A method for estimating the economic value of changes in the risk of breech strike

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Horton

An economic model of the costs of sheep flystrike has been modified to examine the effect of a given change in the risk of breech strike as if it applied to the entire wool-producing industry, rather than to individual wool producers. Within each region (high rainfall, sheep/cereal and pastoral zones), the model sets the proportion of the sheep population in low, medium and high risk categories and calculates the estimated level of strike for untreated sheep in those groups. The costs related to breech strike can be calculated according to the original model. The risk of breech strike can then be adjusted to any required level, the proportion of sheep in each category adjusted and the costs recalculated according to the adjusted risk. The model estimated that a 50% reduction in the risk of breech strike would decrease the number of sheep requiring preventive treatment to about one-third of previous levels, but only provide a small reduction in costs related to struck sheep, due to the large increase in the number of sheep no longer receiving preventive treatment. There would be only small reductions in costs related to crutching and mulesing sheep unless much larger reductions in strike risk occurred. The overall benefit of a 50% reduction in the risk of strike would be $0.23–0.27 per sheep. If this reduction in strike risk occurred across all regions this could provide a benefit to the Australian sheep industry of $15 million. The model found that if mulesing was not used in any of the sheep then the use of preventive treatment would increase so that 93% rather than only 60% received chemical treatment, and reduction of the risk of breech strike by 50% provided benefits of $0.40 per sheep. Therefore, the estimated benefits would be greater than $0.27 per sheep in situations where the current level of risk is very high.


2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 991 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Rowe

Changes in the sheep industry over the last 20 years represent a trend that is unlikely to be reversed. The farm gate value of wool production has decreased from over $6 billion to ~$2.5 billion and the value of sheep meat has increased from $0.5 to $2.2 billion. Wool and meat are now on an equal footing in terms of the economic value of each sector of the industry. Future profitability of both wool and sheep meat production depends on achieving a high rate of productivity gain and improving quality attributes valued by consumers. Wool and sheep meat cannot compete on price or volume with synthetics and cotton in the textile market or with chicken and pork in the meat market. Differentiation based on quality and consistency needs to be measurable and clearly understood by consumers. The combination of genetic selection and good management can deliver improved productivity gain. Skills development and training will be essential for the industry to fully utilise available knowledge and new technologies.



2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica E. Morris ◽  
Greg M. Cronin ◽  
Russell D. Bush

This overview discusses how precision sheep management could be utilised in the Australian sheep industry to improve production efficiency and reduce animal welfare concerns due to low monitoring frequency by stockpeople. The concept of precision sheep management is described. This is a system in which sheep are managed as individuals or small groups rather than as a (whole) flock. Precision sheep management utilises the application of radio frequency identification technology, enabling producers to better monitor sheep in extensive situations, and contribute to improved efficiency of management and sheep welfare. Examples of combining radio frequency identification with other technologies such as walk-over-weighing and Pedigree Matchmaker are discussed. These technologies provide producers with tools to improve the cost effectiveness of, and labour efficiency associated with, collecting data on individual animals. The combined technologies should also improve consistency and reliability of information, enhancing decision-making by producers, for example, from regular monitoring of biometric variables such as liveweight, or calculating breeding values to enable superior genetic comparisons over time.



2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 544 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Moghaddar ◽  
A. A. Swan ◽  
J. H. J. van der Werf

The objective of this study was to predict the accuracy of genomic prediction for 26 traits, including weight, muscle, fat, and wool quantity and quality traits, in Australian sheep based on a large, multi-breed reference population. The reference population consisted of two research flocks, with the main breeds being Merino, Border Leicester (BL), Poll Dorset (PD), and White Suffolk (WS). The genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) was based on GBLUP (genomic best linear unbiased prediction), applying a genomic relationship matrix calculated from the 50K Ovine SNP chip marker genotypes. The accuracy of GEBV was evaluated as the Pearson correlation coefficient between GEBV and accurate estimated breeding value based on progeny records in a set of genotyped industry animals. The accuracies of weight traits were relatively low to moderate in PD and WS breeds (0.11–0.27) and moderate to relatively high in BL and Merino (0.25–0.63). The accuracy of muscle and fat traits was moderate to relatively high across all breeds (between 0.21 and 0.55). The accuracy of GEBV of yearling and adult wool traits in Merino was, on average, high (0.33–0.75). The results showed the accuracy of genomic prediction depends on trait heritability and the effective size of the reference population, whereas the observed GEBV accuracies were more related to the breed proportions in the multi-breed reference population. No extra gain in within-breed GEBV accuracy was observed based on across breed information. More investigations are required to determine the precise effect of across-breed information on within-breed genomic prediction.



2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 509 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L. Paganoni ◽  
C. M. Oldham ◽  
M. B. Ferguson ◽  
A. N. Thompson ◽  
P. E. Vercoe ◽  
...  

The hypothesis tested in this experiment was that Merino lambs with lower birthweights, due to poor ewe nutrition during pregnancy, would have more fat and less muscle than Merino lambs with higher birthweights. At two sites (Victoria and Western Australia) in each of 2 years, a wide range in the liveweight profiles of ewes was generated during pregnancy and lactation by varying the amount of supplements fed and feed on offer grazed. Progeny had fat and muscle depth at the C-site measured at various ages from 8 to 28 months of age. Across the four experiments, there were differences of 0.5 kg in birthweights and 8 kg in weaning weights between extreme treatments. The effects on the depth of fat and muscle were very small with fat depth increasing by 0.1–0.2 mm (5–7%) and muscle depth increasing by 0.2–0.7 mm (1–3%) when birthweights decreased by 1 kg. The effects of birthweight on fat depth are consistent with our hypothesis whereas the effects of birthweight on muscle depth are in contrast to our hypothesis. Nevertheless, the impacts of birthweight on the depth of fat and muscle measured at the C-site of progeny from Merino ewes, is unlikely to be of any commercial significance within the range of nutritional scenarios during pregnancy and lactation that are likely to be experienced within the Australian sheep industry.



2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 80.2-80
Author(s):  
S. Rollefstad ◽  
E. Ikdahl ◽  
J. Sexton ◽  
G. Kitas ◽  
P. Van Riel ◽  
...  

Background:The realisation that subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has led to a growing interest in risk factor control in such people, but whether this has influenced the management of dyslipidaemia and hypertension (HT) is uncertain. In subjects with coronary heart disease (CHD), audits of CVD risk factor control are regularly performed, which makes it possible to evaluate guideline implementation over time.1Updated surveys on CVD risk management in patients with RA are needed.Objectives:To describe differences in lipid and blood pressure (BP) levels among patients with RA from five world regions. Furthermore, to evaluate attainment of guideline recommended targets for lipid lowering and antihypertensive treatment.Methods:The SUrvey of CVD Risk Factors in patients with RA (SURF-RA) was conducted at 53 centres in 19 countries from 2014 to 2019. Data including demographics, RA disease characteristics, CVD comorbidity, risk factors and use of preventive treatment was collected. HT was defined as self-reported HT, and/or measured BP ≥140/90 mmHg, and/or use of anti HT medication (a-HT). The treatment goal of a-HT was BP <140/90 mmHg. The 10-year risk of a fatal CVD event was calculated by the European CVD risk calculator, the Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), and was thereafter multiplied with 1.5 as recommended by the European League Against Rheumatism. Patients were classified in a high or very high CVD risk group according to the 2012 European Society of Cardiology guidelines, with low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) goal at <2.6 and <1.8 mmol/L, respectively.2Results:In total, 14503 RA patients were included. The mean age was 59.8±13.6 years, and it was a strong female preponderance (74%). Nearly 2/3 of the patients were hypertensive. Use of a-HT in the total population differed substantially between the cohorts with limited use in West Europe and Latin America (17.4% and 24.8%), in contrast to North America and East Europe (46.8% and 57.0%). On average, half of those with HT were at the recommended BP goal. The lowest BP goal attainment was seen in Asia, West and East Europe (40.8-43.1%), and the highest in North America (63.5%). Overall 51.5% had an indication for lipid lowering therapy (LLT), and of these 43.5% were taking LLT. Only 34.0% of patients with an indication for LLT were at recommended LDL-c goals. The proportion of RA patients on target for LDL-c varied greatly between regions, from 23.1% in East Europe to 51.0% in North America. The LDL-c goal attainment was higher in RA patients at high risk (45.1%) compared to those at very high risk of CVD (18.0%).Conclusion:This large international survey on RA patients revealed considerable geographical differences in CVD preventive treatment. Lower goal attainment for LLT than reported for subjects with CHD was observed. We conclude that there is a substantial need for improvement in CVD preventive measures in RA patients.References:[1]De Backer G, Jankowski P, Kotseva K,et al.Management of dyslipidaemia in patients with coronary heart disease: Results from the ESC-EORP EUROASPIRE V survey in 27 countries.Atherosclerosis. 2019;285:135-146.[2]Perk J, De Backer G, Gohlke H,et al.European Guide-lines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice.Eur Heart J.2012:1635-701.Disclosure of Interests:Silvia Rollefstad: None declared, Eirik Ikdahl: None declared, Joe Sexton: None declared, Georeg Kitas: None declared, Piet van Riel: None declared, Cynthia S. Crowson Grant/research support from: Pfizer research grant, Ian Graham: None declared, Anne Grete Semb: None declared



Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 1672-1672
Author(s):  
Meritxell Nomdedeu ◽  
Xavier Calvo ◽  
Dolors Costa ◽  
Montserrat Arnan ◽  
Helena Pomares ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: The MDS are a group of clonal hematopoietic disorders characterized by blood cytopenias and increased risk of transformation into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The MDS predominate in old people (median age at diagnosis > 70 years) so that a fraction of the observed mortality would be driven by age-related factors shared with the general population rather than the MDS. Distinguishing between the MDS-related and unrelated mortality rates will help better assessment of the population health impact of the MDS and more accurate prognostication. This study was aimed at quantifying the MDS-attributable mortality and its relationship with the IPSSR risk categories. Methods: The database of the GESMD was queried for patients diagnosed with primary MDS after 1980 according to the WHO 2001 classification. Patients with CMML, younger than 16 years or who lacked the basic demographic or follow-up data were excluded. Relative survival and MDS-attributable mortality were calculated by the cohort method and statistically compared by Poisson multivariate regression as described by Dickman (Stat Med 2004; 23: 51). Three main parameters were calculated: the observed (all-cause) mortality, the MDS-attributable mortality (both as percentage of the initial cohort), and the fraction of the observed mortality attributed to the MDS. Results: In total, 7408 patients met the inclusion criteria and constitute the basis for this study. Among these patients, 5307 had enough data to be classified according to the IPSSR. Median age was 74 (IQR: 16-99) years and 58 % were males. The most frequent WHO categories were RAEB, type I or II (29% of cases), RCMD (28%), and RA with ring sideroblasts (16%). Most patients (72%) were classified within the very low and low risk categories of the IPSSR. At the study closing date (December 2014), 1022 patients had progressed to AML, 3198 had died (974 after AML) and 3210 were censored alive. The median actuarial survival for the whole series was 4.8 (95% CI: 4.6-5.1) years and 30% of patients are projected to survive longer than 10 years. The overall MDS-attributable mortality at 5 years from diagnosis was 39%, which accounted for three-quarters of the observed mortality (51%, figure). The corresponding figures at 10 years for the MDS-attributable and observed mortality were 55% and 71%, respectively. According to the IPSSR, the 5-year MDS-attributable mortality rates was 19% for the very low risk category, 39% (low risk), 70% (intermediate risk), 78% (high risk), and 92% (very high risk). On average, the incidence rate ratio for the MDS-attributable mortality increased 1.9 times (95% CI: 1.7-2.3, p<0.001) as the IPSSR worsened from one to the next risk category. The fraction of the observed mortality attributed to the MDS was 0.55 for the very low risk category, 0.79 (low risk), 0.93 (intermediate risk), 0.96 (high risk), and 0.99 (very high risk). After distinguishing between AML-related and unrelated mortality, the 5-year MDS-attributable mortality not related to AML was 10% for the very low risk category, 20% (low risk), 33% (intermediate risk), 42% (high risk), and 44% (very high risk). By comparing these figures with the above ones, we could estimate that about 50% of the MDS-attributable mortality was AML-unrelated and that such fraction kept nearly constant across the five IPSSR categories. Conclusions: About three-quarters of the mortality observed in patients with MDS is caused by the disease, the remaining one-quarter being due to MDS-independent factors shared with the general population. The MDS-attributable mortality increases with the IPSSR risk category, from half the observed mortality in the very low risk to nearly all the mortality observed in the high and very high risk groups. Half the MDS-attributable mortality is driven by factors unrelated to leukemic transformation, a proportion that keeps constant across the five IPSSR risk categories. Disclosures Valcarcel: AMGEN: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; NOVARTIS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; CELGENE: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Ramos:AMGEN: Consultancy, Honoraria; NOVARTIS: Consultancy, Honoraria; JANSSEN: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CELGENE: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Esteve:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria.



Author(s):  
D. Chakraborty ◽  
K. Mehdi Khan ◽  
N. Kumar ◽  
Isfaq Faried ◽  
Rajan Sharma ◽  
...  

Majority of the Kargil sheep populations are indigenous. Very scanty information is available for morphological characterization of Purky sheep population. Therefore, the present study was undertaken with the objectives to study the morpho-metric characteristics and body measurements for phenotypic characterization of the local sheep. A stratified random sample survey was conducted on various parameters (horn size, tail size, chest girth, punch girth, body length, height at wither and body weight) in seven different age groups. Data were collected randomly from 510 sheep of either sex. The local sheep population of Kargil which was selected for the present investigation is named as ‘Purky’ by the name of the community that reared this breed. In Purky sheep white body colour was predominant in both the sexes. The sheep breed was of low to medium body weight. The chest girth, punch girth, height at withers of Purky sheep showed it to be medium sized. Sex had significant effect (P is less than 0.05) on height at wither only. For males the least squares means were higher for all the traits of all age groups baring few exceptions. The phenotypic correlations of age groups with different morpho-metric traits were very high. The phenotypic correlations of body weight with other body measurements like tail size, chest girth, paunch girth, body length and height at wither were very high. Further studies should be carried out to fully exploit their genetic potential and to register the breed and in-situ conservation of this population.



2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. I. Mortimer ◽  
J. H. J. van der Werf ◽  
R. H. Jacob ◽  
D. W. Pethick ◽  
K. L. Pearce ◽  
...  

Using performance from progeny born in 2007 and 2008 generated by the Information Nucleus program of the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation, preliminary estimates of heritability were obtained for a range of novel carcass and meat attributes of lamb relevant to consumers, including carcass characteristics, meat quality and nutritional value of lamb. Phenotypic and genetic correlations of live animal traits with carcass composition and meat quality traits were also estimated. The data were from progeny located at eight sites, sired by 183 rams from Merino, maternal and terminal meat breeds and were representative of the Merino, Border Leicester × Merino, Terminal × Merino and Terminal × Border Leicester-Merino production types of the Australian sheep industry. Data were available from 7176 lambs for weaning weight, 6771 lambs for ultrasound scanning and 4110 lambs for slaughter traits. For the novel meat quality traits, generally moderate to high heritability estimates were obtained for meat quality measures of shear force (0.27 aged 1 day, 0.38 aged 5 days), intramuscular fat (0.39), retail meat colour (range of 0.09 to 0.44) and myoglobin content (0.22). The nutritional value traits of omega-3 fatty acids and iron and zinc contents tended to have low to moderate heritabilities (0.11–0.37), although these were based on fewer records. Fresh meat colour traits were of low to moderate heritability (0.06–0.21) whereas measures of meat pH were of low heritability (~0.10). For the carcass traits, estimates of heritability were moderate to high for the various measures of carcass fat (0.18–0.50), muscle weight (0.22–0.35), meat yield (0.24–0.35), carcass muscle dimensions (0.25–0.34) and bone weight (0.27). Results indicate that for most lamb carcass and meat quality traits there is sufficient genetic variation for selection to alter successfully these characteristics. Additionally, most genetic correlations of live animal assessments of bodyweight, muscle and subcutaneous fat with the carcass and meat quality traits were favourable. Appropriate definition of breeding objectives and design of selection indexes should be able to account for the small unfavourable relationships that exist and achieve the desired outcomes from breeding programs.



2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-35
Author(s):  
A. Sry Iryani ◽  
Agustina Deka Minggu Bali

Chili is one of the most important foods for traditional Indonesian food. One of the chilies that have a very high Scoville rating from Toraja Utara and Tana Toraja is Cabe Bakul or Lada Katokkon. This chili is different from other peppers ranging from the shape that resembles a pabrika but the size is small, it is sweet taste turned hot and good smelled. . The disadvantage of this chili is the condition of chilies that have a very high water content so it is easy to rot and wrestle so that the price quickly goes down and sometimes thrown away. To avoid the problem, the team proposes to process chili into a product but does not change the taste, color, and smell. This activity helps the chili farmers to process their crops into processed products that have higher economic value. There are two types of products produced are Chili powder (Bon Cabe) and sauce. Chili sauce is made there are four variants of flavors are: original, onion, terasi, and fish. Through this training, the farmer group partners can cultivate the harvest and its products can compete in the Toraja market and outside Toraja. Abstrak Cabe merupakan salah satu makanan terpenting untuk makanan tradisional Indonesia. Salah satu cabai yang memiliki rating Scoville sangat tinggi dari Toraja Utara dan Tana Toraja adalah Cabe Bakul atau Cabe Katokkon. Cabe ini berbeda dengan cabe lainnya mulai dari bentuknya yang menyerupai pabrika namun ukurannya kecil, rasanya manis berubah menjadi panas dan harum. Kekurangan dari cabe ini adalah kondisi buah cabe yang memiliki kandungan air yang sangat tinggi sehingga mudah membusuk dan bergelut sehingga harganya cepat turun dan kadang dibuang begitu saja. Untuk menghindari masalah tersebut, tim mengusulkan untuk mengolah cabe menjadi sebuah produk namun tidak merubah rasa, warna dan baunya. Kegiatan ini membantu petani cabe mengolah hasil panennya menjadi produk olahan yang memiliki nilai ekonomi lebih tinggi. Ada dua jenis produk yang dihasilkan yaitu bubuk cabe (Bon Cabe) dan saos. Kuah sambal yang dibuat ada empat varian rasa yaitu: original, bawang, terasi dan ikan. Melalui pelatihan ini para mitra kelompok tani dapat membudidayakan hasil panen dan produknya dapat bersaing di pasar Toraja dan luar Toraja.



2017 ◽  
pp. 21-41
Author(s):  
Marta Borowska-Stefańska

The aim of the article is to assess the present level of land development of flood risk areas in selected communes of the Łódź province in the context of potential negative consequences for people, the natural environment, cultural heritage and economic operations. The research includes urban as well as urban and rural communes (9 communes in total) of the Łódź province which display high and very high flood risk levels according to the methodology used in Flood protection operating plan for the Łódź province from 2013 ( Plan operacyjny… 2013). Uniejów and Warta have the highest synthetic flood risk levels due to the surface occupied by buildings and areas assigned to individual risk categories. In turn, Łowicz and Tomaszów Mazowiecki (town) display the highest general flood risk level due to diversification of buildings and areas of individual risk categories.



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