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Marcella Guarino
Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy

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Journal article
Published: 03 April 2021 in Applied Sciences
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Livestock activities, in particular swine farms, are sources of odorant compounds that cause conflicts with the neighboring population. Beside the effects on the neighborhood, excessive odor emission can cause discomfort to farm workers. In this context the APPROAch project, aims to test the application of two different air cleaning technologies (a wet acid scrubber and a dry filter) to reduce dust, ammonia and odors, in naturally ventilated pig facilities. The aim of the present study is to evaluate, in a pig farm, the odor removal efficiency of the two tested abatement technologies, based on air samples analyzed by dynamic olfactometry. Odor sampling was carried out at a pig facility involved in the project and brought to the lab within 30 h from sampling, as established by the European Standard EN 13725:2004. Odor concentration was evaluated by dynamic olfactometry using an Olfaktomat-n 6 (PRA-Odournet B.V.—Amsterdam, The Netherlands). The results show that the wet acid scrubber prototype presents an average odor removal efficiency of 16%, whereas dry filter has from limited to no effect. This efficiency could be considered as a good result for a prototype even if further analysis, with longer sampling periods are needed.

ACS Style

Cecilia Conti; Emanuela Tullo; Jacopo Bacenetti; Marcella Guarino. Evaluation of a Wet Acid Scrubber and Dry Filter Abatement Technologies in Pig Barns by Dynamic Olfactometry. Applied Sciences 2021, 11, 3219 .

AMA Style

Cecilia Conti, Emanuela Tullo, Jacopo Bacenetti, Marcella Guarino. Evaluation of a Wet Acid Scrubber and Dry Filter Abatement Technologies in Pig Barns by Dynamic Olfactometry. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11 (7):3219.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cecilia Conti; Emanuela Tullo; Jacopo Bacenetti; Marcella Guarino. 2021. "Evaluation of a Wet Acid Scrubber and Dry Filter Abatement Technologies in Pig Barns by Dynamic Olfactometry." Applied Sciences 11, no. 7: 3219.

Journal article
Published: 17 August 2020 in Environmental Research
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Nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and ammonia (NH3) are among the main contributors to the formation of secondary particulate matter (PM2.5), which represent a severe risk to human health. Even if important improvements have been achieved worldwide, traffic, industrial activities, and the energy sector are mostly responsible for NOx and SOx release; instead, the agricultural sector is mainly responsible for NH3 emissions. Due to the emergency of coronavirus disease, in Italy schools and universities have been locked down from late February 2020, followed in March by almost all production and industrial activities as well as road transport, except for the agricultural ones. This study aims to analyze NH3, PM2.5 and NOx emissions in principal livestock provinces in the Lombardy region (Brescia, Cremona, Lodi, and Mantua) to evaluate if and how air emissions have changed during this quarantine period respect to 2016–2019. For each province, meteorological and air quality data were collected from the database of the Regional Agency for the Protection of the Environment, considering both data stations located in the city and the countryside. In the 2020 selected period, PM2.5 reduction was higher compared to the previous years, especially in February and March. Respect to February, PM2.5 released in March in the city stations reduced by 19%–32% in 2016–2019 and by 21%–41% in 2020. Similarly, NOx data of 2020 were lower than in the 2016–2019 period (reduction in March respect to February of 22–42% for 2016–2019 and of 43–62% for 2020); in particular, this can be observed in city stations, because of the current reduction in anthropogenic emissions related to traffic and industrial activities. A different trend with no reductions was observed for NH3 emissions, as agricultural activities have not stopped during the lockdown. Air quality is affected by many variables, for which making conclusions requires a holistic perspective. Therefore, all sectors must play a role to contribute to the reduction of harmful pollutants.

ACS Style

Daniela Lovarelli; Cecilia Conti; Alberto Finzi; Jacopo Bacenetti; Marcella Guarino. Describing the trend of ammonia, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides: The role of livestock activities in northern Italy during Covid-19 quarantine. Environmental Research 2020, 191, 110048 -110048.

AMA Style

Daniela Lovarelli, Cecilia Conti, Alberto Finzi, Jacopo Bacenetti, Marcella Guarino. Describing the trend of ammonia, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides: The role of livestock activities in northern Italy during Covid-19 quarantine. Environmental Research. 2020; 191 ():110048-110048.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniela Lovarelli; Cecilia Conti; Alberto Finzi; Jacopo Bacenetti; Marcella Guarino. 2020. "Describing the trend of ammonia, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides: The role of livestock activities in northern Italy during Covid-19 quarantine." Environmental Research 191, no. : 110048-110048.

Journal article
Published: 18 July 2020 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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The organic farming of laying hens is experiencing a growing trend in Italy, following an increase in consumer demand for organic eggs. The present study aimed to investigate the environmental performance of organic egg production for the first time in the Italian context. To this end, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of organic egg production in a farm rearing laying hens located in Northern Italy was performed. The analysis was carried out in a cradle to farm gate perspective, with 1 kg of eggs selected as functional unit. Primary data relating to animal performances and resources consumed was collected on site, and subsequently integrated with secondary data, including estimates of manure-related emissions. In order to model in a representative way the organic feed consumed, data relating to typical cropping systems of the country has been used for the various ingredients, keeping the organic production method specifications into account. Inventory data was then converted on an annual basis and characterized using the ILCD method, and twelve impact categories were assessed. Moreover, the influence on impact results of different allocation choices and efficiency in terms of hen-day egg production were explored with a sensitivity analysis. The main environmental burden for organic egg production showed to be feed production and supply, with a share ranging from 49% to 87% over all the evaluated impact categories. Other hotspots are pullets rearing, responsible for a share between 10 and 14% over all categories, and manure-related emissions, which weighed significantly for PM (35%), TA (39%) and TE (39%). A value for CC of 1.56 kg CO2 eq/kg shelled eggs was obtained, thanks to good production performances together with some benefits given by organic feed use, particularly the avoidance of mineral fertilizer consumption and of land use change related emission. At the same time, the results show clearly that environmental improvements should be sought primarily in the same feed area. This must be done both on-farm, which was highlighted also by the sensitivity analysis on hen-day egg production, and at the supply chain level, acting on the impact related to crop production and pullets rearing phases. Starting from the results, some environmental weaknesses and strengths of organic farming have been discussed. Future studies must further investigate the impact of this rearing system in a wider perspective and explore possible scenarios of mitigation practices.

ACS Style

Michele Costantini; Daniela Lovarelli; Luigi Orsi; Andrea Ganzaroli; Valentina Ferrante; Pierluigi Febo; Marcella Guarino; Jacopo Bacenetti. Investigating on the environmental sustainability of animal products: The case of organic eggs. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 274, 123046 .

AMA Style

Michele Costantini, Daniela Lovarelli, Luigi Orsi, Andrea Ganzaroli, Valentina Ferrante, Pierluigi Febo, Marcella Guarino, Jacopo Bacenetti. Investigating on the environmental sustainability of animal products: The case of organic eggs. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2020; 274 ():123046.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Michele Costantini; Daniela Lovarelli; Luigi Orsi; Andrea Ganzaroli; Valentina Ferrante; Pierluigi Febo; Marcella Guarino; Jacopo Bacenetti. 2020. "Investigating on the environmental sustainability of animal products: The case of organic eggs." Journal of Cleaner Production 274, no. : 123046.

Journal article
Published: 24 April 2020 in Animals
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Coccidiosis is still one of the major parasitic infections in poultry. It is caused by protozoa of the genus Eimeria, which cause concrete economic losses due to malabsorption, bad feed conversion rate, reduced weight gain, and increased mortality. The greatest damage is registered in commercial poultry farms because birds are reared together in large numbers and high densities. Unfortunately, these enteric pathologies are not preventable, and their diagnosis is only available when the disease is full-blown. For these reasons, the preventive use of anticoccidials—some of these with antimicrobial action—is a common practice in intensive farming, and this type of management leads to the release of drugs in the environment which contributes to the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance. Due to the high relevance of this issue, the early detection of any health problem is of great importance to improve animal welfare in intensive farming. Three prototypes, previously calibrated and adjusted, were developed and tested in three different experimental poultry farms in order to evaluate whether the system was able to identify the coccidia infection in intensive poultry farms early. For this purpose, a data-driven machine learning algorithm was built, and specific critical values of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were found to be associated with abnormal levels of oocystis count at an early stage of the disease. This result supports the feasibility of building an automatic data-driven machine learning algorithm for an early warning of coccidiosis.

ACS Style

Federica Borgonovo; Valentina Ferrante; Guido Grilli; Riccardo Pascuzzo; Simone Vantini; Marcella Guarino. A Data-Driven Prediction Method for an Early Warning of Coccidiosis in Intensive Livestock Systems: A Preliminary Study. Animals 2020, 10, 747 .

AMA Style

Federica Borgonovo, Valentina Ferrante, Guido Grilli, Riccardo Pascuzzo, Simone Vantini, Marcella Guarino. A Data-Driven Prediction Method for an Early Warning of Coccidiosis in Intensive Livestock Systems: A Preliminary Study. Animals. 2020; 10 (4):747.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Federica Borgonovo; Valentina Ferrante; Guido Grilli; Riccardo Pascuzzo; Simone Vantini; Marcella Guarino. 2020. "A Data-Driven Prediction Method for an Early Warning of Coccidiosis in Intensive Livestock Systems: A Preliminary Study." Animals 10, no. 4: 747.

Review
Published: 30 March 2020 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) is spreading worldwide for its applications on livestock farms, in both intensive and extensive systems. PLF has started being adopted only recently, but the need of technological support on farm is getting more and more important and is facilitating its distribution on farms. A huge number of researches and scientific studies are available in literature about the adoption of technology, sensors and computer tools for almost all reared species. In this literature review, the goal is to study the recent progresses of PLF, and in particular the scientific studies carried out in the last 7 years (2013–2019) on dairy cattle farming. Health, welfare and production aspects were taken into account together with animal behaviour, environmental barn conditions and their effect on the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. From the main findings, it can be underlined that PLF brings environmental, economic and social sustainability benefits on farms, but these benefits have not yet been quantified through specific methods for sustainability assessments. Therefore, it is important for near future researches to focus not only on the technological improvements of tools and sensors but also on the aspects of environmental, economic and social sustainability of livestock productions that impact on both farmers and the community and consumers. The role of PLF is more and more important and will support the process of decision-making of farmers, change their role on farm and their management view, and make possible the traceability of products and the control of the quality of products and of the animals living conditions as required from policy-makers and stakeholders.

ACS Style

Daniela Lovarelli; Jacopo Bacenetti; Marcella Guarino. A review on dairy cattle farming: Is precision livestock farming the compromise for an environmental, economic and social sustainable production? Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 262, 121409 .

AMA Style

Daniela Lovarelli, Jacopo Bacenetti, Marcella Guarino. A review on dairy cattle farming: Is precision livestock farming the compromise for an environmental, economic and social sustainable production? Journal of Cleaner Production. 2020; 262 ():121409.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniela Lovarelli; Jacopo Bacenetti; Marcella Guarino. 2020. "A review on dairy cattle farming: Is precision livestock farming the compromise for an environmental, economic and social sustainable production?" Journal of Cleaner Production 262, no. : 121409.

Conference paper
Published: 20 March 2020 in Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering
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The development of residential areas near farms, and the intensification and specialization of livestock activities have led to a considerable increase in the potential of odor impact on nearby residents. The manure management system is the principal cause of odor nuisance to the surrounding neighborhood. Ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic compounds are the principal odorous compounds emitted from farms. Their impact depends on animal species (pig, cattle, poultry, etc.), farm management, FIDOL factors, topography, and meteorological conditions. Thus, reducing nuisance episodes is a relevant air quality issue. Different types of atmospheric dispersion models (Gaussian, Lagrangian or Eulerian) can be used to predict the impact of odors on nearby communities, and to plan setback distances, aimed at maintaining adequate buffer zones between livestock units and residents. The aim of this review was to investigate, through the analysis of the published literature, air dispersion models used to determine setback distances, aimed at protecting neighbors from odor discomfort.

ACS Style

C. Conti; M. Guarino; J. Bacenetti. Odor Nuisance in the Livestock Field: A Review. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 2020, 199 -206.

AMA Style

C. Conti, M. Guarino, J. Bacenetti. Odor Nuisance in the Livestock Field: A Review. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering. 2020; ():199-206.

Chicago/Turabian Style

C. Conti; M. Guarino; J. Bacenetti. 2020. "Odor Nuisance in the Livestock Field: A Review." Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering , no. : 199-206.

Conference paper
Published: 20 March 2020 in Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering
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Among the most straining trends that farmers have to face there are: on one side, to guarantee welfare and adequate life conditions for animals and to reduce the environmental footprint, on the other side, to develop new strategies to improve farm management reducing costs. The current conditions and the expected developments of the dairy sector highlight a strong need for more efficient and sustainable farming systems. Studying heat stress, herd management and housing and animals’ productive and reproductive performances is fundamental for the economic and environmental sustainability of the dairy chain. New and effective tools to cope with these challenges have been provided by Precision Livestock Farming (PLF), which is nowadays increasingly applied and makes possible to control quali-quantitative parameters related to production, health, behaviour, and real-time locomotion per animal. The research key challenge is to turn these data into knowledge to provide real-time support in farming optimisation. This research focuses specifically on different systems to collect, process and derive useful information from data on animal welfare and productivity. A multi-disciplinary approach has been adopted to generate a decision support system for farmers.

ACS Style

C. Arcidiacono; M. Barbari; S. Benni; E. Carfagna; G. Cascone; L. Conti; L. di Stefano; M. Guarino; Lorenzo Leso; D. Lovarelli; M. Mancino; Stefano Mattoccia; G. Minozzi; S. M. C. Porto; G. Provolo; G. Rossi; A. Sandrucci; Alberto Tamburini; P. Tassinari; N. Tomasello; D. Torreggiani; F. Valenti. Smart Dairy Farming: Innovative Solutions to Improve Herd Productivity. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 2020, 265 -270.

AMA Style

C. Arcidiacono, M. Barbari, S. Benni, E. Carfagna, G. Cascone, L. Conti, L. di Stefano, M. Guarino, Lorenzo Leso, D. Lovarelli, M. Mancino, Stefano Mattoccia, G. Minozzi, S. M. C. Porto, G. Provolo, G. Rossi, A. Sandrucci, Alberto Tamburini, P. Tassinari, N. Tomasello, D. Torreggiani, F. Valenti. Smart Dairy Farming: Innovative Solutions to Improve Herd Productivity. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering. 2020; ():265-270.

Chicago/Turabian Style

C. Arcidiacono; M. Barbari; S. Benni; E. Carfagna; G. Cascone; L. Conti; L. di Stefano; M. Guarino; Lorenzo Leso; D. Lovarelli; M. Mancino; Stefano Mattoccia; G. Minozzi; S. M. C. Porto; G. Provolo; G. Rossi; A. Sandrucci; Alberto Tamburini; P. Tassinari; N. Tomasello; D. Torreggiani; F. Valenti. 2020. "Smart Dairy Farming: Innovative Solutions to Improve Herd Productivity." Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering , no. : 265-270.

Review
Published: 06 November 2019 in Environment International
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Odors have received increasing attention among atmospheric pollutants. Indeed, odor emissions are a common source of complaints, affecting the quality of life of humans and animals. The odor is a property of a mixture of different volatile chemical species (sulfur, nitrogen, and volatile organic compounds) capable of stimulating the olfaction sense sufficiently to trigger a sensation of odor. The impact of odors on the surrounding areas depends on different factors, such as the amount of odors emitted from the site, the distance from the site, weather conditions, topography, other than odors sensitivity and tolerance of the neighborhood. Due to the complexity of the odor issue, the aim of this review was to give an overview of: (i) techniques (sensorial and analytical) that can be used to determine a quantitative and qualitative characterization; (ii) air dispersion models applied for the evaluation of the spatial and temporal distribution of atmospheric pollutants in terms of concentration in air and/or deposition in the studied domain; (iii) major sources of odor nuisance (waste and livestock); (iv) mitigation actions against odor impact. Among sensorial techniques dynamic olfactometry, field inspection, and recording from residents were considered; whereas, for analytical methodologies: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, identification of specific compounds, and electronic nose. Both kinds of techniques evaluate the odor concentration. Instead, to account for the effective impact of odors on the population, air dispersion models are used. They can provide estimates of odor levels in both current and future emission scenarios. Moreover, they can be useful to estimate the efficiency of mitigation strategies. Most of the odor control strategies involve measures oriented to prevent, control dispersion, minimize the nuisance or remove the odorants from emissions, such as adequate process design, buffer zones, odor covers, and treatment technologies.

ACS Style

Cecilia Conti; Marcella Guarino; Jacopo Bacenetti. Measurements techniques and models to assess odor annoyance: A review. Environment International 2019, 134, 105261 .

AMA Style

Cecilia Conti, Marcella Guarino, Jacopo Bacenetti. Measurements techniques and models to assess odor annoyance: A review. Environment International. 2019; 134 ():105261.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cecilia Conti; Marcella Guarino; Jacopo Bacenetti. 2019. "Measurements techniques and models to assess odor annoyance: A review." Environment International 134, no. : 105261.

Journal article
Published: 26 October 2019 in Animals
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Currently, lying behavior can be assessed using continuous observations from sensors (e.g.: accelerometers). The analysis of digital data deriving from accelerometers is an effective tool for studying livestock behaviors. Despite the large interest in the lying behavior of dairy cows, no reference was found in literature regarding the prediction of lying behavior as a function of the interaction of environmental parameters. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of climatic conditions (temperature-humidity index, solar radiation, air velocity and rainfalls) on the lying behavior of a group of primiparous dairy cows, using data from accelerometers, and develop a prediction model to identify and predict the lying behavior of dairy cows as a function of the effects of environmental conditions. Results from the. GLM Procedure (SAS) showed that the model was highly significant (p < 0.001) and the r2 was 0.84. All of the effects in the model resulted in being highly significant (p < 0.001). This model, if validated properly, could be a valid early warning system to identify any deviation from the expected behavior, and to assess the effectiveness of thermal stress mitigation strategies.

ACS Style

Emanuela Tullo; Gabriele Mattachini; Elisabetta Riva; Alberto Finzi; Giorgio Provolo; Marcella Guarino. Effects of Climatic Conditions on the Lying Behavior of a Group of Primiparous Dairy Cows. Animals 2019, 9, 869 .

AMA Style

Emanuela Tullo, Gabriele Mattachini, Elisabetta Riva, Alberto Finzi, Giorgio Provolo, Marcella Guarino. Effects of Climatic Conditions on the Lying Behavior of a Group of Primiparous Dairy Cows. Animals. 2019; 9 (11):869.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Emanuela Tullo; Gabriele Mattachini; Elisabetta Riva; Alberto Finzi; Giorgio Provolo; Marcella Guarino. 2019. "Effects of Climatic Conditions on the Lying Behavior of a Group of Primiparous Dairy Cows." Animals 9, no. 11: 869.

Journal article
Published: 12 September 2019 in Sustainability
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Ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from livestock farms contribute to negative environmental impacts such as acidification and climate change. A significant part of these emissions is produced from the decomposition of slurry in livestock facilities, during storage and treatment phases. This research aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the additive “SOP LAGOON” (made of agricultural gypsum processed with proprietary technology) on (i) NH3 and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, (ii) slurry properties and N loss. Moreover, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was applied to assess the potential environmental impact associated with stored slurry treated with the additive. Six barrels were filled with 65 L of cattle slurry, of which three were used as a control while the additive was used in the other three. The results indicated that the use of the additive led to a reduction of total nitrogen, nitrates, and GHG emissions. LCA confirmed the higher environmental sustainability of the scenario with the additive for some environmental impact categories among which climate change. In conclusion, the additive has beneficial effects on both emissions and the environment, and the nitrogen present in the treated slurry could partially displace a mineral fertilizer, which can be considered an environmental credit.

ACS Style

Federica Borgonovo; Cecilia Conti; Daniela Lovarelli; Valentina Ferrante; Marcella Guarino. Improving the Sustainability of Dairy Slurry by A Commercial Additive Treatment. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4998 .

AMA Style

Federica Borgonovo, Cecilia Conti, Daniela Lovarelli, Valentina Ferrante, Marcella Guarino. Improving the Sustainability of Dairy Slurry by A Commercial Additive Treatment. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (18):4998.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Federica Borgonovo; Cecilia Conti; Daniela Lovarelli; Valentina Ferrante; Marcella Guarino. 2019. "Improving the Sustainability of Dairy Slurry by A Commercial Additive Treatment." Sustainability 11, no. 18: 4998.

Review
Published: 15 February 2019 in Annual Review of Animal Biosciences
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Consumption of animal products such as meat, milk, and eggs in first-world countries has leveled off, but it is rising precipitously in developing countries. Agriculture will have to increase its output to meet demand, opening the door to increased automation and technological innovation; intensified, sustainable farming; and precision livestock farming (PLF) applications. Early indicators of medical problems, which use sensors to alert cattle farmers early concerning individual animals that need special care, are proliferating. Wearable technologies dominate the market. In less-value-per-animal systems like sheep, goat, pig, poultry, and fish, one sensor, like a camera or robot per herd/flock/school, rather than one sensor per animal, will become common. PLF sensors generate huge amounts of data, and many actors benefit from PLF data. No standards currently exist for sharing sensor-generated data, limiting the use of commercial sensors. Technologies providing accurate data can enhance a well-managed farm. Development of methods to turn the data into actionable solutions is critical.

ACS Style

Ilan Halachmi; Marcella Guarino; Jeffrey Bewley; Matti Pastell. Smart Animal Agriculture: Application of Real-Time Sensors to Improve Animal Well-Being and Production. Annual Review of Animal Biosciences 2019, 7, 403 -425.

AMA Style

Ilan Halachmi, Marcella Guarino, Jeffrey Bewley, Matti Pastell. Smart Animal Agriculture: Application of Real-Time Sensors to Improve Animal Well-Being and Production. Annual Review of Animal Biosciences. 2019; 7 (1):403-425.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ilan Halachmi; Marcella Guarino; Jeffrey Bewley; Matti Pastell. 2019. "Smart Animal Agriculture: Application of Real-Time Sensors to Improve Animal Well-Being and Production." Annual Review of Animal Biosciences 7, no. 1: 403-425.

Review article
Published: 04 October 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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This paper reviews the environmental impact of current livestock practices and discusses the advantages offered by Precision Livestock Farming (PLF), as a potential strategy to mitigate environmental risks. PLF is defined as: “the application of process engineering principles and techniques to livestock farming to automatically monitor, model and manage animal production”. The primary goal of PLF is to make livestock farming more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable and this can be obtained through the observation, interpretation of behaviours and, if possible, individual control of animals. Furthermore, adopting PLF to support management strategies, may lead to the reduction of the environmental impact of farms. Currently, few studies reported PLF efficacy in reducing the environmental impact, however further studies are necessary to better analyze the actual potential of PLF as a mitigation strategy. Literature shows the potentiality of the application of PLF, as the introduction of PLF in farms can lead to a reduction of Greenhouse gases (GHG) and ammonia (NH3) emission in air, nitrates and antibiotics pollution in water bodies, phosphorus, antibiotics and heavy metals in the soil.

ACS Style

Emanuela Tullo; Alberto Finzi; Marcella Guarino. Review: Environmental impact of livestock farming and Precision Livestock Farming as a mitigation strategy. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 650, 2751 -2760.

AMA Style

Emanuela Tullo, Alberto Finzi, Marcella Guarino. Review: Environmental impact of livestock farming and Precision Livestock Farming as a mitigation strategy. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 650 ():2751-2760.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Emanuela Tullo; Alberto Finzi; Marcella Guarino. 2018. "Review: Environmental impact of livestock farming and Precision Livestock Farming as a mitigation strategy." Science of The Total Environment 650, no. : 2751-2760.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2018 in Biosystems Engineering
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Nowadays, the preventive use of antibiotics in intensive farming system is common and this management practice lead to the spreading of drugs in the environment, contributing to the phenomena of antibiotic resistance. For this reason, different professional figures work on the development of drug reduction strategies. Due to the high priority of this issue, early detection of any health problem is of great importance in intensive farming. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF), through the combination of cheap technologies and specific algorithms, can provide valuable and rapid information for farmers starting from the huge amount of data that can be collected in real time at farm level. A prototype, able to give information about air fingerprint, was developed and tested in an experimental poultry farm in order to observe if air quality data were related to the presence of coccidiosis. Air samples were collected once a week in Nalophan® bags and transported to the laboratory for instrumental analysis. The prototype was able to discriminate between infected and not infected pens at a very early stage, when only 250 oocysts g−1 [faeces] (opg) were present in one pen. These results were also confirmed by analysing air samples in a commercial poultry farm, since all samples were correctly classified by the prototype in infected or not infected pen. This pilot study has shown that this technology could be installed in farms to continuously monitor health status of broilers, supporting farmers in the sustainable management of their activities.

ACS Style

Guido Grilli; Federica Borgonovo; Emanuela Tullo; Ilaria Fontana; Marcella Guarino; Valentina Ferrante. A pilot study to detect coccidiosis in poultry farms at early stage from air analysis. Biosystems Engineering 2018, 173, 64 -70.

AMA Style

Guido Grilli, Federica Borgonovo, Emanuela Tullo, Ilaria Fontana, Marcella Guarino, Valentina Ferrante. A pilot study to detect coccidiosis in poultry farms at early stage from air analysis. Biosystems Engineering. 2018; 173 ():64-70.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guido Grilli; Federica Borgonovo; Emanuela Tullo; Ilaria Fontana; Marcella Guarino; Valentina Ferrante. 2018. "A pilot study to detect coccidiosis in poultry farms at early stage from air analysis." Biosystems Engineering 173, no. : 64-70.

Journal article
Published: 09 July 2018 in Biosystems Engineering
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Broiler activity and occupation patterns are of special interest to farmers during visual inspection. However, this is time consuming and precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies can enable the monitoring of such key flock behavioural indicators in a continuous and automated way in the house. The aim is to show how the welfare status of the poultry flock can be evaluated by real-time monitoring of activity and occupation patterns. Four top view cameras were installed in a commercial broiler house for 9 complete growing cycles. The cameras recorded images continuously and they were translated into numerical values of activity and occupation indices each minute. Three welfare assessments were performed in weeks 3, 4 and 5 of each growing cycle according to the standardised Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for broiler chickens. A real-time dynamic model was developed to monitor and forecast the time evolution of these indices and the confidence intervals for normal behaviour over each growing cycle. Statistically relevant correlations (p < 0.05) between the time birds spent in an alert situation during the growing cycle and the percentage of birds showing worse welfare scores were found for occupation deviations and foot pad lesions (R2 = 0.60) and activity deviations and hock burns (R2 = 0.70). Furthermore, these deviations can be located inside the poultry house through the relation between activity and occupation indices in specific areas associated with particular broiler behaviours, such as feeding, drinking and resting. Evaluating this relation, regular activity and occupation patterns for each behaviour were defined. This work shows that it is possible to link deviations in activity and occupation patterns of broiler flocks in commercial farms with the welfare assessment scores by human experts. This tool allows the farmer to evaluate the risk of welfare issues in the flock and to get early warnings about which bird behaviours are affected and the location in the house where these alerts are being triggered.

ACS Style

Alberto Peña Fernández; Tomas Norton; Emanuela Tullo; Tom van Hertem; Ali Youssef; Vasileios Exadaktylos; Erik Vranken; Marcella Guarino; Daniel Berckmans. Real-time monitoring of broiler flock's welfare status using camera-based technology. Biosystems Engineering 2018, 173, 103 -114.

AMA Style

Alberto Peña Fernández, Tomas Norton, Emanuela Tullo, Tom van Hertem, Ali Youssef, Vasileios Exadaktylos, Erik Vranken, Marcella Guarino, Daniel Berckmans. Real-time monitoring of broiler flock's welfare status using camera-based technology. Biosystems Engineering. 2018; 173 ():103-114.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alberto Peña Fernández; Tomas Norton; Emanuela Tullo; Tom van Hertem; Ali Youssef; Vasileios Exadaktylos; Erik Vranken; Marcella Guarino; Daniel Berckmans. 2018. "Real-time monitoring of broiler flock's welfare status using camera-based technology." Biosystems Engineering 173, no. : 103-114.

Journal article
Published: 06 July 2018 in Biosystems Engineering
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In calf rearing, bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a major animal health challenge. Farmers incur severe economic losses due to BRD. Additional to economic costs, outbreaks of BRD impair the welfare of the animal and extra expertise and labour are needed to treat and care for the infected animals. Coughing is recognised as a clinical manifestation of BRD. Therefore, the monitoring of coughing in a calf house has the potential to detect cases of respiratory infection before they become too severe, and thus to limit the impact of BRD on both the farmer and the animal. The objective of this study was to develop an algorithm for detection of coughing sounds in a calf house. Sounds were recorded in four adjacent compartments of one calf house over two time periods (82 and 96 days). There were approximately 21 and 14 calves in each compartment over the two time-periods, respectively. The algorithm was developed using 445 min of sound data. These data contained 664 different cough references, which were labelled by a human expert. It was found that, during the first time period in all 3 of the compartments and during the second period in 2 out of 4 compartments, the algorithm worked very well (precision higher than 80%), while in the 2 other cases the algorithm worked well but the precision was less (66.6% and 53.8%). A relation between the number of calves diagnosed with BRD and the detected coughs is shown.

ACS Style

Lenn Carpentier; Daniel Berckmans; Ali Youssef; Dries Berckmans; Toon van Waterschoot; Dayle Johnston; Natasha Ferguson; Bernadette Earley; Ilaria Fontana; Emanuela Tullo; Marcella Guarino; Erik Vranken; Tomas Norton. Automatic cough detection for bovine respiratory disease in a calf house. Biosystems Engineering 2018, 173, 45 -56.

AMA Style

Lenn Carpentier, Daniel Berckmans, Ali Youssef, Dries Berckmans, Toon van Waterschoot, Dayle Johnston, Natasha Ferguson, Bernadette Earley, Ilaria Fontana, Emanuela Tullo, Marcella Guarino, Erik Vranken, Tomas Norton. Automatic cough detection for bovine respiratory disease in a calf house. Biosystems Engineering. 2018; 173 ():45-56.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lenn Carpentier; Daniel Berckmans; Ali Youssef; Dries Berckmans; Toon van Waterschoot; Dayle Johnston; Natasha Ferguson; Bernadette Earley; Ilaria Fontana; Emanuela Tullo; Marcella Guarino; Erik Vranken; Tomas Norton. 2018. "Automatic cough detection for bovine respiratory disease in a calf house." Biosystems Engineering 173, no. : 45-56.

Journal article
Published: 01 June 2018 in Journal of Dairy Science
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To validate the accuracy of 2 commercially available activity loggers in determining lying, standing, walking, and number of steps in dairy cows, 30 cows were fitted with the CowScout Leg (GEA Farm Technologies, Bönen, Germany) system and the IceTag (IceRobotics Ltd., Edinburgh, Scotland) system. The CowScout Leg logger reports standing and lying in 15-min periods, whereas the IceTag logger reports standing and lying every second. To make data comparable, the IceTag data were therefore also summarized over 15-min periods corresponding to the paired CowScout Leg sensor. These data from the 2 systems were then analyzed (more than 1,000 cow days in total). Video recordings of a total of 29.5 h were used for labeling the behaviors of the selected cows (n = 10) and these labels were used as a gold standard to determine the accuracy with which these 2 loggers can record behavioral states lying, standing, walking, and the behavioral event number of steps. A concordance correlation coefficient analysis showed that both the standing and lying durations obtained with the 2 systems were almost perfectly correlated with the video labeling (IceTag: ρ = 0.999 and 0.999, respectively; CowScout Leg: ρ = 0.995 and 0.996, respectively). However, both loggers performed poorly regarding number of steps (classified as an event; IceTag: ρ = 0.629; CowScout Leg: ρ = 0.678) and CowScout Leg did not detect walking (classified as a state) very accurately (ρ = 0.860). The IceTag system does not measure walking behavior. When comparing the 2 loggers, the correlation between them for standing and lying was substantial (ρ = 0.953 and ρ = 0.953, respectively). The number of steps poorly correlated between the 2 loggers (ρ = 0.593), which might be due to the CowScout Leg logger being attached to the front leg and the IceTag logger being attached to the hind leg. We conclude that both the IceTag and the CowScout Leg logger are able to record standing and lying almost perfectly, but the step counting by both loggers and the walking recording by the CowScout Leg logger are not very accurate.

ACS Style

Per Peetz Nielsen; Ilaria Fontana; Karen Helle Sloth; Marcella Guarino; Harry Blokhuis. Technical note: Validation and comparison of 2 commercially available activity loggers. Journal of Dairy Science 2018, 101, 5449 -5453.

AMA Style

Per Peetz Nielsen, Ilaria Fontana, Karen Helle Sloth, Marcella Guarino, Harry Blokhuis. Technical note: Validation and comparison of 2 commercially available activity loggers. Journal of Dairy Science. 2018; 101 (6):5449-5453.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Per Peetz Nielsen; Ilaria Fontana; Karen Helle Sloth; Marcella Guarino; Harry Blokhuis. 2018. "Technical note: Validation and comparison of 2 commercially available activity loggers." Journal of Dairy Science 101, no. 6: 5449-5453.

Journal article
Published: 01 June 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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Measuring emissions from manure management operations (from the barns to the land) is a challenging task, subject to different uncertainties related to the spatial-temporal variability in the process leading to gaseous release. At the same time, emissions inventory is a prerequisite of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies. Manure management emissions are usually estimated using equations developed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, in the case of greenhouse gases emissions) and European Environmental Agency (EEA) for Nitrogen-related emissions. In the present study, the environmental impacts associated to three Italian dairy farms were calculated through a comparative LCA using two different approaches for complying the emission inventory. In the “estimated” approach (E) the commonly adopted IPCC and EEA equations were used, while in the “measured” approach (M) emissions actually measured were taken as input data to quantify the emissions associated to manure management. The results showed that the IPCC equation underestimates the manure management emissions, leading to a 10–42% lower global warming potential comparing E to M approach. On the other hand, ammonia related impact categories showed higher values if they were calculated using the estimated approach, underling that a safer level of estimation is maintained.

ACS Style

Cecilia Baldini; Luciana Bava; Maddalena Zucali; Marcella Guarino. Milk production Life Cycle Assessment: A comparison between estimated and measured emission inventory for manure handling. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 625, 209 -219.

AMA Style

Cecilia Baldini, Luciana Bava, Maddalena Zucali, Marcella Guarino. Milk production Life Cycle Assessment: A comparison between estimated and measured emission inventory for manure handling. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 625 ():209-219.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cecilia Baldini; Luciana Bava; Maddalena Zucali; Marcella Guarino. 2018. "Milk production Life Cycle Assessment: A comparison between estimated and measured emission inventory for manure handling." Science of The Total Environment 625, no. : 209-219.

Journal article
Published: 01 May 2018 in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
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ACS Style

Andrea Pezzuolo; Marcella Guarino; Luigi Sartori; Luciano A. González; Francesco Marinello. On-barn pig weight estimation based on body measurements by a Kinect v1 depth camera. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 2018, 148, 29 -36.

AMA Style

Andrea Pezzuolo, Marcella Guarino, Luigi Sartori, Luciano A. González, Francesco Marinello. On-barn pig weight estimation based on body measurements by a Kinect v1 depth camera. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 2018; 148 ():29-36.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andrea Pezzuolo; Marcella Guarino; Luigi Sartori; Luciano A. González; Francesco Marinello. 2018. "On-barn pig weight estimation based on body measurements by a Kinect v1 depth camera." Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 148, no. : 29-36.

Journal article
Published: 24 February 2018 in Sensors
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Frequent checks on livestock’s body growth can help reducing problems related to cow infertility or other welfare implications, and recognizing health’s anomalies. In the last ten years, optical methods have been proposed to extract information on various parameters while avoiding direct contact with animals’ body, generally causes stress. This research aims to evaluate a new monitoring system, which is suitable to frequently check calves and cow’s growth through a three-dimensional analysis of their bodies’ portions. The innovative system is based on multiple acquisitions from a low cost Structured Light Depth-Camera (Microsoft Kinect™ v1). The metrological performance of the instrument is proved through an uncertainty analysis and a proper calibration procedure. The paper reports application of the depth camera for extraction of different body parameters. Expanded uncertainty ranging between 3 and 15 mm is reported in the case of ten repeated measurements. Coefficients of determination R² > 0.84 and deviations lower than 6% from manual measurements where in general detected in the case of head size, hips distance, withers to tail length, chest girth, hips, and withers height. Conversely, lower performances where recognized in the case of animal depth (R² = 0.74) and back slope (R² = 0.12).

ACS Style

Andrea Pezzuolo; Marcella Guarino; Luigi Sartori; Francesco Marinello. A Feasibility Study on the Use of a Structured Light Depth-Camera for Three-Dimensional Body Measurements of Dairy Cows in Free-Stall Barns. Sensors 2018, 18, 673 .

AMA Style

Andrea Pezzuolo, Marcella Guarino, Luigi Sartori, Francesco Marinello. A Feasibility Study on the Use of a Structured Light Depth-Camera for Three-Dimensional Body Measurements of Dairy Cows in Free-Stall Barns. Sensors. 2018; 18 (3):673.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andrea Pezzuolo; Marcella Guarino; Luigi Sartori; Francesco Marinello. 2018. "A Feasibility Study on the Use of a Structured Light Depth-Camera for Three-Dimensional Body Measurements of Dairy Cows in Free-Stall Barns." Sensors 18, no. 3: 673.

Proceedings article
Published: 01 January 2018 in 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X)
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ACS Style

Emanuela Tullo; Giacomo Aletti; Alessandra Micheletti; Giovanni Naldi; Alberto Peña Fernandez; Erik Vranken; Daniel Berckmans; Marcella Guarino. The influence of microclimate on the development of foot pad dermatitis in broilers. 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X) 2018, 1 .

AMA Style

Emanuela Tullo, Giacomo Aletti, Alessandra Micheletti, Giovanni Naldi, Alberto Peña Fernandez, Erik Vranken, Daniel Berckmans, Marcella Guarino. The influence of microclimate on the development of foot pad dermatitis in broilers. 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X). 2018; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Emanuela Tullo; Giacomo Aletti; Alessandra Micheletti; Giovanni Naldi; Alberto Peña Fernandez; Erik Vranken; Daniel Berckmans; Marcella Guarino. 2018. "The influence of microclimate on the development of foot pad dermatitis in broilers." 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X) , no. : 1.