Breeding goats for organic production in Germany

With only 120,000 females (year 2000), goat keeping is a niche activity in animal husbandry in Germany. Most of the goats (about 90%) are kept on part-time farms. The main reasons they are kept are as a hobby, for milk production and for landscape management; in many cases it is a non-profit oriented activity. There are estimates (no official statistics exist) that 20,000 goats are milked and 10,000 are used in landscape management to avoid shrub succession on protected biotopes. In the year 2000 10% of the goats (12,000) were kept on organic farms but not all for economic reasons. Because the dairy breeds in Germany (White and Brown German Alpine) are selected under intensive keeping conditions, breeding under the restrictions of organic farming is necessary to get adopted and high yielding flocks. This is even more true in the case of harsh environmental conditions in landscape management. The German breeds are not suitable for the needs while grazing on marginal biotopes. This paper will show some results of: · a ten-year breeding programme for more milk ingredients, fat and protein, in a flock of 30 mother goats on an organic farm and · the breeding programme of the “Witzenhäuser Landschaftspflegeziege WLZ” for the new purposes of landscape management

Organic Sheep and Goat Farming

Organic sheep and goat farming is on the rise in Germany and the EU. Many consumers see organic farms as an example of the "intact world" of farming and rural living. Agrienvironmental schemes support conversion from conventional towards organic farming. Only few know how difficult organic sheep and goat farming is from animal welfare, ecological and economic perspective. Newcomers particularly overestimate the production and marketing potential of the field, and underestimate the associated husbandry (e.g., health) and labour problems. It usually takes years to learn how to operate a sheep and goat farm and make it profitable. In addition to patience, good animal handling skills, and marketing ability, qualified professional and veterinary advice is crucial for successful, sustainable development. Many veterinarians do not know enough about organic sheep and goat farming. This paper will give some key information. Organic sheep and goat farming is based on established and monitored production and processing guidelines. In 1999, EU-directive 1804/99EU on the legally binding minimum standards of organic animal husbandry was passed and has been in force since 24th August 2000. This was relevant for sheep and goats as well. It describes exactly the production processes to be adhered to, before advertising organic or eco-production. Higher standards than those demanded by the EU-organic-regulation are laid down by the agricultural associations of organic farming. Usually the standards are not very different. Guidelines alone, however, do not make an environmentally friendly, economic, organic sheep and goat keeping centring on animal welfare. A high degree of knowledge as well as practical skill are necessary to keep live stock in accordance with animal welfare and in an environmentally friendly way, and at the same time to earn sufficient income. Here, the regulations offer little help. However, the experience made by organic sheep and goat farmers having practiced for a longer duration of time, show that, in time, these difficulties can be mastered

Do endangered sheep breeds have an advantage in organic farming?

Endangered breeds are not compulsory for organic farming, but adapted and local breeds are considered suitable for Organic Farming. In the year 2001, 240 ewes of six different breeds were introduced on the experimental farm of the Institute of Organic Farming in Trenthorst. Two were high yielding breeds, four older endangered German breeds. The whole herd was kept in one herd in a low input – low output system, comparable to agrienvironmental schemes. The scientific programme was to follow the herd’s development in terms of health status, growth rate and product qualities. After three lambing seasons, no real advantages could be found for the old breeds. Nevertheless, high yielding and old breeds did not show big differences in production and health performance. The result is, that even in low intensive organic farming systems, old and endangered breeds need financial support to be competitive with high yielding breeds

On farm organic dairy sheep and goat breeding in Germany

In the period from 1992 to 1998 the fat and protein yield of both flocks could be increased. A specific breeding strategy had an important contribution to the increase but the environmental impacts on animal productivity is enormous (e.g. the very wet summer season 1994). A wrong decision in breeding bucks (dairy sheep in 1992-1994) had an negative effect on the productivity

Why do humans keep animals? Does the answer help to define standards for organic animal husbandry?

Domestic livestock, such as farm animals and pets, are part of the cultural heritage of mankind. Animals have been used for food, services, non-food or religious purposes or just as a hobby for thousands of years. Man-made breeding has created livestock that are adapted for different purposes and functions. Today, thousand of breeds exist: adapted to the various conditions in human households. The discussion of animal welfare and the definition of standards for livestock keeping have to consider the different functions, ethical values and perceptions of people involved (Badura, 1999). The differences of culture, as well as private and common wealth between individuals, regions and countries, can be a reason for different standards for animal keeping. This discussion can become easier with an understanding of the functions of animals from a historical and ethical perspective. This can help to answer the question of how the animals should be kept

Biodiversity and Organic farming: What do we know?

In den letzten Jahren sind eine Vielzahl von neuen Studien zum Ökologischen Landbau und Biodiversität veröffentlicht worden. Der Ökologische Landbau hat als wissenschaftliches Objekt an Bedeutung gewonnen

Alternative strategies to prevent and control endoparasite diseases in organic sheep and goat farming systems – a review of current scientific knowledge

Infestation with gastro-intestinal nematodes in small ruminants can cause server economic losses and endanger animal welfare. The development of organic farming systems, the increased public awareness for drug residues in agricultural products and the development of resistant strains of parasites have enforced the search for sustainable alternatives. The aim of this paper was to provide information about endoparasite infecting small ruminants, to give an overview of the legal background and to investigate alternative control strategies and treatments, discussing them on overall viability. The main section has been divided into a part of non-chemotherapeutical control strategies and alternative anthelmintic treatments. The conducted research has revealed the major potential to be within the field of non-chemical options. Biological control, effective pasture management, selective breeding, enhanced nutrition and the administration of bioactive forages were discussed and found to hold numerous options. The investigation of alternative anthelmintic treatments reviewed phytotherapy, homeopathy and copper-oxide wire particles. Phytotherapy was examined at in detail and found to hold future potential, indicating a strong need for scientific verification of the potential of many plants. In conclusion this paper shows possibilities and limitations in the area of alternative anthelmintic treatments as well as in non-chemical control options and outlines future research fields

Alternative management strategies to prevent and control endo-parasite diseases in sheep and goat farming systems - a review of the recent scientific knowledge

Infestation with gastro-intestinal nematodes (GIN) in small ruminants can cause server economic losses and endanger animal welfare. The development of organic farming systems, the increased public awareness for drug residues in agricultural products and the development of resistant strains of parasites have enforced the search for sustainable alternatives. The aim of this review is to summarise the current scientific knowledge of alternative strategies to prevent and control endo-parasitic diseases in sheep and goat farming systems. Many scientific studies and projects have shown big discrepancies between results obtained under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Often research has been carried out under clinical conditions for extended periods before being moved to on farm trials and it was observed that extensive clinical research on a topic does not necessarily result in the discovery of a practical control option. Effective pasture management on the other hand proved promising and offers solutions that can be successfully transferred to most farming situations with applied knowledge about host-parasite interactions and interrelations building the base for low pasture infection rates for grazing animals. There are also a number of possible management strategies (e.g. stocking rate reduction and regular intensive monitoring of animal condition) that can also help optimise animal health status. The area of selective breeding has also shown promise as a viable control option. The influence of nutritional status was also investigated in the context of non-chemotherapeutical options for control. It was found that optimised nutrition improves the ability of animals to cope with the adverse effects of worm infestation. Protein nutrition proved to be playing a key role as it is needed for growing processes as well as for immune responses. The investigation of alternative anthelmintic treatments like bioactive forage, phytotherapy, homeopathy and copper-oxide are not discussed in this paper

Transforming Rural Communication Three sociological case studies in a developed and urbanized rural area of northern Germany: regional partnership Lübeck bay, organic dairy farming and nature protection

Marginal rural areas suffer from isolation and a lack of communication with the outside world. The renaissance of rural values and food quality-related issues has brought many urban people to again approach rural areas and actors, sometimes with the intermediation of other more or less professional actors. In an EU share cost project TRUC (EU-QoL:QLAM-2001-00025; 2001-2003), several cases of regional and rural development throughout Europe have been analysed on the topic of transforming rural communication. We present three of these cases in northern Germany: the Model Region Luebeck Bay, Organic Milk and Nature Protection. All of these projects are located in an area where urbanization and the multifunctionality of rural action and development is highly developed. The general objective of the project was to consolidate a transdisciplinary and transsectoral approach to the problem of communication in rural areas, to raise awareness among practitioners and academics of the specificities of rural communication and of the principles of „progressive rural communication“ and to build a core network of academics and practitioners around this topic. The project has an essentially exploratory function, so its achievements will be the basis for further research agendas and projects. The general objective is articulated into three specific objectives: - Accumulating information on rural communication - Creating new knowledge on rural communication - Turning new knowledge into practice The fulfilment of this objective will allow all actors involved in rural development to make decisions with more awareness of the importance of rural communication and to embody this awareness into rural development projects and practices