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An estimate of the environmental impact of dairy farms in Northern Italy producing milk for hard cheese (protected designation of origin) has been obtained through a comprehensive life cycle assessment. The estimate focused on climate change (CC) and photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) indicators, which were evaluated according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines and interpreted with the aid of the feeds' composition evaluated using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (Foss NIR-System 5000) as well as with a diet evaluation according to the NRC (National Research Council) or the CNCPS (Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System) nutrient requirement modeling. Herds were classified into high-, mid-, and low-performing based on the daily milk yield per cow. A lower impact on indicators was observed as herd performance increased. The high-performing herds had a lower contribution from enteric fermentation (6.30 × 10-1 kgCO2-eq), and the more milk that they produced allowed for a differentiation of CC from land use and transformation (2.39 × 10-1 kgCO2-eq), compared to low-performing herds (3.66 × 10-1 kgCO2-eq). Compared to the IPCC approach, the CC and POCP indicator estimates were reduced when addressing the feed's quality, particularly in mid- and high-performing herds. The results could be helpful in the dairy sector as they provide an insight into how diet quality affects the environmental impact of milk.
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The environmental impacts of the dairy industry, particularly global warming, are heavily influenced by milk production. Thus, there is an urgent need for farm-level actions and opportunities for improvement, implying mitigation strategies. The aim of this paper is to investigate five possible mitigation actions at the dairy farm and which one the farmers were willing to adopt: management and distribution of livestock manure and fertilizers, anaerobic manure treatment, optimization of the herd composition, feed quality, and heat recovery. A life cycle assessment was conducted on 63 farms using the product environmental footprint approach. The latter was divided into four quartiles, from which four representative farms were selected. For each farm, three scenarios have been analyzed considering the reference impact (reference scenario), the application of the mitigation actions (best-case scenario), and what farmers would implement (realistic scenario). Overall, the most effective mitigation actions in the best-case scenario were anaerobic manure treatment and the management and distribution of livestock manure and fertilizers, showing a potential reduction in total environmental impacts of 7-9% and 6-7%, respectively. Farmers' responses indicated a willingness to implement the latter mitigation strategy better. The optimization of the herd composition, feed quality, and heat recovery reported a range impact reduction between 0.01-5%.
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Mycotoxin represents a significant concern for the safety of food and feed products, and wheat represents one of the most susceptible crops. To manage this issue, fast, reliable, and low-cost test methods are needed for regulated mycotoxins. This study aimed to assess the potential use of the electronic nose for the early identification of wheat samples contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON) above a fixed threshold. A total of 214 wheat samples were collected from commercial fields in northern Italy during the periods 2014−2015 and 2017−2018 and analyzed for DON contamination with a conventional method (GC-MS) and using a portable e-nose "AIR PEN 3" (Airsense Analytics GmbH, Schwerin, Germany), equipped with 10 metal oxide sensors for different categories of volatile substances. The Machine Learning approach "Classification and regression trees" (CART) was used to categorize samples according to four DON contamination thresholds (1750, 1250, 750, and 500 µg/kg). Overall, this process yielded an accuracy of >83% (correct prediction of DON levels in wheat samples). These findings suggest that the e-nose combined with CART can be an effective quick method to distinguish between compliant and DON-contaminated wheat lots. Further validation including more samples above the legal limits is desirable before concluding the validity of the method.
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Fusarium , Micotoxinas , Nariz Electrónica , Contaminación de Alimentos/análisis , Micotoxinas/análisis , Óxidos , Tricotecenos , TriticumRESUMEN
The utilization of animal donors of rumen fluid for laboratory experiments can raise ethical concerns, and alternatives to the collection of rumen fluids from live animals are urgently requested. The aim of this study was to compare the fresh rumen fluid (collected at slaughter, W) with that obtained from a continuous fermenter (RCF) and three methods of rumen fluid preservation (refrigeration, R, chilling, C, and freeze-drying, FD). The fermentability of different inoculum was evaluated by three in vitro tests (neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and crude protein (CP) degradability and gas production, NDFd, RDP and GP, respectively) using six feeds as substrates. Despite the two types of inoculum differed in terms of metabolites and microbiota concentration, the differences in vitro fermentability between the two liquids were less pronounced than expected (-15 and 20% for NDFd and GP when the liquid of fermenter was used and no differences for RDP). Within each in vitro test, the data obtained from rumen and from fermenter liquids were highly correlated for the six feeds, as well as between W and R (r: 0.837-0.985; p < 0.01). The low fermentative capacity was found for C and, particularly, FD for liquids. RCF could be used to generate inoculum for in vitro purposes and short-term refrigeration is a valuable practice to manage inoculum.
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BACKGROUND: Considering that water availability for agricultural needs is being restricted, an alternative to corn in animal nutrition should be explored in the Po Valley. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of either a partial (Trial I) or a total (Trial II) corn silage substitution with barley silage in dairy cows' diet on milk yield and composition, its coagulation properties, cheese yield and the sensorial profile of 16-month-aged Grana Padano cheese. RESULTS: A partial or a total substitution of corn silage with barley silage had no effect on milk yield. Milk fat content in Trial I and milk urea content in both trials were higher with barley silage based diets than in corn silage based diets. No effects were observed concerning the lactodinamographic profile for milk aptitude to cheese-making, cheese yield and its organoleptic traits between feed treatments in Trials I and II. In both trials, hardness, friability and solubility scores were generally lower than reference values, whereas deformability, elasticity and stickiness scores were generally higher than reference values. CONCLUSION: A partial or a total substitution of corn silage with barley silage in diets for dairy cows did not induce any negative effects on animal performance, nor on milk-quality traits, cheese quality and yield. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Alimentación Animal/análisis , Bovinos/metabolismo , Queso/análisis , Hordeum/metabolismo , Leche/química , Ensilaje/análisis , Zea mays/metabolismo , Fenómenos Fisiológicos Nutricionales de los Animales , Animales , Dieta/veterinaria , Femenino , Hordeum/química , Leche/metabolismo , Zea mays/químicaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: A survey on 68 dairy farms was carried out to evaluate the ensiling procedures adopted to store corn silage. Samples from core, lateral and apical zones of the feed-out face of silos were analysed. A principal factor analysis (PFA) was carried out on the entire database (196 silage samples and 36 variables) and 11 principal factor components (PCs) were retained and interpreted. RESULTS: Ensiling procedures influenced the area exposed to risk of air penetration. Cores had higher dry matter, starch and lactic acid content or lower pH, fibre, propionate and butyrate concentrations than peripheral samples (P < 0.05). The highest (P < 0.05) mycophenolic acid and roquefortina C concentrations were detected in lateral samples. Chemical and digestibility variables loaded on two PCs; four PCs were characterized by end-products associated with clostridia, heterolactic, homolactic and aerobic fermentations; two PCs were associated with mycotoxins, whereas three PCs explained ensiling procedures. CONCLUSION: The main quality traits of corn silages differed throughout the entire silo face. Minimization of the area exposed to risk of air penetration represents the best strategy to preserve the nutritional value and safety of corn silages. PFA allowed a clusterization of original variables into 11 PCs, appearing able to discriminate well and poorly preserved corn silages.
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Fermentación , Análisis de los Alimentos/métodos , Micotoxinas/química , Valor Nutritivo , Análisis de Componente Principal/métodos , Ensilaje/análisis , Zea mays/químicaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The effect of a water-saving irrigation regime on yield, chemical composition, rumen in situ dry matter disappearance (DMD) and neutral detergent fiber disappearance (NDFD), along with 7 h in vitro starch degradability (7 h IVSD), in maize hybrids selected for whole-plant silage making was investigated. A plot experiment was conducted in a continental climate location and four commercial maize hybrids (FAO class 700) were used in a completely randomized design with a factorial arrangement of irrigation treatments (fully irrigated (FI) and water-saving regime (WS)) and four replicates/treatment. The total amount of irrigation water was 494 mm in FI plots and 367 mm in WS plots, the latter achieved by skipping irrigations at vegetative growth stage, silking and blistering. RESULTS: Whole-plant yield, chemical composition, DMD, NDFD and 7 h IVSD slightly differed among hybrids and were not influenced by irrigation treatments. Plant dry matter content was lower in FI than WS plots (320 vs. 341 g kg⻹) , respectively; P < 0.05). Differences among hybrids were recorded for starch and acid detergent fiber contents (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The lack of differences on yield and nutritive value in tested maize hybrids grown under different water supply suggests the water-saving regime could be suitable for an optimal use of available water in maize management.