Single Farm Research Articles

Using agricultural models to inform policy: Discussion points for researchers and policymakers

Computer simulations are widely used to explore options and quantify outcomes in agriculture. For example, mathematical models have been used to estimate how much of the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) delivered to the Gulf of Mexico comes from agricultural sources (Alexander et al. 2008); to calculate changes in grain yields as management practices are varied (Chen et al. 2014); and to investigate the effects of different precipitation regimes on soil erosion (Nearing et al. 2005). Physical models can be linked with economic and behavioral data to calculate potential costs, such as those of treating or replacing household well water contaminated by nitrates (NO₃) as grassland is converted to row crops (Keeler and Polasky 2014). Models can also estimate risk, such as that of crop failure in various climate change scenarios (Challinor et al. 2010). A wide variety of scales and systems can be simulated, from assessing farmers’ behavioral responses to climate change-related policies on a patchwork of single farms (Berger and Troost 2014), to predicting global losses of staple crops due to pest damage in a warmer world (Deutsch et al. 2018).

Partnerships Generate Co-Benefits in Agricultural Stream Restoration (Canterbury, New Zealand)

In Aotearoa New Zealand, agricultural land-use intensification and decline in freshwater ecosystem integrity pose complex challenges for science and society. Despite riparian management programmes across the country, there is frustration over a lack in widespread uptake, upfront financial costs, possible loss in income, obstructive legislation and delays in ecological recovery. Thus, social, economic and institutional barriers exist when implementing and assessing agricultural freshwater restoration. Partnerships are essential to overcome such barriers by identifying and promoting co-benefits that result in amplifying individual efforts among stakeholder groups into coordinated, large-scale change. Here, we describe how initial progress by a sole farming family at the Silverstream in the Canterbury region, South Island, New Zealand, was used as a catalyst for change by the Canterbury Waterway Rehabilitation Experiment, a university-led restoration research project. Partners included farmers, researchers, government, industry, treaty partners (Indigenous rights-holders) and practitioners. Local capacity and capability was strengthened with practitioner groups, schools and the wider community. With partnerships in place, co-benefits included lowered costs involved with large-scale actions (e.g., earth moving), reduced pressure on individual farmers to undertake large-scale change (e.g., increased participation and engagement), while also legitimising the social contracts for farmers, scientists, government and industry to engage in farming and freshwater management. We describe contributions and benefits generated from the project and describe iterative actions that together built trust, leveraged and aligned opportunities. These actions were scaled from a single farm to multiple catchments nationally.

Intestinal Strongyle Genera in Different Typology of Donkey Farms in Tuscany, Central Italy

Intestinal strongyles are common helminths of donkeys, in which they may be responsible for disease and poor performance. This study aimed to identify intestinal strongyle genera in 55 naturally infected donkeys from three different farm typologies in Tuscany, central Italy, using morphological and metrical analysis of third stage larvae (L3) obtained from faecal cultures. Larvae were identified using two previous reported morphological identification keys. Moreover, eggs per gram (EPG) data were also evaluated to assess differences, if any, according to the farm typology, sex, and age of the examined donkeys. The results showed that small strongyles were prevalent in all donkey farms. In all examined farms, most (92–100%) of L3 were identified as cyathostomin species of the genera Cylicocyclus spp. and Cylicostephanus spp. Large strongyles of the genera Strongylus spp. and Triodontophorus spp., were identified at low percentage (8%), only in the single organic farm included in the study. A high agreement was observed between the two different morphometric keys used. No significant differences were found for EPG according to farm typology, and sex and age from the examined donkeys. This is the first report about genera identification of intestinal strongyles infecting donkeys in Tuscany, Italy.

Human brucellosis outbreaks in Klang district, Malaysia

Background: Human brucellosis is a rare zoonotic disease in Malaysia. Case description: We report two outbreaks of eight human brucella cases which occurred from October 2018 till February 2019 in the Klang district. A total of five confirmed and three probable brucella cases were reported. Of this, four patients had brucellosis after consuming unpasteurized goat's milk from a single goats farm while the other four are farm workers from a cattle farm. Among eight cases, two were children aged 6 and 10 years old. All eight cases presented with fatigue, anorexia and prolonged fever. Four of them presented with headache, myalgia and weight loss while three had arthralgia and one experienced night sweats. Mean duration from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 45 days, longest duration being 87 days. Six of them developed transaminitis and four of them had haematological abnormalities. Two of those with hematological abnormalities had pancytopenia. Two had hepatomegaly and two had splenomegaly. Two patients were treated as neurobrucellosis as they presented with severe headache and hyperreflexia respectively. One had positive Brucella PCR from his cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Five patients were confirmed brucellosis by PCR detection from blood culture. Three probable Brucella cases were diagnosed based on clinical presentation, positive Brucella IgG titre and an epidemiological link. All the patients required an average of 14 days of hospitalizations and received at least 6 weeks of combination antibiotic. All eight recovered without long term sequalae. Discussion: From these two outbreaks, we find that all patients had prolonged fever and non-specific symptoms with routine laboratory investigations being inconclusive. In both outbreaks, a positive epidemiological link to consuming unpasteurized goat milk and handling of cattle was the important clue to diagnosis. In addition, timely recognition of neurobrucellosis is crucial as the choices and duration of antibiotic might differ from our usual regime. Conclusion: In conclusion, assessment of exposure risk to brucella is prudent while taking history for all patients presenting with fever of unknown origin as it will lead to early diagnosis, early treatment and minimised risk of laboratory staff exposure.

264 Effects of Water Quality on Nursery Pig Performance and Health

Abstract Newly-weaned pigs (n = 450; age = 20 d) were used in a 40-d experiment to determine the effects of water quality on pig performance and health. Pigs were sourced from a single commercial sow farm that was negative for both Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus and Mycoplasma Pneumonia. Pigs were allotted randomly to 45 pens (10 pigs/pen) and pens were assigned to 1 of 3 water treatments that provided water of differing quality. Waters were selected to represent a wide range of perceived water quality. Water quality was determined based on concentration of analytes including sulfates (1,120; 617; 2 ppm), iron (5.4; 5.2; 1.3 ppm), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS; 1,500; 1,050; 348 ppm), hardness (1,410; 909; 235 mg Eq CaCO3/L), magnesium (171; 91; 21 ppm) and sodium (64; 37; 29 ppm) for waters A, B, and C, respectively. Pigs were housed in an environmentally controlled, power ventilated, confinement nursery barn and were allowed ad libitum access to a common three-phase diet and water across all water treatments. Weekly ADG, ADFI, and G:F were measured and subjective scour score (1=solid feces to 4=liquid feces) was recorded daily through day 7. Data for pig growth performance were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX with water quality as a fixed effect and pen served as the experimental unit. There were no differences among treatments in ADG, ADFI, and G:F (Table 1). Number of pigs treated with antibiotics throughout the experiment did not differ among treatments as determined by Chi-Square analysis. Average subjective scour score on day 7 of the experiment also did not differ among treatments. In conclusion, performance and health of nursery pigs as measured in this experiment were not influenced by the differing water qualities studied.

Transferable Resistance to Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics for Human Health in Escherichia coli Strains Obtained From Livestock Feces in Uruguay.

The aim of this work was to detect Escherichia coli isolates displaying resistance to oxyimino-cephalosporins, quinolones, and colistin in feces from livestock in Uruguay. During 2016–2019, fecal samples from 132 broiler and layer chicken flocks, 100 calves, and 50 pigs, were studied in Uruguay. Samples were cultured on MacConkey Agar plates supplemented with ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, or colistin. E. coli isolates were identified by mass spectrometry and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion agar method and colistin agar test. Antibiotic resistance genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. The most frequently detected resistance gene was qnrB19, recovered from 87 animals. Regarding plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes, qnrS1 was the second in prevalence (23 animals) followed by qnrE1, found in 6 chickens and two calves. Regarding resistance to oxyimino-cephalosporins, 8 different β-lactamase genes were detected: blaCTX−M−8 and blaCMY−2 were found in 23 and 19 animals, respectively; next, blaCTX−M−2 and blaSHV−12 in 7 animals each, followed by blaCTX−M−14 in 5, blaCTX−M−15 and blaSHV2a in 2, and blaCTX−M−55 in a single animal. Finally, the mcr-1 gene was detected only in 8 pigs from a single farm, and in a chicken. Isolates carrying blaCMY−2 and blaSHV−12 were also found in these animals, including two isolates featuring the blaCMY−2/mcr-1 genotype. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work in which the search for transferable resistance to highest priority critically important antibiotics for human health is carried out in chickens and pigs chains of production animals in Uruguay.

Comparative Analysis Using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Highlights a Potential Transmission of Salmonella Between Asymptomatic Buffaloes and Pigs in a Single Farm.

Buffaloes and pigs play an important epidemiological roll in the Salmonella infection cycle, and asymptomatic animals can act as key component in the dissemination of the disease by horizontal, vertical, and cross-species transmission. Our study aimed and was able to confirm evidences of a cross-species transmission of Salmonella Agona between asymptomatic buffaloes and pigs. Also, we described Salmonella infection within the pig production phases, involving serotypes Agona, Senftenberg and Schwarzengrund. Rectal samples were collected from Jafarabadi buffaloes (n = 25) and Piau pigs (n = 32), located on a single farm. Salmonella Agona was isolated from lactating buffaloes, gilts, pregnant sows, and weaned pigs, Salmonella Schwarzengrund from lactating sows and Salmonella Senftenberg from gilts, pregnant sows, lactating sows, and weaned pigs. Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis protocol (PFGE) was performed and revealed four different profiles. Profile 1 (Salmonella Agona), isolated from a pregnant sow, a gilt and two lactating buffaloes, revealed a indistinguishable PFGE pattern, confirming evidences of potential cross-species transmission. Profile 2 (Salmonella Agona), 3 (Salmonella Senftenberg), and 4 (Salmonella Schwarzengrund), isolated from pigs, revealed important indistinguishable PFGE patterns, evidencing Salmonella infection within the pig production phases. Considering the epidemiological relevance of buffaloes and pigs in the cycle of Salmonella infection, confirmation of a potential cross-species transmission of Salmonella Agona and potential Salmonella infection within the pig production phases highlights the importance of the correct establishment of preventive health strategies in farms, in special the importance of avoiding contact between buffaloes and pigs, since cross-species transmission can occur, increasing the risk of spreading the disease.

Sustainability Assessment in Soy, Family and Agroforestry Farms: Application of the Rise Tool to the Cerrado

Over the last 30 years, extensive areas of Cerrado, the Brazilian savannah, have been converted to export-oriented agribusinesses. The social, environmental and economic impact of such large-scale land-use conversion is massive. To understand whether the current farming development in the Cerrado is sustainable, this study analyzes the sustainability performance of single farms applying the triple bottom line approach. Its aim is to assess the sustainability of soy, family and agroforestry farms. Fifteen farms were analyzed through the indicator-based sustainability assessment tool «RISE». The sustainability scores of RISE themes revealed that soy farms are economically sustainable, while their socio-environmental sustainability degree is rather critical. They scored lower than the other two farm types in all RISE themes except in the «economic viability» and «water use». Family farms and agroforestry are environmentally sustainable according to RISE.The sustainability degree of their social themes is either critical or scarcely positive mainly due to the high number of working hours and the low wage and income level. Looking at the economic sustainability, family farms reached a critical degree and agroforestry farms a barely positive degree. While the difference of sustainability performance between soy farms and the two others is large, it is minimal between agroforestry and family farms. RISE was a valid tool to assess with a moderate amount of data the sustainability performance of highly diverse farm types in the Cerrado.

The first outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in dairy cattle in Poland with evidence of on-farm and intrahousehold transmission

Staphylococcus aureus is a widely recognized pathogen responsible for many serious diseases in both humans and animals. It is also one of the major causative agents of bovine mastitis. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), although relatively rare in this pathology, has been increasingly reported in livestock animals, mainly in pigs, but also cattle, sheep, and poultry. The recent emergence of livestock-associated (LA-)MRSA is cause for an immediate public health concern due to the risk of zoonotic transmission to humans, and is of particular concern for people who work in animal husbandry or have prolonged contact with livestock animals. This study reports on the first LA-MRSA outbreak in dairy cattle and the first probable case of MRSA transmission between humans and cows in Poland. A single dairy farm located in Eastern Poland was monitored on a regular basis for the occurrence of mastitis. Over a 1-yr study period, 717 quarter-milk samples from 583 cows were collected and examined microbiologically. A total of 5 MRSA isolates from as many cows with subclinical mastitis were cultured. They all belonged to the same outbreak, given a 2-mo time window in which they were identified. During the outbreak, 24 oral and nasal swabs were voluntarily taken from 6 people: a milker, a veterinarian, and 4 members of the veterinarian's family. Eight swabs from a milker, veterinarian, and 2 family members yielded positive MRSA cultures. All MRSA isolates were genotyped with a combination of multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis, multilocus sequence typing, and staphylococcal protein A gene (spa) typing. Eleven bovine (n = 5; 5 cases) and human (n = 6; 4 cases) isolates showed an identical drug-susceptibility profile and were indistinguishable upon multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (pattern A), multilocus sequence typing (ST398) and spa (t034) typing. The results of this study provide the evidence of transmission of MRSA between humans and cows, and between humans in the family setting. This work, despite being a preliminary investigation, underscores the risk of intra- and interspecies transmission of LA-MRSA and urges enhancement of the existing biosecurity measures aimed at preventing MRSA (and other milk pathogens) spread at both the farm- and household levels.

Beyond the single farm – A spatial econometric analysis of spill-overs in farm diversification in the Netherlands

Farm diversification is an important component of rural development and policy in Europe. We examine the influence of neighbouring farms on farm diversification decisions. Our analysis investigates spill-over effects between farms and different activities in a spatial econometric framework. Using census data from about 66,000 farms in the Netherlands, we find significant correlations of diversification activities between spatially proximate farms. These are positive for some activities, for example for nature conservation. On a local level, positive spatial dependencies between farms may result from (tacit) cooperation and information sharing within neighbourhoods. However, for other activities, such as on-farm sales, we find negative correlations on a higher spatial level, i.e. within the region, which could result from competition. Spatial aspects of cooperation and competition have important consequences for the success of policies supporting the uptake of farm diversification. Our findings thus reveal that policy measures promoting farm diversification require implementation beyond the scale of individual farms and single activities.

Use of traditional, modern, and hybrid modelling approaches for in situ prediction of dry matter yield and nutritive characteristics of pasture using hyperspectral datasets

To optimise grazing livestock nutrition, it is necessary to know both the available dry matter yield and the nutritive characteristics of pasture at the farm-scale in near real time. Previous studies have shown the potential of using field spectrophotometers that measure the reflectance of light across the visible to near infrared spectrums to gather information on pasture dry matter yield (DMY) and nutritive characteristics. This study sought to calibrate and validate new mathematical models for ten parameters including dry matter yield and nine nutritive characteristics of relevance to ruminant nutrition. As a part of the analysis process, two innovative approaches were tested: the use of a hybrid modelling approach where partial least squares regression (PLSR) outputs were used as support vector regression (SVR) inputs; and, the inclusion of covariate data. These approaches were compared with traditional stand-alone PLSR and SVR modelling approaches without covariates. The study was undertaken in six predominantly perennial ryegrass pastures on a single farm in the temperate zone of South-Eastern Australia. A total of 204 pasture samples were scanned with a field spectrophotometer over several spring growth stages in late 2019 and subsequently analysed by wet chemistry to obtain reference nutritive values. The raw reflectance spectra were initially pre-processed using a variety of techniques and then used to test the four kinds of chemometric models. In cross validation, hybrid models showed a superior fit for all variates in comparison to the other model types tested. However, the differential was reduced in independent validation where, out of 10 best-performing models for dry matter yield and key nutrient properties, six were produced by the hybrid modelling, three from SVR and one from PLSR. For every hybrid model that was built, adding covariate(s) consistently improved model performance but the increase was small (a reduction in normalised root mean square error (RMSE) of -0.36 % on average for all properties considered). The best performing models were comparable with other published literature with normalised RMSE of prediction ranging from 1.7 – 23.1 % (a mean of 9.7%). Well-predicted variates included metabolisable energy, digestible energy, DMY, and crude protein. Fibre fractions, ash and dry matter were less well-predicted but still had acceptable normalised RMSE values (< 10 %) while carbohydrate fractions were the poorest predicted variates. It was concluded that hybrid modelling in chemometric analyses can modestly improve accuracy and shows promise as an alternative to more traditional approaches. Using covariates also improved accuracy, but the additional time and effort to gather such information outweighed the minor benefits of inclusion.

Essential and Vulnerable: Implications of Covid-19 for Farmers in Ireland

ABSTRACT Objectives: This paper seeks to: provide an overview of the impacts of and responses to the spread of COVID-19 in Ireland; assess the vulnerability of the population living in rural areas to COVID-19; compare the health status of male farmers to underlying medical conditions frequently associated with those experiencing the worst impacts of the illness; and assess the implications of COVID-19 for farmers living alone and farm households with children. Methods: We present an overview of the impact and response to COVID-19 through the use of public health statistics and reference to policy documents. We subsequently draw on the results of ongoing geographic and health research to present an overview of the impacts and potential implications of COVID-19. Results: The population of many rural areas and farmers in particular are highly vulnerable to adverse outcomes to COVID-19 infection. Single person farm households are at particular risk of isolation, whilst those families with children are at increased risk of stress. Conclusions: There is an urgent need to address both COVID-19 challenges and the health and wellbeing issues confronting farmers and farm families arising out of the current pandemic by supporting these populations adopt and sustain health behaviour changes, improve their wellbeing and develop the resources that support resilience.

Developing an Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Cows in Extensive Beef Cow-Calf Systems in New Zealand. Part 1: Assessing the Feasibility of Identified Animal Welfare Assessment Measures.

Simple SummaryIt is not feasible to transfer animal welfare assessment protocols developed for intensive systems to extensive systems or from rangeland- to pasture-based cattle because each system needs a different protocol. In a previous study, we combined selected measures from the Welfare Quality protocol for beef cattle and the UC Davis Cow-Calf Health and Handling protocol with additional measures specific to New Zealand to create a welfare assessment protocol for pasture-based cow–calf systems that had 50 measures. In this study, the feasibility of this protocol was assessed during routine yardings of cows and a questionnaire. Individual measures that were deemed unsuitable were eliminated or modified. At the end of the process, a robust, achievable protocol with 32 measures for use on pasture-based extensive cow–calf farms was created.Potential measures suitable for assessing welfare in pasture-based beef cow–calf systems in New Zealand were identified from Welfare Quality and UC Davis Cow-Calf protocols. These were trialled on a single farm and a potential protocol of 50 measures created. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of the measures included in this protocol on multiple farms in order, to develop a credible animal welfare assessment protocol for pasture-based cow–calf farms systems in New Zealand. The assessment protocol was trialled on 25 farms over two visits and took a total of 2.5 h over both visits for a 100-cow herd. The first visit in autumn included an animal welfare assessment of 3366 cows during pregnancy scanning, while the second visit in winter included a questionnaire-guided interview to assess cattle management and health, and a farm resource evaluation. Through a process of eliminating unsuitable measures, adjustments of modifiable measures and retaining feasible measures, a protocol with 32 measures was created. The application of the protocol on the farms showed that not all measures are feasible for on-farm assessment, and categorisation of identified animal welfare measures into scores that indicate a threshold of acceptable and non-acceptable welfare standards is necessary.

Integration of crop and livestock enhanced soil biochemical properties and microbial community structure

Integrated crop-livestock (ICL) system that include livestock grazing of crop residue and/or cover crops is an agricultural practice that manage crops and livestock on a single farm. Integrated crop-livestock system can provide opportunities to restore ecological services and interactions among different land-use systems to enhance agricultural ecosystems’ efficiency. These systems help to enhance nutrient cycling, soil health, and protect the environment. This study was conducted at four different locations to understand the synergistic effect of the ICL systems on soil health by keeping native grasslands as a reference. Data showed that ICL system significantly increased the cold-water soluble carbon (CWC) by 44.2, 126.2, and 94.8% than the control (CNT) treatment at sites 1, 2, and 4, respectively. At site 2 and 4, the ICL system significantly increased the hot-water soluble carbon (HWC) by 265, and 104% higher compared to the CNT, respectively. The total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) abundance was 95.4 and 25.5% higher under ICL system compared to the CNT at site 3 and 4, respectively. ICL system significantly increased the dehydrogenase, fluorescein diacetate, urease, and β-glucosidase activity compared to CNT at all the locations. The type of carbon (C) input (easily mineralizable organic matter), substrate availability (labile C and nitrogen), enzyme activities, and suitable soil environment or ecology of the system have been found to be the major influencing factors that determine the shifts in bacterial community structure and composition of the soil. This research finds a clear correlation between the ICL systems and the microbial communities, and soil health. It provides a viable option for restoring the natural ecosystem and achieving food security.

Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in the Milk Production Environment: Impact of Host DNA and Sequencing Depth.

Over the past decades, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been recognized as one of the most serious threats to public health. Although originally considered a problem to human health, the emerging crisis of AMR requires a “One Health” approach, considering human, animal, and environmental reservoirs. In this regard, the extensive use of antibiotics in the livestock production systems to treat mastitis and other bacterial diseases can lead to the presence of AMR genes in bacteria that contaminate or naturally occur in milk and dairy products, thereby introducing them into the food chain. The recent development of high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies is improving the fast characterization of microbial communities and their functional capabilities. In this context, whole metagenome sequencing (WMS), also called shotgun metagenomic sequencing, allows the generation of a vast amount of data which can be interrogated to generate the desired evidence, including the resistome. However, the amount of host DNA poses a major challenge to metagenome analysis. Given the current absence of literature concerning the application of WMS on milk to detect the presence of AMR genes, in the present study, we evaluated the effect of different sequencing depths, host DNA depletion methods and matrices to characterize the resistome of a milk production environment. WMS was conducted on three aliquots of bulk tank milk and three aliquots of the in-line milk filter collected from a single dairy farm; a fourth aliquot of milk and milk filter was bioinformatically subsampled. Two commercially available host DNA depletion methods were applied, and metagenomic DNA was sequenced to two different sequencing depth. Milk filters proved to be the most suitable matrices to evaluate the presence of AMR genes; besides, the pre-extraction host DNA depletion method was the most efficient approach to remove host reads. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the limitations posed by the host DNA in investigating the milk resistome with a WMS approach, confirming the circulation of AMR genes in the milk production environment.

Site selection of mussel mitigation cultures in relation to efficient nutrient compensation of fish farming

In the Baltic Sea, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss is the most common species used in marine aquaculture, but further increase in production is problematic due to environmental legal regulations, especially in the coastal zone. A solution could be to place the fish farms offshore and use mussel mitigation cultures to extract nutrients released from the fish farms. We used 3D ecological modeling to identify suitable locations for mussel mitigation cultures in relation to nutrient pollution from a fish farm in the inner Danish waters. The model results showed that potential mussel harvest depended on the food flux following a saturation curve with a maximum yield of 2100 to 2600 t wet weight and then stabilized at around 2100 to 2600 t wet weight of mussels. A single mussel farm (36 ha) can potentially remove 17-31% of the released nitrogen from the fish farm. Mussel farms located inside or a few km outside the coastal areas receiving the highest nutrient inputs from the fish farm were found to be the most suitable among the tested sites. In contrast, co-location with the fish farm was not advisable due to the negative benthic impact below the farms. However, it is up to the managers to decide which positive and negative effects should receive the most attention, given the present need for protection of water bodies and habitats and in relation to other activities in the area. This study demonstrates that modeling can support management decisions with respect to site selection of aquaculture and provide the needed data on far-field and local environmental effects from integrated aquaculture.

Pollination Is Sufficient, Even with Low Bee Diversity, in Pumpkin and Winter Squash Fields

Pumpkins and winter squash require insect pollination to set fruit, but only three bee species are important pollinators of these crops in the Northeastern US. To determine if natural levels of pollen deposition are sufficient for full fruit production, open pollination was measured by counting pollen grains on stigmas, and open pollination was compared to supplemental hand pollination for fruit set, fruit size, and seed number. A threshold of 2300 pollen grains per stigma was sufficient for full pollination and fruit production. This threshold was met in 79 out of 80 combinations of site and sample date over four years on farms across Connecticut with a wide range of field sizes and pest management practices. Along with stigma collection, bees per flower were counted hourly on 100 flowers along a transect. Counts of bumble bees on female flowers were more closely related to the amount of pollen deposited than counts of bees on all flowers or counts of honey bees or squash bees on female flowers. There was tremendous variation in abundance of the three bee species on female flowers across farms within a year and even among years on a single farm.

Improved measures for the prevention of mass mastitis in cows in the Vologda region farms

The fight against mastitis was and remains one of the most serious problems in the dairy farming. The disease is widespread throughout Russia among cows of different breeds. According to our data, more than a half of the number of cows, up to 68.5% in a herd, go through mastitis during a year in the farms examined by us; 55.0% of them go through it from two to seven times. The coccal microflora has the decisive importance according to the frequency of isolation rate from the secretion of the udder of cows with mastitis -87.5% of the total number of isolated cultures with farm fluctuations from 40.0% to 100.0%. The test results of the vaccine “Streptostaphus” in three farms of the region made it possible to determine the most effective vaccination scheme for animals and to develop a “Method of specific prophylaxis of mastitis in cows.” The employees of the branch proposed a pattern of use of the complex drug “Amber-splenivitis” on pregnant animals with the aim of preventing mastitis in cows in the dry and postpartum periods. The use of antimicrobial drugs of prolonged action during the cows drying off period is advisable to take into account the sensitivity of microflora to them, released from the secretion of the udder of lactating cows of a single farm (complex). The prevention of massive mastitis in cows should include the implementation of measures aimed at increasing both the general resistance and specific reactivity of the cows organism.

Balancing Social Values with Economic Realities: Farmer Experience with a Cost-offset CSA

Some farmers are offering subsidized or “cost-offset” community supported agriculture (CO-CSA) shares as a strategy to counter market saturation and improve low-income families’ access to fresh local foods. However, little is known about farmers’ experiences with this model, particularly in regard to the balance between additional resources required for adoption and subsequent contributions to farm revenue. As part of the Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids Study of the impact of a CO-CSA on dietary behaviors in low-income families, we conducted qualitative interviews with 12 farmers across four states after the first and the third years of CO-CSA implementation. We explored these data to understand what accommodations farmers provided to low-income families, the benefits and challenges of implementing the CO-CSA model, and farmers’ perceptions of its impact on cash flow and profitability. We found that farmers selected pick-up locations that met CO-CSA members’ needs, were responsive to members’ food preferences in selecting CSA contents, and allowed for late payments and pickups, though sometimes this placed an additional burden on farmers’ time and resources. Additionally, weekly payment transactions led to increased recordkeeping. Despite its challenges, most farmers said CO-CSA adoption was a worthwhile addition to their business model. Expanding food access through this mechanism may become more sustainable with the additional support of innovative policies like eased land-use restrictions, operational models, and community strategies to fund and operate CO-CSA programs. This is an area ripe for future research, as there is little documentation on both single farm and multifarm CO-CSA operations.

Tick-borne encephalitis outbreak following raw goat milk consumption in a new micro-location, Croatia, June 2019

In June 2019, the Croatian Institute of Public Health was informed of a cluster of patients with laboratory confirmed tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) from the Gorski Kotar region. Five of the six patients with TBE reported consuming raw (unpasteurized) goat milk in the two week period before symptom onset, and one reported a recent tick bite. To assess risk factors for infection, we selected six control individuals from among healthy family and community members, and conducted a case-control analysis. None of the cases or controls were vaccinated against TBE. Individuals with TBE (cases) had 25 (95 % CI 0.8-1410.2, p = 0.021) times higher odds of raw goat milk consumption compared to healthy controls. Milk samples from 12 goats from the implicated farm were tested for the TBE virus (TBEV) using RT-PCR. TBEV RNA was not detected in the milk, but serological testing of goats and other farm animals yielded evidence of exposure to the virus: Six goats from the flock had TBEV neutralizing antibodies. Our findings suggest that the vehicle for the outbreak was raw goat milk from a single farm. Following public health advice to cease consumption of raw dairy products, no further cases have been reported.