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Diversified farms are operations that raise a variety of crops and/or multiple species of livestock, with the goal of utilising the products of one for the growth of the other, thus fostering a sustainable cycle. This type of farming reflects consumers' increasing demand for sustainably produced, naturally raised or pasture-raised animal products that are commonly produced on diversified farms. The specific objectives of this study were to characterise diversified small-scale farms (DSSF) in California, estimate the prevalence of Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter spp. in livestock and poultry, and evaluate the association between farm- and sample-level risk factors and the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. on DSSF in California using a multilevel logistic model. Most participating farms were organic and raised more than one animal species. Overall Salmonella prevalence was 1.19% (95% confidence interval (CI95) 0.6–2), and overall Campylobacter spp. prevalence was 10.8% (CI95 = 9–12.9). Significant risk factors associated with Campylobacter spp. were farm size (odds ratio (OR)10–50 acres: less than 10 acres = 6, CI95 = 2.11–29.8), ownership of swine (OR = 9.3, CI95 = 3.4–38.8) and season (ORSpring: Coastal summer = 3.5, CI95 = 1.1–10.9; ORWinter: Coastal summer = 3.23, CI95 = 1.4–7.4). As the number of DSSF continues to grow, evaluating risk factors and management practices that are unique to these operations will help identify risk mitigation strategies and develop outreach materials to improve the food safety of animal and vegetable products produced on DSSF.

Domestic cats are the natural reservoir of Bartonella henselae, B. clarridgeiae and B. koehlerae. To determine the role of wild felids in the epidemiology of Bartonella infections, blood was collected from 14 free-ranging California mountain lions (Puma concolor) and 19 bobcats (Lynx rufus). Bartonella spp. were isolated from four (29%) mountain lions and seven (37%) bobcats. These isolates were characterized using growth characteristics, biochemical reactions, molecular techniques, including PCR-RFLP of selected genes or interspacer region, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), partial sequencing of several genes, and DNA-DNA hybridization. Two isolates were identical to B. henselae genotype II. All other isolates were distinguished from B. henselae and B. koehlerae by PCR-RFLP of the gltA gene using endonucleases HhaI, TaqI and AciI, with the latter two discriminating between the mountain lion and the bobcat isolates. These two novel isolates displayed specific PFGE profiles distinct from B. henselae, B. koehlerae and B. clarridgeiae. Sequences of amplified gene fragments from the three mountain lion and six bobcat isolates were closely related to, but distinct from, B. henselae and B. koehlerae. Finally, DNA-DNA hybridization studies demonstrated that the mountain lion and bobcat strains are most closely related to B. koehlerae. We propose naming the mountain lion isolates B. koehlerae subsp. boulouisii subsp. nov. (type strain: L-42-94), and the bobcat isolates B. koehlerae subsp. bothieri subsp. nov. (type strain: L-17-96), and to emend B. koehlerae as B. koehlerae subsp.koehlerae. The mode of transmission and the zoonotic potential of these new Bartonella subspecies remain to be determined.