Citizen attitudes towards present and future beef consumption before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

There's been a change in citizens' attitudes towards beef consumption in high-income countries, resulting in a decline in its consumption. The COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted citizens' attitudes and behaviours towards beef consumption. This study aimed to investigate Chilean citizens' attitudes towards beef consumption during the initial 18 months of the pandemic.

Pigs' capacity to experience feelings and to suffer from tail lesion, ear lesion and lameness: Exploring citizens and pig farm and abattoir workers' knowledge and perceptions.

The aim of this study was to gain insight into the perceptions of pig farm and abattoir workers as well as lay citizens regarding (1) sentience and (2) positive (intelligent and friendly) and negative (gluttonous, stubborn and dirty) attributes of pigs. We also aimed to investigate the (3) knowledge and perceptions of pig farm and abattoir workers on tail lesion, ear lesion and lameness in pigs and (4) the opinion of lay citizens regarding the likelihood of tail lesions, ear lesions, and lameness causing suffering in pigs and affecting meat quality. Chilean pig farm workers (n = 116), pig abattoir workers (n = 95), and lay citizens (n = 708) were invited on farm, at the abattoir and in public places, respectively, to participate in a survey.

Chilean public attitudes towards beef production systems.

Much is discussed about the characteristics, efficiency, and externalities of indoor housing and pasture-based beef production systems, but little is known about how these features influence public attitudes towards beef production. This study aimed to explore Chilean citizens' attitudes towards beef production systems and their underlying reasons. Citizens (n = 1,084) were recruited to participate in a survey and given information about one beef production system: indoor housing, continuous grazing or regenerative grazing.

Voisin Rational Grazing as a Sustainable Alternative for Livestock Production.

Current livestock practices do not meet current real-world social and environmental requirements, pushing farmers away from rural areas and only sustaining high productivity through the overuse of fossil fuels, causing numerous environmental side effects. In this narrative review, we explore how the Voisin Rational Grazing (VRG) system responds to this problem. VRG is an agroecological system based on four principles that maximise pasture growth and ruminant intake, while, at the same time, maintaining system sustainability.

The Equipment Used in the SF Technique to Estimate Methane Emissions Has No Major Effect on Dairy Cow Behavior.

The natural behavior of animals can be disrupted by the techniques and materials of research methodologies. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the equipment used in the SF tracer technique to estimate enteric methane emissions on the behavior of lactating dairy cows. The cows ( = 24) were allocated to one of two diets: CONTROL and experimental diet (MIX).

Meat Consumers' Opinion Regarding Unhealthy Pigs: Should They Be Treated with Antibiotics or Euthanized on Farm?

The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of meat consumers (n = 1780) on on-farm management of unhealthy pigs, whether support for treatment with antibiotics varies according with chance of recovery, and the effect of knowledge on the use of antibiotics on these opinions. Most participants believed that the use of antibiotics was the best solution for unhealthy pigs, and this was associated with a low level of knowledge about antibiotics. Increasing the probability of recovery after treatment increased support for treating pigs with antibiotics.

Incorporating a Fresh Mixed Annual Ryegrass and Berseem Clover Forage Into the Winter Diet of Dairy Cows Resulted in Reduced Milk Yield, but Reduced Nitrogen Excretion and Reduced Methane Yield.

The winter diet of dairy cows in Mediterranean climate regions is usually a total mixed ration with a base of conserved summer crops such as corn silage and alfalfa hay. However, there is increased labor and financial cost related to this kind of feeding, which could be reduced if fresh forages were used in place of some of the conserved forage in the cow diet. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of including fresh mixed annual ryegrass and berseem clover into the diet of dairy cows on milk, nitrogen utilization, and methane emission.

Assessment of Animal-Based Pig Welfare Outcomes on Farm and at the Abattoir: A Case Study.

The study assessed the prevalence of animal-based pig welfare outcomes on one Chilean farm and one abattoir. A total of 198 pens of slaughter pigs (9,049 pigs) were observed on farm and 54 batches (8,843 pigs) were observed at the abattoir. All assessments were conducted from outside the pen on farm and from outside the corridor where pigs were unloaded from the truck at the abattoir.

Sward type alters the relative abundance of members of the rumen microbial ecosystem in dairy cows.

The performance of ruminant livestock has been shown to benefit from the enhanced nutritive value and herbage yield associated with clover incorporation in the grazing sward. However, little research to date has been conducted investigating the effects of mixed swards containing white clover on the composition of the rumen microbiome. In this study, the rumen microbial composition of late lactation dairy cows grazing perennial ryegrass only (PRG; n = 20) or perennial ryegrass and white clover (WCPRG; n = 19) swards, was characterised using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.

Skin Temperature of Slaughter Pigs With Tail Lesions.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of tail lesion severity on skin temperature of slaughter pigs measured at the base of the tail and the ear by infrared thermography camera and to evaluate the association between the temperature measurements. Pigs were randomly selected in the lairage, containing ~200 pigs/pen. Tail lesions were scored according to severity, using a 0-4 scale.

Short communication: Discrimination between retail bovine milks with different fat contents using chemometrics and fatty acid profiling.

We used a multivariate chemometric approach to differentiate or associate retail bovine milks with different fat contents and non-dairy beverages, using fatty acid profiles and statistical analysis. We collected samples of bovine milk (whole, semi-skim, and skim; n = 62) and non-dairy beverages (n = 27), and we analyzed them using gas-liquid chromatography. Principal component analysis of the fatty acid data yielded 3 significant principal components, which accounted for 72% of the total variance in the data set.

Designing Better Water Troughs: Does Trough Color Influence Dairy Cows' Preference?

Eighteen lactating dairy cows were used to elucidate their preference for green, grey, or red troughs. The herd was managed under a rotational grazing system with ad-libitum access to water until 11:30 h. For 9 days, all cows were tested individually following the afternoon milking.