This study evaluated the ability of equations developed from the analysis of faecal material by conventional chemistry, and by near-infrared spectroscopy, to predict intake and digestibility of forages fed with or without supplements. Good agreement between the conventional chemistry and near-infrared spectroscopy methods was evident (according to a 95% limits-of-agreement test), and both predicted the reference values precisely and with small bias.

The cell wall digestibility (CWD) index is a suitable method for diet quality and fibre digestibility estimation. This manuscript provides a detailed description of fecal-NIRS calibrations for CWD ratio determination, which is a useful, non-invasive tool for monitoring variations in the diet quality of Mediterranean deer in their natural environment.

Molasses is a widely used energy source for cattle in the tropics but the extent to which it supports microbial protein production in the rumen is unclear. This study investigated the effect of increasing the molasses content in the diet of steers on protein synthesis in the rumen and on intake of the animals. Protein synthesis was within expected limits but low intake remains a limitation to cattle production from molasses-based diets.

Lambs born in spring were weaned in summer when they began to graze natural pastures. In summer, natural pastures commonly present low protein content. Restricted grazing of natural pastures improved with legumes resulted in similar or better performance than supplementation with soybean meal. Including in the feeding plan natural pastures improved with high-protein forage species is an alternative as effective as the supply of soybean meal.

The aim of this study was to highlight the potential risk factors that influence the reproductive outcome in automatic milking systems under pasture based condition. At the reported production levels and milking frequencies for Australian pastured cows, milk yield and milking frequency during 100 days in milk had no effect on reproductive measures. This type of study is important to minimise the reproductive losses by reviewing management strategies in automatic milking systems.

Extended milking intervals have a negative effect on milk yield and udder health. Analysis of cow traffic data from an automatic milking system found that previous milking refusal was not the main cause of extended milking intervals. These cows could be sorted to an area close to the dairy; however, management should focus on reducing time cows spend between milkings in any one pasture allocation.

Greenhouse gas emissions from Australian agriculture are currently at 15% of national emissions and mitigation research is an important way of showing farmers how they might reduce their agricultural emissions. This research uses farm management practices to examine if producing more product across an animal’s lifetime affects emissions and profitability on farm enterprises. The results show that the potential for greater profitability on farm enterprises is driven more by increasing production than from claiming carbon offsets.

Substitution of corn with fibrous by-product into the diets of lactating dairy goats was studied. The fibrous by-product was beet pulp, and higher methane emission was observed than corn diet. Replacing corn with beet pulp did not compromise milk performance in dairy goats.

The use of maize as a switch crop or the use of markets for roughage are the most efficient strategies to reduce financial risk of suckler cow farming. Applying a bio-economic optimization model we find that these strategies cause only low reductions of average gross margin. Our results also indicate that gross margin insurance is not attractive for farmers.

The influence of cereal type (wheat, maize or sorghum) and fat source (soybean oil or tallow) on the performance and utilisation of fat in young broiler chickens was investigated. The effect of fat source on weight gain of broiler starters differed depending on the cereal base used. It was found that the feed efficiency and fat utilisation were better in birds fed soybean oil diets compared to those fed tallow supplemented diets.

It is important to identify valuable alternative to antibiotics in rabbit production to control the problem of antibiotic resistance of bacteria. Mannanoligosaccharides and inulin are able to effect similar results to antibiotics in rabbit growth. Mannanoligosaccharides were more effective than inulin at improving rabbit performance during growing.

Oak acorns have some adverse effects on animal production, which arise from the presence of some anti-nutritional factors such as tannins and phenolic compounds. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of ground oak acorn as source of hydrolysable tannin on growth performance of goat kids. The levels used had no adverse effect on growth performance.

Little is known about the length of gestation in sows and its consequences for the health of neonate piglets. The aim of this study was to evaluate uterine activity at farrowing in sows with different gestation lengths, and its effect on the metabolic profile of neonates. Piglets born prematurely had lower birthweights and a higher incidence of apnoea, with severe physiometabolic alterations.

The genetic basis of sexual dimorphism of bodyweight in Zandi sheep was investigated. Except for birthweight, for which estimates of variance components and genetic parameters were higher in females, for other traits, estimates were higher in males. However, regarding direct and maternal effects, none of the differences between the sexes was significant, indicating no need for sex-specific selection strategies.

Ellagic acid present in fruits and nuts has been shown to have antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties. This study aimed to evaluate dietary supplementation of ellagic acid on rooster semen quality. The levels used had no effect on gross semen parameters.

Dry-cured ham derived from native pig breeds is a highly valued product. The biochemical changes that take place during the processing are responsible of the final sensory characteristics. The effect of a short and a long ripening time on Chato Murciano dry-cured ham quality was studied. Results suggest that an appropriate time of processing is 22 months.

Models of louse prevalence in sheep were used to identify the management activities most likely to reduce costs associated with lice. The greatest predicted benefits were from improving the efficacy of treatment at shearing, and by greater attention to quarantine against lice entering on purchases or strays. A 25% increase in annual quarantine efficacy was predicted to reduce costs by one-third within 10 years of implementation.