What Alternative To The Use Of Conventional Straw In Organic Farming System?

Under organic farming, livestock systems are allowed to use straw from conventional farming system. However, there are still some questions about the risk of element transfer when straw are used for the animal bedding and the consequences on soil quality when manure is applied. Moreover, private marketers could refuse, in the future, products (e.g. milk) from organic farms using conventional straw. In this context, a crucial question is “What alternative to the use of conventional straw in organic farming system?” This question, assessed by a farmer association (Agrobio35), was studied by a group of students. A bibliographic review was done of i) the existing alternatives of conventional straw in organic farming, ii) the feasibility (technic, economic, implementation) of theses alternative by the farmers. This review was completed by a survey of height farmers to collect their feedbacks about the relevance of the alternatives tools they apply (wooden chips, sand, wheat flour). The survey results were used to build a leaflet dedicated for advisors and farmers looking for alternatives

Exposition des travailleurs en élevages de porcs et de volailles de chair à l’ammoniac et aux particules

The air of pig and poultry farms contains ammonia and dust. To characterize the exposure of workers to these pollutants, data were collected on farms. Measurements were carried out in 20 pig farms during piglet care, weaning, feeding of piglets and sorting pigs and in 21 poultry farms during inspection of animals, catching birds, the manure disposal and litter distribution in the building. In general, particulate matter and ammonia are not considered as occupational hazards by workers. The risk is often minimized but measurements showed that exposure to particulate matter and ammonia poses a risk to their health (increased respiratory symptoms and decreased respiratory capacity). In addition, 15% of pig farms had an ammonia content above the occupational exposure limit (20 ppm for 15 minutes) on at least one of the tasks monitored. In poultry farming, 17% of the ammonia measurements during the tasks followed without mulching, and 3% of all the measurements of particles carried out exceeded the maximum recommended value (5 mg / m3 of cellular particles). It is necessary to sensitize the actors of the field on the respiratory risks. For this purpose, an AIR Eleveur YouTube channel was created as well as 2 brochures (protection equipment and AIR Eleveur results).L'air des bâtiments porcins et avicoles contient de l’ammoniac et des particules. Pour caractériser l'exposition des travailleurs à ces polluants, des données ont été collectées dans des exploitations agricoles. Les mesures ont été effectuées dans 20 exploitations porcines pendant des tâches considérées comme exposantes : les soins aux porcelets, le sevrage, l'alimentation des porcelets et le tri des porcs. 21 exploitations avicoles ont également été suivies pendant la surveillance en fin de bande, le ramassage, le curage du fumier et le paillage du bâtiment. En général, les particules et l'ammoniac ne sont pas considérés comme des risques professionnels par les travailleurs. Le risque est souvent minimisé mais les mesures montrent que l'exposition aux particules et à l'ammoniac impacte leur santé (augmentation des symptômes respiratoires et diminution de la capacité respiratoire). En outre, 15% des exploitations porcines ont une teneur en ammoniac supérieure à la limite d'exposition professionnelle (20 ppm pendant 15 minutes) pour au moins une des tâches contrôlées. En aviculture, 17% des mesures d'ammoniac au cours des tâches suivies sans paillage et 3% de toutes les mesures de particules effectuées dépassent la valeur maximale recommandée (5 mg/m3 de particules alvéolaires). Il est nécessaire de sensibiliser les acteurs du terrain aux risques respiratoires. À cette fin, une chaîne YouTube AIR Eleveur a été créée, ainsi que 2 brochures (équipement de protection et résultats AIR Eleveur)

What Does Ecological Farming Mean for Farm Labour?

Summary: Ecological farming, such as organic and low‐input farming, is gaining popularity in the public discourse. One question is how this type of farming may impact farm labour from a socio‐economic point of view. The article first discusses how low‐input farming practices (i.e. with lower reliance on inputs derived from fossil fuels) may affect the economic returns to labour, measured as the farm’s revenue per hour of labour input, on data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) in 2004‐‐2015 for four European countries. Returns to labour appear to be highest at the two extremes – very low‐input farms and highly intensive farms. Farms in the low‐input end of the spectrum are in the minority, while the overwhelming majority of farms are intensive and have internal economic incentives to intensify further. The article also analyses how working conditions differ between organic and conventional dairy farms in two European countries based on interviews with farmers in 2019. Results show that all dimensions of working conditions are affected by being an organic farm or not, but this is not the only factor. There are many influences on working conditions, such as the production context and workforce composition

What Does Ecological Farming Mean for Farm Labour?

Summary: Ecological farming, such as organic and low‐input farming, is gaining popularity in the public discourse. One question is how this type of farming may impact farm labour from a socio‐economic point of view. The article first discusses how low‐input farming practices (i.e. with lower reliance on inputs derived from fossil fuels) may affect the economic returns to labour, measured as the farm’s revenue per hour of labour input, on data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) in 2004‐‐2015 for four European countries. Returns to labour appear to be highest at the two extremes – very low‐input farms and highly intensive farms. Farms in the low‐input end of the spectrum are in the minority, while the overwhelming majority of farms are intensive and have internal economic incentives to intensify further. The article also analyses how working conditions differ between organic and conventional dairy farms in two European countries based on interviews with farmers in 2019. Results show that all dimensions of working conditions are affected by being an organic farm or not, but this is not the only factor. There are many influences on working conditions, such as the production context and workforce composition

Functional mechanisms underlying pleiotropic risk alleles at the 19p13.1 breast-ovarian cancer susceptibility locus

A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P=9.2 × 10-20), ER-negative BC (P=1.1 × 10-13), BRCA1-associated BC (P=7.7 × 10-16) and triple negative BC (P-diff=2 × 10-5). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P=2 × 10-3) and ABHD8 (P<2 × 10-3). Chromosome conformation capture identifies interactions between four candidate SNPs and ABHD8, and luciferase assays indicate six risk alleles increased transactivation of the ADHD8 promoter. Targeted deletion of a region containing risk SNP rs56069439 in a putative enhancer induces ANKLE1 downregulation; and mRNA stability assays indicate functional effects for an ANKLE1 3′-UTR SNP. Altogether, these data suggest that multiple SNPs at 19p13 regulate ABHD8 and perhaps ANKLE1 expression, and indicate common mechanisms underlying breast and ovarian cancer risk

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' resources: focus on curated databases

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (www.isb-sib.ch) provides world-class bioinformatics databases, software tools, services and training to the international life science community in academia and industry. These solutions allow life scientists to turn the exponentially growing amount of data into knowledge. Here, we provide an overview of SIB's resources and competence areas, with a strong focus on curated databases and SIB's most popular and widely used resources. In particular, SIB's Bioinformatics resource portal ExPASy features over 150 resources, including UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, ENZYME, PROSITE, neXtProt, STRING, UniCarbKB, SugarBindDB, SwissRegulon, EPD, arrayMap, Bgee, SWISS-MODEL Repository, OMA, OrthoDB and other databases, which are briefly described in this article

Functional mechanisms underlying pleiotropic risk alleles at the 19p13.1 breast-ovarian cancer susceptibility locus

A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P = 9.2 x 10(-20)), ER-negative BC (P = 1.1 x 10(-13)), BRCA1-associated BC (P = 7.7 x 10(-16)) and triple negative BC (P-diff = 2 x 10(-5)). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P = 2 x 10(-3)) and ABHD8 (PPeer reviewe

Retours d'expérience sur la co-construction d'une grille d'évaluation de la durabilité des exploitations laitières adhérant à l'AOP Cantal

Retours d'expérience sur la co-construction d'une grille d'évaluation de la durabilité des exploitations laitières adhérant à l'AOP Cantal. UMT SC3D - Réunion Axe 1 - Multiperformance des systèmes laitiers caprins de demai