Meta-analysis of the relationship between dietary starch intake and enteric methane emissions in cattle from in vivo experiments.

Objective: Different sources and levels of starch in the total mixed ration might result in different rumen fermentation profiles, rumen microbial composition, and enteric methane production. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary starch intake on enteric methane production through a meta-analytical approach by integrating related published studies. Materials and Methods: Papers that provided study results on enteric methane production from cattle fed different sources and levels of starch were selected. A total of 52 publications were filtered based on some specified criteria, comprised of 73 studies focused on enteric methane production in cattle fed a basal diet supplemented with starch. The collected data were subjected to statistical meta-analysis through a mixed methodology model. The p-value and root mean square error (RMSE) were applied as the statistical models. Results: Results showed that increasing the level of dietary starch intake and its digestibility in the rumen as well as increasing propionate significantly decreased the acetate to propionate (A/P) ratio as well as enteric methane production (p < 0.01). Conclusions: It is concluded that the addition of starch to diets mitigates enteric methane production from cattle, primarily through two ways, i.e., manipulation of the protozoa population and alteration to a lower A/P ratio.

Body weight prediction of Belgian Blue crossbred using random forest.

Objective: The aim of this study was to predict the body weight (BW) of a Belgian Blue X Friesian Holstein (BB X FH) crossbred in Indonesia based on morphometrics using random forest. Materials and Methods: A total of 26 BB X FH crossbreds were observed for BW, chest weight (CW), body length (BL), hip height (HH), wither height (WH), and chest girth (CG) from 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270, and 300 days of age. Stepwise regression and random forest were performed using R 3.6.1. Results: The random forest results show that CG is an important variable in estimating BW, with an important variable value of 24.49%. Likewise, the results obtained by stepwise regression show that CG can be an indicator of selection for the BB X FH crossbred. The R squared value obtained from the regression is 0.83, while the R squared value obtained from the random forest (0.86) is greater than the regression. Conclusion: In conclusion, random forest produces a better model than stepwise regression. However, a good simple equation to use to estimate BW is CG.

Biodiversity of Indonesian indigenous buffalo: First review of the status, challenges, and development opportunities.

In Indonesia, the buffalo is important for small and marginal farmers' livelihood and economic development as a source of food, working animal, and tourist attraction. Therefore, an in-depth study is needed to examine challenges and opportunities for buffalo development in Indonesia. In Indonesia, the buffalo is divided into two types: swamp buffalo and river buffalo. The buffalo population in Indonesia has declined significantly. A decrease of approximately 39.35% was recorded from 2022 to 2017. The decline occurred due to low reproduction rate and suboptimal rearing management systems. There are three buffalo-rearing systems: Intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive. The productivity of buffalo is diverse and closely related to the characteristics of the regional agroecosystem, consistent with existing natural resources and rearing management systems. The diversity of buffalo productivity provides a good opportunity to improve productivity. Improvement of buffalo genetics is urgently needed, by improving mating management, etc., especially to reduce potential inbreeding. In recent years, genetic and molecular research on Indonesian buffalo has made progress, including use of molecular markers, such as microsatellites and single-nucleotide polymorphisms, to evaluate genetic diversity within and among buffalo populations across Indonesia. In addition, studies are being conducted on the relationship of genotype mutations that contribute to appearance and phenotypic performance (heat stress, reproduction, behavior, coat color, and production attributes) in buffaloes. Identification of genetic diversity in local buffaloes can be improved using various genetic and genomic techniques. These findings will form a basis for the targeted conservation of local buffaloes in Indonesia. This study aimed to collect information on the genetic resources of the local buffalo, particularly its status and production system and provide recommendations for developing buffalo production in Indonesia.

A review of dairy cattle heat stress mitigation in Indonesia.

Indonesia is a tropical country with a hot climate. In tropical nations such as Indonesia, heat stress is a key reason for the reduced productivity of dairy cattle. Heat stress is a combination of internal and external stimuli that affects an animal, raises its body temperature, and causes it to react physiologically. Most Indonesian dairy cattle are Friesian Holstein (FH), imported from European nations with a temperate environment with low temperatures in the range of 5°C-25°C. Indonesia has a tropical climate with a high ambient temperature that can reach 34°C during the day and the local relative humidity varies between 70% and 90%. Temperature and humidity are two microenvironment factors that may impact the production and heat release in FH cattle. More than 98% of the entire dairy cattle population in Indonesia is found on Java Island. On Java Island, there are between 534.22 and 543.55 thousand heads of cattle, while the dairy cattle population outside Java Island is just 6.59 thousand heads of cattle. The milk output climbs by an average of 3.34% per year, or approximately 909.64 thousand tons and the average annual growth in whole milk consumption was 0.19 L/capita. Indonesian cow milk output has been unable to keep pace with the country's increasing demand. This study aimed to review the strategies to mitigate heat stress in FH dairy cattle in Indonesia.

Effect of choline chloride supplementation on milk production and milk composition of Etawah grade goats.

BACKGROUND: The effect of choline chloride supplementation through forced drinking combined with concentrate diets containing Ca-fish oil on milk production and milk composition of Etawah Grade goats was evaluated. Choline chloride is an essential component in ruminant diets as it is required for fat metabolism. METHOD: The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design with three types of treatments and eight replications. The trial had two successive experimental periods; the first, during the eight weeks of late pregnancy, and the second, during the first 12 weeks of lactation. Twenty-four Etawah Grade does in the second gestation period were divided into three treatment groups. Commercial choline chloride 60 % in corncobs-based powder was used as a source of choline chloride. The treatments were no supplementation (control) and supplemented with either 4 g or 8 g/2days of choline chloride. Choline chloride was given to the animals through a forced drinking technique, after dissolving it in 60 ml drinking water. The initial body weight of does was 38.81 ± 3.66 kg. The does were penned individually, and were given fresh chopped King Grass ad libitum and 700 g/day of concentrate diets containing Ca-fish oil, starting eight weeks prior to expecting kidding and continuing for 12 weeks of parturition. RESULTS: All nutrient intakes were not significantly different (p > 0.05) among the treatments during the late pregnancy and the lactation periods. Supplementation did not affect (p > 0.05) the average daily gains and feed conversion ratio during pregnancy but gave effects (p < 0.05) on the average daily gains, feed conversion ratio and income over feed cost during lactation. The highest average daily milk yields and 4 % fat corrected milk yields were found in goats supplemented with 4 g/2days of choline chloride and increased by 17.00 % and 24.67 %, respectively, compared to the control. Moreover, milk composition percentage and milk constituent yields improved significantly (p < 0.05) in those supplemented with 4 g/2days of choline chloride. CONCLUSION: The supplementation of 4 g/2days of choline chloride through forced drinking increased milk yields, the 4 % fat corrected milk yields, milk composition, milk constituent yields, and improved feed conversion ratio and income over feed cost of Etawah Grade goats.

Worldwide patterns of ancestry, divergence, and admixture in domesticated cattle.

The domestication and development of cattle has considerably impacted human societies, but the histories of cattle breeds and populations have been poorly understood especially for African, Asian, and American breeds. Using genotypes from 43,043 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphism markers scored in 1,543 animals, we evaluate the population structure of 134 domesticated bovid breeds. Regardless of the analytical method or sample subset, the three major groups of Asian indicine, Eurasian taurine, and African taurine were consistently observed. Patterns of geographic dispersal resulting from co-migration with humans and exportation are recognizable in phylogenetic networks. All analytical methods reveal patterns of hybridization which occurred after divergence. Using 19 breeds, we map the cline of indicine introgression into Africa. We infer that African taurine possess a large portion of wild African auroch ancestry, causing their divergence from Eurasian taurine. We detect exportation patterns in Asia and identify a cline of Eurasian taurine/indicine hybridization in Asia. We also identify the influence of species other than Bos taurus taurus and B. t. indicus in the formation of Asian breeds. We detect the pronounced influence of Shorthorn cattle in the formation of European breeds. Iberian and Italian cattle possess introgression from African taurine. American Criollo cattle originate from Iberia, and not directly from Africa with African ancestry inherited via Iberian ancestors. Indicine introgression into American cattle occurred in the Americas, and not Europe. We argue that cattle migration, movement and trading followed by admixture have been important forces in shaping modern bovine genomic variation.