The objective was to determine in vivo and carcass measurements of culled ewes slaughtered at different physiological stages and the possible correlations between the objective measurements (in vivo and in the carcass) and the body weight at slaughter and cold carcass weight. Twenty-one Santa Inês ewes were used, placed in the following treatments: EL = ewes which remained in lactation for 60 days with their respective lambs and slaughtered one day after weaning the lambs; EWL = ewes which remained […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of storage temperature and sample age on the total bacterial count (TBC) of milk samples preserved with azidiol to verify whether a single sample could be used to perform regulatory milk analysis under the Normative Instruction 51 (IN-51). Three hundred and twenty milk aliquots were used collected from an expansion tank to assess three storage temperatures (0 ºC – frozen: 7 ºC – refrigerated, and 24 ºC – room temperature), […]

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of replacing corn silage with sunflower silage (0, 33 e 66% DM) on the ingestive behavior of fedlot steers. Nine castrated steers were used, with average 288 kg initial live weight and 20 month old from the Nellore (N), 21/32Charolais (C) 11/32N and 21/32N 11/32C genetic groups. A randomized complete block experimental design was used, with three replications per treatment. The tested diets were: 100% corn silage and 0% sunflower […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different poultry house heating systems on the thermal comfort and performance of broiler chicks during the winter period, in the southern region of Brazil. Three buildings were used, each containing 17,700 broiler chickens (Cobb), during two complete productive cycles. Three heating systems were evaluated: furnace with indirect air heating; infrared heater and radiant experimental “drum” system with an infrared supplemental heating system. In order to evaluate the thermal environment and […]

The objectives of this study were to analyze the economic viability of meat lamb production systems and identify the components with greatest influence on production cost. The study was carried out in two stages. Stage 1: comparison of finishing lamb production systems: (1) lambs weaned at 60 days and finished on pasture; (2) lambs with mother on pasture; (3) lambs with mother on pasture plus concentrate (1% BW/day) in creep feeding; and (4) lambs weaned at 60 days and feedlot. […]

This is a case study that aimed at proposing a management method based on macroprocesses to determine and achieve strategic goals for a beef cattle enterprise in order to maintain or to increase the company’s competitiveness. The method suggests using a series of tools mentioned in the literature that were organized providing logical reasons for the managers to build the management system. When mapping the processes of the studied enterprise, four macroprocesses were identified, which were sustained by 21 support […]

An economical analysis of milk production systems was made with lactating cows on Mombaça grass pasture receiving different sources of roughage supplementation during the dry season. The supplementations were: black oat pasture, forage sugarcane with urea and sorghum silage. The economical indicators used were: net present value (NPV) and internal rates of return (IRR). For each production system studied one cash flow was used with their particularities and productive and reproductive performances index, obtained experimentally. The cash flows were built […]

A dynamic mathematical model was developed to describe the reproductive process in beef cattle production systems and to simulate individual cow reproductive performance while generating results for the herd, based on the body condition score (BCS) at calving and age at sexual maturity. The model is empiric and dynamic, containing deterministic and stochastic elements. The model was developed based on the relationship between BCS and postpartum interval for lactating cows; for heifers and non-lactating cows, the conception rate was based […]

A bioeconomical simulation model was developed in a traditional cow-calf production system (TPS) for the application of cost center methodology with the objective of evaluating its sensibility by the introduction of early weaning technologies in primiparous cows (EWS), improved pasture for primiparous cows and half lot of secundiparous cows (IPS) and protein supplementation for replacement heifers (PSS). All technologies were used to increase the pregnancy rate in this system (TPS). Data on biological performance was obtained from a bibliographic review […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the ryegrass pasture production, forage quality and animal productivity in three sheep production systems: lambs weaned at 40 days of age and finished in ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) until slaughter; lambs kept with their dams in the same pasture until slaughter; same treatment, but the lambs were supplemented in 1% of live weight with concentrate in creep feeding. The grazing method was continuous variable stocking, in order to maintain 1,000 kg of […]