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This study aimed to evaluate the growth performance and health status of commercial pigs in different body weight (BW) groups and develop methods for identifying slow-growing pigs. The research observed 79 commercial pigs grouped from 104 to 202 days of age, collecting data on BW, feed intake, and body condition score (BCS) from caliper. Results showed that BCS were highly correlated with BW (r > 0.85, P < 0.001), providing a simple method for assessing commercial pig BW. Commercial pigs with slaughter BWs below 114 kg at approximately 200 days old were identified as slow-growing individuals. White blood cell count, insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3, and blood urea nitrogen were identified as potential biomarkers for identifying slow-growing pigs. Economic analysis revealed that profitability across all BW groups was highly sensitive to market conditions, with feed costs being the most significant factor. Low BW groups performed better in low-price markets but reach break-even points later under medium to high-price scenarios., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The increase in average global temperatures presents a challenge for the beef industry, especially in the feedlot sector where heat stress is a major animal welfare and economic concern. Shade is one of the most practical methods to mitigate heat stress in feedlot cattle. An experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design with 1 560 Bos indicus bulls (initial BW=287 kg) where three shade structure types were used to investigate the effects of different heat stress mitigation methods on cattle growth performance, environmental, and economic outcomes using live animal data, and a partial lifecycle assessment using the Integrated Farm System Model. The live animal portion of the experiment was done once a year over a 2-year period with three pen replications per treatment per year (n = 6 per treatment). Four shade structures used were conventional shade (SC; steel shade 1.8 m 2 of shade/animal), double conventional shade (DS; steel shade 3.6 m 2 of shade/animal), dome structures without fans (DSA; 8.5 m 2 /animal with 98% solar radiation blocked), and domes with fans (DCA; DSA plus three large sized low-speed fans). Each pen held 65 bulls in an area of 570 m 2 . Live animal data were analyzed as a completely randomized design using the GLM procedure of SAS (version 9.4) with shade type as fixed effect, pen as the experimental unit, and repetition (year) considered a random effect. Cattle housed under DCA had 22 and 20 kg heavier final body BW (P < 0.05) compared to those housed under SC and DS, respectively. Final BW of DCA and DSA cattle were similar (P > 0.05). Average daily gain, feed efficiency, and hot carcass weight were greater (P < 0.05) for cattle housed under DCA compared to the rest of the shade types. Dry matter intake was not affected (P > 0.05). When treatment results were extrapolated to the annual feedlot turnover of 209,700 animals, cattle in DSA and DCA versus SC and DS had 3-8% reductions in greenhouse gas and ammonia emission intensities. Compared to SC, DCA increased profitability by $29.66/animal, followed by DSA and DS with profit increases of $5.79 and $8.90/animal, respectively. Overall, the implementation of advanced shade structures improved cattle performance and profitability while reducing the environmental impact of beef production., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Adequate neutral detergent insoluble fiber (NDF) content in the total diet can improve intake efficiency, prevent rumen disorders, and enhance the health and performance of feedlot-finished beef cattle. We hypothesized that an increase in dietary fiber levels would decrease the productive performance but increase the economic performance of young bulls in confinement. Thus, it was aimed to evaluate the effect of increasing fiber levels on feed intake, wastage, and productive and economic performance of Nellore young bulls finished in confinement. We used 20 Nellore cattle, non-castrated males, 30 months old, and average body weight (BW) of 416.35 ± 2.2 kg distributed in a completely randomized design, kept in individual stalls. Animals were divided into four treatments consisting of four levels of neutral detergent insoluble fiber (NDF) (25%, 30%, 35%, and 40% NDF) in total DM. Nutrient intake, feed conversion, feed waste, body weight (BW) at slaughter, total weight gain (TWG), average daily gain (ADG), hot carcass weight (HCW), and carcass yield (CR) were evaluated. In addition, economic parameters (revenue, food expenses, and gross margin) were calculated and compared. The dry matter (DMI), organic matter (OMI), crude protein (CPI), and ether extract (EEI) intakes showed quadratic behavior. The DMI maximum estimated was 28.5% NDF in the diet. The NDF and ADF intakes showed a positive linear effect and the starch intake had a negative linear effect. There was a significant positive linear effect (P < 0.05) for the variables total mixed ration (TMR) offered and daily and total RTM intake. Minimum RTM wastage was estimated with a diet containing 30% NDF. The maximum points for BW at slaughter, HCW, and ADG were 29.9%; 29.6%, and 25% NDF, respectively. The costs of concentrate and silage showed a positive linear behavior, as did the ADG costs and the carcass equivalent cost (P < 0.05). The maximum point of the revenue estimate (US$/animal) was 29.9% of NDF, 26.1% of NDF for the total expenditure on food (US$/animal), and 32.5% of NDF for the gross margin (U$/animal). In conclusion, the animals fed a 30% NDF diet showed the best performance and economics, in addition to less food waste. We recommend 25 to 32.5% of NDF in the diet to obtain maximum productive and economic performance when finishing Nellore young bulls in confinement., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

This study explores upright versus inverted catching and crating of spent laying hens. Both catching methods were compared using a cost-benefit analysis that focused on animal welfare, ergonomic, and financial considerations. Data were collected on seven commercial farms (one floor system and six aviary systems) during depopulation of approximately 3,000 hens per method per flock. Parameters such as wing flapping frequency, catcher bird interaction, incidence of catching damage and hens dead on arrival (DOA) were measured and compared between catching methods. Ergonomic evaluations were performed via catcher surveys and expert assessment of video recordings. The wing flapping frequency was lower (3.1 ± 0.6 vs. 4.0 ± 0.5, P < 0.001) and handling was gentler (1.9 ± 0.5 vs. 4.4 ± 0.5, P < 0.001), both on a 7-point Likert scale, for upright versus inverted catching. However, more person-hours per 1000 hens were required for upright than inverted catching (8.2 ± 3.2 h vs. 4.8 ± 2.0 h, P = 0.011), with only wing bruises being significantly less common for upright than inverted catching (1.1 ± 0.6 % vs. 1.7 ± 0.7%, P = 0.04). Upright catching was 1.8 times more expensive than inverted catching; compensation for this cost would require a premium price of approximately €0.0005 extra per egg. Ergonomically, both catching methods were considered demanding, although catchers (n = 29) preferred inverted catching. In conclusion, this study showed animal welfare benefits of upright vs. inverted catching. Industry adoption of upright catching will depend on compensation of the additional labor costs, adjustments to labor conditions and shorter loading times., Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

1. In recent years, public concern regarding animal welfare has increased while, at the same time, cage systems for animal production have been greatly criticised by EU citizens. In addition, large food retailers promote food products that are made with eggs produced in cage-free systems.2. The objective of this study was to evaluate the economic viability of the transition of laying hens' to production systems; from conventional to alternative systems with improved welfare. Three independent scenarios were assumed as follows: transition from enriched colony cages to barn (S1), transition from barn to free-range (S2), and transition from free-range to organic (S3). Economic assessments of each transition was applied to a model farm in Greece with 12 000 hens, through partial budget analysis and net benefits and costs were estimated.3. The results showed a positive economic impact in all transitions to a production system of improved animal welfare (€12,044 in S1, €18,957 in S2 and €7,977 in S3) which indicated that they are economically sustainable. In all scenarios, unit cost increased by 19% in S1, 12% in S2, and 85% in S3.4. In conclusion, transitioning towards improved animal welfare production systems in laying hen farms could be an economically viable option for egg producers in compliance with societal demands and market trends.

Coccidiosis, caused by parasites of the genus Eimeria , is a significant economic burden to the poultry industry. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis to evaluate the financial losses associated with Eimeria infection in chickens in Algeria, relying on data provided by key stakeholders in the Algerian poultry industry to assess sub-clinical as well as clinical impact. We employed the updated 2020 version of a model established to estimate the cost of coccidiosis in chickens, taking into consideration specific cultural and technical aspects of poultry farming in Algeria. The findings predict economic losses due to coccidiosis in chickens of approximately £86.7 million in Algeria for the year 2022, representing £0.30 per chicken raised. The majority of the cost was attributed to morbidity (74.9%), emphasizing the substantial economic impact of reduced productivity including decreased bodyweight gain and increased feed conversion ratio. Costs associated with control measures made up 20.5% of the total calculated cost, with 4.6% of the cost related to mortality. These figures provide a clear indication of the scope and economic impact of Eimeria infection of chickens in Algeria, illustrating the impact of practices common across North Africa. They underscore the ongoing requirement for effective preventive and control measures to reduce these financial losses while improving productivity and welfare, ensuring the economic sustainability of the Algerian poultry industry.

We test the hypothesis whether levels of key traits of sheep heterogeneously affect market prices of sheep in a rural setting. Feasible generalized least squares and (un)conditional quantile regression estimations were made on a dataset of 1153 sheep transactions in two primary small ruminant markets in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The empirical results show that animal traits affect the observed prices of sheep differently, but only partly explain the sheep price differences. Our results also reveal that in addition to animal traits, the type of buyers and seasonality of sheep marketing cause heterogeneity in the observed prices. These findings imply that targeting the animal traits demanded by the market and access to price information that enables farmers to respond to the seasonal changes in livestock markets are essential to increase the income of sheep keepers., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Yitayew et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Rearing of replacement heifers makes up a significant part of the total costs in dairy farming. Nevertheless, the average age at first calving for dairy heifers still stays well above 2 years in many countries. This study examined the economic and environmental impacts of increased heifer growth rates and reduced replacement rates on Norwegian dairy farms. The current average growth rate in Norway (baseline scenario) was compared to an accelerated growth rate scenario. Within each of the two growth rate scenarios, we compared three different cow replacement rates. A farm account survey dataset containing physical and economic data on 311 Norwegian farms was clustered into three farm groups: small, medium, and large. To model economic consequences, we used the whole-farm linear programming model ScotFarm. A life cycle analysis model was used to model the environmental impacts of the baseline scenario and an accelerated growth rate scenario on the three farm groups. Accelerated heifer growth rate had a positive effect (14-28%) on farm annual gross margin depending on farm size. While accelerated growth rate resulted in only minor reductions in total emissions at farm level compared to the baseline scenario, reduced replacement rate lowered total farm level emissions by up to 8%, and emissions per unit of output by up to 6%. We conclude that an accelerated heifer growth rate scenario could potentially increase farm gross margin by some 14-28% compared with a baseline growth rate scenario. Reducing the replacement rate would be more efficient to reduce farm-level greenhouse gas emissions., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The equine industry contributes $74 billion and provides 1.3 million jobs annually to the United States economy. However, limited information is available on the current salaries and benefits of equine professionals. In 2022, an online survey was conducted to assess salaries, benefits, and education levels of equine professionals across several career types in the equine industry. The survey consisted of 38 questions with conditional branching and was distributed through social media and e-newsletters. Survey branching focused on grouping participants by career type into the following categories: farm management, government, industry, nonprofit, private practice, and university. The most prevalent career type represented was farm management (34%) followed by private practice (18%), academia (17%), industry (15%), nonprofit (12%), and government (4%). Associations between variables were examined with Chi-squared analysis. An association was observed between education level and salary (P = 0.001, X 2 = 103.17) with salaries greater than $50,000 being more prevalent with advanced degrees. Similarly, job type and salary were associated (P = 0.001, X 2 = 73.47), where salaries for academia and industry careers were often greater than $50,000 and nonprofit and farm management salaries were more often less or equal to $50,000. Compared to professionals in farm management or in private practice, those in academia and government received more benefits (P<0.05). Data collected from this survey creates a baseline for evaluating compensation across the equine industry and exposed opportunities for improvements in future surveys. Outside of industry salary comparisons, survey data can be used by educators to emphasize the benefit of further education to increase salary and benefits., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors has any financial or personal relationships that could influence or bias the content of the paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Information on the epidemiological and economic consequences of control measures is fundamental to design effective foot and mouth disease (FMD) control measures. One approach to obtaining this information is through bioeconomic modelling. In this study, a bioeconomic model was used to evaluate FMD control in two different study areas in Thailand: a high farm density area predominantly consisting of dairy farms and a low farm density area with mixed farm types. The bioeconomic model consists of an epidemiological part and an economic part. For the epidemiological part, a stochastic between-farm transmission model was constructed with transmission parameters estimated from FMD outbreaks in Thailand. The outputs from the epidemiological model, i.e. the number of infected farms, the number of affected farms and the outbreak duration, are used as inputs for economic model to calculate the economic consequences. We applied the simulation model with four FMD control measures: culling the animals of infected farms, ring vaccination, animal movement restrictions and isolation of infected farms. Furthermore, we included effect of farmers' compliance to asses its effect on control measures. The simulated FMD outbreaks in the low farm density area were small, thus control measures did not greatly affect the size of outbreaks and, therefore, did not have a positive economic return. In contrast, in the high farm density area, FMD outbreaks were large without control measures. All measures reduced the size of the outbreaks but resulted in different total costs. In terms of outbreak control, culling infectious farms was the best option, but its total cost was higher than ring vaccination or isolation of infected farms. In terms of cost-effectiveness, ring vaccination was the best measure. If farmers' compliance were low, all control measures would be ineffective, resulting in high total cost of the outbreak. The cost distribution between compliant and non-compliant farms showed that non-compliant farms paid more than compliant farms, except for the ring vaccination scenario. The results emphasize the economic significance to customize control measures specific to the area's conditions and highlight the importance of farmers' compliance when designing control measures., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A common rule in many countries for mitigating the damage caused by African swine fever (ASF) is to eradicate the virus at the outbreak in order to prevent its dispersal and the associated social costs of depopulating infected domestic pigs. The economic performance of this practice, as measured by five different evaluation criteria (net present value, benefit-cost ratio, rate of return, internal rate of return, and payback time), depends on the type of control cost and the spatial and dynamic allocation of benefits, i.e. avoided losses from infected domestic pig farms. The present paper calculates the direct and indirect costs of immediate control measures during an ASF outbreak in wild boars in Mid Sweden. The direct costs include expenses incurred for surveillance, laboratory tests, depopulation of wild boar etc., while the indirect costs are borne by firms and people in the area in relation to movement restrictions. The calculations showed that the total cost of control measures amounted to 28 million euros, with indirect costs making up 40 % of this figure. The benefits were greatly dependent on the speed of ASF dispersal and assumptions about pig farmers' investment responses, which implied large variations in each of the five evaluation criteria., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests of personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) subtype H9N2 is endemic in Pakistan and impacts poultry farming through disease related mortality, poor weight gain and reduced egg production. This study aims to estimate the farm-level financial impact of LPAI H9N2 infection on commercial broiler and layer production systems in Pakistan. A questionnaire based cross-sectional survey of 138 broiler farms and 136 layer farms in Pakistan was conducted in 2019. Primary data collected by cross-sectional survey along with expert opinion and published literature were used to parameterize five stochastic production and gross margin models for three broiler and two layer production systems: fully integrated production (FIP), partially integrated production (PIP) and independent farming production (IP) systems. Partial budget analysis were then carried out to estimate the financial impact of LPAI H9N2. Results indicate that in broiler production systems, starting with 35,000 day old chicks (DOC) per batch, the net cost of disease (million PKR/production cycle) was estimated at 4.10 (14,862 USD), 4.62 (16,747 USD) and 2.46 (8917 USD) for IP, PIP and FIP systems, respectively. The disease produced a negative gross margin (defined here as revenue minus replacement and variable costs) in IP (-53 PKR (-0.19 USD)/DOC bought) and PI (-25 PKR (-0.091 USD)/DOC bought) systems, while remained positive for FIP systems (87 PKR (0.32 USD)/DOC bought). For layer production systems, (mean flock size as 48,000 DOCs) the net cost (million PKR/production cycle) was 29.75 (107,095.21 USD) and 29.51 (106,223.45 USD) IP and PIP systems, respectively, and produced negative gross margin in both systems. The outcomes of the study highlight the vulnerability of independent and partially integrated production systems to the disease. These findings also offer a decision-making tool to the farmers and policy makers to evaluate avian influenza surveillance systems and control interventions in Pakistan., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be constructed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microorganisms serve as linchpins in agricultural systems. Classic examples include microbial composting for nutrient recovery, using microorganisms in biogas technology for agricultural waste utilization, and employing biofilters to reduce emissions from stables or improve water quality in aquaculture. This mini-review highlights the importance of microbiome analysis in understanding microbial diversity, dynamics, and functions, fostering innovations for a more sustainable agriculture. In this regard, customized microorganisms for soil improvement, replacements for harmful agrochemicals or antibiotics in animal husbandry, and (probiotic) additives in animal nutrition are already in or even beyond the testing phase for a large-scale conventional agriculture. Additionally, as climate change reduces arable land, new strategies based on closed-loop systems and controlled environment agriculture, emphasizing microbial techniques, are being developed for regional food production. These strategies aim to secure the future food supply and pave the way for a sustainable, resilient, and circular agricultural economy. KEY POINTS: • Microbial strategies facilitate the integration of multiple trophic levels, essential for cycling carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and micronutrients. • Exploring microorganisms in integrated biological systems is essential for developing practical agricultural solutions. • Technological progress makes sustainable closed-entity re-circulation systems possible, securing resilient future food production., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The economic significance of ruminants in agriculture underscores the need for advanced research methodologies to enhance their traits. This review aims to elucidate the transformative role of pan-omics technologies in ruminant research, focusing on their application in uncovering the genetic mechanisms underlying complex traits such as growth, reproduction, production performance, and rumen function. Pan-omics analysis not only helps in identifying key genes and their regulatory networks associated with important economic traits but also reveals the impact of environmental factors on trait expression. By integrating genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and microbiomics, pan-omics enables a comprehensive analysis of the interplay between genetics and environmental factors, offering a holistic understanding of trait expression. We explore specific examples of economic traits where these technologies have been pivotal, highlighting key genes and regulatory networks identified through pan-omics approaches. Additionally, we trace the historical evolution of each omics field, detailing their progression from foundational discoveries to high-throughput platforms. This review provides a critical synthesis of recent advancements, offering new insights and practical recommendations for the application of pan-omics in the ruminant industry. The broader implications for modern animal husbandry are discussed, emphasizing the potential for these technologies to drive sustainable improvements in ruminant production systems.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the economic and financial viability of finishing of two sexes of Brazilian Somalis sheep in feedlot receiving diets with 0 and 15% reduction in the total digestible nutrients and crude protein contents. A completely randomized design was adopted, in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with treatments consisting of two sexes (non-castrated males (21.13 ± 5.00 kg) and females (17.99 ± 3.79 kg) and two diets (0 and 15% reduction in the levels of total digestible nutrients and crude protein). Four simulations of productive scenarios were carried out: non-castrated males receiving the diet with 0% reduction; non-castrated males receiving the diet with 15% reduction; females receiving the diet with 0% reduction and females receiving the diet with 0% reduction, for a period of 70 days in feedlot. The highest costs of the system were with feeding and other costs, mainly the acquisition of animals. For both sexes, the 0% reduction diet showed the highest total cost, total revenue, break-even point. Non-castrated males fed a non-reduced diet and females fed a 15% reduction diet had higher net income, rate of return, total productivity, net present value, internal rate of return, profitability index and profitability rate. Less favorable situations were not profitable for any scenario. However, the increase in sales price favorability makes the activity viable. The reduction of total digestible nutrients and crude protein affects the economic and financial viability of Brazilian Somalis sheep. For non-castrated males it is recommended the diet without reduction and for females the diet with 15% reduction of nutrients., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Animals play a central role in human livelihoods and welfare. Animal diseases have a great impact on the benefits humans derive from animals and can also pose a risk to human health. Better control of animal diseases generates wider societal benefits, including reducing the climate and ecological impacts of livestock and improving animal welfare. To better understand the scale of investment justified for the control and prevention of animal disease, the wide-ranging impacts of disease on animal production and health must be measured. The Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) programme is quantifying animal disease burden from the local to global levels. The GBADs programme includes country case studies for national- and local-level analysis. Ethiopia is the first case study country in which GBADs methods have been applied. GBADs'Ethiopia case study consists of three activity areas: i) stakeholder engagement; ii) livestock disease burden estimation, including data collection, analytics, evidence generation and communication; and iii) capacity building in animal health economics. At the start of the case study, various stakeholder communication platforms were used to familiarise stakeholders with GBADs and engage their support in various ways, including data access, and, through this engagement, to ensure the programme tools and outputs were relevant and useful to their needs. Existing data were retrieved from multiple sources and used to estimate disease burden. This process involved multiple steps, including estimation of biomass and economic value, the Animal Health Loss Envelope (farm-level disease burden), wider economic impacts and attribution of the disease burden to different levels of causes. This was carried out for major livestock species (cattle, sheep, goats and poultry) in Ethiopia. Capacity building on animal health economics was carried out for GBADs end users to increase competence in utilising animal health economic evidence, including GBADs outputs. This article documents experiences of the implementation of these activities in the GBADs Ethiopia case study.

The Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) programme follows a multistage process to produce disease burden estimates in livestock and farmed aquatic animal production systems. The GBADs programme has broad goals of inclusivity, transparency and rigour. Meeting those goals means providing users of all levels of technical expertise with a clear explanation of the programme's output. In this way, the meaning and limitations of those results are clearly communicated, minimising the risk of misinterpretation. The first published estimates of disease burden have been calculated at farm level using a new metric called the Animal Health Loss Envelope. This metric estimates the cost of lost productivity and expenditure on disease control for profit-maximising producers by comparing current system performance to a hypothetical ‘ideal health'scenario. This ideal is a farm-specific concept and is critically different from an ideal health state when physiologically defined. The metric and its key concepts are described in this article.

Assessing the economic value of livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and fish can offer information about their financial performance and economic importance at farm, national and global scale. Such information is needed for decision-making surrounding livestock finance, investment and strategic development. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the key livestock valuation methods and associated data requirements. The study was conducted using a literature review. Five key livestock valuation methods were identified and described: historical costs, net current market value, replacement costs, net present value and cost of production. The findings of this study may be of interest to livestock scientists, veterinarians, policy-makers and other stakeholders who aim to assess the economic value of livestock herds. The Global Burden of Animal Diseases programme relied on the outcomes of this study to identify methods for the estimation of the economic value of livestock at the global scale and for its Ethiopia and Indonesia case studies.

This article focuses on identifying the loss of production and costs (or lack thereof) associated with livestock health as well as animal disease externalities, with the intent to estimate economy-wide burden. It limits its scope to terrestrial livestock and aquaculture, wherein economic burden is predominately determined by market forces. Losses and costs are delineated into both direct losses and costs and indirect losses and costs, as well as ex post costs and ex ante costs. These costs include not only private expenditures but also public expenditures related to the prevention of, treatment of, and response to livestock disease. This distinction is important because a primary role of government is to mitigate externalities. The article then discusses market impacts and investments. Finally, it provides selected examples and illustrative observations and discusses future directions for research and application.

Senegal is a West African country with both extensive animal production systems, representative of the environmental, economic and animal health constraints specific to the Sahel region, and thriving commercial poultry and dairy production. An exploratory study was conducted in Senegal between 2021 and 2022 as a prelude to a case study of the Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) programme. An overview of existing animal production systems as well as the main priorities and issues in animal health on a national level was developed. A national workshop gathering representatives from the livestock production and academic sectors took place in Dakar in June 2022 with the objective of jointly developing a case study. The participants prioritised pastoralist production systems for cattle and agropastoral systems for small ruminants for the application of the GBADs programme. Through a series of activities, the participants highlighted the health, environmental, economic and socio-political challenges surrounding these systems, all of which limit their contribution to the well-being of pastoralist households, consumers and other stakeholders. While Senegal has in the past hosted a large number of research and cooperative projects on these two livestock systems, participants noted difficulties in obtaining, centralising and harmonising the existing data. This exploratory study led to the funding of a focused case study of the agropastoral small-ruminant sector that was carried out in 2023 in partnership with national and international organisations.

Feed efficiency (FE) is a crucial economic indicator of meat duck production. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of residual feed intake (RFI), defined as the difference between the actual and expected feed intake based on animal's production and maintenance requirements, on the growth performance (GP), slaughter and internal organ characteristics of fast-growing meat ducks. In total, 1,300 healthy 14-day-old male fast-growing meat ducks were housed in individual cages until slaughter at the age of 35 d. The characteristics of the carcass and internal organs of 30 ducks with the highest RFI (HRFI) and the lowest RFI (LRFI) were respectively determined. RFI, the feed conversion ratio (FCR), and average day feed intake (ADFI) were significantly lower in the LRFI group than the HRFI group (P < 0.001), while there were no significant differences in marketing BW or BW gain (BWG) (P > 0.05). The thigh muscle and lean meat yields were higher, and the abdominal fat content was lower (P < 0.001) in the LRFI group, while there were no significant differences in other carcass traits between the groups (P > 0.05). The liver and gizzard yields were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the LRFI group, while there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in intestinal length between the groups. RFI was highly positively correlate with FCR and ADFI (P < 0.01), but negatively correlated the yields of thigh muscle, lean meat, liver, and gizzard, and positively correlated with abdominal fat content. These results indicate that selection for low RFI could improve the FE of fast-growing meat ducks without affecting the marketing BW and BWG, while increasing yields of thigh muscle and lean meat and reducing abdominal fat content. These findings offer useful insights into the biological processes that influence FE of fast-growing meat ducks., Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The interplay between genetics and economics is important in understanding how crossbreeding can be harnessed to optimize sustainable poultry production, meat quality, and economic viability. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of crossbreeding on growth performance, meat quality, and production economics. A total of 451 unsexed day-old chicks were raised for 12 wk in a pure (Sasso X Sasso [SS]; Wassachie X Wassachie [WW]) and reciprocal cross (Sasso X Wassachie [SW]; Wassachie X Sasso [WS]) design. Data was collected on growth performance, meat quality, sensory evaluation, proximate analysis, and production economics. Genotype did not affect (P > 0.05) moisture, dry matter, ash, sensory evaluation, pH, and meat temperature. The carcass weights, final body weight, and cumulative weight gain of the hybrids were intermediate while the SS recorded the highest (P < 0.05) values. Drip loss between the WW and the reciprocal crosses was similar (P > 0.05) but lower (P < 0.05) than the SS genotype. Protein contents between the purebreds were similar likewise the crossbreds (P > 0.05). The SW cross recorded a higher (P < 0.05) lipid content compared to the WW cross while the WS recorded a higher (P < 0.05) protein content compared to the SS. The SS incurred higher feeding costs, and gross and net returns followed by the SW and then the WS with the WW having the lowest values. Crossbreeding improved growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, chemical composition, and the gains in the crossbreds with the SW genotype having better results. The SW cross is recommended for better performance., Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Beef production has been identified as a significant source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the agricultural sector. United States and Canada account for about a quarter of the world's beef supply. To compare the GHG emission contributions of alternative beef production systems, we conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies that were conducted between 2001 and 2023. Results indicated that GHG emissions from beef production in North America varied almost fourfold from 10.2 to 37.6 with an average of 21.4 kg CO 2 e/kg carcass weight (CW). Studies that considered soil C sequestration (C-seq) reported the highest mitigation potential in GHG emissions (80%), followed by growth enhancement technology (16%), diet modification (6%), and grazing management improvement (7%). Our study highlights the implications of using carbon intensity per economic activity (i.e., GHG emissions per monetary unit), compared to the more common metric of intensity on per weight of product basis (GHG emissions per kg CW) for comparisons across differentiated beef cattle products. While a positive association was found between the proportion of lifespan on grassland and the conventional weight-based indicator, grass-finished beef was found to have lower carbon intensity per economic activity than feedlot-finished beef. Our study emphasizes the need to incorporate land use and management effects and soil C-seq as fundamental aspects of beef GHG emissions and mitigation assessments., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

In Martinique, pig production satisfies less than 20% of demand for pork, with traditional pig farming and wild pig hunting covering only a small proportion. This study has three parts: (i) for the first time, it analyses the performance of domesticated descendants of Creole feral pigs of Martinique based on a 29-day finishing test on two farms (A vs. B) with the same fibre-rich diet on a total of 40 pigs; (ii) it evaluates consumers' tastes based on a sensorial test by an untrained panel of 61 consumers who tasted pork prepared as a fricassee from either farm A or farm B; and (iii) evaluates willingness to pay (WTP) for Creole pork products and of the design of a future niche market. The average daily gain (ADG) of the finishing pigs was higher on farm A than on farm B (256 vs. 100 g/d, P < 0.001) resulting in a higher hot carcass weight on farm A than farm B (41.3 vs. 33.5 kg, P < 0.01), and better hot carcass yield on farm B than farm A (74.0 vs 68.8 %, P < 0.01). In the sensorial test, the consumers gave a higher score to the meat originating from the youngest pigs (Farm B), especially scores for tenderness and juiciness (+0.94 and +0.55 points, P < 0.05 and P=0.10, respectively). The 61 respondents were willing to pay more for processed products (sausage, pâté, ham) than for fresh meat. They considered that Creole pork has a better taste and is of better quality than industrial meats originating from mainstream genotypes. According to the majority of respondents, Creole pork should be rich in intra-muscular fat (100% of respondents) and low in inter-muscular fat (60% of respondents). Based on the survey, the main desirable future for Martinique's Creole pig production correspond to a low-carbon system with feed based on local resources, with on-farm slaughtering and short-distance sales (direct-to-consumer farm gate sale, sale at the butcher's or at the pig cooperative)., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

This study aims to describe socio-economic aspects, farming practices and production limitations of goats by surveying 53 farms holding 5507 head in the regions of Tataouine-Tunisia. It was revealed that goats represented a major source of income for most of the producers (66.1%). Approximately 35.8% of the farmers had not received formal education, with the majority (56.6%) having been engaged in goat breeding for over 10 years. Additionally, 50.9% of stockholders relied on technical knowledge for animal breeding. The investigated herds were mostly (97.4%) comprised of local goat breeds. The most common management system was semi-intensive (49.1%) based on grazing in communal rangelands and supplementation with agricultural by-products and concentrates. The fertility, fecundity and prolificacy rates were 91.3 ± 8.3, 109.8 ± 19.5 and 127.0 ± 15.4%, respectively. The main reasons for keeping goats were their major contribution to the income by the sale of male kids and the provision of milk for home consumption. Sale of male kids at an age of 7.7 months was practiced mostly via intermediaries (94.3%) and rarely directly to butchers and markets (5.7%). The total amount of milk produced on each farm was on average 15.1 l/day, and more than half of farmers (54.7%) consumed goat milk as part of their daily diet. The majority (71.7%) of respondents locally processed milk into Leben, Rayeb and cheese because the goat milk market faced constraints in the Tataouine regions, mainly in terms insufficient milk production and low consumer acceptability. Goats contribute to the income source in rural zones of southern Tunisia, where their breeding is mainly for the purpose of meat sale and the provision of milk for home consumption. The development of goat milk market can represent an added value to this sector., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The objective of this study was to quantify the economic utility in Romosinuano production systems by developing a bioeconomic model assumed cow-calf, cow-calf plus stocker (CCPS), and complete cycle operations. Each system produced males for sale and females for replacement. Input parameters were established from breed data collected by AGROSAVIA. Revenues were estimated using the official cattle price, and production costs were quantified per activity. In the results, for cow-calf operations, the maximum economic utility was 244.12 USD. CCPS, yielded 231.86 USD, and Complete cycle, 268.94 USD. The genetic progress per generation for W240, W480, W24 and CI was + 3.8 kg, + 5 kg, + 5.9 kg, and -1 d, respectively. The price of livestock was the sensitized variable with the greatest impact on maximum economic utility (± 118.64 USD to ± 155.44 USD), followed by mineral supplementation (16.31 USD to ± 37.34 USD). The sensitized variables with the lowest impact were food (± 1.62 USD to ± 1.8 USD) and health plan supplies (± 6.03 USD to ± 9.13 USD). It is concluded that economic utility defined as a composite trait influenced by the characteristics that shape it favors genetic progress and the identification of animals with optimal performance in different bovine production systems., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study investigated the effect of different levels of zeolite in laying hen (Silver Montazah) diet and litter on productive performance, egg quality criteria, and economics during the second stage of production (40-56 wk of age). An experiment with a 3 × 4 factorial design was performed to study the effects of four levels of zeolite (0, 10, 15, and 20 g/kg feed) in the diet and three levels of zeolite (0, 1.5, and 2 kg/m 2 ) in the litter. Adding zeolite to diet and litter significantly improved final BW and BW change, egg number, egg weight, egg mass, laying rate, feed consumption (FC), and feed conversion ratio (FCR), as well as egg quality criteria when compared to the unsupplemented group. Additionally, adding zeolite at a level of 2 kg /m 2 litter and 20 g/kg diet achieved the greatest enhancement in productive performance features. Therefore, it can be suggested that the greatest results were obtained in laying farms when zeolite was added as a litter addition and as a supplement to feed., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Recent annual outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) have led to mandatory housing orders on commercial free-range flocks. Indefinite periods of housing, after poultry have had access to range, could have production and financial consequences for free range egg producers. The impact of these housing orders on the performance of commercial flocks is seldom explored at a business level, predominantly due to the paucity of commercially sensitive data. The aim of this paper is to assess the financial and production impacts of a housing order on commercial free-range egg layers. We use a unique data set showing week by week performance of layers gathered from 9 UK based farms over the period 2020-2022. These data cover an average of 100,000 laying hens and include two imposed housing orders, in 2020/2021 and in 2021/22. We applied a random intercept linear regression to assess impacts on physical outputs and inputs, bird mortality and the impacts on revenue, feed costs and margin over feed cost. Feed use and feed costs per bird increased during the housing order which is a consequence of increased control over diet intake in housed compared to ranged birds. An increase in revenue was also found, ostensibly due to a higher proportion of large eggs produced, leading to a higher margin over feed cost. Overall, these large commercial poultry sheds were able to mitigate some of the potential adverse economic effects of housing orders. Potential negative impacts may occur dependant on the duration of the housing order and those farms with less control over their input costs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Each author of this research article has declared no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The mitigation of methane (CH 4 ) emissions from livestock production is crucial to China's carbon neutrality. Here we established a high-spatiotemporal-resolution dataset of the country's livestock CH 4 emissions from 1990 to 2020 using four large-scale national livestock greenhouse gas inventory surveys. We estimate CH 4 emissions to be 14.1 ± 2.0 Mt in 2020 and to increase by 13% until 2030 despite CH 4 intensity per kg animal protein having decreased by 55% in the past 30 years. Approximately half of the emissions come from 13% of all Chinese counties. The technical CH 4 mitigation potential is projected to be 36 ± 8% (4.4-6.9 Mt CH 4 ) in 2030, and reducing food loss and waste could mitigate an additional 1.6 Mt of CH 4 . Overall, most CH 4 mitigation could be achieved by increasing animal productivity and coverage of lagoon storage at carbon prices below US$100 tCO 2 e -1 , being more cost-effective than livestock nitrous oxide mitigation in China., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Low-emissions livestock production can be achieved through scaling production systems integrating trees, forages, and livestock within the same area. Such systems are known as silvopastoral production systems (SPS). However, despite SPS reported benefits, adoption rates globally remain low. This paper, therefore, aims to inform land use policy oriented towards increasing SPS adoption. This study intends to capture this by assessing SPS adoption benefits, identifying determinants of SPS adoption, and thus to contribute to policy for scaling low-emissions livestock production. Data was collected on socioeconomic status, livestock farming technical and economic indicators, and farm and paddock practices through farm-level surveys in four municipalities in the Amazon Piedmont of Colombia. Unlike previous studies that assume homogeneous farm management, when in fact, it is heterogeneous, this study assessed SPS adoption determinants using the paddock (n = 2819) as the unit of analysis. This methodological approach is consistent with paddock-level land use decisions taken by farmers based on socioeconomic and biophysical factors such as soil financial resources, type, and topography. The methodological approach allows us to provide new insights into the determinant of adopting SPS and an understanding of intra-farm level land use decisions. The results show that the adoption of SPS at both paddocks and farm levels in Caquetá is low. The main factors associated with higher SPS adoption levels at the paddock level are framed in gender, resources, and knowledge. We observe that women are more motivated to conserve the environment. Cattle paddocks managed by women, smaller in size, and those with more SPS-related projects show a tendency for medium or high SPS adoption. Furthermore, the positive relationship between access to credit and SPS adoption emphasizes the importance of financial resources tailored to SPS projects. Enhancing gender roles, improving access to finance in land use, and providing training programs on SPS systems can contribute to low-emission livestock production in Colombia. This research paper highlights the significance of implementing diverse management strategies and reaching out to farmers not involved in SPS projects. It emphasizes investments in low-emission livestock production, especially for female heads of households. This approach recognizes the broader benefits of SPS, beyond production and financial gains, promoting the division of paddocks and the adoption of SPS., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This article proposes and evaluates a new solution that ensures the profitability in short and medium terms and stability of the operations of pork livestock producers through improved risk management An innovative tool for distributing the surplus between producers of piglets and finishers is presented. Manuals on pig farming and data combined from multiple sources were used to assess the current market situation, design a profit stabilization tool for pig producers, and evaluate the performance of this solution. We found that implementing the tool reduces the profits variability of finishers and piglets producers by 45% and 30%, respectively, while keeping the long-term average of profits constant., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist, (Copyright: © 2024 Litwiński et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Food system transformation requires a better understanding of the negative and positive externalities involved in food production and consumption. Although negative externalities have received substantial attention, positive externalities have been largely overlooked. True Cost Accounting (TCA) is an economic assessment aimed at accounting for externalities in food systems. The beef industry is an important part of the US food system. In the western USA, beef cattle production is a major land use and economic activity that involves direct links among the cattle, range ecosystems, range management, climate, and ranchers' decisions and welfare. We present a case study based on a TCA assessment to quantify and monetize the contribution of human, social, natural, and produced capitals, as well as farm structure, to the market value generated by cow-calf operations, a key component of the USA beef industry. We estimated an Ordinary Least Square regression model based on indicators of these capitals and of farm structure derived from publicly available data sources at the county level. From model coefficients, we estimated the marginal revenue product of these factors. Results show that nonmarket factors linked with human and social capitals support market performance by contributing to the market value of cow-calf production. These factors operate at scales above the ranch, usually remain hidden, and seldomly are considered in policy decision-making which can lead to policies that inadvertently hamper or eliminate these positive externalities., Competing Interests: The authors have declared no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Bellon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

To estimate the economic and financial viability of a pig farm in central sub-tropical Mexico within a 5-year planning horizon, a Monte Carlo simulation model was utilized. Net returns were projected using simulated values for the distribution of input and product processes, establishing 2021 as base scenario. A stochastic modelling approach was employed to determine the economic and financial outlook. The findings reveal a panorama of economic and financial viability. Net income increased by 555%, return on assets rose from 3.36% in 2022 to 11.34% in 2026, and the probability of decapitalization dropped from 58% to 13%, respectively in the aforesaid periods. Similarly, the probability of obtaining negative net income decreased from 40% in 2022 to 18% in 2026. The technological, productive, and economic management of the production unit allowed for a favorable scenario within the planning horizon. There is a growing interest in predicting the economic sectors worth investing in and supporting, considering their economic and development performance. This research offers both methodological and scientific evidence to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing a planning schedule and validating the suitability of the pork sector for public investment and support., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Martínez-Castañeda et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Increasing awareness of the environmental and public health impacts of expanding and intensifying animal-based food and farming systems creates discord, with the reliance of much of the world's population on animals for livelihoods and essential nutrition. Increasing the efficiency of food production through improved animal health has been identified as a step towards minimising these negative effects without compromising global food security. The Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) programme aims to provide data and analytical methods to support positive change in animal health across all livestock and aquaculture animal populations., Methods: In this study, we present a metric that begins the process of disease burden estimation by converting the physical consequences of disease on animal performance to farm-level costs of disease, and calculates a metric termed the Animal Health Loss Envelope (AHLE) via comparison between the status quo and a disease-free ideal. An example calculation of the AHLE metric for meat production from broiler chickens is provided., Findings: The AHLE presents the direct financial costs of disease at farm-level for all causes by estimating losses and expenditure in a given farming system. The general specification of the model measures productivity change at farm-level and provides an upper bound on productivity change in the absence of disease. On its own, it gives an indication of the scale of total disease cost at farm-level., Interpretation: The AHLE is an essential stepping stone within the GBADs programme because it connects the physical performance of animals in farming systems under different environmental and management conditions and different health states to farm economics. Moving forward, AHLE results will be an important step in calculating the wider monetary consequences of changes in animal health as part of the GBADs programme., Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The heterogeneity that exists across the global spectrum of livestock production means that livestock productivity, efficiency, health expenditure and health outcomes vary across production systems. To ensure that burden of disease estimates are specific to the represented livestock population and people reliant upon them, livestock populations need to be systematically classified into different types of production system, reflective of the heterogeneity across production systems. This paper explores the data currently available of livestock production system classifications and animal health through a scoping review as a foundation for the development of a framework that facilitates more specific estimates of livestock disease burdens. A top-down framework to classification is outlined based on a systematic review of existing classification methods and provides a basis for simple grouping of livestock at global scale. The proposed top-down classification framework, which is dominated by commodity focus of production along with intensity of resource use, may have less relevance at the sub-national level in some jurisdictions and will need to be informed and adapted with information on how countries themselves categorize livestock and their production systems. The findings in this study provide a foundation for analysing animal health burdens across a broad level of production systems. The developed framework will fill a major gap in how livestock production and health are currently approached and analysed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Despite significant drop in pollinator abundance, no studies exist on the benefits and costs of pollinator conservation in the public domain. An in-person survey was conducted at three large, public US universities to estimate benefits to become Bee Campus USA certified. We test whether different types of reminders on existing student sustainability fees affect Willingness to Pay. Costs of achieving this certification per university were obtained. Net Present Value demonstrates that the net benefits to each school are largely positive, except under the most restrictive assumption. Information reminders of existing fees lead to little change in support of pollinator conservation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Wild and semidomesticated reindeer are one of the key species in Arctic and subarctic areas, and their population dynamics are closely tied to winter conditions. Difficult snow conditions have been found to decrease the calving success and survivability of reindeer, but the economic effects of variation in winter conditions on reindeer husbandry have not been studied. In this study, we combine state-of-the-art economic-ecological modeling with the analysis of annual reindeer management reports from Finland. These contain local knowledge of herding communities. We quantify the occurrence probabilities of different types of winters from annual management reports and analyze the effects of this variation in winter conditions on reindeer husbandry using an age- and sex-structured bioeconomic reindeer-lichen model. Our results show that difficult winters decrease the net revenues of reindeer husbandry. However, they also protect lichen pastures from grazing, thereby increasing future net revenues. Nonetheless, our solutions show that the variability of winter conditions overall decrease the net income of herders compared to constant winter conditions. Low lichen biomass appears to make reindeer management more sensitive to the effects of difficult winter conditions. We also found that it is economically sensible to use supplementary feeding during difficult winters, but the net revenues still decrease compared to average winters because of the high feeding costs. Overall, our analysis suggests that the increasing variability of winter conditions due to climate change will decrease net revenues in reindeer husbandry. This decrease will still occur even if the most extreme effects of climate change do not occur. This study shows that combining a state-of-the-art bioeconomic model and practitioner knowledge can bring compatible insights, ideas, results, and a bottom-up perspective to the discussion., (© 2022 The Authors. Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)

The hog industry is the core industry in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry in China, which development is related to the improvement of people's quality of life. The production of the hog industry has been restricted by environmental regulations, which needs to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Based on the data of 29 provinces from 2008 to 2019, this paper aims to use the stochastic frontier analysis method to calculate the cost efficiency of fattening pigs, sows, and piglets in three stages of pig production and focuses on the impact of environmental regulation policies on cost efficiency. The study found that the cost efficiency of fattening pigs, sows, and piglets in China were 0.77, 0.79, and 0.53, respectively, and the efficiency losses were 23%, 21%, and 47%, respectively. The impact of environmental regulation policies on the cost efficiency of fattening pigs showed an ' N ' trend, and the impact on the cost efficiency of sows and piglets showed an inverted ' N ' trend. For fattening pigs, increasing the intensity of environmental regulation, and exceeding the second inflection point of the ' N ' curve can achieve the dual goals of environmental governance and cost reduction and efficiency increase. For sows, reducing the intensity of environmental regulation appropriately can avoid cost-efficiency loss. For piglets, environmental regulation policies have not effectively incentives the cost efficiency of piglets. In addition, raising the level of technology investment in fattening pigs and sows can achieve cost efficiency gains, and can farmers use emerging financial product tools such as ' insurance + futures ' to avoid market risks and efficiency losses., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

In recent years, Xinjiang mutton production has experienced a growth trend; however, it cannot meet the new consumer demand. Based on Michael Porter's "diamond model," this study presents a case study on the Xinjiang mutton industry in China and establishes an index system for the competitiveness of the industry. The competitiveness of the mutton industry is analyzed quantitatively via correlation analysis and principal component analysis by investigating the relevant data of 10 Chinese provinces topping in mutton production. On account of the related elements of the diamond model, a qualitative analysis is also performed. The quantitative analysis shows that among the 10 provinces (regions) topping in mutton production in China, Inner Mongolia wins in competitiveness, followed by Xinjiang, and Henan ranks at the bottom. The qualitative analysis shows that the Xinjiang mutton industry is inferior in three main factors compared to its competitors, and these are the production factors related to and supporting the industries and the enterprise strategies. Xinjiang performs moderately in terms of the auxiliary government factors. However, Xinjiang is in an advantageous position with respect to the main factors of demand conditions and auxiliary elements of opportunities. Given the existing problems, this study discusses the main reasons for the lack of competitiveness of the Xinjiang mutton industry. It also puts forward some strategic suggestions to enhance the competitiveness of the Xinjiang mutton industry based on the six elements of diamond model., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Small-scale farming of meat chicken flocks using local native breeds contributes to the economy of many rural livelihoods in Vietnam and many other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These systems are also the target of high levels of antimicrobial use (AMU); however, little is known about the profitability and sustainability of such systems. Since small-scale farms are commercial enterprises, this knowledge is essential to develop successful strategies to curb excessive AMU. Using longitudinal data from 203 small-scale (100-2,000 heads) native chicken flocks raised in 102 randomly selected farms in Dong Thap province (Mekong Delta, Vietnam), we investigated the financial and economic parameters of such systems and the main constraints to their sustainability. Feed accounted for the largest financial cost (flock median 49.5 % [Inter-quartile range (IQR) 41.5-61.8 %]) of total costs, followed by day-old-chicks (DOCs) (median 30.3 % [IQR 23.2-38.4 %]), non-antimicrobial health-supporting products (median 7.1 % [IQR 4.7-10.5 %]), vaccines (median 3.1 % [IQR 2.2-4.8 %]), equipment (median 1.9 % [IQR 0.0-4.9 %]) and antimicrobials (median 1.9 % [IQR 0.7-3.6 %]). Excluding labor costs, farmers achieved a positive return on investment (ROI) from 120 (59.1 %) flocks, the remainder generating a loss (median ROI 124 % [IQR 36-206 %]). Higher ROI was associated with higher flock size and low mortality. There was no statistical association between use of medicated feed and flock mortality or chicken bodyweight. The median daily income per person dedicated to raising chickens was 202,100 VND, lower than alternative rural labor activities in the Mekong Delta. In a large proportion of farms (33.4 %), farmers decided to stop raising chickens after completing one cycle. Farmers who dropped off chicken production purchased more expensive feed (in 1000 VND per kg): 11.1 [10.6-11.5] vs. 10.8 [10.4-11.3] for farms that continued production (p = 0.039), and experienced higher chicken mortality (28.5 % [12.0-79.0 %] vs. 16 [7.5-33.0 %]; p = 0.004). The rapid turnover of farmers raising chickens in such systems represents a challenge to the uptake of messages on appropriate AMU and chicken health. To ensure sustainability of small-scale commercial systems, advisory services need to be available to farmers as they initiate new flocks, and support them in the early stages to help overcome their limited experience and skills. This targeted approach would support profitability whilst reducing risk of emergence of AMR and infectious disease from these systems., (Copyright © 2021 Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Factors such as increases in population, urbanization, growth in per capita income and changes in consumer taste and preferences are causing gradual increases in livestock product consumption and demand. South Africa is addressing this predicted increase in livestock products demand by commercializing smallholder livestock producers. The Limpopo Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Nguni Cattle Development Project is an example of such effort. The economic performance of these efforts needs to be evaluated. We use gross margin analysis to evaluate the performance of the Limpopo IDC Nguni Cattle Development Project. Additionally, we use regression analysis to identify factors influencing gross margins. Our results indicate that although smallholders show potential to commercialize, they lack commercial farming experience and require that a strong extension support system be used as one of the strategies to improve profitability. We also noted that individual farmers were more profitable than group farmers. Multiple regression analysis shows that three variables could be used to stimulate gross margin among the Limpopo IDC Nguni Cattle Development Project farmers. These are herd size, distance to market and farm size. Since farm size is a given, policy should focus on assisting farmers to build their herds and to have better access to markets., Competing Interests: There are no competing interests.

Animal welfare scientists have accumulated knowledge and developed interventions to improve livestock welfare, but these are poorly adopted in commercial practice. Animal welfare interventions are rarely tested for economic viability and this limits their uptake. This study employs Stochastic Partial Budgeting (SPB) to determine the viability of animal welfare improvements. Aggression between pigs is used as an example because there is a large literature base from which to draw interventions, and the problem has persisted for decades without resolution. Costs and benefits of three interventions to control aggression (pre-weaning socialisation, synthetic maternal pheromones and large social groups) were estimated by reviewing the academic and industry literature and by conducting a survey of sixteen pig farmers. The net effects were compared to farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for interventions to reduce aggression as identified by recent research. Results are consistent with prior research which indicates that improving animal welfare generally comes at a cost to producers. Nevertheless, pre-weaning socialisation resulted in a neutral or positive net effect 38% of the time and should be central to campaigns promoting the control of aggression in the industry. Exposing pigs to synthetic maternal pheromones did not improve profitability but the net costs were small and within the realms of WTP for a sub-group of farmers with animal welfare goals. The net costs of converting existing buildings in order to house pigs in large social groups were beyond the realms of farmers' WTP. The approach adopted in this study, of combining SPB with WTP from the sector, should be extended to other animal welfare issues., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The poultry farms need a safe and effective alternative for antibiotics that can counteract the negative impacts of necrotic enteritis (NE), which causes severe mortalities and economic losses. The current study was aimed to examine the influence of antibiotic (Flagymox) and the microbial-based administration on carcass traits in Clostridium (C.) perfringens-infected Cobb and Arbor Acres broilers. A total number of 360 Cobb and Arbor Acres broiler chicks (180 numbers per breed) were allocated to four groups; negative control group (without any treatments); positive control group (administration of C. perfringens at the rate of 1 × 10 9 cfu/bird via crop gavage twice daily from day 16 to 18 post-hatch); C. perfringens challenge plus antibiotic (Flagymox ® ) group, and Clostridium perfringens challenge plus microbial-based treatment (Big-lactoα ® ) group. The results indicated that the Flagymox and Big-lactoα treated Cobb breed group achieved a significant increase in their body weight (BW) than the positive control group at the third week post-infection. Also, the Arbor Acres breed gained significantly higher weight compared to the Cobb breed at the third week. Total weight gain (TWG) from 0 to the fifth week in the Cobb and Arbor Acres breeds were higher in the groups treated with Flagymox and Big-lactoα compared to the birds challenged with C. perfringens without any treatment, thus, increasing the total return (TR) in the treated groups. Economic efficiency showed no significant differences (p < .05) between the treatment groups of both the breeds. Although the treatment cost of Flagymox is higher than the microbial-based treatment (0.86 versus 0.35 LE), there were no mortalities reported in the microbial-based groups in both the breeds resulting in significantly low losses compared to the Flagymox treated groups. The groups treated with the microbial-based products in both breeds were superior in dressing percentage (75.16 and 77.06% for Cobb and Arbor Acres, respectively) compared to that of the other groups. In conclusion, microbial-based therapy improved the growth rate, carcass traits, survival rate, and economic efficiency in necrotic enteritis induced in Cobb and Arbor Acres broilers., (© 2021 The Authors. Veterinary Medicine and Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Market participation among beef cattle farmers is key to ensuring better income, food security, and sustainable beef supply. Farmers in the traditional beef cattle sector, nevertheless, are well known for their low market participation. This study, thus, sought to examine factors that influenced market participation among beef cattle farmers in the Meatu district of Simiyu region, Tanzania. The study randomly selected a sample size of 393 farmers. The cross-sectional data collected through interviews and questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models. The descriptive analyses showed that the average age of the interviewees was 53.73 years with a family size of 13.11. On average, the respondents had about 24.14 years of farming experience. Most of the respondents (67.9%) had primary education. Among the respondents, about 61.3%, 4.6%, and 32.6% had access to market information, farm credits, and veterinary services, respectively. The average cattle herd size was 53.46 heads. About 90.1% of farmers had participated in the markets by selling an average of 5 heads each, per year. This study has revealed low volume of sales, low education levels, and poor access to credits and veterinary services as the major factors that limit market participation. Furthermore, econometric results show that the key factors that significantly influenced farmers to increase the volume of beef cattle sales in the market at P < 0.05 included price, herd size, off-farm income, distance to market, age of the farmer, and cattle fattening. Moreover, membership in cooperatives, access to market information, and farming experience also had significant influence at P < 0.05. This study recommends establishment of strategic cooperatives to function not only as a communication channel for farm credits, price, market information, and training on commercial farming, but also to assist farmers in selection of profitable markets., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: The evaluation of new animal husbandry concepts includes, beyond the exploration of chosen parameters, that the question is addressed whether economic benefits for producers and ethical benefits for society result of the new system when compared to traditional systems. In a previous study, a novel management and housing concept for veal production («outdoor veal calf», OVC) was tested from October 2016 to July 2018. The OVC concept was associated with distinctly lower antimicrobial use while average daily weight gain was similar and calf welfare better; furthermore mortality was lower compared to conventional label fattening. The aim of the present study was to compare economics between the OVC concept on intervention farms (IF) and the IP-SUISSE label concept on control farms (CF) by calculating contribution margins (CM). The CM indicates the difference between the performance of a production branch (e. g. slaughter return) and the allocable costs for this production branch (e. g. feed costs). In the present study, two different approaches were used for CM calculation to analyze the available data in detail. No substantial differences in CM between the OVC concept and the IP-SUISSE concept were found in either approach. However, the specific CM varied between the approaches as different calculation criteria for quantities and prices were applied (approach «real» with accurate costs and returns from the OVC study and approach «standardized» with costs and returns based on the CM catalogue). The CM varied slightly for the CM per man-hour (IF «real»: 6.96 CHF/man-hour, «standardized»: 4.49 CHF/man-hour; CF: 7.90 CHF/man-hour and 8.08 CHF/man-hour, respectively) and considerably for the CM per fattening space and year (IF «real»: -380.36 CHF, «standardized»: -559.50 CHF; CF: -244.70 CHF and -318.80 CHF, -respectively). Producing veal with the OVC concept -allowed for achieving comparable CM/man-hour as in conventional label production. Thus, the farmers' economic interests should be warranted when implementing the OVC concept.

Background: The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of tree lucerne dried leaves (TLDL) as a substituting supplement for noug seed cake, and wheat bran concentrate mixtures (CM) on feed intake, digestibility, growth, carcass characteristics and economic benefits using Washera sheep fed desho grass hay as a basal diet., Methods: Twenty-five male Washera sheep with an initial body weight of 16 ± 4.01 kg (mean ± SD) were used for both growth and digestibility trials which lasted for 90 and 10 days, respectively The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design having five blocks with five treatments (T1 = 0% TLDL + 100% CM; T2 = 25% TLDL + 75% CM; T3 = 50% TLDL + 50% CM; T4 = 75% TLDL + 25% CM and T5 = 100% TLDL + 0% CM)., Results: Significant (p < .05) differences were observed among treatments in total dry matter (DM), nutrients and metabolizable energy (ME) intake; as the level of TLDL increases total DM and nutrient intake decreased (p < .05) except neutral detergent fibre intake (NDFI) and acid detergent fibre intake (ADFI). Digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) were significantly reduced (p < .001) among the treatments increasing the substitution level of TLDL for local concentrate mixture, but non-significant for fibre fractions digestibility. Similarly, body weight, average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were significantly different (p < .01) and highest in T1 than other treatments, whereas lowest values of the same parameters were observed for T5. Non-significant difference among treatments was observed in almost all of the carcass characteristics except for rib-eye area that showed significant difference among treatment and was highest in T1 and T2 (low level of TLDL inclusion). The economic analysis showed that supplementation TLDL was economically feasible in which the net return of the treatments were 31.66 (T1), 30.68 (T2) and 30.34 (T3), 27.88 (T4) and 26.32 (T5) USD (United States Dollar)., Conclusions: It was concluded that TLDL could be used as alternative feed source by replacing concentrate mixture up to 75% (T4) which enhanced nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance of Washera sheep. Finally, TLDL supplementation is recommended as replacement of CM up to 75% for its biological and economic feasibility., (© 2020 The Authors Veterinary Medicine and Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study aimed to evaluate the performance of broiler chickens fed on 3 black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) (Hermetia illucens) and Greenleaf desmodium (Desmodium intortum)-based meals. We evaluated growth performance, carcass quality, and profitability under various commercial pathways (doorstep, retail, whole, and assorted). Desmodium and BSFL powders were formulated into 3 ratios: T1 25:75, T2 50:50, and T3 75:25. A commercial feed was used as a control. One hundred and twenty mixed-sex 1-day-old broiler chicks (Cobb) were reared in pens for 42 d in a completely randomized design. The chickens were weighed weekly to monitor their growth rate. After the 42-day rearing period, they were slaughtered for carcass quality evaluation and recording of the weights of internal organs. During the initial growth phase (7-21 d), significant effects of fish meal replacement were found on the chickens' average weight (P < 0.001), average daily body weight gain (P < 0.001), average daily feed intake (P < 0.001), and feed conversion ratio (P < 0.001). However, during the second phase (21-42 d), no significant effect of the replacement was detected except on average daily feed intake (P = 0.003). No significant differences were found in terms of the relative weights of internal organs. It was found that Desmodium-BSFL-based feeds were more profitable than the control feed, and the assorted and retail modes of sale generated more revenue compared to when the chickens were sold at doorstep and on whole-chicken basis. The return on investment was higher for a push-pull adopter compared to a non-adopter. The study found that a BSFL-Desmodium mixture can be a valuable replacement for the protein component in conventional feed and would provide a new impetus for the adoption of push-pull., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Importation of foreign genetics is a widely used genetic improvement strategy. However, even if the foreign genetic merit is currently greater than the domestic genetic merit, differences in foreign and domestic trends mean that the long-term competitiveness of an importation strategy cannot be guaranteed. Gene flow models are used to quantify the impact that a specific subpopulation, such as foreign genetics, can have over time on the genetic or economic benefit of a domestic industry., Methods: We used a deterministic recursive gene flow model to predict the commercial performance of lambs born across various subpopulations. Numerous breeding strategies were evaluated by varying market share, proportions of rams selected for mating, genetic trend, superiority of foreign genetics over domestic genetics and frequency of importation. Specifically, an Ireland-New Zealand case study was simulated to quantify the potential gain that could be made by using foreign sire contributions (New Zealand) in a domestic sheep industry (Ireland)., Results: Genetic and economic gains were generated from alternative breeding strategies. The 'base scenario' (i.e. representing the current industry) predicted an average genetic merit value of €2.51 for lambs born and an annualised cumulative benefit of €45 million (m) after 20 years. Maximum genetic (€9.45 for lambs born) and economic (annualised cumulative benefit of €180 m after 20 years) benefits were achieved by implementing the 'PRO-intense-market scenario' which involved shifting market share away from conservative domestic breeders and reducing the proportion of rams that were selected for mating by progressive domestic breeders from the top 40% to the top 20%, without the use of any foreign genetics. The 'PROFOR scenario', which considered the use of foreign and progressive domestic genetics, predicted an average genetic merit value of €7.37 for lambs born and an annualised cumulative benefit of €144 m, after 20 years., Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that there is opportunity for a domestic industry to increase industry benefits without the use of foreign genetics but through an attempt to shift the market share away from conservative domestic breeders towards progressive domestic breeders. However, the importation and use of progressive foreign genetics may be an effective method to trigger a change in behaviour of conservative domestic breeders towards the use of progressive genetics.

The feeding experiment was conducted at Ofla district, southern Tigray, North Ethiopia, to investigate feed utilization, diet digestibility, and its economic feasibility under different supplementation options. Twenty-four yearling intact growing lambs were used in randomized complete block design with three treatments and eight replications. The treatment diets were T1 (molasses 15% + wheat bran 48% + cotton seed cake 35%), T2 (maize grain 20% + wheat bran 43% + noug seed cake 35%) and T3 (maize grain 20% + wheat bran 33% + dried brewers' grain 45%). The diet was formulated as iso-nitrogenous and each animal has taken daily nutrient requirements according to their body weight. The collected data were analyzed using SAS (2007) statistical software. Economic analysis was done using standard partial budget analysis guidelines of CIMMIT (1988). The crude protein contents of the three treatment rations were comparable across treatments. There was a higher total dry matter intake recorded in animals fed on T3 as compared to the other treatments. The barley straw intake was higher and significant (P < 0.05) for the animals' group in T3 than that of T1 and T2. Animals fed with T3 had significantly (P < 0.05) higher organic matter intake as compared to those fed with T1 and T2. However, there was no significant (P > 0.05) differences in crude protein intake between treatments. The apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein had no significant differences (P > 0.05) between treatments. Similarly, the apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber was not significantly different (P > 0.05) among T1, T2, and T3. In general, animals that fed on T3 achieved better feed utilization and economic return as compared to the others.