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Livestock and poultry production throughout the Tihama has developed to suit the agricultural necessities of the region. Livestock in general exist off agricultural by-products and semi-arid land and are not in competition with the human requirement for grains. Such economic production needs not be modified in its essentials. Rinderpest, foot and mouth disease and contagious caprine pleuro pneumonia are the major hindrance to livestock productivity. Malnutrition though a problem can easily be countered with phosphorus and other mineral supplementation.

Maternal condition is influenced by multiple variables that individuals experience at seasonal and local levels, and thus condition‐dependent sex allocation is likely also multifactorial. Here, we test the Trivers‐Willard Hypothesis (TWH) using a multivariable approach on a dataset of thoroughbred mare breeding records. There is no sex ratio variation when examined at univariable level, mirroring the usual approach to test condition‐dependent sex allocation. Conversely, the multivariate model shows multiple variables interact to influence the likelihood of producing a male. Mare and management variables that represent better body condition is associated with an increase in likelihood of a male offspring. The magnitude and direction of sex ratio skew correspond closely with predicted mare energy balance, consistent with TWH predictions. Our findings therefore support the TWH and show that, while sex allocation is multifactorial, maternal energy status emerges as the dominant driver. The additive and agonistic interactions of different variables demonstrate that a multifactorial approach should be a key consideration in sex allocation studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The New Zealand Thoroughbred breeding industry is heavily focused on producing horses for the export market and there has been a reduction in the number of horses racing in the past 20 years. The impact of these production constraints, and changes in production focus, have not been described at a national herd level. Aim. To describe the breeding management, reproductive performance, and careers of the New Zealand Thoroughbred broodmare herd during the 2005/06-2015/16 breeding seasons. Methods. The demographics, population structure, reproductive efficiency, breedingmanagement and career descriptors of Thoroughbred mares were examined using descriptive analysis. Gestation length was modelled using a linear mixed effects model. The impact of different variables on breeding career were quantified by calculating odds ratio. Results. There was a consistent reduction in the size of the national broodmare herd over the 10 years investigated. Half of the mares not retained for breeding were mares that were breed to low-cost stallions. Despite a short (~100 days) commercial breeding season few (20%) mares were mated early in the season (September), with most mating (70%) occurring between October and November. The 27 days mean foaling to conception interval (FCI) suggests that FCI was artificially shortened and most pregnancy was achieved within first oestrus cycle post-partum. Mare career length and lifetime productivity was positively associated with the stud fee of the first stallion that the mare was mated to and number of foals registered for racing. Conclusion. Mare replacement and loss within the national herd was disproportionately associated with mares that were producing foals for a contracting domestic racing market. There was a constricted breeding season with most mares being mated within the first oestrous cycle post-partum. Mare retention and breeding success were positively associated with the service fee of the sire and progeny that had raced, reflecting the commercial pressure of the industry on mare management. Implication. The changes in the broodmare herd and management reflects the increasing proportion of the industry focusing on breeding foals that will appeal to the export market. The economic drivers for early born foals provide management challenges as these are not aligned with the optimal reproductive season of the horse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. There has been a contraction within the New Zealand Thoroughbred racing industry and there are limited data demonstrating how this has affected, or been reflected, within the breeding industry that supplies horses for the racing industry. A reduction in the breeding industry, to a greater extent in the sector servicing domestic rather than export market has been speculated. Aim. To describe the demographics, breeding pattern, reproductive career and workload of New Zealand Thoroughbred stallions between 2005 and 2015. Methods. The breeding records of all Thoroughbred stallions covering >10 mares during 2005/2006-2015/2016 breeding seasons and the lifetime breeding records of all the mares covered by these stallions were extracted from the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing website. The demographics, population numbers, career pattern, and 10-year trend in market share of stallions in different stud fee categories were examined using descriptive analysis. The stallion's reproductive workload was modelled deterministically. Results. The breeding population reduced over the 10 years examined (mares by 20%, sires by 32%). This industry consolidation was almost entirely due to the 50% reduction in the number of mares mated to the low-priced stallions, which generated horses for the domestic market. The relative proportion of mares sent to medium- and high-priced stallions (breed to sell and export sector) doubled. The commercial breeding career of low- and medium-priced stallions and shuttle stallions was short (4-5 years). The number of mares covered by a stallion increased with stud fee category. Stallions covered a greater number of mares in October and November than in September and December because of the restricted opportunity to cover foaled mares early in the season, caused by the long gestation length of mares and the need to cover mares before December. Conclusions. Findings in this study support that the contraction in the New Zealand Thoroughbred breeding industry was due to a reduction in the industry sector that focuses primarily on supplying horses for domestic racing. Commercial pressure and biological constraints heavily influenced the reproductive management of the breeding industry. The breeding management of stallions during the season is heavily influenced by stallion service fee category, which reflects his book size and the commercial appeal of the resultant progeny. Implications. The contraction within the domestic sector of the breeding industry was reflected in the concurrent contraction within New Zealands domestic racing population and fewer colts and geldings entering racing. Industry breeding trends demonstrate that economic viability and optimisation of revenue depend on the breeding industry focusing on the export rather than domestic market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the effectiveness of comprehension training embedded in a program that taught science content to 2nd graders. The program included instruction about the structure of compare-contrast expository text, emphasizing clue words, generic questions, graphic organizers, and the close analysis of well-structured text exemplars. This program was compared with a program that focused on the science content but included no compare-contrast training as well as with a no-instruction control. Regular classroom teachers (14 from 4 schools), randomly assigned to treatment, provided the instruction; 215 students (7-8 years old) participated. The study replicated acquisition and transfer effects found in an earlier study, that is, transfer to compare-contrast text with content related and unrelated to the instructional content (with no loss in the amount of science content acquired). The program also led to better performance on written and oral response measures and on 1 of the 2 measures involving authentic (less well-structured) compare-contrast text. These findings support and extend previous findings that explicit instruction in comprehension is effective as early as the primary-grade level. (Contains 6 tables, 1 figure, and 1 footnote.)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a comprehension program integrated with social studies instruction designed for at-risk second graders. The program included instruction in cause-effect text structure, emphasizing clue words, generic questions, graphic organizers, and the close analysis of specially constructed cause-effect target paragraphs. This program was compared (a) to a content-only program that focused only on social studies and did not include text structure instruction and (b) to a no-instruction control. Fifteen classroom teachers, randomly assigned to treatment, provided the instruction. The program improved the comprehension of instructional cause-effect texts, and there were transfer effects on some comprehension measures. The performance of the 2 instructed groups did not differ on any of the content measures, indicating that such integrated instruction can be accomplished without a loss in the amount of content acquired. This study supports our previous findings on the effectiveness of explicit instruction at the primary-grade level.

Namibia needs a robust welfare assessment protocol for beef cattle for benchmarking and trade. As there is presently no such protocol, one was developed for Namibian conditions based on one designed for extensive beef cattle in New Zealand which had been derived from the Welfare Quality and UC Davis Cow-Calf protocols, the modified protocol was evaluated in a semi-commercial farming village during the pregnancy testing of 141 cows from 5 herds of different households. Animal- and stockperson-based measures were assessed directly, cows were observed at grazing, and a questionnaire-guided interview was conducted. The protocol provided a good basis for welfare assessment, but additional measures and modifications were needed for the Namibian system. These were the effects of recurrent drought, predation, plant poisoning, external parasites, walking long distances to water and grazing, compulsory hot-iron branding, extraneous cattle marking, and variable standards of handling facilities. The protocol was modified to incorporate these changes, resulting in a total of 40 measures. It now needs full validation through widespread testing across the range of beef production systems used in Namibia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to teach 2nd graders how to comprehend compare-contrast expository text. Along with introducing new content (animal classification), the program emphasizes text structure via clue words, a sequence of questions, and a graphic organizer, and via the close analysis of specially constructed exemplar paragraphs. The authors compared the program with (a) more traditional instruction that focused only on the new content and (b) a no instruction control; 128 7- and 8-year-olds participated. Classroom teachers provided the instruction. The program improved students' ability to comprehend compare-contrast texts. Students were able to demonstrate transfer to uninstructed compare-contrast texts though not to text structures other than compare-contrast. Moreover, the text structure instruction did not detract from their ability to learn new content. The results provide evidence, heretofore lacking, that explicit instruction in comprehension is feasible and effective as early as the 2nd grade. Keywords: expository text, text structure, reading comprehension, instruction, compare-contrast