Laurea Magistrale a Ciclo Unico in Medicina Veterinaria

The course of farm management gives students a general overview on the wide range of production, management, housing, breeding, selection schemes of farmed animals in Italy (sheeps, goats, pigs, cattle, equids, buffalos, poultry, fish and rabbits). The main objective is to give students the basic background in in this sector and  to make them aware of the emerging areas of interest. Focus is also given to different managing systems according to the different phases of the productive cycle, thus emphasizing animal health and welfare. The role of the disease prevention, considering environmental issues, according to animal  needs and welfare, thus ensuring efficient and quality food production is also highlighted.

The course also includes a part of economic management of animal farms that provides basic knowledge for the evaluation and interpretation of a budget or financial and income statement and it gives the skills to exercise assistance on management rules that must be respected in livestock farms.

The student is able to
assess the economic sustainability
of business related to animal
breeding, production and keeping

The learning outcomes during the theoretical and practical part of the course will enable students to develop their own critical analysis and objective of the structural parameters, managerial, productive, reproductive and animal welfare indicators in the various kinds of farming, they are, therefore, able to compare the main animal farming techniques used in Italy. They will finally be able to learn the importance of the figure of the veterinarian and his role in a public health context.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

The student must know the main farming typologies, he must also acquire the ability to recognize the problems interpreting the structural, health, environmental, reproductive and productive indicators, with the aim of preventing possible pathologies related to sub - optimal farming conditions.  The student should also understand what are the main economic  indicators  that guarantee to the farmer an economically sustainable farm management.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

Students will develop skills during practical training of animal handling. These skills will be useful for a basic understanding for a first approach to pets and farmed animal, moreover the scientific knowledge acquired  during the course will allow them to focus their attention on critical points of animal farms, thus letting them to suggest basic solutions.

MAKING JUDGEMENTS

The learning outcomes during the theoretical and practical part of the course will enable students to develop the ability to judge properly the main characteristics of an animal farm, thus using the acquired  knowledge to express their own critical opinion about analyzed situations.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Students are not required to acquire a mnemonic or notional study of subject , but rather an ability  of critical analysis of any basic question related with animal farming. This ability will consequently allow them to communicate with appropriate language with the farmers of the different animal species on issues inherent animal breeding, farm management and animal welfare.

Transversal and basic competences (Practical trainings):

As part of the practical trainings, students will be able to acquire the following skills, that will be certified on the portfolio, at the end of the activity:

The students is able to outline a checklist to analyze critical points in a farm (all production animals)

The student gets familiar with commercial feeds and feed label information that are
commonly used in feeding  animals according to their physiological state.

The student is able to assess the economic sustainability of business related to animal
breeding, production and keeping .

The student correctly investigates reproductive performance in a pig herd, bovine herd, rabbit does, broilers, laying hens.

The student correctly evaluates the Body Condition Score (BCS) in ruminants, swine, rabbits and horses. The student correctly measures thickness of dorsal fat layer in swine. The student recognizes the nutritional status of the horse

The student correctly evaluates whether housing conditions meet the ethological
needs of the cow, the pigs, the rabbit,  the broilers, the laying hens and horses.

The student correctly assesses rabbit,broiler, laying hens, horses, cow welfare.

The student recognizes main species of farmed fish.

The student correctly assesses environmental parameters in fish farm.

The student correctly assesses if farming environmental parameters are optimal for each species of farmed fishes and in different parts of fish farm (growth out tanks and hatchery)

The student shows confidence and safely approaches to a horse.

The student performs appropriately the inspection from distance, collects the information,
and performs the physical examination with method in a horse.

The student correctly identifies all relevant musculoskeletal anatomical structures in equine foot.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND MANAGEMENT

-Basic principles of animal production and management for intensive and extensive livestock production systems.

Farm animal welfare.

-Organic farming.

-Evaluation of reproductive and productive efficiency of farm livestock.

-Husbandry system of cattle, sheep, goat, swine, horse, and buffalo. During the practical training will be performed on animal handling, different methods of breeding and management, evaluation of the body condition  and the signalment with the interpretation of the passport

-Milk production, milking procedures, hygiene and udder health.

-Milk quality and factors affecting milk composition.

-Meat production, quality, and factors affecting meat quality, carcass evaluation and characteristics in cattle and pigs, carcasses classification and traits.

-Principles of bioclimatology (environmental parameters and their impact on the animal performances).

POULTRY SCIENCE

-Poultry and rabbit welfare related to farming and products quality;

-Main characteristics and rules of poultry farming for meat and egg production in Italy. 

AQUACULTURE:

-The state of aquaculture in Italy and in Europe.

-Environmental impact of aquaculture in the natural ecosystems.

-The indirect environmental impact of aquaculture.

-The general biology and husbandry of rainbow trout, sea bass, and sea bream. Trout farming in Itay.

-Carp farming, principal technologies.

-European sea bass and gilthead sea bream production, principal technologies.

-New species for modern aquaculture in Europe.

-Integrated aquaculture. 

FARM MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION: 

Analysis of the Italian production system with particular reference to zootechnical companies.

Livestock enterprise forms (individuals, companies, cooperatives, etc.).

Preparation of income statement and budget of an agricultural enterprise.

Prediction of gross marketable production in function of agricultural land available.

The greater number of lectures are given to the student without groups partition. These lectures can be possibly supported by industry experts in case of subjects that need particular experience in a  practical field. Practical trainings are organized in student groups at private farms in the area of Piemonte or in the experimental station of Veterinary sciences department.

 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND MANAGEMENT: 31 hours of lectures, eventually supported by industry experts; 10 hours group exercises in the classroom (Audio Visual Sessions); 49 hours of practical training in groups at farms. d

POULTRY SCIENCE AND AQUACULTURE: 32 hours of lectures and 13 hours for visiting typical farms in the sector.

FARM MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION:  20 hours of lectures, possibly supported by industry experts; 7 hours collective classroom exercises.

The assessment consists in a practical and oral and a written test. The practical test concerns the activities undertaken during the practical training. The written test includes, considering the three modules, relative questions, both MCQ, true/false and/or open questions. A right answer corresponds to one point;  minus one point in case of wrong answer.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND MANAGEMENT: The written text will include 20 questions about basic farming animal techniques (multiple choice questions and  open questions)

POULTRY SCIENCE AND AQUACULTURE: In 2020- 21 the test will be oral, however an intermediate written test will be organized, that will be valid unti the end of 2021. Considering the difficulties due to Covid19 pandemy, it will be also possible to utilize other modalities of evaluation in order to compensate partial or total negative scores obtained during the intermediate test or to compensate any other difficulty related to the sanitary emergency. 

FARM MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION:  7 multiple choice questions and 2 open questions with a discussion of business cases.

Each of the three written parts of the programme have to be passed with a minimum sufficient score.

The final note will be the weighted average of the practical and written tests.

Students have also the possibility to attend ongoing evaluation as follows:

- ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND MANAGEMENT: there will be a written ongoing evaluation containing 11 questions, open and multiple choice. The evaluation programm will cover the first part until the special part (description of the different animals husbandry). The students who pass this part, in the final test will be required to pass a written with only nine questions. Otherwise, students who have not take the ongoing evaluation, or who have not reached a sufficient score, will receive a 20 questions written test. The minimum score to pass this test  is 12 correct answers

POULTRY SCIENCE AND AQUACULTURE: there will be one written ongoing evaluation, (15 questions, 10 for poultry  and 5 for freshwater acquacolture), multiple choice test. In case of positive result, that evaluation is considered valid and integrated with a final test of 15 questions (10 cunicolture and 5 for marine acquacolture).

The complete exam wil be composed by a total of 30 questions.

In case of scores slightly insufficient, these evaluations can be eventually integrated with a short oral test during the date of the final test.

FARM MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION:  there is an ongoing evaluation containing 7 multiple choice questions and 2 open questions with a discussion of business cases about all the program

POULTRY SCIENCE AND AQUACULTURE:

• Slides of the course;
• Avicoltura e coniglicoltura, Cerolini S., Marzoni Fecia di Cossato M., Romboli I., Schiavone A., Zaniboni L Point Veterinaire Italie (Ed.) , Milano 2008 pp 554.
• Acquacoltura responsabile. Cataudella S. Bronzi. P. 2001. Eds. Unimar-Uniprom
• Tecniche di allevamento e trasformazione della trota. 2007. Giovanni Baruchelli. Istituto Agrario di San Michele all'Adige, 590 p.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND MANAGEMENT:

Slides of the course

• Dispensa del corso di zootecnia speciale. M. Tarantola

The recommended texts are specific for the species covered in the course, except the last three that give an overview of animal husbandry:

• Zootecnica applicata BOVINI E BUFALI (2000). Dialma Balasini CALDERINI EDAGRICOLE
• Zootecnica applicata EQUINI (2000). Dialma Balasini CALDERINI EDAGRICOLE
• Zootecnica applicata SUINI (2001). Dialma Balasini CALDERINI EDAGRICOLE
• Zootecnica applicata OVICAPRINI (2001). Dialma Balasini CALDERINI EDAGRICOLE
• Manuale di allevamento suino, (2001) Bertacchini F., Campani I. Edagricole
• Zootecnica speciale (1998). Dialma Balasini CALDERINI EDAGRICOLE
• Zootecnia Speciale, (1996) Falaschini A., EDAGRICOLE
• Tecniche di Produzione Animale (1993) Bittante G. et al., Liviana Ed., Torino.

FARM MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION:

Slides of the course