ANIMAL PRODUCTION
cod. 1004002

Academic year 2022/23
3° year of course - First semester
Professors
Academic discipline
Zootecnica speciale (AGR/19)
Field
Attività formative affini o integrative
Type of training activity
Related/supplementary
42 hours
of face-to-face activities
6 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in ITALIAN

Integrated course unit module: ANIMAL AND CROP PRODUCTION

Learning objectives

D1 – Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student will be able to Know and understand:
1. The essential elements of the techniques of production of the major food products of animal origin, which are the raw material for the gastronomic production
2. The breeding systems of farm animals
3. The main factors that influence the quality of the final product.

D2 – applying knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Apply acquired knowledge about livestock and animal products in the various working contexts related to the world of gastronomy.

D3 – Making judgements
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Assess the quality of products of animal origin.

D4 – Communication skills
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Express clearly and with appropriate terminology during description of concepts concerning animal products and their derivatives.

D5 – Learning skills
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Learn the concepts of producing animal products;
2. Understand the impact of breeding systems on the quality of animal products.

Prerequisites

no

Course unit content

Definition of PDO, PGI and "Traditional Products ". Introduction to Organic Farming. MILK : Dairy cow breeding and main characteristics of the dairy cow, main dairy cattle breeds, milk composition, genetic and feeding factors and quality of milk for cheesemaking, changes in mastitis milk. Buffalo, sheep and goat milk: general characteristics of these breedings, milk composition and of chemical, physical and dairy-technological requirements of their milk both for cheese-making and direct use. MEAT AND EGGS: Beef and main characteristics of beef-cow breeding, the major beef cattle breeds, beef cattle categories, characteristics of carcasses and meats and main factors that influence them, typical Italian beef productions. Pork Meat: Pork and main characteristics of pig breeding, main pig breeds reared in Italy, pork carcass characteristics and main factors that influence them. Pig productions typical of the province of Parma. General characteristics of poultry and rabbit breeding in Italy, poultry and rabbit meat production, egg production, organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of the eggs. General information on the production of sheep and goat, horses and wild ungulates meat. HONEY: General characteristics on beekeeping and honey production.

Full programme

1 - Introduction: Description of the structure of the course. Principal characteristics of animal productions. Definition of PDO, PGI and "Traditional Products ". Introduction to Organic Farming.
A - MILK:
2 - Cow Milk: General characteristics of dairy cattle in Italy and its characteristics compared to other EU countries and the rest of the world. Major dairy cattle breeds. Composition of milk. Chemical, physical and dairy-technological requirements of milk for grana cheesemaking. Genetic factors and quality of milk. Polymorphism of milk proteins and their technological significance. Feeding factors and quality of milk. Physico-chemical and dairy-technological changes in mastitis milk.
3 - Buffalo Milk: General characteristics of buffalo breeding in Italy. Physico-chemical and dairy-technological requirements of buffalo milk for cheesemaking.
4 - Sheep and Goat Milk: General characteristics of sheep and goat breeding in Italy. Main sheep and goat breeds reared in Italy. Composition of sheep and goat milk. Physico-chemical and dairy-technological requirements of sheep and goat milk for cheesemaking and for direct use.
B - MEAT AND EGGS
5 - Beef: General characteristics of cattle meat in Italy and its characteristics compared to other EU countries and the rest of the world. Major beef cattle breeds. Beef cattle categories, characteristics of carcasses and meats and main factors (genetic and environmental) that influence them. Major cuts of meat. Chemical, physical, biological and organoleptic characteristics of the meat. The typical Italian beef productions.
6 - Pork Meat: General characteristics of pig breeding in Italy and its characteristics compared to other EU countries and the rest of the world. Main pig breeds reared in Italy. Carcass characteristics and pork and main factors (genetic and environmental) that influence them. Main processes of transformation of pork meat. Chemical, physical, biological and organoleptic characteristics of the processed products. The typical pig productions.
7 - General characteristics of poultry and rabbit breeding in Italy. Poultry and rabbit meat production. Egg production. Organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of the eggs.
8 - General information on the production of sheep and goat, horses and wild ungulates meat.
C – HONEY
9 - General characteristics on beekeeping and honey production.

Bibliography

Bittante G., Andrighetto I., Ramanzin M. “Tecniche di produzione animale” Liviana Editrice, Padova
Slides shown at lesson
Students can find the pdf files of lessons on the Elly platform.

Teaching methods

During the lectures in the classroom, with the use of audio-visual facilities, the characteristics of livestock farm animals and the characteristics of their productions will be presented.

Assessment methods and criteria

The assessment of expected learning results described in D1 and parts of those described in D2, D3, D4 and D5, is carried out by a written and an oral examination. The written examination will focus on a series of questions which will be previously provided to students. Through questions regarding the course content will be determined whether the student has achieved the goal of knowledge and understanding. The student must demonstrate that they have mastered the knowledge about the trademarks of typicality and on organic farming, breeding of dairy and beef cattle, on the physico-chemical and dairy-technological properties of milk, on sheep and goat and buffalo productions, on the production of pork, poultry and rabbit, horses and wild ungulates meat, on the production of eggs and honey. By means of the questions in the oral examination will be determined whether the student has achieved the goal of linking the arguments and to find solutions to problems, and if it proves to have good reasoning skills and independent judgment. It will be also assessed the appropriate specific language.
The exam will take place through a first written exam that will cover 10 open questions taken randomly from a list of questions previously provided to the students.
The answers should be concise.
Each question answered correctly will give 3 points, while each question that is answered incompletely or incorrectly from 1 to 2 points, depending on the degree of correctness and/or completeness.
Any missing or totally incorrect answer will be awarded 0 points.
Be careful that in case you did not answer 3 or more questions, the exam is considered to be not passed.
After the correction of the written exam, the student who passed it with a vote of at least 18 or above will support an oral discussion that will focus primarily on the questions of his written exam, and will be also asked cross-questions or questions on solving problems inherent in themes of the program, in order to verify the acquired skills. The oral discussion will be evaluated with the attribution of no more than 5 points, to be added to the vote of the script.
For students with DSA, appropriate compensatory and dispensatory measures will be implemented.

Other information

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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

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