Optimizing a beef production system using specialized sire and dam lines

2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Tang ◽  
J. Stewart-Smith ◽  
G. Plastow ◽  
S. Moore ◽  
J. Basarab ◽  
...  

Tang, G., Stewart-Smith, J., Plastow, G., Moore, S., Basarab, J., MacNeil, M. D. and Wang, Z. 2011. Optimizing a beef production system using specialized sire and dam lines. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 91: 353–361. Crossbreeding is an effective method for improving the efficiency of production in commercial cow-calf operations. It exploits available heterosis (hybrid vigour) and complementarity between different breeds or populations (lines). Before adopting a crossbreeding system, commercial cattle producers should evaluate available genetic resources and feasible crossbreeding systems, and choose one that is most beneficial for their own environment, resources, and management. This study compared profitability of alternative crossbreeding systems based on Beefbooster beef cattle breeding strains through computer simulation. Biological and economic data were collected from commercial customers of Beefbooster in Montana and western Canada, and breeding records from the database of Beefbooster, Inc. Three maternal strains (M1, M2 and M4) and two specialized paternal strains (M3 and TX), were evaluated with two simulated crossbreeding systems. System 1 uses a rotational cross between M1 and M4 with yearling crossbred heifers bred to M3 sires. System 2 is based on a three-strain rotation of M1, M2 and M4 with yearling crossbred heifers bred to M3 to facilitate ease of calving and crossbred cows bred to a classical terminal sire strain TX. Simulated base profit from system 2 was $29.57 greater ($215.21 vs. $185.64 yr−1 per cow) than from system 1.

2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoqing Tang ◽  
Ruifei Yang ◽  
Jia Xue ◽  
Tianfei Liu ◽  
Zhiyao Zeng ◽  
...  

Crossbreeding is an effective method for improving the efficiency and profit of production in pig commercial operations. It exploits available heterosis and combines breed differences for specific characteristics. Before application of a crossbreeding system, commercial swine producers should evaluate available crossbreeding systems using existing swine breeds, and choose one that is most beneficial for their own environment, resources, and management. In this study, the latest biological and economic data were collected from commercial producers in south-western China. Three imported swine breeds (Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire) were evaluated with three simulated crossbreeding systems. System 1 used a three-breed terminal cross with Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire). System 2 was based on a three-breed rotational cross of Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire. System 3 was a combined cross system with Duroc × (Landrace, Yorkshire) three-breed rotaterminal. System 1 was predicted to be the most beneficial system (¥3895.15/sow), followed by system 3 (¥3749.02/sow), and then system 2 (¥3317.33/sow). Results of this study suggested that three-breed terminal cross or rotaterminal cross should maximise effective use of heterosis and breed complementarity of three imported breeds in south-western China. Also, the relative economic values of objective traits for these systems were updated using the most up-to-date biological and economic parameters.


2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 656-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Germano Costa ◽  
Hélio Luiz Beretta Dal Monte ◽  
Edgard Cavalcanti Pimenta Filho ◽  
Evandro Vasconcelos Holanda Júnior ◽  
George Rodrigo Beltrão da Cruz ◽  
...  

This work was aimed to identify the typology and the characteristics of the goat milk production systems. Seventy rural properties were researched. Multivariate data analysis with cluster formation techinique was used, and also the identification of five different groups of production systems. The production systems were classified through technical and economical efficiency, ranking groups 1 and 2 as high technological level, groups 3 and 4 as medium level, and the group 5 as low level. The high technological level systems used practices of more rational handling with larger technological employment becoming better specialized. These systems present the largest revenues of milk and unitary net profit. Medium technological production systems adopt technological recommendations and look for alternatives of handling practices. Production system 1 adopts intensive sanitary practices for the farmyard facilities and stables, but this does not happen in the production system 2. Vermifuge is applied three times a year in system 1 while in the system 2 it is applied twice a year. The producers of the systems 1 and 2 obtain more financial resources through official credit lines, and the producers of the group 2 are more punctual on the pay off deadlines.


2001 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wassmuth ◽  
A. Löer ◽  
H.-J. Langholz

AbstractThe aim of the present investigation was, to examine whether outdoor wintering of lambing ewes is a successful and animal friendly production system. The welfare and growth performance of winterborn lambs in outdoor husbandry were assessed in two winter periods (1995/96, 1996/97) when a total of 353 lambs were born into three different husbandry systems. System 1 consisted of 75 lambs from 26 (winter 1) and 29 (winter 2) ewes and was wintered outdoors with access to a lambing shelter with a straw bedded floor. System 2 included 120 lambs from 52 (winter 1) and 54 (winter 2) ewes which were born in an uninsulated barn with access to an outdoor yard. System 3 was kept in an uninsulated barn with no access to the outside and consisted of 158 lambs from 52 (winter 1) and 54 (winter 2) ewes. The lambs were of five different genetic origins which were equally distributed over the three husbandry systems. The genetic groups included purebreds from the hardy ‘Rhönschaf’ (RHO) and from the ‘German Blackface’ (GBF) mutton breed and the reciprocal crosses of these breeds (GBF ✕ RHO, RHO ✕ GBF). The fifth group were crossbreds between rams of the small-framed French mutton breed ‘Charmoise’ (CHA) and Rhönschaf-ewes (CHA ✕ RHO). The time period between parturition and first standing (‘time to stand’) and the time period from birth to first sucking (‘time to suck’) were considered as vigour traits. Vigour was visually assessed and scored. The rectal temperature was measured 3 h post partum. Live-weight gains were estimated from birth to 25 and 42 days of life. No differences between the different husbandry systems were observed in the measured traits. Outdoor-born lambs showed the same vigour and were able to maintain homeothermy as well as those born indoors. Ewes sought the shelter prior to lambing which might have favoured the early vigour of lambs and thus, their ability to maintain homeothermy. The visually assessed vigour score was in good accordance with the vigour traits time to stand and time to suck. The breed of the ewe had a significant effect on lamb vigour, lambs from hardy RHO ewes showing a better vigour than lambs from GBF ewes. Hybrid vigour estimates of time to stand and time to suck were 0·17 and 0·20, respectively, but were not statistically significant.Crossbred lambs between GBF and CHA mutton rams and hardy RHO ewes had a good vitality and growth performance. Outdoor wintering with a lambing shelter did not adversely influence survival of newborn lambs or their subsequent growth performance.


2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Alm ◽  
H. Torner ◽  
W. Kanitz ◽  
K. Roschlau

Abstract. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of various factors on blastocyst development in a bovine in vitro embryo production system. Two production systems were originally compared: Protocol 1, which utilized oocyte recovery by slicing, 20 % fetal bovine serum with FSH (FBS+) for oocyte maturation, and sperm preparation system 1 (F1), and Protocol 2, which utilized oocyte recovery by aspiration, 5 % estrous cow serum with FSH, HCG and estradiol (ECS+) for oocyte maturation, and sperm preparation system 2 (F2). Because a significantly higher blastocyst development rate was found for Protocol 2, the different factors of oocyte recovery technique (slicing vs. aspiration), sperm preparation technique (F1 vs. F2) and serum and hormone supplementation during maturation (FBS+ vs. ECS+) were evaluated. Recovering oocytes using the alternative technique (slicing vs. aspiration) did not significantly alter blastocyst rate on Day 8 within either production system 1 (FBS+/F1) or production system 2 (ECS+/F2). Although investigations of influence of the type of fertilization method revealed no effect, a significant effect of the type of serum was observed on the blastocyst rates with ECS+ proving better as compared to the use of FBS+ (P<0.03). When embryos produced from these investigations were evaluated by differential staining, the number of ICM cells did not differ among treatment, but the number of TE cells, and thus the total cell number, and the ICM : TCN ratio, was significantly increased when oocytes were matured in ECS+ supplemented medium, regardless of sperm preparation method. In conclusion, serum supplementation, but not oocyte recovery method or sperm preparation method, was responsible for the difference in blastocyst rate between the two original IVP protocols.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 264
Author(s):  
Kathryn E. Ritz ◽  
Bradley J. Heins ◽  
Roger D. Moon ◽  
Craig C. Sheaffer ◽  
Sharon L. Weyers

Organic dairy cows were used to evaluate the effect of two organic pasture production systems (temperate grass species and warm-season annual grasses and cool-season annuals compared with temperate grasses only) across two grazing seasons (May to October of 2014 and 2015) on milk production, milk components (fat, protein, milk urea nitrogen (MUN), somatic cell score (SCS)), body weight, body condition score (BCS), and activity and rumination (min/day). Cows were assigned to two pasture systems across the grazing season at an organic research dairy in Morris, Minnesota. Pasture System 1 was cool-season perennials (CSP) and Pasture System 2 was a combination of System 1 and warm-season grasses and cool-season annuals. System 1 and System 2 cows had similar milk production (14.7 and 14.8 kg d−1), fat percentage (3.92% vs. 3.80%), protein percentage (3.21% vs. 3.17%), MUN (12.5 and 11.5 mg dL−1), and SCS (4.05 and 4.07), respectively. Cows in System 1 had greater daily rumination (530 min/day) compared to cows in System 2 (470 min/day). In summary, warm-season annual grasses may be incorporated into grazing systems for pastured dairy cattle.


Plant Disease ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 85 (8) ◽  
pp. 895-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. Wu ◽  
K. V. Subbarao ◽  
A. H. C. van Bruggen ◽  
S. T. Koike

Lettuce growers in coastal California have relied mainly on protective fungicide sprays to control downy mildew. Thus, timing of sprays before infection is critical for optimal results. A leaf-wetness-driven, infection-based advisory system, previously developed, did not always perform satisfactorily. In this study, the advisory system was modified by incorporating a pathogen survival component (system 1) or both survival and sporulation components (system 2). These systems were then evaluated in commercial lettuce fields in coastal California during 1996-1998. Three or four treatments were carried out in each field: (i) no spray; (ii) sprays as scheduled by the growers; (iii) sprays following modified system 1; and (iv) sprays following the original advisory system (1996) or modified system 2 (1998). Downy mildew incidence was evaluated every 2 to 9 days. In fields with drip irrigation, the number of fungicide applications was reduced by one or two regardless of the advisory system used compared to the grower's calendar-based schedule, although one unnecessary spray was recommended in 1996 at Soledad and 1997 at Salinas. Under all three systems, disease levels were low (incidence <25% and about 1 lesion per plant) for fields with drip irrigation, but not for fields with sprinklers (incidence up to 100% and 5 to 10 lesions per plant). For the first time, we established that survival and sporulation components are not needed for a lettuce downy mildew forecasting system. Instead, a threshold with a shorter period of morning leaf wetness and high temperatures were found to have potential for improving forecasting efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mizuho Mori ◽  
Yoshiko Ariji ◽  
Motoki Fukuda ◽  
Tomoya Kitano ◽  
Takuma Funakoshi ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives The aim of the present study was to create and test an automatic system for assessing the technical quality of positioning in periapical radiography of the maxillary canines using deep learning classification and segmentation techniques. Methods We created and tested two deep learning systems using 500 periapical radiographs (250 each of good- and bad-quality images). We assigned 350, 70, and 80 images as the training, validation, and test datasets, respectively. The learning model of system 1 was created with only the classification process, whereas system 2 consisted of both the segmentation and classification models. In each model, 500 epochs of training were performed using AlexNet and U-net for classification and segmentation, respectively. The segmentation results were evaluated by the intersection over union method, with values of 0.6 or more considered as success. The classification results were compared between the two systems. Results The segmentation performance of system 2 was recall, precision, and F measure of 0.937, 0.961, and 0.949, respectively. System 2 showed better classification performance values than those obtained by system 1. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values differed significantly between system 1 (0.649) and system 2 (0.927). Conclusions The deep learning systems we created appeared to have potential benefits in evaluation of the technical positioning quality of periapical radiographs through the use of segmentation and classification functions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 60-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sławomir Kłos ◽  
Peter Trebuna

Abstract This paper proposes the application of computer simulation methods to support decision making regarding intermediate buffer allocations in a series-parallel production line. The simulation model of the production system is based on a real example of a manufacturing company working in the automotive industry. Simulation experiments were conducted for different allocations of buffer capacities and different numbers of employees. The production system consists of three technological operations with intermediate buffers between each operation. The technological operations are carried out using machines and every machine can be operated by one worker. Multi-work in the production system is available (one operator operates several machines). On the basis of the simulation experiments, the relationship between system throughput, buffer allocation and the number of employees is analyzed. Increasing the buffer capacity results in an increase in the average product lifespan. Therefore, in the article a new index is proposed that includes the throughput of the manufacturing system and product life span. Simulation experiments were performed for different configurations of technological operations.


1989 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Takayama-Muromachi

ABSTRACTSince the discovery of the high-Tc superconductor in the La-Ba-Cu-O system [1], a great deal of experimental and theoretical effort have been made to clarify the nature of the Cu-based oxides. In order to elucidate mechanism of the high-Tc superconductivity, discovery of a new type of superconductor is no doubt of great importance. Recently, Akimitsu et al. found a new oxide superconductor in the Nd-Ce-Sr-Cu-O system [2]. Soon after their discovery, the superconducting phase was isolated and identified [3]. It has a tetragonal cell with space group P4/nmm and has a structure closely related to but different from the K2NiF4− or T'-Nd2CuO4− -type structure. Although, Tc of the Nd-Ce-Sr-Cu oxide is not so high (ca. 20 K) compared with the 1–2–3 or Bi(Tl)-based superconductors, it has aroused interest widely due to a very simple crystal structure. In this article, I will discuss superconductivity and crystal chemistry of the Nd-Ce-Sr-Cu oxide. Also, various compounds isostructural to it will be presented.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Stephens

A recent naturalistic epistemological account suggests that there are three nested basic forms of knowledge: procedural knowledge-how, conceptual knowledge-what, and propositional knowledge-that. These three knowledge-forms are grounded in cognitive neuroscience and are mapped to procedural, semantic, and episodic long-term memory respectively. This article investigates and integrates the neuroscientifically grounded account with knowledge-accounts from cognitive ethology and cognitive psychology. It is found that procedural and semantic memory, on a neuroscientific level of analysis, matches an ethological reliabilist account. This formation also matches System 1 from dual process theory on a psychological level, whereas the addition of episodic memory, on the neuroscientific level of analysis, can account for System 2 on the psychological level. It is furthermore argued that semantic memory (conceptual knowledge-what) and the cognitive ability of categorization are linked to each other, and that they can be fruitfully modeled within a conceptual spaces framework.


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