Mastitis risk effect on the economic consequences of paratuberculosis control in dairy cattle: A stochastic modeling study

The benefits and efficacy of control programs for herds infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) have been investigated under various contexts. However, most previous research investigated paratuberculosis control programs in isolation, without modeling the potential association with other dairy diseases. This paper evaluated the benefits of MAP control programs when the herd is also affected by mastitis, a common disease causing the largest losses in dairy production. The effect of typically suggested MAP controls were estimated under the assumption that MAP infection increased the rate of clinical mastitis. We evaluated one hundred twenty three control strategies comprising various combinations of testing, culling, and hygiene, and found that the association of paratuberculosis with mastitis alters the ranking of specific MAP control programs, but only slightly alters the cost-benefit difference of particular MAP control components, as measured by the distribution of net present value of a representative U.S. dairy operation. In particular, although testing and culling for MAP resulted in a reduction in MAP incidence, that control led to lower net present value (NPV) per cow. When testing was used, ELISA was more economically beneficial than alternative testing regimes, especially if mastitis was explicitly modeled as more likely in MAP-infected animals, but ELISA testing was only significantly associated with higher NPV if mastitis was not included in the model at all. Additional hygiene was associated with a lower NPV per cow, although it lowered MAP prevalence. Overall, the addition of an increased risk of mastitis in MAP-infected animals did not change model recommendations as much as failing to consider.

How do Brazilian citizens perceive animal welfare conditions in poultry, beef, and dairy supply chains?

The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions of Brazilian citizens about the general conditions of animal welfare in the poultry, beef, and dairy supply chains. To reach this aim, an online survey was conducted. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics and three logistic regression models. Results of descriptive statistics showed that citizens in Brazil had mostly negative perceptions about the conditions of animal welfare in the poultry, beef, and dairy supply chains. Results of the logistic regression models showed that citizens with a background in agricultural/veterinary sciences, and citizens who reported a higher level of knowledge about poultry and dairy supply chains were more likely to perceive the general conditions of animal welfare in these two supply chains as being bad. Citizens who reported previous contact with poultry farms were also more likely to perceive the general conditions of animal welfare in the poultry supply chain as being bad. In addition, the perception that farmers are mainly focused on the economic aspect of farming and less on animal welfare, the perception that animals do not have a good quality of life while housed on farms, and the perception that animals are not adequately transported and slaughtered, negatively impact on perceptions about the general conditions of animal welfare in the poultry, beef, and dairy supply chains.

Importance of Health Aspects in Polish Consumer Choices of Dairy Products

In general, dairy products are well regarded for their nutritional value. Consumer perception of dairy products is influenced by many interrelated factors but healthiness remains one of the key attributes and values for consumers. Furthermore, contemporary consumers increasingly seek out dairy products with additional health benefits and, therefore, it is essential to explore which attributes are important drivers of food choices and how producers can better respond to shifting consumer values and needs in each dairy product category. Therefore, the aims of the study were: (a) to identify consumer segments based on the importance they attached to selected attributes of dairy products, (b) to explore differences between the identified segments in their perceptions of health-related attributes of dairy products, (c) to determine if health-related aspects influenced consumers decisions to buy high-quality dairy products, and (d) to identify if consumers were open to novelties in dairy products. The data were collected within a CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview) survey on a representative sample of 983 adult Polish consumers. The non-hierarchical K-means clustering method was used to identify four clusters of consumers, namely: Enthusiastic, Involved, Ultra-involved and Neutral. Enthusiastic consumers attach more importance to the influence of dairy products on immunity and are more willing to agree with the opinion that dairy products are a source of mineral nutrients as well as vitamins. Ultra-involved and Involved consumers pay less attention to some health aspects of dairy products compared to other clusters; however, the Ultra-involved are more quality-oriented than are the Involved. Neutral consumers are more open to accept changes on the dairy product market and are relatively more inclined to choose new dairy products. However, these consumers have scored lower on those aspects related to the healthiness of dairy products and, in order to target them effectively, it is essential to develop well-tailored communication strategies highlighting the health benefits of dairy products. These results relate to the Polish market and are important for the development of new dairy products and for targeting public nutrition as well as for directing marketing communication. The results may provide important insights for those who develop educational strategies and campaigns.

Cost-effectiveness of milk powder fortified with potassium to decrease blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular events among the adult population in China: a Markov model

OBJECTIVE

To model the long-term cost-effectiveness of consuming milk powder fortified with potassium to decrease systolic blood pressure (SBP) and prevent cardiovascular events.

DESIGN

A best case scenario analysis using a Markov model was conducted.

PARTICIPANTS

8.67% of 50-79 year olds who regularly consume milk in China, including individuals with and without a prior diagnosis of hypertension.

INTERVENTION

The model simulated the potential impact of a daily intake of two servings of milk powder fortified with potassium (+700 mg/day) vs the consumption of a milk powder without potassium fortification, assuming a market price equal to 0.99 international dollars (intl$; the consumption of a milk powder without potassium fortification, assuming a market price equal to intl$0.99 for the latter and to intl$1.12 for the first (+13.13%). Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the results.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Estimates of the incidence of cardiovascular events and subsequent mortality in China were derived from the literature as well as the effect of increasing potassium intake on blood pressure. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was used to determine the cost-effectiveness of a milk powder fortified with potassium taking into consideration the direct medical costs associated with the cardiovascular events, loss of working days and health utilities impact.

RESULTS

With an ICER equal to int$4711.56 per QALY (quality-adjusted life year) in the best case scenario and assuming 100% compliance, the daily consumption of a milk powder fortified with potassium shown to be a cost-effective approach to decrease SBP and reduce cardiovascular events in China. Healthcare savings due to prevention would amount to intl$8.41 billion. Sensitivity analyses showed the robustness of the results.

CONCLUSION

Together with other preventive interventions, the consumption of a milk powder fortified with potassium could represent a cost-effective strategy to attenuate the rapid rise in cardiovascular burden among the 50-79 year olds who regularly consume milk in China.

Public health impact and economic evaluation of vitamin D-fortified dairy products for fracture prevention in France

The recommended intake of vitamin D-fortified dairy products can substantially decrease the burden of osteoporotic fractures and seems an economically beneficial strategy in the general French population aged over 60 years.

INTRODUCTION

This study aims to assess the public health and economic impact of vitamin D-fortified dairy products in the general French population aged over 60 years.

METHODS

We estimated the lifetime health impacts expressed in number of fractures prevented, life years gained, and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained of the recommended intake of dairy products in the general French population over 60 years for 1 year (2015). A validated microsimulation model was used to simulate three age cohorts for both women and men (60-69, 70-79, and >80 years). The incremental cost per QALY gained of vitamin D-fortified dairy products compared to the absence of appropriate intake was estimated in different populations, assuming the cost of two dairy products per day in base case.

RESULTS

The total lifetime number of fractures decreased by 64,932 for the recommended intake of dairy products in the general population over 60 years, of which 46,472 and 18,460 occurred in women and men, respectively. In particular, 15,087 and 4413 hip fractures could be prevented in women and men. Vitamin D-fortified dairy products also resulted in 32,569 QALYs and 29,169 life years gained. The cost per QALY gained of appropriate dairy intake was estimated at €58,244 and fall below a threshold of €30,000 per QALY gained in women over 70 years and in men over 80 years.

CONCLUSION

Vitamin D-fortified dairy products have the potential to substantially reduce the burden of osteoporotic fractures in France and seem an economically beneficial strategy, especially in the general population aged above 70 years.

Cost-effectiveness of personalized supplementation with vitamin D-rich dairy products in the prevention of osteoporotic fractures

Titrated supplementations with vitamin D-fortified yogurt, based on spontaneous calcium and vitamin D intakes, can be cost-effective in postmenopausal women with or without increased risk of osteoporotic fractures.

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of the vitamin D-fortified yogurt given to women with and without an increased risk of osteoporotic fracture.

METHODS

A validated cost-effectiveness microsimulation Markov model of osteoporosis management was used. Three personalized supplementation scenarios to reflect the Ca/Vit D needs taking into account the well-known variations in dietary habits and a possible pharmacological supplementation in Ca/Vit D, given above or in combination with anti-osteoporosis medications: one yogurt per day, i.e., 400 mg of Ca + 200 IU of Vit D (scenario 1 U), two yogurts per day, i.e., 800 mg of Ca + 400 IU of Vit D (scenario 2 U), or three yogurts per day, i.e., 1,200 mg of Ca + 600 IU of Vit D (scenario 3 U).

RESULTS

One yogurt is cost-effective in the general population above the age of 70 years and in all age groups in women with low bone mineral density (BMD) or prevalent vertebral fracture (PVF). The daily intake of two yogurts is cost-effective above 80 years in the general population and above 70 years in the two groups of women at increased risk of fractures. However, an intake of three yogurts per day is only cost-effective above 80 years old in the general population, as well as in women with low BMD or PVF.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study is the first economic analysis supporting the cost-effectiveness of dairy products, fortified with vitamin D, in the armamentarium against osteoporotic fractures.

Dairy foods and osteoporosis: an example of assessing the health-economic impact of food products

Osteoporosis has become a major health concern, carrying a substantial burden in terms of health outcomes and costs. We constructed a model to quantify the potential effect of an additional intake of calcium from dairy foods on the risk of osteoporotic fracture, taking a health economics perspective.

INTRODUCTION

This study seeks, first, to estimate the impact of an increased dairy consumption on reducing the burden of osteoporosis in terms of health outcomes and costs, and, second, to contribute to a generic methodology for assessing the health-economic outcomes of food products.

METHODS

We constructed a model that generated the number of hip fractures that potentially can be prevented with dairy foods intakes, and then calculated costs avoided, considering the healthcare costs of hip fractures and the costs of additional dairy foods, as well as the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to hip fractures associated with low nutritional calcium intake. Separate analyses were done for The Netherlands, France, and Sweden, three countries with different levels of dairy products consumption.

RESULTS

The number of hip fractures that may potentially be prevented each year with additional dairy products was highest in France (2,023), followed by Sweden (455) and The Netherlands (132). The yearly number of DALYs lost was 6,263 for France, 1,246 for Sweden, and 374 for The Netherlands. The corresponding total costs that might potentially be avoided are about 129 million, 34 million, and 6 million Euros, in these countries, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study quantified the potential nutrition economic impact of increased dairy consumption on osteoporotic fractures, building connections between the fields of nutrition and health economics. Future research should further collect longitudinal population data for documenting the net benefits of increasing dairy consumption on bone health and on the related utilization of healthcare resources.

Attributable risk analysis reveals potential healthcare savings from increased consumption of dairy products

With rising burdens of obesity and chronic disease, the role of diet as a modifiable risk factor is of increasing public health interest. There is a growing body of evidence that low consumption of dairy products is associated with elevated risk of chronic metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. Surveys also suggest that dairy product consumption falls well below recommended targets for much of the population in many countries, including the USA, UK, and Australia. We reviewed the scientific literature on the health effects of dairy product consumption (both positive and negative) and used the best available evidence to estimate the direct healthcare expenditure and burden of disease [disability-adjusted life years (DALY)] attributable to low consumption of dairy products in Australia. We implemented a novel technique for estimating population attributable risk developed for application in nutrition and other areas in which exposure to risk is a continuous variable. We found that in the 2010-2011 financial year, AUD$2.0 billion (USD$2.1 billion, €1.6 billion, or ∼1.7% of direct healthcare expenditure) and the loss of 75,012 DALY were attributable to low dairy product consumption. In sensitivity analyses, varying core assumptions yielded corresponding estimates of AUD$1.1-3.8 billion (0.9-3.3%) and 38,299-151,061 DALY lost. The estimated healthcare cost attributable to low dairy product consumption is comparable with total spending on public health in Australia (AUD$2.0 billion in 2009-2010). These findings justify the development and evaluation of cost-effective interventions that use dairy products as a vector for reducing the costs of diet-related disease.

Supplementary feeding with locally-produced Ready-to-Use Food (RUF) for mildly wasted children on Nias Island, Indonesia: comparison of daily and weekly program outcomes

Ready-to-Use Foods (RUFs) in the form of fortified cereal/nut/legume-based biscuits (±500 kcal and 8-10% protein per 100 g) were tested among mildly wasted children from October 2007 to June 2008, and were labelled as RUF-Nias biscuits. This study reports on a comparison of supplementary feeding program outcomes of mildly wasted children with weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) >=-2 to <-1.5 SD aged >=6 to <60 months old given locally produced RUF-Nias biscuits within daily (in semi-urban areas) and weekly (in rural remote regions) distribution and supervision program settings. In the Church World Service project area, all eligible children were recruited continuously from monthly community-based screening programs and admitted into existing nutrition centers managed by the community on Nias Island, Indonesia. Individual discharge criterion of the programs was WHZ >=-1.5 SD. Of the index children admitted in daily programs (n=51), 80.4% reached target WHZ, which was higher than in weekly programs (72.9%; n=48) by a similar length of stay of about 6 weeks. Weight gain of the children in daily programs was higher (3.1±3.6 g/kg body weight/day) than in weekly programs (2.0±2.1 g/kg body weight/day), and they achieved significantly higher WHZ at discharge. However, the majority of caretakers preferred weekly programs due to lower time constraints. Locally produced RUF in the form of biscuits for treatment of mild wasting among children demonstrated promising results both in daily and weekly community-based intervention programs.

[Food intake--family income in a group of teenagers from Iaşi "Dimitrie Cantemir" High School]

Food intake is influenced by a series of factors, including family, income, school and mass-media.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A group of 78 teenagers were investigated using a food intake questionary, correlating the results with family income.

RESULTS

Our results show that the food intake is influenced more by family dietary habits rather than family income, with no significant differences between families with different socio-economic status.

CONCLUSION

Educational programs for changing the nutritional habits must be implemented.

Cost of eating: whole foods versus convenience foods in a low-income model

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Financial limitations in low-income populations, those at highest risk for poor health outcomes, may preclude adherence to recommended dietary guidelines. We examine the financial burden of shopping for foods to meet national dietary recommendations in a supermarket compared to eating primarily in a fast-food restaurant.

METHODS

Using a single-parent, low-income model, we obtained whole food costs (healthy) from local supermarkets and from fast-food outlets (convenient). Using cost per calorie as a metric for comparison, we used estimated single-parent, low-income living expenses to determine the relative costs of meeting national dietary guidelines.

RESULTS

Average food costs for healthy and convenience diets accounted for 18% and 37% of income, respectively. Dairy products and vegetables accounted for the largest cost percentages of diet costs (36% and 28%, respectively). The cost per calorie of a convenience diet was 24% higher than the healthy diet. Both models resulted in net financial loss over the course of a year for a single-parent, low-income family.

CONCLUSIONS

Food costs represent a significant proportion of annual income. Diets based heavily on foods from convenient sources are less healthy and more expensive than a well-planned menu from budget foods available from large supermarket chains.

Short-term temporal stability in observed retail food characteristics

OBJECTIVE

Use of direct observation to characterize neighborhood retail food environments is increasing, but to date most studies have relied on a single observation. If food availability, prices, and quality vary over short time periods, repeated measures may be needed to portray these food characteristics. This study evaluated short-term (2-week), within-season temporal stability in retail food availability, prices, and quality.

DESIGN

In-person observations of retail food stores at 2 time points, 2 weeks apart.

SETTING

Southwest Chicago, IL.

SAMPLE

157 food stores.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Availability and prices of food items selected from the following food groups: fruit, vegetables, grains, meats and beans, and dairy, as well as fresh produce quality.

ANALYSIS

Temporal stability was tested for availability using a McNemar test and for price and quality using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

RESULTS

Measures of food availability and prices as well as fresh produce quality at stores were generally stable at the 2 time points.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This study suggests that a single observation may be sufficient to accurately characterize within-season food availability, food prices, and fresh produce quality.

Labeling the good: alternative visions and organic branding in Sweden in the late twentieth century

The past decade's rapid expansion of a global market for organic food has set powerful economic and political forces in motion. The most important dividing line is whether organic food production should be an alternative to or a niche within a capitalist mode of production. To explore this conflict the article analyzes the formation of a market for eco-labeled milk in Sweden. The analysis draws on three aspects: the strategy of agri-business, the role of eco-labeling, and the importance of inter-organizational dynamics. Based on archival studies, daily press, and interviews, three processes are emphasized: the formative years of the alternative movement in the 1970s, the founding of an independent eco-label (KRAV) in the 1980s, and a discursive shift from alternative visions to organic branding in the early 1990s following the entry of agri-business.

Milking the Plains: movement of large dairy operations into southwestern Kansas

Western Kansas has an historical identification with cattle, with a focus on cattle ranching and more specifically since the 1950s, beef-cattle feedlots. Since the mid-1990s large dairy operations have moved into southwestern Kansas. Today more than twenty large dairies house more than 70,000 milk cows. These operate as confined feeding operations similar to beef-cattle feedlots. Regional advantages for the dairy industry include affordable land with wide-open space, local residents' cattle- and dairy-friendly attitudes, and other factors. Regional promoters have actively recruited dairies, and a dairy-business support system has emerged. The prospects for continued expansion of dairies in southwestern Kansas are unclear; despite the locational advantages and the possibility that the industry may continue to relocate here, as did the cattle-feeding industry several decades ago, further moves into the area may depend on continued resources availability and additional infrastructure development.

Biofuel, dairy production and beef in Brazil: competing claims on land use in São Paulo state

This paper examines the competing claims on land use resulting from the expansion of biofuel production. Sugarcane for biofuel drives agrarian change in So Paulo state, which has become the major ethanol-producing region in Brazil. We analyse how the expansion of sugarcane-based ethanol in So Paulo state has impacted dairy and beef production. Historical changes in land use, production technologies, and product and land prices are described, as well as how these are linked to changing policies in Brazil. We argue that sugarcane/biofuel expansion should be understood in the context of the dynamics of other agricultural sectors and the long-term national political economy rather than as solely due to recent global demand for biofuel. This argument is based on a meticulous analysis of changes in three important sectors - sugarcane, dairy farming, and beef production - and the mutual interactions between these sectors.

A tale of two dairies

Milk has always been susceptible to price fluctuations. Farmers are used to putting away money during good times to see themselves through lean times. Recently, however, the cycles have become more violent, with lows falling lower and highs rising not quite so high and the intervals between peaks and valleys shrinking. In 1970, when milk was bringing farmers the same amount that it is today, there were nearly 650,000 dairy farms in the United States. Now there are fewer than one tenth as many, only about 54,000. The largest 1 percent of dairy farms (a figure than includes only enormous factory farms with over 2,000 cows) produced nearly one quarter of the milk we consume. Recently, dairy farmers banded together to propose a radical solution to the dairy crisis. In order to survive, they concluded, American dairy farmers would have to join together to control the supply of milk, an approach along lines similar to the one taken in Canada.

"Not to intrude": a Danish perspective on gender and class in nineteenth-century dairying

This study follows the thread of gender divisions in dairying in Denmark and the American Midwest in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Gender organization of dairying shifted at this time in diverse European and North American contexts. As agriculture mechanized and production scale increased, access to advanced education and international markets became critical. Women, who had been in the forefront of the development of dairying, ceded their leadership to men as these changes occurred. While some scholars see this shift as a strategic loss for women, this study finds that variables of class, marital status, rural demographics, and alternative occupations mediated the rural women's experience of change. Not all women experienced the change as a loss. The question of which women were invested in dairying is critical to understanding the course of change. Increasingly, middle-class farm women were turning away from the hard work of dairying and investing themselves in new ways in the upward mobility of their family farms. Rural life shaped distinct gender patterns in European and American history, and the rural experience shaped the larger trajectory of women's economic and political evolution, even though few rural women were involved in the organized women's movement.

Landlords and tenants in the wake of abolition and ecological devastation in Brazil's Middle Paraíba Valley

This article uses Barra do Piraí as a case study of rural land tenure, production, consumption, and labor in Brazil's Middle Paraíba Valley during the half century following abolition of slavery in 1888. Dairy farming and railroad development distinguished Barra do Piraí from other coffee-producing areas that suffered from ecological devastation. By 1900 the land's loss of fertility precluded further plantation agriculture in Barra do Piraí, leading to the transition from lucrative coffee cultivation to dairy farming based on meager capital inputs. Compared to the earlier coffee culture, dairy farms produced only modest wealth for landlords and required fewer laborers, compelling impoverished tenants to migrate in search of employment. Since Barra do Piraí was an important railroad junction, many rural laborers ended up in the locale after using the railroad as a migratory path. At the same time, the railroad and proto-industries that it stimulated provided alternative employment for rural laborers, thereby partially mitigating the leverage landlords had over the abundant labor force. The availability of industrial and proto-industrial employment created occupational diversity among rural tenants and introduced them to work routines that would become commonplace when the region more fully industrialized after 1940.

A cost and returns evaluation of alternative dairy products to determine capital investment and operational feasibility of a small-scale dairy processing facility

This study examines the economic feasibility of 50- and 500-cow dairy processing facilities for fluid milk, yogurt, and cheese. Net present value and internal rate of return calculations for projected costs and returns over a 10-yr period indicate that larger yogurt and cheese processing plants offer the most profitable prospects, whereas a smaller yogurt plant would break even. A smaller cheese plant would have insufficient returns to cover the cost of capital, and fluid milk processing at either scale is economically infeasible. Economic success in processing is greatly contingent upon individual business, financial management, and marketing skills.

The relationship between low income and household food expenditure patterns in Canada

Objectives:

To compare food expenditure patterns between low-income households and higher- income households in the Canadian population, and to examine the relationship between food expenditure patterns and the presence or absence of housing payments among low-income households.

Design:

Secondary data analysis of the 1996 Family Food Expenditure Survey conducted by Statistics Canada.

Setting:

Sociodemographic data and 1-week food expenditure data for 9793 households were analysed.

Subjects:

Data were collected from a nationally representative sample drawn through stratified multistage sampling. Low-income households were identified using Statistics Canada's Low Income Measures.

Results:

Total food expenditures, expenditures at stores and expenditures in restaurants were lower among low-income households compared with other households. Despite allocating a slightly greater proportion of their food dollars to milk products, low-income households purchased significantly fewer servings of these foods. They also purchased fewer servings of fruits and vegetables than did higher-income households. The effect of low income on milk product purchases persisted when the sample was stratified by education and expenditure patterns were examined in relation to income within strata. Among low-income households, the purchase of milk products and meat and alternatives was significantly lower for households that had to pay rents or mortgages than for those without housing payments.

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that, among Canadian households, access to milk products and fruits and vegetables may be constrained in the context of low incomes. This study highlights the need for greater attention to the affordability of nutritious foods for low-income groups.

Impact of milk pricing system on the economic response to selection on milk components

The impact of various milk pricing systems on the economic weights and the resulting selection responses for milk yield and fat and protein contents in Holstein and Czech Fleckvieh were investigated. The calculations were done for the situations with and without quotas on milk yield and fat content. There was a substantial influence of the milk pricing system on the selection response. The use of index weights based on a 'wrong' pricing system reduced the total economic selection response by up to 51% of the selection response expected for an index based on the 'correct' pricing system. Financial losses in the selection response were greater with quotas than without quotas. Higher losses were also calculated for Holstein compared with Czech Fleckvieh. Incorrect assumptions on the output limitation (absence or presence of milk quotas) led only to minor reductions in the total selection response (mostly <2%) if the other parameters were correct. The results indicate that customized subindices for milk production traits would increase farmers' profit from sire selection when selling milk on the basis of different pricing systems.

Bovine tuberculosis in Burdur, southern Turkey: epidemiological, pathological and economic study

SETTINGS

Burdur is the most important dairy cattle breeding and milk production area of Turkey, and Burdur slaughterhouse is one of the biggest slaughterhouses in the southern part of the country. No scientific information is available on the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in cattle in Burdur. A survey was therefore undertaken to determine the prevalence of disseminated TB infection in cattle in this district.

OBJECTIVES

To implement a disease monitoring system in Burdur slaughterhouse to estimate the annual prevalence of disseminated TB in cattle slaughtered and inspected in 2003-2004.

DESIGN

Epidemiological survey.

RESULTS

Prevalence of bovine TB was investigated in Burdur slaughterhouse from January 2003 to December 2004. All of the affected animals were Holstein breed. The prevalence of disseminated TB in all slaughtered cattle was 0.38% in this period. The value of the condemned meat and organs was calculated to establish economic loss.

CONCLUSION

Despite a strict eradication programme, bovine TB is still an important health issue among cattle and remains one of the greatest threats to cattle and human health in southern Turkey. Veterinarians and cattle producers in this region are encouraged to develop and work on herd plans aimed at controlling and eradicating TB.

A Multiple-Component Analysis of US Dairy Trade

This paper develops a multiple component-based methodology to account for imports and exports of dairy products and products with a significant dairy content. More specifically, it accounts for imports, exports, and net trade for all dairy products on the basis of milk fat, protein, other solids, and moisture. This approach provides a less biased method of assessing the amount of dairy imports entering the US than the USDA's milk equivalent conversions.

Dairy processing

The United States dairy processing sector is dynamic and adaptive to new changes in the market place. Changes in consumer preferences and manufacturing technologies are resulting in new challenges to the processing sector. Consumers want a wider array of quality dairy products. Fluid processors are adapting to changing consumer demands for beverage products by introducing new flavors, providing ultrapasteurization, and using creative packaging. In addition, United States food manufacturers are requesting dairy processors to provide new dairy fractions such as MPC for new nutrition products. United States dairy policy is attempting to adapt to these changes. Federal order reform has resulted in new market-oriented signals for dairy farmers to produce what the market wants; namely, quality milk components. US dairy farmers, however, also wants to maintain programs such as the DPSP that have had the unfortunate consequence of spurring demand for protein imports (i.e., MPCs, casein, and caseinates) and also resulted in a disincentive to produce these new innovative protein products here in the United States. Surplus skim milk solids are now moving into US Government warehouses rather than into commercial markets. The future of the United States dairy industry will clearly be toward producing innovative products that the market wants. There is a strong market for dairy products not only here in the United States but also overseas, which will mean learning to compete on a global scale. The challenge is to modernize our United States milk pricing programs to provide dairy farmers and processors proper price signals while providing a minimum level of support to dairy farmers. The benefit of a greater orientation toward the market place will be stronger rates of growth for United States-produced dairy products.

The economics of dairy production

The structure of the dairy farm industry has been changing rapidly in recent years. Milk production has increased, with dramatic increases in milk produced per cow and with a steep decline in number of milk cows and fewer farms with larger herds. The change in dairy farm size has not been uniform across regions. The growth in farm size has occurred much more rapidly in the Pacific and South regions than in the traditional dairy-producing regions (Upper Midwest, Northeast, and Corn Belt). Using USDA data to examine costs and returns over time reveals that the incentives to produce milk have been much greater in the Pacific and South regions in recent years. Although the cash costs are similar across regions, accounting for all costs including unpaid factors such as labor and capital replacement yields a clear advantage for the Pacific region. Dairy farm size and cost of production are jointly determined. The incentive to increase farm size is derived from the economies of size that may be achieved by spreading the capital, labor, and managerial costs across more units of milk production. Empiric evidence from previous studies indicates a declining cost of production over a large range of herd sizes. Even in the presence of a flat average cost curve, the incentive to maximize farm income provides incentive to increase production. Adjustment costs may fix dairy production facilities in their current use. Those firms facing higher adjustment costs because of individual or regional characteristics or because of different timing of growth will be smaller or grow more slowly than if they faced smaller adjustment costs. This situation may explain the continued lag of farm size and technology adoption in the traditional dairy producing regions relative to the Pacific and South regions where the more recent population growth coincided with the presence of modern, large-scale production technologies. Finally, dairy marketing policies almost certainly have affected the structure and regional pattern of dairy farm size and production. For the most part, however, the policy effects have been of indirect nature. The Pacific region has grown (despite having the lowest average price) by taking advantage of economies of size by specializing in milking cows. The United States dairy industry is a technologically advanced, well-managed, and economically important sector of United States agriculture. Future challenges include the ability to remain viable economically while dealing with environmental and social sustainability issues in the form of new constraints from formal policies and from consumer perceptions.

The consumer cost of calcium from food and supplements

Nutritional authorities encourage consumers to include calcium-rich foods in their daily diets. However, consumer purchases are driven not only by health considerations and dietary preferences, but also by cost. This study assessed the cost of calcium from a wide variety of food sources, as well as supplements, based on retail prices in Seattle, San Francisco, Raleigh, NewYork City, and Washington, D.C., while controlling for seasonal variation. Costs were adjusted based on calcium absorption fractions. Calcium carbonate supplements emerged as the least expensive source of calcium, at roughly one-third the cost of the least expensive food source of calcium. The least expensive food sources of calcium were Total cereal, skim milk, and calcium-fortified orange juice from frozen concentrate. This information is useful for dietitians, health professionals, and consumers in meeting calcium requirements on a budget.

A cost analysis of encapsulated spray-dried milk fat

Anhydrous butter oil or cream was encapsulated in all-purpose flour, modified cornstarch, or sucrose and then spray-dried. We estimated the processing cost for a plant designed to produce 57,000 kg/d (125,000 lbs/ d) of encapsulated milk fat powder. Powder with a 50% milk fat content could be produced for about $0.23/kg plus the cost of the butter oil or cream, the encapsulant selected, and the other ingredients. Spray-drying of milk fat improved ease of handling and reduced storage costs.

Keeping extension programs current in order to meet the needs of a dynamic dairy industry

Extension is one of three missions of land-grant colleges. Funding and support include local, state, and federal dollars plus industry support, competitive grants, and user fees. To evaluate changes and emphasis, a survey of 13 selected dairy states was conducted to evaluate changes in dairy full-time equivalents (FTE) in the last 10 yr (1989 compared with 1999) at county or unit, regional, and state levels. A reduction of 5 to 34% in FTE occurred at all three levels. Surveys of dairy support state specialists in other related departments were also collected from the 13 states based on 1999 data. Wide ranges in state specialist support in other departments were reported. Changes and future program needs were collected from a 13-state survey. Two futuristic dairy information delivery programs are illustrated. The Illinois extramural CD-ROM-based instructional program used existing technologies to reach broad clientele bases, allowed students to receive instruction when time was available and earn college credit. The National Dairy Database (NDD) is an Internet-based delivered program with 23 domain areas that contained peer reviewed material. Users can access the new NDD by subscribing to an Internet address (which will be updated as new material is received) or by purchasing a CD-ROM.

Effects of selection and crossbreeding strategies on industry profit in the New Zealand dairy industry

The effects of selection and crossbreeding on the New Zealand dairy industry net income were evaluated with a deterministic model over a 25 yr planning horizon. Several mating strategies involving Holstein-Friesian, Jersey and Ayrshire cattle were evaluated. These strategies were straight breeding, upgrading to Holstein-Friesian, upgrading to Jersey, upgrading to Ayrshire, use of the best bulls irrespective of breed and two- and three-breed rotational crossbreeding. Industry productions of milk, fat, protein, and lactose were calculated assuming that 12,000 kg of dry matter per hectare was utilized from 1,224,911 hectares of pasture. Profitability was the difference between income (international sale of whole milk powder, casein, butter, and beef from salvage animals) and costs (farm expenses, milk collection, manufacture, and marketing). Casein and whole milk powder were valued at NZ$8.345 and NZ$3.306/ per kilogram, respectively, over 25 yr. Butter was valued at NZ$2.995/kilogram for base year production levels and NZ$0.45/kilogram for marginal increases in production. Upgrading to Holstein-Friesian resulted in the highest industry net income (NZ$1119 million) followed by straight breeding (NZ$1086 million) and two-breed rotational Holstein-Friesian x Jersey (NZ$1076 million). However, if the marginal value of extra butter production was assumed equal to the average base value, then upgrading to Jersey resulted in the highest industry net income (NZ$1185 million) followed by two-breed rotational Holstein-Friesian x Jersey (NZ$1177 million) and use of the best bulls (NZ$1173 million). Future costs and prices of dairy products have major impact on mating strategies.

The economic implications of greater global trade in livestock and livestock products

The Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established the World Trade Organization to supervise the reduction of barriers to, and liberalisation of, world trade. The application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures will be standardised to avoid use for protectionist purposes by countries or regional trade blocks. Harmonisation of animal disease control measures within regional blocks is essential if benefits to freer trade are to occur, but this harmonisation must be balanced against potential disease risks and costs associated with disease outbreaks. World trade in livestock products is concentrated among developed countries, although developing countries are responsible for approximately a third of poultry meat imports and exports. Despite liberalisation, the share of global trade by developing countries is unlikely to increase greatly in the short term. The benefits of trade and of freer trade are emphasised. Examples are given of the impacts of trade barriers on developing countries and of the harmonisation of European Union animal health standards. Economic implications for the future of greater global trade are assessed.

Milk and scent: works about women in the "Shishuo Xinyu" genre

Abstract

"Milk and Scent" presents an interdisciplinary study of two Chinese works about women, both written after the genre of the famed Six Dynasties work, the Shishuo xinyu (A new account of tales of the world), and therefore entitled Nü Shishuo (Women's Shishuo). The two authors, one a man and the other a woman, both lived during the late imperial period and each endeavored to establish a female value system upon their disappointment with men and conventional patriarchal values. Caused by their different gender, social, and cultural positions, their viewpoints about the values of women's life conflicted, coincided, and interacted with each other. Occupying the center of this joint venture were two pivotal elements associated unmistakenably with the female body-milk and scent-the fluid and penetrating essence of which connected the female body to the rest of the world, and hence defined the value relationships in between.

Returns from strategic anthelmintic treatments in village cattle in the Gambia

A large-scale study was undertaken to investigate the effects of two systematic anthelmintic treatments on village cattle productivity in the Gambia. Treated animals had significantly higher performance in terms of live weights and age at first calving, but the mortality rate of 0- to 1-yr-old cattle appeared to be negatively affected. These results and financial data on treatment costs were used in a herd simulation model to assess the profitability of the intervention. Treatment was profitable on average, but the risks of losing money were large and average returns were sensitive to various hypotheses examined. The treatment regimen studied can only be recommended in certain herds and further research is needed to identify the factors determining the negative response in other herds.

Effect of dystocia on yield, fertility, and cow losses and an economic evaluation of dystocia scores for Holsteins

Lactation records of US Holstein cows were analyzed with mixed models to determine the effect of dystocia on 305-d milk, fat, and protein yields, days open, number of services, and cow losses and to estimate the economic loss associated with dystocia. The data were 122,715 records of 71,618 cows from 1980 to 1991. The single-trait animal model included herd-year-season, sex of calf, age of dam, and dystocia score as fixed effects and animal and permanent environment as random effects. The effect of dystocia was significant (P < 0.01) on all traits within and across parities. Over multiple parities, the differences between score 5 (extreme difficulty) versus score 1 (no problem) for milk yield, fat yield, protein yield, days open, number of services, and cow deaths were 703.6 kg, 24.1 kg, 20.8 kg, 33 d, 0.2 services, and 4.1%, respectively. The losses associated with traits were priced and summed to determine the total economic loss associated with dystocia. In addition, calf mortality was considered to be a cost. Across parities, estimates of costs were $0.00, $50.45, $96.48, $159.82, and $379.61 for scores 1 to 5, respectively. Cost of dystocia was relatively higher on a per incidence basis than would be expected from the mean of the population. The total cost associated with dystocia (i. e., within-parity sum of costs associated with dystocia scores weighted by the probability of occurrence) was $28.53 for an average heifer and about $10.00 for an average cow for other parities.

Status and prospects of the dairy goat industry in the United States

Among the major classes of U.S. livestock, dairy goats have yet to achieve USDA statistical reporting of their numbers, amounts of milk produced and processed, and cheese and other products marketed. However, the USDA has published buck proofs of approximately 16,000 does annually from Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) records of the Alpine, LaMancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen and Toggenburg breeds, thereby encouraging genetic progress. This represents a 1% participation in DHIA of the estimated 1.5 million U.S. dairy goats. Annual breed registrations are led by Nubians (11,000), and the leading states in descending order are California, Texas, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Breed average milk yields range from 960 kg of milk for Saanen to 726 kg of milk for Oberhasli. Average milk contents range from 4.5% fat and 3.69% protein for Nubian to 3.3% fat and 2.98% protein for Toggenburg. Leading lactation records are 3,023 kg of milk (Toggenburg) and 174 kg of fat (Nubian). Total annual registrations are 45,000+ animals by 16,000+ member breeders. Estimated total U.S. goat milk commercial production is 24,000+ t, with half going into commercial farm goat cheese production of 640+ t. Recent years have seen significantly increased numbers of dairy goat research projects and publications from Oklahoma, Texas, California, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts. Furthermore, annual national and international symposia, annual national goat cheese judging competitions and workshops, an active national goat research foundation, representation on the National Interstate Milk Shippers Committee and Mastitis Council, and formation of a national association and council for the development and promotion of dairy goat products indicate an evolution from former emphasis on purebred breed development to a focus on market development. The conclusion is that dairy goats are emerging as a necessary and recognized U.S. industry.

Dairy product purchases by southern households

Dairy product purchases of 1,061 southern households in 1972 and 1973 were analyzed. Quantities purchased increased with income. Whites bought more dairy products than blacks. Fluid milks represented approximately three-quarters of the dairy products purchases. Also, from mid-1972 to late-1973, households bought similar quantities of the various fluid milks despite price increases. They did not switch their purchasing practices from fluid milks higher in saturated fat and cholesterol to those that are lower. Dairy product purchases would have contributed significantly to "advised" intakes of calories, protein, calcium, fat, and cholesterol.

Margarine and butter purchases of southern households

Margarine and butter purchases of 1,061 southern households are reported. These families purchased twelve times as much margarine as butter. Medium-income households, those headed by grammar school-educated persons, households headed by farmers, those with an unemployed homemaker, and white households bought more margarine, on the average, than those in other categories. High-income households and those headed by retired/unemployed persons, on the other hand, generally purchased more butter. In these southern households, margarine purchases would have contributed significantly to "advised" caloric and fat intakes.