Rúbia Branco Lopes

Effect of crude glycerol on in-vitro ruminal fermentation kinetics

O interesse na utilizacao da glicerina bruta na alimentacao animal ressurge, devido ao aumento na disponibilidade e preco favoravel, como consequencia da expansao das industrias de biocombustiveis. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos da substituicao do milho por diferentes niveis de glicerina bruta na dieta sobre a fermentacao ruminal atraves da digestibilidade in vitro verdadeira. As dietas experimentais consistiram na substituicao do milho por glicerol (0; 4; 8 e 12%) na materia seca da dieta (MS). As dietas eram compostas por 60% de feno de alfafa e 40% de grao de milho e o glicerol foi adicionado, substituindo o milho nas dietas. Alem de trabalhar com as 48 horas tradicionais, foram utilizados diferentes horarios de digestibilidade in vitro (0; 4; 8; 16; 48; 72 e 96 horas), com a finalidade de estudar a cinetica da digestao. A substituicao do milho por niveis crescente de glicerina bruta na dieta nao afetou a concentracao de N-NH3, o teor de energia metabolizavel, as digestibilidades in vitro da materia orgânica da fibra em detergente neutro, bem como os parâmetros da degradacao ruminal. Portanto, esse subproduto da producao do biodiesel deve ser testado in vivo como uma alternativa energetica na formulacao de dietas para ruminantes.

Nutritional value of baled rice straw for ruminant feed

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of cultivation and hay making factors on chemical composition, protein fractionation, and digestibility in rice straw, as well as to identify the chemical fractions that contribute to the variation in its nutritional value for ruminants. Statistical procedures were performed in a model that included rice crop cycle, sowing season, baling season, soil classification, fertilizer application, and productivity (kg/ha) as fixed effects and the hay bale as random effect. Chemical composition, protein fractionation, and digestibility data were subjected to multivariate analyses including factor, cluster, and discriminant. Considering the cultivation and haymaking factors, development cycle, baling season, and grain production explained the most variation in the rice straw nutritional value. Straws derived from early maturing cultivars showed the lowest levels of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent insoluble nitrogen, and C nitrogen fraction in comparison with straw originating from mid cycle cultivars. Rice straw from more productive cultivars had lower levels of lignin and C fraction as well as higher levels of crude protein and B3 fraction compared with straws from less productive cultivars. However, the main variation in the nutritional value between the samples of rice straw was related to the baling season. The bailing seasons were grouped in two clusters. Straws with better nutritional value were those with lower levels of cell wall fractions, from more productive crops, with early development cycle and baled until March. Rice crop cycle, baling season, and grain production effects explain the variation in the nutritional value of rice straws. Straws with better nutritional value have lower levels of fractions related to secondary cell wall and lignification.

Chilled boneless beef international trade: a cluster analysis

The objective of this study was to measure and classify the international beef trade. For this, data related to the international chilled boneless beef (CBB) trade, the major and most important market, were analyzed. Producing countries were classified into groups according to their trade relations, and the main factors that influenced one country to prefer to import CBB from a specific exporting country were analyzed. The results revealed four markets related to client demands with regard to the sanitation and traceability of beef products. Furthermore, extrinsic characteristics of the product are discussed, such as a productive system that aims to minimize environmental impacts and to value animal welfare and respect for social demands. The markets that pay highest prices require sanitary quality of suppliers, demanding traceable and process-certified products. Brazil does not access these markets because it does not meet these requirements. To change this scenario it is necessary to eradicate FMD across the Brazilian territory, acquiring a status of a zone with minimal BSE risk, aligning the intrinsic value of the CBB with expectations of consumers and implementing a traceability program that is both feasible and acceptable for clients.