Selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves

Abstract The transport of weaned calves from cow–calf producers to fatteners is a general concern for the young bull industry due to its documented negative impact on the welfare, health and performance of the animals. These transfers are often managed by intermediaries who transport weaned calves t...

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Autores principales:	T. Morel-Journel, E. Vergu, J.-B. Mercier, N. Bareille, P. Ezanno
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ec1998e3d7404012b3970d2de8d32229
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:ec1998e3d7404012b3970d2de8d32229
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ec1998e3d7404012b3970d2de8d322292021-12-02T15:23:07ZSelecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves10.1038/s41598-020-79844-42045-2322https://doaj.org/article/ec1998e3d7404012b3970d2de8d322292021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79844-4https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The transport of weaned calves from cow–calf producers to fatteners is a general concern for the young bull industry due to its documented negative impact on the welfare, health and performance of the animals. These transfers are often managed by intermediaries who transport weaned calves to sorting centres, where they are grouped into batches before being sent to fattening units. In this study, we present an algorithm to limiting these transfer distances by appropriately selecting the sorting centre through which they must go. We tested the effectiveness of this algorithm on historical data from a French beef producer organization managing 136,892 transfers using 13 sorting centres. The results show a decrease in the transfer distances compared to the historical record, especially for the calves travelling over long distances (− 76 km, i.e. 18% on average for the 33% longest transfers). Moreover, the distribution of calves between the sorting centres proposed by the algorithm reveals differences in their efficiency in minimizing transfer distances. In addition to its usefulness as a management tool for the daily transport of cattle, this algorithm provides prospects for improving the management of the sorting centres themselves.T. Morel-JournelE. VerguJ.-B. MercierN. BareilleP. EzannoNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q T. Morel-Journel E. Vergu J.-B. Mercier N. Bareille P. Ezanno Selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves
description	Abstract The transport of weaned calves from cow–calf producers to fatteners is a general concern for the young bull industry due to its documented negative impact on the welfare, health and performance of the animals. These transfers are often managed by intermediaries who transport weaned calves to sorting centres, where they are grouped into batches before being sent to fattening units. In this study, we present an algorithm to limiting these transfer distances by appropriately selecting the sorting centre through which they must go. We tested the effectiveness of this algorithm on historical data from a French beef producer organization managing 136,892 transfers using 13 sorting centres. The results show a decrease in the transfer distances compared to the historical record, especially for the calves travelling over long distances (− 76 km, i.e. 18% on average for the 33% longest transfers). Moreover, the distribution of calves between the sorting centres proposed by the algorithm reveals differences in their efficiency in minimizing transfer distances. In addition to its usefulness as a management tool for the daily transport of cattle, this algorithm provides prospects for improving the management of the sorting centres themselves.
format	article
author	T. Morel-Journel E. Vergu J.-B. Mercier N. Bareille P. Ezanno
author_facet	T. Morel-Journel E. Vergu J.-B. Mercier N. Bareille P. Ezanno
author_sort	T. Morel-Journel
title	Selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves
title_short	Selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves
title_full	Selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves
title_fullStr	Selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves
title_full_unstemmed	Selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves
title_sort	selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ec1998e3d7404012b3970d2de8d32229
work_keys_str_mv	AT tmoreljournel selectingsortingcentrestoavoidlongdistancetransportofweanedbeefcalves AT evergu selectingsortingcentrestoavoidlongdistancetransportofweanedbeefcalves AT jbmercier selectingsortingcentrestoavoidlongdistancetransportofweanedbeefcalves AT nbareille selectingsortingcentrestoavoidlongdistancetransportofweanedbeefcalves AT pezanno selectingsortingcentrestoavoidlongdistancetransportofweanedbeefcalves
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Selecting sorting centres to avoid long distance transport of weaned beef calves

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