APPLIED ANIMAL PRODUCTION

Learning Objectives

• Sustainable management of animal production systems

  Aim of the course is to improve knowledge on the management of small ruminants and swine to guarantee sustainable production and high quality products

• Evaluation tools for quality management in livestock

  The course will focus on the use most relevant parameters to evaluate sustainable systems, with a special focus on their impact on animal product quality. Understanding the importance of good management and hygiene practices to ensure good quality standards for animal products will represent a specific objective. The measurement of the main quality traits of animal products will be another training objective. Additionally, the possibility to authenticate the production system and origin of animal-derived food products will be addressed. Finally, the course will also aim at developing the ability to critically identify, exploit and report consistent scientific data relevant to the field.

Course Structure

• Sustainable management of animal production systems

  The course will be shared between frontal lectures (slides on different topics of the course) and practical activities in classroom (simulations, problem solving, test in progress, seminars), in lab and on the field (technical visits in commercial farm and practical activities at Azienda Agraria of the University).

• Evaluation tools for quality management in livestock

  Classes will be structured in traditional lessons on the main topics in programme. Thematic tutorial videos will be used for specific topics in order to better understanding the practical issues related to particular techniques. Some topics will be treated in specific seminars given by the professor or by experts in the field. Other topics will be the subject of thematic in-field and laboratory activities, as well as of specific practice exercises

Detailed Course Content

• Sustainable management of animal production systems

  Small ruminant management in Mediterranean areas: intake, herbage selection, pasture management, stocking rate. Organic animal husbandry. Use of local feeding sources (alternative legume seeds, agro-industrial by-products) in animal nutrition and relative effects on product quality. Outdoor swine husbandry. Main analytical approaches applied to animal production. Dietary strategies to reduce GHG emissions in ruminants.

• Evaluation tools for quality management in livestock

  The topics addressed will be tightly complementary to those developed in the module “sustainable management of animal production systems”. These will include: quality parameters for food of animal origin, in terms of sensory and nutritional quality traits; physiological aspects determining the production performance and their impact on the product quality traits; nutritional, management and hygiene strategies to improve product quality traits; basic laboratory practices in animal production science; specific analytical approaches for the objective evaluation of suitability and quality of feedstuffs and food of animal origin (spectroscopic, chromatography, electrophoresis, and others); potential markers for the authentication of the production system and origin of animal-derived food products; criteria for selection of relevant information from scientific sources; principles of evaluation, collection and reporting of data relevant to the field.

Textbook Information

• Sustainable management of animal production systems

  1. Pulina G. - Dairy sheep feeding and nutrition. Ed. Avenue Media.

  2. Pulina, G. - Dairy goats feeding and nutrition. CABI.

  PDF slides and scientific articles supplied by lecturer.

• Evaluation tools for quality management in livestock

  -) G. Bittante, I. Andrighetto, M. Ramanzin. Tecniche di produzione animale (nuova edizione) – 2005, LIVIANA

  Additional readings on specific topics:

  -) V. Dell’Orto, G. Savoini. Alimentazione della vacca da latte. Gestione responsabile dell’alimentazione per ottenere latte di alto standard qualitativo – 2005, Edagricole.

  -) G. Pulina. L’alimentazione degli ovini da latte – 2003 (III ristampa), Avenue Media