The ability of dairy farmers to keep their cows for longer could positively enhance the economic performance of the farms, reduce the environmental footprint of the milk industry, and overall help in justifying a sustainable use of animals for food production. However, there is little published on the current status of cow longevity and we hypothesized that a reason may be a lack of standardization and an over narrow focus of the longevity measure itself. The objectives of this critical literature review were: 1) to review metrics used to measure dairy cow longevity in order to determine those most commonly employed; 2) to describe the status of longevity in high milk-producing countries. Current metrics are limited to either the length of time the animal remains in the herd or if it is alive at a given time. To overcome such a limitation, dairy cow longevity should be first defined as an animal having an early age at first calving and a long productive life spent in profitable milk production. Combining age at first calving, length of productive life, and margin over all costs would provide a more comprehensive evaluation of longevity by covering both early life conditions and the length of time the animal remains in the herd once it starts to contribute to the farm revenues, as well as the overall animal health and quality of life. In addition, this review confirms that dairy cow longevity has decreased in most high milk-producing countries over time and its relationship with milk yield is not straight forward. Increasing cow longevity by reducing involuntary culling would cut health costs, increase cow lifetime profitability, improve animal welfare, and could contribute towards a more sustainable dairy industry while optimizing dairy farmers’ efficiency in the overall use of resources available.

Wormcomposting is a useful alternative to recover the organic carbon and nitrogen and to reduce the pathogenic bacteria in animal manure; but, unlike the composting process, there are no recommendations available about the best initial carbon:nitrogen relationship (CRN) to maximize the nutritional value or to minimize the microbial load of the final wormcompost product. The objective of the study was to evaluate the changes over time on the content of organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), total aerobic bacteria (TAB), coliforms (Coli) and fungí and yeast (FandY) in composts and wormcomposts prepared with pig manure using different initial CNR. Pig manure, corn stover and water were mixed in different amounts to produce 50 kg heaps that were subjected to a thermophilic process during 28 days under greenhouse conditions. After that, some heaps were inoculated with red worms to produce the wormcomposts. The initial analyzed CNR for composts were: 22, 26, 34 and 46, and for wormcomposts were: 15, 31, 46 and 70. Samples for chemical analysis were taken on days 1, 28 and 140 and samples for microbiological analysis were taken on days 1, 7, 28, 56, 84 and 140 of the study. The data was analyzed using the MIXED procedure with repeated observations over time. In composts, the OC and CNR diminished over time but increased within each time as the initial CNR increased (P < 0.01). The TN rose over time but within each time was lowest at the highest CNR (P < 0.01). The TAB, Coli and FandY counts showed cubic responses over time and showed interactions with the initial CNR (P < 0.01). The TAB, Coli and FandY counts were similar among treatments at 140 days. In wormcomposts, the OC diminished over time but within each time was highest at the highest initial CNR (P < 0.05). The TN rose over time but within each time was lowest at the highest CNR (P < 0.05). At 28 and 140 the CNR dropped compared to the initial CNR and was similar among treatments. The BT, Coli and FandY counts showed cubic patterns over time and showed interactions with the initial CNR (P < 0.05). The TAB, Coli and FandY counts were similar among treatments at 140 days. In summary, the OC and CNR diminished and the TN increased over time in composts and wormcomposts with different initial CNR. Composts and wormcomposts were effective in reducing the microbial load over time regardless of the initial CNR, but the final OC content was greater in the wormcompost. Wormcomposts made from composts with a wide range of initial CNR were highly effective in converting pig manure in a high quality organic fertilizer with a lower load of potential pathogenic bacteria.

Goat production in Chile is carried out by poor small-scale farmers in semi-arid to arid agricultural conditions. Milk and cheese are the main products obtained using artisanal, cultural and traditionally preserved methods where women and children are usually in charge of production. The products are directly consumed by the family or sold to by-passers at relatively high prices. The welfare of goats under these type of production systems is currently unknown and no appropriate validated operational welfare indicators are currently available. The incorporation of a welfare assessment system may increase milk yield and cheese production, and may provide added-value. We identified 48 welfare indicators in the peer-review literature. Only 40 of the initial welfare indicators were validated by goat production stakeholders (farmers, veterinarians, technician, welfare experts) using the European Food Safety Agency guidelines. Further on-farm validation was carried out to select only those indicators that were operational under the production systems. A final 37 operational welfare indicators were obtained. A welfare scoring system was developed from all the indicators and validated under normal production conditions. The use of these validated indicators and the welfare score is appropriate to Chilean goat production systems and may successfully increase the sustainability of goat milk production and goat farmers in Chile.

Abstract

Cattle production is one the main causes of land use change in the tropics. The demand for meat and milk are increasing globally and as a result, it is urgent to work on sustainable livestock production systems that satisfy food security and protect the environment. Silvopastoral systems (Ssp) are an alternative for more sustainable forms of production. Hence, their sustainability performance compared to conventional systems need to be evaluated. The SAFA framework is a tool to assess sustainability performance in agricultural systems that has not been used in livestock production. The objective of this study was to use this framework to compare silvopastoral, native (NSsp) and intensive (SSPi) and monoculture (Mc) cattle farms in the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Animal welfare was assessed using the Welfare Quality tool. Species Diversity and Richness was also obtained, as well as soil variables. Questionnaires were created using the SAFA Guidelines version 3.0 and applied in 9 farms of the local communities in 3 municipalities. Responses were fed to the application SAFA tool version 2.1.50 and sustainability polygons were produced. Native farms had positive ratings for Participation, Land, Biodiversity and Cultural Diversity, and SSPi for Holistic Management. Native farms had limited ratings for Decent Livelihood, due to poor training and underpay. NSsp farms and one Sspi farm had the highest percentages of themes positively valuated (NSsp1- 67%, Sspi- 62%, NSsp2- 57%) compared to monocultures and with one SSpi farm ranged as the lowest in positive valuations (Mc3- 33%, SSpi3- 33%, Mc2- 24%). Positive evaluations identified native systems as an option for sustainable production, however, it was also recognized that group participation, environmental knowledge and awareness, identification of potential business risks, technical support and training were key factors to improve sustainability in all farms. This study is a novel approach to the SAFA protocol, as it validates its efficiency in the conditions present in the Mexican tropics and compares the sustainability performance of Ssp systems, which have never been evaluated using this tool. Transdisciplinary research is needed to integrate measurements on sustainability criteria in different livestock production systems to design more efficient policies and incentives for producers.

This study was conducted to evaluate the susceptibility of the Dorper and Merino breeds to pre-slaughter conditions stress at a commercial abattoir and how it affects the quality of the meat produced. The objective of this study was to investigate differences in post-mortem energy metabolites, glycolytic potential and meat quality attributes from Muscularis longimissius thoracis et lumborum (LTL) between Dorper and Merino lambs slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Meat samples (~50 grams of LTL) harvested from 100 female eight-month old of the Dorper (n=50) and Merino (n=50) lambs were used in this study. For measuring post-mortem energy metabolites (glycogen, lactate, glucose-6-phosphate and glucose content) sampling was done on each carcass ~ 30 minutes post-slaughter and the samples were immediately frozen (-196 °C) in liquid nitrogen to prevent further glycolysis. The pH and temperature were measured 45 minutes, 6 and 24 hours post-slaughter, and carcass measurements were taken. Colour coordinates (lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*)) were measured at 24 hours after slaughter and hue angle (H*) and chroma (C*) were calculated. Furthermore, thawing loss (TL), cooking loss (CL) and Warner Braztler Shear Force (WBSF) were measured after 7 days post-slaughter storage (-20 ºC). The Dorper had lower glycogen levels thus produced meat with a high ultimate pH and tougher meat compared to the Merino breed. The relationships observed between post-mortem muscle metabolites, glycolytic potential and meat quality attributes indicate that meat quality is affected by glycogen levels at slaughter. The results indicate that the Dorper breed was more susceptible to pre-slaughter stress and thus produced meat with reduced quality compared to the Merino breed.