Recent advances in exploiting goat's milk: Quality, safety and production aspects

IN September 1920 there was a scare about the heavy mortality amongst the oysters on the layings of the Thames Estuary. This scare passed to Colchester, and to every part of the East Coast, and similar death-rates were also mentioned from the south and west. The matter was investigated by the Development Commission's Advisory Committee on Fishery Research, but so far as we can see from the Report before us, no accurate estimations were made of the deaths, either beforehand, or afterwards when it certainly would not have been too late; the Table given shows that unusual mortality was reported in the summer of 1921 in the Thames Estuary, and the only possible excuses for the lack of accurate investigation then are either that reports were not sent in at the time, or that the Development Commission refused to provide the funds for such. Oyster planters estimated the deaths in 1920 at 10 to 60 per cent, against an average of 10 to 15 per cent., but there is no indication upon what these estimates were based. As Holt in Ireland records, losses from all causes of 39-6 and 54-6 per cent, on accurate figures, and Bulstrode showed that an English planter laid 241 millions in 13 years, and only picked up and sold 105 millions, we may be allowed to doubt the accuracy of the belief in this greatly increased and “abnormal “mortality, especially as no information is supplied as to deaths and the working of the layings in 1918 and 1919. Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Fishery Investigations. Series 2, Vol. 6, No. 3, 1923. An Account of Investigations into the Cause or Causes of the unusual Mortality among Oysters in English Oyster Beds during 1920 and 1921. Part 1.: Report. By Dr. J. H. Orton. (assisted in Laboratory Work by Miss Edith Worsnop. Pp. 199 + 12 plates. (London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1924.) 15s. net.

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

Effect of administration of live Saccharomyces cerevisiae on milk production, milk composition, blood metabolites, and faecal flora in early lactating dairy goats

The role of the goat in society: Past, present and perspectives for the future

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections are common in domestic sheep and impact directly and indirectly on the health of infected animals as well as on the associated economic production. In this study, we aim at summarizing the current knowledge on the influence of GIN infections on sheep production by conducting a systematic review. A subsequent meta-analysis of relevant studies was performed to provide an estimate of the effect of GIN infections on weight gain, wool production and milk yield. A literature search was performed on the CAB, Pubmed and Web of Science database for the period 1960–2012. Inclusion criteria were: 1) Measurement of at least one production parameter. 2) Comparison between groups of sheep with different nematode burdens. 3) Same conditions regarding all aspects except parasite burden between groups. 4) Quantitative measurements of one or more production traits. Altogether, 88 studies describing 218 trials were included in this review. The majority of studies (86 %) reported that GIN infections had a negative effect on production but this was reported to be statistically significant in only 43 % of the studies. Meta-analysis indicated that performances of sheep infected with nematodes was 85, 90 and 78 % of the performance in uninfected individuals for weight gain, wool production and milk yield respectively. Our results suggest a possible reporting bias or small study effect for the estimation of the impact of GIN infections on weight gain. Finally, a general linear model provided an estimate for the decrease in weight gain in relation to the increase in faecal egg count of nematodes. This study underlines the importance of GIN infections for sheep production and highlights the need to improve parasite management in sheep, in particular in face of challenges such as anthelmintic resistance.

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J. P. Boutonnet

Papers

Strategy for goat farming in the 21st century

Perspectives of the sheep meat world market on future production systems and trends

The Mediterranean sheep and goat sectors between constants and changes over the last decade future challenges and prospects.