Acquisition and transfer of knowledge within the organic sector in Iceland

Organic agriculture is developing at a slower rate in Iceland than in the other Nordic countries, partly due to lack of research and development work. While the supply of organics does not meet demand, and the market is growing, this sector within Icelandic agriculture is largely driven by consumers, ideologists and enthusiasts. They are, for example, trying to solve problems and promote progress by accumulating and disseminating knowledge from various sources. Much more support is needed from the scientific community and politicians should pay closer attention to the contribution organic farming can make to sustainable development and the wellbeing of society at large. Transfer of knowledge from other Nordic countries could, for example, be linked to research on organic fertilizers and methods of teaching and extension

Towards Uniform Gene Bank Documentation In Europe – The Experience From The EFABISnet Project

In the EFABISnet project, a collaborative effort of EAAP, FAO and partners from 14 European countries, in cooperation with the European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP), national information systems for monitoring the animal genetic resources on breed level were established in Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. The network was soon extended beyond the project plans, with the establishment of EFABIS databases in Finland, Greece, and Hungary. The network was then complemented by a set of inventories of national gene bank collections to strengthen the documentation of ex situ conservation programmes. These documentation systems were established by the National Focal Points for management of farm animal genetic resources. Here we present the experience gained in establishment of these national inventories of gene banks and their relevance to the Strategic Priority Areas of the Global Plan of Action which could be useful for other areas in the world

Provenancing Archaeological Wool Textiles from Medieval Northern Europe by Light Stable Isotope Analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ2H)

We investigate the origin of archaeological wool textiles preserved by anoxic waterlogging from seven medieval archaeological deposits in north-western Europe (c. 700-1600 AD), using geospatial patterning in carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and non-exchangeable hydrogen (δ2H) composition of modern and ancient sheep proteins. δ13C, δ15N and δ2H values from archaeological wool keratin (n = 83) and bone collagen (n = 59) from four sites were interpreted with reference to the composition of modern sheep wool from the same regions. The isotopic composition of wool and bone collagen samples clustered strongly by settlement; inter-regional relationships were largely parallel in modern and ancient samples, though landscape change was also significant. Degradation in archaeological wool samples, examined by elemental and amino acid composition, was greater in samples from Iceland (Reykholt) than in samples from north-east England (York, Newcastle) or northern Germany (Hessens). A nominal assignment approach was used to classify textiles into local/non-local at each site, based on maximal estimates of isotopic variability in modern sheep wool. Light element stable isotope analysis provided new insights into the origins of wool textiles, and demonstrates that isotopic provenancing of keratin preserved in anoxic waterlogged contexts is feasible. We also demonstrate the utility of δ2H analysis to understand the location of origin of archaeological protein samples

Influences of Domestication and Island Evolution on Dental Growth in Sheep

Funder: Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeFunder: Leverhulme Trust; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000275Abstract: Domestication and island evolution can lead to changes of life history along the slow-fast gradient. Shifts of life history patterns, in turn, are potentially related to alterations of patterns and timing of tooth eruption. Schultz’s rule predicts an earlier eruption of molars relative to premolars as fecundity increases during the domestication process. On the other hand, evolution on a predator-free, resource limited island might lead to a generally slow life history and delayed tooth eruption, as in the Plio-Pleistocene Balearic caprine Myotragus. In this study, we investigate tooth eruption and its relation to life history in a unique sheep population that is an example of both domestication and island evolution: the ancient and feral Soay sheep (Ovis aries) of the St. Kilda archipelago, Scotland. Tooth eruption timing and sequence is investigated in a comparative framework featuring new data on other domestic sheep (O. aries), including European mouflon (O. a. musimon), as well as wild sheep (O. vignei, O. cycloceros, O. arkal, O. orientalis, O. ammon). These data indicate that the order of eruption is similar in wild and domestic sheep, despite the fundamental life history changes that came about with domestication. However, in contrast to other domestic sheep breeds, Soay sheep erupt their teeth at an absolute older age and also tend to grow more slowly, which resembles the evolutionary trend in island-adapted Myotragus. Despite these similarities, Soay sheep do not share the slow life history pattern inferred for Myotragus, highlighting the distinctive nature of tooth eruption in Soay sheep

Profitable Swedish lamb production by economies of scale

Economic sustainability assumes profitability (revenues ≥ costs including annual cash expenses as well as family labor and investments). Calculations suggest that sheep flocks of more than 500 ewes can be profitable under Swedish conditions whereas smaller flocks are unprofitable unless they are managed by cheap existing resources including buildings, fences, machinery and family labor with low or no opportunity costs. Despite this economies of scale less than 1 % of the Swedish sheep flocks have 500 or more ewes. Possible reasons are, according to interviews with lamb producers which have built up for Swedish conditions large sheep flocks of 90-900 ewes (average 380), growth sacrifices when developing large flocks and lack of accessible cheap land for providing large flocks with pasture and winter forage. The growth sacrifices reducing revenues or increasing costs during or immediately after the growth period include low production of primiparous ewes, reclamation of additional land and capital costs of new buildings before the flock has been expanded to the intended number. The chas-flow is another problem for expanding sheep operations. Profitable lamb production presupposes large areas of land with zero or low opportunity costs. In fertile flatlands the opportunity costs are too high and in forest dominated regions it is difficult to get hold of large enough areas near the farm centre for pasture and winter feed production. The latter problem can be solved by leasing cheap land further away and transporting feed and grazing animals, and by extending present pastures by incorporating adjacent overgrown pastures, marginal arable land and forest land. Another requirement for long-term profitable lamb production is to reduce the costs of new sheep sheds below what is a common cost level in Sweden