Gemeinsame Weidenutzung durch Jungrinder und Broiler

Gemischtbeweidung könnte den Prädatorendruck der thematisierten Arten reduzieren. Eine reduzierte Parasitenbelastung könnte ein zusätzlicher Vorteil sein. Daher untersuchen wir die gemeinsame Weidenutzung durch Jungrinder und Broiler

Polygon Interface Analysis: A Concept For Analyzing Production Site Interactions In Urban Areas

Urban production bears the potential to not only reduce the negative impacts of production processes and global supply chains but also to generate a positive contribution to society and the environment when integrated symbiotically into the urban context. However, especially in urban areas, production is often associated with negative impacts on the surrounding environment. Therefore, the interactions between producing companies and their environment need to be considered and analysed. Hence, we derive a conceptual model that allows the exploitation of the potentials of urban locations for production by focusing on the interfaces between urban production and the urban environment. For this purpose, the Polygon Interface Analysis [P.I.A.] is introduced. It makes use of the principle of a Rubik's Cube or a Caesar Cipher by altering layers for matchmaking and integrates the business, city and interface perspective into an applicable analysis approach. To conceptualize this model existing approaches from the fields of factory planning and strategy development are examined in regard to their suitability for applying those for a location analysis of urban factories. Based on this, a suggestion for the application of the P.I.A. is given. The application of the model allows for the improvement of manufacturing integration in urban environments by supporting factory planning decisions, production system design, as well as location and site analysis for urban production

Mix it - cograzing with cattle reduces broiler losses and increases broiler range use

Pasture access allows broilers to perform a wide range of behaviors and is a prerequisite in organic poultry production, but exposes broilers to various potential hazards including predators. Co-grazing broilers with cattle can reduce land use and could offer protection from avian predation. Thus, we aimed to assess the effects of co-grazing on broiler losses, range use, performance, contact dermatitis and broilers’ manipulation of cow pats. To this end, across 5 replicates we compared each a treatment group of 54 to 61 broilers co-grazing with 10 young cattle and a similar sized control group of broilers on a pasture which had been grazed by cattle 2 weeks prior. Broilers had pasture access during civil daylight and were locked in the coop overnight. Continuous video recordings of the pastures were used to identify the cause when broilers were missing or found dead. On 2 days per week in 4 replicates, broiler distribution in the pasture and maintenance behaviour (i.e. foraging, standing, lying, locomotion) were observed directly using instantaneous scan sampling. Based on the broilers’ distance to the coop we calculated a group Ranging Distance Index (RDI). Cow pats were assessed weekly and contact dermatitis was scored before slaughter. Broilers in the treatment groups ranged further (p = 0.003) and higher percentages of birds tended to be outside (p = 0.09) compared to the control groups. Broiler losses due to predatory birds were consistently lower in treatment (median, range: 1, 0 to 3) than in control groups (3, 2 to 5, p = 0.025). Live weight before slaughter was slightly higher (p = 0.035) in treatment groups than in control groups. Feed conversion ratio (p = 0.174), maintenance behaviors and prevalence of contact dermatitis were not affected. No manipulation of cow pats by broilers was found or observed. Overall, co-grazing with cattle positively affected broiler range use, losses due to avian predation and weight gain

Potential of multi-species livestock farming to improve the sustainability of livestock farms: A review.

Diversified farming systems are proposed as a major mechanism to address the many sustainability issues of today's agriculture. Multi-species livestock farming, i.e. keeping two or more animal species simultaneously on the same farm, is an option that has received little attention to date. Moreover, most studies of multi-species livestock farming are limited, usually focusing on selected dimensions of farm sustainability and addressing lower organizational levels (i.e. within the farm) and rather limited time horizons (e.g. a few weeks in a grazing season). Thus, a comprehensive assessment of multi-species livestock farming in terms of farm sustainability is lacking. In this context, we outline and discuss potential benefits and limitations of multi-species livestock farming for livestock farm sustainability from existing literature and list issues on multi-species livestock farming requiring further research. We show that multi-species livestock farming has the potential to improve the three dimensions of sustainability reviewed - economic viability for farmers, environmental soundness and social acceptability by being respectful of animals and humans - as long as locally relevant farming practices are implemented, especially an appropriate stocking rate during grazing. If relevant practices are not observed, multi-species livestock farming may produce undesirable effects, such as competition for resource acquisition during grazing, parasitic cross-infection and more intense work peaks. Therefore, we identify four focal research areas for multi-species livestock farming. First, characterizing the management of multi-species livestock farms. To do this, we suggest considering the integration of production enterprises (e.g. cattle and sheep enterprises) within the farm from three perspectives: farming practices (e.g. grazing management), work organization and sales. Second, exploring the complementarity of livestock species on multi-species livestock farms. This is especially true for species combinations that have been largely ignored (e.g. ruminants and monogastrics), even though they may have potential due to complementary diet compositions and resource-acquisition strategies. Third, assessing the sustainability of multi-species livestock farm scenarios (current or alternative) according to the management practices and production conditions, which requires adapting existing methods/models or developing new ones. Fourth, characterizing conditions for success and obstacles for multi-species livestock farming along the value chain from production to consumption, considering stakeholders' objectives, work habits and constraints. Increasing understanding should help prioritize actions and organize them to scale up multi-species livestock farming

Efficient and Stable Low Iridium Loaded Anodes for PEM Water Electrolysis Made Possible by Nanofiber Interlayers

Significant reduction of the precious metal catalyst loading is one of the key challenges for the commercialization of proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers. In this work we combine IrOx nanofibers with a conventional nanoparticle-based IrOx anode catalyst layer. With this hybrid design we can reduce the iridium loading by more than 80% while maintaining performance. In spite of an ultralow overall catalyst loading of 0.2 mg(Ir)/cm(2), a cell with a hybrid layer shows similar performance compared to a state-of-the-art cell with a catalyst loading of 1.2 mg(Ir)/cm(2) and clearly outperforms identically loaded reference cells with pure IrOx nanoparticle and pure nanofiber anodes. The improved performance is attributed to a combination of good electric contact and high porosity of the IrOx nanofibers with high surface area of the IrOx nanoparticles. Besides the improved performance, the hybrid layer also shows better stability in a potential cycling and a 150 h constant current test compared to an identically loaded nanoparticle reference.BMBF, 05KI9VFA, Ultrahochauflösende Untersuchung des Wassertransports in alkalischen Brennstoff- und Elektrolysezellen mittels Neutronenradiographie und –Tomographie (NeutroSense

Multi-species livestock farming

This CORE Organic Practice Abstract gives practical recommendations for multi-species livestock farming, which has the potential to improve the three dimensions of sustainability – economic viability for farmers, environmental soundness, and social acceptability – by being respectful of animals and humans, as long as locally relevant farming practices are implemented, especially an appropriate stocking rate during grazing

Does mixing cattle with broilers yield any benefits?

Abstract of poster presentation during the EAAP 2021. Results of an experiment mixing broilers and young cattle on the same pasture and comparing it with separately grazing animals

Ein Broilerleben unter Rindern

Hat eine Mischbeweidung von Broilern und Jungrindern Sinn? Und sind Gemischtbetriebe, die mehrere Tierarten halten, widerstandsfähiger gegenüber Veränderungen der Umwelt und besser bei wirtschaftlichen Herausforderungen aufgestellt? Artikel in landwirtschaftlicher Fachpresse. Darstellung des Versuchs am Thünen Institut und erste Ergebniss

Hähnchen weiden mit Rindern

Überblick über den Versuchsaufbau und erste Ergebnisse

Effects of mixing broilers with cattle on broiler losses and behaviour

We explored the potential benefits and challenges arising from the combination of young cattle and broilers in a pasture-based production system, i.e. does keeping young cattle and broilers together affect the ranging behavior of broilers and does it lower the losses in broilers due to predators? We used two systems in the following set-up: The first system consisted of one group of broilers (n=55-60, ISA JA 757) assigned to the same pasture as ten young cattle (German Holstein, 10-13 months of age). In the second system the same number of broilers had access to a pasture that had been grazed by ten young cattle two weeks before. Both systems were embedded in a rotational grazing system with access to a new paddock every week. After six weeks each experimental round concluded with the slaughter of the broilers. Behavioral observations were conducted twice per week in both systems parallelly. Feces of the cattle were sampled every two weeks. In total, seven replicates are going to be conducted from 2018 – 2021. Each round showed lower losses of broilers (median; range) in the system where broilers and cattle had access to the same pasture (1; 0–3) compared to the separated grazing system (4; 2–5). Furthermore, the proportion of broilers ranging the pasture during observation periods was higher in the combined system (Mean±SD: 20.72±13.81 vs. 14.87±9.72% hour-1)