Meat is an important source of protein, lipids, vitamin and other nutrients for the human diet. Byproducts generated after bioethanol production used for animal feeding have effects on the beef quality, such as nutritional properties, colour and tenderness. The study of the mechanisms involved and their implications will allow to better understand the effect of the inclusion of these byproducts on the final quality of meat.

There is a growing interest in the single-step GBLUP method for simultaneous genetic evaluation of genotyped and non-genotyped animals, in which genomic and pedigree relationship matrices are admixed. Using data from New Zealand Romney sheep, we have shown that adjustment of the genomic relationship matrix on the basis of the pedigree relationship matrix is necessary to avoid inflated evaluations. Improving the compatibility between genomic and pedigree relationship matrices is important for obtaining accurate and unbiased single-step GBLUP evaluations.

The ratio of sex chromosome copies in animals with sex chromosomal aneuploidies differ from normal individuals. The present investigation reveals an attempt for quantitative real-time PCR based relative copy number profiling of sex chromosome specific gene fragments with respect to an autosomal reference gene. This study indicated that copy number analysis can be useful for preliminary screening of sex chromosome aneuploidies in pigs adding throughput to traditional cyto-screening.

In pasture-based dairy systems, dry matter herbage intake is the major limitation of milk production, so it is very important to know the signals that regulate herbage intake. An unknown question is the role of liver signals in short-term feed intake regulation, particularly in grazing dairy cows. We have discovered that hepatic oxidation does not have a primary role in the cessation of one of the most important feeding events at grazing – the first feeding event.

Sorghum is an important feed grain for chicken-meat production and it is drought resistant, which is an advantage under the current climate change predictions. However, sorghum is usually considered inferior to wheat in this context and kafirin, the major protein in sorghum, appears to be a major underlying reason. This study reports the detailed composition of kafirin and makes recommendations as how best to improve the performance of broiler-chickens offered sorghum-based diets.

Substitution of starch with sugar could maintain dietary energy density with reduced negative effects induced by a high-starch diet. The present study investigated underlying mechanisms by comparing the effects of sucrose, fructose and lactose on rumen fermentation, fatty acid metabolism and related bacterial populations. Our results confirmed and extended the earlier results, and provided helpful clues for a better use of sugars in the diet of dairy animals.

Some natural feed additives such as tannins are promising for decreasing the environmental pollution of dairies. A tannin extract from mimosa tree was evaluated as a feed additive for dairy cows grazing a tropical grass pasture. The additive did not improve the productive performance and, instead, it increased the excretion of labile urinary N by dairy cows which had a negative effect from the environmental point of view.

Manipulation of ruminal fermentation characteristics by walnut leaves was investigated. Flavonoids in walnut leaf extract were effective in reducing ruminal methane emission (one of the most important greenhouse gases) and acidosis. It is expected that the use of walnut leaves as a part of ruminant’s diet can be useful in preventing metabolic diseases.

Brazilian beef production produces animal protein mainly by using fibrous feeds such as tropical grasses, which reduces the cost of production. However, grass production is variable during the year, so it is important to use supplementation to fulfil animal requirements. We aimed to determine the effects of different combinations of sward heights and supplementation levels on animal production variables. It was found that pasture management for different heights needs different supplementation levels to attend to animal requirements during the dry season, resulting in great production and probably positive economy to the owner.

A large amount of agro industrial by-products such as grape pomace are discarded. This by-product could be used in broiler chicken diets in order to replace some conventional ingredients and take advantage of their antioxidant capacity. In this work a simple drying procedure was used to generate grape pomace flour for use as an ingredient in chicken diets. White grape pomace flour increased the antioxidant capacity of chicken meat by 17%.

Remote monitoring of animal behaviour can improve existing methods of animal management, improving both animal welfare and productivity. This research examines the use of global navigation satellite system tracking technology to identify birth events in sheep. This provides necessary baseline data for development of behavioural algorithms for remote animal monitoring.