Being a product consumer during the COVID-19 pandemic: profile of the Polish consumer in the organic dairy market

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to determine the profile of dairy product consumers in the organic market.Design/methodology/approachThe study was based on a survey questionnaire developed by the author and administered to a total of 1,108 respondents. The statistical analysis (including descriptive statistics, the analysis of the discriminative function and the Chi2 test was performed with the use of Statistica 13.1 PL. The respondents' gender was the factor behind the differences in how they behaved.FindingsThe consumers indicated the channels they rely upon to find information on organic dairy products;in addition to trusting the opinions of their family members and experts, they also use web platforms. Further, they specified their preferred locations for buying favorite products during the pandemic: specialized organic food shops, large distribution chains and online stores.Practical implicationsThese outcomes will help in identifying target consumer segments and information channels for specific information and advertising messages. They also form an important resource for developing some potential strategies which the supply chain stakeholders could implement to promote organic consumption of dairy products.Originality/valueThis study identifies consumers' preferred dairy products;motives for purchasing organic dairy products;barriers that consumers believe exist in the market;sources of knowledge about products purchased by consumers;and consumers' preferred channels for purchasing organic dairy products. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study of dairy product consumers in the organic market in Poland.

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.

PERFORMANCE OF DAIRY FARMS IN KOSOVO DURING THE COVID 19

This research is important because milk production is considered as an activity of nutritional, social and economic importance in Kosovo. Cow's milk dominates the production of raw milk in Kosovo. Dairy cows (about 132,500 heads) produce 277,599 tons of milk. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of Covid-19 on the performance of cow milk producers in Kosovo. It was used descriptive and quantitative survey. The random sampling technique was used to select respondents from a 242 dairy farms in the seven regions of Kosovo (Gjilan, Prishtina, Ferizaj, Peja, Gjakova, Prizren, and Mitrovica). Interviews have included the farms with the capacity of 5-120 dairy cows. Data on milk production, sales and farm incomes for each farm were recorded during the period of January-April 2021 and the comparison was made for a calendar year with that of 2019/2020. The average milk produced by farmers per year was 73052.94 liters in 2019, and it decreased to 71255.27 liters in 2020. In 2020, 93.1% of farmers said they have not been able to sell all the milk they produced, on average the surveyed farms could not sell milk at all in the amount of 12503.43 liters per year in 2020, and this represents an increase of 275 times compared to the amount of the previous year where there was only 45.38 liters per year of unsold milk destined for the market. The average farm revenues from milk were € 13892.37 in 2020, while in 2019 it was considerably higher, with an average of 19881.49 € per farm. Farmers reported that the restrictive measures taken as a result of Covid-19 have affected milk production negatively in terms of sales, revenues and returns. Advisory services should sensitize farmers to farm diversification so that losses from such situations as pandemics are kept to a minimum. © 2023, Consulting and Training Center - KEY. All rights reserved.

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.

Greek Semi-Hard and Hard Cheese Consumers' Perception in the New Global Era

The COVID-19 pandemic is almost over but has already left its mark and is changing the world fast and drastically in all social, economic, and cultural aspects of humanity, including consumers' choices and motives for foods. Since cheese is a major dietary food consumed daily worldwide, motives for its purchase and consumption in the new era are an important parameter affecting current and future production and sustainable regional development. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on Greek consumers' motives for quality semi-hard and hard cheese, including the "Ladotyri” hard cheese. Consumers' motives were tested using variables of quality semi-hard and hard cheese, such as purchase and consumption, preference of choice, preference, and knowledge of the Ladotyri cheese. A self-response questionnaire survey was carried out in November and December 2022 on a sample of 860 participants, the majority being young people aged 18–25 (83.9%), through the Google platform. Basic statistical tools, combined with cross and chi-square tests, were used to analyze the collected data. The results indicate no significant changes in consumers' motives except a significant decline in consumption, reaching up to 8.4%. Consumers continue to purchase the semi-hard and hard cheese from the supermarket (90%), with preference for the most known kinds, such as kasseri and graviera, consuming it at home (90.9%), daily (31.8%), or two times per week (38.3%), primarily with bread and olives (57.6%), followed by meat (53%). Price remains the most important information for the selection of semi-hard and hard cheese (73.5%), taste (97%) among the organoleptic parameters, texture (70.9%) among the appearance parameters, origin of milk (63.9%) among the sustainable parameters, and value for money (85.8%) among the general characteristics of the cheese. The participants expressed similar motives for the "Ladotyri” Mytilinis hard cheese, appreciating the olive oil combined with the cheese (79.7%) and the possible production as a non-refrigerated cheese (65.2%), even though the majority of them would not buy it today (57.4%). Our findings indicate that the sustainability and growth of the quality semi-hard and hard cheese in the new era should stick to the good practices of production, promotion, and sales developed before the pandemic, exploring, however, new avenues and practices to increase consumption, which is currently declining. © 2023 by the authors.

Fifty Years of Research on Camelids and the Contribution of Genetics and Genomics: A Scientometrics Evaluation

The population and importance of camels in human life have improved in recent years. As genetics and genomics are becoming a more comprehensive section of life sciences, studying genetic/genomic aspects of the camelid nutrition, milk production, reproduction, immunity, disease and racing ability has become common in recent years. This study was conducted based on text mining and scientometrics techniques. To employ relevant information from Web of Science (WoS), a search strategy was developed to retrieve the "genetics or genomics” and words/phrases related to "camelids”. The statistical population of this study included 3830 publications over a period of 50 years (1971–2020). A total of 3830 publications were retrieved that included 3269 research articles (85.35% of the publications) and 224 review articles (5.85% of the publications). The most frequent subject groups were "Veterinary Sciences” including 862 publications. In total, articles on camelid genomics were published in 1345 journals. Moreover, 127 countries contributed to these 3830 publications, with the USA being the leading country both in number of publications and international collaboration. During the 1971–2010 time period, the phrases "MERS-CoV” and "coronavirus” did not exist in the literature at all, while in the last decade, with 140 and 63 times (5.36% and 2.41%, respectively), they were the most frequent keywords. In general, the most important topics studied from the perspective of camelid genomics have been population genetics and pathogens and their diagnosis, as well as camelid immunity. Future studies should pay special attention to the specificity of camelid genomics for hosting the coronavirus. Furthermore, the special structure of humoral immunity in camels makes this section attractive in immunogenetics research. © 2023, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering. All rights reserved.

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.

Viral enteritis in cattle: To well known viruses and beyond

Livestock products supply about 13 percent of energy and 28 percent of protein in diets consumed worldwide. Diarrhea is a leading cause of sickness and death of beef and dairy calves in their first month of life and also affecting adult cattle, resulting in large economic losses and a negative impact on animal welfare. Despite the usual multifactorial origin, viruses are generally involved, being among the most important causes of diarrhea. There are several viruses that have been confirmed as etiological agents (i.e., rotavirus and coronavirus), and some viruses that are not yet confirmed as etiological agents. This review summarizes the viruses that have been detected in the enteric tract of cattle and tries to deepen and gather knowledge about them.Copyright © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The impact of COVID-19 on the small and medium dairy farms and comparative analysis of customers' behavior in Armenia.

The restrictions caused by the pandemic of COVID-19 have affected almost all economic sectors of different countries, including agriculture. At the global level of quarantine and lockdowns, the whole humanity has been faced with various problems, food insecurity being one of them. The current research aims to study the effect of the restraints imposed in Armenia upon COVID-19, in 2020 on the activities of small and medium dairy farms and to compare the retrieved data with those of pre-pandemic period. The study period covered March-August, 2020, when the most severe restrictions were working in Armenia, while the indicators were compared with the data of 2019 for the same period. Meanwhile, the changes of the customer behavior from the prospect of milk and dairy product purchase throughout the restriction period have been disclosed and their incentives have been enhanced. The investigations testify that in Armenia the milk production and sale prices haven't undergone any significant changes within the restriction period, which is mainly accounted for internal market sale and short run of severe restrictions. Considerable change has been recorded in the customer behavior, particularly in the first month after declaring state of emergency. An increase in the purchase rate of milk and dairy product per one-time buy, as well as a decrease in the visit frequency to the shops and supermarkets have been recorded.

Bovine reproductive and productive parameters in milk production systems during times of COVID 19

In order to analyze changes in bovine reproductive and productive parameters in dairy herds because of the COVID -19 pandemic, an investigation was carried out in the Province of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Costa Region, Ecuador. To collect the information, research techniques (surveys, structured interviews and group sessions) were used from 86 producers belonging to the Producers Province Association. Where the variables were studied: age at first service (EFS), age at first calving (EFC), types of service (TS), age at weaning (EW) and milk production (ML) before and during COVID-19. The data collected were compared using Chi square tests and the likelihood ratio. The PL was compared with the Student's t-test for paired samples. The EPS, EPP and ED were not significant;but, an increase in the proportion of natural mounts (P<0.01) of 36 % was observed, to the detriment of artificial insemination. There was a decrease in ML (P<0,01) from 8.3 to 8.0 litres.cow(-1). In conclusion, the pandemic caused by COVID-19 has negative consequences on milk production systems.

Time of Initiation of Pumping vs Breastfeeding at Discharge of Preterm Infants

Background: The AAP policy statement on breastfeeding recommends that all preterm infants receive breast milk (BM) feeds. However, mothers delivering prematurely often have difficulty establishing full milk supply. Early BM expression within 1-6 hours of delivery is associated with increased BM production. Baseline data at our large, urban, county hospital revealed that, among all mothers with infants admitted to the NICU, median time to first BM expression was 18 hours in September 2019. In some NICUs, introduction of donor BM led to decreased maternal BM production. Donor BM (DBM) was introduced in our NICU in January 2020. We aimed to (1) assess what characteristics are associated with longer time to first BM expression and (2) implement QI interventions to decrease time to first BM expression, with the goal of helping mothers establish supply to provide BM for their preterm baby beyond NICU discharge. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of deliveries at <33 weeks gestational age (GA) or birthweight <1500 grams between March 2019 and February 2021. A QI project aiming at encouraging NICU mothers to express BM as soon as possible after delivery was initiated in September 2019. Interventions included education of personnel and mothers, increased number of breast pumps, and earlier in-person contact between mothers and lactation consultants. Results: Among 512 neonates, infants 137 were born in Epoch-1 and 375 in Epoch-2;time to first BM expression was available in 448 mothers. Demographics were similar among both Epochs (Table 1a). Average time to first BM expression did not change significantly over time (Figure 1a);however, the range and standard deviation decreased transiently in Epoch-2 and increased again when DBM was introduced and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 1b). In multivariate analysis (n=443), time to first BM expression increased with increasing GA, severe preeclampsia and cesarean delivery but did not decrease in Epoch-2 (Table 1b) and was not affected by DBM. Among women who delivered by cesarean section, time to first BM expression (n=291) was not affected by general anesthesia. The odds of receiving BM feeds at NICU discharge (n=424) increased with increasing GA and was lower with multiple gestations and lower in African-American and nonHispanic White than in Hispanic White neonates (Table 1c);it was not affected by time of first BM expression, administration of DBM, or epoch. Conclusion: Time to first BM expression increased with increasing GA, cesarean section and preeclampsia. The odds of BM feeding at time of NICU discharge increased with increasing GA, was lower with multiple gestation and highest in Hispanics but was not associated with earlier BM expression or use of DBM. The data suggests that limited access of lactation consultants to mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic negated the initial benefits observed during QI initiation.

The next pandemic is coming — now is the time to unite

Speed read The hunt is on for Disease X COVID-19 has weakened global surveillance One Health approaches critical The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new era of disease risk as global surveillance systems reach breaking point, while rising meat consumption forces animal species together at an unprecedented rate. In the global South, demand for animal protein has more than tripled meat production over the past 50 years, with milk production nearly doubling and egg output rising more than three-fold. Scientists say stronger biosecurity measures in the global food system could help prevent future outbreaks of zoonotic diseases — those that jump from animals to people.

Ricing management in milk production

Pricing management is part of farm management with the purpose of increasing profitability and competitiveness. It is based on the production cost and purchase price which difference affects to the financial result. The aim of this research is to identify milk price volatility at the Croatian and EU level, international trade, as well as to identify trends for the period from 2016 to 2020 and to simulate changes for the next period from 2021 to 2025. The analyzed data were taken from the Eurostat and processed using time and harmonized index. Milk production in the EU-27 for 2020 is 23 mil. tons of milk and averages 65 kilograms milk consumption per capita. The lowest average production price of milk in the analyzed period at the EU-27 level was in 2016 (28 per 100 kg of milk) and in following years it is up to 35 per 100 kg. The market situation reflects the consequence of the abolition of quotas in the dairy industry (2015) and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In period from 2021 to 2025, a slight growth and slowdown in milk production of 2.83% compared to 2020 and an increase in the average producer milk prices in 2025 by 9.6% compared to 2020 are projected. This research contributes to identifying the sources of difficulties in managing prices. The guidelines have been developed for more efficient price management in order to improve the competitiveness and market positioning.

Swissherdbook bulletin

This bulletin highlights the effects of COVID-19 in the dairy cattle sector with emphasis on milk prices and milk yield.

The Effectiveness of the Rolling Massage Technique on Breast Milk Adequacy for the Baby in the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND: Rolling massage is one of the actions for postpartum mothers that can increase breast milk production (ASI). There are many benefits of rolling massage for babies. Still, there are no studies that discuss the effectiveness of rolling messages on the adequacy of breast milk in infants during the COVID-19 pandemic. AIM: This study aims to identify the effectiveness of rolling massage on the adequacy of breast milk during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This research is quantitative research with a quasi-experimental approach. The sample selection used a random method with a total sample of 63 postpartum mothers divided into two groups, namely, 32 samples in the intervention group and 31 in the control group. The rolling massage was performed on mothers in the intervention group on days 1, 3, and 7 postpartum. Data were analyzed using the ANOVA test. RESULTS: The results showed a significant difference between the adequacy of breastfeeding in the control group and the intervention group, which was seen from the difference in the frequency of urination (p = 0.036), satisfaction with breastfeeding (p = 0.001), and the increase in infant weight (p = 0.001) at measurements 7 and 30 postpartum day. CONCLUSION: Rolling massage is very effective for postpartum mothers to achieve adequate milk intake for babies. Therefore, it is highly recommended to do it in the first days after giving birth to increase the mother’s milk production to meet the needs of breast milk intake for the baby.

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.

PRICING MANAGEMENT IN MILK PRODUCTION

Upravljanje cijenama je dio menadžerskog upravljanja sa svrhom povećanja profitabilnost i konkurentnost. U proizvodnji mlijeka za upravljanje cijenama osnovne su proizvodna i prodajna cijena, čija razlika odred strok signuje financijski rezultat poslovanja. Cilj istraživanja je identificirati cjenovne odnose u proizvodnji mlijeka na hrvatskoj i EU razini, prepoznati trendove za razdoblje od 2016. do 2020. i simulirati promjene za naredno razdoblje od 2021. do 2025. godine. Analizirani podatci su preuzeti sa stranica Eurostata te obrad strok signeni pomoću vremenskih i harmoniziranih indeksa. Proizvodnja mlijeka u EU-27 za 2020. godini je prosječno 23 mil. tona mlijeka a konzumacija mlijeka po stanovniku u prosjeku iznosi 65 kilograma. Najniža prosječna proizvodna cijena mlijeka, u analiziranom razdoblju na EU-27 razini, je bila u 2016. godini (28 €/100 kg mlijeka) te sljedećih godina iznosi i do 35 €/100 kg. Situacija na tržištu reflektira posljedicu ukidanja kvota u mljekarskoj industrija (2015.) te utjecaj pandemije COVID-19 na proizvodnju mlijeka. Za razdoblje od 2021. do 2025. predvid strok signa se blagi rast i usporavanje proizvodnje mlijeka od 2,83% u odnosu na 2020. te povećanje prosječne proizvod strok signačke cijene mlijeka u 2025. za 9,6% u odnosu na 2020. godinu. Ovo istraživanje doprinosi identificiranju izvora poteškoća pri upravljanju cijenama u proizvodnji mlijeka. Razvijene su smjernice za učinkovitije upravljanje cijenama u cilju poboljšanja konkurentnosti i tržišnog pozicioniranja.Alternate :Pricing management is part of farm management with the purpose of increasing profitability and competitiveness. It is based on the production cost and purchase price which difference affects to the financial result. The aim of this research is to identify milk price volatility at the Croatian and EU level, international trade, as well as to identify trends for the period from 2016 to 2020 and to simulate changes for the next period from 2021 to 2025. The analyzed data were taken from the Eurostat and processed using time and harmonized index. Milk production in the EU-27 for 2020 is 23 mil. tons of milk and averages 65 kilograms milk consumption per capita. The lowest average production price of milk in the analyzed period at the EU-27 level was in 2016 (28 euro per 100 kg of milk) and in following years it is up to 35 euro per 100 kg. The market situation reflects the consequence of the abolition of quotas in the dairy industry (2015) and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In periodfrom 2021 to 2025, a slight growth and slowdown in milk production of 2.83% compared to 2020 and an increase in the average producer milk prices in 2025 by 9.6% compared to 2020 are projected. This research contributes to identifying the sources of difficulties in managing prices. The guidelines have been developed for more efficient price management in order to improve the competitiveness and market positioning.

RACIAL DISPARITIES IN BREASTFEEDING RATES FOR PRETERM INFANTS: OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE IN AN ONGOING MOTHER'S OWN MILK QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

Purpose of Study Breast milk feeding for newborns, especially preterm infants, has been shown to improve numerous health outcomes. Current literature shows that racial and ethnic disparities exist, with non-Hispanic Black women presently exhibiting the lowest breastfeeding rates among all ethnic groups in the US. Our ongoing Mother's Own Milk (MOM) quality improvement project has undergone several plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles to improve initiation and sustained breast milk production. We have not thus far investigated whether there are any disparities amongst mothers in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This objective of this study was to determine if there were any differences in the rates of breast milk feeding between White and non-White mothers of premature infants in our level-4 NICU. Methods Used IRB approved retrospective chart review of infants ≤ 32 6/7 weeks gestation at birth, born between 1/1/ 2020 and 12/29/2021, and discharged by 12/31/2021. Type of feeding (MOM vs. formula), number of weeks babies received >50% MOM, length-of-stay, and mother's race were collected. To determine the percentage that >50% MOM was received (number of weeks an infant was given >50% divided by their length-of-stay). Infants who died or whose mothers had a positive urine drug screen (except THC) were excluded. Summary of Results Data from 233 infants was analyzed. There was a significant difference between White and non- White mothers in number of weeks of MOM feeding (p< 0.03) (figure 1). When analyzing these two years individually, no significant difference was seen in 2020 between the two groups. There was also no difference seen when analyzing individual race groups within the non-White group. Conclusions Racial disparities in MOM feeding were seen when analyzing both 2020 and 2021 together but was not seen in 2020 when looking at the years individually. Acknowledging the disparity and identifying the potential barriers to breastfeeding can lessen this gap. The difference seen in 2021 may be attributable to challenges of the ongoing COVID pandemic including hospital staff shortages causing difficulty to meet the needs of lactating mothers, difficulty with transportation to and from the hospital, inability to obtain a breast pump, and family issues causing decreased support for lactation at home. These challenges have disproportionately affected non-White individuals. The next PDSA cycle includes a pump rental program within the NICU (difficulty obtaining a pump was previously identified as a barrier to sustaining milk production) and a MOM website redesign to improve information and education dissemination. (Figure Presented) .

Dairy Animal Ownership and Household Milk Production Associated with Better Child and Family Diet in Rural Nepal during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The economic and health crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic raised considerable concern about child and family diet, especially among small-holder farming households in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In rural Nepal, 309 families (including 368 children aged 6-66 months) were enrolled pre-COVID-19 in a prospective study of a nutrition education intervention and family milk consumption. The intervention could not be implemented due to COVID-19; however, child and family diet was assessed in three household surveys (one before and two during the pandemic). Over time, after adjusting for child and household factors, child and family diet quality declined (reduced diet diversity, consumption of milk and animal-source-foods (ASF)). However, in dairy-animal-owning (vs. non-dairy-animal-owning) households, both children and family were more likely to consume milk (aOR respectively 2.88× (p < 0.05), 5.81× (p < 0.001)). Similarly, in households producing >3.5 L/d milk (vs. ≤3.5 L/d), children and family members were more likely to consume milk (respectively 7.45× and 11.88× (both p < 0.001)). Thus, the overall decline in child and family diet quality, especially related to milk consumption, was buffered independently by household ownership of ≥1 dairy animals (cow or buffalo) and by milk production >3.5 L/day. A better understanding of these protective factors might facilitate the development of interventions to promote resilience in future crises.

Agrarian Perspectives XXX. Sources of competitiveness under pandemic and environmental shocks, Proceedings of the 30th International Scientific Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, 15-16 September 2021

These proceedings contain 31 articles on the bioeconomy during the COVID-19 pandemic, discussing topics in connection to: agricultural economics, trade, market competitiveness, agribusiness, prices, and consumer attitudes;tourism and ecotourism;milk production;wheat production;environmental protection in response to infrastructural and climate change;food production;agricultural policy;Twitter communications;and other related topics.