Fatty acid composition of muscle and adipose tissues of indigenous Caribbean goats under varying nutritional densities

Assessment of ecosystem services provided by livestock agroecosystems in the tropics: a case study of tropical island environment of Guadeloupe

The present study aims to assess (1) the ecosystem services (ES) provided by LFS and (2) the differential ES between local (Creole) and exotic breeds from pig, cattle and goat. The ES are defined as the benefits that humans derive from LFS. They were summarized in 12 ES indicators that cover services related to provisioning, ecological and socio-cultural aspects and territorial vitality. A total of 106 LFS units that covers the five agroecological zones of Guadeloupe were analysed. Functional typologies of LFS per species were created from surveys. The effect of breed on the ES indicators was tested. Results showed that the 40 pig LFS units were separated into 3 clusters that were differentiated in ES according to provisioning ES (cluster 1), cultural use and sale to the neighborhood (cluster 2) and pork self-consumption (cluster 3). The typology of the 57 farms with cattle distinguished 4 clusters with differences in ES provided in self-consumption (cluster1), ecological ES (cluster 2), socio-cultural ES for racing or draught oxen (cluster 3) and ES associated with territory vitality (cluster 4). The 66 goat LFS units were classified into 3 clusters different in ES concerning self-consumption (cluster 1), cultural aspects (cluster 2) and provisioning ES (cluster 3). Our study highlights that ES indicators are not breed dependent (P > 0.10) but rather livestock farming system dependent. The ES rely more on the rearing management than on the breed type, and up to now, there are no specifications in Guadeloupe to differentiate management between breeds.

Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality of Conventionally and Organically Reared Suckling Dairy Goat Kids of the Payoya Breed

The viability of conventional goat farms, such as the native Payoya dairy goat, could be improved by switching to organic production, but product quality needs to be ensured. The present work assesses the carcass and meat quality of Payoya kids raised under conventional and organic grazing-based systems. Twenty-four kids (12 males, 12 females) were selected from each system (n = 48). The slaughter live weight (8.52 vs. 8.28 kg), cold carcass weight (4.44 vs. 4.29 kg) and farm dressing percentage (51.7 vs. 50%) of the conventionally raised kids were significantly higher than those of the organic kids. The shoulder (first category) (21.7 vs. 22.3%) and long leg (32 vs. 32.9%) percentages were lower in the conventional than in the organic kids. The percentage contribution of the intermuscular fat (10.70 vs. 8.11%) to the shoulder weight was greater in the conventional kids, while the percentages of muscle (59.7 vs. 57.2%) and bone (24.7 vs. 22.8%) were higher in the organic kids. For the chemical composition, there were only differences between the two sexes in the percentage of fat (6.64 and 7.99% on dry matter, for male and female, respectively). For rheological variables, only differences were found in the water holding capacity (% water expelled), the meat of the organic females had a higher value (17%) than that of the conventional females (14%). For the meat colour, the conventional male kids returned the highest values for C* and Hº (14.32 and 64.34, respectively). Farms following conventional grazing-based management could easily switch to organic production. Most of the meat and carcass quality variables studied were very similar across the systems.