Historical Forage Productivity and Cost of Capital for Cow-Calf Production in California

Exposure of livestock grazing to forage productivity variation and to market fluctuations affects the risk of investment and returns from cow-calf operations, but little work has been done to empirically compare these returns to the returns that would be demanded by financial markets from assets with similar risk and return characteristics. This study uses historical forage production data from three rangeland locations in California, and cattle and hay prices, to simulate financial statements for three hypothetical cow-calf producers in the period 1988–2007. Return on investment from year to year incorporates the variability and risk associated with dependence on natural forage production. Performance is then compared to the actual performance of a diversified portfolio of assets using the Capital Asset Pricing Model, from which the theoretical cost of capital for these hypothetical grazing enterprises is derived. Much like other agricultural enterprises, cow-calf production in California has low market risk and a low theoretical cost of capital. This theoretical cost of capital is still greater than the historical return from livestock production (excluding land appreciation) in the western United States, adding further backing to the point often made in the literature that ranchers who engage in cow-calf production are receiving benefits beyond the commercial returns from livestock production alone.     

Growing vegetables in developing countries for local urban populations and export markets: problems confronting small-scale producers

Vegetables attract high applications of pesticides, and farmers in developing countries use many acutely toxic insecticides to control pests on these crops. With the liberalisation of agricultural markets in developing countries, the number of small-scale farmers growing vegetables for both domestic and export markets is increasing. Demand for supplies of year-round and exotic fruit and vegetables has grown in industrialised countries, but with rising quality standards and traceability requirements it is difficult for small-scale farmers to benefit from this lucrative non-traditional agricultural export trade. The demand is high for vegetables in the expanding cities in developing countries, and farmers in peri-urban areas, or rural areas with good access to the cities, are in a position to find a growing market for their produce. Poor storage facilities will often mean that farmers are forced to sell at peak times when prices are low. Farmers rarely have access to training in pesticide use, and have only limited or no access to advice on the complicated management of pesticides. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN is concerned about high levels of poor quality and adulterated pesticides on sale in developing countries. Surveys repeatedly show that without training, farmers are unable to make good crop decisions: recognition of pests and their predators is generally low, leading to decisions to spray to kill any insect; knowledge of product selection, application rates and timing is poor; different products are often combined in the belief that the effect will be greater; re-entry periods after spraying and essential harvest intervals are not known; and without knowledge of alternatives, farmers will often assume that the only solution to pest problems is to spray more frequently. From a consumer's point of view, few developing countries are able to monitor pesticide residues, particularly for produce grown for home consumption: most countries do not have laboratories for even simple residue testing. Changes in European Maximum Residue Limits means that export crops will be rejected if they contain residues at the Limit of Detection of pesticides not registered in Europe. Season-long field level training in Integrated Pest Management can help farmers to become better decision-makers, and to greatly reduce pesticide use while reducing risks to their own health and environment, producing safer products for consumers, maintaining yields, and increasing incomes.     

Feeding‐deterrent activity of α‐asarone isomers against some stored Coleoptera

All isomers of α‐asarone [(E)‐4‐prop‐1‐enyl‐1,2,5‐trimethoxybenzene] were tested for their feeding deterrent activity against adults of Sitophilus granarius and Tribolium confusum and larvae of Trogoderma granarium and Tribolium confusum. (E)‐2‐prop‐1‐enyl‐1,3,5‐trimethoxybenzene exhibited the strongest deterrent activity against all the species tested. The total coefficients of deterrency for this compound were 140.6 and 169.7 for Tribolium confusum adults and larvae, respectively, and 144.9 and 104.6 for larvae of Trogoderma granarium and adults of Sitophilus granarius, respectively. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Pharmacokinetics of pentoxifylline and its 5-hydroxyhexyl metabolite after oral and intravenous administration of pentoxifylline to healthy adult horses

OBJECTIVE: To determine serum pharmacokinetics of pentoxifylline and its 5-hydroxyhexyl metabolite in horses after administration of a single IV dose and after single and multiple oral doses. ANIMALS: 8 healthy adult horses. PROCEDURES: A crossover study design was used with a washout period of 6 days between treatments. Treatments were IV administration of a single dose of pentoxifylline (8.5 mg/kg) and oral administration of generic sustained-release pentoxifylline (10 mg/kg, q 12 h, for 8 days). Blood samples were collected 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, 20, 30, and 45 minutes and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 hours after IV administration. For oral administration, blood samples were collected 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 hours after the first dose and 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours after the last dose. RESULTS: Elimination of pentoxifylline was rapid after IV administration. After oral administration, pentoxifylline was rapidly absorbed and variably eliminated. Higher serum concentrations of pentoxifylline and apparent bioavailability were observed after oral administration of the first dose, compared with values after administration of the last dose on day 8 of treatment. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In horses, oral administration of 10 mg of pentoxifylline/kg results in serum concentrations equivalent to those observed for therapeutic doses of pentoxifylline in humans. Twice daily administration appears to be appropriate. However, serum concentrations of pentoxifylline appear to decrease with repeated dosing; thus, practitioners may consider increasing the dosage if clinical response diminishes with repeated administration.     

Characterization of a wild-type strain of Francisella tularensis isolated from a cat.

Francisella tularensis type A is the primary cause of tularemia in animals and humans in North America. The majority of research on F. tularensis has been done with the attenuated live vaccine strain (LVS), which is a type B, but very few wild-type F. tularensis strains have been characterized. A gram-negative coccobacillus that was isolated in pure culture from the lungs of a cat that died after being lost for 5 days was received for identification at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching hospital. The isolate (strain TI0902) was not identified (or was misidentified) by commercial identification systems; however, it was identified as F. tularensis subspecies tularensis (type A) by sequencing a portion of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Furthermore, repetitive extragenic palindromic sequences-polymerase chain reaction amplified a 4-kb DNA fragment from TI0902 that was characteristic of F. tularensis type A but not type B. The electrophoretic profile of the lipopolysaccharide of strain TI0902 was identical to that of the LVS by Western blotting with antiserum to LVS. The protein-enriched outer membrane of strain TI0902 contained 6-8 proteins, which were similar in molecular size to those from the LVS. Electron microscopy of negatively stained and alcian blue-stained LVS and TI0902 cells showed that both strains were coccobacillary in shape and may be encapsulated. However, after mouse challenge, the TI0902 strain was clearly more virulent than the LVS strain. Results of this study indicate that the genotype and phenotype of wild-type F. tularensis type A strain TI0902 is similar, but not identical, to that of the LVS strain. Further studies will help determine whether pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions are also similar between the 2 strains.     

Chronic canine ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis): a retrospective study of 19 natural cases

Nineteen dogs from Greece with chronic ehrlichiosis were studied. The dogs exhibited bicytopenia or pancytopenia, bone marrow hypoplasia, seroreactivity to Ehrlichia canis (E. canis) antigens, and had no history of drug or radiation exposure. Anorexia, depression, severe bleeding tendencies, hypoalbuminemia, and increased serum alanine aminotransferase activity were also hallmarks of the disease. All these animals eventually died, irrespective of the treatment applied. Some dogs were also serologically positive for Rickettsia conorii, Leishmania infantum (L. infantum), and Bartonella vinsonii subspp. berkhoffii. Polymerase chain reaction testing of bone marrow samples revealed E. canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilia, Anaplasma platys, and L. infantum in some dogs. Concurrent infections did not appear to substantially influence the clinical course and final outcome of the chronic canine ehrlichiosis.     

Correlation of molecular markers and biological properties in Verticillium dahliae and the possible origins of some isolates

Haploid and amphihaploid Verticillium dahliae isolates were studied using PCR-based molecular markers which: (i) discriminate the defoliating and nondefoliating pathotypes (two primer pairs INTD2f/r and INTND2f/r), and (ii) are species-specific (primer pair 19/22). The results were compared with some known biological and other molecular properties of the isolates. Five discrete sequences of the 19/22 amplicon were found. Sequence 4 was associated with both defoliating isolates from Spain and nondefoliating isolates from Spain and USA; these pathotypes were separated by the primer pairs INTD2f/r and INTND2f/r, but the data showed that the primer espdef01 (derived from the 19/22 amplicon) cannot be used for this purpose. Amplicon sizes and sequences with primers 19/22 divided amphihaploid isolates from crucifers (thought to be interspecific hybrids) into those corresponding to the previously reported α and β groups. The β-group isolates had either sequence 4 or 5 (these two differing by a single base). The distinct amplicon sequence 3 given by the α-group isolates demonstrated that the V. dahliae -like 'parent' of this group was molecularly unlike any haploid isolate yet studied. The overall results are discussed in relation to phytosanitary considerations and the probability of defoliating or crucifer pathotypes arising de novo within Europe, either by selection or by interspecific hybridizations.     

Technical and economic evaluation method for use in improving infectious animal disease surveillance networks

With hope of improving the increasing number of epidemiological surveillance networks for animal diseases set up in recent years, a qualitative and quantitative technical and economic evaluation tool was developed and then applied to three epidemiological surveillance networks: RENESA (a French surveillance network for salmonella and mycoplasma contamination in poultry production units subject to official sanitary controls), the French Foot and Mouth Disease Epidemiovigilance Network and REPIMAT (the epidemiological surveillance network in Chad for major cattle diseases). We identified critical points in epidemiological surveillance networks using a modified version of the hazard analysis: critical control point (HACCP) method. An evaluation grid was then developed and validated by experts who were consulted in accordance with the Delphi method. A questionnaire to collect the information required for the evaluation and a scoring guide were then designed. Our evaluation procedure also included a calculation of the annual operating costs for two of the three networks studied. On the basis of the detailed results of the technical and economic evaluation, we formulated specific suggestions for improving the networks. The cost of implementing these proposals was calculated. We then simulated the effects of implementing each of the proposed improvements and a new global evaluation score was determined for each network. The 'cost per point' of each improvement was then calculated and discussed. This tool for the technical and economic evaluation of epidemiological surveillance networks for animal diseases is proposed so that it may be tested on a far wider scale and eventually be used in improving the functioning of such networks and for risk analysis in international trade.