Jacek Walczak - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jacek Walczak

Contemporary livestock production, based on intensive methods of feeding and housing, could be a ... more Contemporary livestock production, based on intensive methods of feeding and housing, could be a source of various adverse effects on the natural environment. These are both of local and global scope. The latter, broader importance is associated with the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). The issues pertaining to their emissions cover three areas: mitigation, sequestration, and adaptation. Of Poland’s total GHG emissions agriculture accounts for 8.5% ( 34787.73 Gg eq. CO2). Within the animal production sector, the reduction of GHG emissions may be obtained by methods associated with feeding, breeding, and technological measures. The feeding methods that have great potential for reducing emissions are principally not ready yet, and they are among more expensive methods, bearing a major risk of increased costs of production. The breeding methods happen to be the cheapest because they are implemented by continuous progress in breeding aimed at increased effectiveness of production. H...

Overall summary of main results, discussion and conclusions WP1 The aim in WP1 was to map the per... more Overall summary of main results, discussion and conclusions WP1 The aim in WP1 was to map the performance of local breeds compared to commercial dairy breeds on organic farms in Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and Germany with regard to health associated traits, fertility and production traits. In a study covering the whole population of the selected breeds, managed under organic conditions during the period 1.7.2011 to 30.6.2014, we found lower milk yields for local breeds. In general we found better fertility performance (less days open, shorter calving intervals, lower number of inseminations) for at least one of the local breeds involved in each country. We also detected lower proportions of milk records with somatic cell counts above 100.000 cells/ ml milk for in at least one of the local breeds in Austria, Switzerland and Sweden, but not so for Poland where the commercial breed performed best. Moreover, we found a lower proportion of test day records with a fat: protein r...

Journal of Dairy Science, 2019

Our aim was to map the performance of local (native) dairy cattle breeds in Austria, Switzerland,... more Our aim was to map the performance of local (native) dairy cattle breeds in Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and Sweden with regard to production, fertility, longevity, and health-associated traits and to compare them with commercial (modern) breeds. For this purpose, we analyzed test-day records (July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2014) and treatment records (Austria, Sweden) of cows managed on organic farms. We performed country-wise comparisons of 123,415 lactations from Original Braunvieh (OB) and Grey Cattle (AL) with Braunvieh (BV; Brown Swiss blood >60%) in Switzerland; AL with BV (Brown Swiss blood >50%) in Austria; Polish Black and White (ZB), Polish Red and White (ZR), and Polish Red (RP) with Polish Holstein Friesian (PHF) in Poland; and Swedish Red (SRB) with Swedish Holstein (SH) in Sweden. Average milk yields were substantially lower for local compared with commercial breeds in all countries; differences ranged from 750 kg (Sweden) to 1,822 kg (Austria), albeit on very different average levels. Local breeds showed a longer productive lifetime by 0.64, 0.83, 1.42, and 0.20 lactations in Switzerland, Austria, Poland, and Sweden, respectively, again on very different levels in each country. Regarding fertility traits, calving interval was shorter in local than in commercial breeds by 13 (Sweden), 14 (Switzerland), and 20 d (Austria, Poland). Insemination index was lower in certain local breeds by 0.15 (Switzerland), 0.14 (Austria), 0.21 (Poland), and 0.13 (Sweden). Several local breeds showed a lower proportion of cows with >100,000 somatic cells/mL. This was the case in Switzerland (OB 24.2%; BV 35.8%), Austria (AL 25.3%; BV 36.9%), and Sweden (SRB 42.4%; SH 43.4%). In contrast, the respective proportion in Poland exceeded 82% in all breeds except the commercial PHF (76.1%). In Sweden, lactations with veterinary treatments were considerably less prevalent in SRB (15.6%) than in SH (21.7%). In Austria, breeds differed only in treatments for udder disorders, which favored AL. In conclusion, the markedly lower milk yields of local breeds are partly counterbalanced by (somewhat inconsistent) advantages in longevity, fertility, and health traits across 4 European countries. This indicates that the robustness of local breeds can contribute to improved sustainability of organic dairy systems.

International Journal of Biometeorology, 2018

Considering the significant influence of high ambient temperature and heat waves on the well-bein... more Considering the significant influence of high ambient temperature and heat waves on the well-being and productivity of dairy cows, it is to be expected that, in the course of the next few decades, climate conditions for raising cattle will deteriorate. Research has shown that heat stress causes many negative consequences in terms of physiological and behavioural disturbances and significant losses in milk production. The effort to reduce the risk of the occurrence of heat stress among dairy cows also involves the search for new environmental methods of predicting heat stress. The aim of this paper is to review and systematise the current state of knowledge on the topic of the most widely used environmental methods of determining and predicting heat stress in dairy cows and also to show the directions of studies for the future. Based on an analysis of the most popular indexes, the study evaluated their suitability for forecasting heat stress related to maintenance systems and climate conditions for cows. However, the negative results of heat stress often appear with a delay, and a carry-over effect may be experienced (summer heat stress may affect the cows until autumn). The time of the year and breed of cows could have a big impact on when animals become sensitive to increasing heat loads. This likely can be a big contributor to the discrepancies within the different heat stress equations. It is essential to prevent the occurrence of heat stress, predicting it by observing local microclimate conditions and using meteorological forecasts. Thanks to these measures, a breeder may prepare and implement suitable solutions for protecting the animals.

Annals of Animal Science, 2013

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in animal welfare. Consumers of animal product... more In recent years, there has been a growing interest in animal welfare. Consumers of animal products are paying more attention to maintaining good husbandry conditions on the farms, but also to some of the procedures entailing pain and suffering. The most invasive procedures are castration and dehorning (disbudding), which are often performed without anaesthesia. Pain associated with tissue damage causes behavioural and physiological changes. Observation of behaviour combined with measurements of autonomic nervous system activation, and hormones of the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal axis, is the main method for assessing the emotional state of an animal. Immobilization and blood collection may themselves be a source of stress for these animals. There is a strong prerequisite for the development of non-invasive methods of assessing the level of animal welfare. One of them is infrared thermography. The study of eye temperature changes in cattle, measured with an infrared thermography c...

Contemporary livestock production, based on intensive methods of feeding and housing, could be a ... more Contemporary livestock production, based on intensive methods of feeding and housing, could be a source of various adverse effects on the natural environment. These are both of local and global scope. The latter, broader importance is associated with the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). The issues pertaining to their emissions cover three areas: mitigation, sequestration, and adaptation. Of Poland’s total GHG emissions agriculture accounts for 8.5% ( 34787.73 Gg eq. CO2). Within the animal production sector, the reduction of GHG emissions may be obtained by methods associated with feeding, breeding, and technological measures. The feeding methods that have great potential for reducing emissions are principally not ready yet, and they are among more expensive methods, bearing a major risk of increased costs of production. The breeding methods happen to be the cheapest because they are implemented by continuous progress in breeding aimed at increased effectiveness of production. H...

Overall summary of main results, discussion and conclusions WP1 The aim in WP1 was to map the per... more Overall summary of main results, discussion and conclusions WP1 The aim in WP1 was to map the performance of local breeds compared to commercial dairy breeds on organic farms in Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and Germany with regard to health associated traits, fertility and production traits. In a study covering the whole population of the selected breeds, managed under organic conditions during the period 1.7.2011 to 30.6.2014, we found lower milk yields for local breeds. In general we found better fertility performance (less days open, shorter calving intervals, lower number of inseminations) for at least one of the local breeds involved in each country. We also detected lower proportions of milk records with somatic cell counts above 100.000 cells/ ml milk for in at least one of the local breeds in Austria, Switzerland and Sweden, but not so for Poland where the commercial breed performed best. Moreover, we found a lower proportion of test day records with a fat: protein r...

Journal of Dairy Science, 2019

Our aim was to map the performance of local (native) dairy cattle breeds in Austria, Switzerland,... more Our aim was to map the performance of local (native) dairy cattle breeds in Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and Sweden with regard to production, fertility, longevity, and health-associated traits and to compare them with commercial (modern) breeds. For this purpose, we analyzed test-day records (July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2014) and treatment records (Austria, Sweden) of cows managed on organic farms. We performed country-wise comparisons of 123,415 lactations from Original Braunvieh (OB) and Grey Cattle (AL) with Braunvieh (BV; Brown Swiss blood >60%) in Switzerland; AL with BV (Brown Swiss blood >50%) in Austria; Polish Black and White (ZB), Polish Red and White (ZR), and Polish Red (RP) with Polish Holstein Friesian (PHF) in Poland; and Swedish Red (SRB) with Swedish Holstein (SH) in Sweden. Average milk yields were substantially lower for local compared with commercial breeds in all countries; differences ranged from 750 kg (Sweden) to 1,822 kg (Austria), albeit on very different average levels. Local breeds showed a longer productive lifetime by 0.64, 0.83, 1.42, and 0.20 lactations in Switzerland, Austria, Poland, and Sweden, respectively, again on very different levels in each country. Regarding fertility traits, calving interval was shorter in local than in commercial breeds by 13 (Sweden), 14 (Switzerland), and 20 d (Austria, Poland). Insemination index was lower in certain local breeds by 0.15 (Switzerland), 0.14 (Austria), 0.21 (Poland), and 0.13 (Sweden). Several local breeds showed a lower proportion of cows with >100,000 somatic cells/mL. This was the case in Switzerland (OB 24.2%; BV 35.8%), Austria (AL 25.3%; BV 36.9%), and Sweden (SRB 42.4%; SH 43.4%). In contrast, the respective proportion in Poland exceeded 82% in all breeds except the commercial PHF (76.1%). In Sweden, lactations with veterinary treatments were considerably less prevalent in SRB (15.6%) than in SH (21.7%). In Austria, breeds differed only in treatments for udder disorders, which favored AL. In conclusion, the markedly lower milk yields of local breeds are partly counterbalanced by (somewhat inconsistent) advantages in longevity, fertility, and health traits across 4 European countries. This indicates that the robustness of local breeds can contribute to improved sustainability of organic dairy systems.

International Journal of Biometeorology, 2018

Considering the significant influence of high ambient temperature and heat waves on the well-bein... more Considering the significant influence of high ambient temperature and heat waves on the well-being and productivity of dairy cows, it is to be expected that, in the course of the next few decades, climate conditions for raising cattle will deteriorate. Research has shown that heat stress causes many negative consequences in terms of physiological and behavioural disturbances and significant losses in milk production. The effort to reduce the risk of the occurrence of heat stress among dairy cows also involves the search for new environmental methods of predicting heat stress. The aim of this paper is to review and systematise the current state of knowledge on the topic of the most widely used environmental methods of determining and predicting heat stress in dairy cows and also to show the directions of studies for the future. Based on an analysis of the most popular indexes, the study evaluated their suitability for forecasting heat stress related to maintenance systems and climate conditions for cows. However, the negative results of heat stress often appear with a delay, and a carry-over effect may be experienced (summer heat stress may affect the cows until autumn). The time of the year and breed of cows could have a big impact on when animals become sensitive to increasing heat loads. This likely can be a big contributor to the discrepancies within the different heat stress equations. It is essential to prevent the occurrence of heat stress, predicting it by observing local microclimate conditions and using meteorological forecasts. Thanks to these measures, a breeder may prepare and implement suitable solutions for protecting the animals.

Annals of Animal Science, 2013

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in animal welfare. Consumers of animal product... more In recent years, there has been a growing interest in animal welfare. Consumers of animal products are paying more attention to maintaining good husbandry conditions on the farms, but also to some of the procedures entailing pain and suffering. The most invasive procedures are castration and dehorning (disbudding), which are often performed without anaesthesia. Pain associated with tissue damage causes behavioural and physiological changes. Observation of behaviour combined with measurements of autonomic nervous system activation, and hormones of the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal axis, is the main method for assessing the emotional state of an animal. Immobilization and blood collection may themselves be a source of stress for these animals. There is a strong prerequisite for the development of non-invasive methods of assessing the level of animal welfare. One of them is infrared thermography. The study of eye temperature changes in cattle, measured with an infrared thermography c...