Association between blood β-hydroxybutyrate at 7 days postpartum and milk yield, disease occurrence and fertility in grazing dairy cattle with seasonal calving: a case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (14) ◽  
pp. 1737
Author(s):  
Pedro Melendez ◽  
Kaitlin McDaniel ◽  
Carlos Chacon ◽  
Scott Poock ◽  
Julian Bartolome ◽  
...  

Context Ketosis in grazing cattle has been sparsely studied. A large commercial grazing dairy in southern Chile, representative of a significant proportion of the systems in the country, was used in this case study. Aims The study had three objectives: (i) to establish a cut-off for β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration for subclinical ketosis (SCK), and use this to measure the proportion of cows with SCK at 7 days postpartum in spring- and autumn-calving cows; (ii) to describe the relationship of SCK and other periparturient diseases and fertility; and (iii) to compare milk yield of healthy cows and those affected by SCK in a dairy herd with autumn and spring parturitions under grazing conditions in southern Chile. Methods During 2016, 234 cows with autumn parturitions and 632 cows with spring parturitions (n = 866) were assessed for blood BHB at 7 days postpartum. A receiver operating characteristic analysis for a BHB cut-off value was completed. Models were developed for disease occurrence, culling risk, conception risk and pregnancy rate, considering SCK as the main explanatory variable. Key results In total, 810 cows were used for the final analysis. The frequency of cows with SCK, based on the cut-off value obtained (BHB ≥1.1 mmol/L), was 22.2% at 7 days postpartum. The risk of SCK was higher (P < 0.0001) in cows calving in spring (27.0%) than in autumn (10.3%), and in multiparous (24.6%) than primiparous cows (15.1%). The seasonal difference in proportion of cows with SCK was parity-dependent, because the frequency of SCK in multiparous cows was higher (P < 0.0005) in spring (32.0%) than autumn (10.1%), whereas SCK in primiparous cows showed no significant (P = 0.41) difference between spring (15.4%) and autumn (12.5%). Milk production up to 100 days-in-milk was greater (P = 0.002) in cows with SCK (3394 kg) than without SCK (3015 kg). Disease occurrence was higher (P < 0.0001) in cows with SCK and in multiparous cows (P < 0.0001). There was no difference in conception risk at first service (P = 0.62) or in overall pregnancy rate (P = 0.90) between cows with and without SCK. Conclusions Multiparous cows calving in spring had the highest risk of SCK (BHB ≥1.1 mmol/L). SCK was associated with higher milk yield and greater occurrence of other diseases, but not with reproductive performance. Implications Grazing herds have challenges with SCK that may require different management strategies depending on the calving season and the parity of the animals.

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 25-33
Author(s):  
A. J. Jakeman ◽  
P. G. Whitehead ◽  
A. Robson ◽  
J. A. Taylor ◽  
J. Bai

The paper illustrates analysis of the assumptions of the statistical component of a hybrid modelling approach for predicting environmental extremes. This shows how to assess the applicability of the approach to water quality problems. The analysis involves data on stream acidity from the Birkenes catchment in Norway. The modelling approach is hybrid in that it uses: (1) a deterministic or process-based description to simulate (non-stationary) long term trend values of environmental variables, and (2) probability distributions which are superimposed on the trend values to characterise the frequency of shorter term concentrations. This permits assessment of management strategies and of sensitivity to climate variables by adjusting the values of major forcing variables in the trend model. Knowledge of the variability about the trend is provided by: (a) identification of an appropriate parametric form of the probability density function (pdf) of the environmental attribute (e.g. stream acidity variables) whose extremes are of interest, and (b) estimation of pdf parameters using the output of the trend model.


2014 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.E. Green ◽  
J.N. Huxley ◽  
C. Banks ◽  
M.J. Green
Keyword(s):  

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 267
Author(s):  
Lydia Olander ◽  
Katie Warnell ◽  
Travis Warziniack ◽  
Zoe Ghali ◽  
Chris Miller ◽  
...  

A shared understanding of the benefits and tradeoffs to people from alternative land management strategies is critical to successful decision-making for managing public lands and fostering shared stewardship. This study describes an approach for identifying and monitoring the types of resource benefits and tradeoffs considered in National Forest planning in the United States under the 2012 Planning Rule and demonstrates the use of tools for conceptualizing the production of ecosystem services and benefits from alternative land management strategies. Efforts to apply these tools through workshops and engagement exercises provide opportunities to explore and highlight measures, indicators, and data sources for characterizing benefits and tradeoffs in collaborative environments involving interdisciplinary planning teams. Conceptual modeling tools are applied to a case study examining the social and economic benefits of recreation on the Ashley National Forest. The case study illustrates how these types of tools facilitate dialog for planning teams to discuss alternatives and key ecosystem service outcomes, create easy to interpret visuals that map details in plans, and provide a basis for selecting ecosystem service (socio-economic) metrics. These metrics can be used to enhance environmental impact analysis, and help satisfy the goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 2012 Planning Rule, and shared stewardship initiatives. The systematic consideration of ecosystem services outcomes and metrics supported by this approach enhanced dialog between members of the Forest planning team, allowed for a more transparent process in identification of key linkages and outcomes, and identified impacts and outcomes that may not have been apparent to the sociologist who is lacking the resource specific expertise of these participants. As a result, the use of the Ecosystem Service Conceptual Model (ESCM) process may result in reduced time for internal reviews and greater comprehension of anticipated outcomes and impacts of proposed management in the plan revision Environmental Impact Statement amongst the planning team.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6478
Author(s):  
Amemarlita Matos ◽  
Laura Barraza ◽  
Isabel Ruiz-Mallén

This study is based on ethnographic research that analyzes how traditional knowledge and local beliefs on biodiversity conservation relates to the local ability to adapt and be resilient to climatic changes in two communities around Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique: Nhanfisse in the buffer zone and Muanandimae in the core area. A total of 78 semi-structured interviews with heads of households were conducted. We found that both communities carried out practices and held beliefs associated with conservation, such as protecting trees and animal species considered sacred or perceived as beneficial for human life in terms of water provision and agricultural production. In addition to traditional ceremonies that respond to extreme climatic events such as drought and flood, other adaptation strategies used by the communities include moving to neighboring areas in search of better living conditions and using forest products in times of scarcity. We discuss that the management of the park should be agreed on, in a shared way, between local communities and conservation agents to ensure that these areas continue to perform the ecological, subsistence, and spiritual functions required. Our research results contribute to a better understanding of local adaptation dynamics towards extreme climatic events and improvement of management strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-146
Author(s):  
Alfredo R. Rodríguez ◽  
Patricio I. Palma ◽  
Miguel A. Solar ◽  
Hedie A. Bustamante

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Corbett ◽  
L. A. Goonewardene ◽  
E. K. Okine

The effect of substituting peas for soybean and canola meals as a protein source in a high-producing dairy herd was studied in 66 Holstein cows, divided into two groups based on stage of lactation, parity, level of milk production and days in milk. Two 18.5% crude protein grain concentrate diets were formulated based on the nutrient analyses of the forages available. The control grain mix contained standard protein sources, principally soybean and canola meal (SBM\CM) while the test grain mix was formulated to contain approximately 25% field peas as the major source of protein. Both grain rations were formulated to the same nutrient specifications and balanced for undegradable protein. The duration of the trial was 6 mo during which grain feeding levels were adjusted monthly based on milk yield. For cows in early lactation, 4% fat-corrected milk yield was higher (P < 0.05) for cows fed pea based concentrates (31.3 kg d−1) than for cows fed SBM\CM supplement (29.7 kg d−1). Fat-corrected milk yield was not affected by source of protein in mid- and late-lactation cows. Fat-corrected milk production was not different (P > 0.05) for cows fed SBM\CM compared with cows fed the pea supplement when cows across all stages of lactation were included in the analyses. Milk fat percent was significantly higher (P < 0.05) for early- and mid-lactation cows fed the pea supplement. The results suggest that peas can be substituted for SBM\CM as a protein source for high-producing dairy cows. Key words: Dairy cow, pea, soybean and canola meal supplement, undegradable protein, milk production


2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (11) ◽  
pp. 3607-3615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo C. Campo ◽  
Guillermo A. Mendoza ◽  
Philippe Guizol ◽  
Teodoro R. Villanueva ◽  
François Bousquet

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Miller

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer and explore innovative strategies for building and sustaining digital initiatives at information organizations. Although the examples provided are based on case studies at an academic library, the practices are rooted in project management principles and therefore applicable to all library types, museums, archives and other information organizations. The innovative strategies on staffing and funding will be particularly useful to organizations faced with monetary and staffing shortages and highlights collaborative management practices. Design/methodology/approach Concept of strategic and collaborative management practices led by an experienced project manager cross-trained in management, technical and soft skills enables the successful development and sustainability of digital initiatives. A cross-trained librarian’s management practices of leading the Digital Scholarship Initiatives at a particular university will be examined as a case study and aided with literature supporting the need for digital initiatives leaders to have training beyond the credentials of librarian, curator, archivist or historian in the technologically savvy twenty-first century ecology of information centers. Findings The innovative strategies implemented in the case study yielded increases in the number of hours of digital lab usage, digital projects developed, seminars or workshops presented, attendance of library hosted events, number of programs implemented and awareness on campus, all with limited staff and funding. The variety and level of production and marketing is instrumental to the growth and sustainability of digital initiatives. Practical implications The innovative strategies emphasized in this paper use the concept of borrowed or shared time to start staffing needs and is particularly helpful to organizations that do not have a strong line of dedicated staffing or funding to begin building digital initiatives. Offers small ways to start immediately while setting the stage to plan for big ideas for the future. Originality/value This paper suggests a credentialed information expert, such as a librarian, archivist or curator, that is, also cross-trained in project management and technology is the key to not only successfully leading digital initiatives but is instrumental for its sustainability and the marketing, growth and future of digital initiatives.


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