The early detection of health disorders is a central goal in livestock production. Thus, a great demand for technologies enabling the automated detection of such issues exists. However, despite decades of research, precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies with sufficient accuracy and ready for implementation on commercial farms are rare. A central factor impeding technological development is likely the use of non-specific indicators for various issues. On commercial farms, where animals are exposed to changing environmental conditions, where they undergo different internal states and, most importantly, where they can be challenged by more than one issue at a time, such an approach leads inevitably to errors. To improve the accuracy of PLF technologies, the presented framework proposes a categorization of the aim of detection of issues related to general welfare, disease and distress and defined disease. Each decision level provides a different degree of information and therefore requires indicators varying in specificity. Based on these considerations, it becomes apparent that while most technologies aim to detect a defined health issue, they facilitate only the identification of issues related to general welfare. To achieve detection of specific issues, new indicators such as rhythmicity patterns of behaviour or physiological processes should be examined.

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Access to an outdoor run might provide some benefits for the social and activity behavior of dairy goats. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of weather parameters on outdoor run use by dairy goats under temperate weather conditions. Data were collected from February to April and in October, 2014, on 14 commercial dairy goat farms in Switzerland and Germany for 14 d per farm. Temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, and rain amount were measured continuously using a weather station. The outcome variables, average proportion of the herd in the outdoor run (proportion of herd in run) and average frequency of goats entering the outdoor run per hour in relation to group size (frequency of entries to run), were assessed by video data. Temperature, humidity, and solar radiation were combined to create the parameter "warmth" by means of a principal component analysis, whereas wind speed and rain (rain events and rain amount) were used in their original form as explanatory variables. Additionally, the effect of the comprehensive climate index on outdoor run use was investigated. Data were analyzed using linear mixed effects models. Increasing "warmth" increased, whereas increasing wind speed reduced, the proportion of herd in run. With increasing comprehensive climate index, the proportion of herd in run and the frequency of entries to run increased. On days without rain, the proportion of herd in run and the frequency of entries to run were markedly higher than during comparable daytime hours with rain. In the hour before the rain started and after it had stopped, more goats were in the outdoor run than during rain hours, but still fewer than during comparable daytime hours on days without rain. Furthermore, the proportion of herd in run and the frequency of entries to run decreased to a very low level when the rain amount exceeded 1 mm/h. To conclude, in the measured ranges of temperature (−0.8 to +16.5°C), humidity (34.8 to 99.2%), solar radiation (25.9 to 519.8 W/m 2), and wind speed (0 to 4 m/s), warmer conditions increased the outdoor run use, whereas the goats clearly avoided light wind and rain. Therefore, in the outdoor runs, protection against rain and wind could promote their use under temperate weather conditions. Furthermore, ensuring optimized access to solar radiation by considering the exposure of the outdoor run might be of advantage, as direct sun exposure induces warmer conditions.

SummaryDevelopment of cycle routes in Poland is a frequently discussed topic. This type of infrastructure may be designed using a variety of methods. Manual planning of new cycle paths based on aerial laser scan data is relatively quick and also precise. The ALS technique can provide the required accuracy of design map in terms of elevation measurements. It is worth noting that only a few years ago studies indicated that elevation measurements were less accurate when using this particular technique [Hejmanowska, Warchoł 2010]. The designer has a detailed insight into the studied area. He may easily assess the terrain and choose the optimal location for the given object. Planning the route course and its elevation variability is simple when using a Digital Terrain Model. The first stage of the present study analyses the rules that apply to bicycle route design and the area covered by the study. The course of the new cycle path was planned in such a way as to connect the most important places in towns as well as places of tourist interest. The resultant route is 1.8 km long and runs along the main road. Development of DTM and its visualizations were performed mainly on the basis of two point clouds provided by the Geodetic and Cartographic Documentation Center. The initial works were performed in MicroStation PowerDraft V8i software. In the next stage, a 3D visualization of the model was generated with the use of Surfer 11 program. Based on that, a longitudinal profile of the route was created.

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