Assessing marbling scores of beef at the 10th rib vs. 12th rib of longissimus thoracis in the slaughter line using camera grading technology in Germany.

Internationally, different Video Image Analysis Systems (VIAS) are established to enable categorization of beef carcasses according to a marbling score as determining part of trading categories. Different established standardized cutting positions of longissimus thoracis, among other reasons, hamper the use of VIAS in European countries. The objective of the study was to explore the potential of a VIAS-based grading system VBG 2000 for the estimation of marbling of carcasses cut according to German standards. The correlation coefficient between the camera assessed marbling scores (n = 354 halves of carcasses) at the 10th rib section at the left and right side achieved 0.89 (P < .01) and 0.80 (P < .01) for camera assessed marbling scores between the right 12th/13th and 10th/11th rib interface of longissmus thoracis. Thus, modification of the cut position towards the US standard provides comparable results, and assessing VIA based marbling scores at the 10th rib is correlated to the 12th rib.

Graph-based impact analysis as a framework for incorporating practitioner knowledge in dairy herd health management.

Production diseases in dairy cows are multifactorial, which means they emerge from complex interactions between many different farm variables. Variables with a large impact on production diseases can be identified for groups of farms using statistical models, but these methods cannot be used to identify highly influential variables in individual farms. This, however, is necessary for herd health planning, because farm conditions and associated health problems vary largely between farms. The aim of this study was to rank variables according to their anticipated effect on production diseases on the farm level by applying a graph-based impact analysis on 192 European organic dairy farms. Direct impacts between 13 pre-defined variables were estimated for each farm during a round-table discussion attended by practitioners, that is farmer, veterinarian and herd advisor. Indirect impacts were elaborated through graph analysis taking into account impact strengths. Across farms, factors supposedly exerting the most influence on production diseases were 'feeding', 'hygiene' and 'treatment' (direct impacts), as well as 'knowledge and skills' and 'herd health monitoring' (indirect impacts). Factors strongly influenced by production diseases were 'milk performance', 'financial resources' and 'labour capacity' (directly and indirectly). Ranking of variables on the farm level revealed considerable differences between farms in terms of their most influential and most influenced farm factors. Consequently, very different strategies may be required to reduce production diseases in these farms. The method is based on perceptions and estimations and thus prone to errors. From our point of view, however, this weakness is clearly outweighed by the ability to assess and to analyse farm-specific relationships and thus to complement general knowledge with contextual knowledge. Therefore, we conclude that graph-based impact analysis represents a promising decision support tool for herd health planning. The next steps include testing the method using more specific and problem-oriented variables as well as evaluating its effectiveness.

Efficacy of homeopathy in livestock according to peer-reviewed publications from 1981 to 2014.

Homeopathy is widely used in livestock, especially in order to reduce the use of antibiotics, although it is often seen as controversial. A comprehensive literature review has been conducted to assess the efficacy of homeopathy in cattle, pigs and poultry. Only peer-reviewed publications dealing with homeopathic remedies, which could possibly replace or prevent the use of antibiotics in the case of infective diseases or growth promotion in livestock were included. Search results revealed a total number of 52 trials performed within 48 publications fulfilling the predefined criteria. Twenty-eight trials were in favour of homeopathy, with 26 trials showing a significantly higher efficacy in comparison to a control group, whereas 22 showed no medicinal effect. Cure rates for the treatments with antibiotics, homeopathy or placebo varied to a high degree, while the remedy used did not seem to make a big difference. Looking at all the studies, no study was repeated under comparable conditions. Consequently, the use of homeopathy currently cannot claim to have sufficient prognostic validity where efficacy is concerned. When striving for high therapeutic success in treatment, the potential of homeopathy in replacing or reducing antibiotics can only be validated if evidence of efficacy is confirmed by randomised controlled trials under modified conditions.

Assessing, and understanding, European organic dairy farmers' intentions to improve herd health.

Many believe the health status of organic dairy herds in Europe should be improved to meet consumers' and legislators' expectations to improve animal welfare. This paper reports on a study in four countries that examined dairy farmers' intentions towards improving the health status of their organic herds through the use of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. It was found that farmers across the countries were positive about taking additional preventative measures to improve the health status of their herds. They believed this would not only improve herd physical performance, such as milk yield and fertility, but also achieve greater cost effectiveness and improved job satisfaction for them. Most study farmers would implement a tailored package of improvement measures designed by the study team with higher uptake most likely being by younger farmers, those who make greater use of veterinarians and professional advisory services, and those supplying specialist milk-marketing chains. Furthermore, farmers will be most likely to take-up additional health promotion if compatible with their everyday activities and if they have strong business performance goals aimed at maximising the physical performance of the herd.

Short communication: Decrease in rumination time as an indicator of the onset of calving.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether rumination time (RT) is affected by the onset of calving. The relationship between both feeding time and dry matter intake (DMI) to the onset of calving was also examined. In addition, the correlation between feeding behavior characteristics, described here as RT, feeding time, and DMI, was evaluated. Under test conditions, the feeding behavior of pregnant Holstein cows was recorded from the time when they were moved into calving pens (usually 7 to 5d prepartum) until the onset of calving. Feeding time and DMI were recorded by automatic feed bins; RT was measured continuously by a measuring halter based on electromyography (DairyCheck; BITSz Engineering GmbH, Zwickau, Germany), which constitutes a new approach regarding feeding behavior detection. Data analysis related to the final 72 h, before the onset of calving, which were divided into twelve 6-h blocks. The last 6h (one 6-h block) before calving were compared with the 72- to 7-h time frame (11 times 6-h blocks) before calving, which was defined as the reference period. For this time period, feeding behavior data for 17 cows was fully available, which was the precondition for data analysis. In the final 6h before imminent birth, RT was significantly reduced. During this time, it was found that the mean minimum RT was 69.9 ± 28.5 min/6h compared with the mean RT of 95.5 ± 30.8 min/6h in the reference period. The average decrease in RT was 27% (25.6 min/6h). In addition, feeding time and DMI were significantly reduced. The average decrease in feeding time was 57% (20.8 min/6h), and in DMI it was 56% (1.9 kg/6h). High correlation coefficients between feeding behavior characteristics were only found between feeding time and DMI. Values of feeding behavior among cows were characterized by high variability. Recording RT can serve as a useful tool for predicting the timing of birth for dairy cows, but further research is necessary.

Airborne biological hazards in different pig fattening systems.

In this research project two organic and two conventional housing systems for fattening pigs are assessed in regard to the emission of microorganisms, endotoxins and dust. The concentrations of microorganisms and endotoxins varied between the different housing systems while no distinct differences for the dust concentrations were observed. Endotoxins concentrations reached up to 14 495 EU/cubic meter median) in deep litter stable, indicating the high exposure with biological agents during farm work. The differences between the stables could not be assigned to the organic or conventional kind of husbandry but to the management of the systems.

Effects of on-farm diets for organic pig production on performance and carcass quality.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of a restriction to home-grown feedstuffs and abstinence from supplementation with synthetic amino acids (AA), as ideal objectives in organic pig production according to the IFOAM standards, on growth performance and carcass characteristics. One hundred individually housed pigs were allocated to four dietary treatments and fed from growing through finishing to compare three organic barley/wheat-based diets with an isocaloric conventional diet supplemented with synthetic AA. Protein sources in the organic treatments were either faba beans, supplemented with potato protein to the same AA level as the control diet, peas and lupines, or faba beans and lupines, both without further supplementation, leading to a lower level of limited AA. Supplementation of organic diets with potato protein resulted in the same performance as supplementing the conventional diet with synthetic AA, although crude protein levels differed markedly. Pigs fed the organic diets without AA supplementation grew more slowly (P < .05) and had a decreased feed intake in the grower period (P < .05) but nearly the same feed efficiency (P > .05) as pigs fed conventional or organic diets with AA supplementation. Carcass characteristics differed in percentage of lean meat and longissimus area, being lower in the treatments without AA supplementation (P < .05). However, the intramuscular fat was higher without AA supplementation (2.9% fat) than with supplementation (1.2% fat) (P < .01). The data show that the exclusion of AA supplementation resulted in a reduction in pig performance but in an increase in intramuscular fat content; the latter is an important aspect of eating quality characteristics.

[Characteristic features of ecological animal husbandry]. / Grundzüge der Okologischen Tierhaltung.

In recent years conventional livestock farming has been impressively successful referring to the increase in performance of farm animals and to the decrease in production costs. On the contrary, following the dictate of production-intensification, animal health and welfare as well as environmentally friendly production have been pushed into the background because of being cost- and labour-intensive. Evaluations of animal health status of farm animals indicate that a considerable number of farm animals cannot cope with the requests of increase in performance. This may be due either to physiological limits or inadequate housing and management conditions. Ecological animal husbandry as an integrative Part of organic farming is an alternative to the previous development, aiming at high quality standards concerning animal health and welfare as well as environmentally friendly production. Farmers have to follow the code of practice before being entitled to label their products as organic food and demand for premium prices. The willingness of an increasing number of consumers to pay premium prices enables the farmers to balance the economical pressure on the production costs and on the yields of the farm animals. While the code of practice limits the amount of area-born products, options are gained for the optimization of the production process for the benefit of the farm animals and the environment. The capacities of ecological animal husbandry for high process quality standards are discussed hypothetically. Due to the phenomenon of various influences and interactions there is still a lack of methodology in order to assess the process qualities and the implications of different farming strategies in a complex and objective manner, resulting in a new challenge for natural science to establish a methodology that enables a more comprehensive approach.

[Appropriateness of animal rights in housing conditions in animal husbandry of domestic animals]. / Zur Beurteilung der Tiergerechtheit von Haltungsbedingungen landwirtschaftlicher Nutztiere.

Along with a general redirection of values in agriculture, the need for action arises for veterinary medicine and other life sciences to establish suitable tools for the objective assessment of housing conditions with regard to their appropriateness concerning animal welfare. First communication between the disciplines involved demands a uniform use of terms. Assessment can be carried out generally either directly by using pathological, physiological and ethological reactions of the animals as criteria or indirectly by the means of technical criteria. Both approaches can indicate poor or good conditions with regard to animal welfare and are generally agreed upon. However using these measures in practise often yields problems referring to the methodology and to the results that are hard to interpret. Criteria referring to the state of the animals have a reduced meaningfulness due to the following aspects: A lot of criteria are lacking sensibility and specificity, which leads to a small diagnostic selectivity. A large number of sources for variance aggravate the use of reference values in order to distinguish between normal or abnormal levels. In many cases there is a lack of firm evidence that the level of changes correlates with the health and welfare of the animals. Due to contradictions caused by the differing properties of the variables being measured the measures do not always co-vary. Results and conclusions of the assessments are closely connected to the specific experimental design and cannot easily be transferred to the housing conditions in practice showing a large variance. Therefore criteria referring to the animals can be used primarily for the assessment of standardized or serial produced housing systems, where a direct comparison between systems is permissible. In order to find out the weak points of the housing conditions concerning animal welfare, on-farm assessment can be carried out more advantageous by using design criteria. Those criteria can be divided into structural and technical elements on the one hand and management born factors like hygiene, climate and feeding on the other. The use of structural and technical elements as criteria ensures a high level or repeatability of the results and practicability in the application. However, a confinement to structural and technical elements went along with a marked reduction in the meaningfulness of the assessment. The use of management born factors is governed by the specific situation. The variation of results depend to a high degree on the time of evaluation. Statements of the real situation within a longer period of time therefore require great efforts. Due to the complex phenomenon there is justified concern that a comprehensive assessment and conclusion referring to the appropriateness of housing conditions concerning animal welfare is not possible. Few criteria cannot be equated with the whole. However, partial statements can be achieved under a scientific point of view using a mixture of different criteria. In order to integrate and weigh the varied results reached by different criteria, a systemic approach and an integrative way of diagnosis is needed. Up to now there is a lack in matured concepts that put the integrative approach of assessment into practice.

[Animal welfare standards in ecological animal husbandry and the possibilities of their regulation]. / Tierschutznormen in der ökologischen Nutztierhaltung und Möglichkeiten zu ihrer Kontrolle.

There is an ethic claim to an increasing consideration of animal welfare in agricultural husbandry. To put this in practise requires the consumer's willingness to pay higher prices for food, produced according to animal's needs. A growing number of consumers is willing to do that. For the higher price the consumer expects a product-security, which guarantees processing standards by transparent criteria and inspection. Guidelines in organic agriculture regulate standards of animal welfare and environmental friendly production. Standards of animal welfare are far beyond those in protection of animals legislation. Nevertheless, they don't allow a general judgement about animal welfare in husbandry systems on organic ruled farms. A practicable and conclusive valuation-concept is necessary. It is referred to the animal needs index as a concept for valuation, which is already tested in practice.