4,530 research outputs found

    Organic livestock production systems and appropriate development in relation to public expectations

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    There has been a tremendous growth in numbers of organic farms in EU over the latest years – from below 20,000 farms in year 1992 to more than 120,000 farms in 1999 (Padel, 2001). Worldwide-certified organic production takes place in 130 countries, half of which are developing countries (ITC, 1999). The market share in EU, however, on total is still quite low ranging from less than 0.5% in nine out of 18 countries some countries to 5-9% in other countries for some major product groups (Michelsen et al., 1999). Livestock production and especially ruminant livestock production forms an integral part of many organic farms due to its role in nutrient recycling on farms. Out of 16 European countries, livestock products were within the top five organic products in 14 countries (Michelsen et al., 1999). The market share of livestock products, however, is very different from product to product. In Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and Finland milk products are the most important organic products. Pork and poultry only play a minor role whereas eggs in some countries are quite important. The recent development of organic farming in Europe is not only a matter of (marginal) agricultural change (Michelsen, 2001). It also represents an implantation of important aspects of recent major changes in society at large into agriculture. Essential vehicles in the development of the concept of organic farming are values expressing a general criticism of mainstream European agriculture and more general doubts about the interplay between man and nature as reflected in modern technology. In society at large these doubts have manifested themselves in growing political and public concern for the environment, increasing doubt regarding the importance of science in solving social problems, and increasing doubts about how society should be governed. The actual development can be attributed to an increased consumer interest in organic products throughout Europe while, at the same time, farmers are interested in converting to organic production methods – often stimulated by governmental support or subsidies. The main actors mentioned, however, do not necessarily have the same expectation to organic farming and the future development in organic farming in general as well as the individual livestock systems in particular may depend on to what degrees common expectations can be fulfilled. The aim of this paper is to highlight some expectations from main actors and to discuss the importance of this for the appropriate development of different livestock systems

    Integration of organic pig production into land use

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    The development in organic livestock production can be attributed to an increased consumer interest in organic products while, at the same time, farmers are interested in converting to organic production methods – often stimulated by governmental support or subsidies. It is important that the organic production systems can fulfil the expectations of each of these stakeholders if the organic livestock production is to increase further. This is in particular important if the organic pig production should move from the present niche-production to a real player in the food marked, like in the case of beef and milk. In the regulations for organic farming, the aspect of allowing a high degree of natural behaviour of the livestock is among others translated in the requirement that livestock in certain periods of their life or of the year should be allowed to graze or have access to another outdoor area. The most common outdoor systems for pig used in intensively managed organic production have some important drawbacks in relation to environmental impact (risk of N-leaching and ammonia volatilisation), animal welfare (nose-ringed sows) and workload and management constraints. With the starting point in the present experience in such systems, it is argued that there is a need for a radical development of the systems. There is a need to search for systems where the outdoor/free range systems (for the sake of the livestock) are constructed and managed in a way whereby the livestock at the same time exert a positive influence on other parts of the farming systems. There is evidence that pregnant sows can fulfil their nutritional needs to a large extent by grazing, that co-grazing sows with heifers can diminish the parasite burden of the heifers, and that the pigs’ inclination for rooting can be managed in a way that makes ploughing and other heavy land cultivation more or less superfluous. These elements need to be further explored as a basis for future system development

    The mating behavior and reproduction performance in a multi-sire mating system for pigs

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    An important aim of organic animal production is to allow natural animal behaviour. Regarding reproduction techniques, artificial insemination is permitted but natural mating is preferred. The outdoor multi-sire system, where the sows are placed in large paddocks with a group of boars, is one example of a service system, which complies well with the organic ideals of facilitating natural animal behavior. However, very little knowledge is available about such system. Seven groups of in total of 47 sows and 31 boars were observed to study the mating behavior in an outdoor multi-sire mating system and the subsequent reproduction results. The time of start of courtship, behavior and the cause of disruption if the courtship was terminated, were recorded each time a boar courted a sow. All aggressive interactions between the boars were also recorded to estimate the boar ranking order. The observations revealed numerous poor quality matings, a huge variation in the number of times sows are mated, and overworked boars. Only 35% of all copulations lasted 2 min or more and 63% of all copulations were disrupted, mainly by competitor boars. The higher social status of the boar, the more copulations did it disrupt ( p < 0.05). The outcome was an unacceptable variation in reproduction results. Only 71% of all estrus sows conceived, corresponding to a pregnancy rate of 77% of all mated sows. A large inter-group variation in reproduction performance was observed, indicating scope for improvements. In some groups all sows showed estrus and all sows conceived. Recommendations for improvement of the system are proposed

    Induction of lactational estrus in organic piglet production

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    The longer lactation period required in organic piglet producing herds reduces the potential number of produced litters per sow per year compared with that of conventional production. Induction and use of lactational estrus may be a way to increase the productivity in organic production. However, if lactational estrus is to be beneficial under practical husbandry conditions, it is crucial that the majority of sows are successfully mated within a few days to make batch farrowing procedures possible. The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence and timing of lactational estrus in an organic outdoor system based on ad libitum feeding, individual housing until Day 35 in lactation, followed by grouping and introduction of a boar and weaning of piglets after 8 wk. Five groups with four sows ((Danish Yorkshire ďż˝ Danish Landrace) ďż˝ Danish Duroc) in each were observed, and rank was determined by a food competition test. All sows showed lactational estrus, and 84% of these sows showed estrus within 1 wk, on average 43.5 d and 7.3 d after farrowing and boar introduction, respectively. The number of days from boar introduction to estrus increased significantly with increasing feed competition rank (the lowest number being the top rank position). Eighty-four percent of all sows were diagnosed pregnant 5 wk after estrus. Behavioral observations revealed that the average total number of copulations per estrus sow was 2.3 with a range of 0 to 5 copulations. The findings of the current study indicate that it is possible to combine lactational estrus and batch farrowing procedures to increase the number of weaned piglets per year per sow in organic piglet production based on 8 wk of lactation or more

    Organic poultry farming

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    The development in organic livestock production can be attributed to an increased consumer inter-est in organic products while, at the same time, farmers are interested in converting to organic pro-duction methods – often stimulated by governmental support or subsidies. It is important that the organic production systems can fulfil the expectations of each of these stakeholders if the organic livestock production is to increase further. This is in particular important if the organic poultry pro-duction should move from the present niche-production to a real player in the food marked, like in the case of beef and milk. It can be argued that the limited organic poultry production is related to the fact that it is far more difficult for the farmers to change the existing production systems for poultry compared to produc-tion systems for cattle and other ruminants in a way that gives a harmonious balance between the different aims of organic farming. In the existing systems for layers with flock sizes of 3,000 hens and where the hens have access to an outdoor area, the egg production and the feed conversion can be close to production results in conventional production. However, often a considerable mortality can be seen in organic egg production in part due to cannibalism and often also very high nutrient loads are observed in parts of the outdoor area. These conditions are important drawbacks in exist-ing systems. In order to improve the situation there is a need to look at the genotype of hens, to consider new management procedures, and – not at least – to consider new systems where the poultry to a higher degree are integrated in the land use. Promising results with integration of chickens, ducks and geese into an orchard production is found. Also preliminary results of housing systems for small flocks of layers are presented

    Integrated forage and livestock production

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    Integrated forage and livestock production can be considered at the farm level and at the herd or animal level. At the farm level it is relevant to consider the overall utilization of N in the system in relation to crops and livestock. It is demonstrated that in organic dairy production a high transformation efficiency of N from input to edible products can be achieved compared, with conventional production. In addition, combining dairy and pig production allows an even higher N utilization. At the herd level the quality of grass or clover-grass based forage is extremely important. This holds for the overall intake and milk production in dairy cows and for the intake of clover-grass by grazing sows. In addition the composition of the sward should be considered in relation to the influence of specific plant species on the development of endoparasitic infections in ruminants and on the wear strength in relation to free-range pig production. For dairy production it is proposed that a strategy including only 20% concentrates (or cereals) of the dry matter in a total diet based on clover-grass and clover-grass silage represenst an efficient milk production without impairing the health of the cows

    Performance and carcass quality of fully on partly outdoor reared pigs in organic production

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    Outdoor rearing of finishers can be considered a relevant option in organic pig production. The performance and carcass characteristics of 245 organically produced and free-range born crossbred pigs allocated to five treatments were compared. The five treatments were: transfer to a barn with free access to feed (1) at weaning and until slaughter, (2) at a live weight of 40 kg and until slaughter, (3) at live weight of 80 kg and until slaughter, or reared at pasture (4) with free or (5) limited access to concentrates until slaughter. Pigs fed ad libitum fed indoor compared to pigs fed ad libitum outdoor had a significant lower feed consumption (5 MJ ME /kg gain), lower lean percentage (2.3%), and a higher backfat depth (1.1 mm)(all P < 0.05). Compared with outdoor pigs fed ad libitum, restricted feeding outdoor resulted in a significantly lower daily gain (107 g), a lower feed consumption (6.3 MJ ME/kg gain), higher lean percentage (2.1% units), and a reduced backfat (1.8 mm) (all P < .001). Pigs, which at a live weight of 40 kg, were transferred to indoor facilities with free access to feed compensated almost completely before slaughter, while pigs transferred at 80 kg live weight only compensated little. Although the housing environment (in- or outdoor) seems to affect performance and carcass traits, the length of energy restriction appears to be of greater importance

    Organic agriculture in relation to food security of developing countries

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    A study was conducted to investigate the differences in farm production, input use and farm income between organic and conventional systems in three regions (Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Tamilnadu) of India. From each region, 40 organic and 40 conventional farmers were interviewed with semi structured questionnaire. The results showed that input costs were less in the organic system while either total farm yield or net margin was righter in the organic system in two of the three regions. In Tamilnadu specializing in rice production, rice yield was less under organic system while net margin did not differ signifcantly. In addition, the IFPRI-IMPACT model was used to fnd out the impact of large scale conversion to organic farming on food security of Sub-Saharan Africa. The model showed that large scale conversion to organic farming in Europe and North America will not have major impact on food security of Africa and large scale conversion in Sub-Saharan Africa will improve the local food security

    Organic pig production – With particular reference to Danish production conditions

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    While there is a markedly growth in organically farmed land and in the organic food sector as such in Europe and North America, the organic pig sector has not developed correspondingly in most countries. This weaker development seems most likely to be due to difficulties for pig producers to comply with the organic standards, which impose comparatively more pronounced changes in the way of production than e.g. in ruminant production systems. Pigs should have access to roughage and to grazing in the summer period although finishers can be kept in barns if access to an outdoor rum. A common way to comply with these regulations is to have sows on grassland all year round, but to rear the finishers in stables. Outdoor piglet production can be very efficient but careful measures needs to be taken to avoid environmental risks. Ringing of sows to avoid rooting on the grassland is a matter of concern. The regulations for housing include a considerable larger area per pig than in conventional production. This support good production and health results in the finisher production, and the regulation stating no tail docking does not seem to impose problems. However, such stables are often very expensive to establish and outdoor rearing of finishers throughout the growing period should be considered. Recent results indicate that this is a viable option. The ban on use of synthetic amino acids and GMO products for feeding represent a challenge in the feeding of finishers. There is a risk regarding carcass quality when soybean meal and amino acid are substituted with more oil rich ingredients for protein supply. On the other hand inclusion of new protein sources in the diet may results in particular meat quality characteristics including positive effects. It is concluded that there is a need in organic pig production to produce “new” products, which differ from the conventional pork products in order to comply with consumer expectations

    Free-range pigs foraging on Jerusalem artichokes

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    Free-range pig production in Northern Europe is characterized by high inputs of concentrate on grassland. This increases risk of nutrient leaching, increases feed costs and puts a pressure on land resources. Pigs’ unique ability to find a part of their food directly in the field where they are kept should be taken into consideration. One below ground field forage characterized by very high yields and with great potential as fodder source is Jerusalem Artichokes (JA) tubers. The nutritional contribution from free-range foraging, growth, feed conversion and behaviour were investigated in 36 growing pigs foraging on JA and fed concentrates restrictedly (30 % of energy recommendations) or ad libitum. Behavioural observations were carried out weekly over the entire experimental period of 40 days. The average daily consumption of concentrate was 51 MJ and 11 MJ ME pig-1 for pigs fed ad libitum and restrictedly, respectively. Compared to the ad libitum fed pigs, the pigs fed restrictedly had a significant lower daily gain (560 vs. 1,224 g pig-1), improved feed conversion ratio (17.6 vs. 42.8 MJ ME concentrate kg-1 live weight gain) and spent more time foraging JA tubers (7.9 vs. 1.1%). Body conditions were comparable between the two treatments. It is estimated that pigs fed restrictedly found approximately 60% of their energy requirement from foraging in the range and consumed 1.3 kg to 1.6 kg DM of JA pig-1 per day. The results indicate good possibilities for substituting a large proportion of concentrates with home-grown JA tubers biological harvested by foraging pigs. Future studies are needed to reveal the most appropriate concentrate feeding regime when combined with foraging JA in relation to consequences for growth and feed conversion, but also for meat quality, animal health and nutrient balances
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