Podolian beef production on pasture and in confinement

Abstract

the effect of rearing system (confined (C) v. free ranging (FR)) and season (spring v. summer) was evaluated on behaviour, immune and blood parameters and beef production (experiment 1). From February to August 2008, the effect of rearing system was only evaluated on beef production (experiment 2). A total of 12 Podolian young bulls were used each year. They were slaughtered at 18 and 15 months of age in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Herbage mass and pasture composition were monitored during the 2 years. Pasture availability, in terms of herbage mass and composition, as well as its seasonal development, was similar in the 2 years. In the first experiment, FR animals spent more time walking ( P , 0.05), feeding ( P , 0.001) and standing ( P , 0.01) and showed a lower number of agonistic ( P , 0.05) and non-agonistic social interaction than C animals ( P , 0.01). Significant lower concentrations of serum urea nitrogen ( P , 0.001) and creatinine ( P , 0.10) in FR animals indicated a lower protein nutritional status due to inadequate protein availability at pasture. As a consequence, average daily gains ( P , 0.05), slaughter weight ( P , 0.05) and body condition score ( P , 0.01) were lower in grazing animals as compared with C bulls. Cellular immune responsiveness was higher in FR animals ( P , 0.05). Similarly, antibody titre to keyhole limpet hemocyanin was higher in FR bulls at the 2nd and 3rd month after antigen injection ( P , 0.05), whereas it tended to be higher at the 4th month ( P , 0.10). In both experiments, grazing negatively affected meat colour in terms of lightness. Eighteenmonth-old bulls also showed lower final weight, weight gain and body conditions when kept outdoor: a possible consequence of nutrient deficits, as suggested by the metabolic status of FR animals. The same animals, however, benefited from FR in terms of natural behaviour expression and immune responsiveness. When the experiment was replicated the subsequent year, on animals slaughtered at 15 months of age, no differences between the performances of FR and C animals were detected. The earlier slaughter age system was also proportionally less dependent on external inputs as grazing was not extended to the dry season when herbage mass availability was lower.

Efficiency to reach age of puberty and behaviour of buffalo heifers (Bubalus bubalis) kept on pasture or in confinement

“…During a 6-h period, the behaviour of a focal animal, chosen at random before the start of an observation session, was continuously monitored. They were habituated to the presence of humans following a familiarisation procedure (Braghieri et al, 2011). For practical reasons, all observations were performed during daylight.…”

A meta-analysis of nutrient intake, feed efficiency and performance in cattle grazing on tropical grasslands

“…However, previous studies have reported satisfactory performances approaching 1 kg average daily gain (ADG) with only grass and sometimes with minimal amount of concentrate in tropical and Mediterranean settings (Esterhuizen et al, 2008;Braghieri et al, 2011). Current farming systems must balance agro-ecological services and enhancement of biodiversity while reducing inputs and controlling output of greenhouse gases to be truly multifunctional.…”

The Hidden Costs of Livestock Environmental Sustainability: The Case of Podolian Cattle

“…Their most common rearing system is based on either no-shelter pasture or pasture with nocturnal shelter . Most often, cows and calves are not supplemented, whereas young adults receive concentrates in the finishing period (Braghieri et al 2011a(Braghieri et al , 2013. According to Liu et al (2010), ecosystem services include all the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems and they are divided (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005) into four categories: provisioning services (e.g.…”