Livestock nutrition is one of the most important issue in animal production both in physiological-economic terms as well as the impact of livestock on the environment. The handbook „Rational livestock nutrition in rural areas” has been funded with support from the European Commission under Erasmus + programme – Cooperation for innovation and good practice. The book has been developed by experts in various fields of agriculture – animal nutrition and feed science, animal husbandry, agronomy and veterinary medicine. The authors of this book, originating from five different countries – Poland, Turkey, Romania, Italy and Hungary by working within the framework of the established Strategic Partnership – Vocational Education and Training have developed a comprehensive compendium aimed at transfer of knowledge, good practice and innovation in the field of agriculture with emphasis on rational nutrition of livestock. The book covers five broad issues of livestock nutrition. Chapter one – „Physiology of Nutrition”, is related to the anatomy and functions of particular organs of the farm animals’ digestive tracts, type of nutrients found in the livestock diets, as well digestion, absorption and metabolism of these compounds. An extensive characteristics of most common used in animal nutrition feeds, their processing, feed additives as well as the mechanism of their action are presented in the second chapter – „Feed and Feed Additives”. The chapter number three – „Animal Feeding Systems in Europe” in a synthetic way explains the fundamentals of commonly used feeding systems of ruminants, pigs, poultry, horses and rabbits. This chapter also provides several schemes of daily rations/concentrate mixtures formulation for various farm animal species. An extensive chapter number four is dedicated to animal welfare as well etiology, treatment and prevention of metabolic diseases in animals that livestock breeders are struggling every day. Last but not least, the fifth chapter raises issues related to livestock production in terms of environmental and legal conditions under the common agricultural policy of member countries. The possibilities of reducing the negative impact of livestock production on the environment, so called „good practices” are discussed in this chapter. The book “Rational Livestock Nutrition in Rural Areas” is intended for people involved in animal production – mainly farmers but it can also be used by agricultural and nutritional consultants, zootechnical service workers. Students of vocational agricultural schools and, to some extent, students of natural and agricultural universities may benefit this book as well.

This book contains the scientific contributions published within the Animals topical collection “Feeding Strategies to Improve Sustainability and Welfare in Animal Production”. Originally a Special Issue, it has turned into a permanent collection, with its first article being published in July 2019 and more than 30 published articles a year later: evidence of the great interest from the scientific community regarding the topics addressed. The articles, which are grouped by species (poultry, ruminants, pigs, etc.) and by topic, deal with a wide range of arguments that, first of all, highlight the extraordinary complexity and diversity that exists in the animal production sector, and then, the great influence that nutrition and feeding can have in terms of optimizing the use of environmental resources and improving the welfare of farmed animals. In addition, all this is closely connected with the urgent need to safeguard the resources of the planet on which we live.

This book offers an in-depth description of different groups of microbes (i.e. bacteria, protozoa, fungi and viruses) that exist in the rumen microbial community, and offers an overview of rumen microbiology, the rumen microbial ecosystem of domesticated ruminants, and rumen microbial diversity. It provides the latest concepts on rumen microbiology for scholars, researchers and teachers of animal and veterinary sciences. With this goal in mind, throughout the text we focus on specific areas related to the biology and complex interactions of the microbes in rumen, integrating significant key issues in each respective area. We also discuss rumen manipulation with plant secondary metabolites, microbial feed additives, utilization of organic acids, selective inhibition of harmful rumen microbes, and ‘omics’ approaches to manipulating rumen microbial functions. A section on the exploration and exploitation of rumen microbes addresses topics including the current state of knowledge on rumen metagenomics, rumen: an underutilized niche for industrially important enzymes and ruminal fermentations to produce fuels. We next turn our attention to commercial applications of rumen microbial enzymes and to the molecular characterization of euryarcheal communities within an anaerobic digester. A section on intestinal disorders and rumen microbes covers acidosis in cattle, urea/ ammonia metabolism in the rumen and nitrate/ nitrite toxicity in ruminant diets. Last, the future prospects of rumen microbiology are examined, based on the latest developments in this area. In summary, the book offers a highly systematic collection of essential content on rumen microbiology.

Principles of Protein Nutrition of Ruminants is a cutting-edge examination of the current state of knowledge in this important field. It explores current techniques and concepts, pointing out limitations to these techniques and introducing ideas and criticisms that will be useful in developing new paradigms for research. The scope of the book covers the whole spectrum of investigation from grazing behavior of wild ruminants to cellular and molecular phenomena. Unique aspects of the book include its emphasis on the energy status of the animal as the primary factor in affecting amino acid supply and its discussion of the nature of nitrogenous compounds in feedstuffs.

This widely used reference has been updated and revamped to reflect the changing face of the dairy industry. New features allow users to pinpoint nutrient requirements more accurately for individual animals. The committee also provides guidance on how nutrient analysis of feed ingredients, insights into nutrient utilization by the animal, and formulation of diets to reduce environmental impacts can be applied to productive management decisions. The book includes a user-friendly computer program on a compact disk, accompanied by extensive context-sensitive "Help" options, to simulate the dynamic state of animals. The committee addresses important issues unique to dairy science-the dry or transition cow, udder edema, milk fever, low-fat milk, calf dehydration, and more. The also volume covers dry matter intake, including how to predict feed intake. It addresses the management of lactating dairy cows, utilization of fat in calf and lactation diets, and calf and heifer replacement nutrition. In addition, the many useful tables include updated nutrient composition for commonly used feedstuffs.

As members of the public becomes more concious of the food they consume and its content, higher standards are expected in the preparation of such food. The updated seventh edition of Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle explores the impact of cattle's biological, production, and environmental diversities, as well as variations on nutrient utilization and requirements. More enhanced than previous editions, this edition expands on the descriptions of cattle and their nutritional requirements taking management and environmental conditions into consideration. The book clearly communicates the current state of beef cattle nutrient requirements and animal variation by visually presenting related data via computer-generated models. Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle expounds on the effects of beef cattle body condition on the state of compensatory growth, takes an in-depth look at the variations in cattle type, and documents the important effects of the environment and stress on food intake. This volume also uses new data on the development of a fetus during pregnancy to prescribe nutrient requirements of gestating cattle more precisely. By focusing on factors such as product quality and environmental awareness, Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle presents standards and advisements for acceptable nutrients in a complete and conventional manner that promotes a more practical understanding and application.

NorFor is a semi-mechanistic feed evaluation system for cattle, which is used by advisors in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. This book describes in detail the system and it covers five main sections. The first is concerned with information on feed characteristics, feed analysis and feed digestion methods. The second section describes the digestion and metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract and the supply and requirement of energy and metabolizable amino acids. The third section considers the prediction of feed intake and physical structure of the diet. The fourth section focuses on model evaluation and the final section provides information on the IT solutions and feed ration formulation by a non-linear economical optimization procedure. This book will be of significant interest to researchers, students and advisors of cattle nutrition and feed evaluation.

This book contains the proceedings of the XIth International Symposium on Ruminant Physiology. The papers address ruminant comparative physiology, the rumen ecosystem and metagenomics, nutrient digestion and absorption, methanogenesis, tissue metabolism and gene expression, pregnancy, lactation and growth, adaptation to heat-stress, nitrogen use, nutrition and reproduction, nutrition and welfare and nutrition for sustainable ruminant production. These topics are in line with the current challenges for animal breeding: production efficiency, meat and milk quality, environment (greenhouse gases, nitrogen use), animal welfare and health. The contributions come from research teams in 49 countries of all continents, showing a world-wide interest in ruminant nutrition and physiology. They show the latest techniques and results on ruminant nutrition physiology, including fundamental and integrative approaches, presented in the book on the following sections: (1) Digestion and absorption; (2) Metabolism and hormonal regulations; (3) Nutrition and reproduction; (4) Nutrition and welfare. Proceedings from past ISRP symposia have had a major influence on research and teaching in animal science over the years. Without a doubt, this book, which is of interest to all professionals and researchers who are concerned with ruminant nutrition and physiology, will contribute to this fine tradition.

The book combines information about the behaviour that allowed ruminants to survive and to evolve on Earth: the rumen. Furthermore, the reader will find aspects involving rumen anatomy, physiology, microbiology, fermentation, metabolism, manipulation, kinetics and modeling. Thus, the book was not only organized to help students involved in areas such as ruminant nutrition and ruminant production but collegians gathering material for teaching practices.