Department of Animal Medicine, Productions and Health, University of Padova, Legnaro, 35020 Padova, Italy.
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Torino, Grugliasco, 10095 Torino, Italy.
Res Vet Sci. 2024 Nov;179:105398. doi: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2024.105398. Epub 2024 Aug 28.
Cow-calf systems represent a significant research area in animal husbandry, with differences depending on the final product (meat or milk). This study aimed to apply text mining and topic analysis on literature describing cow-calf systems in European, American, and Brazilian beef and dairy sectors between 1998 and 2023. Additionally, cow-calf contact (CCC) literature data was manually extracted. Our findings revealed the presence of 11 research areas among literature on cow-calf systems, with different priorities identified in the beef and dairy sectors. Beef industry mainly focused on animal proficiency and nutrition, while dairy on animal welfare and CCC, which showed a growing trend as emerging research topic, mostly in the EU. Current debates around calf welfare and EU's planned animal welfare legislation revision appeared to be driving the increasing interest in this topic. Studies in the beef sector were mainly localized in Brazil, showing that research in different contexts and species is important for CCC implementation. Manual data extraction showed considerable variation in the retained CCC documents regarding sample size, type of contact, methods and CCC duration. Learning about the varied CCC approaches used in beef and dairy farms in different locations, concentrating on their strengths and weaknesses, will help to develop novel solutions to global challenges. Adopting validated and robust indicators would help scientists and policymakers to monitor the system's quality. To improve CCC feasibility, match consumer demands, and move towards One Welfare and One Health, future research should focus on a variety of situations to overcome the current shortcomings.
奶牛-小牛系统是畜牧业中一个重要的研究领域，其差异取决于最终产品（肉或奶）。本研究旨在应用文本挖掘和主题分析方法，对 1998 年至 2023 年间欧洲、美国和巴西的牛肉和奶制品行业中描述奶牛-小牛系统的文献进行分析。此外，还对奶牛-小牛接触（CCC）文献数据进行了手动提取。我们的研究结果表明，在奶牛-小牛系统的文献中存在 11 个研究领域，在牛肉和奶制品行业中存在不同的优先事项。牛肉行业主要关注动物的熟练程度和营养，而奶制品行业则关注动物福利和 CCC，这一领域作为新兴研究课题的趋势日益明显，尤其是在欧盟。目前围绕小牛福利和欧盟计划的动物福利法规修订的辩论似乎推动了人们对这一主题越来越感兴趣。牛肉行业的研究主要集中在巴西，这表明在不同的背景和物种中进行研究对于 CCC 的实施很重要。手动数据提取显示，在保留的 CCC 文件中，关于样本量、接触类型、方法和 CCC 持续时间的差异很大。了解不同地点的牛肉和奶制品农场使用的不同 CCC 方法，关注其优缺点，将有助于为全球挑战开发新的解决方案。采用经过验证和可靠的指标将有助于科学家和政策制定者监测系统的质量。为了提高 CCC 的可行性，满足消费者的需求，实现 One Welfare 和 One Health，未来的研究应关注各种情况，以克服当前的不足。
