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Sustainable Management of Ruminants: Feed Utilization, Nitrogen Dynamics, Physiology, and...
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Sustainable Management of Ruminants: Feed Utilization, Nitrogen Dynamics, Physiology, and Metabolism

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 783

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Omar Al-Marashdeh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, P.O. Box 85084, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand
Interests: ruminant nutrition; nitrogen metabolism; feed utilization; sustainable farming
Dr. Arjan Jonker

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
AgResearch, Grasslands Research Centre, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Interests: ruminant nutrition; feed/forage science; greenhouse gas emissions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to explore cutting-edge research and advancements in the sustainable management of ruminants, focusing on key aspects such as feed utilisation, nitrogen dynamics, physiology, and metabolism. We invite contributions that explore innovative strategies for optimising ruminant nutrition, enhancing feed efficiency, and mitigating environmental impacts associated with nitrogen loss and greenhouse gas emissions.

Topics of interest include novel feed formulations (from especially human non-edible feeds/forages), advancements in nutrient utilisation technologies, physiological adaptations to varying dietary inputs, and sustainable approaches to managing nitrogen and carbon cycles within ruminant production systems. This publication aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of sustainable ruminant management practices, contributing to the development of environmentally responsible and economically viable livestock production systems.

We invite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to submit their latest findings to advance the knowledge frontier in this critical area.

Dr. Omar Al-Marashdeh
Dr. Arjan Jonker
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable farming
  • feed utilisation
  • ruminant management
  • nitrogen metabolism and excretion
  • greenhouse gas emissions

Published Papers (1 paper)

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19 pages, 3141 KiB  
Systematic Review
Can the Inclusion of Forage Chicory in the Diet of Lactating Dairy Cattle Alter Milk Production and Milk Fatty Acid Composition? Findings of a Multilevel Meta-Analysis
by Mancoba C. Mangwe, Racheal H. Bryant, Antonia Olszewski, Hitihamy Mudiyanselage Gayani P. Herath and Omar Al-Marashdeh
Animals 2024, 14(7), 1002; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani14071002 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 603
Abstract
In traditional ryegrass/white clover (Lolium perenne L./Trifolium repens L.) pastoral systems, forage herbs such as chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) present an opportunity to fill feed deficits during late spring and summer. Although multiple research publications have evaluated the efficacy of [...] Read more.
In traditional ryegrass/white clover (Lolium perenne L./Trifolium repens L.) pastoral systems, forage herbs such as chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) present an opportunity to fill feed deficits during late spring and summer. Although multiple research publications have evaluated the efficacy of chicory for enhancing milk production and milk fatty acid (FA) profile, no publication has quantitatively synthesised the body of research. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effect of chicory on milk production and composition, as well as on the milk fatty acid composition of dairy cattle. A total of 29 comparisons from 15 unique research publications involving 597 dairy cattle were used to develop a dataset for analysis. Three-level random-effect and robust variance estimator models were used to account for the hierarchical structure of the data and the dependency of effect sizes within publications. Chicory inclusion increased milk yield when compared to grass-based diets {weighted mean difference (WMD) = 1.07 (95% CI 0.54–1.60) kg/cow/d, p < 0.001}, but it provided a similar milk yield when compared to other forages such as legumes and herbs {dicots; WMD = −0.30, (95% CI −89–0.29) kg/cow/day, p = 0.312}. Increases in milk yield were congruent with differences in DM intake (p = 0.09) and ME intakes (p = 0.003), being similar in chicory-fed and dicot-fed cows but higher than grass-fed cows. Chicory feeding’s effect on milk solids was twice as high during mid lactation {154 days in milk; WMD = 0.13, (95% 0.081–0.175) kg/cow/day, p < 0.001} as during late lactation {219 days in milk; WMD = 0.06, (95% 0.003–0.13) kg/cow/day, p = 0.041}. In line with milk yield, greater and more significant effect sizes were found for alpha linolenic acid {ALA; WMD = 0.20 (95% CI 0.06–0.35) g/100 g FA, p = 0.011} when chicory was compared to grass species only. Comparing chicory with dicots suggests that chicory inclusion did not impact ALA concentrations {WMD = 0.001 (95% CI −0.02–0.2) g/100 g FA, p = 0.99}. There were no differences in conjugated linoleic acid concentration in the milk of cows fed chicory or control diets. The study provides empirical evidence of chicory’s efficacy for improved milk production and milk fatty acid composition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Ruminants: Feed Utilization, Nitrogen Dynamics, Physiology, and Metabolism)
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