Modeling heat stress under organic dairy farming conditions in warm temperate climates within the Mediterranean basin

We studied the effect of heat stress on milk quality in Spanish organic dairy farms using published milk productivity equations. We collected data from 23 weather stations and 14,424 milk test-days for milk yield and milk fat and protein content for the period July 2011 to June 2013. As an indicator of heat stress, we used the maximum daily temperature–humidity index (THI) from 2 days before the milk test date. We fitted the data using hierarchical regression models stratified by farm, cow parity and monthly testday milk records. The effect of THI was deemed low on biological costs through milk yield. However, the known negative relationship between milk yield and milk quality (protein and fat content) became even steeper when the THI increased, suggesting a significant negative correlation between heat stress and milk quality. Therefore, although the milk yield of cows in the organic farming systems analyzed appeared resilient to heat stress conditions, milk quality, a major selling point for organic dairy products, was negatively affected. The model presented here could be used to predict the potential impacts of different climate change scenarios on dairy farming, and to delineate adaptation strategies within organic systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modelling the impact of climate change on livestock productivity at the farm-scale: An inventory of LiveM outcomes

The report presented here provides an inventory of reports and conference papers  produced by the partners of the livestock and grassland modelling theme (LiveM) of the  Modelling European Agriculture with Climate Change for Food Security (MACSUR)  knowledge hub. The findings presented illustrate the diverse nature of the multidisciplinary  LiveM research community, and provide a reference source for those seeking  to identify and pull out farm-level modelling outputs from the work of MACSUR and its  partners. The survey of farm-scale outputs from LiveM revealed the interdependent, dual  role of a knowledge hub: to increase the capacity of modelling to meet stakeholder and  societal needs under climate change, and to apply that increased capacity to provide new  understanding and solutions at the policy and (the focus here) farm scale. While capacity  building work across disciplines is time-consuming, difficult, and to a large extent invisible  to stakeholders, such work is vital to ensuring that subsequent scientific outcomes reflect  best practice, and integrated expertise. Long term, sustained funding of network-based  capacity building activities is highlighted as essential to ensuring that the farm-scale  modelling work highlighted here can continue to build on ongoing improvements in model  quality, flexibility and stakeholder relevance

Modeling heat stress under organic dairy farming conditions in warm temperate climates within the Mediterranean basin

We studied the effect of heat stress on milk quality in Spanish organic dairy farms using published milk productivity equations. We collected data from 23 weather stations and 14,424 milk test-days for milk yield and milk fat and protein content for the period July 2011 to June 2013. As an indicator of heat stress, we used the maximum daily temperature–humidity index (THI) from 2 days before the milk test date. We fitted the data using hierarchical regression models stratified by farm, cow parity and monthly testday milk records. The effect of THI was deemed low on biological costs through milk yield. However, the known negative relationship between milk yield and milk quality (protein and fat content) became even steeper when the THI increased, suggesting a significant negative correlation between heat stress and milk quality. Therefore, although the milk yield of cows in the organic farming systems analyzed appeared resilient to heat stress conditions, milk quality, a major selling point for organic dairy products, was negatively affected. The model presented here could be used to predict the potential impacts of different climate change scenarios on dairy farming, and to delineate adaptation strategies within organic systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Report on Stakeholder Engagement Methodologies

Stakeholder engagement in research projects can take a number of forms according to the scope of the project and the purpose of the interaction. L4.2. has focused on comparing different approaches to stakeholder engagement in collaborative projects. This report presents a synthesis of the experiences and lessons learnt through the stakeholder engagement activities of LiveM researchers within MACSUR, within an Italian (Oristano) case study, and within the SOLID (Sustainable, Organic and Low Input Dairying) project. An overview of these examples, and some of the lessons drawn from them, can also be found in the MACSUR paper on stakeholder engagement methods being developed by researchers from all three MACSUR themes (Koenig et al. under production). The first part of this report describes the stakeholder engagement strategy within the SOLID project. Stakeholder engagement methods are analysed through observations of activities and using semi-structured interviews with researchers and stakeholders. Two aspects of the SOLID approach are described – the stakeholder panel and the Future Dairying workshop. Transcripts of the workshop and the contribution of the stakeholder panel to the SOLID annual meeting in Helsinki are included (Appendices 1 and 2), as a contribution to the analysis of workshop outcomes being undertaken within the SOLID project. As part of a wider suite of stakeholder engagement activities, the SOLID stakeholder panel provided an example of how ongoing oversight of scientific outputs and direction by stakeholders can be effective in identifying weaknesses in approach and communication, and in suggesting relevant and effective directions for research activities. The stakeholder workshop demonstrated a useful structure for the exploration of stakeholder concerns, their view of ideal states and their solutions for reaching them. Low participation levels demonstrated the need to understand the motivations that drive stakeholders to engage in such projects, and highlighted the value of developing long-term relationships between stakeholders and researchers that allow scientific research to become an accepted part of practical problem-solving. The second part of the report describes stakeholder engagement activities carried out in the context of one of the MACSUR regional pilot studies (Oristanese case study in Sardinia, Italy). The Oristanese case study demonstrates the potentialities and constraints of participatory methodologies in relation to the different categories of stakeholder involved. It highlights the importance of creating new spaces for dialogue between farmers, researchers and policy makers in order to promote the generation of “hybrid knowledge” (Nguyen et al. 2013) for the emergence of more sustainable and longer-lasting strategies to adapt to CC. This would require the promotion of open knowledge generation platforms where multiple stakeholders are encouraged to participate and make their views heard. These approaches are designed in order to overcome the misalignment between scientists' suggestions and policy implementation. In the third part of the report, the outcomes of a "learning event" held in Sassari (MACSUR mid-term meeting) with decision makers from different EU countries, are discussed. Finally, some reflections are presented on the importance of involving local stakeholders and decision makers in research projects, of sharing views and knowledge between scientists and stakeholders, and on the pros and cons of different methodologies at the different scales of stakeholder engagement, drawing on all three examples of practice. The research approach analysed includes two important components, which are represented by “transdisciplinarity” (to be included in the macro area of “scientific knowledge”) and “local knowledge”, as fundamental elements to fill the Science and Policy Gap

Interaction in online postgraduate learning:What makes a good forum?

Online postgraduate courses for professionals often use discussion forums to promote engagement and interaction. Equivalency theorem suggests that student-student interaction may increase satisfaction but is not necessary for achieving desired learning outcomes. Therefore, costs, as well as benefits, should be ascertained. We used data from student feedback and interviews to assess the perceptions of part-time postgraduate distance learners, and analyze their views of the role, benefits, and drawbacks of discussion forums. The aim was to assess forum efficacy in the context of the specific needs of these learners, to inform forum use and design. Thematic analysis revealed complex interactions between student context and experience, forum design and management. Structurally tweaking forums to control engagement may be particularly ineffective, stimulating unhelpful grade-focused participation and highlighting forum opportunity costs. The study revealed the importance of designing and managing forums, with direct reference to their costs and benefits for specific student groups

Modelling responses of forages to climate change with a focus on nutritive value

European livestock agriculture is extraordinarily diverse, and so are the challenges it faces. This diversity has contributed to the development of a fragmented set of research communities. As a result, livestock research is often under-represented at policy level, despite its high relevance for the environment and food security.Understanding livestock systems and how they can sustainably adapt to global change requires inputs across research areas, including grasslands, nutrition, health, welfare and ecology. It also requires experimental researchers, modellers and stakeholders to work closely together.Networks and capacity building structures are vital to enable livestock research to meet the challenges of climate change. They need to maintain shared resources and provide non-competitive arenas to share and synthesize results for policy support.  Long term strategic investment is needed to support such structures. Their leadership requires very different skills to those effective in scientific project coordination

Modelling Adaptation to climate change in agricultural systems

Modelling agricultural adaptation to climate change presents a range of challenges for modellers, but is vital to enabling decision makers to understand the potential costs and benefits of applying adaptation measures on-farm (or not) including risks and uncertainties associated with different actions. Here, the first stages of collaborative work undertaken at a workshop held in Braunschweig, Germany in autumn 2015, and subsequent analysis of findings, are reported. Subsequently, a second report will detail the development of these actions into a coherent overview of the state-of-the-art in modelling adaptation. Modellers and experimental researchers from a variety of disciplines (including biophysical and economic modellers from livestock, crop and grassland systems backgrounds) were asked to consider major climate impacts and associated adaptation options, and the challenges to modelling adaptations. Key modelling challenges fell into four main categories: information availability, accessibility of model outputs for stakeholders, technical challenges, and knowledge gaps. Within these categories, lists of specific challenges were compiled. The workshop revealed the diversity of approaches to modelling adaptation, and highlighted the different challenges associated with biophysical versus economic modelling. Understanding the state-of-the-art and key priorities for the modelling of climate change adaptation in agriculture is shown to be a complex and multi-faceted challenge. However, such an overview would provide a road map for stakeholder-driven improvement in modelling, with the potential to inform increased uptake of adaptation measures on-farm in Europe.(The main text will be published in a peer-reviewed journal