Take Home Message: Methane output from dairy cows can be decreased by up to 40% by including 150 g/kg DM extruded linseeds in the diet without affecting intake or milk yield.
It is possible to feed cattle using extruded linseeds to reduce methane production without altering milk yield. That was the finding of two studies, carried [...]
Take Home Message: Agricultural green house gas emissions can be reduced by 5% by altering management, particularly by the wider use of genetic improvement in the beef and dairy industries.
There are a range of cost-effective options – either nil or low cost – for the UK livestock sector that will abate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. [...]
Take Home Message: Breeding dairy cows for increased yield will reduce the CO2 output from dairy farming by 0.6% for every 1% increase in yield.
A non-market or ‘shadow’ environmental value can be incorporated into selection indices, using increased milk yield to reduce the herd size required to maintain herd output as the goal trait.
“And a [...]
Take Home Message: Reducing dietary CP had no effect on efficiency of ME use, but lowered methane emissions
Reducing dietary CP concentration significantly decreased feed intake and milk production, but had no effects on energy partitioning between milk and body tissue or efficiency of ME used for lactation. That was the finding of a study, carried [...]
Take Home Message: The inclusion of 2% fish oil in the diet of steers will reduce methane output by approximately 25%, but will also reduce intake by 10%.
Feeding fish oil to beef steers can reduce the amount of methane they produce – good news for the environment. But not so good, however, is an [...]
Take Home Message: To reduce methane output per kg milk feed higher levels of concentrates, but there is little affect of changing cow breed.
Increasing dietary concentrate level reduced methane emission as a proportion of feed intake and milk yield. But cow breed (Holstein compared to Jersey-Holstein) had no significant effect on methane output as a [...]
Take Home Message: Out wintered pads for dry cows, whether covered or not, result in similar dirtiness scores and udder health but with reduced costs compared to housing in cubicles, but must not be overstocked.
Dry cows stocked at a rate of 12m2/cow on out-wintering pads are unlikely to have udder health problems in the subsequent [...]
Take Home Message: Focus on pig genotype to improve growth rate and carcass composition with benefits due to vaccination dependent on herd health status
Genotype has the greatest influence on pig performance – in terms of growth rate and body composition – even when a vaccine against Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is used. In trials [...]
Take Home Message: Scottish Blackface ewes are more resistant to internal parasites and will shed less worms in their faeces around lambing compared with Greyface ewes.
Scottish Blackface ewes could be genetically more resistant to nematode parasite infection than Greyface ewes. That was just one of the conclusions of research carried out, by scientists based in [...]
Take Home Message: Dosing grazing lambs with tannins tends to reduce faecal worm egg counts and increases daily liveweight gain, but not as effectively as conventional wormers.
The use of quebracho tannins could become an effective approach for the treatment of intestinal parasites, particularly with the increasing prevalence of resistance to conventional anthelmintics. “But more work [...]
