Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam., IR) was over-seeded to giant stargrass (Cynodon plectostachyus (K. Schum.) Pilger, GS) sward for obtaining complementary herbage production in cool-season of subtropical Okinawa, Japan. We evaluated effects of two levels of cutting height (5 and 15 cm) on the dry matter yield and nutritive values of the over-seeded GS sward. The significant effect of cutting height on dry matter yield was only observed in GS pure sward, resulting in the lower yield for the 5-cm cutting height. Pure and over-seeded IR swards provided higher yield than the GS pure sward. Although the crude protein content was not significantly different among the pure and over-seeded swards, in vitro dry matter digestibility was about 20% higher in the pure and over-seeded IR swards than the pure GS swards. In the over-seeded swards, crude protein yield and digestible dry matter yield were highest among the observed swards in 15-cm and 5-cm cutting height, respectively. The results suggested that 5-cm cut GS sward over-seeded with IR might be one of the effective management practices for obtaining the high yield with quality herbage in cool-season of subtropical Okinawa.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of heat stress on the days open（DO）from the change of environmental and reproductive performance. DO was investigated from calving records and pedigree records of Japanese Black cattle collected from improvement organization in Okinawa. In data editing, DO of 21 d or less was excluded, 22 d to 50 d was set to 50 d, and 250 d or more was set to 250 d. Records of DO with imperfect record was set to 250 d. Year of calving was from 2008 to 2012, and the parity was from first to sixth. In addition, we restricted the data to farmer records producing more than 150 calves from 1990 to 2012. After editing, the data set consisted of 33,777 records of 13,611 cows in 194 farm.

Four models were used for the analysis, including the season of calving （model 1）, the month of calving（model 2）, covariates of the temperature and humidity index（THI）at a day of calving（model 3）, and the fixed effect of THI（model 4）. Analysis of model 1 showed the highest value in summer（123.85 d）and the lowest value in autumn（119.26 d）. The difference was about 4.59 d. Analysis of model 2 showed the highest value in June（127.58 d）and the lowest value in April（115.65 d）. The difference was about 11.93 d. In analysis of model 3, THI showed a quadratic curve, the intercept was 145.02, and the slope was 0.029. In addition, the lowest value（144.86 d）was shown at THI 70 and 71. Analysis of model 4 showed that the highest value was 124.13 d from THI 56 to 60 and the lowest value was 118.83 d from THI 61 to 65. In all models, DO increased during summer heat season. Using THI as an indicator, there was an increasing trend with THI 70 as the border. As DO decreased after autumn and spring calving，these two seasons are considered to be most adaptable breeding season. In each models, the effect of heat stress was confirmed in June and at THI 70 or higher which is known to be hot season.

To study whether monitoring point and/ or season impact results of camera trap research to monitor wildlife in a livestock farm, a camera was set inside and outside the four facilities and in the woodland, respectively, through a year, and RAI（relative abundance index）was compared among nine monitoring points and four seasons. RAI of mammals largely varied among facilities. RAI of mammalian carnivores were relatively larger inside the daily cattle burn, outside the fattening cattle burn and outside the breeding cattle burn. The species composition varied largely between inside and outside of the fattening cattle burn, the breeding cattle burn and wearhouse. Wild house mice and rats and wild wood mice were photographed outside facilities. Hence, it was suspicious that wild house mice and rats go in and out facilities and that direct and/ or indirect contacts of wild house mice and rats with wild wood mice. In addition, RAI of mammals demonstrated seasonal patterns. These results suggest that to select monitoring point and/ or study season impact results of camera trap research to monitor wildlife in a livestock farm.

Dry-heat-processed sweet potato waste (D-SPW) was evaluated as a broiler feed. Sixteen 14-day old broiler chicks were divided into control and D-SPW groups and received starter diet (14 to 28 d; CP, 20%; ME, 13.0 MJ/kg) and grower-finisher diet (29 to 42 d; CP, 18%; ME, 13.0 MJ/kg). The D-SPW group fed on the starter diet containing 28.4% D-SPW and the grower-finisher diet containing 25.5% D-SPW. Except for lipids, the nutrient metabolizabilities of the D-SPW group were lower than those of the control group. There were no significant differences in growth performance between the two groups. The pH values of breast and leg muscles were higher in the D-SPW group than those in the control group at 1 and 48 h postmortem. Color values of yellowness of the muscles and abdominal fat tissues were lower in the D-SPW group than in the control group, indicating that meat yellowness was most susceptible to D-SPW. On the other hand, the effect of D-SPW on lightness and redness were limited. The lipid contents of the muscles were higher in the D-SPW group than in the control group. Therefore, a feed incorporating D-SPW is available for broilers instead of using corn.

Two non-synonymous substitutions of the bovine FYVE, RhoGEF and PH domain containing 3 (FGD3) gene in Japanese Black cattle affect carcass weight in heterozygotes (normal/mutant) and the incidence of skeletal dysplasia in mutant homozygotes. Therefore, identifying the carrier status of FGD3 gene is important to prevent economic loss due to skeletal dysplasia and help improve the carcass weight in Japanese Black cattle. In this study, we developed a genotyping system using DigiTag2 assays. We assessed two non-synonymous substitution sites of FGD3 gene using five carrier heterozygous and three normal homozygous samples to investigate the carrier status of 169 Japanese Black cattle bred in Oita Prefecture. Our results demonstrated that the genotypes could be determined using this assay, i.e., all Japanese Black cattle examined were successfully genotyped for both sites. Both substitution sites were completely linked and among the 169 animals, 127 were normal homozygotes, 41 were carrier heterozygotes, and one was a mutant homozygote. The frequency of the mutant allele was 24.9% in this population.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the body temperature fluctuations of pastured sheep between summer and winter using a small data logger. Experiments were conducted for 21 days in both summer and winter using 10 non-pregnant, mature Suffolk sheep (average parity 2.6 ± 1.3). In summer, sheep were pastured from 08:00 to 16:00 and remained in the sheepfold at other times. Sheep were fed hay cube and concentrated feed (at 16:00). In winter, sheep were pastured all day and fed Bermuda grass hay and concentrated feed twice a day (08:00 and 16:30). Body (vaginal) temperature was recorded using a data-logger attached to a modified progesterone-free body implant device for sheep every 30 minutes. In summer, body temperature increased sharply at the start of pasturing and increased slowly towards the end of pasturing and at feeding time. In winter, body temperature sharply increased at feeding time (08:00 and 16:00), then exhibited a diphasic increase at 09:00 and 17:30. Daily body temperature fluctuations were very different between the seasons, with those in summer being significantly higher. The present study revealed that the start of pasturing and feeding contributed to an increase in body temperature.