Resilience of U.S. cattle and beef sectors: lessons from COVID-19. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

The upheaval wrought on the U.S. beef industry by the global COVID-19 pandemic carried with it several lessons that might help improve resiliency should there be a reoccurrence. First, the futures market for fed cattle fell well before cash prices, which sent a signal to market cattle early, and those who did so benefited. Second, the decline in futures anticipated the closure of slaughter plants and provided an opportunity to purchase and store beef primals in anticipation of future scarcity. Third, the beef industry has ways of slowing or stopping the pipeline of animals destined for feed yards and can "store" these animals in background feeding facilities or on pasture or rangeland. Producers who waited to sell feeder cattle benefited from higher feeder cattle prices once the processing facilities reopened. Fourth, cow slaughter plants responded to the pandemic and subsequent scarcity of labor much better than large fed-cattle plants. Cow plants are not as sophisticated and complex as fed-cattle plants. This relative simplicity may help explain the superior performance of these plants during the crisis. Sixth, the academic work on the value of building smaller plants as a response against concentration provides mixed results-these plants require more labor per animal and can be even more susceptible to labor scarcity. Seventh, the observed increase in boxed beef prices, even as fed cattle prices fell, demonstrates the risk-mitigating impact of producer ownership of downstream activities in the value chain.

Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

This special issue consists of seven articles examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the markets of selected commodities, including: seafood, lumber, crawfish, cattle/beef, fruits and vegetables in the USA, cotton and garments in Bangladesh, and fuel oil globally.

Establishment and applications of a duplex quantitative real-time RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of bovine rhinitis A virus and bovine rhinitis B virus

Bovine rhinitis virus (BRV) is an important pathogen responsible for the bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) and can be divided into two genotypes (BRAV and BRBV). To establish a duplex quantitative real-time RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of BRAV and BRBV, specific primers and TaqMan probes targeting the 5'NTR of BRAV and 3'NTR of BRBV were designed. A duplex quantitative real- time RT- PCR assay for simultaneous detecting BRAV and BRBV was preliminarily established by optimizing reaction conditions for each step. The assay specifically detects BRAV and BRBV, and no crossreaction with other common bovine respiratory pathogens, including IDV, BCoV, BVDV-1, BRSV, BPIV-3, BAdV-3, mycoplasma bovis, Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella, was observed. In addition, the sensitivity test showed that the detection limits of this assay were 3.2x101 copies/L for both BRAV and BRBV plasmid standards. Besides, the repeatability test showed that the variation coefficients of this assay were less than 0.05 from both lot-to-lot and intra-lot. These results showed that the assay has high specificity, extreme sensitivity, and good repeatability. Moreover, a total of 43 nasal swabs of BRDC cattle were tested by our assay and four other quantitative real-time RT-PCR assays, including 3 BRAV assays and 4 BRBV assays. The results showed that the detection rates of our assay were 32.56%(14/43) for BRAV and 30.23%(13/43) for BRBV, and the detection rates of other quantitative real-time RT-PCR assays were 0(0/43), 2.33%(1/43), 23.26%(10/43) for BRAV and 27.91% (12/43), 27.91%(12/43), 27.91%(12/43), 27.91%(12/43) for BRBV, indicating that our assay has a more substantial detection capability than other assays. This study firstly established a duplex quantitative real-time RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of BRAV and BRBV, and the assay exhibited high specificity, sensitivity, and stability. Moreover, the study firstly confirmed the existence of BRAV in China, contributing to the prevention and control of BRDC.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on milk production per hectare in Ecuadorian herds

Dairy production systems in Ecuador have been studied in the last 10 years. During the Covid-2019 pandemic, the entire human society was harmed and agricultural activities affected by the disease and by the restrictions implemented to prevent its spread. The dairy industry did not escape this global situation and was affected in various countries. Reports from Ecuador and Asian countries indicate the unfavorable effect that this global health emergency situation had on dairy production. However, according to a report by the Argentine Dairy Chain Observatory1, world milk production had a constant growth of around 3%. It is considered that the activities carried out by veterinarians, milking and animal handling operators, inseminators and by the personnel dedicated to the management of paddocks were affected by Covid-19. Likewise, the supply of medicines, agricultural inputs and technology had a critical situation due to the pandemic. In addition, the response times were not always adequate, especially due to the absenteeism of livestock personnel, human mortality and effects on the health and well-being of people . Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the effects the pandemic could have on the country's cattle farms. The objective of this work was to evaluate whether the pandemic period affected milk production per hectare per year in Ecuadorian herds.

Assessment of the financial condition of selected dairy cooperatives during the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of the article is to present the financial condition of selected dairy cooperatives using ratio analysis and selected discriminant models. The main objective of the paper is to assess the overall financial condition of dairy cooperatives during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) and earlier years (2017-2019). The author focused, on the one hand, on the assessment of the financial condition of a selected group and, on the other hand, on the link between the financial situation of selected dairy cooperatives and state aid during the changing economic reality caused by the SARS CoV-2 virus. The financial analysis for dairy cooperatives also reveals a broader comparative context in the time span before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research shows that the analysed dairy cooperatives, with the exception of OSM Jasienica Rosielna, did not have a negative financial results.

Forecast of beef production for Brazilian market between 2021 and 2022

Cattle is one of the main items in the Brazilian productive guideline and an important export product. During the covid-19 pandemic, the price of beef occupied a prominent position in agricultural sector analyzes due to the prices increases. The objective of this research is to observe the national production behavior, exports, and domestic supply. Therefore, a domestic supply forecast was made for January 2021 to December 2022 (24 months). Based on the results obtained, it was found that the beefs supply available to the Brazilian market will not present an expressive upward behavior that compensates the evolution in beef export to international markets. Thus, a shift in the price of beef in the domestic market to higher levels may be observed.

Susceptibility of different animal species to experimental infection with SARS-CoV-2 (review)

The susceptibility of animal species to SARS-CoV-2, under experimental conditions, is a subject of great interest for the international scientific community. Compared to observational studies of natural disease outbreaks in different animal species, experimental studies based on in silico, in vitro and in vivo research, are important alternatives to evaluate the prediction of potential hosts for SARS-CoV-2 infection. In order to determine the susceptibility of a host species and the risk of acting as a potential animal reservoir, a large number of different animal species, domestic and wild, were experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2, which were classified as permissive or resistant. Experimental infections have proven to be crucial for clarifying aspects of the pathogenetic mechanism, viral persistence and elimination, immune response, antiviral sensitivity, vaccine production, immunotherapy and improving diagnostic methods. In this article, some experimental infections carried out in different animal species will be reviewed, according to the data from the literature.

Prospect of Vaccinia virus vector vaccine for wildlife

Against a pandemic of emerged infectious disease, COVID-19, new generation vaccines based on nucleic acids or recombinant viruses, which had not been used as vaccines in humans, have been inoculated and shown to be successful. They are, however, heat-labile and need a cold-chain including deep-freezers for storage and transportation. Vaccinia virus (VAC) vector vaccine (VACV) is a pioneer of new generation of vaccines constructed by using molecular biological technology. VACV, which has contributed to eradication of smallpox, has excellent characteristics of vaccinia virus such as a high heat-stability and long-lasting immunological effects. It is possible to distinguish the immunological responses of vaccination from those of natural infections. We started our developmental researches 35 years ago, using attenuated VAC strains established in Japan. In this article, we first describe the early researches of VACVs;development of two VACVs for Bovine leukemia virus and Rinderpest morbillivirus antigens and their protective immunity in large mammals, sheep and cows. Second, application of VACV is described;Rabies-VACV, which has already been licensed, used in the field in Europe and USA, and resulted in a prominent decrease of rabies. Then, current status of VACV research is described;non-replicating VACVs in mammalian cells have been developed as new-generation and ultimately-safe vaccines. We discuss the possibility of future application of VACV for wildlife.

Impact of the "coronavirus" emergency on Italian livestock systems

This report describes the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the productive and economic aspects of livestock and aquaculture production in Italy, including farm management, labour, income, marketing and consumption of animal products (meat, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products), consumer behaviour, food safety, agrotourism and disease control.

Serum total bilirubin and aminotransferases in patients with COVID-19 in Nellore district of South Andhra Pradesh

BACKGROUND: Corona virus disease-19 (COVID -19) infection is an acute infectious disease caused by a newly discovered beta corona virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While the primary target organ is the lungs, involvement of many other organs is often evident in patients with COVID-19. There is emerging evidence to suggest association of SARS-CoV-2 infection with development of many liver abnormalities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of abnormal liver parameters in COVID-19 patients and their variation in moderate and severe cases. METHODS: This is a retrospective study. All patients with COVID -19, between the ages 20-75 years, encountered between April and May 2021, were included for the study and compared with age-matched controls. Severity of infection was defined based on the presence of symptoms, oxygen saturation, need for respiratory and intensive care support. Liver parameters such as serum total bilirubin (TBIL), serum aminotransferases, alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) were analysed. Inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer were also included for assay. RESULTS: A total of 52 patients were encountered during the study period. Of these, 29% (15/52) required intensive care. Abnormal liver parameters were observed in 14 (27%) patients, and were significantly elevated compared to healthy controls. Liver dysfunction was markedly profound in severe infection than those with moderate disease. Higher levels of CRP and D-dimer were noted in severe patients of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Mild liver abnormalities in the form of elevated ALT and AST are seen in COVID-19 patients suggesting mild or no liver injury. These abnormal parameters do not generally lead to significant liver function impairment/failure and no specific treatment is required.

Spatio-temporal evolution dynamic, effect and governance policy of construction land use in urban agglomeration: case study of Yangtze River Delta, China

The urban construction land change is the most obvious and complex spatial phenomenon in urban agglomerations which has attracted extensive attention of scholars in different fields. Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration is the most mature urban agglomeration in China, a typical representative in both China and the world. This paper analyzes the evolution dynamic, effect and governance policy of urban construction land in Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration 2011-2020 using a combination of BCG model, decoupling model and GIS tools. The findings are as follows. (1) There are large intercity differences in urban construction land in urban agglomerations, but the spatial heterogeneity is gradually decreasing. (2) The change trends and evolution patterns of urban construction land in urban agglomerations are increasingly diversified, with emergence of a variety of types such as rapid growth, slow growth, inverted U-shape, stars, cows, question and dogs. (3) The population growth, economic development and income improvement corresponding to the change of urban construction land in urban agglomerations have no desirable effect, with most cities in the expansive negative decoupling state. (4) The decoupling types show increasingly complex changes, in evolution, degeneration and unchanged states. Affected by economic transformation and the outbreak of COVID-19, an increasing number of cities are in strong negative decoupling and degeneration states, threatening the sustainable development of urban agglomerations. (5) Based on the division of urban agglomerations into three policy areas of Transformation Leading, Land Dependent, and Land Reduction, the response strategies for each are proposed, and a differentiated land use zoning management system is established.

COVID-19 influence on developments in the global beef and sheep sectors

While the COVID-19 pandemic and associated government responses have had a substantial impact on consumers and meat supply chains worldwide, the effect on beef and sheep farming has been surprisingly small, short-lived and largely offset by other global influences. However, the impact has also varied greatly between countries and regions, largely due to differences in Government measures and in industry circumstances and influences. This study aims to provide insights into the pandemic's impacts throughout global beef and sheep supply chains, but with a focus on the farm level, particularly producer prices in 2020. At the centre of the study is an analysis of online questionnaire-based survey responses to the Global agri benchmark Beef and Sheep Network. The study also utilizes a variety of other studies and information sources to explore other potential factors that could have also driven beef and sheep sectors worldwide in 2020. It explores how these influences interacted with the effect of the pandemic. Food service sales were highly impacted by the pandemic, meat processing was temporarily disrupted in North America but global livestock prices remained high due, in large part, to the continuation of strong beef and sheep meat demand and imports in China.

Analysis of intermediate hosts and susceptible animals of SARS-CoV-2 by computational methods

COVID-19, a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that produces major symptoms of pneumonia, has been a disaster worldwide. The traceability of SARSCoV- 2 and the discovery of susceptible animal species is crucial to halt viral transmission and explore the mechanism of cross-species transmission. We selected 82 representative ACE2 sequences from the 1000 sequences with the closest homology to the hACE2 protein. All selected ACE2 proteins were subjected to homology modeling. Potential natural and intermediate hosts, as well as animal species susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, were analyzed systematically by calculation of the binding free energy of ACE2 protein to the RBD of SARSCoV- 2. Primates, some wild Felidae, civets, goats, spotted hyenas and golden hamsters are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and may be potential intermediate hosts, whereas pangolins, birds and reptiles are unlikely to be intermediate hosts. Mice, rats and guinea pig are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. Given their possible susceptibility, non-human primates, goats and golden hamsters could potentially be used as experimental models to examine SARS-CoV-2 infection without transgenesis. Herein, possible candidates for the natural and intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 are suggested, to provide guidance for subsequent studies.

Evaluation of immunochromatographic point-of-care tests for the detection of calf diarrhoea pathogens in faecal samples

We have evaluated the diagnostic performance of immunochromatographic point-of-care tests (POCT) for the detection of rotavirus, coronavirus, Escherichia (E.) coli F5, Cryptosporidium (C.) parvum, Clostridium (Cl.) perfringens and Giardia (G.) intestinalis in fresh and thawed faecal samples from calves aged up to six months with diarrhoea. We performed POCTs to detect rotavirus, coronavirus, E. coli F5, C. parvum, Cl. perfringens and G. intestinalis on fresh samples in a field study and re-evaluated the performance for C. parvum, Cl. perfringens and G. intestinalis using thawed samples. We calculated the performance based on the results of the reference methods, which were RT-qPCR for the detection of rota- and coronavirus and bacteriological culturing and PCR to detect E. coli F5 and Cl. perfringens a and ss2 toxins. C. parvum was detected by phase-contrast microscopy and G. intestinalis by immunofluorescence microscopy. We collected 177 faecal samples from diarrhoeic calves. We found good performance for the POCT targeting rotavirus (sensitivity (SE)=92.9%;specificity (SP)=95.6%) and C. parvum (SE=63.3%;SP=96.2%). For E. coli F5, the number of true positive samples (n=1) was too low to evaluate the performance. The POCT to detect coronavirus gave a poor performance (SE=3.3%;SP=96.6%) and the POCT to detect Cl. perfringens a moderate performance (SE=52.8%;SP=78.2%). G. intestinalis POCT showed a higher sensitivity to immunofluorescence microscopy in thawed than in fresh faecal samples (SE=43.9% versus SE=29.2%). There are substantial differences in diagnostic performance between the commercially available immunochromatographic POCTs. Still, POCT can make a valuable contribution to the diagnosis and prevention of calf diarrhoea.

Enteritis in calves: anamnestic, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic evaluations with special attention to enteropathogenic rotavirus and bovine coronavirus

Introduction: Neonatal calf diarrhoea is a multifactorial disease that sometimes leads to high economic losses. It can be fatal due to dehydration and acidosis and has been one of the main causes of calf mortality. Material and methods: This retrospective study considered calves of a maximum of 35 days of age and with a diagnosed infection with rotavirus and/or bovine coronavirus. We examined the clinical records of 156 calves that were referred to the University Clinic for Ruminants in Vienna. Results Calves that had been treated with antibiotics before admission to the Clinic had a higher risk of staying longer, suggesting either that these calves had a more serious illness or that antibiotic treatment was not indicated and so therapeutic success was not achieved. Twenty-three calves died or were euthanized at the Clinic. At the time of admission, they were younger than the surviving calves and they had a lower inner body temperature and a lower base excess at the first examination. The four most common pathogens in faecal samples were rotavirus, bovine coronavirus, Cryptosporidium parvum and Escherichia coli, which were detected in 67.1%, 53.9%, 48.1% and 94.1% of the faecal samples examined. The most common co-infection was rotavirus with Cryptosporidium parvum (17 faecal samples). We inspected the four most common pathogens in more detail. There were significant correlations between bovine coronavirus and season, with the risk of suffering from bovine coronavirus 1.6 times higher in winter than in other seasons. There was also a correlation between Cryptosporidium parvum and general behaviour: the risk of being infected with Cryptosporidium parvum was 2.6 times higher in calves that were moderately to severely depressed at the first examination. There was a correlation between co-infections and mortality, with calves with a co-infection at three times higher risk of dying than calves with a mono-infection.

SwissHerdbook statistics 2020: more lactations in the COVID year

This article discusses the strategies done by the dairy sector in Switzerland to maintain and even have surplus milk supply during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the strategies implemented during the pandemic are milk production tests, inspection of the origin of milk, registration of calves, and insemination using top performing dairy bulls.

Investigation of the presence of coronavirus by ELISA method in diarrheic calves in Sanliurfa province

Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) infections are widespread in newborn calf diarrhea, which is one of the critical problems in cattle breeding. This study aims to investigate BCoV infection in calves with diarrhea in Sanliurfa province. In this study, 94 calves with diarrhea (3 months) following clinical examination were sampled. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the presence of BCoV antigen. A total of 5 stool samples were found to be BCoV positive (5.32%). This result showed that BCoV was low in calves with diarrhea in Sanliurfa province. However, considering the rapid spread of the infection in cattle populations, it is thought that it may cause significant economic losses due to treatment costs and calf deaths.

Effect of COVID-19 epidemic on beef cattle production and countermeasures in China

To investigate the effect of COVID-19 on beef cattle production in China, in February 2020, 263 beef cattle farms 21 provinces of China were surveyed, covering the main areas of beef cattle production. The results showed that COVID-19 had a serious impact on Chinese beef cattle industry. In forage stock, 48% of the beef cattle farms had surpluses for I month;45% had less than 2 months of forage, and 95% had run out of by-products, such as distiller's grains. In fattening production. 95% of fattening cattle farms cannot buy stocker cattle as planned. The delay to sell fattening cattle increased the consumption of feed and forage. The markets for live cattle were closed, causing the decrease of cattle prices. In reproduction, brood cows missed one or two estrus cycles. In disease prevention and control, 70% of cattle farms almost ran out of medicines, and immunities cannot be carried out as planned. To solve these prominent problems, it was suggested that beef cattle farms should seriously implement the prevention and control requirements to ensure safety;prepare alternative plans for epidemic prevention and control in advance;improve the tine feeding and management system and standardized workflow, adjust the business strategy, etc. Additionally, it was also suggested that all layers of governments should open green channels for the farms to ensure the transportation of production means and products, supply special subsidy policies, and provide loans to help farm enhance confidence and resume production.