Ever since the eighteenth century, experts have tried to tell farmers how to farm. The agricultural enlightenment in Europe marked the beginning of a long arc of new experts aiming to change agricultural knowledge and practice. This dissertation analyzes the pivotal period in th…
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Nonhuman animals are a key parameter for processes of urbanization, but have been marginalized in both mainstream and critical frameworks of urban theory and design. This dissertation critically analyzes this proposition in relation to the history and theory of Western urbanizat…
Herbivory by wild and domestic ungulates influences tree recruitment and alters plant community composition in forests throughout the world. Herbivore-driven declines in tree recruitment have been widely observed for quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), a foundation tree species…
The Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina, and the New World screwworm (NWS), Cochliomyia hominivorax, are devastating insect pests that cause billions of dollars in damage each year. These insects cause myiasis in warm blooded mammals, in which the larvae feed from flesh of…
The September 2017 issue of the National Geographic magazine contained an article wondering why the Netherlands, this small, urbanized, and densely-populated country in Western Europe, is the second world exporter of food. The answer is found in the innovativeness of Dutch agric…
Land reform is important to correct historical injustices in all districts of South Africa, including the Waterberg District Municipality. There is consensus, globally, that there are trade-offs among diverse land reform objectives, namely: social, economic, political and enviro…
A fodder bank is a field of legume-based forage conserved until the late dry season when livestock experience severe nutritional stress. The purpose of the present study was to conduct an on-farm evaluation of fodder banks of Stylosanthes hamata cv. Verano (stylo) managed by agr…
Soon after the discovery that TRR was a selenoprotein Hill et al. showed that TRR activity decreased more than 90% in 14 wk old Se-deficient rats (Hill et al. 1997). To date, however, there are no reports of Se regulation for TRR message in vivo. Therefore, our objective was to …
The goal of feed formulation should be to maximize profit rather than minimize feeding cost. Traditionally, nutritionists formulate least-cost diets with fixed nutrient levels and assume that performance will be maximized. A series of biological and economic studies were carried…
In western Niger soil fertility depletion threatens food production. Cattle management and manure are used to maintain soil fertility. However, cattle population and insufficient feed limit the use of manure for improving soil fertility. The purpose of this research was to asses…
Water Buffalo (Bos bovinae), indigenous cattle (Bos taurus), native chickens (Gallus gallus), ducks (Carina muscata), goats (Capra hircus), geese (Anser anser), guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), horse (Equus caballus), zebu cross cattle (Bos Indicus), swine (Sus scrofa), sheep (Ov…
Fifty mid-lactation Holstein cows were used in a six-week feeding trial to study effects of high-forage, high-fat diets on dry matter intake, milk production, milk composition, and blood constituents. Cows were divided into 10 replicates, each consisting of five cows. Each cow w…
The physiological status of cattle and associated dietary factors affect the dietary requirement for Se. To partially quantify these effects, a trial was conducted in which fetuses were collected from pregnant heifers at slaughter. Concentrations of Se in fetal liver decreased s…
Changes in genetic evaluations were studied on Holstein bulls in standard progeny-testing programs using data from USDA sire evaluations of July 1989 through May 2000. Mean actual changes in predicted transmitting abilities (PTA) for milk, fat, and protein were small but standar…
The reduced fertility following earlier estrus synchronization protocols made it necessary to develop new protocols based on our understanding of ovarian follicular dynamics and corpus luteum (CL) function in cattle. “Ovsynch” and “CIDR” are emerging protocols for ovulation sync…
Point based biophysical simulation of forage production coupled with 1-km AVHRR-NDVI data was used to determine the feasibility of projecting forage condition 84 days into the future to support stocking decision making for livestock production using autoregressive integrated mov…
Understanding of the mechanisms involved in skeletal muscle development is essential for increasing efficiency of lean muscle production in livestock species. This project examined the endogenous expression and regulation of two gene families, IGFs and the basic helix-loop-helix…
Studies with sentinel poults placed in commercial turkey flocks revealed that enteritis is common. The signs of infection include a marked reduction in feed intake and diarrhea. Inanition impairs the immune response. Enteritis within the first weeks after hatching may result in …
Data collected during 26 yr of the Gobra cattle selection program to improve beef production in Senegal has been analyzed to determine genetic parameters and evaluate the selection program. Estimates of (co)variance components and genetic parameters for birth, 6-mo, 12-mo and 18…