[Evaluation of a novel training course for hoof trimmers to participate in a Swiss national cattle claw health monitoring programme]. / Evaluation eines Ausbildungskonzeptes für Klauenpfleger zur Durchführung eines schweizweiten Klauengesundheitsmonitorings für Rinder.

INTRODUCTION: The main goal of the resources project «Healthy claws - the foundation for the future¼ is to establish a Swiss national claw health monitoring programme for cattle, similar to what has already been established in other countries (e. g. Finland, Sweden). So far in the course of the project, 30 claw trimmers have been trained to use a digital recording software. An appropriate training concept and information to the work environment of Swiss claw trimmers are necessary to ensure that the recorded claw health data is of good quality. The newly developed training programme for claw trimmers was evaluated using the 30 first trained claw trimmers of the project. The training consisted of group events and individual schooling sessions, during which the claw trimmers were trained to recognise, classify and digitally record foot and claw disorders according to the «ICAR claw health atlas¼. At the end of the training programme, demographic and work relevant data about the claw trimmers was collected and their abilities when using the recording software, as well as recognising and classifying foot and claw disorders using pictures or live animals, were evaluated. The demographic and work relevant data collected at the end of the training showed an ageing of the profession (43% of the participants were over 50 years old), a lack of full-time claw trimmers (23% of the claw trimmers worked 90% or 100%), a neglect of locomotion scoring during claw trimming (no locomotion scoring standing from 60% and in movement from 33% of the participants) and a broad use of the Swiss claw trimming method (90% of the claw trimmers indicate using this method). An average Cohens kappa value of 0,74, and thus an overall substantial agreement with the first author, respectively the ICAR Atlas, was achieved for the identification and classification of foot and claw disorders. It was also noted, that all the participants were capable of using the recording software in practice after their schooling. The calculation of Cohens kappa values helps to recognise claw trimmers which fall below the limiting value and therefore show an insufficient agreement. These claw trimmers can thus be excluded from the scientific evaluation or undergo further training. It was concluded that the described training concept is suitable to establish a national claw health monitoring programme.

INTRODUCTION: L'objectif principal du projet «Des onglons sains ­ de bon pied vers l'avenir¼ est la mise en place d'un programme national suisse de surveillance de la santé des onglons des bovins, similaire à ce qui a déjà été mis en place dans d'autres pays (par ex. Finlande, Suède). Jusqu'à présent, au cours du projet, 30 pareurs d'onglons ont été formés à l'utilisation d'un logiciel de documentation électronique. Un concept de formation approprié et des informations sur l'environnement de travail des pareurs suisses sont nécessaires pour garantir la bonne qualité des données enregistrées. Le programme de formation nouvellement mis au point a été évalué à l'aide des 30 premiers pareurs formés. La formation a consisté en des formations de groupe et des formations individuelles, au cours desquelles les pareurs ont été formés à reconnaître, classifier et enregistrer électroniquement les maladies des onglons selon l'«Atlas ICAR santé des onglons¼. À la fin de la formation, des données démographiques et professionnelles concernant les pareurs ont été collectées et leurs capacités à utiliser le logiciel d'enregistrement, à reconnaître et classifier les maladies des onglons à l'aide d'images ou sur des animaux vivants, ont été évaluées. Les données démographiques et professionnelles collectées à l'issue de la formation ont entre autre montré un vieillissement de la profession (43% des participants avaient plus de 50 ans), un manque d'ongleurs à temps plein (23% des ongleurs travaillent à 90% resp. 100%), une négligence de la notation de la motricité lors du parage des onglons (pas de notation de la motricité stationnaire chez de 60% et en mouvement chez33% des participants) et une large utilisation de la méthode suisse de parage des onglons (90% des ongleurs indiquent utiliser cette méthode). Une valeur moyenne du coefficient kappa de Cohens de 0,74, et donc une concordance globale avec le premier auteur, respectivement l'Atlas ICAR, a été obtenue pour l'identification et la classification des maladies des onglons. Il a également été constaté que tous les participants étaient capables après leur formation d'utiliser le logiciel d'enregistrement dans la pratique. Le calcul de valeurs kappa de Cohens permet de reconnaître les pareurs qui descendent en dessous d'une valeur limite et présentent donc une concordance insuffisante. Ces pareurs peuvent ainsi être exclus de l'évaluation scientifique ou suivre une formation complémentaire. On peut en conclure que le concept de formation décrit convient pour la mise en place d'un programme national de surveillance de la santé des onglons.

Integrated Collection Assessment and Planning (ICAP) workshop: Helping zoos move toward the One Plan Approach.

Most threatened species do not yet have an integrated conservation plan to guide zoos and aquariums in species selection and conservation action. To address this issue, the Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG), in collaboration with regional zoo and aquarium associations, has developed a new process-an Integrated Collection Assessment and Planning (ICAP) workshop. This brings in situ and ex situ communities together to apply the decision process of the IUCN SSC Guidelines on the Use of Ex Situ Management for Species Conservation to the task of regional or global collection planning. The first ICAP workshop was held in 2016 for 43 canids and hyaenids in collaboration with the relevant regional zoo and aquarium associations and IUCN Specialist Groups. The ICAP process provides a comprehensive assessment that will enhance species conservation by providing guidance to zoos and aquariums on conservation priorities for collection planning, conservation education messaging, in situ field support, and integration of in situ and ex situ efforts, as well as by promoting collaboration among regional zoo and aquarium associations, field-based conservationists, and IUCN SSC Specialist Groups.

Are views towards egg farming associated with Brazilian and Chilean egg consumers' purchasing habits?

In many industrialised countries, public rejection of intensive animal production systems has led to the development of legislation and industry actions that have resulted in significant changes in animal care at the farm level. However, little is known about the views of citizens from emerging countries regarding animal production. The aims of this study were to explore the views of Brazilian and Chilean consumers towards egg farming, and to investigate if these views are associated with participants' eggs purchasing habits and reported willingness to pay (WTP) more for eggs produced in the conditions they perceive as important. In an open question, participants (n = 716) were asked to describe an ideal egg production farm and explain their reasons. This was followed by closed questions asking egg purchasing habits, willingness to pay for eggs produced in the conditions they perceive as important and demographic information. Participants main concerns were with animal welfare, naturalness, hygiene, production, and ethical aspects, which many associated with improved health, sensory, and nutritional quality of the eggs. The views of participants towards an ideal egg production farm were associated, to some extent, with type of egg purchasing habits and WTP a premium for organic or free-range eggs. Our results suggest a demand for more natural, animal friendly egg production systems; furthermore, they indicate a disconnect between lay citizens' expectations and industry practices, given that intensive confined systems typically fail to supply many of the expected characteristics.

Distinguishing industrial meat from that of indigenous chickens with molecular markers.

The aim of investigation was to evaluate a traceability system to detect industrial chicken meat among indigenous products, considering issues that could affect assignment accuracy. The dataset included 2 Italian indigenous meat breeds, namely Bionda Piemontese (2 ecotypes) and Bianca di Saluzzo, one broiler line, and 3 layer lines. Assignment tests were performed using a standard panel of 28 microsatellite loci. To evaluate effects of inbreeding and substructure on assignment accuracy, a simulated dataset was prepared. Broilers and layers belong to homogeneous populations and never enter the clusters of indigenous breeds. Ambiguity or misallocation are expected between the Bionda ecotypes and between the 2 indigenous breeds, but it is unlikely that niche products provided by Bionda and Bianca will compete with one another. Non-random mating reduces accuracy, but only populations having weak genetic differentiation are involved, namely those that are less interesting to discriminate. The dataset can be used as a reference population to distinguish commercial meat from indigenous meat with great accuracy. Misallocations increase as number of loci decreases, but only within or between the indigenous breeds. A subpanel of the most resolving 14 loci keeps sufficient informative content to provide accuracy and to correctly allocate additional test samples within the reference population. This analytical tool is economically sustainable as a method to detect fraud or mislabeling. Adoption of a monitoring system should increase the value of typical products because the additional burden of molecular analyses would improve commercial grade and perception of quality.

Assessment of Nutrition Competency of Graduating Agriculture Students in Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of nutrition-sensitive agriculture competencies of graduating midlevel animal and plant sciences students in Ethiopia and identify factors associated with the attainment of competencies. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study design using structured skills observation checklists, objective written questions, and structured questionnaires was employed. SETTING: Two agriculture technical vocational education and training colleges in the 2 regions of Ethiopia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 145 students were selected using stratified random sampling techniques from a population of 808 students with the response rate of 93%. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nutrition-sensitive agriculture competency (knowledge and skills attributes) of graduating students. ANALYSIS: Bivariate and multivariable statistical analyses were used to examine the association between the variables of students' gender, age, department, institutional ownership, and perception of learning environment and their performance in nutrition competency. RESULTS: Combined scores showed that 49% of students demonstrated mastery of nutrition competencies. Gender and institutional ownership were associated with the performance of students (P < .001); male students and students at a federal institution performed better. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The study showed low performance of students in nutrition competency and suggested the need for strengthening the curriculum, building tutors' capacity, and providing additional support to female students and regional colleges.

Cost-effective control strategies for animal and zoonotic diseases in pastoralist populations.

Animal diseases and zoonoses abound among pastoralist livestock, which is composed of cattle, sheep, goats, yak, camels, llamas, reindeer, horses and donkeys. There is endemic and, periodically, epidemic transmission of highly contagious viral and bacterial diseases in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Pastoralist livestock is often multiparasitised with endo- and ectoparasites, as well as being affected by vectorborne viral and protozoal diseases. Pastoral livestock can be a reservoir of such diseases and can also, conversely, be at risk from exposure to wildlife reservoirs. Public and private animal health services currently underperform in almost all pastoral areas due to structural reforms and lack of income, as indicated in assessments of national Veterinary Services by the World Organisation for Animal Health. Control of infectious disease in industrialised countries has been achieved through large-scale public funding of control measures and compensation for culled stock. Such means are not available in pastoralist areas of most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While the cost-effectiveness and profitability of the control of animal diseases and zoonoses is less of a consideration for industrialised countries, in the experience of the authors, understanding the economic implications of a control programme is a prerequisite for successful attempts to improve animal health in LMICs. The incremental costs of animal disease control can potentially be shared using crosssector assessments, integrated control, and regional coordination efforts to mitigate transboundary disease risks. In this paper, the authors discuss cost-effective animal disease and zoonoses control in LMICs. It illustrates frameworks and examples of integrated control and cross-sector economics, showing conditions under which these diseases could be controlled in a cost-effective way.

D'abondantes maladies animales et zoonoses affectent le cheptel pastoral, qui est composé de bovins, d'ovins, de caprins, de yaks, de chameaux, de lamas, de rennes, de chevaux et d'ânes. Il existe une transmission endémique (prenant périodiquement une dimension épidémique) des maladies virales et bactériennes hautement contagieuses en Afrique, en Asie et en Amérique latine. Le polyparasitisme à endoparasites et ectoparasites est fréquent dans les troupeaux pastoraux, ainsi que les maladies virales à transmission vectorielle et les maladies dues à des protozoaires. Les animaux élevés par les pasteurs font également office de réservoirs potentiels pour ces maladies et sont à leur tour exposés aux réservoirs sauvages. Les services de santé animale tant publics que privés sont actuellement sous-efficients dans pratiquement toutes les zones pastorales en raison des réformes structurelles et du manque de moyens, comme l'ont révélé les évaluations des Services vétérinaires nationaux réalisées par l'Organisation mondiale de la santé animale. Dans les pays industrialisés, les maladies infectieuses ont pu être maîtrisées grâce à un financement public massif des mesures de contrôle et à l'indemnisation des éleveurs dont le bétail avait été sacrifié. Ces moyens ne sont pas disponibles dans les zones pastorales de la plupart des pays à revenus faibles et moyens. Alors que les pays industrialisés n'ont pas tellement à prendre en compte les questions de rentabilité et d'efficience au regard des coûts lorsqu'ils ont à lutter contre des maladies animales ou des zoonoses, il n'en va pas de même dans les pays à revenus faibles et moyens, où, d'après l'expérience des auteurs, la prise en compte des conséquences économiques d'un programme de lutte est une étape préalable de toute tentative fructueuse d'amélioration de la santé animale. L'augmentation progressive des coûts de la lutte contre les maladies animales peut être prise en charge de manière partagée grâce aux évaluations intersectorielles, à une stratégie de lutte intégrée et aux efforts de concertation à l'échelle régionale pour atténuer les risques de maladies transfrontalières. Les auteurs de cet article examinent les méthodes efficientes au regard de leur coût déployées par les pays à revenus faibles et moyens pour lutter contre les maladies animales et les zoonoses. Ils présentent quelques cadres et exemples de lutte intégrée et d'approches économiques intersectorielles, en faisant ressortir les conditions qui permettent de contrôler ces maladies de manière efficace et à moindre coût.

Las enfermedades animales y las zoonosis son muy comunes en el ganado pastoral, formado por ganado vacuno, ovino y caprino, yaks, camellos, llamas, renos, caballos y asnos. En África, Asia y América Latina hay transmisión endémica (y periódicamente epidémica) de enfermedades víricas y bacterianas sumamente contagiosas. El ganado pastoral suele estar infestado por múltiples endo y ectoparásitos y padecer enfermedades víricas y protozoarias transmitidas por vectores. A veces ejerce de reservorio de esas enfermedades y también puede, a la inversa, verse expuesto al contacto con reservorios salvajes. Actualmente, en casi todas las zonas de pastoreo, los servicios zoosanitarios públicos y privados presentan un funcionamiento deficiente debido a las reformas estructurales y a la falta de ingresos, como se desprende de las evaluaciones de los Servicios Veterinarios nacionales realizadas por la Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal. En los países industrializados, el control de las enfermedades infecciosas ha sido posible gracias a la financiación por el sector público de vastas y onerosas medidas de lucha y de indemnización por los animales sacrificados. Pero en las zonas de pastoreo de la mayoría de los países de ingresos bajos o medianos no existe la posibilidad de instrumentar tales medios. Mientras que los países industrializados prestan menos atención a la relación costoeficacia y la rentabilidad de las medidas de control de enfermedades animales y zoonosis, en los países de ingresos bajos o medianos, a tenor de la experiencia de los autores, el éxito de toda tentativa de mejorar la sanidad animal pasa necesariamente por tener en cuenta la dimensión económica de los programas de lucha. Existe la posibilidad de compartir los costos adicionales de la lucha zoosanitaria recurriendo a evaluaciones transectoriales, a medidas integradas de control y a actividades coordinadas a escala regional para reducir el riesgo de enfermedades transfronterizas. Los autores examinan aquí sistemas eficaces en relación con el costo para combatir las enfermedades animales y zoonosis en los países de ingresos bajos o medianos, exponiendo principios de referencia y ejemplos de lucha integrada y de economía transectorial que demuestran en qué condiciones sería posible controlar esas enfermedades de manera eficaz en relación con el costo.

Broken biosecurity? Veterinarians' framing of biosecurity on dairy farms in England.

There is seen to be a need for better biosecurity - the control of disease spread on and off farm - in the dairy sector. Veterinarians play a key role in communicating and implementing biosecurity measures on farm, and little research has been carried out on how veterinarians see their own and farmers' roles in improving biosecurity. In order to help address this gap, qualitative interviews were carried out with 28 veterinarians from Royal College of Veterinary Surgeon farm accredited practices in England. The results were analysed using a social ecology framework and frame analysis to explore not only what barriers vets identified, but also how vets saw the problem of inadequate biosecurity as being located. Veterinarians' frames of biosecurity were analysed at the individual, interpersonal and contextual scales, following the social ecology framework, which see the problem in different ways with different solutions. Farmers and veterinarians were both framed by veterinarians as individualised groups lacking consistency. This means that best practice is not spread and veterinarians are finding it difficult to work as a group to move towards a "predict and prevent" model of veterinary intervention. But diversity and individualism were also framed as positive and necessary among veterinarians to the extent that they can tailor advice to individual farmers. Veterinarians saw their role in educating the farmer as not only being about giving advice to farmers, but trying to convince the farmer of their perspective and values on disease problems. Vets felt they were meeting with limited success because vets and farmers may be emphasising different framings of biosecurity. Vets emphasise the individual and interpersonal frames that disease problems are a problem on farm that can and should be controlled by individual farmers working with vets. According to vets, farmers may emphasise the contextual frame that biosecurity is largely outside of their control on dairy farms because of logistical, economic and geographical factors, and so some level of disease on dairy farms is not entirely unexpected or controllable. There needs to be a step back within the vet-farmer relationship to realise that there may be different perspectives at play, and within the wider debate to explore the question of what a biosecure dairy sector would look like within a rapidly changing agricultural landscape.

[Calf health and antimicrobial use in Swiss dairy herds: Management, prevalence and treatment of calf diseases]. / Gesundheit und Antibiotikaverbrauch bei Aufzuchtkälbern in Milchviehbetrieben: Managementfaktoren, Prävalenz und Behandlung von Kälberkrankheiten.

INTRODUCTION: Fifty-two dairy herds in the canton Fribourg were included during one winter in a study on calf management, prevalence and treatments of calf diseases. Colostrum management was optimal in 46.2% of the herds only, and 51.3% of the calves had been sick at least once during the observation period. The most commonly observed diseases included respiratory disease (57.5%), diarrhea (32.8%) and umbilical disease (5.7%). Cases of pneumonia were treated with antimicrobials first by the farmers in 65.4% of the herds. Calf diarrhea was treated with antimicrobial drugs by 57.7% of the farmers. Fluorochinolones were used in 47% of all parenteral treatments and oral antimicrobial drugs included macrolides in 11% of the cases. These results provide information on calf management, calf health and treatment strategies in an area where dairying is the most important sector of the farming industry. They show clearly that the farmers are not sufficiently informed about the use of critically important antimicrobial drugs and about the etiology of calf diarrhea. Improvements in colostrum management and treatment strategies are urgently needed.

INTRODUCTION: Dans le but de recueillir des données actuelles sur le management des veaux d'élevage ainsi que sur la prévalence et le traitement des maladies des veaux, 52 exploitations laitières du canton de Fribourg ont été suivies durant une saison d'hiver. Le management du colostrum n'était optimal que dans 46.2% des exploitations et 51.3% des animaux sont tombés au moins une fois malades durant la période d'observation. Ce sont le plus souvent des pneumonies (57.5%), des diarrhées (32.8%) et des affections de l'ombilic (5.7%) qui ont été diagnostiquées. Dans 65.4% des exploitations, les pneumonies ont été traitées par les agriculteurs avec des antibiotiques. Chez 57.7% des éleveurs, les diarrhées étaient traitées avec des antibiotiques. Les traitements par voie parentérale ont été effectués dans 47% des cas avec des fluoroquinolones et, pour les traitements par voie orale, des médicaments contenant des macrolides ont été utilisés dans 11% des cas. Ces résultats livrent des informations sur le management des veaux ainsi que sur leur santé et sur les traitements pratiqués dans une région où l'élevage laitier a une grande importance. Il apparait que les agriculteurs sont insuffisamment informés quant à l'usage des antibiotiques de réserve et quant à l'origine des diarrhées des veaux. Il faut clairement tendre à des améliorations en matière de management du colostrum, de stratégies de traitement et d'usage des antibiotiques.

Main animal welfare problems in ruminant livestock during preslaughter operations: a South American view.

Animals destined for meat production are usually exposed to many stressful conditions during production and particularly during preslaughter operations. Handling animals on farm, loading into and unloading from vehicles, transportation, passing through livestock markets, fasting, lairage and stunning can all affect their welfare. How badly welfare can be affected will depend on both the intrinsic factors of the specific type of animal involved and the extrinsic factors of the environment where those animals live or are being handled, including the animal handlers. In South America (SA), it has been part of a strategy for improving animal welfare (AW) to address not only ethical aspects, but to emphasize the close relationship existing between handling ruminants preslaughter and the quantity and quality of the meat they produce. This has resulted not only in improvements in AW, but has also brought economic rewards to producers which in turn can lead to higher incomes for them and hence better human welfare. For producers with a high number of animals, considering AW during production and preslaughter operations can determine the possibility of exporting and/or getting better prices for their products. At smallfarmer level, particularly in some less developed countries, where human welfare is impaired, using this strategy together with education has also been relevant. It is important that education and training in AW are done not only considering global knowledge, but also including specific geographical and climatic characteristics of each country and the cultural, religious and socio-economical characteristics of its people; therefore, research within the context of each country or region becomes relevant. The aim of this review was to show the results of research dealing with AW of ruminant livestock in Chile and some other SA countries. Some of the main problems encountered are related to lack of proper infrastructure to handle animals; long distance transport with high stocking densities in the larger countries; long fasting times due to animals passing through livestock markets and dealers; bad handling of animals by untrained personnel in these and other premises; and finally the lack of knowledge and skills by operators in charge of stunning procedures. Interventions at these stages have considered training animal handlers and transporters by showing them the consequences of bad handling with audiovisual material prepared on site. Research results have helped to improve AW and support the development of new legislation or to make changes in the existent legislation related to AW.

Small-scale pig farmers' behavior, silent release of African swine fever virus and consequences for disease spread.

The expanding distribution of African swine fever (ASF) is threatening the pig industry worldwide. Most outbreaks occur in backyard and small-scale herds, where poor farmers often attempt to limit the disease's economic consequences by the emergency sale of their pigs. The risk of African swine fever virus (ASFV) release via this emergency sale was investigated. Simulation modeling was used to study ASFV transmission in backyard and small-scale farms as well as the emergency sale of pigs, and the potential impact of improving farmers and traders' clinical diagnosis ability-its timeliness and/or accuracy-was assessed. The risk of ASFV release was shown to be high, and improving farmers' clinical diagnosis ability does not appear sufficient to effectively reduce this risk. Estimates obtained also showed that the distribution of herd size within the backyard and small-scale sectors influences the relative contribution of these farms to the risk of release of infected pigs. These findings can inform surveillance and control programs.

Assessment of a hands-on method for FAMACHA© system training.

The FAMACHA(©) system is a method for selective anthelmintic treatment comprising early detection of haemonchosis in sheep and goats. In order to evaluate the hands-on training methodology and the learning level of the participants, we analyzed data from 30 training events involving 47 training classes conducted in the State of Paraná, Brazil, from July/2009 to May/2011, during which period a total of 1004 participants did 20,080 FAMACHA(©) classifications. In the practical training sessions, each participant individually evaluated 20 animals with known haematocrit values. Every participant per training event was given a unique number, whereupon each of the animals in a given event was FAMACHA(©) classified by all the trainees involved, in the same trainee number sequence. After each consecutive animal had been evaluated by every one of the participants, its haematocrit and corresponding FAMACHA(©) category were announced before the next animal was presented. The number of persons in training, which ranged from 5 to 39 per session, did not significantly affect the average error of the groups of participants involved (p>0.05). The average error in the classification of the first animal on a scale with a perfect score of zero was 2.5, significantly greater than the error of 0.56 of the twentieth one (p<0.05), indicating an inverse relationship between the error and the cumulative number of animals already evaluated by each trainee involved, with the reduction in mean error per animal in a given training event found by linear regression to be 0.0713. When the same animal was assessed twice in the same training event, the average error of the second evaluation (1.05) was significantly lower than the 1.70 of the first (p<0.05). While the total of 686 sheep used in the training events (73%) was considerably larger than the corresponding number of 254 goats (27%), the average statistical errors, respectively, 1.34 and 1.23, were not significantly different (p>0.05). Similarly, the average errors in FAMACHA(©) classification were not significantly influenced by the occupation or gender of the participants, nor whether there were animals in all five FAMACHA(©) categories or only in categories 1, 2, 3 and 4 per training event (p>0.05).

Helping working Equidae and their owners in developing countries: monitoring and evaluation of evidence-based interventions.

There are an estimated 112 million Equidae (horses, donkeys, mules) in the developing world, providing essential resources for their owners' livelihoods and well-being. The impoverished situation of their owners and the often harsh conditions in which they work mean that the animals' welfare is a cause for concern. A number of equine non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operate within working equid communities providing veterinary care, education and training programmes aimed at improving equine welfare. However, there is little published information available that describes monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of such interventions using objective outcome-based indicators and where baseline data are available. The aim of this paper is to summarise the peer-reviewed reports of M&E in this sector and identify the key issues which need to be addressed in ensuring that such evaluations provide useful information on the work of these organisations. A rigorous evidence base for designing future interventions will provide an opportunity for enhancing the effectiveness of working equid NGO operations. Increased availability of M&E reports in the peer-reviewed literature will enable NGOs to learn from one another and disseminate to a wider audience information on the role of working Equidae and the issues they face.

EXTENSION EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM: reinventing extension as a resource--what does the future hold?

The mission of the Cooperative Extension Service, as a component of the land-grant university system, is to disseminate new knowledge and to foster its application and use. Opportunities and challenges facing animal agriculture in the United States have changed dramatically over the past few decades and require the use of new approaches and emerging technologies that are available to extension professionals. Increased federal competitive grant funding for extension, the creation of eXtension, the development of smartphone and related electronic technologies, and the rapidly increasing popularity of social media created new opportunities for extension educators to disseminate knowledge to a variety of audiences and engage these audiences in electronic discussions. Competitive grant funding opportunities for extension efforts to advance animal agriculture became available from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and have increased dramatically in recent years. The majority of NIFA funding opportunities require extension efforts to be integrated with research, and NIFA encourages the use of eXtension and other cutting-edge approaches to extend research to traditional clientele and nontraditional audiences. A case study is presented to illustrate how research and extension were integrated to improve the adoption of AI by beef producers. Those in agriculture are increasingly resorting to the use of social media venues such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter to access information required to support their enterprises. Use of these various approaches by extension educators requires appreciation of the technology and an understanding of how the target audiences access information available on social media. Technology to deliver information is changing rapidly, and Cooperative Extension Service professionals will need to continuously evaluate digital technology and social media tools to appropriately integrate them into learning and educational opportunities.

Longevity, aging, and caloric restriction: Clive Maine McCay and the construction of a multidisciplinary research program.

Since the 1930s scientists from fields such as biochemistry, pathology, immunology, genetics, neuroscience, and nutrition have studied the relation of dietary caloric intake to longevity and aging. This paper discusses how Clive Maine McCay, a professor of animal husbandry at Cornell University, began his investigation of the topic and promoted it as a productive research program in the multidisciplinary science of gerontology. Initially, McCay observed the effect of reduced-calorie diets on life span and senescence while pursuing his nutrition research in the context of animal husbandry and agriculture. But when he received funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and started to participate in the establishment of gerontology during the 1930s, the scope of his research was considerably expanded beyond his original disciplinary domain. It became a multidisciplinary research program that attracted scholars from a variety of scientific and medical disciplines. This paper argues that through this expansion McCay's research created a means of maintaining cooperation among the diverse and heterogeneous academic fields constituting gerontology.

Attitudes towards biosecurity practices relevant to Johne's disease control on beef cattle farms.

The success of control programs can be improved when producers' attitudes towards these programs are positive. Implementation of control programs for chronic diseases are more challenging than those for acute diseases because of the absence of the "cues-to-action" that are associated with acute diseases. Johne's disease (JD) is a chronic diarrheal disease of ruminants, and national voluntary control programs exist in several countries. We used a mailed cross-sectional survey to describe the attitudes of producers towards biosecurity practices and veterinarians' beliefs relevant to the control of JD on beef farms. Another objective was to describe and compare the attitudes of producers and veterinarians towards specific measures recommended by the Texas Voluntary Johne's Disease Program (TVJDP) for cattle. Questionnaires were mailed to 1100 producers and 840 veterinarians in the state of Texas, USA. Two hundred and eighty-five producers (26%) and 153 veterinarians (18%) returned questionnaires for analysis. Fifty-nine percent of producers and 50% of veterinarians agreed that JD is responsible for substantial losses in beef cattle production. Sixty-four percent of veterinarians had educated producers on management strategies for the control or elimination of JD. However, only 36% had participated in the training program and 29% were certified to develop risk assessments and implement testing. Only 20% of producers reported that they were familiar with the TVJDP and 16% had considered participating in this program. There is a need for greater promotion of the control program among veterinarians and producers. Reasons for the apparent difference in opinions need to be understood to increase the likelihood of control measures adoption and to subsequently reduce the impact of JD on beef cattle operations.

An unremembered diversity: mixed husbandry and the American grasslands.

The Green Revolution of the 1960s brought about a dramatic rise in global crop yields. But, as most observers acknowledge, this has come at a considerable cost to biodiversity. Plant breeding, synthetic fertilizers, and mechanization steadily narrowed the number of crop varieties commercially available to farmers and promoted fencerow-to-fencerow monocultures. Many historians trace the origins of this style of industrialized agriculture to the last great plow-up of the Great Plains in the 1920s. In the literature, farms in the plains are often described metaphorically as wheat factories, degrading successive landscapes. While in many ways these farms were a departure from earlier forms of husbandry in the American experience, monocultures were quite rare during the early transformation of the plains. Analysis of a large representative sample, based on manuscript agricultural censuses and involving twenty-five townships across the state of Kansas, demonstrates that diverse production reached even the most challenging of plains landscapes.

An approach to teaching animal welfare issues at The Ohio State University.

Despite the growing importance of animal welfare and the critical role of the veterinary profession, animal welfare is not formally taught in many veterinary curricula. In addition, veterinary students are often not exposed to current contentious animal welfare issues, which are subject to much debate and often proposed regulation. To address this deficiency in our curriculum at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, we have developed a course titled "Contemporary Issues in Animal Welfare." Our specific objectives for the course are: 1) to provide students with the opportunity to objectively evaluate and discuss current issues in the welfare of animals as companions, and in the industries of agriculture, science, education, conservation, and entertainment; 2) to increase students' awareness of current important animal welfare issues; and 3) to develop students' skills in the critical evaluation of written and visual material used in the scientific literature and lay press. We hope that, over time, this teaching model will be considered a means to educate veterinary students about animal welfare issues in other veterinary curricula.

Pig welfare assessment: development of a protocol and its use by veterinary undergraduates.

A new approach to teaching welfare assessment is described and has been used with two cohorts of first-year veterinary undergraduates (totaling 515 students). The welfare assessment protocol was devised and trialed using pigs as an exemplar, but its principles are applicable to other species. A robust learning scheme was created, comprising didactic teaching, interactive seminars, practical hands-on training, and computer-based learning. Practical training included a formative virtual assessment of clinical signs of health and welfare using Questionmark Perception, which improved the students' performance significantly. Validation studies are being carried out to establish if acceptable levels of inter-observer variability can be achieved by students conducting on-farm assessments of pig welfare during their extramural studies program. The resulting assessments of welfare will be analyzed in a cross-sectional epidemiological study to identify risk factors for good and poor welfare, and the results will be fed back to participating farmers. This new approach enables veterinary students to learn key transferable skills in the early stages of their education and provides a strong grounding in a holistic approach to animal welfare.