Analyse und Bewertung zu Stand und Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten von Futterbau und Tierernährung im ökologischen Landbau – Themenbezogenes Netzwerk Tierernährung im Ökologischen Landbau

Von der ab August 2005 in Kraft tretenden EU-Verordnung 2092/21 ausgehend diente der Workshop unter Beteiligung von Praktikern, Beratern, Vertretern der Futterwirtschaft und der Wissenschaft der Analyse und Beschreibung des Ist-Zustands sowie der Ermittlung des Handlungs- und Forschungsbedarfs auf dem Gebiet des Futterbaus und der Tierernährung im Ökologischen Landbau. Es wurden eine umfangreiche Literaturauswertung zur „100% Biofütterung“ bei Geflügel, Schweinen und Rindern vorgelegt und Informationen zu abgeschlossenen und laufenden Forschungsprojekten gegeben. In drei Arbeitsgruppen wurden spezielle Fragen der Geflügel-, Schwein- und Rinderfütterung angesprochen und beraten. Die im Ökologischen Landbau bewirtschaftungsbedingt artenreicheren Grünlandbestände und die grundsätzlich faserreichere Ernährung monogastrischer Nutztiere erfordern erweiterte laboranalytische und verdauungs-physiologische Untersuchungen zur Futterbewertung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der intestinalen Mikrobiologie hinsichtlich Nährstoffverwertung, insbesondere Aminosäuren, Immunfunktion und Infektionsgeschehen. Tiergenotyp-Futter-Interaktionen sind noch weitgehend unbekannt, müssten aber zwecks Nutzung geeigneter Nutztierherkünfte im Ökologischen Landbau näher untersucht werden. Möglichkeiten der Futtertechnologie zur Futteraufwertung sind zu prüfen. Zusammenhänge zwischen Fütterung und Produktqualität können mit noch zu begründenden Kriterien stärker herausgestellt werden. Eine hinreichend effiziente 100%-Biofütterung von Aufzuchtferkeln ist bislang ungelöst. Für Auslauf- und Freilandhaltung von Geflügel und Schweinen sollten Cafeteria-Systeme weiterentwickelt werden. Unvermeidbare Stickstoffausscheidungen der Nutztiere müssen hinsichtlich Düngungsmanagement und betrieblicher Stickstoffeffizienz optimiert werden

Belowground Productivity in Patches of Heterogeneous Grass Swards After Nearly Two Decades of Low-Intensity Cattle Grazing

In low-input grassland, patch-grazing leads to tall and short patches that provide different growth conditions for the grass sward. Since belowground biomass and the associated turnover represent the main carbon input to soil in grassland, we investigated within-pasture variation of above- and belowground net primary production in relation to patches over one year of production in a long-term grazing experiment during the year 2022. The analysis of above- and belowground net primary production showed an effect of patch types, partly in interaction with the month, indicating a strong variation due to climatic conditions. In those few cases where differences existed among patches, then tall patches were more productive than short ones. Overall, the experimental year was unusually dry and hot

Real-World Applications for Virtual Fences – What Are Potential Benefits for Conservation?

Livestock grazing can enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. In many parts of Europe, however, grazing has lost its importance, especially in the dairy sector. Large proportions of permanent grassland have been converted to arable land or intensified by fertilization and frequent defoliation. The disappearance of large herbivores and extensively grazed pastures contributes to the loss of structural, functional and biological diversity and ecosystem services. Modern technologies, which circumvent the cost- and labour-intensive installation of physical fences, could facilitate a precise spatio-temporal management of livestock and promote grazing. We reviewed the literature on the state-of-the-art of virtual fencing, focusing on the prospects of these technologies to enhance environmentally-friendly livestock farming. Novel virtual fencing technologies are expected to entail various ecological benefits, but this has rarely been tested in practice. Future experiments not only need to increase sample sizes and study periods to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of virtual fencing, but also need to be specifically designed for answering questions of conservation interest. Virtual fences have the potential to reconcile agronomic with ecological demands and bring livestock back into the landscape, but whether they will actually find broad application depends on further multidisciplinary research on animal welfare, agronomic, social and legal aspects

Nährstoffverfügbarkeit und Nährstoffnutzung von klee- und kräuterreichen Aufwüchsen ökologisch bewirtschafteten Grünlandes entlang der Produktionskette Erzeugung - Konservierung - Verdauung

Ziel des Vorhabens war es, kräuterreiche Grünlandaufwüchse, die im Ökologischen Landbau eine große Bedeutung haben, im Hinblick auf die Futterqualität und die Tierernährung zu bewerten. Für Frühjahrs- und Sommeraufwüchse wurden die Futterqualitäts- und Konservierungseigenschaften eines ungedüngten kräuterreichen Grünlandes und eines ungedüngten Weißklee-Weidelgrasbestandes mit dem eines mit mineralischem Stickstoff gedüngten reinen Weidelgrasbestandes (konventionelle Vergleichsvariante) verglichen. Beim kräuterreichen Grünland bestand der Kräuteranteil aus den feinblättrigen Arten Löwenzahn und Spitzwegerich. Futter wurde im Labormaßstab einsiliert und die Gärfähigkeit sowie die Silagequalität ermittelt. Die Verdauungsphysiologie wurde anhand der Pansensimulationstechnik ‚Rusitec’ studiert. Die kräuterreichen Aufwüchse wiesen eine im Vergleich zum reinen Grasbestand gute Siliereignung und Silagequalität auf mit geringen Ammoniakgehalten und niedrigem Proteinabbau. Kräuterreiches Futter enthielt weniger Rohprotein und Gerüstsubstanzen. Bei der Enzymlöslichkeit der organischen Substanz (ELOS) und der energetischen Bewertung (HFT) traten keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den Varianten auf. Dagegen erwiesen sich die Silagen aus kräuterreichen Aufwüchsen in der Pansensimulation als geringer abbaubar, die mikrobielle Zell- bzw. Proteinsynthese war im Vergleich zur Gras-Klee- und insbesondere gegenüber der Grasvariante vermindert. Die Ergebnisse weisen auf ein hohes, N-effizientes Verwertungspotential kräuterreicher Grünlandaufwüchse in der Wiederkäuerfütterung hin. Es bleibt zu klären, ob die nicht mikrobiell im Pansen abbaubaren Futterbestandteile postruminal zur Energie- und Nährstoffversorgung des Wiederkäuers beizutragen vermögen

Herding Livestock – the Phoenix Rises from the Ashes? Digital Herding as a Future Tool for Grazing Livestock

Today, sustainable management of grazing livestock requires high efforts in management and fencing. Nowadays, several developments in digital technologies for herding grazing animals are arising. We conducted a systematic review on current developments in digital technologies for managing grazing animals within the landscape. We mainly focused on cattle (Bos taurus) and sheep (Ovis aries). We highlight the most promising developments of virtual fencing used in recent research to evaluate effectiveness, animal behaviour and welfare. Moreover, we highlight current research in digital herding by drones and robots. We discuss the potential and current limitations of digital tools for sustainable grazing management. Recent study results showed that virtual fences are highly efficient in keeping cattle within allocated pasture areas. So far, there has been no evidence for harmful impacts on animal welfare or reduction in animal performance. First findings suggest that drones can also herd and move animals. However, knowledge on the efficiency and potential effects on animal welfare when using drones is limited. First findings have shown that robots are able to gather animals to a specific location and heart-rate and blood tests showed that the animals were less stressed by the robot than they were by a human. However, research on herding drones and robots is still in its infancy. Digital tools provide the opportunity for precise livestock movement control and could facilitate the implementation of both productive and biodiversity-friendly grazing

Grazing and Animal Welfare of Dairy Cows in Europe, What do We Know?

Grazing systems are important components of the landscape in almost all European countries. Grazing is inherently close to the nature of herbivores, but no longer applied everywhere in Europe. This paper discusses the extent of dairy cow grazing in Europe and the effect of grazing on animal welfare. The study builds on results of surveys from the European Grassland Federation (EGF) Working Group “Grazing” (WGG) in the period 2010–2022 and a focus group meeting in 2022. Data on the extent of grazing of dairy cows in Europe are provided. Europe can be divided into six distinctive regions with respect to the extent of grazing. The extent of grazing is country specific and there is less grazing in the East and the South than in the North and the West of Europe. In general, the popularity of grazing in Europe is declining, but there are a few exceptions. The main positive effects of grazing on animal welfare and animal health identified are that grazing provides much more scope for natural behaviour, may reduce the risk of udder health problems and may benefit claw health. The main negative effects are that in the field cows are exposed to weather conditions, especially sun, and fluctuations in diet composition. The WGG members concluded that grazing has, in general, a positive effect on animal welfare and animal health. A changing climate and associated changing weather conditions are seen as the biggest challenges for grazing in the next decade

Grazing and Animal Welfare of Dairy Cows in Europe, What do We Know?

Grazing systems are important components of the landscape in almost all European countries. Grazing is inherently close to the nature of herbivores, but no longer applied everywhere in Europe. This paper discusses the extent of dairy cow grazing in Europe and the effect of grazing on animal welfare. The study builds on results of surveys from the European Grassland Federation (EGF) Working Group “Grazing” (WGG) in the period 2010–2022 and a focus group meeting in 2022. Data on the extent of grazing of dairy cows in Europe are provided. Europe can be divided into six distinctive regions with respect to the extent of grazing. The extent of grazing is country specific and there is less grazing in the East and the South than in the North and the West of Europe. In general, the popularity of grazing in Europe is declining, but there are a few exceptions. The main positive effects of grazing on animal welfare and animal health identified are that grazing provides much more scope for natural behaviour, may reduce the risk of udder health problems and may benefit claw health. The main negative effects are that in the field cows are exposed to weather conditions, especially sun, and fluctuations in diet composition. The WGG members concluded that grazing has, in general, a positive effect on animal welfare and animal health. A changing climate and associated changing weather conditions are seen as the biggest challenges for grazing in the next decade

Humped-back shaped response of plant species richness to increasing shrub encroachment in calcareous grasslands

In the present study, we examined the effect of shrub encroachment in temperate semi-natural grasslands on plant species diversity. We tested the hypothesis that an initial shrub encroachment leads to enhanced habitat heterogeneity and thereby to a higher diversity. In a calcareous grassland near Göttingen (Germany) we analysed the effect of shrub encroachment on the species richness in 30, 100 m2 plots each with 10 subplots of 1m2 size. The 30 main plots belonged to six different shrub encroachment classes. A descriptive correlative gradient analysis of shrub invaded grasslands and their species number of flowering plants was performed. Within the 30 plots of different shrub encroachment a total of 203 plant species were recorded. The mean α1-diversity (level of subplots), mean α2-diversity (level of plots) as well as the α3-diversity (level of shrub encroachment classes) have their highest values at medium shrub invaded sites. This finding is in line with our hypothesis of a hump-back relation between shrub encroachment and species richness, and can be explained by the increased habitat heterogeneity. However, Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) emphasized the importance of the present vegetation composition for species richness. The dominance of highly competitive, clonal-growing grass species is accompanied by low diversity swards with a lower facilitation of shrub establishment. Species accumulation curves highlight the benefit of shrub encroachment for γ-(landscape-) diversity. This result emphasises the importance of habitat heterogeneity for biodiversity and, therefore, nature conservation

Assessing Feed Gaps on Smallholder Livestock Farms in Limpopo: Production System and Coping Strategies

Smallholder farms in southern Africa are predominantly mixed crop-livestock systems and often characterized by low productivity. Therefore, providing sufficient forage becomes a challenge that results first in feed gaps, i.e. the difference between the demand for and supply of forage, and secondly, in nutrient mining of the soil due to the overuse of the resources. However, the availability of forage follows potentially seasonal patterns. Hence, a key entry point for any intervention strategies for improvement is an assessment of forage quantity and quality throughout the year. Against this background, we investigated six locations, smallholders’ cattle production systems and their adaptation options in periods of feed deficit across three distinct agro-ecological zones in the Limpopo province (South Africa). We interviewed 90 farmers from May to September 2019 and found that farmers struggle in winter-spring (June – September) to access feed resources for their livestock. Most farmers mentioned that feed deficit in that period is a regular phenomenon. Mixed crop-livestock farmers stated that they rely on on-farm resources (crop residues) while sole livestock farmers stated that reducing herd size is a top adaptation option. Farmers also indicated that feed availability in required quantity and quality is the biggest constraint to sustaining livestock production throughout the year. This study demonstrates a sound assessment of the temporal pattern of feed gaps in Limpopo province and potential farmer avenues for their mitigation