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A short survey of key silage-making practices on Northern Ireland dairy farms, and farmer perceptions of factors influencing silage quality
Get PDFpeer-reviewedNorthern Ireland dairy farmers (n = 174) were surveyed to identify key silage-making practices, and factors perceived to influence the quality of grass silage made on their farms. The majority of farmers (65%) harvested grass for silage three times/year: 62% normally used a contractor, while 47% routinely used a silage additive. Delays to mowing and delays to harvesting due to adverse weather or poor ground conditions were perceived to have a large or very large impact on silage quality (68% and 53% of farmers, respectively). Inadequate wilting, poor-quality swards on owned land, on rented land and “contamination” of first-cut grass with autumn or winter growth herbage were all perceived as having a large or very large impact on silage quality (32%, 27%, 40%, 30% of farmers, respectively). Over the previous decade, 11%, 41% and 37% of farmers claimed a small, moderate or large improvement in silage quality, mainly due to earlier cutting of grass and ensiling better quality swards
Irish cattle farmers’ experiences and perceptions of negative framing of farm animal welfare in the media
Get PDFpeer-reviewedRECORDABSTRACTARTICLE
Irish cattle farmers’ experiences and perceptions of negative framing of farm animal welfare in the media
RESEARCH-ARTICLE
Author(s): A. Duley 1 , , M. Connor 1 , B. Vigors 2
Publication date (Electronic): 04 November 2022
Journal: Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research
Publisher: Compuscript
Keywords: Agriculture, farm animal welfare, farmer perception, media framing, rural sociology
Abstract
Increased urbanisation in recent decades has created a knowledge gap between farming and the Irish public. Mainstream media has begun filling this gap through reports on farm animal welfare (FAW) incidents that sometimes frame farming in a negative way. This negative framing can influence how farmers perceive the information communicated in these media stories and colour their experiences. Furthermore, perceived societal pressures may contribute to farmers feeling overwhelmed or negatively impact their mental health. In the context of FAW, the latter is particularly relevant as poor farmer mental health has been associated with poorer animal welfare. However, little is known about how the negative framing of FAW stories influence farmers’ perceptions and experiences. The aim of this study was to explore how negatively framed media stories about FAW incidents affect cattle farmers’ perceptions of animal welfare. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with seven Irish beef and dairy farmers using vignettes displaying negatively framed FAW incidents presented in the media. Five themes were identified: (1) job satisfaction and motivation, (2) impact on the human–animal relationship, (3) the importance of community, (4) negative portrayal of farmers and (5) need for FAW education. Findings suggest that negative framing of FAW in the media, as well as rural restructuring in Ireland, may negatively affect farmers’ motivation which could have indirect implications for the welfare of their animals
Potatoes in Ireland: Sixty years of potato research and development, market evolution and perspectives on future challenges
Get PDFpeer-reviewedPotato is often considered synonymous with Ireland, due to the great Irish famine in 1845, and remains the most important primary food crop in Ireland. Over the last 60 yr, the area of potatoes has reduced from 86,000 ha to 9,000 ha. This trend has occurred in most developed countries but in Ireland it is due to decreasing consumption, increasing yield, decline in seed production and potatoes no longer being use for animal feed. Significant specialisation occurred in the industry during the 1990s, with improvements in agronomy, on farm investment in storage and field equipment, consolidation of packing facilities, and a significant shift in cultivar choice, with Rooster becoming the dominant cultivar. These developments led to an increase in yield from 20 t/ha in the mid-1980s to over 40 t/ha today. Potato research in Ireland has focused on breeding, pathology and agronomy, while there have been significant changes in how knowledge is communicated to growers and the industry in this period. The industry faces many challenges in the future, largely framed by climate change, the need to reduce fertiliser and plant protection products as part of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and industry size constraints. New superior potato varieties and novel breeding techniques will have potential to help address many challenges in combination with integrated pest management principles. Multi-actor approaches will be necessary to address all challenges but particularly to aid the industry grow and exploit emerging opportunities
The development of effective ruminant breeding programmes in Ireland from science to practice
Get PDFpeer-reviewedA genetic improvement programme is a sustainable, cumulative and permanent approach to achieving year-on-year performance gains. Its success is predicated not only on an efficient and effective breeding programme but also on a vision of the traits of importance in the future. A single, industry-owned, centralised database for cattle and sheep has been the foundation for genetic improvement programmes in Ireland. While DNA information has been heralded as a breakthrough for accelerating genetic gain, the basic principles of a successful animal breeding programme still remain the same: (1) a pertinent breeding goal, (2) the appropriate breeding objective to deliver on the breeding goal, (3) an accurate genetic evaluation system, (4) an efficient and effective breeding scheme, and (5) a system to disseminate the elite germplasm to the end user; also of importance is a system for validating the underlying procedures and principles. The constituent traits and their relative emphasis within breeding objectives will continue to be contentious. Traits that will need to be considered more in future ruminant breeding objectives include environmental impact, product quality and animal well-being, including health; while not always explicitly included in Irish breeding objectives for cattle and sheep, indirect improvements for many are expected via the genetic improvement in traits like reproductive performance and survival as well as macro measures of quality such as milk fat and protein concentration and carcass merit. Crucial for the future sustainability of ruminant production systems is the co-evolution of management systems and breeding programmes so that the animal of the future is suited to the most sustainably efficient production system
The Saprophytic Lifestyle of Listeria monocytogenes and Entry Into the Food-Processing Environment
Get PDFpeer-reviewedListeria monocytogenes is an environmentally adapted saprophyte that can change into a human and animal bacterial pathogen with zoonotic potential through several regulatory systems. In this review, the focus is on the occurrence of Listeria sensu stricto and sensu lato in different ecological niches, the detection methods, and their analytical limitations. It also highlights the occurrence of L. monocytogenes genotypes in the environment (soil, water, and wildlife), reflects on the molecular determinants of L. monocytogenes for the saprophytic lifestyle and the potential for antibiotic resistance. In particular, the strain-specific properties with which some genotypes circulate in wastewater, surface water, soil, wildlife, and agricultural environments are of particular interest for the continuously updating risk analysis
Breakage behaviour and functionality of spray-dried agglomerated model infant milk formula: Effect of proteins and carbohydrates content
Get PDFpeer-reviewedThis study explored the effect of protein content (whey protein and casein) and carbohydrate content (lactose, sucrose, and maltodextrin) on the breakage behaviour and its influence on spray-dried agglomerated model infant milk formula. Whey protein powders were bigger in particle size, weaker in structural strength, and marginally more irregular in shape, which resulted in better rehydration properties but more breakage than pure casein powders. Similarly, sucrose samples had better rehydration properties and higher glass transition temperatures but suffered more breakage than maltodextrin and pure lactose powders because of their bigger particle size. The influence of proteins on breakage was greater than that of carbohydrates. Breakage changed the physical and structural properties of powders, especially for whey protein and sucrose samples, which caused the deterioration of rehydration properties and the decrease in crystallization temperatures. From the perspective of particle breakage, unwanted dairy powder breakage could be controlled by changing powder formulations
Biomass pools in intensively managed hedgerows can be a net emission of carbon dioxide
Get PDFpeer-reviewedPerennial landscape features, such as hedgerows, can play a role in enhancing terrestrial carbon (C) sinks, especially in North-western Europe, where they form a large part of the agricultural landscape. To date, there are few studies relating aerial imagery to ground-truthed biomass measurements and relating changes in biomass to hedgerow management. This study sought to develop relationships between measured biomass of hedgerows and digital elevation model (DEM) data from drones and aircraft. Furthermore, changes in hedgerow above-ground and below-ground biomass stocks were assessed using a two-point sampling approach. The developed inventory framework was then applied to a pilot study area of 419,701 hectares in Ireland.
Robust relationships were developed relating DEM data to volume and above-ground biomass. Model equations were also developed linking above-ground and below-ground biomass. However, these were less robust due to the confounding impact of hedgerow management. Aboveground biomass was linearly correlated with hedge volume with irregular, unmanaged hedgerows observed to contain significantly higher amounts of aboveground biomass compared to regular, highly managed hedgerows. When the models were extrapolated to the county level, hedgerow biomass C pools are suggested to be a net emission of -0.3 tC. ha-1.yr-1 due to removals and management
Investigation of Intestinal Atresia in a Jersey Sire Family
Get PDFPEER-REVIEWEDIntestinal atresia is a congenital defect resulting in calf mortality within a few days of birth.
This study focuses on two half-sibling Jersey sires who were identified as having a high
proportion of their progeny exhibiting atresia from a longitudinal study of 39 dairy herds over
an 8 year period. The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic cause of intestinal
atresia within this family. Phased high-density genotypes of the two half-sibling sires were used
to identify if common haplotypes were inherited by all affected animals. Whether or not the
paternal haplotype that was inherited by the affected animal at a given locus deviated from the
expectation was tested. A total of 16 SNPs were significantly overrepresented, 14 located in
one region on chromosome 14 and the remaining 2 located in one region on chromosome 26
Mycoviruses: A novel approach for controlling mushroom pathogenic fungi.
No full textThe global production of button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) is severely affected by dry bubbles, caused by the filamentous fungus
Lecanicillium fungicola (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales, Ascomycota). The number of agrochemicals approved in mushroom cultivation for
disease control purposes is highly limited; however, numerous mycoviruses are known to induce hypovirulence in the range of plant
pathogenic fungi. Therefore, the aim of our study is to examine viruses in isolates of L. fungicola, focusing on the possibilities of biological
control. Based on their ITS (internal transcribed spacer) sequences, the majority of strains, originating from diseased mushrooms in
different countries, were confirmed as L. fungicola. In addition, strains representing different Akanthomyces and Simplicillium species were
also detected, which are mainly known as insect and nematode-pathogens. These species are genetically closely related to fungi possessing
the ability to produce different mycotoxins, therefore, despite the lack of data, their toxin-producing potential cannot be ruled out. Out
of 60 mushroom pathogenic strains, a total of 10 Lecanicillium and Akanthomyces spp. isolates were shown by cellulose column chromatography
to harbour double stranded (ds) RNA elements with different banding patterns, indicating RNA virus infection. The results of fruit body
infection and dual plate assays support the hypothesis of a potential association between the presence of mycoviruses and moderate
virulence of the pathogens. According to preliminary next-generation sequencing (NGS) data, in agreement with the results of dsRNA
gel analysis, viruses detected in a group of dsRNA-carrying fungal strains were found to be similar to the recently described chrysovirus
with a tetra-segmented dsRNA genome from the insect pathogenic fungus Isaria javanica, also belonging to the family Cordycipitaceae.
Our findings suggest that (1) certain insect pathogenic fungi can also cause dry bubble symptoms in mushroom cultivation, and (2)
mycoviruses might be promising candidates for studies aiming at biological or integrated pest management
Soil microbial community structures are shaped by agricultural systems revealing little temporal variation
No full textMany studies in soil microbial ecology are undertaken with a single sampling event, with the influence of temporal progression rarely being considered. Under field conditions, soil samples were taken from different agricultural systems; a sown grassland to maize rotation (MC), an intensively managed permanent grassland (INT), as well as extensively managed permanent grasslands with high (EXT_HP), low to sufficient (EXT_LP) and deficient available P (EXT_DP), six times throughout the 2017 growing season. Thus, this study aimed to determine if any differences in soil microbiome structures between both sharply contrasting (MC – INT – EXT), slightly differing (EXT_HP – EXT_DP) and quite similar (EXT_HP – EXT_LP and EXT_LP – EXT_DP) agricultural systems persist through changing growth conditions within the growing season. For both fungal and bacterial community structure, the influence of agricultural system (CV = 0.256, P 0.7, P ≤ 0.05) associated to each agricultural system (except EXT_LP) were found in each of the six sampling events. These results highlight the temporal stability of pairwise differences in soil microbiome structures between established agricultural systems through changing plant growth conditions, even between those with a comparable management regime. This is a highly relevant finding in informing the sampling strategy of studies in soil microbial ecology as well as for designing efficient soil biodiversity monitoring systems