LeguTec – mechanische Beikrautregulierung im Sojaanbau in Luxemburg

Fünf mechanische Beikrautregulierungsmethoden im Sojaanbau werden unter praxisnahen Bedingungen auf drei Bio-Betrieben in Luxemburg seit dem Frühjahr 2018 getestet. Die Feldversuche werden in vier Wiederholungen einschließlich Kontrollparzellen durchgeführt. Verschiedene Boniturparameter werden vor und nach jeder Regulierung sowie zur Blüte und zur Ernte erhoben, um die Effizienz der verwendeten Techniken in Bezug auf den Ertrag zu bewerten. Erste Resultate zeigen höhere Erträge und eine geringere Beikrautdeckung zur Blüte in den Hackvarianten im Vergleich zu den Striegelvarianten

Ökonomische Analyse des ökologischen Sojaanbaus in Luxemburg, anhand einer standortgerechten Szenarioanalyse

Anhand von Ergebnissen aus der Praxis, wurde eine Kostenanalyse zum Anbau von ökologischen Sojabohnen erstellt, die die lokalen Preise für jeden Schritt des Anbaus berücksichtigt. Die Szenarioanalyse zeigt, dass der ökologische Sojabohnenanbau ab einem Ertrag von 15 dt/ha rentabel sein kann

Effects Of Mechanical Weed Control In Organic Soybean Cultivation On Yield And Weed Biomass In Luxembourg

Organic soybean cultivation in Luxembourg is still in its initial stage, with knowledge gaps mainly in mechanical weed control. Within the framework of the project LeguTec, five weed control methods in soybean cultivation are tested under real conditions on three organic farms distributed over Luxembourg in 2018 and 2019. The focus lies on treatments with a harrow, hoe, finger weeder, mixed cropping and combination. The field trials are conducted in four replicates including control plots. Different rating parameters are taken before and after each weed treatment as well as at flowering and at harvest to assess the efficiency of the used technique in relation to yield. First results of the two years show higher yields and less weed biomass at flowering in hoeing treatments than in harrowing treatments. Significant correlations can be derived from yield and weed biomass at flowering

Auswirkungen mechanischer Beikrautregulierungssysteme auf die Sojabohnenerträge im ökologischen Landbau in Luxemburg

Im ökologischen Sojaanbau in Luxemburg wurden fünf Beikrautregulierungsmethoden sowie zwei Kotrollen getestet. Hacken erzielte generell höhere Erträge als Striegeln. Eine konsequente Feldbewirtschaftung während der Fruchtfolge ist der Schlüsselfaktor zur Maximierung des Sojabohnenertrags

Climate SMART Agriculture: How well does the agricultural sector in Luxembourg perform in terms of climate change?

In Luxembourg, the agricultural sector was responsible for 711.7 Gg CO2-equivalents in 2016, which corresponds to 6.95 % of the total country greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Over 50 % of the farms are specialist grazing livestock farms. The beef and cattle milk production account globally together for over 60 % of the sector’s global emissions. Thus, the climate impact of the whole agricultural sector in Luxembourg can be significantly lowered by reducing the GHG emissions of the specialist grazing livestock sector. However, beyond farm type, the GHG emissions of a farm are also influenced by other factors, such as management systems and farming practices. To enable a transition towards a more climate-positive agriculture, insights into the sustainability performance in terms of climate change are needed. The aim of this study is to determine the current sustainability performance of the Luxembourgish specialist grazing livestock sector in terms of climate change. The climate impact of the different specialist grazing livestock farm types (OTE (orientation technico-économique) 45 - Specialist dairying; OTE 46 - Specialist cattle - rearing and fattening and OTE 47 - Cattle - dairying, rearing and fattening combined) and of different management systems (conventional or organic) was assessed at farm-level. Furthermore, the relationship between the sustainability performance in terms of climate change and other areas of sustainability is being studied. Farming practices of 60 farms typical for Luxembourg in regard to their share of arable land and permanent grassland (OTE 45: 3 farms; OTE 46: 15; OTE 45: 11; Conventional: 44; Organic: 16) and their respective sustainability implications were assessed in 2019 according to the FAO SAFA Guidelines (Guidelines for the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems, 2014) using the Sustainability Monitoring and Assessment RouTine (SMART)-Farm Tool (v5.0). Organic farms were highly overrepresented, with 26.7 % in the sample compared to 5 % of all Luxembourgish farms. The data was collected during a farm visit and a 3 h interview with the farm manager. The impact of management system and farm type on the SAFA-goal achievement for the sub-theme Greenhouse Gases (GHG) were studied. The results show that the sustainability performances of the participating farms were moderate to good. Goal achievement for the sub-theme GHG was moderate and did not differ significantly between the three farm types (OTE 45: 53.3 % ±3.9 SD goal achievement; OTE 46: 55.6 % ±7.3 SD; OTE 47: 54.6 % ±6.9 SD). Organic farms showed a significantly higher mean goal achievement for GHG than conventional farms (p-value < 0.001) (organic: 58.3 % ±6.0 SD; conventional: 52.6 % ±4.4 SD). For indicators positively impacting GHG, the organic and the OTE 46 farms had generally higher ratings. Correlations between GHG and the other sub-themes were mainly in the Environmental Integrity dimension, showing that implementing climate-positive farming practices can also improve other ecological aspects. The indicator analysis identified the following linchpins: increase in protein autarky, closing of farming cycles and holistic approach with strategic decision making leading to harmonized actions towards a sustainable and climate positive farming system

Climate SMART Agriculture: How well does the agricultural sector in Luxembourg perform in terms of climate change?

peer reviewedIn Luxembourg, the agricultural sector was responsible for 711.7 Gg CO2-equivalents in 2016, which corresponds to 6.95 % of the total country greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Over 50 % of the farms are specialist grazing livestock farms. The beef and cattle milk production account globally together for over 60 % of the sector’s global emissions. Thus, the climate impact of the whole agricultural sector in Luxembourg can be significantly lowered by reducing the GHG emissions of the specialist grazing livestock sector. However, beyond farm type, the GHG emissions of a farm are also influenced by other factors, such as management systems and farming practices. To enable a transition towards a more climate-positive agriculture, insights into the sustainability performance in terms of climate change are needed. The aim of this study is to determine the current sustainability performance of the Luxembourgish specialist grazing livestock sector in terms of climate change. The climate impact of the different specialist grazing livestock farm types (OTE (orientation technico-économique) 45 - Specialist dairying; OTE 46 - Specialist cattle - rearing and fattening and OTE 47 - Cattle - dairying, rearing and fattening combined) and of different management systems (conventional or organic) was assessed at farm-level. Furthermore, the relationship between the sustainability performance in terms of climate change and other areas of sustainability is being studied. Farming practices of 60 farms typical for Luxembourg in regard to their share of arable land and permanent grassland (OTE 45: 3 farms; OTE 46: 15; OTE 45: 11; Conventional: 44; Organic: 16) and their respective sustainability implications were assessed in 2019 according to the FAO SAFA Guidelines (Guidelines for the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems, 2014) using the Sustainability Monitoring and Assessment RouTine (SMART)-Farm Tool (v5.0). Organic farms were highly overrepresented, with 26.7 % in the sample compared to 5 % of all Luxembourgish farms. The data was collected during a farm visit and a 3 h interview with the farm manager. The impact of management system and farm type on the SAFA-goal achievement for the sub-theme Greenhouse Gases (GHG) were studied. The results show that the sustainability performances of the participating farms were moderate to good. Goal achievement for the sub-theme GHG was moderate and did not differ significantly between the three farm types (OTE 45: 53.3 % ±3.9 SD goal achievement; OTE 46: 55.6 % ±7.3 SD; OTE 47: 54.6 % ±6.9 SD). Organic farms showed a significantly higher mean goal achievement for GHG than conventional farms (p-value < 0.001) (organic: 58.3 % ±6.0 SD; conventional: 52.6 % ±4.4 SD). For indicators positively impacting GHG, the organic and the OTE 46 farms had generally higher ratings. Correlations between GHG and the other sub-themes were mainly in the Environmental Integrity dimension, showing that implementing climate-positive farming practices can also improve other ecological aspects. The indicator analysis identified the following linchpins: increase in protein autarky, closing of farming cycles and holistic approach with strategic decision making leading to harmonized actions towards a sustainable and climate positive farming system

Integrated analysis of the impacts of organic farming at farm and food system level in Luxembourg

The Luxembourg government aims to achieve 20% organic agriculture until 2025 and 100% organic agriculture until 2050. The aim of the project is to analyse the impact such a change will have at the farm, as well as on the food system level in Luxembourg. This will be done by conducting a sustainability assessment at the farm-level and the food system-level. For the farm-level sustainability assessment, farm management systems and their respective sustainability implications according to the FAO SAFA Guidelines (Guidelines for the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems) will be assessed using the SMART-Farm Tool. At the food system-level, the mass-flow model of the agriculture and food sector Soil and Organic Livestock (SOL)-Model will be employed to analyse the environmental implications of dietary patterns and agriculture production systems, where the data from the farm-level assessment will be used to increase specificity of the scenarios

Einfluss der Witterungsbedingungen auf den Ertrag von in Luxemburg typischen Körnerleguminosen

Meteorologische Parameter wurden mit Ertragsparametern für Körnerleguminosen wie Ackerbohne, Erbse und Sojabohne gängiger Sorten in Luxemburg verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen signifikante Korrelationen zwischen Niederschlag, relativer Luftfeuchtigkeit, Temperatur und Ertragsparametern

Potential der Biolandwirtschaft zur Steigerung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit des Agrarsektors in Luxemburg

Die Biolandwirtschaft wird oft als umweltfreundlicher gepriesen. Die Ergebnisse der SMART-Analyse zeigen, dass eine 100%ige Umstellung auf Biolandbau in Luxemburg die ökologische Nachhaltigkeit des Sektors verbessern kann, auch wenn mehr getan werden muss, um dem Klimawandel gerecht zu werden

Potential der Biolandwirtschaft zur Steigerung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit des Agrarsektors in Luxemburg

Organic agriculture is often hailed as an environmentally friendly food production system. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of the management system (organic (org.)/conventional (conv.)) on the sustainability performance of farms and derive the possible environmental impact of a 100% conversion to organic agriculture in Luxembourg. During a sustainability assessment at farm level using the SMART-Farm Tool, org. farms achieved significantly higher goal achievements in 13 of the 14 sub-themes of the sustainability dimension “Environmental Integrity”. Thus, org. agriculture shows promise for improvement of the Luxembourgish agricultural sector. However, some differences in goal achievement between the org. and conv. farms, especially in the sub-theme Greenhouse Gases, are relatively small and show that org. agriculture also still has a large potential for improvement when we want to tackle environmental challenges such as climate change.SustEATabl