDS and HDH are driven by the outlet hot water from the ABDS-generator, the maximum freshwater production is obtained from the HDH unit. The finding provided that the proposed innovative scenarios have an effective improvement in overall system performance indicators.

Exploration of mobile genetic elements in the ruminal microbiome of Nellore cattle

Metagenomics has made it feasible to elucidate the intricacies of the ruminal microbiome and its role in the differentiation of animal production phenotypes of significance. The search for mobile genetic elements (MGEs) has taken on great importance, as they play a critical role in the transfer of genetic material between organisms. Furthermore, these elements serve a dual purpose by controlling populations through lytic bacteriophages, thereby maintaining ecological equilibrium and driving the evolutionary progress of host microorganisms. In this study, we aimed to identify the association between ruminal bacteria and their MGEs in Nellore cattle using physical chromosomal links through the Hi-C method. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing and the proximity ligation method ProxiMeta were used to analyze DNA, getting 1,713,111,307 bp, which gave rise to 107 metagenome-assembled genomes from rumen samples of four Nellore cows maintained on pasture. Taxonomic analysis revealed that most of the bacterial genomes belonged to the families Lachnospiraceae, Bacteroidaceae, Ruminococcaceae, Saccharofermentanaceae, and Treponemataceae and mostly encoded pathways for central carbon and other carbohydrate metabolisms. A total of 31 associations between host bacteria and MGE were identified, including 17 links to viruses and 14 links to plasmids. Additionally, we found 12 antibiotic resistance genes. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Brazilian cattle that connect MGEs with their microbial hosts. It identifies MGEs present in the rumen of pasture-raised Nellore cattle, offering insights that could advance biotechnology for food digestion and improve ruminant performance in production systems.

OLE! Dairy model

The process of intensification of the dairy sector has been characterized in recent decades by the increase in milk production per hectare, the increase in livestock density, the inclusion of more concentrates in the diet, and the improvement of the genetic merit of dairy cows. The use of models has productive, environmental, and economic advantages. The objectives of the study were to describe a new model, “OLE! Dairy model”, to (a) simulate the biophysical performance of a pasture-based dairy production system; (b) evaluate the predictive capacity of the model with a set of statistical parameters, comparing its results with the biophysical performance of experimental studies of dairy farm systems, and (c) calibrate by adjusting the technical coefficient. The experimental design combines two feeding strategies with a different proportion of pasture in the diet and two animal genotypes. We make a description of the biophysical component and the calculations proposed in the “OLE! Dairy model”. Then a variety of parameters was calculated for model testing, including the Mean Squared Error, the Relative Prediction Error, the square root of the MSE, the Concordance Correlation Coefficient, and the Model Efficiency. The model presented a good predictive capacity for stocking rate and concentrate, pasture, and reserve intake. The predictive capacity of the model for individual production and area production improves after performing a rapid calibration, which allows for avoiding overestimations or underestimations that generate erroneous measurements in the planning and management of milk production systems, and can be adjusted to different conditions of production of the region.

The interrelationship between Lean 4.0 and value co-creation: an empirical study in the dairy sector

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of Lean 4.0 practices on value co-creation in the dairy ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachData collection were carried out through a questionary application with 126 professionals linked to the dairy ecosystem, including milk producers, milk cooperatives and milk transporters. The data were analyzed using Cluster Analysis, Mann-Whitney test and Chi-Square test.FindingsA strong relation was found between the use of Lean 4.0 tools and the increase in operational performance, in addition to milk quality. Moreover, it can be noted that the use of digital technologies from Industry 4.0 has a strong relation with dairy production optimization, in other words, it is possible to be more efficient in the dairy process via Lean 4.0 adoption.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to analyzing the Brazilian dairy ecosystem. The results presented may not reflect the characteristics of the other countries.Practical implicationsOnce the potential empirical impacts of the relation between Lean 4.0 and value co-creation are elucidated, it is possible to direct strategies for decision-making and guide efforts by researchers and professionals to deal with the waste mitigation present in the dairy sector.Social implicationsLean 4.0 proves to be a potential solution to improve the operational performance of the dairy production system. Lean 4.0, linked to value co-creation, allows the integration of the production sector with consumers, through smart technologies, so new services and experiences can be provided to the consumer market. Additionally, the consumer experience can be stimulated based on Lean 4.0, once the quality specification is highlighted based on data science and smart management control.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the interrelationship between the Lean 4.0 philosophy and the value co-creation in the dairy ecosystem. In this sense, the study reveals the main contributions of this interrelation to the dairy sector via value co-creation, which demonstrates a new perspective on the complementarity of resources, elimination of process losses and new experiences for the user through digital technologies integrated with the Lean Thinking approach.

Planting date and dicamba‐based herbicide programs influence soybean production in the Southern Great Plains

AbstractThe interplay of management decisions involving soybean (Glycine max L.) planting date, herbicide programs, and herbicide application timings is critical to optimize soybean performance and weed control in Southern Great Plains soybean production systems. This research sought to evaluate soybean yield potential and the level of weed control as influenced by early‐, delayed‐, and late‐ planting dates and various combinations of preemergence (PRE), early‐postemergence (EPOST), and mid‐postemergence (MPOST) weed management programs. A field study was established in Bixby, OK in 2017 and 2018 under irrigated conditions and in Perkins, OK in 2017 under dryland conditions, consisting of three planting windows (early, delayed, and late) of XtendFlex soybean, with or without a PRE (chlorimuron + flumioxazin + pyroxasulfone + glyphosate + dicamba) combined with EPOST or EPOST + MPOST (glyphosate + dicamba) versus no in‐season applications. The gap in late‐planted soybean yield potential, compared to early‐planted soybean, was exacerbated in the dryland systems (1346 kg ha−1) versus an irrigated system (2311 kg ha−1). Use of PRE provided 60% weed control until MPOST and increased yields by 657 kg ha−1 and 457 kg ha−1 for delayed and late‐planted soybean, respectively. Late‐planted soybean with EPOST + MPOST provided up to 50% weed control, but lack of biomass production for cultural control reduced weed control by 29% compared to early‐ and delayed‐planted soybean. From an agronomic management standpoint, the time of soybean planting is influential on the success of weed control measures and soybean yields in double‐cropping system in the Southern Great Plains, particularly with late‐planted soybean.

Enhancing Performance of Permanent Magnet Motor Drives through Equivalent Circuit Models Considering Core Loss

Permanent magnet motors (PMMs) have emerged as key components in numerous industrial applications due to their high efficiency, compact size, and robust performance characteristics. However, to attain optimal performance in PMM drives, accurately predicting and mitigating core losses is paramount. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of advancements and methodologies for enhancing the performance of PMM drives by integrating equivalent circuit models (ECMs) that account for core losses. Firstly, the significance of core losses in motor drives is underscored, alongside a survey of research endeavors dedicated to core loss reduction. Notably, emphasis is placed on mathematical models offering both swift computation and reasonable accuracy. Subsequently, the paper delves into the development of ECMs, focusing on approaches adept at capturing core loss effects across diverse operating conditions. Moreover, this paper explores the utilization of these improved ECMs in the design and control of PMMs to achieve enhanced performance. By integrating core loss considerations into design and control strategies, PMM drives can optimize efficiency, torque production, and overall system performance. In summary, this paper may consolidate the current state-of-the-art techniques for enhancing PMM performance through the integration of core-loss-aware ECMs. It highlights key research directions and opportunities for further advancements in this critical area, aiming to foster the development of more efficient and reliable PMM-based systems for a wide range of industrial applications.

Optimizing Feed Formulation Strategies for Attaining Optimal Nutritional Balance in High-Performing Dairy Goats in Intensive Farming Production Systems

Abstract Genetic factors play a pivotal role in shaping feed formulation strategies for dairy goats, influencing milk production, composition, and overall productivity through the modulation of genetic parameters and polymorphisms associated with milk protein fractions and yield. Moreover, environmental challenges, including heat stress and feed availability fluctuations, pose significant hurdles in achieving optimal nutrition and performance, necessitating precision livestock farming and the utilization of local by-products to mitigate their impact on herd health and productivity. In addition, nutritional interventions, such as supplement utilization and alternative feed incorporation, offer promising avenues for addressing specific deficiencies and enhancing overall performance, from fatty acid supplementation to herbal feed additives, while balancing rations to meet evolving nutritional needs and ensuring long-term sustainability remains paramount for optimizing herd nutrition, health, and performance in intensive dairy goat production systems. The aim of this study was to explore the multifaceted influences of genetic factors, environmental challenges, and nutritional interventions on feed formulation strategies and overall herd nutrition, health, and performance in intensive dairy goat production systems.