Worldwide, mastitis is still one of the most important diseases in the dairy sector. Being a multifactorial disease, caused by multiple pathogens, control remains a difficult issue. Mastitis not only affects the health of milk-producing animals, having consequences for the profitability of dairy farms, it also affects the animal welfare. Moreover, mastitis negatively influences the milk quality having consequences for the dairy processing industry. In other words: mastitis affects a large part of the dairy production chain. Due to ongoing scientific effort, insight in mastitis in the context of increasingly complex farming systems, is improving. This insight leads to better methods to control mastitis, either by prevention or by adequate measures (e.g. therapy) when a cow (or goat or sheep) gets mastitis. This book reflects the current knowledge from all over the world on mastitis as it was presented during the 4th IDF International Mastitis Conference, held in June 2005 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The papers of the 115 oral presentations and the 13 keynote presentations are reflecting not only the current knowledge of mastitis control but are also giving ideas for future solutions for control measures.

Fitness and adaptation are fundamental characteristics of plant and animal species, enabling them to survive in their environment and to adapt to the inevitable changes in this environment. This is true for both the genetic resources of natural ecosystems as well as those used in agricultural production. Extensive genetic variation exists between varieties/breeds in a species and amongst individuals within breeds. This variation has developed over very long periods of time. A major ongoing challenge is how to best utilize this variation to meet short-term demands whilst also conserving it for longer-term possible use. Many animal breeding programs have led to increased performance for production traits but this has often been accompanied by reduced fitness. In addition, the global use of genetic resources prompts the question whether introduced genotypes are adapted to local production systems. Understanding the genetic nature of fitness and adaptation will enable us to better manage genetic resources allowing us to make efficient and sustainable decisions for the improvement or breeding of these resources. This book had an ambitious goal in bringing together a sample of the world’s leading scientists in animal breeding and evolutionary genetics to exchange knowledge to advance our understanding of these vital issues.

This book contains new ideas on farming processes, describes new analytical methods that are applicable to a broad range of agricultural systems, and presents new technologies and solutions, which help agricultural systems to function in the modern conditions of digitalization and a changing climate. The results of scientific research presented within the framework of the conference “Fundamental and Applied Scientific Research in the Development of Agriculture in the Far East (AFE-2021)”, which took place in Ussuriysk, Russia are covering the following topics: precision livestock farming, farm management platforms, yield monitoring and estimation, IoTs in farming, water management, smart agriculture machines. These new ideas outlined in the book are future-oriented and are expected to stimulate community debate on determining future directions for advancing agricultural research worldwide. The book is focused on the study of interactions between the components of agricultural systems, between their hierarchical levels, between different types of land use systems, and between agricultural systems and the economic environment. The methods and tools for agricultural systems design, estimation and monitoring are proposed in this book. Studies presented here allow improving the environmental and economic performance of agricultural systems. This book is of particular importance for professionals, scholars, and researchers in the field of agriculture and livestock farming, as well as for the heads and top managers of agricultural enterprises, since materials described in the book will help them in making right decisions.

Animal biotechnology is a broad umbrella encompassing the polarities of fundamental and applied research including molecular modelling, molecular and quantitative genetics, gene manipulation, development of diagnostics and vaccines and manipulation of tissue or digestion metabolism by growth promoters. Although animal biotechnology in the broadest sense is not new, what is new is the level of complexity and precision involved in scientists' current ability to manipulate living organisms. This new book sets out to show that the important ideas in animal biotechnology are exciting and relevant to everyday experience. It represents an important update of the literature for research workers, lecturers, and advisers in animal science, but is also a core text for advanced undergraduate courses in animal science and biotechnology. It will be an essential acquisition for librarians in agriculture and veterinary science.

Gathering some 90 entries from the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, this book covers animal breeding and genetics for food, crop science and technology, ocean farming and sustainable aquaculture, transgenic livestock for food and more.