| 1. |
- Lindahl, Johanna, et al.
(författare)
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Urban livestock-keeping: Contributions to food and nutrition security
- 2018
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Ingår i: Encyclopedia of Food Security and Sustainability. - : Elsevier. - 9780128126875 ; , s. 317-321, s. 317-321
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When more and more people live in cities, there is increased need to produce food close to and within cities. The high value of livestock products and the increasing demand from the growing urban middle classes create a niche for urban livestock keeping, which contribute to the food security and the livelihoods of many different value chain actors. This chapter explores the different kinds of urban livestock keeping in low and middle-income countries and provides a view of the dynamics as well as the importance.
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| 2. |
- Metzger, Julia, et al.
(författare)
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Genome data uncover four synergistic key regulators for extremely small body size in horses
- 2018
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Ingår i: BMC Genomics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2164. ; 19:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Miniature size in horses represents an extreme reduction of withers height that originated after domestication. In some breeds, it is a highly desired trait representing a breed- or subtype-specific feature. The genomic changes that emerged due to strong-targeted selection towards this distinct type remain unclear.Results: Comparisons of whole-genome sequencing data from two Miniature Shetland ponies and one standard-sized Shetland pony, performed to elucidate genetic determinants for miniature size, revealed four synergistic variants, limiting withers height to 34.25 in. (87 cm). Runs of homozygosity regions were detected spanning these four variants in both the Miniature Shetland ponies and the standard-sized Shetland pony. They were shown to be characteristic of the Shetland pony breed, resulting in a miniature type under specific genotypic combinations. These four genetic variants explained 72% of the size variation among Shetland ponies and related breeds. The length of the homozygous regions indicate that they arose over 1000 years ago. In addition, a copy number variant was identified in DIAPH3 harboring a loss exclusively in ponies and donkeys and thus representing a potential height-associated variant.Conclusion: This study reveals main drivers for miniature size in horses identified in whole genome data and thus provides relevant candidate genes for extremely short stature in mammals.
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| 3. |
- Nilsson, Kajsa, et al.
(författare)
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Characterisation of non-coagulating milk and effects of milk composition and physical properties on rennet-induced coagulation in Swedish Red Dairy Cattle
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Dairy Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 0958-6946 .- 1879-0143. ; 95, s. 50-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Non-coagulating milk is a serious problem in the cheese industry, since it decreases cheese yield, resulting in decreased economic output. This study evaluated rennet-induced coagulation properties and composition of milk from individual Swedish Red Dairy Cattle. Milk samples from 679 individual cows were rheologically evaluated, of which 18.1% of the cows produced non-coagulating milk and 18.9% produced poor-coagulating milk. This resulted in 37% of the milk samples being non-optimal in cheese production, which is an alarmingly high figure. A comparison between non-coagulating and coagulating milk showed a significantly lower calcium content and less free Ca 2+ in non-coagulating milk. The results provide more information about non- and poor-coagulating milk and will be further used to understand the genetic background of non-coagulating milk and breed against this undesired milk property.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Welderufael, Berihu, et al.
(författare)
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Simultaneous genetic evaluation of simulated mastitis susceptibility and recovery ability using a bivariate threshold sire model
- 2016
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Ingår i: Acta agriculturae Scandinavica. Section A, Animal science. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0906-4702 .- 1651-1972. ; 66:3, s. 125-134
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to develop a new approach for joint genetic evaluation of mastitis and recovery. Two mastitis incidences (0.28 and 0.95) measured via somatic cell count and three between traits genetic correlations (0.0, 0.2, and -0.2) were simulated for daughter group sizes of 60 and 240. A transition model was applied to model transitions between healthy and disease state. The RJMC package in DMU was used to estimate (co)variances. Heritabilities were consistent with the simulated value (0.039) for susceptibility and a bit upward biased for recovery. Estimates of genetic correlations were -0.055, 0.205, and -0.192 for the simulated values of 0.0, 0.2, and -0.2, respectively. For daughter group size of 60, accuracies of sire EBV ranged from 0.56 to 0.69 for mastitis and from 0.26 to 0.48 for recovery. The study demonstrated that both traits can be modeled jointly and simulated correlations could be correctly reproduced.
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| 6. |
- Bergeå, Hanna, et al.
(författare)
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Farmer awareness of cow longevity and implications for decision-making at farm level
- 2016
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Ingår i: Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A - Animal Science. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0906-4702 .- 1651-1972. ; 66, s. 25-34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate if farmer awareness of longevity can explain why the longevity of dairy cows does not increase in Sweden, despite the fact that the genetic trend for longevity in Swedish dairy cattle is positive. In this study, farmers' decisions were put in the forefront through a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews. The results showed that farmers seemed well aware of biological factors related to cow longevity, that they think the demands on dairy cows have increased over time and that they correlate the higher demands to shorter longevity. However, the farmers had not worked explicitly with longevity of their own herd. There are subjective management decisions behind a culling of a dairy cow, and the reporting of culling reasons does not mirror the farmer's reasoning behind the decisions, which is a key factor determining longevity.
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| 7. |
- Hessle, Anna
(författare)
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Activity and weight gain of free-ranging beef cattle in south-boreal forests of Norway.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Grassland Science in Europe. ; 22, s. 239 - 241
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Norwegian beef cattle population has grown steadily over the last ten years, resulting in an increased interest in using coniferous forests as summer grazing areas. We attached collars, programmed to take GPS positions and two-dimensional activity measures every 5 min, to free-ranging beef cows grazing in an area of high and low stocking rate in one and two summers, respectively. The cattle were weighed before and after the grazing period. Data from the collars were calibrated with direct observations and classified into the three main activities: grazing, walking and resting. Lactating cows spent more time grazing (on average 38 vs 32%) and less time resting (58 vs 63%) than dry cows. In the area of high stocking rate, the weight gain of calves was only 67% of that of calves in the area with low stocking densities. The weight gain of the cows was positive in the low stocking area in 2015, close to 0 in the same area in 2016, and negative in the high stocking area in 2016. We conclude that production of beef cattle in boreal forests needs careful planning in relation to stocking rates and suitable groups of cattle for grazing in a forested habitat.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Sonesson, Ulf, et al.
(författare)
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Paths to a sustainable food sector: integrated design and LCA of future food supply chains : the case of pork production in Sweden
- 2016
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Ingår i: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Ferlag. - 0948-3349 .- 1614-7502. ; 21:5, s. 664-676
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: To describe a more sustainable food sector, a supply chain approach is needed. Changing a supply chain inevitably means that various attributes of the product and its system will change. This project assumed this challenge and delivered detailed descriptions, life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluations, and consequence assessments of the supply chains of six commodities, i.e., milk, cheese, beef, pork, chicken, and bread, from a Swedish region. This paper presents results for the pork supply chain. Methods: In the project setup, experts on production along supply chains designed three scenarios for environmentally improved systems. These scenarios, i.e., the ecosystem, plant nutrients, and climate scenarios, were intended to address different clusters of environmental goals. The next step was to challenge these scenarios by considering their possible consequences for products and systems from the food safety, sensory quality, animal welfare, consumer appreciation, and (for primary production only) cost perspectives. This led to changes in production system design to prevent negative consequences. The final supply chains were quantified using LCA and were again assessed from the three perspectives. Results and discussion: The scenario design approach worked well, thoroughly and credibly describing the production systems. Assessment of consequences bolstered the credibility and quality of the systems and results. The LCA of pig production and smoked ham identified large potentials for improvement by implementing available knowledge: global warming potential (GWP) could be reduced 21–54 % and marine eutrophication by 14–45 %. The main reason for these improvements was improved productivity (approaching the best producers’ current performance), though dedicated measures were also important, resulting in increased nitrogen efficiency, more varied crop rotations for crop production and better production management, and improved animal health and manure management for animal production. Reduced post-farm wastage contributed as did reduced emissions from fertilizer production. Conclusions: The working approach applied was successful in integrating LCA research with food system production expertise to deliver results relevant to supply chain decision-makers. The consequence assessments brought considerable value to the project, giving its results greater credibility. By introducing constraints in the form of “no negative consequences and no increased costs,” the work was “guided” so that the scenario design avoided being hampered by too many opportunities.
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| 10. |
- Röös, Elin, et al.
(författare)
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Limiting livestock production to pasture and by-products in a search for sustainable diets
- 2016
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Ingår i: Food Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0306-9192 .- 1873-5657. ; 58, s. 1-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A method was developed for designing ‘fair’ diets (not using more than globally available arable land percapita) and for assessing the sustainability of such diets. The diets were based on the principle of ‘ecological leftovers’ for livestock production, i.e. raising livestock on pasture and by-products not suitable for or wanted by humans. The method was applied to Sweden using three different scenarios for livestock production, all taking the starting point that semi-natural pastures should be grazed by ruminants for reasons of biodiversity conservation. The scenarios also included differing use of by-products (from crop production and food processing) to either boost milk production (I-Milk scenario) or produce eggs and pig meat (E-Milk and Suckler scenarios). In I-Milk, milk and meat were produced in intensive systems in which dairy cows and their offspring only grazed to a limited extent, resulting in the human diet containing recommended levels of dairy products (350 ml milk per day) and meat twice a week. Milk could also be exported. In E-Milk, pasture was used more for dairy cows and their offspring, resulting in fewer animals and less milk (150 ml milk per day) and four servings of meat per week. In the Suckler scenario, pasture was grazed by suckler herds providing no milk but meat four times per week. The environmental impacts of the diets were assessed using the planetary boundaries framework. The results showed substantially lower environmental impacts compared with the average current Swedish diet, but the strict absolute climate boundary and the N and P input boundaries were still exceeded for all diets. The approach adopted, of letting the ecological resource capacity act as the constraining factor for livestock production, is in line with agroecology principles and efficient use of land to improve food security,and could be useful in discussions about sustainable consumption of animal products.
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