Knowledge Gaps on the Utilization of Fossil Shell Flour in Beef Production: A Review.

Population growth in many countries results in increased demand for livestock production and quality products. However, beef production represents a complex global sustainability challenge, including meeting the increasing demand and the need to respond to climate change and/or greenhouse gas emissions. Several feed resources and techniques have been used but have some constraints that limit their efficient utilization which include being product-specific, not universally applicable, and sometimes compromising the quality of meat. This evokes a need for novel techniques that will provide sustainable beef production and mitigate the carbon footprint of beef while not compromising beef quality. Fossil shell flour (FSF) is a natural additive with the potential to supplement traditional crops in beef cattle rations in response to this complex global challenge as it is cheap, readily available, and eco-friendly. However, it has not gained much attention from scientists, researchers, and farmers, and its use has not yet been adopted in most countries. This review seeks to identify knowledge or research gaps on the utilization of fossil shell flour in beef cattle production, with respect to climate change, carcass, and meat quality. Addressing these research gaps would be a step forward in developing sustainable and eco-friendly beef production.

Communal sheep farmer's knowledge and attitudes on the incidence of gastrointestinal parasites in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Objective: Gastrointestinal parasites (GIPs) negatively impact small ruminant production and productivity nationwide, particularly in tropical and sub-tropic regions. Amongst other nematodes, Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, and Teladorsagia circumcincta are the most common species in small ruminants animals. Thus, this study aimed to investigate communal sheep farmer's knowledge and attitudes toward GIPs in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between September and November 2018 from three agro-ecological zones, namely, arid region, semi-humid, and humid. All data from this study were analysed with the Statistical Analysis System. Results: Of the total of 107 farmers who participated in the study, 69% were males, and 38% were females. Most livestock owners (85%) were aged >46 years old across all the study areas. The majority of farmers (83%) perceived that their animals are susceptible to wireworm (H. contortus) during the hot-wet season, followed by the hot-dry season (14%), with relatively low during the cold season (2%). Most farmers (85%) interviewed revealed that lambs are more exposed to parasitic infection, than mature sheep (15%) across all agro-eco-logical zones. An insignificant number of farmers (8%) with knowledge about GIPs life cycle and its biology (92%) across all agro-ecological zones. This study reveals a significant increase in the occurrence of GIPs over the past few years across all agro-ecological, with largely (67%) attributed to the resistance of the strain to deworming remedies and changes in climatic weather patterns (33%). The farming experience was strongly (p < 0.05) associated with the farmer's gender and age. Helminths were reported significantly higher (p < 0.05) in humid zones than in other agro-ecological zones. Conclusions: This study concludes that most farmers perceived lambs as more susceptible to GIPs than old sheep. Therefore, farmers should be enlightened about the infection and transmission dynamics of the GIPs to develop appropriate control measures against worm infection to boost sheep production in the study area. It was also suggested that farmers should adhere to remedial instruction and adopt rotational deworming programs to avoid anthelmintic resistance.

Biochemical indices and heamtological parameters of goats fed lablab purpureus and vigna unguiculata as supplements to a chloris gayana basal diet.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of forage legume diets on haematological and biochemical indices of Xhosa goats. Eighteen animals, one-year-old, of average live weight 14.13 ±â€¯0.24 kg were assigned, in a completely randomized design, to three treatment diets. Animals were housed individually and sex was equally represented among treatments with 6 animals per treatment. Weights and blood samples were taken every fortnight. A pair of blood samples (5 ml each) were collected from each goat, via jugular vein puncture and were subjected to either haematological or biochemical analysis. The results show that treatment diets and sex significantly (P < 0.05) affected DMI, total gain, ADG, and feed conversion ratio. Treatment diets and sex had no effects (P > 0.05) on serum total proteins, globulins, urea, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and gamma- glutamyl transferase concentrations. The diet influenced albumin was (P < 0.05) while sex influenced ALP concentration (P < 0.05). Measured over time, the plasma concentration of urea and ALP significantly increased (P < 0.05) while creatinine and cholesterol concentration decreased (P < 0.05). Although the overall blood biochemical properties remain unchanged among the treatments and between sexes; treatment by sex, treatment by day and sex by day interactions were significant (P < 0.05). The white blood cells, red blood cell, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, haemoglobin, haematocrit, and platelet and mean platelet volume levels were similar among treatments and between sexes (P > 0.05). The mean cell volume and red cell distribution width were different among treatments (P < 0.05). Treatment diets significantly (P < 0.05) influenced neutrophil (%) content while sex influenced basophile (%) content. In conclusion forage legumes did not cause toxicity in goats or any pathological condition.