The livestock industry is undergoing significant transformation with the integration of intelligent technologies aimed at enhancing productivity, welfare, and sustainability. This review explores the latest advancements in intelligent systemization (IS), including real-time monitoring, machine learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT), and their impacts on livestock farming. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of how these technologies can address industry challenges by improving animal health, optimizing resource use, and promoting sustainable practices. The methods involve an extensive review of the current literature and case studies on intelligent monitoring, data analytics, automation in feeding and climate control, and renewable energy integration. The results indicate that IS enhances livestock well-being through real-time health monitoring and early disease detection, optimizes feeding efficiency, and reduces operational costs through automation. Furthermore, these technologies contribute to environmental sustainability by minimizing waste and reducing the ecological footprint of livestock farming. This study highlights the transformative potential of intelligent technologies in creating a more efficient, humane, and sustainable livestock industry.

The absorption and antioxidant activity of polyphenols from grape pomace (GP) are important aspects of its valorization as a feed additive in the diet of weaned piglets. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of polyphenols from GP both in vitro in IPEC cells and in vivo in the duodenum and colon of piglets fed with diets containing or not 5% GP and also to compare and correlate the aspects of their in vitro and in vivo absorption. Total polyphenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant status (TAS, CAT, SOD and GPx enzyme activity, and lipid peroxidation-TBARS level) were assessed in duodenum and colon of piglets fed or not a diet with 5% GP. The results of UV-Vis spectroscopy demonstrated that in cellular and extracellular medium the GP polyphenols were oxidized (between λmax = 276 nm and λmax = 627.0 nm) with the formation of o-quinones and dimers. LC-MS analysis indicated a procyanidin trimer possibly C2, and a procyanidin dimer as the major polyphenols identified in GP, 12.8% of the procyanidin trimer and 23% of the procyanidin dimer respectively being also found in the compound feed. Procyanidin trimer C2 is the compound accumulated in duodenum, 73% of it being found in the colon of control piglets, and 62.5% in the colon of GP piglets. Correlations exist between the in vitro and in vivo investigations regarding the qualitative evaluation of GP polyphenols in the cells (λmax at 287.1 nm) and in the gut (λmax at 287.5 nm), as oxidated metabolic products. Beside the presence of polyphenols metabolites this study shows also the presence of the unmetabolized procyanidin trimers in duodenum and colon tissue, an important point in evaluating the benefic actions of these molecules at intestinal level. Moreover the in vivo study shows that a 5% GP in piglet’s diet increased the total antioxidant status (TAS) and decreased lipid peroxidantion (TBARS) in both duodenum and colon, and increased SOD activity in duodenum and CAT and GPx activity in colon. These parameters are modulated by the different polyphenols absorbed, mainly by the procyanidin trimers and catechin on one side and the polyphenols metabolites on the other side.

Mycotoxins are common natural contaminants of crops and fruits, associated with negative effects on human and animal health. Currently, more than 300 mycotoxins have been identified, but data on their effects and their limits in feed and food are still inconsistent. The European Commission, by directive EC 574/2011, established regulations concerning the maximum limit allowed in farm animals’ feed for aflatoxins, but for all other mycotoxins there are only recommendations (EC 1319/2016) and there are no established limits. Considering their variety and toxic effects, but also the fact that not many details are yet known about the cumulative effects of co-contamination with various mycotoxins, it is necessary to monitor the evolution of their presence in animal feed. The aim of our study was to analyze for a four-year period (2021–2024) the concentrations of six mycotoxins (total aflatoxins-AFT, fumonisins-FB, deoxynivalenol-DON, zearalenone-ZEA, T2/HT2 and ochratoxin (A + B)-OTA), the most frequently encountered in the south area of Romania in poultry, piglets and pig’s complete feed. Our results showed that the maximum highest concentrations were 5.8 ppb for AFT, 4.7 ppm for FB, 1.9 ppm for DON, 62.8 ppb for ZEA, 32.1 ppb for T2/HT2 and 19.7 ppb for OTA irrespective of the type of feed. It should be noted that AFT and ZEA were identified in all samples during the entire monitored period, and the only mycotoxin that exceeded the guidance value was DON, for which the recommendation of 0.9 ppm for pig feed was exceeded. Recent studies demonstrated that sub-chronic and chronic exposure to low concentrations of mycotoxins and specially co-contamination is more common than acute exposure, being able to affect animal health over time by lowering the defense capacity, inducing inflammatory reactions and affecting intestinal health, which in the long term could have important economic consequences. Our survey study can provide important data showing the degree of contamination with mycotoxins in pig and poultry feed including the simultaneous presence of different mycotoxins in this complete feed.

This study explores a novel feeding strategy in the nutrition of dairy goats, utilizing milk thistle cake supplements to mitigate milk oxidation determined by the presence of oxidized linseed oil in diets. An experimental trial involving 30 dairy goats was conducted with three groups: a control group fed a diet with 7% fresh linseed oil (CON), an experimental group fed a diet where the fresh linseed oil from the CON group was replaced with oxidized linseed oil (LOO), and an experimental group fed a diet with 7% oxidized linseed oil and 10% milk thistle cake (LOM). The milk thistle cake had a rich antioxidant composition (vitamin E, xanthophylls, and polyphenols) with potential beneficial effects on milk degradation parameters. The results showed that the LOM diet led to a decrease in milk casein content (p = 0.041) while positively influencing the concentration of iron (13.24 vs. 14.93 mg/kg). In terms of fatty acids, the results suggested that milk thistle cake can counteract the negative effects of the oxidized oil (increasing SFAs, decreasing PUFAs and MUFAs) by modulating the content and reducing its negative effects. Moreover, the LOM group positively influenced the milk antioxidant potential by increasing the levels of antioxidant compounds (vitamin E, p < 0.001; total polyphenols, p < 0.01; antioxidant capacity, p < 0.0001). Moreover, an improvement in the milk primary and secondary degradation parameters was observed, i.e., a significant decrease in the levels of conjugated dienes (p = 0.023) and p-anisidine (p < 0.0001). The study demonstrated the benefits of using milk thistle cake in goat nutrition as it helps reduce the oxidative effects induced by oxidized linseed oil on the nutritional quality of milk and its degradation.

Understanding the genetic basis of growth and feed efficiency traits is essential for advancing beef cattle breeding programs. This study analyzed the average daily gain (ADG; from birth [day 0] to 200 days of age) and the Kleiber ratio (KR) in Charolais and Limousine calves raised in Romania. The data collection period was between 2020 and 2022. Genetic parameters were estimated using a maternal animal model based on 936 Charolais and 726 Limousine records sourced from the Romanian Breeding Association. For both traits, Charolais showed lower direct, maternal and total heritability estimates (0.44, 0.17 and 0.44 for ADG; 0.44, 0.17 and 0.44 for KR) compared to Limousine (0.67, 0.26 and 0.67 for ADG; 0.66, 0.26 and 0.67 for KR). The sex of calf and season of birth influenced the average daily gain and Kleiber ratio. Strong correlations were observed between the average daily gain and Kleiber ratio. The Kleiber ratio was confirmed as a reliable genetic indicator of feed efficiency across both breeds.

In Romania, the livestock is very scattered on the diverse environmental conditions. Due to difficulties regarding data collection, with the help of genomic selection, the paradigm of genetic improvement of economical traits in Romanian cattle breeds can be changed. Population studied in this paper consist in animals genotyped using 60k SNP panel. Association studies were performed for estimate the effect of SNP polymorphism on milk yield at 305 days. Genetic evaluation was compared under four statistical methodologies were compared under six scenarios 5k, 10k, 15k, 20k, 25k and 37k SNP panels. High association with phenotypes were displayed by 38 SNP’s. Generally, accuracy of the studied models, tend to increase with complexity (informational input). The model with the lowest accuracy was Sire-Model (36.6% accuracy). Adding information in Animal Model increase accuracy of estimation and finally, adding genomic information the accuracy was maximized to 69.9%. For each lactation all the statistical models return highly correlated breeding values. The highest (97.2%) and the lowest (79.2%) rank correlation are registered between Test-Day and Animal Model for the first and second lactation. Genomic evaluation is a more feasible methodology than classical breeding value estimation, in term of accuracy of selection and the quality of the parentage information.