Mitigating climate change is an urgent global issue, and agricultural carbon emissions are an important component of global emissions. Hence, it is imperative to fully understand the current state of carbon emissions in agriculture and accurately evaluate emissions throughout various farming processes. This review aims to understand and evaluate these emissions, focusing on the agricultural sector. A systematic review of existing literature and data on agricultural carbon emissions was conducted, exploring the potential of innovative technology and approaches for mitigation. The effectiveness of energy-saving carbon emission reduction strategies and the role of technological innovation in achieving environmentally sustainable agriculture were assessed. The findings reveal that sustainable development goals have fostered a global strategy for achieving highly productive, efficient, and environmentally sustainable agriculture. In addition, potential transitions towards more sustainable agricultural practices, driven by technological innovation and effective carbon policies, were identified as significant means for mitigating carbon emissions. In this sense, there is an urgent need for a close global effort to implement carbon policies and technological innovation to mitigate the climate impacts of agriculture. Therefore, this research is a time-noting study to help international policymakers achieve environmental sustainability-oriented policies.

The objective of the study was to analyse longevity and lifetime performance traits in dependence on access to grazing (G). Data of Holstein and Slovak Spotted dairy cows (143,566 and 30,412 heads culled between 2006 and 2019) were included. Within each breed, three groups of cows were considered: (1) cows not grazed throughout their entire life, (2) cows seasonally grazed as heifers (in summer), (3) cows seasonally grazed throughout their entire life (in summer). Eight (four longevity and four lifetime milk performance) traits were analysed. General Linear Model with fixed factors: G, herd nested within G, culling year, and cow’s age at first calving as covariate was applied. Cows of group (1) had the highest 305-day milk yield: 8,005.0±7.1 kg (Holstein) and 5,985.3±13.0 kg (Slovak Spotted) and lifetime milk yield: 18,408.5±59.4 kg (Holstein) and 18,237.2±129.1 kg (Slovak Spotted). Holstein cows of group (1) had the highest length of productive life (882.4±2.5 days) and number of lactations (2.37±0.01). The highest length of productive life (1,298.0±16.4 days) and number of lactations (3.46±0.04) were found in Slovak Spotted cows of group (3). The best lifetime performance (regardless of breed) was expected in cows not grazed; whereas, the best longevity traits were expected in Slovak Spotted cows seasonally grazed throughout their lives. Surprisingly, in Holstein cows, the best longevity traits were found in animals that were not grazed. This suggests that the living conditions of housed Holstein cows did not negatively affect their longevity.

To effectively conserve animal genetic resources, countries need to periodically review their conservation efforts and reflect on actual problems and challenges. This study provides a review of animal genetic resources conservation activities, as well as the related existing legislative measures, strategies and funding in Slovakia. We present the development of endangered and supported breeds, discuss the impact of subsidies and the importance of awareness raising, and provide a SWOT analysis of the current animal genetic resources conservation framework in the country. In Slovakia, conservation is primarily based on animal breeding in natural conditions (in situ) without any limitations to breed improvement, and cryoconservation of animal genetic resources is in its initial phase. Most of the funding for conservation measures is provided by the Rural Development Programme. In general, the animal genetic resources system in Slovakia is open in terms of including new breeds eligible for support and this paper shows that the provided subsidies helped to stabilize most of the supported populations. Promoting the presence, characteristics and advantages of local breeds in times of intensive import of exotic breeds into the country is crucial to motivate breeders to prefer local livestock breeds. While the future challenge for the government is to improve conservation and facilitate related activities, research should address not only diversity, pedigree studies and cryoconservation, but also focus on the characterization of animal genetic resources for food security and climate change.

Production of fattening pigs changed over the years in the Slovak Republic. While the number of small breeders is continuously decreasing, number of large farms is increasing. These changes are closely connected with the change of animal genotypes and management of breeding. Finally, distribution of carcasses is changed and different pig carcasses are delivered to slaughterhouses. The study was performed using data from six major slaughterhouses in Slovakia to analyse the structure of fattener's suppliers and to compare the characteristics of carcasses from these suppliers. Results showed differences in carcass characteristics between small and large suppliers. While the small suppliers were delivering heavier animals, large suppliers were delivering carcasses with lower backfat thickness and higher lean meat content. Moreover, the trend of increasing live weight was observed in the group of small suppliers. On the other hand, the trend of increasing muscle thickness and lean meat content was observed in the group of large producers.

Stress response caused by transportation is an important reason that affects the health and welfare of livestock, and the intelligent and precise monitoring of the stress state during transportation is a blank in research. On-site tracking experiments, literature review, and expert consultation indicate that environmental temperature, relative humidity and vibration intensity of vehicle are important stressors in the transportation process, and cortisol (COR) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) are the key biomarkers to characterize the stress level. In this paper, stressors causing stress response were collected through environmental sensor network, and key biomarkers representing stress response were identified through biochemical analysis, and their change rules were analyzed and compared. Furthermore, the predictive models coupled with environmental parameters and stress markers were constructed through supervised learning networks. The results showed that: (1) After testing, the data collection performance of the multi-sensor network is reliable (P < 0.05); transportation will cause significant changes in the concentration of COR and ACTH (P 0.05); the simulation results of stress markers data have no significant difference compared with the sample data (PSpline PPchip > 0.90). (2) The validation results of models showed that: for COR, the absolute error and relative error based on general regression neural network (GRNN) are 2.59 +/- 0.16 ng/mL and 1.30 +/- 0.07%, respectively, which is better than the accuracy based on back propagation neural network (BPNN) and Elman neural network (Elman); for ACTH, the absolute error and relative error based on GRNN models were 1.75 +/- 0.13 pg/mL and 2.14 +/- 0.17%, respectively, which were better than the accuracy based on BPNN and Elman models. (3) For the prediction performance, the prediction accuracy of GRNN model for COR concentration is basically equal to that of Elman model, which is 0.17% higher than that of BPNN model for COR concentration, but the maximum relative error of BPNN model for COR concentration is the smallest. The prediction accuracy of Elman model for ACTH concentration is 0.09% higher than that of GRNN model, and 0.29% higher than that of BPNN model. But the maximum relative error of Elman model for ACTH concentration is the largest, and the running time is significantly longer. Although the performance of the three modeling methods is different, their overall accuracy has reached more than 97%. Therefore, this study can effectively identify the stress state of mutton sheep in the actual transportation process, and provide technical support for the health traceability and control of mutton sheep.

Abstract The European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP), is the European regional platform of National Coordinators (NCs) supporting management of animal genetic resources (AnGR). To assess the performance of the ERFP platform/network and consider options for its further development, a survey was performed among NCs. Twenty-five NCs responded to the survey on the roles, values and future of the platform. The paper provides an analysis of the results of the survey, including a ERFP SWOT analysis. NCs indicated high value of the support of the ERFP in fulfilling their functions at the national level. They highlighted the well-established network and facilitated communication and collaboration among NCs and other AnGR experts in Europe. The NCs appreciated the efficient organizational structure of the ERFP (Working Groups, Task Forces, Ad hoc Actions), and the well-functioning Secretariat. Indicated weak points included discontinuity of NC positions in some countries, and low levels of activities in some countries. NCs saw new opportunities for ERFP development in the context of the EU policy and regulatory framework related to AnGR management, and in strengthening the role of the Secretariat. No immediate threats were identified, however potential future threats included insufficient financing and lack of continuity. The NCs highly appreciated the substantial progress achieved by the ERFP over the last 20 years.

In the last decade, the pig sector in Slovakia has been changing continuously, especially in regard to the proportion of pigs coming from foreign breeding programs. These changes lead to changes in carcass characteristics and to a change in the distribution of carcasses within the classes of the Union scale for the classification of pig carcasses. Therefore, this study was undertaken to analyse the actual state of pig carcass classification in the Slovak Republic and to investigate the needs of updating the equations for the classification methods and possible steps to improve the quality of pork produced within the country. Results showed that an increased number of pig carcasses originated from Danish breeding program, and also from the Czech Republic and Poland. When compared to carcasses in 2009, these changes resulted in lower backfat thickness and higher muscle thickness of the longissimus dorsi muscle and thus higher lean meat content of carcasses. This results in a higher number of carcasses classified in the S and E classes. Slight differences between two instrumental classification methods were calculated. The study showed the need for updating the equations for classification methods, and also suggested possible further steps in order to improve the quality of pork.

The objective of this study was to compare the quality of cow carcasses and meat of three most slaughtered breeds in Slovakia: Black Holstein (BH, n = 119) and Red Holstein (RH, n = 86), and Slovak Simmental (SS, n = 83). A total of 288 samples of meat were collected randomly from cows from various slaughterhouses in Slovakia. All animals were fed the Total Mixed Ration diet year round. At slaughter, the cows were 2094.40 +/- 928.07 days old. Higly significant differences were found in the age (p < 0.001). At slaughter, SS cows were 18 months older than RH and 23 months older than BH. SS showed the highest score of carcass conformation (1.58 +/- 0.59), the differences in carcass conformation being statistically significant (p < 0.05). Meat quality showed statistically significant differences among the breeds in content of proteins (p < 0.01), fat (p < 0.05) and in Warner-Bratzler shear force of grilled meat (p < 0.001). The highest content of proteins (24.5 %) was determined in RH and the highest content of fat was determined in BH (4.2 %). In the SS group, meat was characterized by a higher level of shear force (19.55 kg). SS had the lightest colour of meat (L* = 30.26).

Genetic evaluation of beef cattle in Slovakia started in first years of this century. After the first decade of running the routine evaluations it is important to review the progress made and to discuss the further development. The aim of this paper was to compile and deliver genetic and phenotypic trends in order to review importance of evaluated traits with respect to four major beef (Charolais, Limousine) and dual-purpose breeds (Slovak Pinzgau cattle, Slovak Spotted cattle). The study showed different progress made across the breeds. Higher genetic progress was observed in Charolais purebreds compared to Limousine counterparts. Moreover, almost similar progress to that in Charolais was observed in dual-purpose Slovak Pinzgau cattle. On the other hand no progress was observed in Slovak Spotted purebreds. Results also showed higher progress in bulls compared to cows. Phenotypic trends showed reserves for improvement in Charolais and closing to breed standards in Limousine. In dualpurpose breeds improvement was shown only in Slovak Pinzgau, while no improvement or decrease in actual weights was shown in Slovak Spotted purebreds.

Advantages and drawbacks of different approaches of genetic evaluation of calving difficulty are described and discussed in the review. Calving difficulty is a complex trait, which affects the economics of cattle breeders. The main factors affecting calving difficulty include calf size, pelvic measures of the cow and, more importantly, their compatibility, breed, parity of the calving, sex of the calf, gestation length and the season of the calving. Scoring scales of calving difficulty differing in the number and description of the categories are applied across the countries. Among the various statistical approaches, preference is given to threshold and linear models for genetic evaluation of calving difficulty. It seems that linear models are more suitable for the use of field data. An improvement of predictions can be obviously achieved by the application of correlated traits.

Received: 2018-05-04 | Accepted: 2018-05-14 | Available online: 2018-11-26 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2018.21.04.135-137 Calving difficulty is one of important economic traits in beef production. In the Slovak Republic calving difficulty in beef cattle is recorded on the regular basis, however, these data have not been used so far in decision making. The aim of this study was to get the first insight into the data. Data on 288 346 calvings in 5 major Slovak populations (Charolais, Limousine, Slovak Simmental, Pinzgau, Beef Simmental) during the period 1990-2017 were exploited. The primary analyses showed that there exist differences in the incidence of the difficult calvings according to the breed of the dam. The lowest rate of assisted calvings was observed in Limousine breed. Lower incidence was observed when calvings of crossbred matings were considered. Only slight associations of difficult calvings with sex of calves, parity and season of calvings were observed. Slightly higher rates of assisted calvings were observed in the group of heifers and births of males. Keywords: beef cattle, calving ease, dystocia, reproduction  References Atashi, H., Abdolmohammadi, A., Dadpasand, M., Asaadi, A. (2012) Prevalence, risk factors and consequent effect of dystocia in Holstein dairy cows in Iran. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Science, 25 (4), 447-451. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2011.11303 Carnier, P., Albera, A., Dal Zotto, R., Groen, A. F., Bona, M., Bittante, G. (2000) Genetic parameters for direct and maternal calving ability over parities in Piedmontese cattle. Journal of Animal Science, 78 (10), 2532-2539. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.2527/2000.78102532x De Amicis, I., Veronesi, M.C., Robbe, D., Gloria, A., Carluccio, A. (2018) Prevalence, causes, resolution and consequences of bovine dystocia in Italy. Theriogenology, 107, 104-108. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.11.001 Eriksson, S., Näsholm, A., Johansson, K., Philipsson, J. (2004) Genetic parameters for calving difficulty, stillbirth, and birth weight for Hereford and Charolais at first and later parities. Journal of Animal Science, 82 (2), 375-383. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ansci/82.2.375 Fuerst, C., Egger-Danner, C. (2003) Multivariate genetic evaluation for calving ease and stillbirth in Austria and Germany. [Online] Interbull bulletin, 31, 47 - 51. Available at: http://agtr.ilri.cgiar.org/documents/Library/docs/Interbull/bulletin31_files/docs/Fuerst.pdf [Accessed 5 March 2018] Jamrozik, J., Miller, S.P. (2014) Genetic evaluation of calving ease in Canadian Simmentals using birth weight and gestation length as correlated traits. Livestock Science, 162, 42-49. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2014.01.027 Juozaitiene, V., Juozaitis, A., Kardisauskas, A., Zymantiene, J., Zilaitis, V., Antanaitis, R., Ruzauskas, M. (2017) Relationship between dystocia and the lactation number, stillbirth and mastitis prevalence in dairy cows. Acta Veterinaria. Brno 86, 345-352. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.2754/avb201786040345 López De Maturana, E., Ugarte, E., Komen, J., Van Arendonk, J. (2007) Consequences of selection for yield traits on calving ease performance. Journal of Dairy Science, 90 (5), p. 2497-2505. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2006-415 McHugh, N., Cromie, A. R., Evans, R. D., Berry, D. P. (2014) Validation of national genetic evaluations for maternal beef cattle traits using Irish field data. Journal of Animal Science, 92, 1423-1432. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.2527/jas.2013-6658 Mekonnen, M., Moges, N. (2016) A Review on Dystocia in Cows. European Journal of Biological Sciences, 8 (3), 91-100. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.5829/idosi.ejbs.2016.91.100 Mõtus, K., Emanuelson, U. (2017) Risk factors for on-farm mortality in beef suckler cows under extensive keeping management. Research in Veterinary Science, 113, 5-12. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2017.08.007 Phocas, F., Laloë, D. (2004) Genetic parameters for birth and weaning traits in French specialized beef cattle breeds. Journal of Dairy Science, 89 (2-3), 121-128. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livprodsci.2004.02.007 Steinbock, L., A. Näsholm, B. Berglund, K. Johansson, And J. Philipsson. (2003) Genetic effects on stillbirth and calving difficulty in Swedish Holsteins at first and second calving. Journal of Dairy Science, 86 (6), 2228-2235. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(03)73813-2 Uematsu, M., Sasaki, Y., Kitahara, G., Sameshima, H., Osawa, T. (2013) Risk factors for stillbirth and dystocia in Japanese Black cattle. The Veterinary Journal, 198 (1), 212-216. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.07.016

The aims of the paper were to construct models for the estimation of carcass quality by means of computer image analysis and to verify computer photometry as an in vivo method of carcass quality prediction. Results of photometric measurements and carcass quality of 118 Slovak Pied bulls slaughtered at the age of 15 to 18 months were analysed. Nine length dimensions and four area dimensions were measured on the images of the top, left and rear view of each animal. Hot carcass weight (HCW), weight of meat in carcass (WMC) and weight of meat in valuable cuts (WMVC) were obtained after slaughter treatment and carcass dissection. HCW, WMC and WMVC revealed a maximum correlation with the top-view body area (r = 0.54-0.60) and thurl width (r = 0.58-0.60). Stepwise regression was applied to construct linear regression equations for HCW, WMC and WMVC in two alternatives using photometrical dimensions with and without weight before slaughter (WBS). R 2 in an alternative without WBS were lower (R-2 = 0.47-0.55); however R-2 in an alternative with weight before slaughter were higher and highly significant (R-2 = 0.83-0.92). In both alternatives, the equation for HCW had the highest R 2 and the equation for WMVC had the lowest R-2. Equations using photometric dimensions and WBS are suitable to estimate HCW, WMC and WMVC without detailed dissection.

In the beginning of 1990s, the programme of formation of synthetic population of Slovak Dairy sheep (SD) was launched. Some flocks were involved into performance testing; the establishment of the breed was divided into two periods: first, crosses of local breeds (Improved Valachian, Tsigai and Merino) with improving breeds (Lacaune, East Friesian) of various proportions were formed; second, a close (inter se) breeding scheme within the crossbred population was applied. Parents of the next generation were chosen on the basis of breeding values for milk yield and litter size. At present, five thousands female SD individuals are included in the performance testing; 35 % yearling females enter the breeding scheme each year; a total, 50 thousands SD ewes are kept in commercial flocks. Milk and reproduction traits of SD were analyzed using mixed model methodology that included fixed and random effects. In similar way growth traits were analyzed. Milk traits analyses included 20,511 milk records belonging to 11,026 ewes kept in 52 flocks during the period between 1995 and 2015; reproduction traits analyses included 30,034 litter size records belonging to 9,671 ewes kept in 26 flocks during the period between 1997 and 2015. The standardized milk yield (SMY) and average daily milk yield (ADMY) increased more than twice: 79.8 ± 5.36 l (1995) vs. 164.0 ± 2.04 l (2015) and 495.1 ± 33.5 ml (1995) vs. 1035.3 ± 12.8 ml (2015), respectively. In ten percent of the most productive ewes, SMY was equal to 257.6 l, ADMY was equal to 1604 ml and dry matter was equal to 26.6 kg. Fat and protein contents decreased from 7.82 ± 0.101 % (1995) to 7.27 ± 0.040 % (2015) and from 5.83 ± 0.043 % (1995) to 5.69 ± 0.017 % (2015). Ewes of SD have good udder traits. Litter size in top 50 % flocks was above 150 %. Average daily gains from birth to weaning were 0.26 kg (female lambs) and 0.30 kg (male lambs). The population of SD was recognized as a breed in 2017.

DGAT1 encodes diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.20), a microsomal enzyme that catalyzes the final step of triglyceride synthesis. It was shown that the QTL variation is most likely caused by a nonconservative base substitution in the candidate gene DGAT1 changing lysine to alanine (K232A) in the enzyme diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (DGAT). In particular, the allele encoding the lysine 232 variant proved to be more efficient with regard to milk fat synthesis. The objective of the present study was to determine the allele frequencies and to verify the effects of the two DGAT variants (K232A polymorphism, A and K alleles) on milk production traits in Slovak dairy cows.Samples of 196 dairy cows originating from 61 sires were genotyped for DGAT1 K232A polymorphism (A and K alleles) using the PCR-RFLP technique. The frequencies of DGAT1 alleles were 0.88 (A) and 0.12 (K). The performance data were collected during one season in order to minimize this effect. The overall milk yield (MILK), fat yield (FAT_Y), fat content (FAT_C), protein yield (PROT_Y), protein content (PROT_C) and age at first calving (AGE1) were studied. The effect of DGAT1 polymorphism on fat and protein content in milk was confirmed. Further study is needed for explanation of effect of DGAT1 on the age at first calving.

The genes encoding the diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (DGAT1) and leptin (LEP) became a functional candidate genes for lactation traits in cows. Several studies associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in these genes with fat and protein content in milk, fat and protein yield, milk yield and some reproductive traits. Three reported SNPs in these genes were investigated in our study (DGAT1-K232A, LEP-R25C, LEP-A80V). One hundred and sixty-three primiparous dairy cows from one farm were genotyped. The milk yield, fat and protein yield, fat and protein content and the age at first calving were recorded. The frequencies of alleles and genotypes were assessed. The effect of genotypes on milk traits and age at first calving were studied using linear models. The assumption of the different allele frequencies resulting from selection aimed at milk yield was proved in DGAT1 and LEP-A80V. The significant effect (P<0.01) of DGAT1 polymorphism was estimated only for the fat content. No significant effect of individual LEP polymorphism on milk trait or age at first calving was estimated. No significant effect of combination of LEP polymorphisms was estimated for those traits. The effect of DGAT1 on the age at first calving was indicated.

The first step in conservation of animal genetic resources is monitoring of populations. Research Institute for Animal Production Nitra is responsible for this task in the Slovak Republic. The status of populations is monitored on regular basis in cooperation with the Breeding Services of the Slovak Republic, s.e. and authorized breeders` organizations. The development of 15 breeds during 10-year period was studied in this work. Twelve breeds were classified as being endangered in 2015 from which 6 were classified as critically endangered. The class of endangerment of three breeds was upgraded and two breeds downgraded. Despite the support for in situ conservation the effective population size decreased in six breeds. Based on the results it is assumed that financial support is not the only factor for maintaining the live animals. Important factor is the passion and tradition of farmers in maintaining certain breed.

The present study evaluates the growth performance and carcass traits of entire male pigs, castrates and gilts. Pigs were crosses of Landrace sows and YxL boars. Entire males (EM), surgical castrates (SC) and gilts (G) were housed in pens (each of 2 pigs) according to sex. Entire males grew faster (EM: 974 vs. SC: 890 and G: 854 g.day -1 ) and had better feed conversion ratio (EM: 2.71 vs. SC: 2.86 and G: 2.93 kg.kg -1 ) than castrates and gilts, as differences compared to gilts were significant (P 0.05). Percentage of fatty cuts was the lowest in EM and significantly different to that of SC (EM: 11.27 vs. SC: 13.84 and G: 12.55 %, P < 0.001). Gilts achieved the lowest percentage of less valuable cuts than other two groups (G: 13.94 vs. EM: 15.41 and SC: 14.64 %, P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, resp.).