Farm Types Research Articles

Interactions between animal enterprises and marketing strategies shape organic multispecies farming systems

One of the key ways to improve the sustainability of agricultural systems is through diversification, taking advantage of synergies between farm enterprises. Among diversified systems, multispecies livestock farms with at least two animal enterprises have rarely been studied. We explored 95 organic farms from six countries, accounting for the proportion of animal enterprises, sales management, workforce size, and work organization. The study reveals various types of interactions between animal enterprises. Complementarities were observed between ruminant and monogastric enterprises, particularly fertilizer transfer from monogastric manure to grasslands. Milk production was often associated with on-farm processing and short distribution channels, which enhanced farm viability and reduced its dependency on herd productivity. Eleven out of the 95 farms combined above-average production efficiency, on-farm processing, and the majority of sales in short distribution channels. Their labor productivity converged toward 22 livestock units per annual work unit, regardless of the number of workers. Combining farm structure; livestock production efficiency; social elements, such as the workforce; and sales management led us to distinguish four types of farms: (i) small and very autonomous grassland farms with on-farm processing and short distribution channels; (ii) dairy farms associated with a high-density pig or poultry enterprise, whose feed purchase contributes to high rates of cattle feeding self-sufficiency and stocking rate; (iii) large farms with an extensive, grassland beef enterprise associated with either sheep or monogastrics; and (iv) dairy sheep associated with goat or beef cattle on rangelands, with high added-value products enhancing salaries. This study highlights for the first time the diversity of organic multispecies livestock farms and how consistent patterns of interactions among farm structure, livestock management, sales management, and workforce management shape them. The results are a preliminary basis for designing policy interventions aiming to scale up organic farming and value social assets of diversified and small farms.

The Endowment Effect in China Rural Land and Property Market

To evaluate how the endowment effect be the obstacle in the agricultural and property market and to find key factors which have impact on endowment effect, this article re-defined what the endowment effect is in rural-land property market, which is mainly focus on how the decision-maker establish choices and evaluates the worth of the deals they hold. Then, this paper studies the phenomenon of price preference among supply and demand-side of farmland and property market in the application of Shaanxi province. Third, this paper exams the Chengdu's villagers voluntarily and compensation of the withdrawal from rural homesteads (WRH) with the obvious conflict between supplying and demanding of urban and agricultural building land resources. Based on the re-definition and main applications, this paper indicates that the key factors which affect the endowment effect includes emotional ties, degree of substitution of goods as well as products, income levels, price preferences on the demand sides as well as supply sides of the land market, perceived risk evaluation of future income situation, forecasted risk of the stability of the rural land property rights, the labour situation among various types of farmers, age, membership in cooperatives and whether there is a local intermarriage or not. This paper will also critically examine how endowment effect influence supply and demand relationships in the land and property markets, how the government might issue directives or create policies to support or discourage endowment effect in the farmland market and how to establish the innovation of "three rights of separation" in the land market. The potential remedies and suggestions are provided.

Assessment of environmental performance on farms using FADN: a case study of the Region of Mazowsze and Podlasie

Agri-environmental Schemes are the main agricultural policy instrument currently available in the European Union to help improve the relationship between agriculture and the environment. The conducted research included the assessment of AES (Agri-environmental Schemes) implementation in the Region of Mazowsze and Podlasie, Poland. This Region is characterized by worse natural, organizational, and production conditions than in other Regions in Poland. Out of the 292 analyzed farms, 146 formed the research sample, while another 146 constituted the control sample. In 2010 and 2014, all analyzed farms kept entries in accounting books under FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network). All farms were classified according to TF8 as fieldcrops, milk, and mixed. For each type of farm, a research and control sample were distinguished. The research sample included farms that participated in the AES, whereas the control sample comprised farms that did not join the program. For each farm from the research sample, the most similar farm was selected in the control group, taking into account its type and location. The conducted study confirmed that the implementation of the AES has a positive effect on the environment, as it results in lower use of synthetic fertilizers, crop protection products, and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions per ha. However, the research showed that the costs of reduction of GHG emissions are very high. In 2014, the cost of a decrease of 1 Mg CO2 eq amounted to 1,302 PLN on fieldcrop farms, 611 PLN on milk farms, and 1,112 PLN on mixed farms. This is important information for policy makers, as it indicates that, while planning subsequent pro-environmental programs, it is crucial to perform a cost-benefit analysis and an ex ante assessment of the costs of planned activities in relation to the expected environmental effects.

A Data-Driven Farm Typology as a Basis for Agricultural Land Use Decisions

As a large proportion of land is managed by professional family farms, agent-based models are of interest for simulating agricultural land use. This requires a deep understanding of the farm characteristics that influence land use decisions. We developed a methodology to identify a data-driven farm typology by combining participatory methods, multivariate statistical modeling and spatiotemporal parcel-based land cover analysis between 2000 and 2020. A formal questionnaire provided data on the farm characteristics, which were subjected to principal component analysis and k-means clustering. The resulting data-driven typology complemented a production-based approach to understanding land use decisions. The main influencing factors were farm size, share of private land, dominant crops and participation in European schemes such as NATURA2000 and agri-environment-climate measures. Overall, family tradition and a high return on investment were the most important motivations for maintaining current land use practices, while a higher income, income support and diversification were the most important reasons for pursuing new land use options. Differences between the farm characteristics highlighted the importance of the motivations for land use decisions between the farm types. This methodology can be used to generate data-driven typologies suitable for implementing agent-based models to explore sustainable land management options in a changing environment.

Study on Farmers’ Willingness to Accept for Chemical Fertilizer Reduction Based on the Choice Experiment Method: A Case Study of Communities Surrounding Poyang Lake, China

Chemical fertilizer loss during agricultural production is an important factor leading to the eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs. As fertilizer technology has become more widespread, it has become necessary to explore the ecological compensation mechanism in areas with important ecological functions to further reduce chemical fertilizer application. Among these, farmers’ preferences for chemical fertilizer reduction are one of the most important issues. Based on the survey data of 142 farmers surrounding Poyang Lake, this paper studies the farmers’ willingness to accept (WTA) the attributes of a chemical fertilizer reduction scheme using the choice experiment method. The results are as follows: (1) The farmers’ WTA value for each additional year of the program was 63.75 CNY/ha/year, the WTA value for every 10 percent increase in the proportion of participating land area was 73.875 CNY/ha/year, and the WTA value for every 10 percent reduction in the fertilizer application was 413.505 CNY/ha/year. (2) The household support burden, the proportion of non-agricultural income, and farmers’ understanding of the importance of wetlands significantly affect farmers’ WTA value. (3) The interviewed farmers can be divided into four different types: farm type, farm-oriented hybrid type, off-farm-oriented hybrid type, and off-farm workers, each with different preferences for fertilizer reduction schemes.

49 Leveraging Big Data Analytics to Improve Disease Surveillance and Welfare in Pig Production

Abstract Large amounts of data are routinely collected in pig production, including operational farm data and, more recently, data from digital tools such as remote and on-site sensing technologies. Furthermore, additional sources of information, such as demographic, economic, and weather variables, can be combined with farm data. Integrating and analyzing such data can generate valuable insights and data-driven decision-making tools for disease surveillance, animal welfare, and production system optimization. This presentation discusses two examples of big data integration and analysis in the context of optimizing management practices in pig production. The first example pertains to a data analytics project related to total transportation losses (TTL) of market-weight pigs, an important animal welfare concern that economically impacts producers and abattoirs. After merging and checking data for errors, the final dataset included 4.5M+ pigs from 420 farms loaded in 26,819 shipments delivered to two abattoirs. Results from a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) technique showed that the risk of loss per shipment was constant for temperature-humidity index (THI) values between −10 and 10. Additionally, a strong interaction between wind speed and precipitation was associated with TTL. TTL were strongly associated with the type of driver and the distance traveled, in addition to weather variables. The second example pertains to swine disease surveillance, in which data from a multi-site system, where pigs are transported between farms after each particular production phase, were investigated. Reports of 76,566 shipments across sites were obtained and used to characterize pig movement flow, conduct percolation analysis to investigate network robustness to interventions for diseases with different transmissibility, and assess the potential impact of each farm type on disease dissemination across the system. Topological properties of networks were investigated, such as the number of nodes and edges, degree assortativity, density, average path length, diameter, clustering coefficients, giant strongly connected component, giant weakly connected component, giant in component, and giant out component. Overall, the results indicated that gilt development units, nursery, and sow farms have a more central role in the pig production hierarchical structure. As such, they are potential major factors in the introduction and spread of diseases in the system. Wean-to-finishing and finishing sites displayed high in-degree values, indicating that they are more susceptible to infection. Additionally, the characteristics of a disease should have strong implications for biosecurity practices across production sites.

Formation and History of the Agrarian Economy of Kazakhstan: The State of Development Today

The article is devoted to the study of the history and formation of the agrarian economy of Kazakhstan. In addition, the historical and economic assessment of the situation of modern scientific study of the agricultural sector is given. Elements of the formation of the agrarian economy of Kazakhstan date back to the XIX century. During this period, the land of Kazakhstan existed as part of the Russian Empire. The administration of the Russian Empire carried out administrative and territorial reforms on the use of the lands of Kazakhstan for agricultural purposes. Based on this, settled and nomadic types of farms were formed in Kazakhstan. Until the 1920s, the dominance of animal husbandry was formed in the agrarian system. The establishment of the Soviet government in Kazakhstan radically changed the basic principles of the agrarian economy. The Soviet Union made great efforts to develop land farming instead of animal husbandry in the agricultural sector. To this end, various experimental agricultural reforms of the Soviets were carried out in Kazakhstan. In the 1960s and 1970s, the course of development of the agrarian economy of Kazakhstan stabilized. The main agricultural economy of the modern Republic of Kazakhstan is based on the production of agricultural and horticultural products. As part of this, state scientific grant projects have been organized for the development and study of this industry. In a modern market society with great competition, the study and improvement of the state of the agricultural sector is a priority for the state.
 
 Received: 29 July 2023 / Accepted: 5 October 2023 / Published: 5 November 2023

The effect of the silvopastoral system on milk production and reproductive performance of dairy cows and its contribution to adaptation to a changing climate in the drylands of Benin (West-Africa)

Knowledge about dairy cows raised in small-scale agroforestry systems in dryland areas is of paramount importance to inform policy and decision making in the dairy production sector in the current context of climate change. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of integrated farming systems on daily milk yield and demographic traits of dairy cows in drylands. A study conducted on 447 dairy cows was carried out to compare their milk yield and demographic parameters under different small-scale agroforestry systems in drylands of Benin: traditional silvopasture (TSS); Improved silvopasture (ISS); Small Integrated Agrosilvopasture (SIAS) and Large Integrated Agrosilvopasture (LIAS). The type of cattle farms had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on daily milk yield and demographic traits. Dairy cattle from ISS farms had the highest daily milk yield regardless of the type of dairy cow breed. Demographic traits of herds were significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the type of dairy cattle farms. The proportion of lactating cows was higher (p < 0.05) in herds of ISS (48.4%) followed by those in TSS and LIAS (36.1 and 25.0% respectively) while SIAS was the lowest in (14.4%). The pre-weaning mortality rate was higher (p < 0.05) in TSS and LIAS farms (18.3 and 17.6 % respectively) compared to SIAS and ISS farms (5.20 and 4.60 % respectively). The fertility rate was higher (p < 0.05) in ISS and SIAS farms (92.3 and 89.6% respectively) compared to TSS and LIAS farms (68.3 and 74.2% respectively). The weaning productivity was higher (p < 0.05) in ISS and SIAS (88.6 and 85.8 % respectively) than in TSS and LIAS farms (66.1 and 67.6 % respectively). This study showed that ISS farms are characterized by higher milk yield and demographic parameters. ISS systems can then be promoted in smallholder cattle farming to improve milk production and reproductive performance of dairy cows in drylands.

Farm typologies for understanding farm systems and improving agricultural policy

CONTEXTFarm typologies help to identify patterns across a wide range of farm systems and describe heterogeneity in agriculture concisely. They can also support the design of agricultural policies by providing information and knowledge about policy target groups. For example, voluntary agri-environmental schemes could be tailored to specific agricultural landscapes and farm types. Farm typologies, however, are often developed from scratch, with limited connection to previous studies and policy making. OBJECTIVEThe objective of this study is to clarify the purposes of farm typologies in research and agricultural policy making and to develop a framework that allows to increase the usefulness and usability of farm typologies for agricultural policy making. METHODSBased on a review of 13 systematically identified overview studies on farm typologies, we develop a framework that establishes connections between the purposes of farm typologies along the different stages of the policy process. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSWe find multiple purposes for farm typologies, the two most common of which are for understanding the characteristics, heterogeneity, and development of farm systems and for policy making. The newly developed framework suggests that connecting knowledge across these purposes could improve the validity, transferability, and relevance of farm typologies for agricultural policy making. Our framework also provides an entry point for encouraging cooperation between developers and users of typologies, and for the improvement of typologies through new data (including behavioural data) and methods such as machine learning. We conclude that future research can build on the existing work on farm typologies but must be aware of the specific challenges that are associated with the use of farm typologies in the policy process. SIGNIFICANCEKnowledge of the prospects and challenges of using farm typologies allows to increase the usefulness and usabilityof these typologies and can contribute to the design of targeted and tailored agricultural policy instruments. By increasing the acceptance, perceived fairness, and legitimacy, this can improve their effectiveness and efficiency, which is urgently needed for a successful transformation to a more sustainable agricultural sector.

Risk Management Promotion and Bulgarian Farmers' Participation in the Insurance Market

Agriculture is a particularly risky business. Along with the inherently high levels of production risk, the long- term changing climate contributes to the frequency of risky events in the sector - in recent years, weather events have become more extreme, and the frequency of damage is increasing. All this raises the question of the strategies used to manage production risk in agriculture. This paper analyses the participation of Bulgarian farmers in the insurance market and the impact of policy techniques to promote this risk mitigation strategy. The share of insured holdings in the total number is evaluated by comparing on the one hand with other member states of the European Union. On the other hand, a comparison is made between different types of farms in the country. On the basis of accepted criteria for assessing the degree of realization of the objectives of the public instruments for promoting insurance, the conclusion is made that the support has an insignificant effect on agricultural holdings in the country.

A machine learning ensemble approach for predicting growth of abalone reared in land-based aquaculture in Hokkaido, Japan

Land-based aquaculture is an ideal aquaculture solution for creating high-quality seafoods and providing optimal conditions for maximizing growth of seafood production because environmental factors are well controlled. Predicting the growth of indoor-cultured abalone is meaningful because it facilitates evaluation of the effectiveness of this type of farming and understanding of the effects of controllable environmental factors on abalone growth. In this study, such predictions were made using an ensemble of machine learning algorithms: the random forest, gradient boosting, support vector machine, and neural network algorithms. Data were collected in the town of Fukushima, Hokkaido, Japan, and the increase in the weight of abalone was hypothesized from independent variables, including air and water temperature, loss of individuals caused by mortality or emigration, flow speed, age, and growth period between two measurements. The results showed that the ensemble method predicts growth well, with a low mean absolute error and mean square error. Temperature adjustment can make a strong contribution to increasing the weight of abalone, where a stable and warm temperature enhances growth. Moreover, the age of abalone is closely related to growth. Abalone size increased strongly in the early stages but decreased slightly once near market size.

Yield dynamics of crop rotations respond to farming type and tillage intensity in an organic agricultural long-term experiment over 24 years

Yield dynamics of crop rotations respond to farming type and tillage intensity in an organic agricultural long-term experiment over 24 years

Evaluation of nitrogen balances and nitrogen use efficiencies on farm level of the German agricultural sector

CONTEXTUse of Nitrogen (N), an essential macronutrient, must be optimised in order to ensure food security and food sovereignty, mitigate negative externalities of food production and achieve ambitious (inter-)national environmental, climate and sustainability goals. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is an appropriate indicator for assessing N utilisation on farms. OBJECTIVEThe aim of the study was to evaluate N performance of the German agricultural sector, to generate knowledge gain regarding methodological design and estimating N indicators based on farm accounting data, to estimate the role and extent of externalities, and to increase understanding of interrelations between farm characteristics and N performance in order to support policymakers in finding targeted N mitigation measures. METHODSUsing data from the German Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) covering 5923 farms between the years 2016/17 and 2018/19, we calculated mean farm-level NUE and N balance values for six farm types, considering input and output parameters on farm level as well as externalities. We also developed two explanatory models to identify interrelations between N performance indicators investigated, and regional, socio-economic and farm structural characteristics. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSThe results indicated an increasing trend in NUE from dairy, to pig and poultry, and arable farms, but large variance within each farm type, indicating efficiency reserves in N use. Livestock farms undercut NUE and exceed N surpluses to such an extent that the sustainability goal for 2030 for the national N balance as defined in German Sustainable Development Strategy could be jeopardised. Different levels of externalisation, namely feed imports and manure exports, may deepen this gap. Multiple regression analysis revealed statistically significant interrelations between N performance and independent variables such as soil fertility, crop selection and diversity, production type, operating profit and consulting services received. Thereby, structural patterns and strategies in order to reduce N waste and increase NUE were identified. However, main source of uncertainty was due to the lack on imported manure amounts from FADN data. SIGNIFICANCEDetermination of N performance can improve understanding the complexity of agri-environmental interrelations and support policymakers in designing appropriate policies to improve N management.

Effect of Different Farming Types on Growth, Yield and Yield Attributing Parameters of Finger Millet under Finger Millet Based Intercropping Systems

A field experiment was conducted on performance of finger millet based inter cropping system under different farming types during kharif 2019-20 and 2020-21 at College of Agriculture, KSN UAHS Shivamogga. The Experiment was laid out with split-plot design having Three farming types as main plots (conventional, organic, and natural farming) and finger millet based inter cropping system as subplots (Finger millet + red gram, finger millet + field bean, Sole finger millet, sole red gram and sole field bean) in three replications. Among different farming types, conventional farming type recorded significantly higher yield parameters viz., number of productive tillers hill-1 (5.14), number of ear heads hill-1(3.83), number of fingers per ear head (6.31), number of grains ear head-1 (4002.50), and test weight (3.71 g) there by achieved significantly higher grain yield (2449.83 kg ha-1) and straw yield (3957.42 kg ha-1) as compared to organic (2039.67 kg ha-1 and 3297.30 kg ha-1) and natural farming (1470.83 kg ha-1and 2328.35 kg ha-1) respectively. Among the finger millet based inter cropping system, the higher grain and straw yield (2225.67 kg ha-1 and 3561.13 kg ha-1) respectively was recorded in sole finger millet as compare to finger millet + redgram (1991.67 kg ha-1 and 3243.17 kg ha-1) respectively and finger millet + field bean (1743.00 kg ha-1 and 2778.77 kg ha-1) respectively. Whereas, the interaction effect between farming types and finger millet based intercropping systems was found non-significant.

Delineating the spatial drivers of agri-environment scheme adoption at field and farm levels

Agri-environment schemes (AES), introduced by the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), aim to compensate land owners for implementing environmentally-friendly practices. Whilst literature has examined their effectiveness and how farmer characteristics govern AES adoption, there is a lack of knowledge about the spatial drivers of AES, particularly structural, biophysical and landscape factors in the UK. Using the Humber region as a case study, this paper explores how the uptake of Countryside Stewardship options has varied from 2016 to 2021. It also examines 2500 farms from the field- and farm-level data of 2019 to better understand what type of land British farmers are adopting AES on. Logistic regression analysis is used to identify the factors (including farm and landscape characteristics, designated sites and land quality) that best explain overall AES adoption, as well as specific scheme adoption, at the field- and farm-level. Our analysis reveals that ‘buffer strips’, ‘hedgerow management’, ‘permanent grassland’, and ‘winter bird food’ are the most commonly adopted schemes of 2019. AES are generally adopted on larger fields and farms that feature marginalised, unproductive and vulnerable land, except for ‘buffer strips’ which showed a larger tendency to appear on fields with more profitable, higher quality land. This study, therefore, supports the notion that AES are generally placed on lower quality land and that large proportions of agricultural land owners are not effectively targeted. With the expected loss of direct payments to farmers in the UK as a result of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) post-Brexit re-evaluation of rural policy, these results call for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to be made more accessible and inclusive to a broader diversity of farmers.

Tracking Livestock Diets Using Stable Isotopes in Complex Mixed Farming Systems

Stable isotope analysis of 13C and 15N has been widely used to provide information regarding short- or long-term animal dietary composition as affected by changes in land or ecological system use. In complex mixed-crop−livestock systems, rangeland biomass, crop residues, and feedstuff contribute to livestock diets with high seasonal variations. Particularly in the Limpopo province, South Africa, livestock feed supply varies considerably throughout the year leading to regular feed gaps. Hence, to estimate livestock diet composition in relation to these variations, we analyzed the stable isotopes of C and N of tail hair and feces samples across free-ranging beef cattle in distinct agroecological zones (AEZs) and farm types. Here, farm types were structured according to mixed-crop−livestock farms and livestock-only farms. We found that farm types did not influence the δ13C of feces and hair (P > 0.05), but AEZ had a strong effect on δ13C patterns (P < 0.01). The contribution of C3-C4 plants in the diet varied considerably across farm types and AEZ (P < 0.01). The δ15N values indicated nutritional stress, probably due to low protein concentrations in feed (e.g., rangeland biomass, crop residues) irrespective of AEZ and farm types. In general, cattle exposed to arid conditions (drier AEZ) had significantly decreased δ13C values and increased δ15N values that could potentially be linked to feed gaps. Moreover, the results from the present study indicate that δ13C of feces and hair samples are more meaningful predictors of cattle diet than δ15N as affected by different farm practices. Therefore, stable isotope analyses potentially have an important role in helping improve the understanding of seasonal shifts in livestock diet intake in diverse production systems.

Agriculture Risks and Opportunities in a Climate-Vulnerable Watershed in Northeastern Taiwan—The Opinions of Leisure Agriculture Operators

This study investigated the agriculture risks and opportunities in a fragile watershed, the Lanyang River Watershed (LRW) in Northeastern Taiwan, under the current situation of climate change. Agriculture in the LRW is a traditional sector, highly vulnerable to climate change, and is a declining economic sector due to the trend of trade liberalization of agriculture. At present, the government of Taiwan encourages local farmers to transform towards recreational farm types. Leisure agriculture operators have successfully transitioned their tilling to a business model of recreational farming. A telephone survey of leisure agriculture operators was applied with a three-stage approach to obtain their opinions. The results showed that climate change may entail risks for agriculture in watersheds. Transformation to leisure agriculture can enhance farm adaptation and increase farm income. The long-term implementation of slope- and geology-based land classification and land use planning can protect the watershed, especially from extreme weather, while enhancing water and soil conservation efforts, and bolstering climate resilience. Innovative agricultural practices offer viable solutions, including greenhouse farming for high-economic-value crops, leisure agriculture, organic farming, and ecotourism. These strategies can rejuvenate the LRW’s agriculture industry, foster ecological tourism, and provide opportunities for traditional farmers to thrive in this highly climate-fragile area. The implications of this case study are that appropriate responses can improve local climate resilience, and that correspondingly well-designed adaptation measures can transform threats and risks into new opportunities.

Models of farms in spatial terms in sustainable and multifunctional development of rural areas in Poland

AbstractThe study aimed primarily to develop spatial farm models in sustainable and multifunctional development of rural areas. The secondary objective was to define the matrix of possible farm models, visualize their dislocation, and recommend multifunctional rural development. It was assumed that the types of model farms depend on the criteria that make it possible to assess the agricultural development potential and the size of agricultural production. Thus, it was assumed that agricultural production conditions influence the farm model but are not always of crucial importance. There are many possibilities for developing various production activities that are not strictly related to agricultural production conditions. The research was carried out with the GIS tool using multi‐criteria and spatial analysis techniques. The research made it possible to determine the models of farms in the rural areas in a specific region, however, the proposed model is suitable for use in other regions or countries.

Assessment of fungal contamination and biosecurity risk factors in duck-breeding farms in South Korea

Fungi are pathogens that infect all types of poultry and farmers, leading to economic losses in poultry production. Fungi can be isolated from environmental samples and are ubiquitous in the air. This study aimed to evaluate fungal contamination in domestic duck farm environments and analyze biosecurity risk factors associated with fungal infection incidence to assess the vulnerability of the farms to fungal infection. The average fungal concentration was 203 colony-forming units (CFU)/m3 in the air and 365×103 CFU/m2 in the wall surface samples. Sixteen fungal genera were recovered from air and wall surface samples from 19 duck-breeding farms, Aspergillus being the most frequently isolated (air: 43.2%; wall surface: 40%). Eleven additional fungal genera (Acrophialophora, Byssochlamys, Fusarium, Lichtheimia, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Polycephalomyces, Rhizomucor, Scopulariopsis, Talaromyces, and Thermoascus) were isolated from air samples. Also, 8 additional fungal genera (Chaetomium, Lichtheimia, Penicillium, Petriella, Rhizomucor, Rhizopus, Talaromyces, and Trichosporon) were isolated from wall surface samples. The characteristics of the poultry farms (geographic region, stocking density, breeding house type, affiliate, duck age, and season) and fungal concentrations in the air and wall surface samples were analyzed to evaluate the biosecurity risk of the farms. Fungal infections were significantly affected by high stocking density (>2 ducks/m2), duck age (18-25 wk and >60 wk), and high fungal concentration in the wall surface samples (>300×103 CFU/m2).

Identification, Typing, and Drug Resistance Analysis of Escherichia coli in Two Different Types of Broiler Farms in Hebei Province.

Hebei Province is an important area for breeding broiler chickens in China, but the antimicrobial resistance and prevalence of Escherichia coli (E. coli) are still unclear. A total of 180 cloacal samples from broiler farms in Hebei Province were collected and used for the isolation and identification of E. coli. The isolates were subjected to resistance phenotyping, resistance profiling, and genotyping, and some multiresistant strains were subjected to multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The results showed that 175 strains were isolated. Among both types of broiler farms, the ampicillin resistance rate was the highest, and the meropenem resistance rate was the lowest. Serious multiresistance was present in both types of broiler farms. Thirty strains of multidrug-resistant E. coli were typed by MLST to obtain a total of 18 ST types, with ST10 being the most prevalent. This study was to simply analyze the antimicrobial resistance and prevalence of E. coli in broiler chickens in Hebei Province after the implementation of the pilot work program of action to reduce the use of veterinary antimicrobials in standard farms (SFs) and nonstandard farms (NSFs). This study will provide a research basis and data support for the prevention and control of E. coli in Hebei.