The Changing role of agriculture in Dutch society

Dutch agriculture has undergone significant changes in the past century, similar to many countries in the European Union. Due to economies of scale and in order to remain economically profitable, it became necessary for farmers to increase farm size, efficiency and external inputs, while minimizing labour use per hectare. The latter has resulted in fewer people working in the agricultural sector. Consequently, Dutch society gradually lost its connection to agricultural production. This divergence resulted in a poor image for the agricultural sector, because of environmental pollution, homogenization of the landscape, outbreaks of contagious animal diseases and reduced animal welfare. Although the general attitude towards agriculture seems to have improved slightly in recent years, there is still a long way to go in regaining this trust. In order to keep the Dutch countryside viable, farmers are considered indispensable. However, their methods of production should match the demands of society in terms of sustainability. This applies both to farming systems that are used in a monofunctional way (production only) and to multifunctional farming systems. For researchers involved in development of these farming systems, this requires new capabilities; contrary to the situation in the past, citizens and stakeholder groups now demand involvement in the design of farming systems. In the current paper, it is suggested that, besides traditional mainstream agriculture, other alternative farming systems should be developed and implemented. Hence, Dutch agricultural research should remain focused on the cutting edge of economy and society. Despite all efforts, not all of these newly developed systems will acquire a position within the agricultural spectrum. However, some of the successful ones may prove extremely valuable

Green Care: a Conceptual Framework. A Report of the Working Group on the Health Benefits of Green Care

‘Green Care’ is a range of activities that promotes physical and mental health and well-being through contact with nature. It utilises farms, gardens and other outdoor spaces as a therapeutic intervention for vulnerable adults and children. Green care includes care farming, therapeutic horticulture, animal assisted therapy and other nature-based approaches. These are now the subject of investigation by researchers from many different countries across the world

Een echte boerderij met een echte boer : de waarde van agrarische productie bij multifunctionele landbouw

Wat is nu precies de meerwaarde van een ‘echte’ boerderij bij kinderopvang, boerengolf, een camping, educatie-activiteiten of het verlenen van zorg? Hoe belangrijk is het dat het bedrijf een deel van zijn inkomsten haalt uit de productie van melk of aardappelen en hoe beïnvloeden beide takken elkaar? Wat zeggen de afnemers over de combinatie van activiteiten en landbouw en hoe denken andere boeren en betrokken organisaties hierover? Allemaal vragen waarop deze brochure ingaat. De tekst is gebaseerd op interviews met multifunctionele ondernemers, klanten en organisaties die actief zijn in de multifunctionele landbouw

Marktkansen voor etnisch voedsel en etnische diensten

De bevolkingssamenstelling van de Nederlandse steden is afgelopen jaren sterk veranderd. De stedelijke vraag naar producten en diensten van het platteland is ook sterk veranderd. Uit de quick scan is gebleken dat de 'ethnic food & services' een belangrijk onderdeel vormen van de nieuwe vraag. Dit dient niet alleen ten behoeve van de nichemarkt van ethnic food & services maar kan tegelijkertijd als een strategisch middel ingezet worden om de algemene stadplattelandsrelaties aan te halen, uit te breiden en te verbetere

What approaches to social prescribing work, for whom, and in what circumstances? A protocol for a realist review

The use of non-drug, non-health-service interventions has been proposed as a cost-effective alternative to help those with long-term conditions manage their illness and improve their health and well-being. Interventions typically involve accessing activities run by the third sector or community agencies and may also be described as non-medical referral, community referral or social prescribing. To be effective, patients need to be “transferred” from the primary care setting into the community and to maintain their participation in activities. However, it is not currently known how and why these approaches enable which people under what circumstances to reach community services that may benefit their health and well-being.The use of non-drug, non-health-service interventions has been proposed as a cost-effective alternative to help those with long-term conditions manage their illness and improve their health and well-being. Interventions typically involve accessing activities run by the third sector or community agencies and may also be described as non-medical referral, community referral or social prescribing. To be effective, patients need to be “transferred” from the primary care setting into the community and to maintain their participation in activities. However, it is not currently known how and why these approaches enable which people under what circumstances to reach community services that may benefit their health and well-being

Playful activity post-learning improves training performance in Labrador Retriever dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)

Situations that are emotional and arousing have an effect on cognitive performance. It is thought that beta adrenergic activation and the release of stress hormones enhance memory consolidation and lead to an increase in memorability of emotional events. This beneficial effect has been shown in humans, non-human primates and rodents. Techniqueswhich could enhancememory for learning specific taskswould be highly valuable, especially in dogs, which are extensively trained to aid humans. A pseudo-randomized, counterbalanced, between subject study designs was utilised and 16 Labrador Retrievers ranging from 1 to 9 years of agewere trained in a 2-choice discrimination paradigm. After task acquisition, either a playful activity intervention (N= 8) or a resting period (N= 8) took place, lasting for 30 min. A range of factors including age, sex, training experience and trials to criterion on each day was subjected to a multiple factor/covariate General Linear Model analysis. The results show that playful activity post-learning improved training performance evidenced by fewer trials needed to re-learn the task 24 h after initial acquisition (playful activity group: mean number of trials 26, SD 6; resting group: mean number of trials 43, SD 19, effect size 1.2). Average heart rate, as a measure of arousal, during the interventionwas significantly higher in the playful activity group (143 beats/min, SD 16) versus the resting group (86 beats/min, SD 19, P b 0.001). Salivary cortisol did not significantly differ between groups during training, however a significant decrease (T:−4.1 P b 0.01) was seen after the playful activity. To our knowledge this is the first evidence that posttraining activity may influence training performance in dogs

Participation in environmental enhancement and conservation activities for health and well-being in adults: a review of quantitative and qualitative evidence

PUBHLT

Physiological, physical and behavioural changes in dogs (Canis familiaris) when kennelled: testing the vailidity of stress parameters

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) housed in kennelling establishments are considered at risk of suffering poor welfare. Previous research supporting this hypothesis has typically used cortisol:creatinine ratios (C/Cr) to measure acute and chronic stress in kennelled dogs. However, the value of C/Cr as a welfare indicator has been questioned. This study aimed to test the validity of a range of physiological, physical and behavioural welfare indicators and to establish baseline values reflecting good dog welfare. Measurements were taken from 29 privately-owned dogs (14 males, 15 females), ranging in age and breed, in their own home and in a boarding kennel environment, following a within-subjects, counterbalanced design. Pairwise comparisons revealed that C/Cr and vanillylmandelic acid:creatinine ratios (VMA/Cr) were higher in the kennel than home environment (P= 0.003; P= 0.01, respectively) and were not associated with differences in movement/exercise between environments. Dogs' surface temperature was lower in kennels (P= 0.001) and was not associated with ambient temperature. No association with age, or effects of kennel establishment, kennelling experience, sex or source were found. Dogs were generally more active in kennels, but showed considerable individual variability. C/Cr and 5-HIAA:creatinine ratios (5-HIAA/Cr) were negatively correlated with lip licking in kennels. Baseline values for each parameter are presented. The emotional valence of responses was ambiguous and no definitive evidence was found to suggest that dogs were negatively stressed by kennelling. It was concluded that C/Cr and, particularly, VMA/Cr and surface temperature provide robust indicators of psychological arousal in dogs, while spontaneous behaviour might be better used to facilitate interpretation of physiological and physical data on an individual level. 2014 Elsevier Inc