Norwegian dairy farmers’ preferences for breeding goal traits and associations with herd and farm characteristics

ABSTRACT

The aims of this study were to investigate variation and clustering in breeding goal trait preferences among Norwegian dairy farmers and to identify factors with a systematic influence on their preferences. An internet-based questionnaire was sent out to dairy farmers connected to the Norwegian co-operative breeding organization Geno (N?=?8222), of which 10.8% answered (N?=?888). Of the 15 suggested traits fertility had the highest overall ranking, while parasite resistance and methane emission had the lowest. Four distinct preference clusters were identified by the means of cluster analysis, of which two had a high preference for milk production. Differences in terms of farm and herd characteristics between clusters suggests a mixture of systematic and intrinsic effects on breeding goal trait priorities. This study shows that Norwegian dairy farmers’ preferences for breeding goal traits fall into four distinct clusters, both affected by herd and farm characteristics along with intrinsic values.     

Smallholder cattle farmers’ breeding practices and trait preferences in a tropical Guinea savanna agro-ecological zone

The present study was embarked upon to determine the breeding practices and choice of selection and breeding traits of cattle farmers in Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. A total of 180 smallholder cattle herders were randomly sampled. However, analysis of data was restricted to 144 herders (81 from FCT and 63 from Nasarawa State). Primary data were collected through individual structured questionnaire administration. Chi-square (χ2) statistics were used to compare categorical variables. Arithmetic means of continuous variables between locations were tested using T test. Rank means were also calculated for within- and between-location comparisons of the preference traits. Chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) algorithm was used to determine the influence of socio-economic parameters on the traits of preference. Access to credit, personal savings, and type of landholding were significantly (P?<?0.05) different between the two locations with higher values recorded for farmers in FCT. However, farmers in Nasarawa State had significantly higher land expanse (2.28?±?0.19 versus 1.29?±?0.09). The production objectives were rated similar between locations. The number of foundation stock differed significantly between farmers in the two locations with higher mean recorded in Nasarawa (7.37?±?0.37) compared to FCT (5.18?±?0.19). However, mean herd size was higher (34.60?±?2.58 versus 27.63?±?2.00; P?<?0.05) in FCT than Nasarawa. Among the productivity indices, only average age at first parturition and average calving interval were significantly (P?<?0.05) influenced by location. Within the FCT, calving interval was the trait of utmost importance in selecting the breeding stock, followed by milk yield, disease resistance, and body size. In Nasarawa State, calving interval, disease resistance, milk yield, body size, and survival were ranked similarly (P??>0.05). Across the two locations, body conformation (P?<?0.05) and calving interval (P?<?0.01) were more highly rated in FCT than Nasarawa State, while heat tolerance was less rated (P?<?0.05) in the former. All the traits of preference were influenced by socio-economic factors, and could be exploited in future breeding plans to boost cattle production. A new livestock census in the study area is also advocated to reflect the current reality as regards cattle distribution.

     

Milk production of Jersey and Fleckvieh × Jersey cows in a pasture-based feeding system

Milk production parameters of purebred Jersey (J) cows and Fleckvieh?×?Jersey (F?×?J) cows in a pasture-based feeding system were compared using standard milk recording procedures. Milk, fat and protein production was adjusted to 305 days per lactation and corrected for age at calving. Effects of breed, parity, month and year were estimated for milk, fat and protein yield as well as fat and protein percentage, using the general linear model procedure. Fixed effects identified as affecting milk production parameters significantly were breed, parity and year. F?×?J cows produced significantly more milk than J cows (6141?±?102 and 5398?±?95 kg milk, respectively). Similarly, fat and protein yields were significantly higher in F?×?J (272?±?4 and 201?±?3 kg, respectively) than in Jersey cows (246?±?3 and 194?±?2 kg, respectively). Fat and protein percentages only differed slightly in absolute terms being 4.61?±?0.04 % fat in the Jersey compared to 4.47?±?0.04 % fat in the F?×?J. Protein levels for J and F?×?J cows were 3.62?±?0.03 and 3.51?±?0.03 %, respectively. Despite a lower fat percentage, F?×?J crossbred cows may be more productive than purebred Jersey cows which may be due to heterotic effects.     

Farmers’ choice of genotypes and trait preferences in tropically adapted chickens in five agro-ecological zones in Nigeria

This study aimed at determining chicken genotypes of choice and traits preference in chicken by smallholder farmers in Nigeria. Data were obtained from a total of 2063 farmers using structured questionnaires in five agro-ecological zones in Nigeria. Chi square (χ²) statistics was used to explore relationships between categorical variables. The mean ranks of the six genotypes and twelve traits of preference were compared using the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis H (with Mann–Whitney U test for post hoc separation of mean ranks), Friedman, and Wilcoxon signed-rank (with Bonferroni’s adjustments) tests. Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) was used to assign farmers into groups. Gender distribution of farmers was found to be statistically significant (χ²?=?16.599; P?≤?0.002) across the zones. With the exception of Shika Brown, preferences for chicken genotypes were significantly (P?≤?0.01) influenced by agro-ecological zone. However, gender differentiated response was only significant (P?≤?0.01) in Sasso chicken with more preference by male farmers. Overall, FUNAAB Alpha, Sasso, and Noiler chicken were ranked 1st, followed by Kuroiler (4th), Shika Brown (5th), and Fulani birds (6th), respectively. Within genotypes, within and across zones and gender, preferences for traits varied significantly (P?≤?0.005 and P?≤?0.01). Traits of preference for selection of chicken breeding stock tended towards body size, egg number, egg size, and meat taste. Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficients of traits of preference were significant (P?≤?0.01) and ranged from 0.22 to 0.90. The two PCs extracted, which explained 65.3% of the variability in the dataset, were able to assign the farmers into two groups based on preference for body size of cock and hen and the other ten traits combined. The present findings may guide the choice of appropriate chicken genotypes while the traits of economic importance may be incorporated into future genetic improvement and conservation programs in Nigeria.

     

Understanding stakeholders’ opinions and preferences for non-native pet trade management in Florida

There is growing recognition of the link between the non-native pet trade and the introduction and establishment of invasive species due to the release and escape of non-native pets. However, it is unclear whether participants in the pet trade recognize the magnitude of this invasion risk. Successful mitigation of the pet trade invasion risk requires stakeholder support for, and participation in, regulations. We conducted 29 interviews in Florida to investigate key stakeholders’ opinions about the pet trade invasion risk and the effectiveness of potential regulations to mitigate this risk. Respondents framed the effectiveness of regulations in terms of their feasibility. Respondents also identified lack of trust and the existence of an adversarial relationship among stakeholder groups as major barriers to managing the pet trade invasion risk. Compliance with regulations may be improved if policy makers and managers utilize participatory decision-making to engage stakeholders in management of this risk.     

Herd and cow characteristics affecting the odds of veterinary treatment for disease – a multilevel analysis

Background

Research has indicated that a number of different factors affect whether an animal receives treatment or not when diseased. The aim of this paper was to evaluate if herd or individual animal characteristics influence whether cattle receives veterinary treatment for disease, and thereby also introduce misclassification in the disease recording system.

Methods

The data consisted mainly of disease events reported by farmers during 2004. We modelled odds of receiving veterinary treatment when diseased, using two-level logistic regression models for cows and young animals (calves and heifers), respectively. Model parameters were estimated using three procedures, because these procedures have been shown, under some conditions, to produce biased estimates for multi-level models with binary outcomes.

Results

Cows located in herds mainly consisting of Swedish Holstein cows had higher odds for veterinary treatment than cows in herds mainly consisting of Swedish Red cows. Cows with a disease event early in lactation had higher odds for treatment than when the event occurred later in lactation. There were also higher odds for veterinary treatment of events for cows in January and April than in July and October. The odds for veterinary treatment of events in young animals were higher if the farmer appeared to be good at keeping records. Having a disease event at the same date as another animal increased the odds for veterinary treatment for all events in young animals, and for lameness, metabolic, udder and other disorders, but not for peripartum disorders, in cows. There were also differences in the odds for veterinary treatment between disease complexes, both for cows and young animals.The random effect of herd was significant in both models and accounted for 40–44% of the variation in the cow model and 30–46% in the young animal model.

Conclusion

We conclude that cow and herd characteristics influence the odds for veterinary treatment and that this might bias the results from studies using data from the cattle disease database based on veterinary practice records.     

Participatory definition of trait preferences and breeding practices of goats in Aba’ala,Afar region: as input for designing genetic improvement program

Tropical Animal Health and Production - A farmer participatory approach was used to identify trait preferences and breeding practices for Afar goat population in Aba’ala district, Afar...     

Determinants of farmers’ choice for veterinary service providers in Nepal Mountains

This study was aimed to analyze factors that affect farmers' choice for major actors of veterinary service providers in village areas of Kaski district of Nepal, with the objective of identifying choice-specific attributes which could be addressed for improving the penetration of professional veterinary services in village areas. The information was obtained from 125 farmers using a structured questionnaire. A proportional hazard model was used for data analysis because of its ability to accommodate the attributes of both the chooser and the choice simultaneously. The results showed that village animal health workers (VAHWs) were the most preferred service providers followed by veterinarians and mid-level technicians. The farmers' age and education level had a significant but inverse relationship with the probability of choosing any of the three service providers. From our study, we found that the main choice-specific attributes with a significant impact on the choice probability was the distance to the preferred service provider. Since there was a high preference for VAHW, this suggests the possibility of poorly trained service providers dominating veterinary service market in village areas of Kaski district. Hence, the efforts put forward in the legalization of VAHW system in Nepal should first address the constraints that obstruct the accessibility of professional veterinary service providers in village areas.     

Genetic evaluation of growth in farmers’ flocks of Madras Red sheep under long-term selection in a group breeding scheme

The Network Project on Sheep Improvement (NWPSI)–Madras Red field unit is a group breeding scheme involving 198 farmers’ flocks of Madras Red sheep in which selection for growth traits and rotation of rams have been practised for over two decades. Growth data collected from these flocks were used to evaluate the performance and understand the direct and expected responses to selection based on genetic parameters. The body weight at birth (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6W), 9-month weight (9W), 12-month weight (YW), pre-weaning average daily gain (ADG1, birth to 3 months), post-weaning ADG2 (3–6 months), ADG3 (6–9 months), ADG4 (9–12 months) and ADG5 (3–12 months) were 2.67, 10.05, 14.56, 18.36, 21.36, 80.13, 49.05, 43.00, 34.21 and 41.18 g, respectively. Univariate analyses were carried out using animal and sire models to estimate variance components. Heritability obtained from animal model for BW was 0.36 and the values for other body weight traits were almost unity. Heritability estimate for pre-weaning ADG1 was 0.31. Very high genetic variability was observed in spite of long-term selection and this sustenance of variability is one of the main advantages of a group breeding scheme, combining several flocks of smaller size. An increasing genetic and phenotypic trend was noticed for almost all the traits studied. The expected responses calculated based on genetic parameters also indicated scope for improvement.     

Feed inventory and smallholder farmers’ perceived causes of feed shortage for dairy cattle in Gisagara District, Rwanda

A survey was conducted to indentify dairy cattle feed resources and smallholder farmers' perceived causes of feed shortage in the central and southern plateaus of Gisagara District, Rwanda. Data were obtained by interviewing 120 smallholder milk producers using structured questionnaires and through direct observations made during transect walks. In all the surveyed areas, rangelands (mean rank?=?1.12), crop residues (1.21), improved grasses (2.34), browse (3.23) and herbaceous (4.84) legumes were ranked as the main feed resources. Pennisetum purpureum (95% of the respondents), Leucaena diversifolia (60%) and Calliandra calothyrsus (40%) were the most cultivated fodders in all the plateaus. The dominant crop residue was Zea mays stover (65% of the farmers) in the surveyed areas. In both plateaus, land scarcity was ranked (mean rank?=?1.45) as the most important cause of feed shortage followed by inadequacy of forage planting material (2.72) and lack of knowledge on forage production and utilisation (3.02). To ensure sustainable viability of smallholder dairying in densely populated highlands, screening and evaluation of high-yielding and easily propagated pastures, incorporation of forages into cropping systems, value addition of low quality roughages and training farmers on forage production and utilisation should be prioritised.     

Nordic dairy farmers’ threshold for contacting a veterinarian and consequences for disease recording: Mild clinical mastitis as an example

Previous studies have addressed the differences in registered disease incidence between the Nordic dairy disease recording systems. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether Nordic dairy farmers have varying intention to contact a veterinarian the same day as detecting signs of mild clinical mastitis (MCM) in a lactating dairy cow. This is the first, and necessary, step in the process leading to a disease event being recorded. The second objective was to study underlying behavioural components influencing this threshold for action.A questionnaire-based survey was carried out in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The questionnaire was based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour from the field of social psychology. After performing qualitative face-to-face elicitation interviews a set of statements about treatment of MCM was identified. These were grouped into behavioural, normative and control beliefs. The most frequently mentioned beliefs were rephrased as questions. Behavioural intention, a proxy for the behaviour of interest, was assessed using case scenarios. The target and eligible herds were in milk recording and had an average herd size of at least 15 cows. The questionnaire was distributed to 400 randomly sampled dairy producers per included country. The response rate was around 50% in all four countries.The hypothesis of differences in behavioural intention between the countries was tested using Wilcoxon's rank-sum tests. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate the country-specific variability in behavioural intention as explained by attitude, subjective norm or perceived behavioural control alone, or in combination. The Spearman rank correlations between behavioural intention and each belief, weighted by its outcome evaluation or the motivation to comply, were estimated to find the most important drivers, constraints and social referents for the behaviour of interest.There were significant (p < 0.01) differences in behavioural intention between all countries except Denmark and Norway. Swedish farmers had the weakest behavioural intention and Finnish farmers the strongest. Attitude explained most of the variability in behavioural intention in all four countries. The most important driver in all countries was to achieve a quick recovery for the cow.The varying behavioural intention partly explain the differences in completeness of disease data in the Nordic countries: if farmers have different thresholds for contacting a veterinarian the registered incidence of clinical mastitis will be affected. Knowledge about the importance of attitudes and specific drivers may be useful in any communication about mastitis management in the Nordic countries.     

Evaluation of farmers’ diagnostic performance for detection of diarrhoea in nursery pigs using digital pictures of faecal pools

Background

Overconsumption of antibiotics in the pig industry is of concern in relation to antimicrobial resistance. False positive disease diagnosis may result in the treatment of healthy animals. In Denmark, diarrhoea is the most common cause of antibiotic treatment in pigs. Farm personnel are not professional clinicians, which could result in inappropriate antibiotic treatments of diarrhoea.The primary objectives of this pilot study using digital pictures of faecal pools was to evaluate farmers’ diagnostic performance in the assessment of faecal consistency in nursery pigs and to investigate the effect of different co-variables, including practical experience. A secondary objective was to compare the diagnostic performance of farmers with that of veterinarians.At a pig congress, observers (farm personnel and veterinarians) working professionally with pigs participated in a faecal consistency test consisting of 16 pictures of faecal pools (eight diarrhoeic and eight non-diarrhoeic). The faecal pools had previously been collected and subjected to faecal dry matter determination. The true status of the faecal pools was determined by the faecal dry matter content (diarrhoea: faecal dry matter ≤ 18%). The true status was used to evaluate the farmers’ and veterinarians’ diagnostic performance.

Results

A total of 119 farmers and 18 veterinarians were included in the statistical analysis. For the farmers, the mean proportion of faecal pools assessed as diarrhoeic was 0.48, the mean proportion of correctly classified faecal pools was 0.84, the mean diagnostic sensitivity was 0.83 and the mean diagnostic specificity was 0.86. Farmers with less than four years of practical experience detected clinical diarrhoea more accurately than farmers with more than four years of practical experience (p < 0.05). No significantly differences between farmers and veterinarians was observed (p > 0.20).

Conclusions

The results, using digital pictures of faecal pools, suggest that farmers and veterinarians have similar diagnostic performance in relation to diarrhoea. False positive classification of non-diarrhoeic pigs appears to be a larger problem than false negative classification of diarrhoeic pigs under Danish conditions. If these results can be confirmed under practical conditions, training in, and validation of, clinical diagnoses may be an important factor in reducing antibiotic consumption in the pig industry.     

Relationship between ketosis and dairy cows’ blood metabolites in intensive production farms of the periurban area of Dakar

This study which involved 140 Holstein and Montbeliard was carried out in the periurban area of Dakar with the aim to establish the relationship between ketosis, milk production and biochemical blood metabolites. The results showed that ketosis is a real problem in periurban farms around the city of Dakar with high proportions of 33.57% for subclinical ketosis and 6.43% for clinical ketosis. In their second month of milking, cows with subclinical ketosis had a decrease of 12.4 and 15.,6% in milk yield respectively for Montbeliard and Holstein, whereas cows with clinical ketosis had a decrease of 18.6 and 26%. Ketogenic cows (subclinical and clinical) have significantly lower average levels of blood glucose (p<0.05) and significantly higher average levels of blood urea (p<0.05) than cows with normal blood beta-Hydroxy Butyrate (BbHB) levels. Also, from one farm to another, significant difference was recorded with concentration of total proteins and globulin, calcium and magnesium.     

Correlations Analysis between Polymorphism of 3’-UTR in MSTN Gene and Slaughter Traits of China Red Steppe

In order to study the effect of myostatin (MSTN) gene on the meat performance of Local Yellow cattle in China,selecting 2 Local cattle breeds (Grassland Red bull,Yanbian cattle) as the research object,four binary hybrid cattle group (Germany Yellow cattle×Simmental,Limousin×Simmental,Charolais×Simmental and Red Angus×Simmental) as reference.PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing methods were conducted to detect single nucleotide polymorphism of MSTN gene in two Chinese native cattle and four cross cattle,and analyzed the correlations between single nucleotide polymorphism of China Red Steppe MSTN gene and slaughter traits.The sequence analysis showed that there was no mutations in the MSTN gene exon 3,a C5358A mutation of 3'-UTR of MSTN gene was found,which made the AclⅠrestriction enzyme site disappeared,all cattle groups showed polymorphism which was formed two genes as A,C, and 3 genotypes as AA,CA and CC, respectively.The research results suggested that AA genotype in groups of four hybrid cattle had dominant advantage and the genotype frequency was apparently higher than two groups of Chinese Native cattle for the test of independence,allele A was expressed the preferential allelic,the frequencies of CA,CC and AA genotypes showed a little variation between two cross cattle and Native cattle,and the frequency of allele C was apparently higher than allele A,so allele C was designed the preferential allelic in the local population.While correlations between different genotypes of China Red Steppe and slaughter traits analysis showed that AA genotype individual net meat percentage and eye muscle area were significantly higher than CA and CC genotype individuals (P<0.05),but other slaughter straits had no significant differences in three genotypes(P>0.05).These results provided a useful reference for research of the meat performance of China Red Steppe in the molecular breeding field.     

Smallholders’ perceptions of goat farming in southern Benin and opportunities for improvement

To be successful, initiatives to improve smallholder’s goat production should directly address the needs and objectives of the keepers while promoting rational use of local genetic resources. This paper identifies the objectives, constraints and needs of goat farmers in southern Benin and discusses their relevance to the development of improvement programmes. Between November and December 2005, structured questionnaires, focus group discussions and participant observation were used to collect information from 38 goat farmers in two selected locations. Goats were kept mainly for sale whenever cash was needed. Traits related to reproduction, to behaviour, to health and to meat production were considered equally important and were ranked very highly by goat keepers. Increased net income per flock through increased number of marketable animals is the derived breeding objective from the trait analysis. Disease outbreaks resulting in high mortality, poor housing, and feed shortages were, in descending order, the most important problems. It was concluded that the development of initiatives to improve management practices is an overriding priority. It will lead to increases in productivity in the short term and foster farmers’ participation in the development of long-term improvement strategies, which should include selection and controlled mating.     

Genetic parameters for energy balance, fat /protein ratio, body condition score and disease traits in German Holstein cows

Various health problems in dairy cows have been related to the magnitude and duration of the energy deficit post partum. Energy balance indicator traits like fat/protein ratio in milk and body condition score could be used in selection programmes to help predicting breeding values for health traits, but currently there is a lack of appropriate genetic parameters. Therefore, genetic correlations among energy balance, fat/protein ratio, and body condition score, and mastitis, claw and leg diseases, and metabolic disorders were estimated using linear and threshold models on data from 1693 primiparous cows recorded within the first 180 days in milk. Average daily energy balance, milk fat/protein ratio and body condition score were 8 MJ NEL, 1.13 and 2.94, respectively. Disease frequencies (% cows with at least one case) were 24.6% for mastitis, 9.7% for metabolic disorders and 28.2% for claw and leg diseases. Heritability estimates were 0.06, 0.30 and 0.34 for energy balance, fat/protein ratio and body condition score, respectively. For the disease traits, heritabilities ranged between 0.04 and 0.15. The genetic correlations were, in general, associated with large standard errors, but, although not significant, the results suggest that an improvement of overall health can be expected if energy balance traits are included into future breeding programmes. A low fat/protein ratio might serve as an indicator for metabolic stability and health of claw and legs. Between body condition and mastitis, a significant negative correlation of -0.40 was estimated. The study provides a new insight into the role energy balance traits can play as auxiliary traits for robustness of dairy cows. It was concluded that both, fat/protein ratio and body condition score, are potential variables to describe how well cows can adapt to the challenge of early lactation. However, the genetic parameters should be re-estimated on a more comprehensive data set.     

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum antibodies and its consequences for reproductive parameters in dairy cows from Dakar–Senegal,West Africa

The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Neospora caninum antibodies and its effects on reproductive parameters in cows in intensive dairy herds in Dakar. Randomised blood samples were taken for serology from 196 cows in four herds with a history of sporadic abortion. All of the sera were assayed for antibodies against N. caninum, Candida guillermondii, Coxiella burnetii, and Chlamydophila sp. The associations between serostatus and reproductive parameters (abortion, number of inseminations to conception, and calving to conception interval) were assessed over a period of 5 years (2004–2008). The seroprevalence of N. caninum antibodies in dairy cattle was 17.9%. The local Gobra breed and crossbreeds had higher levels of N. caninum antibodies than exotic breeds (p < 0.05). For the most recent pregnancies, seropositive cows required more inseminations to establish conception than seronegative cows (p < 0.05). The results indicate that dairy cattle from Dakar are exposed to N. caninum. Neosporosis should, therefore, be systematically considered as a cause when the calving to conception interval is prolonged.     

Analysis of pastoralists’ perception on challenges and opportunities for sheep and goat production in Northern Kenya

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Small ruminants’ production contributes to livelihood of pastoral communities, but this faces myriad constraints. This study aimed at identifying...     

Status and prospects for livestock production in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Some 16 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of the Lao PDR arises from the livestock sector. Almost all output - live animals and products - is from traditional small scale production and about 90 per cent of all households in the country keep one or more species of livestock. Industrial or large scale production is of very minor importance even for pigs and poultry. Considerable international assistance has been provided for livestock development, initially from the Socialist states that were of the same political persuasion as Lao PDR and more recently from multilateral and bilateral development assistance agencies. In general this assistance has not conferred lasting benefits on the sector in part due to the failure of the Lao Government to provide continuing support commensurate with the sector’s contribution to the national economy. Buffalo (1.1 million head in 2004) and cattle (1.3 million head) are the main ruminant species with goats and sheep (140 000 head) occupying a very minor position. Both pigs (1.7 million) and poultry (19.6 million) are major contributors to the household and national economies. Buffalo are now mainly meat producers, their former draught and transport roles having been taken over by mechanical equipment. Cattle, also once used for draught, are almost exclusively producers of beef. Pigs and poultry produce meat and poultry provide eggs. Lao indigenous livestock are mainly kept in low input systems, thus output is also low. Nothing is known of the genetic potential of the indigenous stock which are the victims of poor management, inadequate nutrition and minimal health care. There is strong and rising demand for products of animal origin within the country and in the greater Southeast Asia and East Asia regions. Given suitable and appropriate support the Lao livestock sector would be in a strong position to contribute to supplying this demand.