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Bridging the gap between human behaviour and animal welfare: A study on human behaviour change and body condition scoring of suckler cows
Full text linkThere are several examples of best animal husbandry practices that are not adopted, leading to animal welfare compromises. Bridging this gap between advice and human behaviour is crucial in helping drive improvements in animal welfare. Inappropriate feeding of pregnant cows is common and associated with compromised health and welfare. Obesity and leanness can cause calving difficulty and reduce the vigour of newborn calves. One way to offset the problems associated with body condition extremes is to adopt body condition scoring (BCS) by hand. Knowing each animal’s condition helps the farmer identify ‘at risk’ cows leading to better feeding decisions and improved health and welfare. Despite the significant benefits of BCS, very few farmers routinely adopt this practice, relying more upon a visual assessment of condition. Some farmers also report that they do not BCS by hand, or by eye. The current study identified the key barriers and drivers of BCS by hand to develop an evidence-based intervention designed to encourage more adoption. We propose that human behaviour change frameworks, such as the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), present the opportunity to address other animal welfare issues where best management practices are rarely adopted. We also recommend that an interdisciplinary team of animal welfare and social scientists are best positioned to develop human behaviour change interventions that will more likely lead to tangible, persistent and positive change
Functionally rich crop rotations increase calorie and macronutrient outputs across Europe
Full text linkIncreased crop diversity in cereal-dominated rotations can enhance crop protection, nutrient use efficiency and climate change adaptation. Nevertheless, it is argued that replacing cereals in rotations diminishes food production, threatening food security. Here we compared outputs of calories and macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) for human consumption from cereal monocultures, cereal-only rotations and rotations including two or three functionally distinct crop types (cereals plus root and oil crops, legumes or ley) in 16 long-term experiments across Europe. Rotations with three functional types produced more calories and macronutrients than cereal monocultures and cereal-only rotations with forage crops used to produce milk. Carbohydrate gains depended on growing conditions and crop choice. Advantages increased over time but were lost with forage crops used for beef or biofuel. Functionally rich rotations provided macronutrient proportions closer to recommended human diets. Our analysis shows no trade-off between functionally rich rotations and food production or agricultural land expansion
Long-term balanced organic and synthetic nitrogen fertilization can realize sustainable crop production
No full textCONTEXT: Manure recycling to cropland reduces synthetic fertilizer use and nitrogen (N) waste while increasing soil carbon (C) sequestration, which is important for sustainable crop production. However, few studies have systematically integrated long-term N budgets with changes of soil C and N stocks and the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance. OBJECTIVE: We aim to quantify the long-term responses of crop productivity, changes of soil C and N stock, reactive N losses and the GHG balance to various C and N management practices, thus providing evidence for sustainable crop production. METHODS: We used a 15-year wheat-maize double cropping system in the North China Plain. The experiment included eight fertilization treatments with contrasting C and N management practices. Crop productivity, N losses, changes of soil C and N stock; and the GHG balance were evaluated. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Compared with conventional fertilization with excess synthetic N, long-term balanced organic and synthetic N fertilization (in which N rates were determined using an N balance approach and target N yield, and the rates of synthetic N equal to the difference between above N rate and mineralized N from manure) increases crop yield and N harvest by 8–11%, and soil C and N sequestration by 191–230%, while reducing N inputs by 23%, thus also reducing reactive N losses by 40% and the GHG balance from 59 to −2143 kg CO2-eq ha−1. Although the N surplus was relatively high in the balanced organic and synthetic N fertilization, it did not cause high N losses but achieved high soil C and N sequestration and crop yield, which were not achieved under the optimum synthetic N fertilization. SIGNIFICANCE: This study emphasizes the benefits of combining organic and synthetic N within an appropriate N management framework, offering a global model for sustainable crop production in croplands. Site-specific adjustments could be necessary when applying these findings to other regions with distinctly different soil or climatic conditions. We should interpret N surplus cautiously because a high N surplus does not necessarily lead to high N losses with manure recycling to croplands.</p
Early-Life Respiratory Emissions of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O in Pre-Weaned Dairy-Bred Calves
Full text linkGreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock are a major contributor to climate change, with cattle known to be the principal contributor through enteric fermentation, manure management, and metabolic processes. This study investigates the emission rates of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O in pre-weaned calves aged 12 to 86 days, focusing on the transitional phase from a purely milk-based diet to the introduction of solid feed. Using a novel respiratory mask, repeated measurements of GHG emissions were collected from 65 calves to offer first insights into early-life respiratory GHG emissions from calves. All three gases increased with age, with CH₄ showing a much stronger age dependence than for CO2 or N2O, consistent with early developmental changes as calves begin to consume solid feed. Eructation events were observed only in calves older than 25 days, and were characterised by significant increases in CH4, but not CO2 or N2O. Overall, CO2 emissions dominated the GHG profile of the cattle, and although breath concentrations remained relatively stable, emission rates increased significantly with age, suggesting that changes in tidal volume and lung capacity were the primary drivers. Breed-specific differences were limited and sensitive to model structure; after adjusting for age using a generalised linear model, British Blue-cross calves exhibited higher CH₄ emissions and lower N₂O emissions compared to other breeds, though these differences were not statistically significant across all comparisons. These findings provide the first empirical characterisation of early-life respiratory greenhouse gas emissions in calves, offering baseline data to support improved modelling of livestock emissions and informing future mitigation strategies that target the pre-weaning period
The Global Danger Posed by Plant Disease
No full textMost people are completely unaware of the threat posed by plant disease. Those who know, often underestimate the potential severity and impact of plant disease, nationally and globally.Although plant pathogens and the diseases they cause have been around for millennia, humans have played a major role in spreading them across the world. From the birth of farming, through to early exploration and later development of trade routes across the globe, we have been responsible for spreading plant pathogens around the world, often with destructive consequences to crops and natural systems. These threats seem to be on the increase. One concern, among many, is the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, which is spreading around the world at an alarming rate. What makes this pathogen particularly dangerous is its wide host range, putting many crop, ornamental and wild plants at risk. Climate change also increases the threat posed by plant diseases, as the warming climate creates new opportunities for some pathogens to extend their geographical range.So, what do we do? This book looks at what we can do in the face of continued globalization of trade, including how we can use plant breeding and biotechnology to help plants, and us, survive the ever-present threat of plant disease.Written primarily for students, researchers and practitioners in plant science and related subject areas, the book is also accessible for a general audience interested in plants
UK-EU reset - implications for animal welfare
Full text linkThe Brexit ‘Trade and Co-operation Agreement’ of 2020 increased trade friction, red tape and costs for trade in animals and animal products between UK and EU. The ‘reset’ announced in May 2025 included immediate agreements on energy and fishing, and identified further areas to negotiate, including an Animal and Plant Health or ‘Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Agreement’ (SPS). Issues for the ongoing negotiations include the extent of the ‘short list’ of exceptions in UK alignment with EU rules (and ‘dynamic alignment’ with future rules) and the fee the UK must pay. Animal welfare could be impacted by a SPS and by alignment with/ exceptions to EU rules
Phytonematodes Associated with Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) in Southwest Nigeria
Full text linkThe study identified the plant-parasitic nematodes associated with kenaf in selected loca-tions in southwest Nigeria. A survey was conducted in kenaf fields in Ile-Ife and Ikenne, Ibadan and Ilora in September,2022. The soil sampling procedure involved the collection of samples from 30 distinct locations proximate to the plant roots. Plant-parasitic nema-todes(PPNs)were extracted, identified and counted. The frequency of occurrence (FO) and population densities (PD) of the extracted nematodes were calculated. Four genera of PPNswere associated with kenaf in all study locations. These were Meloidogyne, Pratylen-chus, Helicotylenchus, and Tylenchus.In Ile-Ife, Meloidogynehad the highest population density per 200 ml soil (72.7%), followed by Helicotylenchus (21.4%),while the lowest den-sity was recorded for Tylenchus(2.0%). In Ikenne, the highest density was recorded for Meloidogyne(47.3%), followed by Pratylenchus (27.9%), and Helicotylenchus(24.4%). The lowest nematode density was recorded for Tylenchus(0.5%). In Ilora, the highest density was recorded for Meloidogyne(66.9%), followed by Helicotylenchus(23.9%), while the low-est density was recorded for Tylenchus(1.4%). The survey in Ibadan showed that nema-tode with the highest density was Meloidogyne(61.1%), followed by Helicotylenchus(28.0%),while the least density was recorded for Tylenchus (1.3%). This study concluded that four genera of PPN were associated with kenaf in Ikenne, Ile-Ife, Ilora and Ibadan. These were Meloidogyne, Helicotylenchus, Pratylenchusand Tylenchus. The most abun-dant was Meloidogyne. Therefore, in the management of PPN genera that may impact ke-naf production in southwest Nigeria in kenaf, more emphasis should be placed on root-knot nematodes
UK-EU reset - implications for animal welfare
Full text linkThe Brexit ‘Trade and Co-operation Agreement’ of 2020 increased trade friction, red tape and costs for trade in animals and animal products between UK and EU. The ‘reset’ announced in May 2025 included immediate agreements on energy and fishing, and identified further areas to negotiate, including an Animal and Plant Health or ‘Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Agreement’ (SPS). Issues for the ongoing negotiations include the extent of the ‘short list’ of exceptions in UK alignment with EU rules (and ‘dynamic alignment’ with future rules) and the fee the UK must pay. Animal welfare could be impacted by a SPS and by alignment with/ exceptions to EU rules
Behavioural drivers of on-farm biosecurity implementation in livestock: A literature overview with insights for research
Full text linkGlobal livestock intensification heightens disease risks, making effective biosecurity crucial. However, the inconsistent adoption of biosecurity measures and the behavioural drivers behind this variability are not fully understood. This review assessed the current state of knowledge and identified evidence gaps regarding drivers influencing stakeholders’ decision-making and the implementation of biosecurity practices, to clarify why well-established measures are not consistently applied and to guide research addressing the factors shaping biosecurity implementation.Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search up to October 2023 was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Using a literature overview methodology, we retrieved relevant review articles on biosecurity decision-making (first phase), from which we identified relevant original research cited within them (second phase). Thematic analysis used the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model, with the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) guiding the coding procedure.Of 811 reviews initially retrieved, 37 were included. From these, 205 original research articles were identified, of which 78 were included. Most original studies originated from Europe and Central Asia (n=38), highlighting geographical biases. Research mainly targeted farmers (n=78), with few studies targeting veterinarians (n=6). While 45 articles addressed all three COM-B components, beyond half (n=46) reported four or fewer TDF domains, suggesting important knowledge gaps in the literature.Future studies should target understudied regions, TDF domains (e.g. Skills, Goals and Reinforcement) and stakeholders (e.g. farmers) to effectively implement biosecurity measures. This will help the livestock sector adopt evidence-based biosecurity and adhering to it, improving animal health and resilience worldwide.<br/
