New methods of increasing transparency: Does viewing webcam pictures change peoples' opinions towards modern pig farming?

Public interest in livestock farming is increasing, as is general criticism regarding the welfare of farm animals. In this context, husbandry systems for pigs especially are perceived very negatively. Despite rising concern for animal farming, most people lack detailed knowledge of modern agricultural production processes, as well as direct contact with agriculture. With regards to public demand for transparency of production quality and animal welfare standards, farmers and farmer associations in several countries have begun installing webcams in dairy, pig and poultry farming operations. Along with informational texts, pictures from webcams are publicly available on the internet and are used as a new type of communication tool aimed at increasing the acceptance of livestock farming by providing farming-specific information. However, there are currently no existing studies quantitatively investigating the effect of webcam pictures from stables and accompanying informational texts on the broader public. In a randomized between-subject experimental design, we presented two webcam pictures from conventional pig barns (pig fattening barn and sow farrowing pen) to the broader public, along with two different informational texts (one written directly by farmers and one neutrally written by the authors). Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine 1) if the attitude towards pig farming changes after having seen the webcam pictures, 2) if different informational texts alter the evaluation of webcam pictures, 3) if there are differences in the perception of webcam pictures of a pig fattening barn and a sow farrowing pen, and 4) how people evaluate the use of webcams as a public relations tool that can be used to provide transparency. It was determined that the majority of respondents display a more negative attitude after viewing the webcam pictures and informational texts, and this is especially true for participants reading the neutrally written texts. Further, the farrowing pen is evaluated substantially more negatively than the pig fattening pen. Regarding the overall evaluation of webcams, people seem to appreciate that farmers show real pictures from their stables, although a rather low interest in the usage of webcams in agriculture can be observed. Thus, although transparency may be enhanced through the use of webcams, our findings suggest that webcams generally do not show the desired effects on the public and are likely to be unable to improve the image of pig farming by simply providing information via pictures and texts. Finally, the application of webcams as a communication tool cannot be recommended, at least not for the husbandry systems investigated within this study

Uncovering strategies of hidden intention in multi-stakeholder initiatives: the case of pasture-raised milk

Sustainability management often requires voluntary initiatives beyond legal regulations. Hereby, multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) gain importance. Despite the actual high occurrence of these initiatives, little information concerning the stakeholders’ negotiation behaviour in MSIs exists. In this paper, we analyse a MSI related to the implementation of a sustainability-oriented standard for pasture-raised milk in Germany using participatory research. The results indicate that from an economic point of view not all stakeholders behave in a predictable way. Contrary to the assumption, one dairy involved in the MSI following a cost leadership strategy, pled for a high standard, as did the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved. Because this dairy was unable to fulfil this high standard, this behaviour can be interpreted as a ‘prevention strategyʼ. It can be concluded that the classical assumption of stakeholder behaviour – such as tit-for-tat negotiations between the economic side and NGOs – must be reviewed, revealing strategies of hidden intention

Economic assessment of small-scale mountain dairy farms in South Tyrol depending on feed intake and breed

Dairy mountain farms are economically disadvantaged due to small farm size and high production costs. However, these farms are of importance for the preservation of traditional landscapes and biodiversity, especially when they are managed extensively. The present study compares the economic situation of mountain dairy farms in South Tyrol that differ with respect to the amount of concentrates fed (low-input vs. high-input) and the breed used (Tyrolean Grey vs. Brown Swiss). The calculations show that low-input farms have lower variable costs but similar fixed costs and lower revenues compared to high-input farms. As a result, high-input farms are economically superior to low-input farms in terms of income per farm, per ha and per kg energy-corrected milk. Regarding the breeds, farms using the local breed Tyrolean Grey can compete with farms using the high-yielding breed Brown Swiss when subsidies are considered because of special payments for an endangered breed. The dominance of high-input farms can be explained with economies of scale and the milk to feed price ratio of about 1.8. Thus, the currently paid high milk price makes it economically worthwhile to produce as much milk as possible. The results thus point to the risk of intensification or abandonment of small mountain farms. In order to improve their economic situation and thus maintain small and low-input mountain dairy farms, it might be an option to connect subsidies with the feeding strategy and farm structure, pay premiums for value-added milk products or use taxes for concentrated feed to support extensive farms.Highlights Low-input farms achieve lower farm income Only small differences in farm income between breeds Herd size and milk yield per cow are decisive for farm incom

Ich sehe was, was du nicht siehst: Eine Eye Tracking Studie zur Betrachtung und Bewertung von Bildern aus der Schweinemast

Mit dem Ziel, romantische Vorstellungen der Gesellschaft über landwirtschaftliche Tierhaltung zu korrigieren und die Akzeptanz der Tierhaltung zu erhöhen, werden von der Agrarbranche vermehrt reale Bilder aus Ställen in der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit eingesetzt. Es liegen bisher nur wenige Studien darüber vor, wie solche Bilder wahrgenommen werden. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, wie Bilder aus der Schweinemast von Studierenden (mit und ohne Landwirtschaftsbezug; im Folgenden vereinfachend als Bürger und Landwirte bezeichnet) betrachtet und bewertet werden, um Empfehlungen für die Bilderauswahl in der Kommunikation zwischen Landwirtschaft und Öffentlichkeit abzuleiten. Dazu wird eine Befragung mit Eye-Tracking kombiniert. Fotos einer Vollspaltenbucht werden von Bürgern insgesamt negativ bewertet und unterschiedliche Aufnahmen derselben Bucht beeinflussen die Bewertung der Bilder. Dies gilt nicht für die Landwirte, diese bewerten die Bilder neutraler. Die Ergebnisse der Blickregistrierung zeigen, dass der Blickverlauf von Bürgern und Landwirten sehr ähnlich ist und innerhalb der ersten Sekunden immer die Körper und Gesichter der Tiere betrachtet werden. Weiterhin zeigt sich, dass Spielzeug im Schweinestall von vielen Bürgern auf Bildern nicht als solches erkannt und reizarme bzw. dem Betrachter bekannte Bilder weniger lange angeschaut werden. Für die Bilderauswahl in der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Landwirtschaft lassen sich daraus erste Empfehlungen ableiten. In order to correct romantic ideas about livestock farming in society and to provoke acceptance of husbandry systems, there is a recent trend in the agricultural industry towards using real pictures of barns for communication purposes. Up to now there are only few studies investigating how these pictures are perceived. The current study examines how these pictures from pig fattening barns are looked at and how they are evaluated by students (without and with connection to agriculture; in the following named as citizens and farmers) to derive recommendations for the choice of pictures. Therefore, a survey is combined with eye-tracking. Pictures of a pen with fully slatted floor are evaluated negatively by citizens and different pictures of the same pen influence the evaluation. This is not the case for farmers who evaluate the pictures in a more neutral manner. However, the eye movements of farmers and citizens when viewing the pictures are very similar in general. Independent of the picture, the face regions and bodies of the animals are always viewed at first. Furthermore, we show that citizens do not recognize toys in a barn and unattractive or common pictures are viewed less. First recommendations for choosing pictures for public relations in agriculture can be drawn from the results

The Quality of Data on Participation in Adult Education and Training. An Analysis of Varying Participation Rates and Patterns Under Consideration of Survey Design and Measurement Effects

Statistics on adult education and training (AET) are often considered as insufficient because they fail to deliver a comprehensive and consistent picture of this field of education. This study addresses a specific problem in AET statistics that is varying participation rates of adults in AET depending on underlying data sources. We elaborate potential causes for deviations in survey design and the measurement of participation in sample based AET statistics with reference to the Total Survey Error (TSE) approach. Our analysis compares AET participation rates and patterns from four representative German surveys and reveals substantial differences in participation rates and mixed results for patterns of participation in AET. We find similar relationships for the influence of employment and educational attainment. The relationship with region, gender, and age shows to some extent deviations that conclude in contradictory statements on probabilities of participation. The discussion addresses consequences for the interpretation of survey results on AET participations and draws conclusions for the further development of AET statistics

Estimation of the genetic parameters for temperament in Haflinger horses based on the results of a character test using a pedigree-based relationship matrix

Literature provides indications that the personality and temperament of a horse are sufficiently genetically determined. This background was the impetus to continue collecting phenotypic information on the temperament in the South Tyrolean Haflinger horses, not only to have marketing tools but also to be able to estimate genetic parameters for a future genetic evaluation. The latter should open the possibility to include temperament traits in the breeding goal. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to consider for the very first-time phenotypic information from character testing for estimating genetic parameters for temperament in Haflinger horses. For the present study, data from routine character testing of 210 South Tyrolean Haflinger mares between 2019 and 2021 were considered. A multivariate estimation of heritability (h2) and genetic correlations (r) was carried out for the criteria ‘Interest’, ‘Activity’ and ‘Excitement’. In addition, univariate and bivariate estimation runs were also carried out. The pedigree-based heritability for the behavioural trait Interest was lowest with 0.07 and a standard error of ±0.04. For the other two criteria, Activity and Excitement, h2 was 0.19 ± 0.05 and 0.21 ± 0.04, respectively. The genetic correlation between Interest and Activity and between Interest and Excitement was in both cases negative with −0.52 and −0.61, respectively while the genetic correlation between Excitement and Activity was positive (0.99). Results of the present study highlight the potential of considering temperament traits in breeding of Haflinger horses

Effect of Feed Concentrate Intake on the Environmental Impact of Dairy Cows in an Alpine Mountain Region Including Soil Carbon Sequestration and Effect on Biodiversity

Several studies on the environmental impacts of livestock enterprises are based on the application of life cycle assessments (LCA). In Alpine regions, soil carbon sequestration can play an important role in reducing environmental impacts. However, there is no official methodology to calculate this possible reduction. Biodiversity plays an important role in the Alpine environment and is affected by human activities, such as cattle farming. Our aim was to estimate the carbon footprint (CF) of four different dairy production systems (different in breeds and feeding intensity) by using the LCA approach. The present study included 44 dairy Alpine farms located in the autonomous province of Bolzano in northern Italy. Half of the farms (n = 22) kept Alpine Grey and the other half (n = 22) Brown Swiss cattle. Within breeds, the farms were divided by the amount of concentrated feed per cow and day into high concentrate (HC) and low concentrate (LC). This resulted in 11 Alpine Grey low concentrate (AGLC) farms feeding an average amount of 3.0 kg concentrated feed/cow/day and 11 Alpine Grey high concentrate (AGHC) farms with an average amount of 6.3 kg concentrated feed/cow/day. Eleven farms kept Brown Swiss cows with an average amount of 3.7 kg concentrated feed/cow/day (BSLC) and another 11 farms feeding on average 7.6 kg concentrated feed/cow/day (BSHC). CF for the four systems was estimated using the LCA approach. The functional unit was 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM). Furthermore, two methodologies have been applied to estimate soil carbon sequestration and effect on biodiversity. The system with the lowest environmental impact in terms of CF was BSHC (1.14 kg CO2-eq/kg of FPCM), while the most impactful system was the AGLC group (1.55 kg CO2-eq/kg of FPCM). Including the CF reduction due to soil carbon sequestered from grassland, it decreased differently for the two applied methods. For all four systems, the main factor for CF was enteric emission, while the main pollutant was biogenic CH4. Conversely, AGLC had the lowest impact when the damage to biodiversity was considered (damage score = 0.41/kg of FPCM, damage to ecosystem diversity = 1.78 E-07 species*yr/kg FPCM). In comparison, BSHC had the greatest impact in terms of damage to biodiversity (damage score = 0.56/kg of FPCM, damage to ecosystem diversity = 2.49 E-07 species*yr/kg FPCM). This study indicates the importance of including soil carbon sequestration from grasslands and effects on biodiversity when calculating the environmental performance of dairy farms

Does picture background matter? People's evaluation of pigs in different farm settings.

Pictures of farm animals and their husbandry systems are frequently presented in the media and are mostly connected to discussions surrounding farm animal welfare. How such pictures are perceived by the broader public is not fully understood thus far. It is presumable that the animals' expressions and body languages as well as their depicted environment or husbandry systems affect public perception. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test how the evaluation of a picture showing a farmed pig is influenced by portrayed attributes, as well as participants' perceptions of pigs' abilities in general, and if connection to agriculture has an influence. In an online survey, 1,019 German residents were shown four modified pictures of a pig in a pen. The pictures varied with regards to facial expression and body language of the pig ('happy' versus 'unhappy' pig) and the barn setting (straw versus slatted floor pen). Respondents were asked to evaluate both the pen and the welfare of the pig. Two Linear Mixed Models were calculated to analyze effects on pig and pen evaluation. For the pictures, the pen had the largest influence on both pig and pen evaluation, followed by the pig's appearance and participants' beliefs in pigs' mental and emotional abilities, as well as their connection to agriculture. The welfare of both the 'happy' and the 'unhappy' pig was assessed to be higher in the straw setting compared to the slatted floor setting in our study, and even the 'unhappy pig' on straw was perceived more positively than the 'happy pig' on slatted floor. The straw pen was evaluated as being better than the slatted floor pen on the pictures we presented but the pens also differed in level of dirt on the walls (more dirt in the slatted floor pen), which might have influenced the results. Nevertheless, the results suggest that enduring aspects of pictures such as the husbandry system influence perceptions more than a momentary body expression of the pig, at least in the settings tested herein