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This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of earlier weaning in addition to biocholine supplementation on age at puberty of Brangus heifers. Brangus calves were randomized and divided into three weaning ages groups, at 30 (Hyper-early weaning; HW), 75 (Early weaning; EW) and 180 days (Conventional weaning; CW). Then, calves were supplemented using the additive Biocholine (BIO) or not (CON). Animals were subjected to puberty induction and the presence of estrus was observed for 7 days. In addition, transrectal ultrasonography was performed to assess the ovarian activity and the presence of corpus luteum to determine heifer puberty. We also evaluated the body weight (BW; Kg), hip height (HH; cm), thoracic perimeter (TP; cm) and BW:HH ratio during the experimental period. BIO group showed higher ADG (226 g/day) when the animals were exposed to ryegrass pasture compared to CON (P 0.05). We observed an interaction between weaning x biocholine and CW-BIO heifers showed greater HH more compared to CW-CON (P 0.05). Overall, animals that have reached puberty at day 8 after puberty induction showed 331.0 ± 5.04 kg BW, 122.0 ± 0.56 cm HH and 165.4 ± 0.75 cm TP and 2.7 ± 0.03 BW:HH. At the time of ovulation detection, the heifers from the HW group had 32.1 kg BW, 3.93 cm HH and 0.18 cm BW:HH greater compared to CW (P 0.05). The BIO supplementation together with ryegrass pasture, led to an increase in ADG weight throughout the evaluated period. We concluded that HW heifers showed an adequate body development throughout the experimental period until puberty appearance at the same age as others weaned groups.

The present systematic review and meta-analysis aim to summarize the effects of maternal undernutrition or overnutrition during pregnancy on the absolute weight and relative weight of the organs (liver, kidneys, heart, spleen, and lung) and glands (adrenal, pancreas, and thyroid) measured during gestation, birth and the postnatal period in lambs. After completing the search, selection, and data extraction steps, the measure of effect was generated by the individual comparison of each variable response compared with the average of the control and treated group (undernutrition or overnutrition) using the DerSimonian and Laird method for random effects. The liver was the organ most affected by maternal undernutrition, as the absolute weight of the liver was reduced during pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. The extent of this effect is related to the duration of the intervention. Reductions in the absolute fetal weight of the lungs and spleen have also been observed. No change in organs weight were observed when the results were expressed as relative weight. For overnutrition, the fetal weight of the liver was reduced to both absolute and relative values. In contrast, the relative weight of the kidneys has been increased. For the glands analyzed, no changes in weight were observed in either scenario (absolute or relative weight). Thus, the organs are more likely to suffer weight changes, especially during pregnancy, as a result of maternal nutrition. However, this change in organ weight seems to be closely related to the reduction in body weight of the progeny as a whole.

Society and animal professionals are increasingly concerned about the pain management during routine husbandry procedures in farm animals. In this paper, we aim to identify the factors that affect Brazilian veterinarians’ and animal scientists’ perceptions about the level of pain cattle experience during castration and horn removal. An online survey was conducted with these professionals, resulting in a sample size of 147 participants. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-squares tests, Fisher exact tests, and Mann-Whitney U tests. The results of descriptive statistics showed that the most frequently, the most and the least painful technique quoted, for castration, was scalpel, burdizzo, and immunocastration, respectively; and for horn removal, hot iron (for newborn and suckled calves) and saw/wires (for adult cattle), knife, and caustic paste, respectively. Women assessed cattle pain higher than men professionals for castration in newborn calves. Higher mean scores for the pain perception were associated to painful indicators: heart and/or respiration rate during castration in newborn and suckled calves; and defensive movements during horn removal in adult cattle. Those respondents who were more likely to perceived high level of pain also scored higher pain for (i) newborn calves when toxic agent or immunocastration were used to castrate; (ii) suckled calves dehorned/disbudded with chemical methods or dehorners; and (iii) all cattle ages when surgical methods or burdizzo were used for castration and amputation techniques or hot iron, for horn removal. Professionals that perceived higher level of pain in both painful procedures agreed more with the statements “Farm animals are not as sensitive to pain as pets” and “If there are no defensive movements, there is no need for pain mitigation use” than those that perceived lower level of pain. The pain estimation is subjective, but our results illustrate the importance of the management and individual/professional aspects on pain perception. Finally, our study highlights that improvement in pain perception by veterinary and animal scientists regarding castration and horn removal in cattle is required.

The interruption of the maternal-filial bond in young calves can alter the physiological responses due to increased stress at this moment. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the association between age at weaning and the immune responses of 64 beef calves weaned abruptly. The animals were distributed in three weaning (W) treatments: hyper-early (W30), early (W75) and conventional (W180). The treatments agree with the weaning ages used in cow-calf systems in South America. Blood samples were collected of all experimental animals on the day of weaning and days 1, 2 and 7 post-weaning day of the three treatments. Blood samples were used to analyze hematological variables, total plasma proteins (TPP), fibrinogen, serum amyloid A protein (SAA) and cortisol. The variables analyzed were influenced by the sampling day (P 0.001) and the calf gender (P 0.05), and an interaction between treatment x sampling day was observed. Over the study period, high serum cortisol levels were observed for W30 calves. The serum amyloid A protein was significantly influenced by sampling day. When compared to W180 calves, W30 and W75 animals showed prolonged concentrations in plasma fibrinogen. In addition, they presented neutrophilia and lymphopenia during the 180-187 days period, which resulted in a greater neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (N:L ratio). Calf gender resulted in changes in the number of blood leukocytes (P 0.05). This result provides an alert for weaning at an early age, indicating that different management strategies must be tested to minimize physiological instabilities in critical periods of the life of animals.

Seminal plasma (SP) contributes to sperm physiology and metabolism, prevents premature capacitation, and protects sperm against oxidative stress. In order to evaluate the impact of heat stress in the semen of tropically adapted Brangus breed and in their seminal plasma proteome, we studied the effects of scrotal insulation for 72 h. Semen samples from six bulls, between 7 and 8 years of age, were collected prior to scrotal insulation (pre-insulation), and at 4 and 11 wk after insulation. Seminal plasma samples were analyzed by 2D SDS-PAGE and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Insulation caused decrease in vigour, gross and total motility after 4 wk of scrotal insult (P 0.001). Total defects in sperm were higher after 4 wk compared to pre-insulation and 11 wk after scrotal insulation (P 0.001). The analysis of the 2D protein profile of the SP resulted in the identification 183 unique protein spots in all gels evaluated. There was no difference in mean number of protein spots amongst time points. Eight protein spots were more abundant in SP after scrotal insulation, returning to the same expression level at 11 wk post-insulation. One spot had higher abundance at 11 wk post-insulation, and one spot had decreased abundance 4 wk after insulation. The ten protein spots with differential abundance amongst time points were identified as Seminal plasma protein PDC-109, Seminal plasma protein A3, Seminal plasma protein BSP-30 kDa, Spermadhesin-1 and Metalloproteinase inhibitor 2. The validation of these five proteins as biomarkers for thermal testicular stress in Brangus breed would allow the development of new biotechnologies that could improve bovine semen analysis in breeding systems in tropical and subtropical conditions. A close association between the identified BSP and Spermadhesin-1 was evidenced in protein-protein interaction analysis. Based on gene ontology analysis, variation in sperm function after insulation could be explained by variation in the expressed proteins in the SP. Further studies are required to verify if these proteins could be used as biomarkers for the identification of bulls with increased seminal resistance to heat stress in Brangus breed.

Scrotal circumference (SC) is considered a useful tool for predicting age at puberty and is performed to improve the reproductive performance in beef cattle industry. We aimed to fit several nonlinear mixed models for SC measurements of five different breeds to better predict testicular growth. Data of SC (cm), body weight (BW; kg), and age (A; days), farm location, sire and dam, and birth dates of 169,094 beef bulls were collected from five breeds: Nelore (N) (n = 110,814); Angus (AA) (n = 6541); Brangus (BA) (n = 42,910); Polled Hereford and Hereford (HH) (n = 4640); and Braford (BH) (n = 7480). Data comprise a total of 8640 sires and 115,172 dams and grouped in 2908 contemporary groups (CG). The full model development for SC was defined as: SC = CG + A + A*A + BW + BW*BW + Ɛ. Bulls from HH (34.1 ± 3.2) and AA (33.5 ± 3.0) had the highest value of SC, followed by BH (32.2 ± 3.7), BA (30.6 ± 4.1), and N (26.9 ± 3.6). There was a curvilinear effect of BW on the SC measurements of HH and AA bulls, reaching the maximum point around 600 kg, whether both breeds presented a similar testicular growth pattern. In British breeds, inflection points of average daily SC growth of 0.039 and 0.042 cm/kg were obtained from 700 kg HH and 600 kg AA bulls, respectively. Scrotal circumference values of 0.042 and 0.046 cm/kg reaching the maximum growth point at 450 kg BW were obtained for BH and BA bulls, respectively. We also observed SC values of 0.044 and 0.048 cm/d reaching the maximum growth point at 550 d of age for BH and BA bulls, respectively. Thus, estimate testicular size at maturity should be measured between 500 and 600 kg BW in British genotypes and between 550 and 600 d in Bos indicus and crossbreeds animals. Therefore, SC adjustment can be used by breed-specific criteria associated with BW and/or age to determine testis growth as a selection criterion in beef cattle breeding programs.

The manipulation of growth can be used as a strategy to reduce feeding costs. The objective of this study was to analyze, by deterministic and stochastic simulation, compensatory growth effects on the bioeconomic results of growing-finishing beef cattle systems. Four beef cattle systems were simulated with different feed restriction periods (no restriction, CONT; 90 days of restriction, COMP90; 120 days of restriction, COMP120; and 150 days of restriction, COMP150). Risk analysis was performed using the Monte Carlo method. Animals in feed restriction systems demonstrated partial compensation and required longer periods to achieve slaughter weight than CONT steers (16, 23 and 27 more days for COMP90, COMP120 and COMP150, respectively). The CONT system was the most productive (466 kg/ha/year), followed by COMP90 (443 kg/ha/year), COMP120 (432 kg/ha/year), and COMP150 (383 kg/ha/year). The most profitable system was the COMP90 system (US$ 161/ha) followed by the CONT (US$ 144/ha). The lower net margin was observed in the COMP120 (US$ 107/ha) and COMP150 (US$ 90/ha) systems. The risk analysis showed that COMP90 presented the highest financial stability. For all simulated systems, prices of finished steers, feeder calves, and corn were the variables with the greatest effects on net margin. The use of compensatory growth can be a tool to reduce feeding costs in beef cattle systems; however, the feed restriction must not be longer than three months.

The evaluation of testicular hemodynamics can contribute significantly to the understanding of the thermoregulatory mechanisms and oxygen supply of the testis in domestic animals. The present study aimed to characterize circulatory dynamics using the mean velocity (MV), pulsatility index (PI) and resistive index (RI) of the supratesticular artery in bulls. We evaluated 334 bulls of five different breeds (Nelore, Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, Braford and Brangus) by performing a velocimetry analysis using Doppler ultrasonography. Data were compared by Welch's ANOVA, Games-Howell (post-hoc test) and Spearman correlation with a significance level of 5%. The overall MV of 12.14 ± 0.30 cm/s differed among breeds. In addition, we observed that Brangus bulls showed higher (P 0.05) MV (16.28 ± 1.02 cm/s) compared to Nelore bulls (8.76 ± 0.40 cm/s). The RI had an overall mean of 0.41 ± 0.01 and differed among breeds. We observed higher (P 0.05) RI values in Hereford (0.44 ± 0.01) compared to Brangus (0.36 ± 0.02) animals. Overall, the PI values (0.33 ± 0.01) did not differ (P 0.05) among breeds. The correlation between the PI and RI (0.936; P 0.001) was high and positive; however, the correlations were low and negative between MV and the PI (-0.228; P 0.001) and between MV and the RI (-0.270; P 0.001). We concluded that there are differences in the MV and RI of the bulls' supratesticular arteries among the different evaluated breeds. Moreover, the presented values attributed to blood flow dynamics can serve as parameters in future studies and can be used to identify alternative diagnostic tools for infertility or to understand issues of adaptability in bulls.

Nutritional requirements at the end of gestation in ewes carrying multiple fetuses are rarely fully met in pasture production systems. Thus, concentrate feeds entail an alternative for increasing herd productivity. However, daily offer of complementary feed in extensive livestock production systems is not always possible due to climatic or geographic constraints or to labor shortages. One alternative is to offer large amounts of concentrate feed with the addition of NaCl that limits voluntary consumption, eliminating the need for daily supplement delivery. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of high salt levels added to concentrate feed on pre- and post-lambing twin-gestating ewes and their responses on feed intake, colostrum and milk production and composition, plasma biochemical profile variation and lamb growth. Twenty-four adult Corriedale females were housed in individual stalls and divided into four treatments: S13: ad libitum concentrate feed plus 13 % of salt; C13: the same amount of concentrate feed consumed by S13 ewes the day before, but without salt; S17: ad libitum concentrate feed with 17 % of salt, and C17: the same amount of concentrate feed consumed by S17 ewes the day before, but without salt. Fresh water and forage were offered in ad libitum amounts. Treatments were applied in the period of highest ewe nutrient demand, from day 123 of pregnancy to day 21 of lactation. The four percentage points in salt content resulted in a decrease of organic matter daily intake of concentrate (23 % of reduction in pre-lambing and 35 % of reduction in post-lambing for S17 relative to S13; P = 0.0134 and P = 0.0164, respectively). Lamb birth weights were similar between S13 and C13 (P = 0.1002) and between S17 and C17 (P = 0.8449) treatments. Colostrum and milk production did not differ between S13 and C13 (P = 0.9776 and P = 0.8928, respectively) or between S17 and C17 groups (P = 0.4943 and P = 0.7705, respectively). Plasma insulin, hematocrit and total protein levels were not influenced by the treatments and these parameters remained within normal physiological limits. Thus, the addition of 13 or 17 % of salt to concentrate feed did not affect the reproductive capacity of ewes or offspring growth, showing that ewes are able to withstand high doses of NaCl and supporting the potential of salt as a limiter of voluntary intake in pre- and post-lambing diets.

The Brazilian beef cattle supply chain has undergone technological modernisation in its production systems, resulting in better productivity, meat quality and competitiveness. The research aims to identify the megatrends in the Brazilian beef cattle supply chain expected by 2040. The Delphi method was used to identify the challenges. Scenarios were created and ten megatrends were defined: i) biological advances in waste management; ii) biotechnological transformation of beef farming; iii) less grass and more meat; iv) profits based on animal welfare; v) consolidated livestock with major players; vi) more natural and quality-demanding slaughterhouses; vii) meat with a designation of origin; viii) digital technology that transforms the entire supply chain; ix) availability of qualified labour; x) Brazil as a major exporter of meat and genetics. The development of this research has economic, social and environmental implications for both the public and private spheres. In the international scenario, Brazil could be a major exporter of meat and probably animal genetics, specialised and with added value. Global advances in the supply chain will come from highly technical, professional and competitive livestock production, mainly based on technology and quality.

Weaning calves at a young age can generate great stress, but it is widely practiced in the industry despite that. So, to what extend weaning in early ages is more stressful than at later ones, in terms of the amount of stress, is currently unknown. Thus, we studied the behavioural and physiological impacts in beef calves at three ages at weaning (30, 75, and 180 days) and the consequences of the calf's sex. Thirty-six calves were weaned and distributed in hyper-early (W30), early (W75), and conventional (W180) weaning groups, which are weaning ages that occur in practice. Behavioural activities and physiological parameters were measured on days 0, 1, 2, and 7 after weaning. Canonical component analysis (CCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to evaluate behavioural and physiological parameters. The variables analysed were influenced by the treatment, day of evaluation and interaction between treatment × day, and without effect for sex. The younger the calf, the greater the intensity of responses to the weaning stress. In this sense, the behavioural results (percentages of observations ± SEM) demonstrate that on D0, W30 calves emitted more extreme vocalization (61 %) compared to W75 (15 %) and W180 (0%) (P

This manuscript analyzes the land use changes and its conjectural drivers in the Brazilian Pampa Biome. Therefore, land use changes in the municipalities of this biome were collected from the Brazilian Agricultural Censuses of 1975, 1985, 1995/1996 and 2006. To analyze the changes in the land use for natural pastures, pampa’s microregions were compared in 10-year by a relative growth rate. There has been a 26% decrease in natural pastures in the Brazilian Pampa Biome since 1975, with a negative growth of −12.5% between 1975 and 1985. The activities with the highest growth were cultivated forests and temporary crops (1985–2005), and the increment of the area dedicated for those agricultural activities was related to the decrease in the area of natural pastures in the Pampa. Temporary crops (soy) and cultivated forests (forestry) began to integrate Pampa’s landscape mainly between 1995 and 2005, changing the native configuration of the biome. Finally, sharing information on the Brazilian Pampa Biome phenomena will facilitate future dialogue among all stakeholders, and this manuscript is expected to contribute to the global debate on the conservation of natural landscapes, especially natural grasslands.

The application of feeding strategies (FS) to meet nutrient requirements of beef cattle grazing on native pastures during the dry season, are required to improve the productivity of production systems in tropical regions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bioeconomic effects of different FSs applied to yearling bulls in Mozambique, using modeling and simulations as tools to support decision making. A simple deterministic simulation model was developed, assuming initial body weight (120 kg), average daily gain (ADG), feedstuffs, and production costs as inputs. FSs were simulated for a total of 120 days within four ADG systems: 0.000 kg (S000), 0.200 kg (S200), 0.400 kg (S400), and 0.600 kg/d (S600), and three diets were simulated for the positive and maintenance ADG systems, totaling 12 FS. The effects of 12 FS combinations were analyzed and a sensitivity analysis was performed. The effect of the change in the inputs of the model (feedstuffs purchase and calf purchase price) showed the sensitivity of the model to economic parameters (Gross Margin and Net Profit). The negative ADG (-0.200 kg) system (S-200) had the highest labor cost. Corn bran, considering its availability and low cost in the studied region, is a promising feedstuff for concentrates. Effective operational cost (EOC) was higher than 99% in all FSs. S-200, S000, and FS5 within the S200 system resulted in negative net profit (NP) values. Net profit proportionally increased as ADG increased. FS12 (Hyparrhenia rufa, corn bran, and Sesbania sesban) of S600 promoted the highest ratio (NP/total operation cost) (0.48), and consequently, the highest profitability (32.37%). In general, the simulation model shows that, in native and communal pasture beef production systems in regions of Africa with similar production conditions, the productivity of yearling beef cattle during the dry season may be improved by applying feeding strategies.

This study evaluated the effect of rice straw supplementation on cow-calf systems and the effect of increasing stocking rates on bio-economic efficiency. Three production systems were compared in which pregnant females were supplemented with different levels of rice straw in the prepartum: 1) 20 cows in 9 hectares (ha) of natural pasture without rice straw supplementation and stocking rate of 1,000 kg of body weight (BW)/ha (RSH0); 2) 30 cows in 13.5 ha of natural pasture receiving 5 kg of rice straw/animal/day and 1,000 kg BW/ha stocking (RSH5); and 3) 60 cows in 14 ha of natural pasture with 10 kg of rice straw/animal/day and stocking rate of 2,000 kg BW/ha (RSH10). The body condition score (BCS), cow weight at calving (CWC), and calf birth weight (CBW) were recorded on the first day and every 30 days. After calving, cows were moved to oat pasture (Avena strigosa) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) with mineral supplementation where BW and BCS were evaluated every 30 days, and a transrectal ultrasound was performed every 15 days to determine the interval of parturition ovulation (IPO). Cows were separated in two groups and a fixed-time artificial insemination was performed (d130 and d165), followed 61 days of natural mating (d140-d175) and a gestation diagnosis 30 days after natural breeding (d231-d266) to verify the pregnancy rate (PR). Data comparison was performed by SPSS and productivity and gross margin (GM) were analyzed. We observed no difference in BCS between the beginning of prepartum until the parturition, nor in CWC, BW, IPO, and PR. The productivity and GM of RSH10 were 44.2 and 40.2% higher than RSH0 and 46.8 and 45% higher than RSH5, respectively. Thus, rice straw in the final third of gestation for cows in natural pasture allows the maintenance of cow's productive and reproductive parameters, as well as increased productivity while intensifying the system.

Visual and thermography methods were compared for ectoparasites counting in cattle.Ectoparasites were cooler than the body of the animals in the thermographic images.The correlation between visual and thermographic method was 0.82 for horn flies.Ticks had a lower correlation which depended on hair cover.Thermographic method was more accurate than visual methods for counting external ectoparsites in cattle. The aim of this study was to compare standard visual methods with infrared thermography combined with a program that contrasted points in the image analysis for automatic counting of ectoparasites (ticks and horn flies) in cattle under pasture conditions. Twenty Holstein cows, 10 Devon cows and 10 Braford bulls were used. External parasites were visually counted and thermographic images taken with a FLIRź T300 camera. Images were processed in Quick reportź and parasites also were counted using ImageJź. Ectoparasites were cooler than the body of the animals in the thermographic images and therefore were easily highlighted by Quick reportź program. In the case of ticks, they were especially visible when gravid female ticks were engorged but difficult to observe when hair was long. Horn flies stood out perfectly on thermographic images and were seen down to 3mm in length. The correlation between visual and thermographic combined with a program counts method was 0.82 for horn flies. The correlation between these methods was 0.32 for the ticks on the lateral of the animal and 0.84 for the ticks on the distal of the animal. The regression between visual and thermographic measures for horn fly was highly significant for the three breeds. The use of thermographic images combined with a program for automatic counting was a useful tool and more accurate than the standard visual methods for counting external ectoparsites in cattle.

In southern Brazil, beef cattle production systems generally rely on grazing on natural pastures. However, their forage production, and consequently metabolizable energy (ME) production, is seasonal and influenced by climatic events. Thus, there is a scientific and commercial interest in evaluating and understanding the biological impacts of intensification using pasture irrigation and the effects of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena on the long term on the productivity of cow-calf systems. Therefore, our objective was to develop a simulation model to evaluate the effects of intensification levels, using cultivated pastures and irrigation, on the productivity and on the efficiency metabolizable energy utilization of beef cow-calf systems in a 10-year horizon. This period allows capturing the effects of several production cycles as influenced by ENSO events. The model includes three submodels: herd structure, herd ME requirements, and forage ME production. The results of the present study demonstrate that the proposed model is able to evaluate the influence of intensification of grazing systems on metabolizable energy production, carrying capacity, productivity and biological efficiency of beef cow-calf systems over a long-term horizon. Productivity was increased in 15.9% when 20% of the grazing area was intensified and irrigated compared with the modeled non-intensified system, independently of climatic events. The main productive response was the increase in the number of dams in the herd, especially as a result of the use of irrigation. This study proposes different alternatives for increasing the productivity of beef cow-calf systems in southern Brazil.

Recent studies have shown that cattle practitioners are concerned about painful conditions and procedures. An understanding of the attitudes toward pain is fundamental to encourage the use of pain relief in cattle. The goal of this study was to investigate the factors that influence Brazilian professionals toward the use of pain mitigation in cattle, primarily during castration and horn removal (e.g. dehorning, disbudding). To reach this objective, an online survey was conducted with veterinarians and animal scientists. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics, chi-squares tests, Fisher exact tests, and Mann-Whitney U tests. The final sample was composed of 147 respondents. Results of descriptive statistics showed that the use of medicine before a painful procedure (i.e., anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, or sedative-analgesic), was higher for adult cattle than for suckled and newborn calves. In newborn calves, those respondents who were more likely to use pain relief agreed with the statements that i) there is missing information about pain control during castration and ii) defensive movements shown by an animal during or after a procedure to justify pain mitigation in horn removal. The primary reasons for choosing a medicine were similar for both procedures: cost, anti-inflammatory effect, analgesic potency, duration of analgesic effect, duration of sedative effect, and route of administration. There was no difference in professional’s decade of birth and pain mitigation use. These results may be useful to decide how to optimize the use of drugs by veterinary and animal science professions, and continuing education should help to increase pain mitigation usage.

The purpose of this paper is to note the importance of market orientation in agribusiness and to describe the relevance of market-oriented traceability in the export of beef from the Brazilian Legal Amazon, one of the most scrutinised areas of the world in terms of environmental risks. The study is of a descriptive nature and it uses bibliographic references and secondary data to discuss bovine traceability in the context of deforestation of the Brazilian Legal Amazon and its consequences for international beef trade. Analysed data include those related to the Amazon Region and the following aspects are considered: deforestation dynamics, consumer demands, the volume of exported meat and traceability as a prerequisite for meat export based on the market orientation theory. The results indicated that, according to market orientation, beef certification is a prerequisite for meat produced in the Brazilian Amazon Region for maintaining and expanding a sustainable share of the international markets without the burden of presumptive deforestation. The findings markedly affect primary beef production in the region analysed and the local production systems are forced to adapt to the demands of consumers who are anxious to be assured that the environmental footprint of livestock produced is mitigated worldwide, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon. Concerns regarding the environmental impact of animal production are crucial in the promotion of sustainability of agriculture production, furthermore the major drivers of sustainability in agriculture are the demands of the food market.

The intent of this study was to demonstrate the potential of biodiesel derived crude glycerin as a good alternative for an energy feedstuff in dairy cow diets. Eight multiparous Jersey cows with 85 ± 20 days in milk were used. The following treatments were evaluated: 0, 40, 80, and 120 g crude glycerin (containing 814.4 g glycerol/kg) dietary inclusion/kg dry matter. The experimental diets contained equal protein and energy levels. A replicated Latin square experimental design was applied. Crude glycerin intake did not influence average daily milk yield, energy corrected milk yield, or crude fat, lactose, and total milk solids average daily yield and concentration. Milk protein concentration was higher when 120 g crude glycerin was included in the diet when compared with the control group (37.2 vs. 36.1 g/kg, respectively, P

The aim of this study was to typify competitiveness on beef cattle farms from the western border region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Sixty-three farmers, each with an individual farm area exceeding 900 ha, were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire, divided in four sections: technology (TEC), management (MAN), market relationships (MR) and institutional environment (IE). Data were analysed using Cluster and Discriminant analyses. Beef cattle producers were divided into three levels of competitiveness: low (LCL), medium (MCL) and high (HCL). Comparing LCL × MCL, the former group of farmers showed lower levels of pasture and reproduction management than the latter (subfactors within TEC). When LCL × HCL were compared, the main differences were the lower access to technological innovation and low investment with herd genetics of LCL compared with HCL. The lower level of management activities (performance recording, animal handling and calculation of financial parameters) of MCL compared with HCL were the main variables that differ between these farms. Cattle producers interviewed here were, in general, competitive, mainly due to the use of technologies on farm. However, there were limitations in the variables related to management.