The Sustainability and Development Strategy of a Cattle Feed Bank: A Case Study

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The article is interesting for regions which deal with livestock, the relevance of the study is well substantiated, and the research methodology is simple and understandable.

But the authors need to clarify how, in subsection 3.1, attributes are normalized or excluded, the values of which were atypical for the processes under study and could affect the reliability of the calculation of the stability index.

For example, most studies use the three sigma rule for this. It is also necessary to provide maps of the location of the study area, and briefly provide economic, social and natural characteristics of the study areas.

The research results and established dependencies in subsection 3.2 must be confirmed by graphic-analytical and mathematical-statistical methods.

The correctness of the choice of weight coefficients that were used to calculate multidimensional stability values based on expert opinion should be confirmed using a mathematical and statistical apparatus.

For example, using dispersion-regression analysis or the method of principal components.

Figure 3 duplicates the data in table 2, there should be no duplications.

It is not clear what specific measures (in terms of money, areas of production of raw materials, attraction of additional investments, number of employees, etc.) the authors propose to reduce the cost of raw materials and feed products for livestock farms and, as a result, strengthen feed banks.

After completion, the article can be accepted for publication.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Studies on the establishment of food banks are very much needed nowadays, taking this research topic from the perspective of sustainable development is perfectly suited to the journal's profile.

The introduction provides a research background on aspects related to breeding, manufacturing and the requirements for establishing a food bank for cows.

In this part, it would be worth supplementing the study with the issues of local legal regulations concerning the storage and production of cattle feed.

It would be worth comparing these aspects with international standards.

Nowadays, we live in a global crisis related to shortages on the market of food for animals and humans, caused, inter alia, by climate change, which is associated with additional global regulations in this regard.

It would be worth referring to this topic in preliminary discussion. I suggest you take a look at the following studies:

Karwacka, M.; Ciurzyńska, A.; Lenart, A.; Janowicz, M. Sustainable Development in the Agri-Food Sector in Terms of the Carbon Footprint: A Review. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6463. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166463

Devant, M.; Marti, S. Strategies for Feeding Unweaned Dairy Beef Cattle to Improve Their Health. Animals 2020, 10, 1908. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101908

The methodology is described briefly and concretely, but the sequence of the procedure is not entirely precise. Some simple diagram showing the sequence of steps in the presented study would be advisable.

The results are presented very precisely. Their development is beyond doubt.

However, in the final part (chapter 3.4.)

It is more a set of recommendations than a result, maybe it would be worth moving it to the Conclusions part?

The more that this last chapter is described in a very general way.

It would be advisable to supplement the final discussion with a broader confrontation of the presented results with the available literature.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf