[Defended thesis] Ellen Laclef
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[Defended thesis] Ellen Laclef

[Defended thesis] Ellen Laclef: Co-design and sustainability of innovative breeding systems using alternative methods to hormonal treatments

Ellen defended her PhD on Friday 16 December 2022 @ Amphithéâtre 2- Bâtiment 2bis (Campus de L'Institut Agro Montpellier).

Co-design and sustainability of innovative breeding systems using alternative methods to hormonal treatments in the management of the reproduction of small dairy ruminants

Hello, my name is Ellen Laclef, and I'm a PhD student at UMR SELMET at Inrae in Montpellier. After graduating from an agricultural engineering school (ENSAIA), I specialized in the sustainable development of agricultural sectors. After a research internship on innovations in rabbit breeding systems at Inrae's UMR GenPhyse in Toulouse, I developed a strong taste for research and decided to embark on the adventure of a thesis.

The management of hormone-free reproduction in small ruminant dairy farms is a lever to be mobilized to meet the challenges of agro-ecology and changing societal demands. My topic concerns the design and performance of innovative breeding systems that use alternatives to hormonal treatments for reproductive management. The innovative Alpha-D® automated heat detection system is currently the only tool for hormone-free artificial insemination in sheep farming. The introduction of new tools such as this means changes at animal, flock and farm level for the farms that use them.

The aim of my work is to address the issue of introducing technological innovation into sheep breeding management by developing an agent-based simulation tool. The 2 main research questions are :

- How do farmers integrate new reproductive management systems into their systems and make them consistent?
- What are the impacts of this introduction on both herd performance and the sustainability of breeding systems?
The results obtained will enable us to identify the most relevant scenarios for the introduction of technological innovation in hormone-free reproductive management, and to initiate discussions with stakeholders in the sector.

  • Starting date: November 2019
  • University : MUSE Montpellier Université d’Excellence / Institut Agro
  • PhD school:  GAIA, Montpellier
  • Scientific field:  Zootechnics, modeling
  • Thesis management:  Eliel Gonzalez-Garcia (Inrae, UMR Selmet)
  • Thesis supervisors: Amandine Lurette (Inrae, UMR Selmet), Patrick Taillandier (Inrae, UMR MIAT), et Nathalie Debus (Inrae, UMR Selmet)
  • Funding: #DigitAg – Inrae
  • #DigitAg : Cofunded PhD – Axes 6 & 2, Challenges 4 & 1

Keywords: Dairy ewes; Hormone-free breeding; Simulation; Innovative breeding; Multi-agent model

Abstract: The management of hormone-free reproduction in small dairy ruminant farming is a lever to be mobilized to respond to the challenges of agro-ecology and the evolution of societal demands. The Alpha-D® automated heat detector system remains to this day the only operational tool in sheep farms that allows artificial insemination without the use of hormonal synchronization. The introduction of such new tools implies change processes for the farms concerned. These changes may include biotechnical processes, at the herd level and/or surface management level. The objective of this thesis is double. On the one hand, it is a question of characterizing the processes by which conventional and organic farmers integrate the Alpha-D® device into their system and the implementation methods, taking into account changes in associated practices. On the other hand, the work aims to assess the sustainability of a diversity of systems (conventional and organic) that no longer use hormone treatments in their reproductive management. The comparison the simulation results with the actors will make it possible to validate the most appropriate scenarios for implementing hormone-free reproduction according to the sectors and breeding systems tested within the Rayon of Roquefort area.

Jury compound: 

Gerardo CAJA LÓPEZ, Professeur, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona Rapporteur
Nicolas FRIGGENS, Directeur de Recherche, INRAE-UMR MoSAR Rapporteur
Claire AUBRON, Professeure, L’Institut Agro Montpellier-UMR SELMET Examinatrice
Olivier THEROND, Ingénieur de Recherche, INRAE- LAE Colmar Examinateur
Eliel GONZÁLEZ-GARCÍA, Directeur de recherche, INRAE-UMR SELMET Directeur de thèse
Amandine Lurette, Chargée de Recherche , INRAE-UMR SELMET Encadrante de thèse

 

See also

Upload the thesis manuscript

Papers
Publications in high-impact journals

Laclef, E., Debus, N., Taillandier, P., González-García, E., Lurette, A. 2022. Modelling the long-term consequences of implementing hormone-free reproductive management on the sustainability of a dairy sheep farm. (Computers and Electronics in Agriculture; en revision; http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4237482 ).

Laclef, E., González-García, E., Taillandier, P., Hassoun, P., Parisot, S., Allain, C., Portes, D., Debus, N., Lurette, A. 2022. Alternative hormone free reproduction management of a dairy sheep flock disrupts the farm’s annual feeding system calendar and its associated strategies. Journal of Dairy Science ; accepté en novembre 2022, en cours de publication.

Debus, N., Laclef, E., Lurette, A., Alhamada, M., Tesniere, A., González-García, E., Menassol, J.B., Bocquier, F. 2022. High body condition score combined with a reduced lambing to ram introduction interval improves the short-term ovarian response of milking Lacaune ewes to the male effect. Animal 16 (5). ⟨10.1016/j.animal.2022.100519⟩. ⟨hal-03651997⟩.

Laclef, E., Debus, N., Taillandier, P., González-García, E., Lurette, A. 2021. REPROsheep: A model that integrates individual variability to optimise hormone-free reproduction management strategies for a dairy sheep flock. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 189. ⟨10.1016/j.compag.2021.106412⟩. ⟨hal-03328256⟩

Papers presented at peer-reviewed conferences

Laclef, E., Debus, N., Taillandier, P., Hassoun, P., Parisot, González-García, E., Lurette, A. Simulation de l’impact de la pratique de l’insémination sans hormones sur les performances et l’alimentation d’un troupeau ovin laitier. 26èmes Rencontres autour des Recherches sur les Ruminants, 7-8 décembre 2022, Paris, France.

Laclef, E., Debus, N., Taillandier, P., Hassoun, P., Parisot, González-García, E., Lurette, A. Introducing hormone-free insemination in dairy sheep farms challenges their feeding system design Presented at the EAAP, 73th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science, September 2022, Porto, Portugal ⟨hal-03775185⟩.

Laclef, E., Debus, N., González-García, E., Taillandier, P., Lurette, A. A multi-agent simulation model to study the impact of transitioning to hormone-free reproduction management on the performance and management of a French dairy sheep flock.  June 2022, GAMA Days.

Laclef, E., Debus, N., Taillandier, P., González-García, E., Lurette, A. Exploring the impact of within flock variability on hormone-free dairy sheep farm performances. 72nd Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science, August 2021, Davos, Switzerland ⟨hal-03376302⟩.

Debus, N., Laclef, E., Lurette, A., Alhamada, M., Tesniere, A., González-García, E., Menassol, J.B., Bocquier, F. Factors influencing the short term ovarian response of milking Lacaune ewes to the male effect. Presented at the EAAP, 72th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science, August 2021, Davos, Switzerland ⟨hal-03376369⟩.

Laclef, E., Debus, N., Taillandier, P., González-García, E., Lurette, A. An agent-based model to simulate the impact of ewes’ response variability to the male effect on a dairy sheep flock’s performance. June 2021, GAMA Days.

Menassol J.B., Kriszt T., Lurette A., González-García E., Laclef, E., Besche G., Guyonneau J-D., Montier D., Bouquet P-M., Bonnafé G., Douls S., Durand C., Parisot S., Debus N. 2020. Du capteur à l’utilisateur : accompagner le développement d’un élevage de précision par l’intégration d’outils numériques en systèmes d’élevage à composante pastorale. 25èmes Rencontres autour des Recherches sur les Ruminants, 2-3 décembre 2020, Paris, France.

Communication for the general public/Events for the general public

Présentation au du colloque INRAE sur « le Numérique en Agriculture » lors du salon de l’Agriculture 2022 (Paris, France)

Modification date: 16 May 2024 | Publication date: 19 August 2022 | By: ZM