Feed efficiency and reduction of the environmental impact of cattle farms

Supervisor: Prof. Mauro Spanghero

Efficiency is a fundamental aspect of modern animal husbandry. Raising efficient animals means reducing the items that have the greatest impact on a farm. First of all, the economic aspects are very important for breeders, because profits are drawn from the correct management of expenses. In recent years, however, interest and sensitivity towards environmental aspects have grown, orienting a more eco-sustainable and economically compatible lifestyle and production. Nutrition plays an important role in the economic and scientific investments of the livestock sector. This is why efficient animals, able to convert to the maximum the feed eaten into kg of protein and fat (milk or meat), are considered of vital importance in this area. The consequence is the growing interest of the breeding and scientific community in studying new solutions to bring this aspect to maximum efficiency.

The evaluation of feed efficiency is based on the measurement, or forecast, of the individual consumption of feed. In recent years, there has been a rapid spread in farms of instruments capable of accurately measuring various parameters related to production and animal welfare. The use of data collected with the implementation of these devices will also allow the detection of individual food ingestion and the possibility of calculating modern parameters of feed efficiency. Among these, it is worth mentioning the Residual Feed Intake, which remains today one of the most important methods for evaluating feed efficiency.

The general objective of the project is to analyze in detail the factors that mostly affect the animal’s feed efficiency, evaluate their synergistic or antagonistic effects, and define the key points to consider to improve the animal’s production efficiency and breeding as a whole. This is to bring everything back to a wider reality and be able to satisfy the global demands for mitigating the impact of animal husbandry on the environmental system.

Biography and contacts

Florit Eleonora was born in 1997 in Monfalcone (Italy).

In 2019 she graduated in Animal health and breeding at the University of Udine (107/110).

In 2021 she obtained an MSc degree in Animal breeding and welfare at the University of Udine (110/110 cum laude).

In November 2021, she started the doctoral course at the Ph.D. school “Agriculture Science and Biotechnology” at the University of Udine.

Email: florit.eleonora@spes.uniud.it

Phone: +39 331 110 3888