This study evaluated effects of farming practice scenarios aiming to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and subsequent alternative land use on environmental impacts of a beef cattle production system using the life cycle assessment approach. The baseline scenario includes a standard cow–calf herd with finishing heifers based on grazing, and a standard bull-fattening herd using a diet mainly based on maize silage, corresponding to current farm characteristics and management by beef farmers in France. Alternative scenarios were developed with changes in farming practices. Some scenarios modified grassland management (S1: decreasing mineral N fertiliser on permanent grassland; S2: decreasing grass losses during grazing) or herd management (S3: underfeeding of heifers in winter; S4: fattening female calves instead of being reared at a moderate growth rate; S5: increasing longevity of cows from 7 to 9 years; S6: advancing first calving age from 3 to 2 years). Other scenarios replaced protein sources (S7: partially replacing a protein supplement by lucerne hay for the cow–calf herd; S8: replacing soya bean meal with rapeseed meal for the fattening herd) or increased n-3 fatty acid content using extruded linseed (S9). The combination of compatible scenarios S1, S2, S5, S6 and S8 was also studied (S10). The impacts, such as climate change (CC, not including CO2 emissions/sequestration of land use and land-use change, LULUC), CC/LULUC (including CO2 emissions of LULUC), cumulative energy demand, eutrophication (EP), acidification and land occupation (LO) were expressed per kg of carcass mass and per ha of land occupied. Compared with the baseline, the most promising practice to reduce impacts per kg carcass mass was S10 (all reduced by 13% to 28%), followed by S6 (by 8% to 10%). For other scenarios, impact reduction did not exceed 5%, except for EP (up to 11%) and LO (up to 10%). Effects of changes in farming practices (the scenarios) on environmental impacts varied according to impact category and functional unit. For some scenarios (S2, S4, S6 and S10), permanent grassland area and LO per kg of carcass decreased by 12% to 23% and 9% to 19%, respectively. If the ‘excess’ permanent grassland was converted to fast-growing conifer forest to sequester carbon in tree and soil biomass, CC/LULUC per kg of carcass could be reduced by 20%, 25%, 27% and 48% for scenarios S2, S4, S6 and S10, respectively. These results illustrate the potential of farming practices and forest as an alternative land use to contribute to short- and mid-term GHG mitigation of beef cattle production systems.

Rabbits are very sensitive to heat stress because they have difficulty eliminating excess body heat. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of heat stress on slaughter weight, dressing percentage and carcass and meat quality traits of rabbits from two genetic groups. Ninety-six weaned rabbits were used: half were from the Botucatu genetic group and half were crossbreds between New Zealand White sires and Botucatu does. They were assigned to a completely randomized design in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement (two genetic groups and three ambient temperatures: 18°C, 25°C and 30°C) and kept under controlled conditions in three environmental chambers from 5 to 10 weeks of age. Slaughter took place at 10 weeks, on 2 consecutive days. Meat quality measurements were made in the longissimus muscle. Actual average ambient temperature and relative humidity in the three chambers were 18.4°C and 63.9%, 24.4°C and 80.2% and 29.6°C and 75.9%, respectively. Purebred rabbits were heavier at slaughter and had heavier commercial and reference carcasses than crossbreds at 30°C; however, no differences between genetic groups for these traits were found at lower temperatures. No genetic group × ambient temperature interaction was detected for any other carcass or meat quality traits. The percentages of distal parts of legs, skin and carcass forepart were higher in crossbred rabbits, indicating a lower degree of maturity at slaughter in this group. The percentage of thoracic viscera was higher in the purebreds. Lightness of the longissimus muscle was higher in the purebreds, whereas redness was higher in the crossbreds. Slaughter, commercial and reference carcass weights and the percentages of thoracic viscera, liver and kidneys were negatively related with ambient temperature. Commercial and reference carcass yields, and the percentage of distal parts of legs, on the other hand, had a positive linear relationship with ambient temperature. Meat redness and yellowness diminished as ambient temperature increased, whereas cooking loss was linearly elevated with ambient temperature. Meat color traits revealed paler meat in the purebreds, but no differences in instrumental texture properties and water-holding capacity between genetic groups. Purebred rabbits were less susceptible to heat stress than the crossbreds. Heat stress resulted in lower slaughter and carcass weights and proportional reductions of organ weights, which contributed to a higher carcass yield. Moreover, it exerted a small, but negative, effect on meat quality traits.

Real-time analysis of milk coagulation properties as performed by the AfiLab™ milk spectrometer introduces new opportunities for the dairy industry. The study evaluated the performance of the AfiLab™ in a milking parlor of a commercial farm to provide real-time analysis of milk-clotting parameters –Afi-CF for cheese manufacture and determine its repeatability in time for individual cows. The AfiLab™ in a parlor, equipped with two parallel milk lines, enables to divert the milk on-line into two bulk milk tanks (A and B). Three commercial dairy herds of 220 to 320 Israeli Holstein cows producing ∼11 500 l during 305 days were selected for the study. The Afi-CF repeatability during time was found significant (P < 0.001) for cows. The statistic model succeeded in explaining 83.5% of the variance between Afi-CF and cows, and no significant variance was found between the mean weekly repeated recordings. Days in milk and log somatic cell count (SCC) had no significant effect. Fat, protein and lactose significantly affected Afi-CF and the empirical van Slyke equation. Real-time simulations were performed for different cutoff levels of coagulation properties where the milk of high Afi-CF cutoff value was channeled to tank A and the lower into tank B. The simulations showed that milk coagulation properties of an individual cow are not uniform, as most cows contributed milk to both tanks. Proportions of the individual cow's milk in each tank depended on the selected Afi-CF cutoff. The assessment of the major causative factors of a cow producing low-quality milk for cheese production was evaluated for the group that produced the low 10% quality milk. The largest number of cows in those groups at the three farms was found to be cows with post-intramammary infection with Escherichia coli and subclinical infections with streptococci or coagulase-negative staphylococci (∼30%), although the SCC of these cows was not significantly different. Early time in lactation together with high milk yield >50 l/day, and late in lactation together with low milk yield<15 l/day and estrous (0 to 5 days) were also important influencing factors for low-quality milk. However, ∼50% of the tested variables did not explain any of the factors responsible for the cow producing milk in the low – 10% Afi-CF.

Ingestion of small amounts of some types of condensed tannins (CTs) by ruminant livestock can provide nutritional, environmental and economic benefits. However, practical methods are needed to make these tannins more available to ruminant livestock. Results from previous trials with crude quebracho and black wattle tannin indicated that cattle and/or sheep would not preferentially drink water containing these tannins. Therefore, we conducted preference trials to determine if cattle and sheep would learn to prefer water containing purified grape seed tannin (GST) that provided up to 2% of their daily dry matter (DM) intake. After gradual exposure to increasing amounts of this tannin in water during a pre-trial period, five adult ewes and five yearling heifers fed lucerne (Medicago sativa) pellets (19% CP) were offered water and several concentrations of GST solutions for either 15 (sheep trial) or 20 days (cattle trial). We measured intake of all liquids daily. Concentrations of blood urea were also measured for heifers when they drank only tannin solutions or water. Both sheep and cattle developed preferences for water with GST in it over water alone (P < 0.01) although this preference appeared earlier in the trial for sheep than for cattle. For the sheep, mean daily intake of water alone and all tannin solutions (in total) was 0.6 and 6.1 l, respectively. For the cattle, mean daily intake of water and all tannin solutions in total was 21.8 and 20.6 l, respectively, in the first half of the trial and 10.8 and 26.1 l, respectively, in the second half of the trial. Compared with the other tannin solutions, both sheep and cattle drank more of the solution with the highest tannin concentration (2% of daily DM intake as GST) than of water on more trial days (P < 0.05). Ingestion of water with the highest concentration of GST reduced blood plasma urea concentration in the cattle by 9% to 14% (P ⩽ 0.10) compared with ingestion of water alone. Results from the trials suggest that providing grape seed and perhaps other CTs via drinking water may be a practical way to introduce CTs into sheep and cattle diets.

Dairy farming in western countries with cubicle housing is an efficient way of dairy farming. Though, a disadvantage is the high prevalence and incidence of foot disorders (clinical and subclinical), which cause high economic losses and also seriously impair the welfare of dairy cattle. To point out the importance of reducing the amount and severity of foot disorders, advice to farmers should include information about the scale of the problem and the consequences in terms of economics and animal welfare. To provide support in making decisions on implementing intervention measures, insight into costs and benefits of different measures should be available. The objective of this study, therefore, is to provide more insight into the costs and benefits, for farmer and cow, of different intervention measures to improve dairy cow foot health. Intervention measures were modeled when they were applicable on a dairy farm with cubicle housing and when sufficient information was available in literature. Net costs were calculated as the difference between the costs of the measure and the economic benefits resulting from the measure. Welfare benefits were calculated as well. Cost-effective measures are: improving lying surface (mattress and bedding, €7 and €1/cow per year, respectively), reducing stocking density (break even) and performing additional foot trimming (€1/cow per year). Simultaneously, these measures have a relative high welfare benefit. Labor costs play an important role in the cost-effectiveness of labor-intensive measures. More insight into cost-effectiveness and welfare benefits of intervention measures can help to prioritize when choosing between intervention measures.

The aims of this study were, first, to evaluate eye temperature (ET) with infrared thermography and heart rate (HR) to measure stress in horses during show jumping competitions and their relationship with competition results, and second, to evaluate the influence of different extrinsic and intrinsic factors of the horse on the stress measurements analysed. One hundred and seventy-three Spanish Sport Horses were analysed for ET and HR, and these measurements were taken 3 h before the competition, just after and 3 h after it. Two interval measurements were also assessed for each parameter. Positive significant correlations were found between ET and HR, measured before (r=0.23), just after competition (r=0.28) and for the later interval (r=0.26), whereas negative correlations with competition results were found only for ET when measured just after competing (r=−0.25). Two intrinsic factors (genetic line and age) and no extrinsic factors showed significant differences for ET, whereas one intrinsic factor (age) and two extrinsic factors (journey duration and number of training hours) showed significant differences for HR. The marginal means showed significantly higher ET values for the Anglo-Arab genetic line and for 5-year-old animals. HR values were significantly higher for 4-year-old animals, for horses which had travelled 4 to 6 h and for horses that had 3 to 6 h of daily training. This study suggests that, although ET and HR seemed to share a similar physiological basis, the factors that most influenced each parameter were different. Finally, ET seems to be a suitable tool for assessing stress during show jumping competitions in horses.

Predicting the grass dry matter intake (GDMI), milk yield (MY) or milk fat and protein yield (milk solids yield (MSY)) of the grazing dairy herd is difficult. Decisions with regard to grazing management are based on guesstimates of the GDMI of the herd, yet GDMI is a critical factor influencing MY and MSY. A data set containing animal, sward, grazing management and concentrate supplementation variables recorded during weeks of GDMI measurement was used to develop multiple regression equations to predict GDMI, MY and MSY. The data set contained data from 245 grazing herds from 10 published studies conducted at Teagasc, Moorepark. A forward stepwise multiple regression technique was used to develop the multiple regression equations for each of the dependent variables (GDMI, MY, MSY) for three periods during the grazing season: spring (SP; 5 March to 30 April), summer (SU; 1 May to 31 July) and autumn (AU; 1 August to 31 October). The equations generated highlighted the importance of different variables associated with GDMI, MY and MSY during the grazing season. Peak MY was associated with an increase in GDMI, MY and MSY during the grazing season with the exception of GDMI in SU when BW accounted for more of the variation. A higher body condition score (BCS) at calving was associated with a lower GDMI in SP and SU and a lower MY and MSY in all periods. A higher BCS was associated with a higher GDMI in SP and SU, a higher MY in SU and AU and a higher MSY in all periods. The pre-grazing herbage mass of the sward (PGHM) above 4 cm was associated with a quadratic effect on GDMI in SP, on MY in SP and SU and on MSY in SU. An increase in daily herbage allowance (DHA) above 4 cm was associated with an increase in GDMI in AU, an increase in MY in SU and AU and MSY in AU. Supplementing grazing dairy cows with concentrate reduced GDMI and increased MY and MSY in all periods. The equations generated can be used by the Irish dairy industry during the grazing season to predict the GDMI, MY and MSY of grazing dairy herds.

Multielemental stable isotope ratio (SIR) analysis was used in lamb plasma, erythrocytes and muscle to detect the switch from a pasture- to a concentrate-based diet, with the aim of verifying the possibility to trace the change of feeding in animal tissues. During 89 days of experimental feeding, lambs were subjected to four dietary treatments: pasture (P), pasture followed by concentrate in the stall for either 14 days (P-S14) or 37 days (P-S37) or concentrate in the stall (S). Pasture and concentrate diets comprised C3 plants only and had different values of 13C/12C, 18O/16O, 2H/1H and 34S/32S ratios. Muscle 13C/12C and 34S/32S and plasma 13C/12C and 18O/16O ratios in P, P-S14 and P-S37 lambs were significantly different. A multivariate analytical approach revealed that 13C/12C and 18O/16O ratios in plasma were the most powerful variables for the discrimination among the dietary treatments.

A minimally invasive biopsy technique was evaluated for udder tissue collection in dairy cows with Escherichia coli mastitis. Meanwhile, the effect of taking repeated liver and udder biopsies on the systemic and local acute phase response (APR) of the dairy cows was investigated during the disease. The cows were divided into a biopsy group (B) (n = 16) and a no-biopsy group (NB) (n = 16) and were sampled in the acute disease stage and in the recovery stage. The cows’ pre-disease period served as a control period for establishing baseline values for the investigated parameters. A total of 32 Holstein-Friesian cows were inoculated with 20 to 40 colony-forming units (cfu) of E. coli in one front quarter at 0 hour. Liver biopsies were collected at −144, 12, 24 and 192 h, and udder biopsies were collected at 24 and 192 h post E. coli inoculation (PI) using a minimally invasive biopsy technique. Effects of combined biopsying were investigated by recording production traits, clinical response, and measuring inflammatory milk and blood parameters: E. coli, somatic cell count, milk amyloid A (MAA) levels, white blood cell count, polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocyte numbers and serum amyloid A levels at several time points. E. coli inoculation changed all production parameters and the clinical and inflammatory response in all cows except one that was not infected. Combined biopsying had no constant or transient effect on the daily feed intake, the clinical responsiveness or the blood parameters, but affected the daily milk yield and some milk parameters transiently, that is, the presence of blood in milk, increased E. coli counts and MAA levels during the acute disease stage. Combined biopsying had no effect on the parameters in the recovery stage apart from the presence of blood in the milk. In conclusion, although, a minimally invasive biopsy technique was used, tissue damages could not be avoided when biopsying and they transiently affected the inflammatory parameters in the mammary gland. Nevertheless, we believe combined biopsying of liver and udder is as an acceptable approach to study the systemic and local APR in dairy cows during E. coli mastitis, if the timing of biopsying and other types of sampling is planned accordingly.

A whole-farm, stochastic and dynamic simulation model was developed to predict biophysical and economic performance of grazing dairy systems. Several whole-farm models simulate grazing dairy systems, but most of them work at a herd level. This model, named e-Dairy, differs from the few models that work at an animal level, because it allows stochastic behaviour of the genetic merit of individual cows for several traits, namely, yields of milk, fat and protein, live weight (LW) and body condition score (BCS) within a whole-farm model. This model accounts for genetic differences between cows, is sensitive to genotype × environment interactions at an animal level and allows pasture growth, milk and supplements price to behave stochastically. The model includes an energy-based animal module that predicts intake at grazing, mammary gland functioning and body lipid change. This whole-farm model simulates a 365-day period for individual cows within a herd, with cow parameters randomly generated on the basis of the mean parameter values, defined as input and variance and co-variances from experimental data sets. The main inputs of e-Dairy are farm area, use of land, type of pasture, type of crops, monthly pasture growth rate, supplements offered, nutritional quality of feeds, herd description including herd size, age structure, calving pattern, BCS and LW at calving, probabilities of pregnancy, average genetic merit and economic values for items of income and costs. The model allows to set management policies to define: dry-off cows (ceasing of lactation), target pre- and post-grazing herbage mass and feed supplementation. The main outputs are herbage dry matter intake, annual pasture utilisation, milk yield, changes in BCS and LW, economic farm profit and return on assets. The model showed satisfactory accuracy of prediction when validated against two data sets from farmlet system experiments. Relative prediction errors were <10% for all variables, and concordance correlation coefficients over 0.80 for annual pasture utilisation, yields of milk and milk solids (MS; fat plus protein), and of 0.69 and 0.48 for LW and BCS, respectively. A simulation of two contrasting dairy systems is presented to show the practical use of the model. The model can be used to explore the effects of feeding level and genetic merit and their interactions for grazing dairy systems, evaluating the trade-offs between profit and the associated risk.

The lipid content and fatty acid (FA) profile in pig tissues are strongly influenced by genotype and nutrient supply, with implications in meat quality. The de novo lipid synthesis and pattern of FA unsaturation could be an important cause of variation in the overall efficiency of energy utilization among breeds. To test the effects of pig genotype and CP supply on the evolution of back-fat tissue FA profile throughout the growing and finishing stages, 32 Iberian (IB) and Landrace × Large White (LR × LW) barrows were offered one of two diets differing in CP content (13% or 17% as fed). A pair-fed procedure (0.8 × ad libitum intake of IB pigs) was used. Subcutaneous fat samples were taken at the dorso-lumbar region at ∼38, 50, 65, 90 and 115 kg BW. Higher proportions of total monounsaturated FA (MUFA; P < 0.01) and lower proportions of total saturated FA (SFA; P < 0.01 to 0.05) were found in the outer back-fat layer of pigs both at 50 and 115 kg BW. Pig genotype affected the FA composition of both subcutaneous back-fat layers. The proportions of C18:0 and SFA in fat tissue were higher in IB than in LR × LW pigs from 38 to 65 kg BW, especially in the outer layer. In addition, MUFA contents were higher in IB pigs at 115 kg BW in both layers (+5% on average; P < 0.01). Increased proportions of C18:2 n-6 and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) were found in LR × LW pigs, irrespective of the stage of growth and back-fat layer (P⩽0.02). At 50 kg BW, pigs receiving the high-protein diet presented the highest C18:2 n-6, C18:3 n-3, C20:5 n-3 and PUFA contents. A significant genotype × CP content interaction was observed for C18:3 n-3 because of the increased concentration of this FA in LR × LW pigs when offered the 17% CP diet (P < 0.05). Higher C16:0 and SFA contents (+5%; P = 0.03) were found in pigs offered the 13% CP diet and slaughtered at 115 kg BW. There was a genotype × CP interaction for MUFA concentration because of the higher MUFA content observed in IB pigs offered the highest protein content diet (P = 0.03). Our results suggest that genetic variation in de novo lipid synthesis and pattern of FA unsaturation might contribute to explain differences in back-fat FA profile of IB and LR × LW pigs under identical nutritional management. They could be also relevant to explain the low efficiency of nutrient and energy utilization in the IB pig.

Meticulous planning is required to minimize heat-stress conditions in barns. The objective of this study was to determine optimum barn characteristics for high-yielding dairy cows under Israeli (Mediterranean) summer ambient conditions, by using a new stress model that takes ambient temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity into account. During the summers of 2004 and 2005, three meteorological stations were alternately installed in 39 barns: two stations inside the barn at the prevailing downwind direction, and a third station outside the upwind end of the barn. Ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction were measured and recorded every 10 min for 3 to 5 consecutive days at each barn in turn. The data were collected at different geographical and climatic conditions. Therefore, the data collected by an outside station were used as covariates. A heat-stress model was used to determine the threshold temperature (THRT) at which a cow begins to increase its respiratory rate; THRT was the response variable in the statistical model. The THRT model takes in account assumed values of a cow's physiological characteristics: daily milk yield of 45 kg, containing 3.5% fat, and 3 mm fur depth. The independent variables were: orientation, barn type, roof slope, roof ridge, marginal height, roof type (fixed or sliding) and barn width. Results showed that the optimal barn for high-yielding cows is the loose-housing type, oriented with its long axis perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. Advantageous to the design would be an open ridge or pagoda with marginal height of over 4.7 m for north-south orientation and over 5 m for east-west orientation, roof slope over 11%, and barn width between 43 and 51 m for north-south orientation but lower than 42 m for east-west orientation. A sliding roof was also found to be an excellent solution when outside yards are banned by environmental regulations.

Smallholder dairy production represents a promising income generating activity for poor farmers in the developing world. Because of the perishable nature of milk, marketing arrangements for collection, distribution and sale are important for enhanced livelihoods in the smallholder dairy sector. In this study we examined the relationship between market quality and basic feeding and breeding practices at farm level. We define market quality as the attractiveness and reliability of procurement channels and associated input supply arrangements. We took as our study countries, India with its well-developed smallholder dairy sector, and Ethiopia where the smallholder dairy industry has remained relatively undeveloped despite decades of development effort. We conducted village surveys among producer groups in 90 villages across three States in India and two Regions in Ethiopia. Producer groups were stratified according to three levels of market quality – high, medium and low. Data showed that diet composition was relatively similar in India and Ethiopia with crop residues forming the major share of the diet. Concentrate feeding tended to be more prominent in high market quality sites. Herd composition changed with market quality with more dairy (exotic) cross-bred animals in high market quality sites in both India and Ethiopia. Cross-bred animals were generally more prominent in India than Ethiopia. Herd performance within breed did not change a great deal along the market quality gradient. Parameters such as calving interval and milk yield were relatively insensitive to market quality. Insemination of cross-bred cows was predominantly by artificial insemination (AI) in India and accounted for around half of cross-bred cow inseminations in Ethiopia. Data on perceptions of change over the last decade indicated that per herd and per cow productivity are both increasing in high market quality sites with a more mixed picture in medium and low-quality sites. Similarly dairy-derived income is on the increase in high market quality sites. This is accompanied by a strong increase in stall feeding at the expense of grazing. The study indicates that the first constraint to intensification of dairy production in Ethiopia is the genetic quality of the herd. There is less scope for improved AI provision in India since the cross-bred herd is mainly serviced by AI already. However, as for Ethiopia, there is considerable scope for closing yield gaps in India through improved feed use and supply. Results strongly show that well-developed markets with good procurement arrangements are key for sustainable dairy intensification.

A short term enteric methane emission measurement is not identical to a measure of daily methane production (DMP) made in a respiration chamber (RC). While RC curtail most variation except that from quantity and composition of feed supplied, all short-term measurements contain additional sources of variation. The points of difference can include measurement time(s) relative to feeding, feed intake before measurement, animal behaviour in selection of diet and level of activity before measurement. For systems where a short-term emission measurement is made at the same time in the daily feeding cycle (e.g. during twice-daily milking) scaling up of short-term emission rates to estimate DMP is feasible but the scaling coefficient(s) will be diet dependent. For systems such as GreenFeed where direct emission rates are measured on occasion throughout day and night, no scaling up may be required to estimate DMP. For systems where small numbers of emission measures are made, and there is no knowledge of prior feed intake, such as for portable accumulation chambers, scaling to DMP is not currently possible. Even without scaling up to DMP, short-term measured emission rates are adequate for identifying relative emission changes induced by mitigation strategies and could provide the data to support genetic selection of ruminants for reduced enteric emissions.

Forty-eight Polish Landrace pigs (initially 32.43 ± 0.70 kg live weight) were assigned to a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in order to assess the effects of the rearing system (outdoor v. indoor), diet (with corn grain silage v. without corn grain silage) and gender (barrows v. gilts) on performance, carcass traits, meat quality and intramuscular collagen (IMC) characteristics. During the trial period of 14 weeks, each group was housed in a pen of 12 m2, and the outdoor-reared animals had access to a paddock of 24 m2. Pigs were fed a diet computed according to standard requirements and supplied on a basis of 9% of metabolic weight (live weight0.75). Pigs were slaughtered at 110.69 ± 0.85 kg. The rearing system did not significantly affect growth, hot and cold dressing, meat quality of m. longissimus lumborum or IMC. Outdoor pigs had less (P < 0.05) backfat thickness, slightly higher (P = 0.082) lean percent and a meat with lower pH and fat than the conventional system. In light of these results, alternative pig rearing systems with indoor space and free outdoor access could be an interesting production system for the pigs. Compared with the pigs fed diets with corn grain silage, those fed diets without corn had higher (P < 0.05) lean, ham percentage and IMC content, lower (P < 0.05) neck percentage but similar main tissue components of the ham and meat quality. Compared with the gilts, barrows were fatter and showed a meat with different physico-chemical traits, which was slightly more tender and had similar IMC properties.

The aim of this paper was to identify pre-slaughter factors that modify total and insoluble collagen contents in bovine muscle to construct a model of collagen dynamics. The meta-analyses were performed with primary data of total (n = 1165) and insoluble (n = 1145) collagen contents from INRA experiments obtained from different muscles in young bulls, cows and steers. According to both the bibliography and meta-analyses, total collagen content and solubility were greatly affected by the muscle (type). Moreover, the pattern of the evolution of collagen characteristics was similar among Longissimus, Semitendinosus and Triceps brachii muscles in young bulls. In cows, collagen contents in the Triceps brachii muscle had delayed dynamics compared with the other muscles. Collagen characteristics differed among breeds because of variation in the maturity of the breed. Similarly, according to the meta-analyses, total and insoluble collagen content evolutions with the degree of maturity (DOM; proportion of adult weight reached at slaughter) were different in dairy and rustic breeds from those of beef breeds, especially in bulls. Although the relationships between collagen content and DOM were quantified in different muscles and sexes, the precision of the fitted equations was not sufficient for prediction. Consequently, relying on the hypotheses raised by the meta-analysis and the literature, an approach to further develop a dynamic mechanistic model of soluble and insoluble collagen content is proposed.

An experiment was set up for (i) comparing Australian and French consumer preferences to beef and to (ii) quantify how well the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading model could predict the eating quality of beef in France. Six muscles from 18 Australian and 18 French cattle were tested as paired samples. In France, steaks were grilled ‘medium’ or ‘rare’, whereas in Australia ‘medium’ cooking was used. In total, 360 French consumers took part in the ‘medium’ cooking test, with each eating half Australian beef and half French beef and 180 French consumers tested the ‘rare’ beef. Consumers scored steaks for tenderness (tn), juiciness (ju), flavour liking (fl) and overall liking (ov). They also assigned a quality rating to each sample: ‘unsatisfactory’, ‘satisfactory everyday quality’ (3*), ‘better than everyday quality’ (4*) or ‘premium quality’ (5*). The prediction of the final ratings (3*, 4*, 5*) by the French consumers using the MSA-weighted eating quality score (0.3 tn + 0.1 ju + 0.3 fl + 0.3 ov) was over 70%, which is at least similar to the Australian experience. The boundaries between ‘unsatisfactory’, 3*, 4* and 5* were found to be ca. 38, 61 and 80, respectively. The differences between extreme classes are therefore slightly more important in France than in Australia. On average, even though it does not have predictive equations for bull meat, the mean predicted scores calculated by the MSA model deviated from observed values by a maximum of 5 points on a 0 to 100 scale except for the Australian oyster blade and the French topside, rump and outside (deviating by <15). Overall, the data indicate that it would be possible to manage a grading system in France as there is high agreement and consistency across consumers. The ‘rare’ and ‘medium’ results are also very similar, indicating that a common set of weightings and cut-offs can be employed.

Grazing pastures to low post-grazing sward heights (PGSH) is a strategy to maximise the quantity of grazed grass in the diet of dairy cows within temperate grass-based systems. Within Irish spring-calving systems, it was hypothesised that grazing swards to very low PGSH would increase herbage availability during early lactation but would reduce dairy cow performance, the effect of which would persist in subsequent lactation performance when compared with cows grazing to a higher PGSH. Seventy-two Holstein–Friesian dairy cows (mean calving date, 12 February) were randomly assigned post-calving across two PGSH treatments (n = 36): 2.7 cm (severe; S1) and 3.5 cm (moderate; M1), which were applied from 10 February to 18 April (period 1; P1). This was followed by a carryover period (period 2; P2) during which cows were randomly reassigned within their P1 treatment across two further PGSH (n = 18): 3.5 cm (severe, SS and MS) and 4.5 cm (moderate, SM and MM) until 30 October. Decreasing PGSH from 3.5 to 2.7 cm significantly decreased milk (−2.3 kg/cow per day), protein (−95 g/day), fat (−143 g/day) and lactose (−109 g/day) yields, milk protein (−1.2 g/kg) and fat (−2.2 g/kg) concentrations and grass dry matter intake (GDMI; −1.7 kg dry matter/cow per day). The severe PGSH was associated with a lower bodyweight (BW) at the end of P1. There was no carryover effect of P1 PGSH on subsequent milk or milk solids yields in P2, but PGSH had a significant carryover effect on milk fat and lactose concentrations. Animals severely restricted at pasture in early spring had a higher BW and slightly higher body condition score in later lactation when compared with M1 animals. During P2, increasing PGSH from 3.5 to 4.5 cm increased milk and milk solids yield as a result of greater GDMI and resulted in higher mean BW and end BW. This study indicates that following a 10-week period of feed restriction, subsequent dairy cow cumulative milk production is unaffected. However, the substantial loss in milk solid yield that occurred during the period of restriction is not recovered.