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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.
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Oilseeds are grown mainly for the extraction of vegetable oils and for its by-products needed in livestock feed and in other industrial uses. The oils obtained from them are becoming a staple food used in daily cooking in several countries, and as a result the world demand is constantly increasing. This situation, combined with the exponential increase in the world population and other cyclical factors, is leading to a surge pricing, especially in importing countries. This increase in prices is fueled by soaring oil prices and disruption in supplies following Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea. Morocco is directly impacted by these fluctuations given that the country imports almost its total needs in vegetable oils, oilseeds and meals. The high dependence on imported vegetable oils and oilseed products has a detrimental effect on the economy of Morocco and weighs heavily on the country's trade balance. Considering their increasingly important role in society, the development of a local oilseed sector to reduce Morocco's dependence on imports and cope with the vagaries of global markets has never been more topical in the current context of sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty.
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Intro: Coronaviruses infect humans and a wide range of wild and domestic animals. Some CoVs could be zoonotic, being able to mutate, crossing the species barrier and infecting humans (e.g. SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV). Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, several studies were carried out to ascertain the susceptibility of both domestic and wild animals to SARS-CoV-2. However, information on some species is lacking, and for others only RDB-ACE receptor affinity studies have been carried out. Considering the high densities of Marmota marmota in the alpine environment, where livestock and recreational activities are commonly present, this study aims to investigate the presence and characterization of CoVs in this species. Method(s): During provincial relocation plan carried out in 2021 and 2022, 170 alpine marmots were captured in municipality of Livigno in Sondrio province (North-Italy) for decreasing animal density and, after a quarantine period, they were released in other alpine places. Faecal samples were collected from each animal and then subjected to RNA extraction and nested RT-PCR pan-Coronavirus and real time RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2. PCR positive samples for pan-CoV were then sequenced. Finding(s): The pan-Coronavirus RT-PCR detected CoVs in seven marmots. The CoV sequence originating from one marmot sampled in 2021 had 97% affinity to strains isolated in lagomorphs. The other six sequences from 2022 were highly correlate with Bovine Beta-CoVs. This could be explained by the fact that marmots share alpine pastures with these species;in fact, the trapping area in 2022 represented grazing and forage production areas. All samples tested for SARS-CoV-2 resulted negative. Conclusion(s): Despite the absence of zoonotic coronaviruses, marmots show high plasticity in harbouring CoVs of sympatric species. For this reason, and considering the affinity of their ACE-receptor demonstrated for SARS-CoV, it would be worthwhile to increase surveillance for CoVs in this species.Copyright © 2023
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U.S. Ethanol Market Faced Shock in 2020: The US. ethanol market faced pandemic-related shocks in 2020, as COVID-19 reduced driving miles and demand for transportation fuel. These shocks ultimately impacted U.S. feed-grains markets, particularly corn. Since the creation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in 2005, and the subsequent passage of RFSZ in 2007, the use of corn for ethanol fuel has created a link between US. feed grain markets and transportation fuel use. As a result of this linkage, the sudden change in social and economic behaviors caused by COVID-19 led to changes in US. com markets. The following is a broad summary of the pre-pandemic state of the ethanol market, the 2020 ethanol market, and the identification of certain market factors that are expected to be important for the outlook of the US. ethanol market. Ethanol Market Trends and Conditions Prior to COVID-19: For the 4 years spanning 2016-2019, the US. motor gasoline product supplied was quite stable. According to US. Energy Information Administration data (EIA), monthly gasoline product supplied averaged about 11.9 billion gallons between 2016-2019. Deviations generally followed seasonal patterns. Gasoline supply levels began 2020 up slightly from their 2016-2019 averages: 11.4 billion gallons in January, compared to an average January-supply level of 11.3 billion gallons and 10.9 billion gallons in February, compared to an average of 10.7 billion gallons.
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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.
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On behalf of the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), Agroscope monitors the production and distribution of food for livestock and pets. The main purpose of its activity is to prevent harmful substances and undesirable products from being fed to animals and reaching consumers' plates through foodstuffs of animal origin. Controls also help to protect owners of animals against fraud and to preserve animal health and the environment. Official Food Control enforcement activities for animals have also been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and inspections had to be completely suspended. However, it was possible to resume them after a short period, although in a limited way, by applying the necessary hygiene and precautionary measures. In order to protect the inspectors and employees of the companies inspected, controls have been suspended for fifteen days in March, and then were resumed until the end of the year, but by being announced and by favouring the taking of samples. In this way it was possible to minimize contact with people and counter the spread of the virus by respecting the prescribed protection measures. The integration carried out at the end of 2019 of all the data relating to inspections, companies and products in a new laboratory information management system (LIMS) proved to be successful, although many optimizations and improvements had to be made. Due to increased data security and integration into a interdisciplinary system, production companies of animal feed thus benefited from more shipments, inspection report improved and there were more user-friendly presentation of test results in the product control report. Inspection reports were all able to be sent quickly and those of the checks of products were able to be sent following the analyses and necessary repetitions, thus guaranteeing a return of information in a timely manner. As in previous years, we also observed an increase of more than the average of new registrations/approvals companies in the animal feed sector. While 2019 can be considered a calm year in terms of feed safety, Salmonella was detected in eight animal feeds in 2020, representing 4 separate cases. In one sample, an overrun of the maximum value of coccidiostats according to appendix 10 of OLALA was detected. In 4 other samples, the authorizations issued for the addition of coccidiostats according to animal species had expired. GMOs were detected in two food samples for production animals, one of which was authorized but was not been declared. The second case concerns the contamination of undesirable seeds without germination power in linseed. In addition, GMOs exceeding the tolerance threshold have been detected in three bird feed mixtures and in another ambrosia seed mixture. These products were withdrawn from the market immediately. A total of 1,217 feed samples for livestock and for pets were analysed. 814 were compliant or had minor reporting errors. With a compliance rate of 66.9%, there was a slight improvement compared to the previous year (approx. 65%). With regard to nonconformities, it can be seen that minor non-conformities have decreased compared to last year (5.8%, previous year 12.4%). On the other hand, major non-conformities increased, from 2.6% in 2019 to 4.7% in 2020. Average non-compliances remained at the same level as the previous year, at around 23%.
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This 4th edition covers issues associated with sustainable aquaculture development, culture systems, hatchery methods, nutrition and feeding of aquaculture species, reproductive strategies, harvesting, and many other topics. While its main focus is on the culture of fish, molluscs and crustaceans for food, the book also covers other forms of aquaculture, such as the production of seaweeds, recreational fish and ornamental species, as well as live foods, such as algae and rotifers that are used to feed larval shrimp and marine fish. Thoroughly updated and revised, this essential textbook now includes increased coverage of open-ocean cage culture and sea lice issues with salmon culture, coverage of the significant progress made in nutrition, including the move away from fishmeal as protein and fish oil as lipids in feed, information on biofloc technology uses, predictive impacts of climate change, probiotics, and the impact of COVID-19 on the aquaculture community, and updated aquaculture production statistics and lists of approved anaesthetics. Aquaculture remains one of the most rapidly growing agricultural disciplines, and this book remains an essential resource for all students of aquaculture and related disciplines.
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Simple SummaryForage oat is an important feed resource in the world. Few studies on the application of different bacterial additives in forage oat silage have been found, which limits the utilization and promotion of oat silage in animal husbandry. In this study, we compared the fermentation quality and in vitro gas production of oat silage treated with four additives (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum F1,LP;Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus XJJ01, LR;Lacticaseibacillus paracasei XJJ02, LC;and Propionibacterium acidipropionici 1.1161, PP). The results show that compared to the CK group (without additives), the LR group had a higher dry matter content, while the LP group showed an improvement in fermentation quality. At the same time, the bacterial community in the LR group was also different from that in other groups. The treatments of PP and LC had no significant effects on fermentation quality, but the in vitro gas production was significantly reduced in the treated oat silage. These results could help us to optimize the utilization of forage oat silage in balanced ruminant diets.Bacterial inoculants are considered as a good choice for successful ensiling, playing a key role in improving the silage quality. However, the potential of different bacteria, especially the propionic acid bacteria, in forage oat ensiling is yet to be explored. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the regulation effects of different bacterial additives on the fermentation quality of forage oat silage. Four additives (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum F1, LP;Lacticaseibacillus 0rhamnosus XJJ01, LR;Lacticaseibacillus paracasei XJJ02, LC;and Propionibacterium acidipropionici 1.1161, PP;without additives, CK) were inoculated in forage oat silage, and the fermentation quality and organic compounds were determined after 60 days of ensiling. Notably, LR showed higher dry matter preservation compared to other additives and CK. In addition, LP and LR showed strong lactic acid synthesis capacity, resulting in lower pH compared to other additives and CK. The treatments of PP and LC increased the bacterial diversity in silage, while the bacterial community in the LR group was different from that in other groups. In addition, the PP- and LC-treated oat silage showed significantly lower total in vitro gas production and a lower methane content. These results suggest that LP is more favorable for producing high-quality oat silage than LR, LC, or PP. Both the PP- and LC- treated oat silage may reduce rumen greenhouse gas emissions.
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Even though forage and grazing lands represent the largest land use in the United States, the number of forage faculty positions nationwide has decreased by 47% in the last 15 years, with only an estimated 2.3 forage research and Extension full-time equivalents (FTE) per state. This challenge has made partnerships with county/regional agents and Extension faculty from other states an increasingly important component of a successful Extension program. Whereas virtual/online programs existed prior to 2020, people of all ages are currently more comfortable and adept with virtual technology because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving forward, virtual meetings and hybrid meetings will likely become more routine, making it possible to disseminate knowledge to producers locally and across the state, region, and country concurrently. This approach will enable Extension educators to be more efficient in their knowledge transfer as illustrated by programs such as the Bermudagrass Hay Summit which has seen an almost six-fold increase in attendance from 2020 to 2021 because travel is not required. Lastly, there is a largely untapped opportunity in on-farm demonstrations and research. An example of how this can positively affect adoption of new technology is the regional program Alfalfa in the South. This program combines both on-farm and experiment station research. As a result of on-farm demonstrations, producer interest in adoption of alfalfa across Alabama and Georgia has increased in the last 3 years. There are many challenges to Extension programming in forages, but there are also ample opportunities to partner with other state Extension programs, as well as with producers to disseminate forage and pasture management effectively and efficiently to the forage and livestock sectors across the United States.
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The purpose of this report was to document the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dairy cattle farming in Ethiopia and draw recommendations for enhancing dairy farming and the dairy sector's resilience to such pandemics and other market shocks. It presents the results of a rapid survey of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholder and medium-scale dairy cattle farmers in Ethiopia during the period between 5 September and 11 October 2020. A total of 1815 farmers who are part of the African Dairy Genetics Gains (ADGG) programme from five regions of Ethiopia, and one city administration participated in the study. Majority of the respondents reported that dairy farming input supply and service provision such as feed, veterinary services, animal vaccines, artificial insemination and daily hired labour had all decreased during the pandemic. More than half (60%) of the respondents reported a decrease in the total volume of milk produced per household, which was linked to the shortage of feed and other services. Forty-six percent of the respondents reported selling milk at a lower price compared to periods before the pandemic. Decreasing demand for milk by direct consumers, cooperatives and processors is one potential reason for the lower milk sales price. In conclusion, service providers and input suppliers (both government and private sector) working in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture are important in safeguarding farmers from shocks which result from man-made or natural disasters such as those brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, supporting dairy cooperatives and processors to produce at full capacity and linking dairy farmers to microfinance providers so they can access credit will ensure sustained profitability of their dairy farms.
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Learning Objectives: Through a virtual elective 1. Provide a remote virtual education opportunity for EM bound students during times of disruption 2. Demonstrate our academic mission, program strengths, and introduce a variety of faculty to prospective applicants 3.Recruit high-quality EM bound applicants : Background: Emergency Medicine (EM) applicants and residencies benefit from away rotations by giving applicants exposure to different program leadership, diverse clinical environments, and providing programs face-time with qualified interested applicants. COVID has suspended this practice. Through a virtual elective, we were able to convey our academic mission and cultivate an interest in our program for interview season. Educational Objectives: 1.Provide a remote virtual education opportunity for EM bound students during times of disrupted clinical exposure 2.Demonstrate our academic mission, program strengths, and introduce a variety of faculty to prospective applicants 3.Recruit high-quality EM bound applicants Curricular Design: We met the disruption with a virtual 1-week clerkship designed as an away elective for visiting students. The content was developed based on feedback from institutional education experts and a literature review of the implementation of a virtual classroom. Each day consisted of small group case-based didactics, virtual hands-on learning, digital hands-on simulation, and social interaction with program leadership. To encourage active participation and add variety to the virtual format, a “care-package” with materials to perform an at-home splinting lab was mailed to students. In addition, students were encouraged to forage for wound care and splinting materials in their own homes to improvise with during a wilderness medicine session. To foster a sense of community and simulate in-person interpersonal interactions we dedicated 3 hours to meet with the chief residents and Program Director. Impact: We accepted four students into the elective, all interested, and all applied for an interview. Despite the lack of contact in the clinical setting, this proved to be a worthwhile educational experience for the students and has the potential to be an alternative recruitment tool during an era where social distancing is imperative.
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Phosphorus (P) is one of the essential nutrients for alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) growth, but P deficiency in soil is a common phenomenon. Applying an appropriate amount of P fertilizer for alfalfa in the establishment year improves winter survival, helps achieve sustainable high yields, and promotes the best economic returns. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different P fertilization rates (0, 22, 44, and 66 kg P ha−1) on winter survival, forage yield, and root traits of two late-summer seeded alfalfa cultivars (dormant and semi-dormant) in the establishment and first production year. Our results showed that applying an appropriate amount of P fertilizer can increase forage yield and enhance the persistence of late-summer seeded alfalfa by promoting the development of crown and root traits and improving winter survival, especially for semi-dormant cultivars. Late-summer seeding and application of appropriate P fertilizer rates are effective agronomic methods for alfalfa in cold and arid winter regions, and can be used as strategies to improve fertility and stabilize soil from wind erosion for sustainable agriculture. To obtain high rate of survival in winter, the optimal P fertilization rates for the dormant and semi-dormant alfalfa cultivars in this study were 31.4 and 41.3 kg P ha−1, whereas the optimum P application rates for high forage yields were 31.3 and 31.5 kg P ha−1, respectively.
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Millions of people worldwide have an inadequate intake of selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn), and agronomic biofortification may minimise these problems. To evaluate the efficacy of combined foliar Se and Zn fertilisation in bread making wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a two-year field experiment was established in southern Spain under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions, by following a split-split-plot design. The study year (2017/2018, 2018/2019) was considered as the main-plot factor, soil Zn application (50 kg Zn ha-1, nor Zn) as a subplot factor and foliar application (nor Se, 10 g Se ha-1, 8 kg Zn ha-1, 10 g Se ha-1 + 8 kg Zn ha-1) as a sub-subplot factor. The best treatment to increase both Zn and Se concentration in both straw, 12.3- and 2.7-fold respectively, and grain, 1.3- and 4.3-fold respectively, was the combined foliar application of Zn and Se. This combined Zn and Se application also increased on average the yield of grain, main product of this crop, by almost 7%. Therefore, bread-making wheat seems to be a very suitable crop to be used in biofortification programs with Zn and Se to alleviate their deficiency in both, people when using its grain and livestock when using its straw.