The aim of this modelling study was to investigate the effect of large herd size (and land areas) on walking distances and milking interval (MI), and their impact on milk yield and economic penalties when 50% of the total diets were provided from home grown feed either as pasture or grazeable complementary forage rotation (CFR) in an automatic milking system (AMS). Twelve scenarios consisting o...

A number of factors influence dairy cow preference to be indoors or at pasture. The study reported here investigated whether herbage mass and distance affects preference and if continuously housed cows exhibited behavioral and production differences compared to cows that had free access to pasture. Dairy cows (n = 16) were offered a free choice of being in cubicle housing (1.5 cubicles/cow) or ...

Increasing the current precision of nutrient management will need analytical tools that aid in collecting site specific data. A technology with potential is hyperspectral remote sensing. Modern, portable spectroradiometers permit reflectance data in the spectral region between 350 and 2500 nm to be collected quickly. With the limited sampling, handling, and processing required the technology al...

Mammalian aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of at least 13 integral membrane proteins expressed in various epithelia, where they function as channels to permeate water and small solutes. AQP5 is widely expressed in the exocrine gland where it is likely involved in providing an appropriate amount of fluid to be secreted with granular contents. As regards AQP5 expression in the salivary glands, lite...

Gravid mares grazing endophyte-infested (E+) tall fescue exhibit increased gestation lengths, agalactia, foal and mare mortality, tough and thickened placentas, weak and dysmature foals, increased sweating during warm weather, reduced serum prolactin and progesterone, and increased serum estradiol-17 beta levels. Also, E+ tall fescue hay is less digestible than endophyte-free (E-) hay. Unlike m...

Grazing management affects ecosystem function through impacts on soil condition. We investigated the effects of long-term (over 70 years) grazing on soil properties and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission within a moderately grazed native vegetation pasture (MGP), heavily grazed native vegetation pasture (HGP), and a fertilized crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum (Fisch. ex. Link) Schult.) pastur...

Secondary and managed plantation forests comprise a rapidly increasing portion of the humid tropical forest biome, a region that, in turn, is a major source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions to the atmosphere. Previous work has demonstrated reduced N2O emissions in regenerating secondary stands compared to mature forests, yet the importance of species composition in regulating N2O production in ...

Fecal masses recently excreted and/or almost dry were collected weekly in a pasture of Brachiaria decumbens Stapf, from May 1990 to April 1992. The feces were conditioned in 15-liter opaque plastic buckets, containing lateral and top openings, where flasks were fastened for capturing Histeridae beetles present in these masses. Three thousand two hundred ninety-nine specimens were collected belo...

The Amazon rainforest, the largest equatorial forest in the world, is being cleared for pasture and agricultural use at alarming rates. Tropical deforestation is known to cause alterations in microbial communities at taxonomic and phylogenetic levels, but it is unclear whether microbial functional groups are altered. We asked whether free-living nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (diazotrophs) resp...