Can organic farming help to reduce N-losses? Experiences from Denmark

This study is in two parts. In the first part, nitrogen N)losses per unit of milk and meat in Danish conventional and organic pig and dairy farming were compared on the basis of farm data. In the second part, organic and conventional dairy farming were compared in detail, using modelling. N-surpluses at different livestock densities, fodder intensities, and soil types were simulated. Finally, simulated N-surpluses were used in national scenarios for conversion to organic dairy farming in Denmark. In Part one, pig farming was found to have a higher N-efficiency than dairy farming. Organic pig production had a lower N-efficiency and a higher N-surplus per kg meat than conventional pig production. The possibilities to reduce N-loss by conversion to organic pig production therefore appear to be poor. Organic dairy farming had a higher N-efficiency and a lower N-surplus per kg milk than conventional dairy farming. Conversion from conventional to organic dairy farming may therefore reduce N-losses. In Part two, a positive correlation between livestock density and N-surplus ha−1 was found for dairy farming. For all simulated livestock densities, fodder feeding intensities and soil types, organic systems showed a lower N-surplus per unit of milk produced than conventional systems. National scenarios for dairy farming showed that the present Danish milk production could be achieved with a 24% lower total N-surplus if converted from intensive conventional farming to extensive organic farming. At the same time, N-surplus ha−1 and N-surplus (tmilk) −1 would be lowered by 50% and 25%respectively. Changing from intensive to extensive conventional dairy farming with a livestock density equal to that in the organic scenario resulted in a reduction in N-surplus ha−1 of 15%. It was concluded that a reduction in total N-loss from agriculture is possible by converting from conventional to organic dairy farming but at the cost of either lower production on the present dairy farm area, or the current production on a substantially larger area

An LC inventory based on representative and coherent farm types

There is a need for valid and representative data regarding the production, resource use and emissions from typical farming systems in Denmark for analysis of the environmental impact of different systems and as input to product oriented analyses such as Life Cycle Assess-ments of basic food items. An inventory of 31 farm types was constructed on the basis of 2138 farm accounts from 1999 selected and weighted to be representative for the Danish farming sector. The farm accounts were grouped according to the major soil types, the num-ber of standard working hours, the most important enterprise (dairy, pig, different cash crops) and the stocking rate (livestock units per hectare). For each group the account data on the average inputs and outputs, land use and herd structure was used to establish a farm type model with coherency between livestock production, total feed use, land use, yields, im-ported feed, home-grown feed, manure production, fertiliser use and crop production. The set of farm types were scaled up to national level thus representing the whole Danish agricul-tural sector for the included products. The sum of area and yield by crop, number and pro-duction by livestock type and the use of fertiliser, energy and concentrated feed was checked against national level statistics and corrected accordingly across all farm types. Resource use and emissions in each farm type was established using standard nutrient concentrations and models for nutrient cycling, energy use and emissions of e.g. ammonia, nitrous oxides and methane. For LCA the product oriented inventory was established using system expan-sion rather than allocations to account for the secondary enterprises in the livestock farm types. Data are made available on a web-based database and may be used for analyses of the primary production systems or as input for LCA across the whole production chain

Dårlig arrondering – konsekvenser for økologiske kvægbrug

En del økologiske bedrifter har betydelige jordarealer, som ligger uden direkte tilknytning til staldanlægget. Hvad det betyder for bedriftens produktion, næringsstofbalance og økonomi er undersøgt i et nyligt afsluttet FØJO III projekt. Det viser sig, at transportomkostningerne ikke altid kan modsvares af værdien af øget udbytte

A New Interpretation of Otzi, the Iceman

China is the home of acupuncture, but the origin of this treatment method is unclear. The discovery of Ötzi is a milestone in the discussion of acupuncture and has led to a new interpretation of cause and effect. An interpretation, according to which Europe is the pioneer ahead of China. The literature distinguishes between “a form of acupuncture” and “acupuncture”. This distinction is superfluous in a historical context

Horizontal activites. QLIF subproject 7: Horizontal activities

QLIF subproject 7 represents four horizontal activities common to the project, namely: • Environmental and sustainability audits • Cost-benefit analyses and socio-economic impact assessments • Dissemination and technology transfer • Training of graduate and postgraduate researchers Activities in the horizontal research have shown that organic crop production systems generally are more energy-efficient and have lower greenhouse gas emissions than the conventional production. In terms of dissemination the QLIF website has been central and the QLIF newsletter has attracted more than 1000 subscribers. Coupling of the website with the open access database Organic Eprints provides a prospective source of project information that can be accessed also by future stakeholders in organic and low-input systems. Training events arranged annually for students have contributed to proliferation of skills and knowledge gained in QLIF. Also, these events have served to mediate the attitude needed for research in organic and low-input farming