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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…
Animal production

Arrigo Y.

Fat and fatty acids in preserved forages

This article shows the difference in fat and fatty acid levels between preserved forages and grass. Grass was harvested from the same plot of land at two different stages (30 days apart) over three years and stored using six different processes. 42 samples were analysed by extraction using petroleum ether for fat and by gas…
Animal production

Wyss U., Klein R., Mund K., von Niederhäusern R., Strickler B., Wichert B.

Stability of silages for horses during feeding

Since some years, hay in horse diets has been partly replaced by silage with high dry matter contents, also known as haylage. There remain still some questions concerning the stability of haylage as well as the conditions during storage. In this context, the influence of dry matter (DM)-content and the addition of (oder a) silage…
Animal production

Burose F., Anliker T., Herd D., Jungbluth T., Zähner M.

Stationary RFID Antenna Systems for Pigs Identification

The use of an electronic labelling system for livestock enables the animals to be automatically identified with stationary antenna systems. In the present study, the recognition system for reading individual transponders from a group (bulk reading), already in use in other industrial sectors, was tested with fattening pigs. To evaluate different antenna systems, transponders mounted…
Animal production

Wyss U.

Silage additives: test results 2009

The efficacy of the silage additive Silostar Protect in improving the aerobic stability of wilted grass silages was investigated. Forage of a mixture containing mainly grasses from the first and second cuts was pre-wilted to 40 % DM and ensiled in laboratory scale silos. Besides the variant with Silostar Protect, a variant without additive and…
Animal production

Boessinger M., Emmenegger J., Chassot A., Morel I.

Feed consumption and live wight performance of suckle cows with calves

As part of a bachelor thesis at the ETH Zurich, data of a four-year experiment of Agroscope ALP Project «Typo» was evaluated. From cows of the suckler cow breeds Angus, Limousin, Eringer and the crossbred type Limousin x Red Holstein, feed intake and live weight performance was measured during the winter feeding periods. With feed…
Animal production

Mosimann E., Schmied R., Thuillard C.P., Thomet P.

Beef fattening on grazed grass-clover mixtures: interest of the tall fescue

Beef production from pasture leys is foreseen as a possible alternative to cropping and dairying in the Swiss lowlands. New varieties of tall fescue are described as adequate for grazing in dry conditions. Experiments were conducted in four sites from 2007 to 2009 comparing two grass-clover mixtures (dominant grass: SM 460 = perennial ryegrass; SM…
Animal production

Burger D., Baumgartner M., Bahmann I., Grivel C., Rizzoli A., von Niederhäusern R., Poncet P.-A.

Fünf Jahre Netzwerk Pferdeforschung Schweiz

In nur fünf Jahren ist die vom Schweizerischen Nationalgestüt in Avenches ins Leben gerufene und organisierte, öffentliche Jahrestagung des Netzwerks Pferdeforschung Schweiz zur wichtigsten und international anerkannten interdisziplinären Plattform der Forschenden rund ums Pferd in der Schweiz geworden. In diesem Rahmen hat sie sich auch zu einer interaktiven und transparenten Brücke zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis…

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