| 1. |
- Dippel, Sabine, et al.
(författare)
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Health and welfare of organic pigs in Europe assessed with animal-based parameters
- 2014
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Ingår i: Organic Agriculture. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1879-4238 .- 1879-4246. ; 4:2, s. 149-161
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Organic pig farming aims at maintaining a high health and welfare state of the animals through appropriate housing, management and feeding. Better knowledge of health and welfare indicators should help to identify critical points and hence to improve health and welfare as well as performance of organic pigs. This paper describes the health and welfare of organic pigs from 101 farms across six EU countries, using selected animal-based parameters from the Welfare Quality® protocol. Parameters were collected in sows, suckling and weaned piglets in 3 to 20 farms per country. Their assessment was trained before farm visits and inter-observer agreement determined after farm visits. The most prevalent problems identified in sows were thinness (median farm prevalence 18.8 %, range 0–81.0), injuries on the anterior part of the body (15.5 %, 0–66.7), injuries on hind part of body (7.9 %, 0–50), obesity (4.9 %, 0–50.0) and vulva lesions (3.5 %, 0–42.9). In suckling piglets, the median prevalence in terms of groups affected per farm was 0 % for all parameters but ‘> 50 % dirty piglets in group’, for which it was 10 %. Farm prevalence ranged from 0 to 100 % for ‘≥ 1 lame piglet in group’, presence of diarrhoea, and ‘> 50 % dirty piglets in group’. In weaned piglets, the median prevalence in terms of groups affected per farm was 0 % with a range of 0 to 100 % for all parameters. Based on the collected data, body condition, skin and vulva lesions in sows, lameness, diarrhoea and respiratory problems in piglets could be used as management and welfare indicators, with good potential for enhancement through farm improvement schemes like herd health planning. However, some definitions could be improved, especially lameness, diarrhoea and respiratory problems in piglets.
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| 2. |
- Lindberg, Mikaela, et al.
(författare)
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Profitability of organic and conventional dairy production with different dietary proportions of high-quality grass silage
- 2013
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Ingår i: Organic Agriculture. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1879-4238 .- 1879-4246. ; 3, s. 31-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The profitability in organic and conventional milk production systems when using three different dietary proportions (51 %, 62 % and 69 % of dry matter) of high-quality grass silage to dairy cows was calculated. Feed intake and milk production data were measured in a dairy cow experiment in which the same types of feeds were used over the entire lactation, but the proportion of forage was increased to three different degrees in the diet. The results of the economic analyses showed that full cost coverage was only reached within the organic production system and that a large herd size (160 cows) was required to achieve economically sustainable dairy production. However, large herd size required large pasture areas in organic production, which can be difficult to achieve in forest-dominated districts. The results of the calculated profitability showed that it was profitable to increase the average dietary proportion of high-quality silage from 51 % to 62 % of dry matter in conventional production with concentrate and grain prices at their current high levels. In organic production, there were only minor differences in calculated profitability between providing the obligatory 60 % and 69 % of dry matter as high-quality silage in the dairy cow diet.
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| 3. |
- Lindgren, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Animal health and welfare in production systems for organic fattening pigs
- 2014
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Ingår i: Organic Agriculture. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1879-4238 .- 1879-4246. ; 4:2, s. 135-147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With the aim to identify European health and welfare strategies in organic pig production, we summarized information about health and welfare status and potential hazards for organic fattening pigs. The results were primarily based on studies of organic production or comparisons between organic and conventional production. Conventional Danish herds consumed three times as much antibiotics (anthelmintics not included) as the organic herds, whilst there was no difference in mortality rate nor more pigs in need of treatment in the organic herds. Slaughter data indicated that organic pigs had fewer respiratory problems, skin lesions (including abscesses and hernias) and tail wounds compared to conventional pigs. On the other hand, remarks because of joint lesions and white spot livers were more common among organic pigs. The risk of parasitic infections in organic fattening pigs has been confirmed. To control endoparasites, outdoor areas should be rotated with as long interval as possible, i.e. by including the pigs in the crop rotation. Outdoor housing with functional wallows and access to grass and roots or outdoor runs and roughage can enhance pig welfare and reduce pen-mate-directed oral activity and aggression. Minimizing negative environmental impact may conflict with animal welfare, i.e. raising the pigs indoors may not only reduce plant nutrient losses but also reduce the pigs’ activity options. With an increasing number of specialized organic units, implementation of age-segregated production and buying piglets from only one or few units is necessary to maintain a good health in transferred pigs.
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| 4. |
- Neumann, Angelika, et al.
(författare)
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Losses of nitrogen and phosphorus via the drainage system from organic crop rotations with and without livestock on a clay soil in southwest Sweden
- 2011
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Ingår i: Organic Agriculture. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1879-4238 .- 1879-4246. ; 1, s. 217-229
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Leaching losses of N and P were examined in separately tile-drained field plots on a clay soil with two 6-year organic crop rotations (1998–2006). Two different farming systems (with dairy cows (+L) and without stock (−L)) were evaluated to identify parts of the crop rotations with the greatest risks of N and P leaching losses and to examine the scope for improvement. Although N and P leaching losses tended to be higher without livestock, the mean annual leaching loads from both systems were low and did not differ significantly (6.8 and 9.1 kg N ha−1 year−1 and 0.39 and 0.55 kg Pha−1 year−1 for +L and −L, respectively). For both systems, there were increased amounts of N and P in drainage water in the period following sowing of winter wheat after incorporation of clover–grass ley (CG). This could be attributed to the early date of CG incorporation, as late incorporation followed by bare fallow gave lower nutrient leaching. Drainage from bare fallow after a broad bean crop was identified as a critical part of the crop rotation for P leaching, with P losses possibly enhanced by macropore formation by the taproot of broad bean. The lowest leaching losses were observed during CG growth, demonstrating that CG had a buffering effect on leaching during heavy precipitation events. It was concluded that in organic farming on clay soils, countermeasures such as undersown CG and late incorporation of this CG can be effective in reducing N and P leaching losses
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| 5. |
- Prunier, Armelle, et al.
(författare)
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Characteristics of organic pig farms in selected European countries and their possible influence on litter size and piglet mortality
- 2014
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Ingår i: Organic Agriculture. - : Springer Netherlands. - 1879-4238 .- 1879-4246. ; 4:2, s. 163-173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Better knowledge of piglet losses around birth and during lactation, and the role of litter size, housing and management characteristics, should help to identify critical points and hence to improve the situation in organic pig farms. For this purpose, a project was initiated in five EU countries collecting interview data, measures of animal and housing characteristics and production records. This paper presents results regarding production characteristics from 82 herds. Among them, 42 farms were included in an analysis based on the production records. Based on sows’ housing system during the first 2 weeks after farrowing, farms were classified as “indoor” (n = 49) or “outdoor” (n = 33). For each group, a multiple correspondence analysis and subsequent hierarchical classification were carried out to identify distinct farm categories. In total, 30 variables from the questionnaires and measured characteristics were used after binary transformation when necessary. Three types of indoor farms and two types of outdoor farms were identified. Regarding litter size at birth and weaning, there was no clear difference between all types of indoor farms and one type of outdoor farms, whereas the second type of outdoor farms, that were more “extensive”, had lower performance. Production records showed a detrimental influence of high farm average litter size at birth on piglet mortality and that high-standard deviation in litter size may exacerbate this problem. © 2013, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
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| 6. |
- Salevid, Pernilla, et al.
(författare)
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Profitability of organic and conventional cow-calf operations under Swedish conditions
- 2012
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Ingår i: Organic Agriculture. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1879-4238 .- 1879-4246. ; 2, s. 205-217
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to maintain the high natural values of Swedish semi-natural pasture, suckler cow numbers must increase, but numbers are more likely to decrease due to low profitability, changes to the EU support system and increasing wage levels. This study sought to identify production models for cow-calf operations with sufficient profitability to pay at least stipulated farm workers wage. In the calculations, the income from weaned calves and EU support was reduced by operating costs, excluding labour. The surplus was divided by hours spent on labour, resulting in a return to labour per hour. The calculations were carried out in varying future scenarios where the Common Agricultural Policy is changing. The results showed that organic production models created a higher return to labour than conventional production models. One reason for this is the environmental payment for organic farming. Another reason is that organic production maintains more acreage, equalling higher environmental payments and other EU support per suckler cow. Other more profitable production models included spring calving, heavy cows and winter feed based on silage. Some organic production models gave a return to labour above the stipulated farm workers wage. However, if the single farm payment scheme is phased out and not replaced by an increase in environmental payments, the return to labour will be at best half the stipulated farm workers wage.
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| 7. |
- Stenberg, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Nitrogen management strategies in organic winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) production
- 2013
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Ingår i: Organic Agriculture. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1879-4238 .- 1879-4246. ; 3, s. 71-82
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The efficiency of four different organic fertilisers applied to winter oilseed rape, before (early) or at the beginning of regrowth in spring (normal application time), was studied in two row spacing systems of 12 and 48 cm with inter row hoeing to provide strategies to optimise spring nitrogen (N) fertilisation to organic winter oilseed rape. Six annual field experiments were performed during 2005-2008 in south central Sweden. The following amendments, i.e., Vinass from yeast production, Biofer meat and bone meal, dairy slurry and chicken manure, were applied at a rate corresponding to 100 kgN ha-1. CropN uptake, seed yield and oil content indicated greater and earlier N availability of Vinass after application compared with the other amendments. Yield increased by 1,300 kg ha-1 at early spring application (27 March) of Vinass and by 700 kg ha-1 when applied at normal application time (18-26 April). The yield increase was 400 kg ha-1 regardless of application time of Biofer, chicken manure and dairy slurry. The substantially greater yield increase in the Vinass application in relation to the other fertilisers demonstrated the yield potential when N is available earlier. The smaller effect on the yield by the other organic amendments indicated that the N release was not synchronised with the crop demand, and available too late during crop development to affect yield or less N was available due to N losses. Consequently, only Vinass can be recommended for spring application. The two row spacing systems tested can both be recommended, since yield levels were similar.
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| 8. |
- Wiberg, Sofia Elisabet
(författare)
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Description of organic pig production in Europe
- 2014
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Ingår i: Organic Agriculture. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1879-4238 .- 1879-4246. ; 4, s. 83-92
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 9. |
- Alam, Mehboob, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on spinach and rocket as affected by inoculum and time to harvest
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scientia Horticulturæ. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-4238 .- 1879-1018. ; 165, s. 235-241
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Irrigation water is an important vehicle for dissemination of human pathogens to plants. As contamination in an early stage of the production chain cannot necessarily be counteracted later, cultural measures to reduce the contamination risk need to be adopted during primary production. In a two-factorial greenhouse experiment, we studied the impact of inoculum density and the interval between irrigation and haivest on the prevalence of an inoculated gfp-tagged non-pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli O157:H7. The strain was inoculated with the irrigation water at a density of log 5.6, log 6.6 and log 7.6 CFU ml(-1) into the phyllosphere of fully grown crops of rocket and spinach (BBCH 49). The crops were then harvested after 3, 24,48 and 72 h. The introduced strain decreased exponentially in numbers within 72 h, to 49.6%, 52.6% and 50.6%, respectively, in the spinach and to 58.5%, 67.4% and 73.4% in the rocket. No differences were found in the number of the total viable count of aerobic bacteria and of Enterobacteriaceae as assessed on tryptic soy agar (TSA) and violet red bile dextrose agar (VRBD), respectively. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes of randomly selected isolates from VRBD were identified as Enterobacter cloaceae, Enterobacter ludwigii, Pantoea sp. and Raoultella planticola as the dominant Enterobacteriaceae species in the rocket and spinach phyllosphere. We found that cessation of irrigation for three days seems not to be an adequate sanitisation treatment to exclude the possibility of viable E. coil 0157:H7 cells on spinach or rocket. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Gustavsson, Larisa, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic diversity in Swedish and Finnish heirloom apple cultivars revealed with SSR markers
- 2013
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Ingår i: Scientia Horticulturae. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-4238 .- 1879-1018. ; 162, s. 43-48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A set of 85 heirloom apple cultivars aimed for long-term preservation in two germplasm collections in Sweden and Finland was evaluated with 8 SSR primer pairs to evaluate genetic diversity and genetic relatedness. An additional set of 16 European cultivars was included for comparison. The eight SSR primer pairs amplified 9 loci and 105 alleles. Genetic analyses performed by MDS indicated some differentiation between Swedish and Finnish cultivars, with European cultivars intermixed with the Swedish. The existence of three groups was, however, indicated by a Bayesian model-based clustering. One of the groups was clearly dominated by Swedish cultivars and another by Finnish. The third group included almost equal proportions of representatives from all three areas. The obtained results confirmed the genetic distinctness of Finnish apple cultivars, which can be explained by climate adaptation and admixture with a Russian gene pool. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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