Materials and Methods REFUGIA project working paper

The organic farming structure has been analysed for all farms in Denmark 2005-2010. In 2005, the average farm size for organic farms was 50 ha, compared to 40 ha for conventional farms. For organic farms the largest average farm size in on sandy soils and for cattle farms, whereas the for conventional farms, the largest farms are on loamy soils, and cash crop, and pig farms. The farms has been classified into farm types accoring to the EUROSTAT methods. Hobby farms are defined with a number of standard working hours under 1871 timer/år (typically under 10-25 ha). These farms normally are not included in national statistics, but are important to include in the REFUGIA studies, because these farms are important for biodiversity and have a relatively higher number among organic farms. The other farm types are full time farms. If more than 2/3 of the standard gross margin comes from catlle it is a cattle farm, and the same for cash crops. The rest is pig farms and other types of farms (for example poultry and fur animals). Standard rotations are defined for each of these farm types

Financial Performance of Organic Cattle Farming

FFI/ha on organic cattle rearing farms was 56% higher than on conventional farms due entirely to lower costs of production (€240/ha v €640/ha). However the organic farms were selected as monitor farms and therefore represent the better producers whilst the conventional farms were selected at random. Output and direct payments per ha were higher on conventional farms but not sufficient to cover the additional costs. Organic farms were 24% larger than conventional farms. Organic drystock cattle producers had a more viable socio-economic profile, whilst technical performance was higher on the conventional farms. Organic dairy farms had 7% higher farm income over conventional dairy farmers in 2007. However, these data are based on a small sample and should therefore be interpreted with caution

Small Farm Quarterly - Spring 2007

Small Farm Quarterly is for farmers and farm families — including spouses and children - who value the quality of life that smaller farms provide.CONTENTS: SMALL FARM PROGRAM UPDATE: Cornell Small Farms Program Update, Page 3; COWS AND CROPS: Forage Focus Cuts Feed-Cost Risks, Page 8; Farmer-to-Farmer, Page 19; FOREST AND WOODLOT: Marketing Biodiversity in the Sugarbush, Page 17; GRAZING: Graze or Die, Page 15; MANAGING RISK: Make New Ventures Less Risky-Part 1, Page 4; STEWARDSHIP & NATURE: Global Warming: It’s happening. How will it affect your farm?, Page 3; Agricultural Environmental Management, Page 23; MARKETING: Grow Your Farm With Agritourism, Page 5; High Touch, High Tech, Page 7; Not Ready to Build Your Own Website?, Page 10; NEW FARMERS: Big Bucks from Small Spaces: Half Pint Farm, Page 11; Making It in Farming, Page 19; NON-DAIRY LIVESTOCK: Natural Hogs: To Certify or not to Certify?, Page 16; FARM FOLLIES: A Tale of Two Forks, Page 18; BUSINESS MANAGEMENT: When Disaster Strikes, Page 14; COMMUNITY/WORLD: Vermont Agritourism Sampler, Page 6; Farming the Internet, Page 18; READERS WRITE: Page 7 RESOURCE SPOTLIGHTS: Getting Started With Agritourism, Page 5; Small Farm Expo 2007, Page 10; FSA Emergency Loan Funds, Page 14; “Outdoorpig” - A New email discussion group for pig producers, Page 16; Woodland Biodiversity Resources, Page 17; NCAT Opens New ATTRA Office for Northeast, Page 22; YOUTH PAGES: Respect: The Most Important Factor in Horse Management, Page 20; Some Friends, Some Horses, and a Lot of Mud, Page 21; My Life as a Horseless Horse Lover, Page 21; FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A Model for Sustainable Farming, Page 9Cornell Small Farms Program, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, PRO-DAIRY/CCE-NWNY, NY Farm Viability Institute, NYS 4-H Team Program, Watershed Agricultural Counci

Small Farm Quarterly - Fall 2007

Small Farm Quarterly is for farmers and farm families — including spouses and children - who value the quality of life that smaller farms provide.CONTENTS: SMALL FARM PROGRAM UPDATE: Cornell Small Farms Program Update, Page 3; COWS AND CROPS: Planning A Farmstead Cheese Operation, by Fay Benson, Page 19; FOREST AND WOODLOT: “How ‘Bout Those Trees?” By Jerry Michael, Page 6; GRAZING: Electric Netting For Sheep, by Ulf Kintzel, Page 10; Helping Your Animal Cope With Disease, by Bill Henning, Page 18; STEWARDSHIP & NATURE: The Bees, by David Kline, Page 15; Covered Bedded Pack Project Wins National Award, Page 20; Agricultural Environmental Management - Safeguarding Your Family’s Drinking Water, by Barbara Silvestri, Page 23; MARKETING: Adding Value To Your Farm, by Bernadette Logozar, Page 7; What’s A Cookie? By Marty Broccoli & Juanita Finn, Page 16; Bootstrap Marketing, by Bernadette Logozar, Page 21; NEW FARMERS: Understanding the Legal Nuts and Bolts of Farming, by Laura Biasillo, Page 8; DoveTales Farm, by Roger C. Thomas, Page 17; NON-DAIRY LIVESTOCK: Acupuncture: A Staple in the Stable? by Martha Herbert Izzi, Page 9; Shea Farm of Long Eddy, by Janet Aldrich, Page 22; WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE: Women in Agroforestry, by Susan Neal, Page 11; HOME AND FAMILY: Raising Rural Kids to Like the Outdoors, by Celeste Carmichael...........Page 14 HORTICULTURE: Schoharie Valley Farms and “Carrot Barn”, by Elizabeth Lamb, Page 4; COMMUNITY & WORLD: As Small Farms Go, So Goest the Community By Gerald Monnat, Page 3; Agri-What? By Bill Henning, Page 5; RESOURCE SPOTLIGHTS: “Animal Welfare Approved” Seal of Approval Program, Page 5; Resource Guide to Direct Marketing Livestock & Poultry, Page 7; New York’s New Beginning Farmer Loan Program, Page 8; Northeast Grasstravaganza 2008, Page 10; Agroforestry Resources, Page 11; From Restaurant to Retail, Page 16; FSA’s Beginning Farmer Down Payment Program, Page 17; Fundamentals of Beef Management, Page 18; Farmstead Cheese Resources, Page 19; Alternative Swine Production Health Reference, Page 20; YOUTH PAGES: Oh the Places You’ll Go, Page 12; Steer-ed Right, Page 13; County Fairs: Hard Work and Helping Others, Page 13Cornell Small Farms Program, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, PRO-DAIRY/CCE-NWNY, NY Farm Viability Institute, NY Agricultural Environmental Management, Watershed Agricultural Counci

Small Farm Quarterly - Spring 2013

Small Farm Quarterly is for farmers and farm families — including spouses and children - who value the quality of life that smaller farms provide.CONTENTS: SMALL FARM PROGRAM UPDATE -Cornell Small Farms Program Update, Page 3; BOOK NOOK -Luscious Guide to Growing Fruit Naturally, by Jill Swenson, Page 15; COMMUNITY AND WORLD -Rhubarb or Bust: Farming Notes from Interior Alaska, by Ruby Peck-Hollembaek, Page 19; Food Recovery Q&A, by Laurie “Duck” Caldwell, Page 6; Reconnecting Refugee Farmers to Their Agricultural Roots, by Laura McCandlish, Page 8; FARM ENERGY -Is Wind Energy Right for Your Farm, by Mark Mayhew, Page 13; FOREST AND WOODLOT -Regenerating Your Next Forest: Keys to Success, by Paul Curtis, Gary Goff, and Jason Boulanger, Page 18; GRAZING -The Value of Increasing Pasture Numbers, by Bill Verbeten, Page 4; HORTICULTURE -Uncommon Fruits with Commercial Potential, by Lee Reich, Page 9; Cut Flowers for Beauty and Business, by John Suscovich, Page 10; LIVESTOCK & POULTRY -The Chute, by Ulf Kintzel, Page 12; LOCAL FOODS & MARKETING -Using Software to Help Build and Support Local Food Markets, by Kim Mills, Sue Rau, Jason Evans, and Jim Ochterski, Page 14; GrowYour CSA Online, by Dan Livingston, Page 11; NEW FARMERS -The Education of a Beginning Goat Farmer, by Stephanie Fisher, Page 16; The Dance of Farming, by June Bartos, Page 3; PHOTO FEATURE -Peas: the Taste of Spring, Page 10; POLICY CORNER -New Proposed Food Safety Laws, by Jason Foscolo, Esq, Page 7; RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT -New Videos Teach Sheep Shearing, by Tianna Dupont, Page 7; The New York State Nut Tree Trail, by John Wertis, Page 5; SEED STORIES -From Seed to Shining Seed, by Petra Page-Mann, Page 17; STEWARDSHIP & NATURE -Conservation Sucess on Full Moon Farm, by Andrea Brendalen and John M.Thursgood, Page 20Cornell Small Farms Program, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, USDA NRCS, NYS 4-H Team Progra

Organic farming at the farm level - Scenarioes for the future development

The purpose of this report is to present possible impacts of new technology and changes in legislation on the profitability of different types of organic farms. The aim is also to look at both the current and future trends in the organic area in Denmark. Besides the economic aspects, the report also shows the nutrient surplus for selected organic farms. Analyses carried out at the Food and Resource Economic Institute (FOI) have previ-ously shown that price premiums of up to 50% on pig meat and 20% on arable farm products is needed to make the organic production profitable. The price premium on cereals and dairy products have in the 1990’ties been higher than required, but in re-cent years the price premium has dropped, leading to low profitability, especially on arable farms. The organic farms in Denmark consist mainly of two types of farms, full time dairy farms and part time arable farms. The dairy farms constitute 25% of the farms, 50% of the area and they have 80% of the livestock units. The part-time arable farms con-stitute 60% of the farms, 28% of the organic area and they have 5% of the livestock units. Previous predictions made by FOI regarding more part-time farms converting to organic farming have been fulfilled, whereas the conversion to organic pig production has been much lower than expected. Both dairy and arable farms are facing new threats as the organic milk production is still much higher than the consumption, and as the profitability on small arable farms is low. The aim of the project is, therefore, to look at the impact of new technology on the profitability of organic farming. As organic farming in Denmark has experienced leg-islative changes leading to lower use of imported feedstuffs, it was also an aim to look at the impact of legislative changes, allowing only 100% organic feed, straw and ma-nure. To analyse this eight case farms were selected as typical organic farms. They con-sisted of 3 dairy farms, 4 arable farms and 1 pig farm. The area and the production on these case farms were based on interviews with local consultants, but they are not ac-tual farms found in Denmark. The intension was to present the typical future organic farm in terms of size, area and crop rotation. The yields and the machinery on these farms were determined in close co-operation with researchers at Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences (Bygholm). The analyses regarding the profit shows on case farms a profit on the dairy and pig farms and a negative result on the arable case farms. This is comparable with net prof-its found nationally on organic farms in 2002. The capital invested in machinery on case farms is lower than found on actual organic farms due to the optimization proce-dure used to find the right level of machinery. The analyses also show that there does not seem to be significant differences in the machinery costs between conventional and organic farms. The analysis is based on 16 organic and 14 conventional study farms, which makes costs comparable. The ma-chinery costs on the case farms are in line with machinery costs on organic study farms, where most farms have costs between 3,000 and 7,000 DKK per ha (100 DKK = 13.4 €). The impact of new technology is analysed, focusing on the technologies which are found to be available in the near future and where the first trials look promising. The technologies analysed include robotic weeding, band streaming before sowing, use of GPS when applying animal manure and automatic milking using a robot. Both weed management technologies are found to be profitable and to be recommended for fur-ther development. The purpose is to remove weeds inside the row. GPS might give some economic benefits, but will be more profitable in a scenario with restrictions on nitrogen use. More trials have to be conducted to determine whether GPS is profit-able. Automatic milking is not a technology exclusive to the organic sector. The analyses show that if the capacity is well used it might be profitable. As a whole, the technologies do not seem to have a major impact on the future development in the or-ganic sector as the focus is on relatively specialised crops which cover a small area. For the technologies which can be used more widely, the improvement in income is limited. The difference between organic production and conventional farming has diminished over recent years as conventional farmers use less pesticide and mineral fertiliser. Furthermore, the European rules for organic farming might change. The possible im-pact of changes in legislation has, therefore, been analysed. The changes include the following restrictions: • 100% organic feed (requirement from 2005 on dairy farms) • 100% organic straw (no import of conventional straw) • 100% organic manure (no import of conventional manure) 100% organic feed has already been introduced for dairy farms in Denmark, whereas for pig farms it will increase feed costs by 10-17%, but the production will still be profitable. Using 100% organic straw will increase income on arable farms a little and lower the income on livestock farms with few cereal crop areas. The 100% organic manure scenario will reduce the manure (slurry and farm yard ma-nure) used in the organic sector by approximately 20% and increase the price from 5 to approximately 10 DKK per kg N. The effect is a decrease in application of 10 kg effective N per ha. The analyses show that dairy farms will increase their export and apply less than today, whereas arable farms will only reduce their N application a lit-tle. The loss in income among the arable farms is, in the calculation, almost the same as the gains made by the dairy farms, as the yield reductions are limited. However, in the analyses, it is expected that arable farms already today pay for manure imports, which is often not the case. This implies that the costs for organic arable farms found in this analysis under estimate the actual costs. This will also make it more difficult for con-ventional farms to export their manure. Another assumption is that transportation costs are minimal. However, this legislation will imply transportation of manure from livestock intensive areas to arable areas. The total cost of this is roughly estimated at 10-13 million DKK or 700-1,000 DKK per ha for the arable farms in Zealand which receive the manure. Alternatively, the arable farms would have to either have their own livestock or farm without the use of animal manure. The conclusion is that such a legislation will reduce the income on arable farms and increase the income on dairy farms and that it would lead to a change in the regional distribution of farms as livestock and arable farms would have to be located close to each other to reduce transportation costs. For dairy and arable farms located close to each other, such legislation would not necessarily lead to much lower profit for the farms seen as a whole as the animal manure might be utilised bet-ter. Whether the prices for agricultural products could increase in case where they are 100% organic, is questionable and is, therefore, not included in the calculation. In the last chapter, the nutrient balance is estimated on the case farms in the baseline and with a 100% organic manure scenario. The nutrient balance in the baseline shows a nitrogen surplus of 47-110 kg N per ha. The most difficult input to estimate is the N-fixation, which varies with yield and application of animal manure. The case farms have a phosphorus (P) surplus of around zero. For potassium (K) some farms have a surplus others a deficit of up to 90 kg K per ha. In the 100% organic manure scenario, the lower manure application affects the sur-plus more than the slightly lower yields, leading to lower N-surplus, P deficit and lar-ger K deficit than in the baseline scenario. It should be noted that attempts in terms of applying other P and K sources have not been included. The final chapter deals with conclusions and perspectives on the future of organic farming at the farm level. For the dairy farms, there needs to be a better balance be-tween production and demand. This will probably lead to a reduction in the amount of milk which is given the price premium by 30-40%. In the case where these farms stop as organic farms they will reduce the organic area by 30,000 ha. The organic area could therefore be reduced to 130,000 ha. With the lower organic area it is not likely that the organic milk production will exceed 10% of the total Danish milk production. However, it is also likely that farms which stop organic production will continue with an environmentally friendly production not using pesticides and with a limit on the nitrogen application. Many organic farmers have, over the years, come to appreciate this type of production. So although some might change back to conventional farm-ing, they will still use less pesticides than conventional farmers and use the crop rota-tion more actively in order to reduce N-leaching. A smaller organic dairy sector will make the 100% organic manure scenario more costly as the amount of organic ma-nure is lower. The small part time arable farms will probably carry on as the main income comes from outside farming. The challenge is to make efficient large arable farms profitable and in order to do so, they will have to be very large and be efficient. The trend will probably continue away from a subsidy for organic production and to-wards a subsidy for the environmental benefits. The current subsidy level in Denmark is not likely to be increased and the price premium seems to be declining. This indi-cates that the organic as well as the conventional farms will have to be more efficient to be profitable

Descriptive and spatial epidemiology of bovine cysticercosis in North-Eastern Spain (Catalonia).

From March 2005 to December 2007, 284 animals from 67 cattle farms (24 dairy and 43 beef) affected by bovine cysticercosis were detected in the region of Catalonia (North-Eastern Spain). Dairy farms were almost twice more likely to be affected than beef farms (OR=1.79, 95% CI=1.08-2.96, p<0.05), and infected premises have a statistically significant (p<0.05) larger number of animals when compared to uninfected farms in Catalonia. The geographical distribution of the infected farms was evaluated and two statistically significant clusters were identified. The most likely cluster was located in the western part of the study region, with 8 out of 10 farms infected. Epidemiological investigations revealed that the 8 farms belonged to the same company. The secondary cluster was located in Eastern Catalonia with 12 infected farms out of 167 cattle farms. No epidemiological links were found among the 12 infected premises. A questionnaire, based on the EFSA risk assessment, was used to assess the most likely route of introduction into each affected farm. Water supply for animals was the route with the highest score in 41.8% of the cases

Organic farming and agri-environmental stewardship schemes in Devon

A postal survey was undertaken in North Devon looking at entry into England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) environmental schemes in relation to farming system and markets. The main survey was based in and around the North Devon Biosphere reserve. Significantly more farms replied who had Countryside Stewardship (CSS) agreements than from those who were not in the scheme. There was a greater likelihood of small farms joining CSS as were beef, sheep and cereal farms compared with dairy farms. A greater percent of organic farms had CSS agreements compared with the conventional farms. A smaller telephone survey in a CSS target area in South Devon was also undertaken which confirmed these results. Those farms with CSS agreements were more likely to have joined or be joining the new agri-environmental schemes

Dermanyssus gallinae in layer farms in Kosovo: a high risk for salmonella prevalence

Background The poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae (D.g.) is a serious ectoparasitic pest of poultry and potential pathogen vector. The prevalence of D. g. and the prevalence of Salmonella spp. within mites on infested laying poultry farms were investigated in Kosovo. Findings In total, 14 populated layer farms located in the Southern Kosovo were assessed for D. g. presence. Another two farms in this region were investigated 6 months after depopulation. Investigated flocks were all maintained in cages, a common housing system in Kosovo. A total of eight farms were found to be infested with D. g. (50%) at varying levels, including the two depopulated farms. The detection of Salmonella spp. from D. g. was carried out using PCR. Out of the eight layer farms infested with D. g., Salmonella spp. was present in mites on three farms (37.5%). Conclusions This study confirms the high prevalence of D. g. in layer flocks in Kosovo and demonstrates the link between this mite and the presence of Salmonella spp. on infested farms