• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Grassland Science Conference
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• 2002.09b
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• pp.131-156
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• 2002

Although economically viable, the livestock industry is currently facing a number of challenging environmental problems and highly complex social issues, many of which are related to its size and geographically concentrated nature. Increased emphasis on environmental quality has also placed new demands on livestock producers to ensure that their production practices are in harmony with natural environment. In terms of sustainable agricultural systems, ruminants have served and will continue to serve a valuable role. They are particularly useful in converting vast renewable resources from rangeland, pasture, and crop residues or other by-product into food edible for human. With ruminants, land that is too poor or too erodable to cultivate becomes productive. Also, nutrients in by-products are utilized and do not become a waste-disposal problem. In Korea, however, native and dairy cattle production is not consistent with the advantageous roles of ruminant livestock in sustainable agricultural system because imported feed grains become the main basis for cattle raising. At present the ruminant livestock producers are heavily concentrated in and around the urban areas. About 75% of all the nation's cattle herds are kept on the outskirts of urban areas. As a result, the amount of pasture and forage land available per head of cattle is generally small. Furthermore, animals are raised in a cattle shed with high density. This situation is rather unfavorable for the national economic and environmental points of view As nation income increased, the demand for livestock products grew at an unforeseeable pace. But the pasture area involving in current utilization is tended to decrease during recent years. Based on the above figures more than 250,000 ha of pasture ought to be available for the present herd of cattle. It is obvious that these needs can scarcely be met with arable lands. Lands area for the establishment of new grassland have to be found in the hills and mountains which have not yet been used for crop framing or livestock. The development of extensive grasslands in the hill and woodland areas is now a declared aim. The starting point of the present work is the lack of knowledge of forage production and utilization in hill pasture and woodland in spite of indispensable necessity for livestock production in Korea. The importance of pastoral system in hill region and woodland is particularly emphasized in a standpoint of sustainable livestock production. Main chapter comprises the principle and techniques applicable for improving the utilization of hill pasture and woodland. We finally discussed the problems to solve and future works for a successful livestock production in hill and mountainous area in Korea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.1162-1169
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• 1999

Modern livestock production facilities face both challenges and opportunities with respect to sustainable manure management practices. Nutrient recycling is constrained by the size of modern livestock operations, the low nutrient density of liquid manures, and the spatial and temporal variability of manure nutrient concentrations. These constraints can and must be addressed or farmers will be increasingly drawn to nutrient wasting strategies such as anaerobic lagoons, wetlands, and other systems designed to treat and discharge nutrients to the environment. Intentional discharge of nutrients is difficult to justify in a sustainable agricultural production system, since replacing those nutrients through chemical fertilization requires considerable expenditure of energy. In contrast, there are several currently viable technologies which provide the homogenization and stabilization needed to successfully compete against chemical fertilizers, including composting, pelletization, and anaerobic digestion. Some of these technologies, particularly anaerobic digestion and composting, also open up increased opportunities to market the energy and nutrients in manure to non-agricultural uses. Future advances in biotechnology are likely to demonstrate additional options to transform manure into fuels, chemicals, and other non-agricultural products.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.2_spc
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• pp.360-369
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• 2024

Ruminal methane production functions as the main sink for metabolic hydrogen generated through rumen fermentation and is recognized as a considerable source of greenhouse gas emissions. Methane production is a complex trait affected by dry matter intake, feed composition, rumen microbiota and their fermentation, lactation stage, host genetics, and environmental factors. Various mitigation approaches have been proposed. Because individual ruminants exhibit different methane conversion efficiencies, the microbial characteristics of low-methane-emitting animals can be essential for successful rumen manipulation and environment-friendly methane mitigation. Several bacterial species, including Sharpea, uncharacterized Succinivibrionaceae, and certain Prevotella phylotypes have been listed as key players in low-methane-emitting sheep and cows. The functional characteristics of the unclassified bacteria remain unclear, as they are yet to be cultured. Here, we review ruminal methane production and mitigation strategies, focusing on rumen fermentation and the functional role of rumen microbiota, and describe the phylogenetic and physiological characteristics of a novel Prevotella species recently isolated from low methane-emitting and high propionate-producing cows. This review may help to provide a better understanding of the ruminal digestion process and rumen function to identify holistic and environmentally friendly methane mitigation approaches for sustainable ruminant production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.445-448
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• 1999

Beef and dairy cattle are the primary ruminant livestock in Korea, but there is a serious shortage of both fresh and dry forages. Small areas of forage crops or pastures, unfavorable soil and climatic conditions, high costs for pasture production, low establishment and management technologies, etc. are the main factors limiting roughage production in Korea. To meet the roughage demand of cattle several suggestions are presented. About 845,000 ha of hilly area could be developed for pastureland. Almost the same area of paddy field, and more than 200,000 ha of reclaimed land could be used for pasture production. If all the potential area is developed for pastureland, the area could be extended to 10 times more than is presently used for pasture crops and pastureland. Productivity would be increased by developing new technologies of establishment and management. Silvo-pastoral systems should be introduced to Korea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1680-1688
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• 2008

Development of village chicken production can be a sustainable way of helping to meet the welfare needs of rural populations and raise their living standards. There is a dearth of information on research conducted to characterize, understand and develop the village chicken production systems in Zimbabwe. This review focuses on constraints, opportunities and research needs for the improvement of village chicken productivity in Zimbabwe. Village chicken production in Zimbabwe is extensive and dominated by indigenous chickens that exhibit remarkable adaptation to local environments. The multitude functions of village chickens, which include the provision of high quality protein meat and eggs, cash through sales and socio-cultural roles, are discussed in detail. Human gender aspects in village chicken production are highlighted. The factors that hamper village chicken productivity are reviewed together with opportunities and research needs. The major constraints include shortage of feed, poor health and housing management. Any improvements in these constraints may lead to sustainable increase in village chicken productivity.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.193-202
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• 2017

The study estimated the relationship between carbon dioxide, crop and livestock production index in Ghana: Estimating the long-run elasticities and variance decomposition by employing a time series data spanning from 1960-2013 using both fit regression and ARDL models. There was evidence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between carbon dioxide emissions, crop production index and livestock production index. Evidence from the study shows that a 1% increase in crop production index will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 0.52%, while a 1% increase in livestock production index will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 0.81% in the long-run. There was evidence of a bidirectional causality between a crop production index and carbon dioxide emissions and a unidirectional causality exists from livestock production index to carbon dioxide emissions. Evidence from the variance decomposition shows that 37% of future fluctuations in carbon dioxide emissions are due to shocks in the crop production index while 18% of future fluctuations in carbon dioxide emissions are due to shocks in the livestock production index. Efforts towards reducing pre-production, production, transportation, processing and post-harvest losses are essential to reducing food wastage which affects Ghana's carbon footprint.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.140-145
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• 1999

Livestock manure is generally beneficial to soil and crop production when appropriate amount is applied, but excessive application may be detrimental to soil and water environments. A proper protocol of livestock waste treatment is required to manage the quality of soil and water. A trickling filter system using rice straw media was employed to treat piggery wastewater from small-scaled livestock farms as an alternative to the currently available methods. Batches of piggery wastewater were treated with this system, and the byproducts of rice straw media and trickling filtrate were applied to the soil with cultivating rye (Secale cereale L.). Objective of this research was to characterize these byproducts for the sustainable soil amendments and rye production. Both the treated straw medium and filtrate were proven to be effective organic fertilizers for rye plant development, with the enhanced but balanced absorption of nutrients. The synergistic effects of filtrate in addition to straw application did not show, but the filtrate appeared to lead to a higher water content of the plant. No specific nutrient deficiency or toxicity symptom was shown due to the salts derived from the byproducts applied. Chemical parameters of the soil quality were significantly improved with the application of straw medium either with or without the filtrate. Judging from parameters relating to the salt accumulations, such as sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), potassium adsorption ratio (KAR), and residual P concentrations, the byproducts from piggery wastewater exhibited no detrimental effects on soil quality within the ranges of treatments used. In addition to the effectiveness of the rice straw trickling filter system for the small-scaled swine farms, both rice straw medium and filtrate could be recycled for the sustainable soil amendment and plant nutrition.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.203-206
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• 2004

Fodder supply condition was studied at 41 nomadic families in Gobi, Southern Semi-Desert area in Mongolia, from Dec. 1994 to Apr. 1995 to determine problems in cold, feed deficient season for establishment of sustainable livestock production system. The conditions of two family groups: those located in sparse vegetation (FG1), and those in comparably dense (FG2), were also compared. Commercial concentrate feed (concentrate), hay and Zoodoi were prepared for supplementation. Zoodoi was hand-made feed made mainly of Allium mongolicum and Allium polyrrhizum. Allium mongolicum tended to be used at FG1 frequently, and Allium polyrrhizum at FG2 depend on differences of micro vegetation. 44%, 90% and 39% of families prepared 165.6 kg of concentrate, 301.6 kg of hay and 6.8 kg of Zoodoi per sheep and goat (small livestock) on the average, respectively. The ratio of families that used concentrate at FG1 was smaller than those at FG2, though there were no significant differences on the amount. More hay was fed at FG1 than at FG2, and Zoodoi tended to be fed more in the FG1 group. Recipients were mostly restricted to young, female and sick small livestock that use the feeds effectively. More families gave concentrate and hay to the young than to the females and sick. They also gave more Zoodoi to young and sick animals than to females in this area. In the FG1 group, no differences were found between recipients on the concentrate supply. More families supplied hay to young animals than to sick ones, and Zoodoi was fed more to sick animals than to young and females. On the other hand, those in the FG2 found, more families fed fodders to young than to female and sick regardless of the kinds of feeds. The amount of fodder supplementation in the studied area was restricted, but accurate techniques of nomads to adapt the situation were clarified.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.71-76
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• 2014

The Netherlands produce more than 11 million tonnes of milk per year, and approximately 60% of the milk is exported. Dutch milk production is five times higher than that of Korea, even though Korea comprises a land area three times greater than the Netherlands. Upscaling and intensification have characterized the Dutch way of dairy farming since 1960, and adverse effects of the intensification of dairy farming became evident from the late 1970s and early 1980s onwards. The transition toward a more sustainable farming system is a central element of the Dutch agenda for the reconstruction of the livestock production sector. The environmental problems in Dutch dairy farming in the 1980s have led to the establishment of the experimental dairy farm "De Marke" which aims at improving the utilization of fertilizers and feeds, through minimizing nutrient requirements, maximizing the use of nutrients in organic manure and homegrown feeds, and through the targeted use of fertilizers and feeds. 85 cows at "De Marke" produce 720 tonnes of milk per year, using 55 ha of pasture in a sustainable manner. That means, 150,000 ha of pasture are required to produce 2 million tonnes of milk, which the current milk production of Korea. It is urgent to provide sufficient pasture for sustainable milk production in Korea, and primarily the transition to pasture of surplus rice paddies, resulting from of a decrease in rice consumption, should be considered.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.435-444
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• 1999

This paper summarizes the size and output of the major animal industries in Australia and the feed resource available to maintain production. The most important feed source is pasture but there is also extensive use of cereal grains, pulses and by-products in the intensive animal industries and in supplementing the diet of grazing animals. These resources must be used in ways that ensure sustainable production. We outline a number of Decision Support Systems such as GrazFeed, GrassGro, and AusPig which play an important role in optimizing the way in which resources are used. Waste management with respect to mineral pollution of water courses and methane production as a greenhouse gas are important issues for the animal industries and are also considered.