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Redesigning the European food system on the basis of circularity principles could bring environmental benefits for Europe and the world. Here we deploy a biophysical optimization model to explore the effects of adopting three circularity scenarios in the European Union (EU)27 + UK. We calculate a potential reduction of 71% in agricultural land use and 29% per capita in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, while producing enough healthy food within a self-sufficient European food system. Under global food shortages, savings in agricultural land could be used to feed an additional 767 million people outside the EU (+149%), while reducing per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 38% but increasing overall emissions by 55% due to the increased population served. Transitioning the EU’s food system towards circularity implies sequential changes among all its components and has great potential to safeguard human and planetary health.

Feed-food competition is the allocation of resources that can be used to feed humans to animal feed instead, a current but unsustainable practise not well documented for aquaculture. Here, we analysed feed-food competition in aquaculture using two measures; natural trophic levels (TLs) and species-specific human-edible protein conversion ratios (HePCRs). The HePCR equals the ratio of human edible protein in feed (input) to the human edible protein in animal produce (output). To provide prospects on aquaculture's potential to convert human inedible by-products into edible biomass, data on aquaculture production were collected and categorized based on natural TLs. HePCRs were computed for four aquaculture species produced in intensive aquaculture systems: Atlantic salmon, common carp, Nile tilapia and whiteleg shrimp. Under current feed use, we estimated that the carp, tilapia and shrimp considered were net contributors of protein by requiring ~0.6 kg of human edible protein to produce 1 kg of protein in the fillet/meat. Considering soya bean meal and fishmeal as food-competing ingredients increased the HePCR to ~2 and turned all of the case-study species into net consumers of protein. To prevent this increase, the use of high-quality food-competing ingredients such as fishmeal, or soya bean products should be minimized in aquaculture feed. In the future, the role of aquaculture in circular food systems will most likely consist of a balanced mix of species at different TLs and from different aquaculture systems, depending on the by-products available.

Agroforestry systems can potentially increase tree diversity within agricultural landscapes, but to date, there is little understanding of the patterns of shade plant diversity within different agroforestry systems (AFS) at large spatial scales. Using compiled plant inventory data (from 23 sources, 2517 plots, and 148,255 individuals) encompassing four AFS (shaded coffee; shaded cocoa; dispersed trees on pastures; and live fences) across six countries in Central America we estimated different metrics of diversity to assess the conservation value of different AFS for shade plants. 458 shade plant species were recorded across the four agroforestry systems. Primary forest species accounted for 28% of the shade species recorded, but only 6% of the recorded individuals. No single AFS was consistently the most diverse across countries when considering rarefied species richness. Trees on pastures can potentially reach a similar species richness as cocoa and coffee systems but require sampled areas 7–30 times larger. In terms of composition, 29 species were shared across the agroforestry systems in different countries, illustrating the strong selection pressure of farmers for species that provide timber, firewood, and fruit. Our study highlights the potential contribution and limitations of different AFS for tree diversity conservation within agricultural landscapes.

It is unknown whether calf rearing facilities in the Republic of Ireland are fit for purpose, or if facilities sufficiently consider calf and farmer welfare. The aim of this study was to review current calf housing facilities and management practices on Irish farms to determine if calves are reared in structurally appropriate facilities with management decisions that safeguard calf and farmer welfare. Fifty-one farms located in the Munster region in the Republic of Ireland were visited twice: (1) Pre-calving (December–January) and (2) During peak calving (January–March). During visit one, herd owners completed a questionnaire regarding calf housing and management practices on-farm and each facility used to rear calves was measured (measurement of cubic air capacity, ventilation, pen area, drainage etc.) without calves being present. Visit two consisted of a short interview with the principal calf manager to validate previously asked questions and environmental based measurements of each calf house that had been recorded, with any deviation from the first visit noted (measurements of temperature, wind speed, light intensity, facility provisions in-house and in-pen; calves present). Average herd size was 254, operating a spring calving system with a median calving season length of 11.6 weeks. While most farms expanded (88%; N = 51), this did not appear to have negatively affected calf space allowances (9.9% houses overcrowded at a space allowance of 1.5 m2/calf; N = 121). Calves were most commonly housed in group sizes of

Insect farming is a rapidly expanding agricultural sector with the potential to improve the environmental sustainability of livestock production. A holistic approach is needed to use farmed insects responsibly and effectively with broad benefits across food systems.

Smallholder farmers in developing countries often lack resources. They rely mostly on extensive production approaches, such as cattle keeping and resort more to extracting forest resources at no charge. Our objective is to assess the relationship between the diversification of income sources, poverty and livelihood capital for smallholder farm households which combine cattle farming with forest extraction. We collected 600 surveys from Indonesian farmers specialized along the cattle rearing supply chain (464 breeders, 66 feeders and 70 mixed breeder-feeders). We found no correlation between poverty and income diversification. Cattle breeders have been found to rely most on forest resources. Distance to cropland and forest correlated positively, whereas their education level correlated negatively with income diversification. Feeders who were owning other livestock, were a member of a forest user group and owned some modest capital like a motorbike showed increased income diversification. Crops are the most important source of income for farmers, whereas cattle keeping and forest extraction play a role in income diversification. Increasing ecological pressure caused by forest extraction due to expanding cattle production could be best avoided by extending those parts of the cattle sector that use forest resources in a sustainable manner, for instance, through silvopastural systems or agroforestry so that incomes of poor farmers get more diversified and, therefore stabilized.

Insecticide use and landscape context are major drivers for the abundance of beneficial arthropods, such as predators, parasitoids and pollinators. However, the relative importance of local and landscape-wide insecticide use is not well understood, and it is unclear to what extent impacts of insecticides on beneficial arthropod populations are moderated by landscape composition. We collected and analysed data on beneficial arthropod abundance and local and landscape-wide insecticide use across 38 Dutch landscapes. We used regression to study the associations between beneficial arthropod abundance (response), insecticide use and landscape factors. Insects were sampled by sweep netting and yellow sticky traps in field margins (‘sampling sites’) in the summer of 2017 and 2018. We paired organic and conventional sites in the same landscape setting. We used three indicators of insecticide use: management (organic vs. conventional), Treatment Frequency Index of insecticides applied in the field adjacent to the sampling site, and the estimated landscape-wide average quantity of insecticides applied per ha within a 1 km radius around the sampling site. Abundances of beneficial arthropods in field margins, assessed by sweep netting, were negatively associated with the estimated quantity insecticide applied in the surrounding landscape, while arthropod sampling by sticky traps did not show this relationship. Pollinator abundance was negatively associated with conventional management and with the frequency of insecticide applications in the adjacent field, while predator and parasitoid abundance did not show significant associations with local insecticide use indicators. Negative impacts of insecticide use were not moderated in more diverse landscapes with higher proportions of semi-natural habitats. Policy implications. Insecticide impacts on arthropod populations extend beyond the fields in which they are used. Awareness of the potential landscape-wide effects of pesticides, either through drift of pesticides or insect movement, may encourage land managers to adopt practices to reduce insecticide drift and the frequency of insecticide applications, thereby reducing the impacts of landscape-wide exposure on arthropods that provide services to agriculture. Risk assessments of insecticides and pesticide use regulations need to account for potential spill-over effects and consider landscape-scale consequences associated with the source–sink dynamics of arthropods.

The Bhutanese government initiated a highland development programme in the year 2016 to promote yak farming because the number of yak farming families is declining. However, there are several cross-cutting policies and issues that affect successful implementation of interventions to support yak farming in transition. We studied the challenges and opportunities to sustain yak farming and related trade-offs around problems and solutions through individual and focus group interviews with six stakeholder groups (i.e. herders from two regions, extensionists, park rangers, livestock officials, and forest officials). Overall the herders rated forage availability and yak mortality as the main threats to yak farming, while government officials rated labour availability as the main threats. Most problems and solutions that were identified in the focus group interviews had diverging views among the stakeholder groups. There is clearly a need for a multi-stakeholder dialogue aiming to discuss problems and solutions together. This should take away misleading and disputed claims, and provide understanding about the approach to cope with risks and uncertainty around transhumance yak-based communities. A strong collaboration should lead to appropriate policy, which would reduce challenges and barriers, and simultaneously give opportunities to herders and their children to stay in yak farming in future.

This study aimed to estimate the optimum utilization of ruminant feed resources in tropical dry-land during dry and rainy seasons. Data concerning feed availability and quality were collected from Gunungkidul Regency of Indonesia over two seasons: the dry and rainy seasons. The JAVA program, the model, was used to estimate the availability of feed for ruminants associated with mean live weight gain (MLWG) and total live weight production (TLWP). The results showed that the maximum production in the dry season was obtained when 18% dry matter (DM) was used (MLWG 0.33 kg/animal unit (AU)/day, herd size (HS) 197 AU, and TLWP 11.94 tons/season), or in the rainy season, when 46% DM was used (MLWG 0.18 kg/AU/day, HS 1116 AU, and TLWP 37.22 tons/season). Furthermore, when only 100% was used, it could feed a maximum of 1500 AU and 2968 AU in the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. Without the transfer of feed from one season to another, a constant number, 350 AU, was obtained for HS, with a maximum TLWP of 19.16 tons/year. On the other hand, when the feed was kept constant at 34% dry matter (DM), a maximum TLWP obtained was 32.32 tons/year which is enough 420 and 820 animal units in the dry and rainy season, respectively. It was concluded that to obtain maximum TLWP in each season, only 14.5% to 46% of available DM feed should be used, as most of the available feed was of very low quality

Under natural conditions, most parturient cows seek visual cover or seclude themselves from the herd when calving becomes imminent. Studies on calving site selection of dairy cows housed indoors show that predominantly older and dominant cows calve in secluded areas. This study aimed to investigate whether cows distance themselves further from herd members under spacious outdoor conditions and whether artificial hides on a pasture motivate cows to seek visual isolation from the herd. One hundred eighty-two Danish Holstein cows were allocated to 1 of 13 groups of 14 cows according to expected calving date. In 2 paddocks (each 75 × 150 m), 5 zones (75 m × 30 m) were defined; zone 0 contained the feeding and shade area, and zone 4 bordered an area with trees. Weekly and according to calving date, a group of 14 cows was moved either to a paddock that had 12 hides distributed evenly throughout zones 1 to 4 (7 groups) or to a paddock without hides (6 groups). The hides were wooden structures (3.3 m long × 1.0 m wide × 1.2 m high) that the cows could hide behind. One hundred seven cows calved within 14 d of having been moved to the paddock, and 82 of these (38 primiparous and 44 multiparous), and their calves, were included in the study. From 3 h before until 3 h after calving, the location, posture, and behavior of cows were recorded continuously from video recordings. In addition, location, posture, and behavior of the calves were recorded for the first 3 h after birth. Continuous variables were analyzed by linear mixed effects models, whereas binary data were analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression. The presence of hides did not affect selection of calving location in the paddock, but more primiparous than multiparous cows calved in zone 4; that is, furthest away from the feeding area. Before calving, primiparous cows were more likely to be positioned in zone 4 and less likely to approach and contact herd members. After calving, primiparous cows and their calves tended to be more likely to be positioned in zone 4. The more cows present in the paddock, the less likely the cows were to isolate (i.e., be further than 30 m away from any other cow) at the time of calving. In addition, the more cows in the paddock when a calf was born, the less time these calves spent in a lying posture. The results show that primiparous cows move further away from herd members at calving than multiparous cows and suggest that primiparous cows prefer to isolate themselves through distance rather than seeking artificial cover. Contrary to expectation, the hides did not make more cows select a calving site away from the feeding area.

The Paris Agreement articulates a global goal on adaptation, which aims to ensure an ‘adequate adaptation response’ to the ‘global temperature goal’, and requires countries to report progress through periodic global stocktakes. However, there remain conceptual and methodological challenges in defining an adaptation goal and mixed evidence on what effective adaptation looks like and how it can be enabled. In this review, we demonstrate how different normative views on adaptation outcomes, arising from different epistemological and disciplinary entry points, can lead to very different interpretations of adaptation effectiveness. We argue that how effectiveness is framed will significantly impact adaptation implementation and outcomes. This, furthermore, represents a way of exercising influence in adaptation decision-making. Eleven principles of effective adaptation are distilled as a way to pluralize guidance in international processes such as the Global Stocktake as well as national and sub-national exercises on tracking and monitoring adaptation.

This longitudinal study explored intra-annual variation in feed availability and the chemical composition of milk and feed resources at smallholder dairy farms in Nakuru county, Kenya. Feed and milk samples were collected for a full year, every last week of the month, from 43 purposively selected farms. Feed and milk samples were analysed for nutritional composition using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and Ekomilk milk analyser, respectively. The main basal feeds were indigenous grasses, Napier grass, maize and bean stover and maize silage, which farmers supplemented with purchased commercial concentrates and/or purchased or homemade total mixed rations (TMR). Commercial concentrates had the highest crude protein (CP) content (17.4 ± 3.9)% dry matter (DM), while maize stover had the lowest (8.7 ± 3.3% DM). All the feeds had low metabolisable energy (ME) that ranged from 7.0 ± 0.8 (MJ/kg DM) megajoules per kilogram of dry matter (MJ/kg DM) for maize stover to 8.9 ± 0.8 for dairy meal. Only grasses showed significant seasonal variation in CP and NDF (P > 0.00). Milk physicochemical composition was within the range stipulated by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). Milk physicochemical composition showed negligible seasonal variations to significantly affect milk processing, which suggests that farmers can cope with feed scarcity. Nevertheless, seasonal feed availability is a persistent challenge in smallholder dairy farms. There is a need to ensure sufficient feed availability throughout the year in smallholder dairy farms through feed conservation, feeding management and ration preparation to enable consistent milk production and physicochemical composition.

Background: National food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) are generally designed from a human health perspective and often disregard sustainability aspects. Circular food production systems are a promising solution to achieve sustainable healthy diets. In such systems, closing nutrient cycles where possible and minimising external inputs contribute to reducing environmental impacts. This change could be made by limiting livestock feed to available low-opportunity-cost biomass (LOCB). We examined the compatibility of national dietary guidelines for animal products with livestock production on the basis of the feed supplied by available LOCB. Methods: We investigated whether the national dietary recommendations for animal products for Bulgaria, Malta, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland could be met with domestically available LOCB. We used an optimisation model that allocates feed resources to different species of farm animals. Of the resulting scenarios, we assessed the nutritional feasibility, climate impact, and land use. Findings: Our results showed the environmental benefits of reducing the recommended animal products in the FBDGs, and that animal products from LOCB could provide between 22% (Netherlands) and 47% (Switzerland) of total protein contributions of the FBDGs. This range covers a substantial part of the nutritional needs of the studied populations. To fully meet these needs, consumption of plant-based food could be increased. Interpretation: Our results contribute to the discussion of what quantities of animal products in dietary guidelines are compatible with circular food systems. Thus, national dietary recommendations for animal products should be revised and recommended quantities lowered. This finding is consistent with recent efforts to include sustainability criteria in dietary guidelines. Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation and the Dutch Research Council.

Judgement bias tasks (JBTs) are used to assess the influence of farm practices on livestock affective states. The tasks must be adjusted to the species and age group of focus. In cattle, most JBTs were designed for calves instead of adult cows. This study aimed to develop a JBT suitable for adult dairy cows, combining feasibility, validity, sensitivity and repeatability. Three JBTs were developed in which cows were trained to reach or avoid reaching a feeder, the location of which signalled a reward or punisher. The tasks differed in terms of punisher—cows being allocated either to “no-reward”, an air puff or an electric shock. Cows were then exposed twice to three ambiguous positions of the feeder, on two separate occasions. Speed of learning and proportions of correct responses to the conditioned locations were used to assess the feasibility of the task. Adjusted latencies to reach the ambiguous feeder positions were used to examine whether response patterns matched the linear and monotonic graded pattern expected in a valid and sensitive JBT at baseline. Latencies to reach the feeders in the two repeated testing sessions were compared to assess ambiguity loss over tasks’ repetitions. The validity of using spatial JBTs for dairy cows was demonstrated. While the effect on JBT feasibility was nuanced, the punisher did influence JBT sensitivity. None of the JBTs’ repeatability could be supported. We conclude that using an air puf as punisher led to the most sensitive, yet non-repeatable, JBT for dairy cows.

Background: To improve the sustainability performance of food systems, both consumption- and production-side changes are needed. Objectives: To this end, we assessed multiple sustainability impacts of 6 consumer strategies together with production-side aspects such as organic and circularity principles for Switzerland. Methods: Two strategies encompassed dietary changes: following a pescetarian diet and adhering to the national dietary guidelines. Two strategies employed alternative farming systems: increasing the share of organic production and, in addition, applying the circularity principle of avoiding feed-food competition by limiting livestock feed to low-opportunity-cost biomass. A fifth strategy reduced food waste. The sixth strategy increased the share of domestic produce. For all strategies, we assessed greenhouse gas emissions, land use, nitrogen surplus, social risks, diet quality, and diet costs. Results: The strategies revealed trade-offs between impact categories, unless combined in a synergistic way. Whereas dietary changes towards more plant-based diets reduced environmental impacts (≤51%) and increased diet quality (≤57%), they increased social risks due to increased sourcing from contexts with potentially bad labor conditions (≤19%). Further, when the share of organic produce was increased, land use and dietary costs were increased (≤33% and ≤42%, respectively). The effect on land use could, however, be reversed when circularity principles were introduced in addition to the organic production standard, resulting in reductions for all environmental indicators (≤75%). Reducing food waste and increasing the share of domestic produce led to better sustainability performance as well, but at lower orders of magnitude. Conclusions: Combining all proposed strategies could lead to substantial favorable changes on all impact categories assessed, but would require a thorough transformation of the current food system. However, the sum of individual consumers each following only 1 of the strategies proposed would make an important contribution towards improving the sustainability performance of the Swiss food system., The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 115 (4), ISSN:0002-9165, ISSN:1938-3207

Gewasbeschermingsmiddelen worden in de landbouw veel gebruikt om oogstverliezen te voorkomen. Maar tot hoe ver in de wijdere omgeving heeft het gebruik van deze middelen invloed op insectenpopulaties? Daarover is nog weinig bekend, terwijl deze informatie essentieel is voor het inschatten van milieurisico’s en de formulering van beleid.

The role of colostrum management in providing adequate immunological protection to neonatal calves has been widely investigated, and thresholds for colostrum quality, as well as optimum volume and timing for colostrum feeding have been established. However, limited information is available on the effect of colostrum source (single dam or pooled) on passive immunity, as well as subsequent antibody survival in the calf. This study aimed to assess the effect of feeding single-dam colostrum (own and other dam) or pooled colostrum on transfer of passive immunity, and also investigate the rate of depletion of disease-specific antibodies among dairy calves. In total, 320 cows and 119 dairy heifer calves were enrolled in the study. Calves were blood-sampled immediately after birth and received either own-dam, other-dam, or pooled colostrum. Calves were blood-sampled at 24 h to assess serum IgG concentrations and at monthly intervals thereafter to document disease-specific antibody survival. Mean colostrum IgG concentration was higher for other-dam treatment group, whereas own-dam and pooled treatments were similar. For all treatment groups, the mean IgG concentration was >80 mg/mL, exceeding the quality threshold of 50 mg/mL. Mean calf serum IgG concentration was lower for calves fed pooled colostrum compared with those that received colostrum from a single cow. There was a negative association with 24-h serum IgG and calf birth bodyweight; calves

Automated body weight (BW) estimation can be a useful tool for continuous monitoring of growth in commercial pigs, whereas deviations could indicate welfare problems. We validated a depth camera for BW estimation in 251 conventional growing pigs on two farms. Scale-based BW of individual pigs was used as gold standard (Farm 1: 107 pigs, BW range: 16–130 kg, recorded on three days; Farm 2: 144 pigs BW range: 20–114 kg, recorded on nine days). The camera was placed above the individual feeding station (Farm 1) or multi-partitioned feeder (Farm 2) and combined with a radio frequency identification system. Whenever a pig visited the feeding site, three-dimensional images were taken, and all individual daily images were used to calculate the median individual estimated BW. The pen estimated BW was calculated by taking the median of all daily picture estimates. A very high agreement (Concordance Correlation Coefficient >0.96) between scale-based BW and estimated BW was found on both farms at individual and pen level. Additionally, the individual-level and pen-level BW estimation errors of the median weight over the fattening period were low on both farms (≤3.6%). Yet, the camera's BW estimation performance decreased in pigs weighing >110 kg on Farm 1. Whereas, on Farm 2, the performance decreased when pigs weighed approximately 60 kg and were subjected to a typical dietary change, which potentially increased the competition for access to the multi-partitioned feeder and, consequently, limited body boundary detection.

The sustainability of dairying has been questioned, yet cattle exploit non-food resources (especially forages) and provide key nutrients for consumers’ health. This study, using different forage types, considered milk’s nutritional quality, focusing on fatty acid profiles alongside methane emissions—investigating whether methane can be predicted from milk fatty acids (FAs). Compared with grass/clover/maize silage, cows grazing grass/clover pasture produced milk 70% higher in beneficial omega-3 FAs, which increased by an additional 15% when grazing more diverse pasture. Milk from grazing also had less omega-6 FAs (compared with silage diets), and their ratio with omega-3 FAs fell from 2.5:1 on silage to 1.2:1 when grazing grass/clover and 1.1:1 on diverse pasture. Measured methane emissions (at 8.7 g/kg energy-corrected milk) were lower than published values, and existing models for estimating methane from lactating cows were poor predictors for this dataset. The multiple regression of methane against milk FAs in this study provided predictions with an R2 of 0.56 for daily emissions and 0.65 relative to milk output. Grazing quality and a diverse pasture with productive cows were potentially beneficial to milk nutritional quality, and our results reinforce the theory that milk fat composition could be an accessible tool for methane prediction; however, they also suggest that more work is needed for alternative production systems.

Quantifying the performance of beef cattle in diverse agro-ecological regions with different climatic conditions could be used by stakeholders to develop region-specific resilience strategies and optimize livestock production systems. This study evaluated the ability of the mechanistic LiGAPS-Beef model as a tool to quantify beef production of selected cattle breed types in diverse agro-ecological regions in South Africa. The average daily gain (ADG) was simulated for Bos taurus, composite and Sanga breed types in three different agro-ecological regions i.e. Bloemfontein (semi-arid), Phalaborwa (semi-desert) and Buffalo Berlin (temperate oceanic). Simulated ADGs were compared to measured ADGs from eight experiments for calibration and validation. After calibration, the model simulated ADG of breed types with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 23%. Simulated and measured values were positively correlated (r = 0.88) and largely in agreement (index of agreement=0.92). Factors that define and limit growth, such as the genotype, heat stress, cold stress, and digestion capacity limitation, were identified. Consistent with literature, the model showed more heat stress on Bos taurus breed types than on composite and Sanga breed types in Phalaborwa, which was the warmest region included in the study. Sensitivity analysis by changing input parameters by ± 10% showed that the model was more sensitive to changes in metabolizable energy (ME) than crude protein (CP) implying that the accuracy of ME must be prioritised. Overall, the results showed that model performance was adequate and thus the LiGAPS-Beef model can be used to explore the effects of climate change and adaptive breeding strategies in future studies in South Africa.

Livestock feed production is one of the primary users of freshwater and arable land, and it is also in competition with human food production. Therefore, we require reconsideration of the way we use freshwater in livestock feed production. The objective of this study is to assess the impact on freshwater use of pork production by using alternative pig diets based on local feed ingredients, or by-products. We used a lifecycle approach to analyse the freshwater use associated with feed production to produce one kg of pork. We explored three feeding scenarios (STANDARD: diets commercially used in Ireland; LOCAL: diets based on ingredients grown in Ireland; and BY-PRODUCT: diets based on by-products only). We calculated the freshwater use, using the water footprint (WFP) method, and the competition for water use between food and feed production using the water use ratio (WUR) for each scenario. The WUR quantifies the maximum amount of human digestible protein (HDP) derived from food crops that could be produced on the same land, and using the same water resources, that were used to grow the feed ingredients needed to produce 1 kg of pork. The WFP of the scenarios was 2,470 L/kg pork for STANDARD, 2,492 L/kg pork for LOCAL, and 2,205 L/kg pork for BY-PRODUCT. When we considered the WUR, none of the scenarios had a value < 1 (i.e. in all scenarios, more HDP can be produced from direct cultivation of food crops rather than pork). However, the BY-PRODUCT scenario (1.4) performed better than STANDARD (1.9) and LOCAL (2.9). Beet pulp and bakery by-products had zero WFP and no edibility and were thus considered promising ingredients. Moreover, rapeseed meal had a low WFP and rapeseed meal and sunflower seed meal are not considered human edible and were considered fit for future inclusion in diets. We also concluded that both the WFP and WUR methods have separate strengths and limitations, and should thus be used in conjunction; the ideal diet is one with the minimum WFP and WUR. Consideration of human edibility of feed ingredients is an important approach which should be included in future studies. Moreover, the entire food system including dairy, beef, poultry and other competitive uses should be taken into account when considering which feed ingredients to use in pig diets.

Synchronous lying may be an indicator of positive welfare in dairy cows. However, little is known about whether farms differ in the level of lying synchrony and how consistent this is within a farm. Moreover, the level of synchrony may vary within the day. Accelerometers used for estrus detection of cows enable continuous monitoring of synchronous lying of herds. We studied the level, timing and duration of synchronous lying in 8 Holstein Friesian or Holstein dairy herds across 1 year, in relation to grazing and milking management (robotic milking, 2x and 3x daily milking). In ‘winter’ months (November-March), herds were housed; in ‘summer’ months (May-September), 6 of 8 herds had access to pasture for 5–8 h per day, the other 2 herds were full-time housed. April and October were excluded because of variable management. Herds had 0.9–1.4 cubicles available per cow. After cleaning individual accelerometer data, herd average lying time was computed per 15-min (900 s) interval. An interval was defined as synchronous lying when the herd average lying time > 540 or > 630 s (i.e. assuming 60% or 70% of the herd was lying). Daily synchronous lying time was defined as the number of synchronous intervals × 15 min. A general linear model was used to assess effects of farm, season, and their interaction on synchronous lying time per day; with Tukey-adjusted pairwise comparisons. Correlations were made per farm per season to assess the association between total daily lying time and synchronous lying time. Across all herds and calendar days, the highest level of synchrony reached was on average 78%. Most synchronous lying occurred between 2AM and 6AM, though this was not true for all farms. Synchronous lying occurred least between 4 and 8 PM. Across farms, average synchronous (60% threshold) lying time per day was 5.9 h in summer (range: 2.7 – 7.9 h) and 5.5 h in winter (range: 1.6 – 9.1 h). In 3 out of 6 farms with grazing, synchronous lying time was higher in summer due to occurrence of synchronous lying during periods with pasture access. On 2 farms, synchronous lying time was higher in winter than summer due to increased synchronous lying at night. Across farms, average daily lying time and synchronous lying time generally showed moderate correlations. Monitoring synchronous lying in dairy herds using accelerometers was feasible, and 24-h synchrony patterns seemed consistent within farms. Its validity as a positive or negative welfare indicator requires further study.

Transformative change is necessary to reach a circular bioeconomy. In this context, a variety of societal and business initiatives have emerged, which in their everyday practices aim to increase their circular impact. These emerging circular initiatives, so-called small wins, continuously spread, deepen and broaden and as such contribute to transformative change. A small win spreads by becoming larger and more numerous, deepens by becoming more radical and circular, and broadens by connecting with other themes and domains. This paper explores how mechanisms drive these processes and, more in particular, how circular initiatives stay or become more transformative while developing. By building on existing literature about mechanisms that contribute to the development of initiatives—we extend the small wins framework by focusing on the interplay between mechanisms and spreading, deepening and broadening. We applied this framework to two illustrative cases in the Netherlands: a circular laying hen farm, Kipster, and the community farming initiative, Herenboeren. We empirically explored how the interplay of mechanisms constitutes continuous transformative change. The results indicate that deepening the small win is mainly driven by learning by doing; spreading takes place through professionalization and broadening by partnering. Both case studies indicate that the energizing and logic of attraction mechanisms are key in continuous transformative change.

While human activity has received much attention in time-series analysis research, animal activity has received much less attention. The monitoring of cattle in Precision Livestock Farming is a promising application area as it is reasonable to expect that cattle will be equipped with low-cost sensors for animal welfare reasons. In this paper, we present work on feature selection to detect disturbance in calves such as diseases or stressful events from accelerometer sensors attached to a neck-collar. While the long-term objective is to generate an alert when a disturbance is detected, the work presented here focuses on identifying the most discriminating accelerometer features to detect activity changes associated with a calf stressful event. For that purpose, we used accelerometer data from 47 calves who were dehorned at 16 days ± 10 days, a routine procedure known to be painful and stressful for calves. We calculated 7 primary features that could change after an occurrence of a disturbance, within a 24 h period before and after dehorning for each calf, falling under the areas of energy expenditure and the structure of the calf activity. These features were explored under 17 time-scales from 1 s to 24 h to find the best time-scale associated with each feature. First filtering with Mutual Information (MI) and Gini index was applied to reduce the candidate set of features for the second features selection with Random Forest Features Importance (RFFI). Performance were evaluated with Random Forest, k-Nearest Neighbor and Gaussian Naive Bayes models on test-sets to assess the relevancy of the selected features. Performance of all classifiers is improved or maintained when features from MI and Gini selection are used but decreased when further feature reduction with RFFI is applied. Therefore, based on MI and Gini selection, the most discriminating features are linked to activity peaks (maximum), amount of dynamic behaviors (standard-deviation) and activity structure (spectral entropy, Hurst exponent) with time-scales ranging from 1 s to 24 h depending on the features, which is consistent with animal welfare literature.

The understanding of the role of using forest resources in the livelihood strategies of smallholder farmers is limited. Rural household surveys often omit this aspect. From a survey of 600 Indonesian cattle farmers, we apply the sustainable livelihood framework to investigate the role extracting forest resources has in livelihood strategies and household income. We also quantify which farmers’ characteristics impact the decision to extract them. Forest extraction appears a core livelihood strategy of farmers who rely in some way on forests, which are on average poorer. Our findings suggest that forest extraction increases with increased income diversification. Farmers who specialize as feeders in the cattle supply chain engage significantly less in that. The promotion of sustainable forest resource usage schemes, such as agroforestry or silvopastoral systems that facilitate, and support cattle breeding would maintain the supply of youngstock for feeders and contribute to sustainable future use of forest resources.

Studies evaluating the complexity of models, which are suitable to simulate grass growth at regional scales in intensive grassland production systems are scarce. Therefore, two different grass growth models (GrasProg1.0 and APSIM) with different complexity and input requirements were compared against long-term observations from variety trials with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) in Germany and Denmark. The trial sites covered a large range of environmental conditions, with annual average temperatures ranging from 5.9 to 10.3 °C, and annual rainfall from 536 to 1154 mm. The sites also varied regarding soil type, which were for modelling categorised into three different groups according to their plant available water (PAW) content: light soils with a PAW of 60 mm, medium soils with a PAW of 80 mm, and heavy soils with a PAW of 100 mm. The objective was to investigate whether the simple model performed equally well with the given low number of inputs, namely climate and PAW group. Evaluation statistics showed that both models provided satisfactory results, with root mean square errors for individual cuts ranging from 0.59 to 1.28 t dry matter ha−1. The model efficiency (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency) for the separate cuts were also good for both models, with 81% of the sites having a positive Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency value with GrasProg1.0, and 72% with APSIM. These results reveal that without detailed site-specific descriptions, the less complex GrasProg1.0 model can be incorporated into a simple decision support tool for optimising grassland management in intensive livestock production systems.

Moderate to severe forms of suboptimal mobility on dairy cows are associated with yield losses, whereas mild forms of suboptimal mobility are associated with elevated somatic cell count and an increased risk to be culled. Although the economic consequences of severe forms of suboptimal mobility (also referred as clinical lameness) have been studied extensively, the mild forms are generally ignored. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to determine the economic consequences associated with varying prevalence and forms of suboptimal mobility within spring calving, pasture-based dairy herds. A new submodel predicting mobility scores was developed and integrated within an existing pastured-based herd dynamic model. Using a daily timestep, this model simulates claw disorders, and the consequent mobility score of individual cows. The impact of a cow having varying forms of suboptimal mobility on production and reproduction was simulated. The economic impact was simulated including treatment costs, as well as the production and reproductive impacts of varying levels of suboptimal mobility. Furthermore, different genetic predispositions for mobility issues and their interaction with herd-level management associated with each level of suboptimal mobility were simulated. Overall, 13 scenarios were simulated, representing a typical spring calving, pasture-based dairy herd with 100 cows. The first scenario represents a perfect herd wherein 100% of the cows had mobility score 0 (optimal mobility) throughout the lactation. The remaining 12 scenarios represent a combination of (1) 3 different herd-management levels, and (2) 4 different levels of a genetic predisposition for suboptimal mobility. The analysis showed that a 17% decrease in farm net profit was achieved in the worst outcome (wherein just 5% of the herd had optimal mobility) compared with the perfect herd. This was due to reduced milk yield, increased culling, and increased treatment costs for mobility issues compared the ideal scenario.

How can we accelerate the transition towards a circular bio-economy and translate dreams into practice? There is a pressing need to swiftly say goodbye to the linear society as it exists today and move towards a circular one. To underpin this transition with action, we need to use the circular bio-economy principles of Safeguard – Avoid – Prioritise – Recycle – Entropy as guidance. Applying these principles requires calls for a fundamental change, including policies, technologies, organizations, social behaviours and markets, into account when we (re)design elements of our agri-food system. This will only work if we change together and if we utilise scale to optimally value our precious resources.

Background Nitrate leaching to groundwater and surface water and ammonia volatilization from dairy farms have negative impacts on the environment. Meanwhile, the increasing demand for dairy products will result in more pollution if N losses are not controlled. Therefore, a more efficient, and environmentally friendly production system is needed, in which nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of dairy cows plays a key role. To genetically improve NUE, extensively recorded and cost-effective proxies are essential, which can be obtained by including mid-infrared (MIR) spectra of milk in prediction models for NUE. This study aimed to develop and validate the best prediction model of NUE, nitrogen loss (NL) and dry matter intake (DMI) for individual dairy cows in China. Results A total of 86 lactating Chinese Holstein cows were used in this study. After data editing, 704 records were obtained for calibration and validation. Six prediction models with three different machine learning algorithms and three kinds of pre-processed MIR spectra were developed for each trait. Results showed that the coefficient of determination (R2) of the best model in within-herd validation was 0.66 for NUE, 0.58 for NL and 0.63 for DMI. For external validation, reasonable prediction results were only observed for NUE, with R2 ranging from 0.58 to 0.63, while the R2 of the other two traits was below 0.50. The infrared waves from 973.54 to 988.46 cm−1 and daily milk yield were the most important variables for prediction. Conclusion The results showed that individual NUE can be predicted with a moderate accuracy in both within-herd and external validations. The model of NUE could be used for the datasets that are similar to the calibration dataset. The prediction models for NL and 3-day moving average of DMI (DMI_a) generated lower accuracies in within-herd validation. Results also indicated that information of MIR spectra variables increased the predictive ability of models. Additionally, pre-processed MIR spectra do not result in higher accuracy than original MIR spectra in the external validation. These models will be applied to large-scale data to further investigate the genetic architecture of N efficiency and further reduce the adverse impacts on the environment after more data is collected.

This file contains the protocol for performing health observations in growing-finishing pigs as was applied in our research. It was created based mainly on the Welfare Quality protocol and Fit For Pigs app and combined this with other literature and the authors' expertise. The protocol contains observations both at pen and pig level, and for each observed component a definition of the component and associated scoring classes is provided, when possible illustrated with pictures.

There is an urgent global need for the ecological intensification of agricultural systems to reduce negative impacts on the environment while meeting the rising demand for agricultural products. Enriching grasslands with floral species is a tool to promote diversity and the associated services at higher trophic levels, and ultimately, to enhance the agricultural landscape matrix. Here, we studied an organic pastures-based dairy production system with plant species enhanced grass–clover pastures with respect to the effect on the activity density, functional traits, carabid assemblages, and species richness of carabid beetles. To understand the effect of land management on carabid beetles, we studied two types of grass–clover pastures with low and relatively high plant diversities in an integrated crop–livestock rotational grazing system (ICLS). As a comparison, organic permanent grasslands and conventionally managed maize were studied. We installed pitfall traps for three weeks in early summer, and for two weeks in autumn. In total, 11,347 carabid beetles of 66 species were caught. Grass–clover pastures did not differ in activity density, functional traits, habitat guilds, or species richness, but conventional maize did show a higher activity density in autumn and a higher proportion of eurytopic species and mobile species compared to grass–clover pastures. On grass–clover pastures, we found more endangered species, Carabus beetles, and a distinct carabid assemblage compared to maize. However, we attribute the lack of an effect of increased plant diversity of the grass–clover pastures on carabid species richness and functional traits to the intensive grazing regime, which resulted in the compositional and structural homogeneity of vegetation. Still, the presence of specialized and endangered species indicated the potential for organically managed grass–clover pastures to promote dispersal through an otherwise depleted and fragmented agricultural landscape. By increasing crop diversity in ICLS, more resources for foraging and nesting are created; therefore, organically managed grass–clover pastures add to the multi-functionality of agricultural landscapes.

CONTEXT: Despite recent improvements in living standards, a substantial proportion of farm households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is food insecure, and increasing crop productivity could help address this problem. OBJECTIVE: We estimated the effect of increasing maize yields with mineral fertilizer on household food security and on regional and national maize supply in two East African countries - Uganda and Tanzania. METHODS: We estimated maize yield response to nitrogen (N) fertilization with a machine learning model trained on 15,952 observations of maize responses to fertilizer across SSA. Together with spatial price data, we used this model to quantify the profit-maximizing N fertilizer input for a nationally-representative sample of 4188 agricultural households in the two countries. We computed a food availability indicator for all households. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The mean profit-maximizing N input was 82 kg/ha in Tanzania, but it was much lower in Uganda (24 kg/ha) mostly because of less favorable prices. The profit-maximizing N input was above the reported N input for 95% of the households in Tanzania and for 43% of the households in Uganda. It was predicted to increase the food availability ratio of food insecure maize growers by 95% in Tanzania, and by 25% in Uganda. The administrative regions where maize supply could increase most were not the same as the regions where the increase in household-level food security was largest. With increased fertilization, food insecure maize growing households (35% in Tanzania and 42% in Uganda) could only contribute about 20% of the overall increase in maize supply, whereas the 20 to 30% food secure households that have a larger area planted with maize could contribute >60%. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study makes two key contributions: i) a substantial increase in national maize supply is more likely to come from already food secure households with relatively large farms, while food insecure households with small farms may nevertheless increase their household-level food security through maize intensification, and ii) high potential areas to increase maize domestic production do not necessarily match with areas where there is immediate scope to improve household-level food security.

The transition period is the stage of the high incidence of metabolic and infectious diseases in dairy cows. Improving transition dairy cows’ health is crucial for the industry. This study aimed to determine the effects of dietary supplementation medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) on immune function, metabolic status, performance of transition dairy cows. Twenty multiparous Holstein cows randomly assigned to two treatments at 35 d before calving. 1) CON (fed the basal 2) MCFA treatment (basal diet was supplemented at an additional 20 g MCFAs mixture every day) until 70 d after calving. The results showed that the serum amyloid A myeloperoxidase concentrations in the blood of cows in MCFA treatment significantly decreased during the early lactation (from 1 d to 28 d after calving) 0.03, 0.04, respectively) compared with the CON, while the tumor necrosis factor concentration was significantly decreased at 56 d after calving (P = 0.02). In addition, the concentration of insulin in the pre-calving (from 21 d before calving to calving) blood of cows in MCFA treatment was significantly decreased (P = 0.04), and concentration of triglyceride also showed a downward trend at 28 d after calving 0.07). Meanwhile, MCFAs supplementation significantly decreased the concentrations of lithocholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid, and hyocholic acid in the blood at 1 d calving (P = 0.02, < 0.01, < 0.01, respectively), and the level of hyocholic acid taurocholic acid concentrations (P < 0.01, = 0.01, respectively) decreased dramatically at 14 d after calving. However, compared with the CON, the pre-calving dry matter intake and the early lactation milk yield in MCFA treatment were significantly decreased (P = 0.05, 0.02, respectively). In conclusion, MCFAs supplementation transition diet could improve the immune function and metabolic status of dairy cows, and the health of transition cows might be beneficial from the endocrine status.