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Animal production

Arrigo Y.

Determined and estimated nutritive value of chicory, birdsfoot trefoil and sainfoin

The assessment of the nutritional value of plants rich in condensed tannins (CT) stems from the models predicting the normal nutritional value. In order to verify the effects, this study compares the nutritional value of chicory (cychorium intybus), sainfoin (onobrychis viciifolia) and lotus (lotus corniculatus) obtained with data determined using animals (in vivo, in sacco)…
Animal production

Arrigo Y., Stoll P.

Estimate of the nutritive value of maize silage

In order to check and improve the prediction of their nutritive value, 12 maize silages were studied as a supplement to the previous trials. Two varieties (Amadeo and LG32,52) were harvested at three different stages over the course of two years. The silages were studied to determine organic-matter digestibility (OMD) in the case of sheep,…
Animal production

Staerfl S., Bosshard C., Graf C., Zeitz J., Kreuzer M., Soliva C.

Effect of season and feeding on methane emission from Swiss dairy cow slurry

Due to the lack of country-specific data, the so-called IPCC default values are often taken for calculating greenhouse gas budgets. The default value to be applied for Switzerland for the ultimate methane (CH4) production capacity (B0) of slurry amounts to 240 l CH4/kg volatile solids (VS). In the present study, slurry from 64 dairy farms…
Animal production

Steiner B., Keck M., Keller M., Weber K.

Comparison of drainage characteristics of traffic floor surfaces in cattle-housing systems

Soiled traffic floor surfaces in cattlehousing systems represent plane sources for ammonia emissions. For emission-reduction purposes, the influence of the gradient on the drainage behaviour of water was quantified on a pilot-plant scale for seven different traffic surfaces. The surfaces were uniformly soiled with a mixture of excrements and urine. Measuring parameters were the duration…
Animal production

Gafner J.

The microbiological quality of feedstuffs

The quality of a feedstuff is not only defined by the various nutrient contents, or by its composition in terms of raw materials, or its digestibility or its palatability, nor even by its appearance or sensory characteristics, but also by its hygienic status. This article presents a way of assessing the microbiological quality of feedstuff,…
Animal production

Stranzinger G., Achermann J., Fengtang Y., Burger D.

Chromosome studies and other investigations on equid crossings

Crossings between horses and donkeys are in nature possible and are used as mules or hinnies in agriculture. Other types of crossings are rare and scarcely investigated. Systematic experiments are only allowed with special agreements and are very time consuming and costly and therefore rare. In this report crossings between horse, Przewalski and donkey are…
Animal production

Fuhrer J., Calanca P.

Climate change affects welfare of dairy cows

Climate change is leading to higher temperatures across Switzerland, increasing the risk of heat stress in livestock. Analyzing a «Temperature-Humidity Index» at various locations, it could be shown that the risk for dairy cows already grew substantially on a daily average over the past 30 years, whereas the maximum of the index did not change…
Animal production

Burren A., Flury C., Aeschlimann C., Hagger C., Rieder S.

Population structure and genetic diversity of Swiss sheep breeds

The year 2010 was declared by the United Nations as the International year of biodiversity. During that year, the Swiss Sheep Breeding Association made herd book data of its four largest breeds available for genetic diversity analyses. Those were Brown Headed Meat Sheep (OX; n=10 858), Black Brown Mountain Sheep (BNP; n=10 964), Valais Black…
Animal production

Piccand V., Cutullic E., Schori F., Kekeis K., Gazzarin C., Wanner M., Thomet P.

Wich cow for pasture-based production systems?: Synthesis and outlook

The objective of the study was to compare, within pasture-based seasonal-calving systems, the performance of Swiss Holstein-Friesian, Fleckvieh and Brown Swiss dairy cows with New Zealand Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. Within the trial, the two Holstein breeds had the best production performance, whereas the Fleckvieh cows had optimal reproductive performance. Swiss Holstein cows were efficient milk…
Animal production

Gazzarin Ch., Frey H., Petermann R., Höltschi M.

Pasture feeding or cowshed feeding – which is more economical?

In a «System comparison of milk production in Hohenrain » two dairy cattle herds on an identical land area were compared over three years in different production systems. Higher individual livestock yield and intensive cowshed feeding characterised the «cowshed herd» system, while the «pasture herd» was managed with permanent access to pasture and seasonal calving…
Animal production

Wyss U., Mauer J., Frey H., Reinhard T., Bernet A., Hofstetter P.

System comparison milk production Hohenrain: milk quality and seasonal milk production

In the years 2008 to 2010, in the project «System comparison milk production Hohenrain», two different milk production systems were compared: a pasture based system versus an indoor feeding system with a mix ration of grass and maize silage. In the present paper the results of milk quality and seasonal milk production were investigated. The…
Animal production

Hofstetter P., Frey H., Petermann R., Gut W., Herzog L., Kunz P.

Comparison of dairy farming systems: barn-keeping v pasture-based keeping – Feed, performance and efficiency

The aim of this study was to compare barn-keeping (BK) to pasture-based-keeping (PK) systems in dairy farming. We established two herds which were kept under the same conditions and with an equal agricultural area (AA) on the same experimental farm from 2008 to 2010. The BK herd consisted of 12 Swiss Holstein-Friesian and 12 Brown…
Animal production

Piccand V., Cutullic E., Schori F., Weilenmann S., Thomet P.

Which cow for pasture-based production systems?: Production, reproduction and health

The objective of the study was to compare, within pasture-based seasonal-calving systems, the production and reproduction performances of Swiss Holstein-Friesian (CH HF), Fleckvieh (CH FV) and Brown Swiss (CH BS) dairy cows with New Zealand Holstein-Friesian (NZ HF) dairy cows, taken as reference for such systems. From 2007 to 2009, NZ HF cows were paired…
Animal production

Bracher A., Spring P.

Protein content in compound feed for pigs: survey of 2008

As most European countries, Switzerland has signed the Gothenburg Protocol to abate acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone. The protocol puts pressure on Swiss livestock producers to implement measures to reduce their ammonia emissions. Dietary modifications (optimization of crude protein concentration) will affect, as a begin-of-pipe measure, all emission stages from barn to field. The aim…
Animal production

Piccand V., Schori F., Troxler J., Wanner M., Thomet P.

Which cow for pasture-based production systems?: Problematics and experimental design

Switzerland is a country of grasslands. The effective use of this resource is essential for the Swiss dairy industry. To ensure this, efficient milk production systems and cows suited to these systems are necessary. The existence of interactions between genotype and environment when comparing contrasting conditions of production raises the question of the suitability of…
Animal production

Flury Ch., Rieder S.

Genetic diversity of the Eringer breed

The Eringer cattle breed is a local breed of Swiss origin. The goal objective of this study was to analyse the development of genetic diversity from 1993 to 2007 using pedigree information. In addition, 128 Eringer cows were genotyped for through the Illumina 50k Illumina beadchip method and, using this genome-wide marker information, the genetic…
Animal production

Nydegger F., Gygax L., Egli W.

Automatic Measurement of Jaw Movements in Ruminants by Means of a Pressure Sensor

Ruminant activity is considered an important non-invasive measurable parameter for the early identification of metabolic problems in ruminants. Traditional rumination sensors have drawbacks, particularly when used in the cowshed area. The newly developed ART rumination sensor incorporates a noseband sensor comprising a fluid-filled tube and pressure sensor, a data logger, and the evaluation software. The…
Animal production

Roth N., Schmied R., Kunz P.

Rindfleischproduktion auf Fruchtfolgeflächen

Der Strukturwandel in der Schweizer Landwirtschaft, unter anderem der sinkende Milchpreis, veranlasst viele kombinierte Milchvieh-Ackerbaubetriebe zur Aufgabe der Milchproduktion. Dadurch werden die Kunstwiesenjahre innerhalb der Fruchtfolge nicht mehr benötigt, was negative Konsequenzen auf die biologische Stickstofffixierung (Weissklee), die Bodenstruktur und die Erosion haben kann. Die Fleischproduktion auf Kunstwiesenflächen während der Vegetationsperiode könnte ein möglicher Betriebszweig…
Animal production

Dissler L., Häberli M., Probst S., Spring P.

Piglets diet supplemented with amino acid valine

The goals of these trials were to investigate the effects of different dietary amino acid concentrations and valine:lysine ratios on piglet performance and health. Two 4-week trials with 90 weaned piglets each were conducted. Both trials were set up as a block design with 3 treatments and 6 replicates per treatment (a total of 18…
Animal production

Dufey P.-A., Gremaud V.

Scarring of the outside flat in beef: determining one origin of this quality defect

Scarring of the Outside Flat’ is the expression used in Switzerland to designate a quality defect appearing on the main muscle used to produce dried meat, the Biceps femoris or gluteobiceps. This problem, already known for decades and now clearly increasing, was still yet not explained. This led the inter-branch organisation for meat to award…

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