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The purpose of this study was to examine the hypothesis that fenceline contact between beef calves and cows at weaning reduces indices of behavioral distress and associated temporary reductions in weight gain. One hundred Angus/Hereford-cross calves were randomly assigned to five treatments for 7 d in each of 3 yr to determine the effect of different weaning techniques on their behavior and subsequent growth. Treatments were 1) fenceline separation from dams on pasture (F-P), 2) total separation from dams on pasture (S-P), 3) total separation from dams in a drylot (corral) preconditioned to hay (S-D-P), 4) total separation from dams in a drylot not preconditioned to hay (S-D-NP), and 5) nonweaned controls on pasture (C-P). At the end of the 7-d postweaning period, all calves were placed on pasture in large groups. Calves were weighed weekly for 10 wk. In the days following weaning, F-P and C-P calves spent more time eating (grazing or eating hay) than S-P and S-D-NP calves (P < 0.05). The S-P calves spent more time walking (pacing) than calves in the other four treatments (P < 0.05), which did not differ. The S-P calves also spent less time lying down than C-P, F-P, and S-D-P calves (P < 0.05); S-P and S-D-NP calves did not differ in lying time. The F-P calves vocalized less than S-P and S-D-NP calves (P < 0.05). In general, treatment differences were greatest during the first 3 d following weaning with d 2 (20 to 30 h after weaning) showing the greatest disparity. The F-P calves spent approximately 60% of their time within 3 m of the fence separating them from their dams during the first 2 d following weaning, whereas F-P cows spent about 40% of their time within 3 m of the fence during this period. Postweaning cumulative body weight gains of the F-P calves were greater than the gains recorded for the calves in the three totally separated treatments (which did not differ). The F-P calves gained 95% more weight than the average calf in the three totally separated treatments in the first 2 wk and were still heavier at 10 wk (21.4 vs 11.0 kg, respectively, at 2 wk and 50.0 vs 38.2 kg, respectively, at 10 wk; P < 0.05). It was concluded that providing fenceline contact between beef calves and cows for 7 d following weaning reduces behavioral indices of distress seen in the totally separated calves. In addition, fenceline contact with dams at weaning minimizes losses in weight gain in the days following separation. Totally separated calves did not compensate for these early losses in weight gain even after 10 wk.

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Abstract:The Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework represents a significant advance in specifying the ecological constraints on human development. However, to enable decision-makers in business and public policy to respect these constraints in strategic planning, the PB framework needs to be developed to generate practical tools. With this objective in mind, we analyse the recent literature and highlight three major scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the PB approach in decision-making: first, identification of thresholds or boundaries with associated metrics for different geographical scales; second, the need to frame approaches to allocate fair shares in the 'safe operating space' bounded by the PBs across the value chain and; third, the need for international bodies to co-ordinate the implementation of the measures needed to respect the Planetary Boundaries. For the first two of these challenges, we consider how they might be addressed for four PBs: climate change, freshwater use, biosphere integrity and chemical pollution and other novel entities. Four key opportunities are identified: (1) development of a common system of metrics that can be applied consistently at and across different scales; (2) setting 'distance from boundary' measures that can be applied at different scales; (3) development of global, preferably open-source, databases and models; and (4) advancing understanding of the interactions between the different PBs. Addressing the scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the planetary boundaries needs be complemented with progress in addressing the equity and ethical issues in allocating the safe operating space between companies and sectors.

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International corporations in an increasingly globalized economy exert a major influence on the planet's land use and resources through their product design and material sourcing decisions. Many companies use life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate their sustainability, yet commonly-used LCA methodologies lack the spatial resolution and predictive ecological information to reveal key impacts on climate, water and biodiversity. We present advances for LCA that integrate spatially explicit modelling of land change and ecosystem services in a Land-Use Change Improved (LUCI)-LCA. Comparing increased demand for bioplastics derived from two alternative feedstock-location scenarios for maize and sugarcane, we find that the LUCI-LCA approach yields results opposite to those of standard LCA for greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption, and of different magnitudes for soil erosion and biodiversity. This approach highlights the importance of including information about where and how land-use change and related impacts will occur in supply chain and innovation decisions.