Treibhausgase vermindern? Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse aus der Praxis

The CoreOrganicII project "ProPIG" is introduced, theoretical background to green house gases and the method of "LCA" is given and first results within the project ProPIG are presented

‘ProPIG’ Challenges and opportunities for on farm pig researchers: How to collect sound scientific data on animal health, welfare, nutrition and environmental impact AND act as a facilitator to improve these aspects at the same time?

Challenges and opportunities of on farm research are discussed and it is concluded, that transdisciplinary on-farm research requires from all involved parties: Understanding and willingness to learn from each other Acceptance, that own field of research is only a part of the whole “on farm picture” Sound scientific methods as well as technical tools for support (e.g. tablet PCs) Move from being/expecting “experts” towards “facilitation

Effect of three husbandry systems on environmental impact of organic pigs

This study examined the environmental impact of the three common organic pig husbandry systems, indoor (n = 24), partly outdoor (n = 30), and outdoor (n = 10), in eight European countries. Global warming (GWP), acidification (AP), and eutrophication potential (EP) was assessed per 1000 kg pig live weight on 64 farrow-to-finish pig production chains (cradle to farm gate). GWP, AP, and EP varied greatly, and the most important source was feed production, followed by housing. GWP did not differ between systems (p = 0.934), but AP in indoor systems and EP in outdoor systems were higher than in partly outdoor systems (p = 0.006 and p = 0.010, respectively). The higher AP in indoor systems can mainly be explained by NH3 arising from manure spreading, while PO4-eq arising from feed consumption and emissions on pasture accounted for the higher EP in outdoor systems. Associations of farm characteristics with (reduced) environmental impacts were mainly found for AP and EP, and included: (Increasing) farm size, numbers of piglets born and weaned per litter, (bought-in) mineral feed, and high-protein by-products, the latter probably connected to beneficial effects of appropriate dietary digestible lysine levels and feed conversion ratio. Increasing carcass weights and dietary cereal proportions were associated with higher environmental impacts. Overall, variation was mostly higher within than between systems, and measures to mitigate environmental impact were identified