Characteristics of Loads of Cattle Stopping for Feed, Water and Rest during Long-Distance Transport in Canada

Effect of rest, post-rest transport duration, and conditioning on performance, behavioural, and physiological welfare indicators of beef calves

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of conditioning, rest, and post-rest transport duration on welfare indicators of 6-7 mo old beef calves following a 20-h transport. Three hundred and twenty-eight weaned calves (237 ± 29.7 kg of BW) were randomly assigned to a 2 × 2 × 2 nested factorial design: conditioning, conditioned (C) or non-conditioned (N); rest, 0 (R0) or 8 (R8) h, and post-rest transport, 4 (T4) or 15 (T15) h. Calves were sampled before (LO1) and after (UN1) the initial 20-h journey, before (LO2) and after (UN2) the additional 4 or 15-h journey, and at 1, 2, 3, 5, 14, and 28 d after UN2. Data was analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. Fixed effects included conditioning, transport, and time nested within rest period, while random effects included animal and pen. Greater shrink (p < 0.01) was observed in C than N calves after the initial 20-h transport. During the first week after transportation, the mean ADG of N calves was greater than C calves (p < 0.01). From d 14 to d 28, however, the mean ADG of C calves was greater than N calves (p < 0.01). Flight speed, cortisol and L-lactate concentrations were greater (p ≤ 0.05) in C than N calves between LO1 and d 5, while greater (p ≤ 0.02) non-esterified fatty acids, creatine kinase, serum amyloid-A, and haptoglobin concentrations were observed in N than C calves between LO1 and d 3. The R8-T4 calves had greater (p < 0.01) ADG than R8-T15 calves between LO1 and d 5. The R0-T4 calves had greater L-lactate concentrations than R0-T15 and R8-T4 calves (both p = 0.02) on d 1. The R0 calves had greater (p < 0.01) ADG than R8 calves between 14 and 28 d. This study suggests that C calves are better fit for transport than N calves as evidenced by behavioural and physiological parameters. Fewer and inconsistent differences were observed for rest and post-rest transport treatments.

Assessment of regional greenhouse gas emission from beef cattle production: A case study of Saskatchewan in Canada

The beef cattle production has been considered as one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission. A large amount of GHGs including N₂O and CH₄ from enteric fermentation and manure are discharged to atmosphere during beef-production process. In addition, a substantial amount of GHGs is also emitted from many other related processes such as feed production, transportation, and energy consumption. In this study, an emission assessment model was developed to quantify the amount of regional GHGs produced from the beef cattle production process. A case study was conducted based on the beef production in Saskatchewan, Canada. The results demonstrated that the GHG emissions from the annual marketed beef cattle in Saskatchewan in 2014 were 8.52 × 10⁹ kg CO₂-eq in total and the cattle-source GHGs (enteric CH₄, manure CH₄, and manure N₂O emission) accounted for more than 90% of the total emission. Sensitivity analysis showed that the most critical factors influencing the GHG emission included feedlot manure handling system, cattle diet, feed additives, maximum methane producing capacity (B_o), and climate (temperature, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration). The potential impacts of climate change on GHG emission from beef cattle production in Saskatchewan were also investigated. An overall decrease in the GHG emission can be observed due to the climate change, which are 3.67%, 4.96%, and 6.63% for 2020-2039, 2040-2059, and 2060-2099, respectively.

Do extended transport times and rest periods impact on eating quality of beef carcasses?

The experiment tested the effect of four extended transport treatments on sensory and objective meat quality in beef. A total of 343 steers (88 steers from each of three properties and 79 from a fourth property) were allocated to four treatments including a 12 hour transport time (T12), 24 hour transport time (T24), 24 h as 12 hour transport time, a 12 hour rest, with a further 12 hour transport (T12 ~ T12), 36 hour transport treatment (T36). Within property departure times of treatments were staggered to arrive at the abattoir together. There were no significant transport effects (P > .05) on live animal, carcass traits, consumer sensory scores, and objective meat quality of the longissimus lumborum. There was large between property variation in the proportions of carcasses excluded from grading on the basis of low ribfat, high ultimate pH and dark meat color scores. Variation in these traits was not associated with transport treatments and was likely related to variation in on-farm factors.

Effect of rest stop duration during long-distance transport on welfare indicators in recently weaned beef calves

Forty newly weaned beef calves (260 ± 32.6 kg) were transported 15 h in a livestock trailer (7.3 by 2.1 m) on 2 separate hauls 1 wk apart (20 calves/haul) to evaluate the effect of rest stop duration on indicators of calf welfare. Immediately following the 15-h journey, 15 calves/haul were randomly unloaded at a feedlot and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 rest stop treatments; calves without resting time (5 calves/haul) remained on the trailer and were used as the control group. Treatments included 0- (Control [CON]), 5- (RS5), 10- (RS10), or 15-h (RS15) rest periods in pens containing ad libitum access to water and long-stem hay. Following each rest period, calves were reloaded onto the same trailer and taken on another 5-h journey, before they were unloaded at the same feedlot, for a total transport event lasting 20 h. Control calves did not have access to feed or water until the end of the 20-h transit event. Behavioral measurements included bunk attendance (min/d) and standing and lying duration (min/d) recorded for 5 h after the 20-h transport event. Physiological measurements included saliva and hair cortisol, complete blood cell count, serum NEFA, haptoglobin, and substance P concentrations. All physiological measurements as well as BW were taken immediately prior to initial loading, at arrival at the feedlot after the 20-h event, and 48 h after the transport to the same feedlot. Hair cortisol was collected prior to the initial loading and 25 d after transportation. No differences ( = 0.78) in BW loss were observed among treatments after transportation. Standing time was greater ( < 0.001) in CON calves compared with RS5, RS10, and RS15 calves. Salivary cortisol was greater ( < 0.01) in CON and RS15 calves than in RS5 and RS10 calves at the end of the 20-h journey. Serum NEFA concentration was greater ( = 0.03) in RS5 and RS10 calves at arrival compared with CON and RS15 calves, but those differences were no longer observed ( = 0.49) 48 h after transportation. Concentration of substance P did not differ ( = 0.18) between treatments, and haptoglobin concentration tended to be greater ( = 0.07) in CON calves compared with the other treatments 48 h after arrival. Hair cortisol tended ( = 0.10) to be lower in RS5 calves compared with the other treatments. The results of this study indicate that rest stop periods ≥ 10 h did not prevent short- and long-term stress after transport in weaned calves.