The Effect of On-Farm Production of Various Sizes of Stocker Caffish Ictalurus punctatus on Farm Profitability.

Abstract— The effect of on‐farm production of various sizes of stocker catfish Ictalurus punctatus on farm profitability was compared to profitability of understocking fingerlings directly into multiple‐batch growout production. Vat‐graded catfish averaging 9 × 2 g (10 cm total length) and 27× 8 g (15 cm total length) were stocked into eight 0.1‐ha ponds at 100,000 fingerlingdha. Fish were fed once daily to apparent satiation and harvested 210 d after stocking. There were no significant differences (P < 0.10) in yield, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and survival across treatments. Mean gross yield (× SD) was 9,469 × 852 kg/ha and 8,846 × 2,099 kg/ha; net yield averaged 8,531× 885 and 6,374 × 2,189 kg/ha; FCR averaged 1.8 × 0.1 and 2.4 × 0.7, and survival averaged 38 × 7% and 26 ×11% for the 10‐cm and 15‐m fingerling stocking treatments, respectively. While experimental survival was low, varying survival rates of stockers in the economic analysis did not affect selection of the most profitable stocking strategies. The 15‐cm hgerlings reached a size significantly larger (361× 81 g or 32.8 × 2.2 cm) than the 10‐cm fingerlings (255 × 28 g or 29.6 × 1.4 cm) (P < 0.07). Whole‐farm budgets were developed based on three sizes of farm (65, 130, and 260 ha) and eight production strategies involving the purchase of different sizes of fingerlings for either understocking growout ponds (6,12, or 37‐g fingerlings) or to grow into stockers (114,135, 176, 255, or 361 9). Purchasing 37‐g advanced fingerlings for multiple‐batch production was the most profitable strategy for the three sizes of farm. The second most important profit‐maximizing strategy for larger farm sizes was single‐batch production with 255‐g stockers produced on‐farm, but purchasing 12‐g fingerlings to stock into multiple‐batch production was the second most profitable strategy for the smallest farm. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the results were robust to variation in survival, prices, and other production characteristics. Risk analysis indicated that purchasing 37‐g advanced fingerlings for multiple‐batch production was associated with the lowest levels of economic risk for growout production.     

RADIOGRAPHY REVIEW: THE VASCULAR AND BRONCHIAL PATTERNS OF PULMONARY DISEASE

Pulmonary blood vessels account for the majority of radiographically visible structures in normal lung. The vascular pattern of pulmonary disease is characterized by changes in vessel size, shape, contour. Changes in size can be classified as hypo vasularity (decreased size) or hyper vascularity (increased size). The pulmonary arteries and veins may be affected separately or simultaneously. In normal lung, the bronchial structures peripheral to the hilar area are not seen clearly. The bronchial pattern of pulmonary disease is characterized by alteractions in bronchial wall thickness and dinsity, or in bronchial lumen diameter. Mixtures of the four lung patterns, i.e. , alveolar, interstitial, bronchial, and vascular, occur frequently. The lung radiographic pattern in an individual animal depends not only on the disease process present, but also on the stage of the disease during which they are radiographed.     

Factors Driving Aquaculture Technology Adoption

Technology adoption has played a key role in the global development and increase in agricultural productivity. However, the decision to adopt a new technology on farms is complex. While the factors that drive the adoption of new technologies have been well studied in agriculture, less attention has been paid to drivers of technology adoption in aquaculture. Aquacultural technologies have developed and advanced rapidly in recent decades, but not all technologies have been adopted readily by farmers. This review paper summarizes some of the critical factors that influence aquaculture technology adoption decisions such as: (1) method of information transfer, (2) characteristics of the technology, (3) farm characteristics, (4) economic factors, and (5) sociodemographic and institutional factors. Fish farmers have tended to adopt technologies that are perceived to be more advantageous than others in terms of productivity, cost efficiency, and ease of management. Price of aquaculture products and profit expectations from business ventures were key economic factors influencing adoption decisions. Given the wide array of species, production practices, and global nature of aquaculture, the intensity and the extent of adoption of technologies depend on the nature of the industry in which they are adopted and their economic, social, political, and regulatory environments.     

Influence of Simulated Double‐crested Cormorant,Phalacrocorax auritus,Predation on Multiple‐batch Production of Channel Catfish,Ictalurus punctatus

The double‐crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, is considered the primary depredating bird species on commercially produced channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, in the southeastern USA. We simulated different levels of cormorant predation on losses at harvest and economic effects on channel catfish production in a multiple‐batch cropping system. We observed significant (P < 0.05) declines in catfish production at increasing levels of cormorant predation in this study. This decline was mitigated by increased individual growth of catfish at higher predation rates (i.e., lower catfish densities). This mitigating effect produced a non‐linear relationship with total kg of catfish harvested per pond resulting in a non‐linear incremental increase in breakeven price related to predation. Costs of production ($/kg) increased with increasing predation levels up to very high levels of predation with a cumulative maximum increase in breakeven price of $0.143/kg. These results indicate that losses at harvest due to cormorant predation occur immediately but are mitigated in part by compensatory growth of individual catfish. Losses due to cormorant predation in multi‐batch systems can be considerable, but there is not a 1:1 relationship between losses and kg of catfish harvested due to compensatory factors.     

Quantitative transmission characteristics of different H5 low pathogenic avian influenza viruses in Muscovy ducks

EU annual serosurveillance programs show that domestic duck flocks have the highest seroprevalence of H5 antibodies, demonstrating the circulation of notifiable avian influenza virus (AIV) according to OIE, likely low pathogenic (LP). Therefore, transmission characteristics of LPAIV within these flocks can help to understand virus circulation and possible risk of propagation. This study aimed at estimating transmission parameters of four H5 LPAIV (three field strains from French poultry and decoy ducks, and one clonal reverse-genetics strain derived from one of the former), using a SIR model to analyze data from experimental infections in SPF Muscovy ducks. The design was set up to accommodate rearing on wood shavings with a low density of 1.6 ducks/m²: 10 inoculated ducks were housed together with 15 contact-exposed ducks. Infection was monitored by RNA detection on oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs using real-time RT-PCR with a cutoff corresponding to 2–7 EID50. Depending on the strain, the basic reproduction number (R₀) varied from 5.5 to 42.7, confirming LPAIV could easily be transmitted to susceptible Muscovy ducks. The lowest R₀ estimate was obtained for a H5N3 field strain, due to lower values of transmission rate and duration of infectious period, whereas reverse-genetics derived H5N1 strain had the highest R₀. Frequency and intensity of clinical signs were also variable between strains, but apparently not associated with longer infectious periods. Further comparisons of quantitative transmission parameters may help to identify relevant viral genetic markers for early detection of potentially more virulent strains during surveillance of LPAIV.     

Antimicrobial peptides keep insect endosymbionts under control

Vertically transmitted endosymbionts persist for millions of years in invertebrates and play an important role in animal evolution. However, the functional basis underlying the maintenance of these long-term resident bacteria is unknown. We report that the weevil coleoptericin-A (ColA) antimicrobial peptide selectively targets endosymbionts within the bacteriocytes and regulates their growth through the inhibition of cell division. Silencing the colA gene with RNA interference resulted in a decrease in size of the giant filamentous endosymbionts, which escaped from the bacteriocytes and spread into insect tissues. Although this family of peptides is commonly linked with microbe clearance, this work shows that endosymbiosis benefits from ColA, suggesting that long-term host-symbiont coevolution might have shaped immune effectors for symbiont maintenance.     

Farm-level costs of settling basins for treatment of effluents from levee-style catfish ponds

Compelled by pending regulatory rule changes, settling basins have been proposed as a treatment alternative for catfish pond effluents, but the associated costs to catfish farmers have not been estimated. Economic engineering techniques were used to design 160 scenarios as a basis for estimating total investment and total annual costs. For static-water, levee-style catfish pond facilities, sizing of settling basins is controlled by factors such as type of effluent to be treated, pond layout, size of the largest foodfish pond, number of drainage directions, scope of regulations governing effluents, and the availability of land. Regulations that require settling basins on catfish farms would increase total investment cost on catfish farms by $126–2990 ha⁻¹ and total annual per-ha costs by $19–367 ha⁻¹. More numerous drainage directions on farms resulted in the greatest increase in costs. While both investment and operating costs increased with larger sizes of foodfish ponds, costs per ha were relatively greater on smaller than on larger farms. For farms on which existing fish ponds would have to be converted to settling basins, over half of the cost was due to the production foregone and annual fixed costs of the pond. Requiring catfish farmers to construct settling basins would impose a disproportionately greater financial burden on smaller farms. The magnitude of the increased costs associated with settling basins was too high relative to market prices of catfish for this technology to be economically feasible.     

Economic Optimization of Shrimp Farming in Honduras

A profit-maximizing linear programming model with a risk programming component was developed to identify sets of optimal management strategies and outline an annual schedule of production activities for shrimp farming in Honduras. A database of 912 complete pond production records was used to define technical relationships between stocking density and survival and growth rates and to develop net return coefficients for the mathematical model. Separate matrices were developed for three farm-size scenarios to account for economies of scale. Results indicated that, in spite of recent viral epizootics, shrimp farming continues to be a profitable economic activity. Stocking density was found to have a negative effect on growth rate, but not on survival rate. As a consequence, low and intermediate stocking rates were most commonly selected, but high stocking densities were recommended in certain periods of the dry season. Results demonstrated some economic advantages of reducing the traditional levels of water exchange with supplemental aeration. The risk programming analysis indicated that the selection of low and intermediate stocking rates resulted in overall annual risk levels that were relatively low.