Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen that causes infectious diseases in animals and foodborne infection in humans. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse L. monocytogenes caused abortions in cattle in Latvia in 2013, and to describe the potential reasons of these abortions. In total, 186 cattle abortion cases were investigated. The pathological material from aborted foetuses included samples of brain, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys and lung, liquid of stomach and liquid from thoracic and abdominal cavities. These samples were tested with bacteriological methods according to ISO 11290-1:2007. L. monocytogenes was found in 44 (23.7%) cases of cattle abortions. Positive cases were more distributed in the central and the south-eastern parts of Latvia, because in this territory winters tend to be wetter and colder than in other parts of Latvia. Seasonality was observed of L. monocytogenes caused abortions and the majority of cases occurred during spring and autumn, when the cattle were fed with silage. All abortion cases were observed in the second and the third trimester of the gestation. L. monocytogenes caused abortions occurred in cattle of different ages, but significantly (p is less than 0.05) more often – in 3 years old cattle.

This article summarizes data of determining a therapeutic dose of a new immunocorrecting drug, dermatocytoglobulin, developed by the authors of this study. It has been established that this drug has a therapeutic immunocorrecting effect on allergic dermatitis. Subjects of the study cattle, horses, of Raimbek – Commercial Diary Farm, 56 dogs and 35 cats admitted to a veterinary clinic. It has been established that administration of dermatocytoglobulin in trial groups reduces autoantibody titers until their elimination on the 12th day, dose of 0.2 cm3 per 10 kg while autoantibody titers in control groups were identified on the 30th day.

Smallholders with dual-purpose cattle production systems in most Central America experience a shortage of forages during the dry season (4-8 month. As a result, substantially lower milk production and weight gain occurs. Dual-purpose operations seeking to maximize milk and beef production in the dry season can produce and feed hay or silage to their livestock. The increase in milk and beef production due to feeding hay or silage during the dry season on commercial dual-purpose cattle productions systems, the production costs of making silage or hay and the benefits as a result of feeding silage or hay are estimated and compared in Honduras and Costa Rica. Due to feeding silage or hay, farmers in Honduras and Costa Rica have increased milk production during the dry season. The costs of feeding hay are lower in both countries, although farmers feed a higher amount (kg DM/cow/day) than silage. Feeding silage or hay to milking cows is profitable in both countries. The income-cost ratio and the net benefit ($/cow/day) due to feeding these feedstuffs are positive. Farmers with milking cows in Honduras realise a higher income-cost ratio and net benefit due to feeding silage and hay than farmers in Costa Rica. Likewise, beef cows or young livestock supplemented with these feeding alternatives don't loose weight during the dry season. In Honduras as well in Costa Rica, it is profitable to feed silage or hay to beef cows or young livestock. Currently, no silage and a small hay market exist in Honduras. Possibly, these will develop due to an increasing demand for these profitable feedstuffs. In Costa Rica thanks to the efforts of agricultural organisations, a hay market of different qualities is developing.

Quality of information about cost structure of farm is of high importance when making management and production process improvement decisions. Aggregating and analyzing production process cost information by correct and unified methodology provides possibility of evaluating the structure of expenditures. Moreover, it is possible to identify most important cost positions and get perspective on production process. By collecting and processing data using unified methodology it is possible to conduct comparing evaluation between different farms. This is done to identify the most and less efficient farms, their work methods and cost structure. When developing unified methodology, it is essential to take into account that different farms might use different production systems and structure. When creating revenue and expense calculations, it is essential to receive accurate data. Good quality data is fundamental for receiving good quality and usable results. Precise data accounting is another important factor that ensures good quality of cost calculation. Precise accounting decreases number of cost allocation coefficients used for allocation of cost positions and thus decreasing effect of assumptions on unit production cost calculation. Fixed cost allocation by its nature to divide all costs by farm specializations is the most challenging when calculating unit production cost. In order for calculations to be of good quality, precise data on use of assets, specifics and intensity of farming is necessary. By identifying these indicators it is possible to create maximally precise calculation of unit production cost of beef.

However, the last case of tuberculosis to cattle was registered in Estonia in 1986, rapid and accurate diagnosting of the disease is still an actual veterinary problem. On farms, tuberculin testing has been regularly carried out showing that tuberculin positive cattle constitute 5,47% from all the herd. During 1997-2001, 23 clinical samples were isolated from the tuberculin positive cattle. Each sample was analysed with conventional morphological and bacteriological methods and by PCR. None of eleven mycobacterial cultures, isolated from the lymph modes of cattle, belonged to M. tuberculosis complex. There were seven cultures identified as M. avium and one as M. avium complex (MAC). The research confirmed that M. avium is the most frequently isolated bacteria causing NTM-Mycobacterioses in cattle in Estonia (63,6%). Two cultures of MAC were isolated from the milk of tuberculin-positive cows, verifying that milk can be a potential source of MAC transmission to man.