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Animal production

Scheurer A., Locher E., Herholz C., Vervuert I.

Effect of complementary feeds on the chewing activity of horses

Originally a grassland animal, horses are adapted to a continuous intake of small amounts of feed. Today, horses are primarily kept in box-housing systems and feed intake duration has gained importance. In this study, four complementary feeds with crude fiber content of 10%, 12%, 14.5% and 18% and differently processed (muesli, structured muesli or pellet)…
Animal production

Mettler D., Hilfiker D.

”Change management” using the example of sheep summer grazing and the return of the wolf

Designing and supporting change processes in agriculture is a challenge for management, science and advisory services. In regions where large predators were eradicated and, thanks to stricter European protective provisions, make a comeback, livestock owners are faced with major changes. The ”Summer grazing of sheep in the canton of Valais“ project shows how extension and…
Animal production

Wyss U., Pradervand N.

Influence of storage period on the quality of a maize silage

On farms, sometimes maize is ensiled after harvest and the removal (feed-out) and feeding of the maize silage begun immediately. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of this approach on fermentation quality, microbiological quality and aerobic stability. For this, six 700-litre containers were filled with maize having an average dry-matter content of 37…
Animal production

Pfammatter M., Huwiler S., Kägi F., Kopp Ch., Krüger K., Herholz C.

Performance and stress level in mules during a five days Gotthard trek

In the summer of 2016, three pack mules, each carrying a load weighing 80kg, accompanied a 94.46km trek across the Gotthard Pass with a total altitude difference of 3,364m. The mules’ performances were evaluated by measuring vital recovery parameters such as heart- and respiratory rates and body temperature, and by continuous heartrate monitoring during the…
Animal production

Dufey P.-A., Silacci P., Dougoud B., Biolley C., Messadene J.

Validation of the standards used for the instrumental measurement of beef tenderness

The tenderness of meat is determined instrumentally by measuring Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). This measurement is performed according to different standards established outside of Switzerland. The aim of the present study was twofold: firstly, to check whether the perception of Swiss consumers vis-à-vis tenderness matched the WBSF categories commonly used; secondly, to define satisfaction categories…
Animal production

Dufey P.-A., Dougoud B., Silacci P.

Surveys on the tenderness of Swiss beef: 2009 and 2014

The tenderness of beef in nine different muscles sold as steaks was investigated in two studies (2009 and 2014) by measuring shear force according to Warner-Bratzler (WBSF).The meat in each survey originated from 39 artisanal butcher shops (ABs) or hyper-/supermarkets butcher shop (HSMs) in 14 different Swiss cities. Overall, the 466 steaks examined had average…
Animal production

Wyss U., Girard M., Grosse Brinkhaus A., Dohme-Meier F.

Protein fractions in three legume species

During the forage wilting and ensiling process, a protein degradation takes place that affects the different protein fractions. In addition to the silage conditions, secondary plant ingredients also affect the different protein fractions. In an experiment, the influence of the wilting and ensiling process on the protein fractions of the first and third cuts of…
Animal production

Wyss U., Latsch A., Nyfeler D.

Influence of different slurry application methods on grass silage quality

When slurry is applied, a great number of bacteria (e. g. clostridial spores) are spread on both the soil and forage. An experiment conducted at Agroscope Tänikon in 2013 and 2014 investigated the influence of three different slurry application techniques (broadcast, band-spread and trailing-shoe) on silage quality. In both years, samples were taken of three…
Animal production

Ammer St., Quander N., Posch J., Maurer V., Leiber F.

Fattening performance of male layer hybrids fed different protein sources

The growth performance of male layer hybrids fed diets containing different protein sources and protein contents was examined in three fattening trials. As expected, the comparison of the Lohmann Brown (LB) and Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL) genotypes with Hubbard JA 757 (HUB) broiler hybrids demonstrated that the male layer hybrids showed a lower fattening performance.…
Animal production

Wyss Ch., Gerster G., Zollinger A., Schneider L., Bachmann I.

Slow feeding systems for horses: feeding times and lying behaviour

Free-living equids spend the greater part of the day grazing – roughly sixteen hours out of every twenty four. With two to three rationed portions of roughage a day, the behaviour of conventionally fed domestic horses is strongly affected. The aim of the present paper was to examine whether a different number of feeds influenced…
Animal production

Steinwidder A., Hofstetter P., Frey H., Gazzarin C.

Analysis of pasture-based- or indoor-feeding-dairy production on the net contribution to human food supply

In a whole-system study in lowland of Central Switzerland from 2007 to 2010 compared the performance, efficiency, land productivity and profitability of indoor-feeding (SH) dairy production with that of pasture-based feeding (VW) dairy production. In the present study the net contribution of these systems to human food protein and energy supply was analysed. Depending on…
Animal production

Keck M., Frei M., Steiner B.

Comparison of the odour impact of cattle housing with and without an outdoor exercise area

Outdoor exercise areas in loose cattle housing systems represent close-to-the-ground emission sources. Previously, outdoor exercise areas were not taken into account when calculating the minimum distance to residential zones. The aim of these studies was to highlight any possible effect of outdoor exercise areas with solid flooring on odour impact. For this, the odour impact…
Animal production

Wyss U., Mosimann E.

Silage quality of catch crops

Although catch crops contribute to additional feed production, they are also considered to be difficult to ensile. In a trial, the ensilability and silage quality of the two standard mixtures 101 and 106 as well as mixtures with black oats, sorghum and foxtail millet were investigated. In addition to variants without an additive, we also…
Animal production

Menzi H., Arrigo Y., Münger A., Schori F., Wyss U., Schlegel P.

New guide values for the nutrient excretions of dairy cows

In the framework of the current revision of the Swiss Fertilizer Guidelines (SFG) the guide values for nutrient excretion and forage consumption of dairy cows were checked and adapted to current production practice. The principle used for calculating excretions is input in feed minus retention in milk, calf and growth. A model based on the…
Animal production

Spengler Neff A., Ivemeyer S.

Differences between organic dairy cows sired by artificial insemination and natural service

This study investigated differences between phenotypes of daughters of artificial insemination (AI)-bulls and daughters of natural service (NS)- bulls, respectively, on organic dairy farms in Switzerland. Organic rules recommend the use of natural mating. Therefore it is of interest whether those two groups of phenotypes show different characteristics on organic farms. Only farms using both…
Animal production

Arrigo Y., Wyss U., Morel I.

Digestibility of power maize silage fed alone or in mixed rations

Power maize silage (WPMC) – a mixture of whole-plant maize and cobs used in cattle fattening – has different characteristics from whole-plant maize (WPM). A digestibility test was carried out to determine the nutritional value of WPMC, study the influence of the composition of the ration and verify the application of equations predicting digestibility. Four…
Animal production

Wyss C., Gerster G., Zollinger A., Bachmann I.

Slow-feeding for horses

In a natural environment, equids spend over 16 hours a day grazing. Stabled horses are traditionally fed 2–3 times a day with limited amount of forage. This may lead to disturbances of the digestive system and/or behavioral problems. The aim of this study was to investigate whether intake decreases when using a net covering the…
Animal production

Grob N., Altermath J., Boillat C., Frutschi V., Guy A., Roumet J.-P., Python P., Reidy B.

Advisory instruments for the improvement of profitability on dairy farms

An advisory method developed in France was adapted for the application in Canton Jura and Bernese Jura to improve the profitability of dairy farms. Using this newly developed advisory instrument, an interdisciplinary team aimed to offer comprehensive consultancy. Data from 64 dairy farms was collected regarding environmental factors, management practices and related economic performance. Multivariate…
Animal production

Wyss U., Dettling T., Reidy B.

Silage qualities in the mountain area: a field study

Silage preparation is an important feed-conservation method in the mountain area of Switzerland. To determine the ensilability of various typical plant populations in the mountain area, four plant populations were investigated on a laboratory scale, and grass silages from 31 commercial farms from the Ybrig-Einsiedeln mountain region were collected and analysed. According to the fermentability…
Animal production

Müller Richli M., Kaufman D., Scheeder M.

Prediction of the fatty acid composition in backfat of pigs as breeding tool

Pork fat is a major constituent of many meat products and its quality therefore of high relevance for meat processors. The most important fat quality characteristics – oxidative stability and consistency – are well described by the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the iodine value. In Switzerland, these two traits are even part…
Animal production

Manceau B., Martrou J.-L.

Economic approach of the LACTOBEEF project

Summering fattening cattle on alpine pastures has the advantage of utilising the whey and optimising the number of animals on said pastures. The LACTOBEEF project followed two mountain stockbreeders from the Gruyère Pays d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park. Traditionally, these stockbreeders fatten pigs on their whey and raise dairy heifers. The trial addresses the economic consequences…
Animal production

Gallot M., Buchwalder G., Beuret B., Cecilio J.-M., Guinemer M., Marigo P., Frosini S., Charrière J.-D.

Autumn intermediate crops and development of honey-bee colonies

Establishing an autumn vegetation cover following the grain harvests is common practice in the farming community. Although certain beekeepers look forward to this foraging opportunity, others suspect a weakening of the bee colonies after they forage on these cover crops, and fear the premature exhaustion of the winter bees. The experiment presented here attempts to…

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