Feeding livestock a balanced diet with a differentiated crude protein (CP) content, depending on the lactation phase can reduce nitrogen emissions from livestock excrement and urine. A higher content of non-starch polysaccharides in livestock diets improves feed absorption in the livestock body and, consequently, nitrogen is emitted more from protein present in livestock manure than from urea acid present in livestock urine. The aim of the study is to calculate the ammonia emission reduction potential in Latvia by optimizing the feeding of dairy cows and ensuring life longevity, as well as provide justification for ammonia emission reduction in dairy farms. Calculations made by using the NorFor Model for optimization of dairy cow (Bos primigenius f. taurus) diets revealed that compared with lowyielding cows, a higher CP content diet fed to high-yielding cows at the beginning of lactation increased the amount of nitrogen (N) in their excrement and urine by 90–180 g d-1. Reducing the CP content in the cow diet by an average of 10 g kg-1 dry matter (DM) during mid-lactation resulted in the same trend. Reducing the CP content in the cow diet during late lactation and the dry period by another 20–30 g kg-1 of DM, N emissions from excrement and urine significantly decreased. Increasing the lifespan of dairy cows also means reducing ammonia emissions from the farm. By increasing the number of lactations per cow on dairy farm, it is possible to reduce the number of heifers per cow. The total reduction of ammonia emissions in Latvia was calculated based on a long-term projection of a decrease of 0.1 heifer per dairy cow. Ammonia emissions could be reduced by 0.051 kt by decreasing the number of heifers by 12.54 thou. at the planned increase in the lifespan of dairy cows by 2030.
Goat kid and lamb meat is quite well accepted by the consumers. The specific flavour is more expressed for sheep meat, also lamb meat has more intense aroma and it is more tender than that of goat kid meat. Several factors can affect the quality characteristics of goat kid and lamb meat, and the feeding of livestock is one of them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of feeding on the lamb and goat kid meat physical and sensorial quality. In the samples of M. semimembranosus muscles from 8 Boer goat kids and 8 Latvian Dark head lambs (four animals per treatment) finished on diets varying in content of concentrated feed were analysed for the proximate composition, chemical and physical indices. Four Boer goat kids as feed supplement received oats, four kidsfodder beans, four lambsa mix with fodder beans, four lambsa mix with beans and peas. For sensory evaluation as control was used beef meat. For all five samples hardness and intensity of sensory properties (aroma, texture, taste and aftertaste) were analysed. Non-significant (p>0.05) influence was obtained on meat hardness according different additives of concentrated feed. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in aroma and taste between samples, but there was significant difference in the texture and aftertaste (p<0.05). The aftertaste was weak for beef meat (BM) sample, but there were no significant differences (p>0.01) in the intensity of aftertaste with both goat kid meat samples. However, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) between both lamb meat samples.
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