Wilms, Lisa (author), Komainda, Martin (author), Hamidi, Dina (author), Riesch, Friederike (author), Horn, Juliane (author), and Isselstein, Johannes (author)
Format:
Journal Article
Publication Date:
2024-04-15
Published:
USA: Oxford University Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 209 Document Number: D13552
11 pages, Virtual fencing (VF) is a modern fencing technology that requires the animal to wear a device (e.g., a collar) that emits acoustic signals to replace the visual cue of traditional physical fences (PF) and, if necessary, mild electric signals. The use of devices that provide electric signals leads to concerns regarding the welfare of virtually fenced animals. The objective of this review is to give an overview of the current state of VF research into the welfare and learning behavior of cattle. Therefore, a systematic literature search was conducted using two online databases and reference lists of relevant articles. Studies included were peer-reviewed and written in English, used beef or dairy cattle, and tested neck-mounted VF devices. Further inclusion criteria were a combination of audio and electrical signals and a setup as a pasture trial, which implied that animals grazed in groups on grassland for 4 h minimum while at least one fence side was virtually fenced. The eligible studies (n = 13) were assigned to one or two of the following categories: animal welfare (n studies = 8) or learning behavior (n studies = 9). As data availability for conducting a meta-analysis was not sufficient, a comparison of the means of welfare indicators (daily weight gain, daily lying time, steps per hour, daily number of lying bouts, and fecal cortisol metabolites [FCM]) for virtually and physically fenced animals was done instead. In an additional qualitative approach, the results from the welfare-related studies were assembled and discussed. For the learning behavior, the number of acoustic and electric signals and their ratio were used in a linear regression model with duration in days as a numeric predictor to assess the learning trends over time. There were no significant differences between VF and PF for most welfare indicators (except FCM with lower values for VF; P = 0.0165). The duration in days did not have a significant effect on the number of acoustic and electric signals. However, a significant effect of trial duration on the ratio of electric-to-acoustic signals (P = 0.0014) could be detected, resulting in a decreasing trend of the ratio over time, which suggests successful learning. Overall, we conclude that the VF research done so far is promising but is not yet sufficient to ensure that the technology could not have impacts on the welfare of certain cattle types. More research is necessary to investigate especially possible long-term effects of VF.
Norris-Parish, Shannon L. (author), Leggette, Holli R. (author), Pesl Murphy, Theresa (author), Parrella, Jean A. (author), Richburg, Audra (author), and Herring, Andy D. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2024-01-12
Published:
UK: Oxford University Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 208 Document Number: D13252
9 pages, Animal scientists face an increasing need to communicate with the lay public because of the public’s interest in the origin and production of animal-sourced foods. Consumers’ increased interest infers a critical need for effective communication skills among animal science graduates. Effective communication skills are mandatory if students are to explain scientific information and mitigate misinformation about livestock production. The purpose of our study was to investigate the communication styles and communication effectiveness of upper-level animal science students enrolled in a beef cattle production and management course at Texas A&M University across five semesters (N = 241; spring 2018 = 61, summer 2018 = 15, Fall 2018 = 54, spring 2019 = 55, and fall 2019 = 56). Male animal science students (n = 25; 32.9%) preferred assertive and direct communication (a driver communication style) and female students (n = 32; 19.4%) preferred collaborative and accommodating communication (an amiable communication style). Students were moderately experienced with beef cattle production (M = 3.09, SD = 1.07) before enrolling in the course; however, former beef cattle experiences did not influence their preferred communication style [F(10, 230) = 0.36, P = 0.96]. Researchers also observed students’ communication skills during an end-of-semester beef cattle production and management project presentation and identified strengths and weaknesses. Students demonstrated strong, in-depth animal industry knowledge, an ability to connect beef production techniques to management success, and critical thinking skills when answering questions. Oral communication skills warranting improvement included integrating visual aids and/or visual slides to support findings, using improved stage presence and confidence, and sharing responsibilities when presenting as a team. Finally, completion of a supplemental communication training module, intended to develop oral communication skills, significantly improved [F(1, 55) = 4.16, P = 0.046] students’ beef cattle production and management project presentation scores. As students become aware of their communication preferences and tendencies, they become equipped to adjust their communication practices and techniques when needed. Through this study, we gained insight into students’ communication tendencies and skills, which can be used to provide curricular recommendations and enhance students’ workforce readiness.
Cooke, Andrew (author), Mullan, Siobhan (author), Morten, Charlie (author), Hockenhull, Joanna (author), Le-Grice, Phil (author), Le Cocq, Kate (author), Lee, Michael R. F. (author), Cardenas, Laura M. (author), and Rivero, M. Jordana (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2023-06-29
Published:
United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12951
14 pages, Animal welfare encompasses all aspects of an animal’s life and the interactions between animals. Consequently, welfare must be measured across a variety of factors that consider aspects
such as health, behaviour and mental state. Decisions regarding housing and grazing are central to farm management. In this study, two beef cattle systems and their herds were compared
from weaning to slaughter across numerous indicators. One herd (‘HH’) were continuously
housed, the other (‘HG’) were housed only during winter. Inspections of animals were conducted to assess body condition, cleanliness, diarrhoea, hairlessness, nasal discharge and ocular discharge. Hair and nasal mucus samples were taken for quantification of cortisol and
serotonin. Qualitative behaviour assessments (QBA) were also conducted and performance
monitored. Physical health indicators were similar between herds with the exception of
nasal discharge which was more prevalent in HH (P < 0.001). During winter, QBA yielded differences between herds over PC1 (arousal) (P = 0.032), but not PC2 (mood) (P = 0.139).
Through summer, there was a strong difference across both PC1 (P < 0.001) and PC2 (P =
0.002), with HG exhibiting more positive behaviour. A difference was found in hair cortisol
levels, with the greatest concentrations observed in HG (P = 0.011), however such a pattern
was not seen for nasal mucus cortisol or for serotonin. Overall, providing summer grazing
(HG) appeared to afford welfare benefits to the cattle as shown with more positive QBA
assessments, but also slightly better health indicators, notwithstanding the higher levels of cortisol in that group.
11 pages, In this paper, we investigate the interdependence among changes in the prices of beef, pork, and chicken in Japan using a time-varying coefficient vector autoregressive model. Our empirical analysis using monthly data from January 1990 to March 2014 shows that changes in beef prices have long-term influences on changes in pork and chicken prices. Moreover, current changes in the prices of beef, pork, and chicken are closely related to changes in their prices in the preceding two months. Additionally, we do not find that the bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak announced by the Japanese government in September 2001 had a long-term influence on the dynamic relationships among changes in the prices of beef, pork, and chicken in Japan.
19 pages, We investigate the relationship between EU Common Agricultural Policy environmental payments, and dairy and beef farm level competitiveness and environmental performance. We use an Irish panel of farm level financial data for the years 2000–2017 and apply stochastic frontier analysis. Our estimates identify a positive relationship between technical efficiency and the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme for dairy farms, in contrast with the negative relation identified for previous payments of this kind such as the Rural Environment Protection Scheme for both beef and dairy. We then simulate increases in the first type of environmental payments financed through reductions in decoupled payments. We use alternative scenarios for payment redistribution such as flat allocation, allocation to farms with low stocking rates or proportional reallocation of payments. We find that under the second scenario, marginal environmental gains can potentially be achieved for dairy farms. For beef farms, the proportional allocation performs best regarding environmental gains. We also find that under this scenario, the impacts on income inequality can be smoothed for both farm types.
