Salmonella and Campylobacter are generally regarded as the most important foodborne pathogens in the world. Reduction or elimination of these pathogens in the first part of the food chain (on-farm) is important to prevent disease among consumers of animal products. Rodents are frequently associated with infrastructural damages and eating or spoiling of stored feed and products, but the veterina...

● lower stocking densities and production levels than in conventional systems (stocking densities on dairy farms on average 80% lower; on beef and sheep farms 40-80% lower). Organic certification Definitions of ‘organic’ farming vary internationally. Many countries operate national or ‘private’ standards, which do not have statutory status. The International Federation of Organic Farming Moveme...

Received: Revised: Accepted: October 02, 2009 June 23, 2010 June 25, 2010

This study is based on scientific publications, statistics and field observations. It shows the importance of livestock in the economy and in the risk management strategies implemented by poor farming households. A comparison of livestock performance trends with the evolution of rural poverty in developing countries indicates that growth in livestock production alone is not enough to reduce rur...

Although the emerging field of precision livestock farming (PLF) is predominantly associated with intensive animal production, there is increasing interest in applying smart technologies in extensive rangeland systems. Precision livestock farming technologies bring the possibility of closely monitoring the behaviour, liveweight and other parameters of individual animals in free-ranging systems....

Ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination often causes large economic losses on livestock production. The intake of feed contaminated by OTA also represents a potential risk for animal health and a food safety issue due to the transfer of the toxin through the food chain to humans. The aim of this paper is to review the available literature on: (1) the frequency and degree of occurrence of OTA in differ...

Proteomics allows studying large numbers of proteins, including their post-translational modifications. Proteomics has been, and still are, used in numerous studies on skeletal muscle. In this article, we focus on its use in the study of livestock muscle development and meat quality. Changes in protein profiles during myogenesis are described in cattle, pigs and fowl using comparative analyses ...

Agriculture is responsible for a significant proportion of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (perhaps 18% globally), and therefore has the potential to contribute to efforts to reduce emissions as a means of minimising the risk of dangerous climate change. The largest contributions to emissions are attributed to ruminant methane production and nitrous oxide from animal waste and fert...