Potato Organic Farming in Batu City, Indonesia

OpenAIRE

Sugiarto, Sugiarto; Sulistiono, Rudi; Sudiarso, Sudiarso; Soemarno, Soemarno

2013-01-01

Organic potato cultivation was an effort to improve declining quality of potato agroecosystems and to preserve soil fertility. This study was conducted to analyze pattern of farming system and land management on the area of organic potatoes in Batu city. Research was conducted by the survey method, respondents were determined by the method of stratified cluster sampling. Farmer respondents were experienced organic potato farmer and as "expert leaders". Results show that the mindset of farmer...

Biogas and bioethanol production in organic farming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oleskowicz-Popiel, P

2010-08-15

The consumer demand for environmentally friendly, chemical free and healthy products, as well as concern regarding industrial agriculture's effect on the environment has led to a significant growth of organic farming. On the other hand, organic farmers are becoming interested in direct on-farm energy production which would lead them to independency from fossil fuels and decrease the greenhouse gas emissions from the farm. In the presented work, the idea of biogas and bioenergy production at the organic farm is investigated. This thesis is devoted to evaluate such a possibility, starting from the characterization of raw materials, through optimizing new processes and solutions and finally evaluating the whole on-farm biorefinery concept with the help of a simulation software. (LN)

Biogas and bioethanol production in organic farming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oleskowicz-Popiel, P.

2010-08-15

The consumer demand for environmentally friendly, chemical free and healthy products, as well as concern regarding industrial agriculture's effect on the environment has led to a significant growth of organic farming. On the other hand, organic farmers are becoming interested in direct on-farm energy production which would lead them to independency from fossil fuels and decrease the greenhouse gas emissions from the farm. In the presented work, the idea of biogas and bioenergy production at the organic farm is investigated. This thesis is devoted to evaluate such a possibility, starting from the characterization of raw materials, through optimizing new processes and solutions and finally evaluating the whole on-farm biorefinery concept with the help of a simulation software. (LN)

Sustainability and Competitiveness of Romanian Farms through Organic Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirela Ionela Aceleanu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Currently, the development of any sector involves respecting the principles of sustainability, which means economic, social and environmental development. Moreover, organic farming is a very important field for ensuring sustainable development. Romania has great potential for the development of organic agriculture, especially due to the large number of available farmland and reduced use of fertilizers and other chemicals. However, the development of organic farming in Romania is in an early stage, due to the numerous problems that Romanian agriculture is still facing. Concern for the environment should be reflected at the level of production processes and consumption. As market demand influences and stimulates production, we can ask the question to what extent stimulating the consumption of organic products through green marketing can boost organic agriculture development and competitiveness of Romanian farms. Using several methods of research, such as analysis, synthesis, comparison, statistical methods and by calling on studies, reports and data series on organic farming in the EU and Romania, this paper highlights Romania's position in terms of the level of development of organic agriculture and recommends several ways to improve the outcomes obtained by Romania in the field. Moreover, based on regression equations, the trend of convergence of Romanian organic agriculture development in relation to the EU countries is analysed. The paper demonstrates that one of the measures that can be taken by Romanian farms is green marketing strategy development that can stimulate both consumption and production of organic products. Therefore, with increasing interest in the development of organic agriculture in Romania, green marketing can play an increasingly important role in promoting the benefits of consuming organic products, thus contributing to business development of organic products as well as to the development of Romanian agriculture

An autonomous weeding robot for organic farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bakker, T.; Asselt, van C.J.; Bontsema, J.; Müller, J.; Straten, van G.

2006-01-01

The objective of this research is the replacement of hand weeding in organic farming by a device working autonomously at ¯eld level. The autonomous weeding robot was designed using a structured design approach, giving a good overview of the total design. A vehicle was developed with a diesel engine,

Relationships between Danish organic farming and landscape composition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Levin, Gregor Philipp

2007-01-01

in landscape composition between organic and conventional farms were not a direct implication of organic farming practices, but were related to variations within other parameters and to the location of organically farmed land. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved......This article presents an investigation of relationships between organic farming and landscape composition in Denmark. Landscape composition was analysed in terms of density of uncultivated landscape elements (I), number of land uses per hectare (II), diversity of land use (III) and mean field size...... (IV). Two analytical approaches were used. The first was based on an examination of the national agricultural registers for 1998, 2001 and 2004. The second approach used aerial photo interpretation for an analysis of 72 conventional and 40 organic farms within three sample areas for 1982, 1995...

N-losses and energy use in a scenario for conversion to organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Tommy; Kjeldsen, Chris; Hutchings, Nick

2002-01-01

is not straightforward, and different scenarios for conversion to organic farming might lead to reduced or increased N-losses and E-use. This paper presents a scenario tool that uses a Geographical Information System in association with models for crop rotations, fertilisation practices, N-losses, and E...... reduction at the 95% level. We therefore recommend further research in how conversion to organic farming or other changes in the agricultural practice might help to reduce N-surpluses and E-uses. In that context, the presented scenario tool would be useful......The aims of organic farming include the recycling of nutrients and organic matter and the minimisation of the environmental impact of agriculture. Reduced nitrogen (N)-losses and energy (E)-use are therefore fundamental objectives of conversion to organic farming. However, the case...

Review of History and Recent Development of Organic Farming Worldwide

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2006-01-01

The history of the organic farming worldwide was reviewed in this paper. The development of the organic farming worldwide had gone through three stages, emergence, expansion, and growth. The contributors and their thoughts during the different development stages of the organic farming were briefly introduced. And the development status of the organic farming worldwide was reviewed from the aspects of land area under organic management, land area under organic management in percentage of total agricultural area, and world markets for organic products. Besides, the main existing problems for the further development of the world's organic farming, as well as the development status, problems and strategies of the Chinese organic farming were discussed.

Soil management practices under organic farming

Science.gov (United States)

Aly, Adel; Chami Ziad, Al; Hamdy, Atef

2015-04-01

Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge of ecology and modern technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological processes. Soil building practices such as crop rotations, intercropping, symbiotic associations, cover crops, organic fertilizers and minimum tillage are central to organic practices. Those practices encourage soil formation and structure and creating more stable systems. In farm nutrient and energy cycling is increased and the retentive abilities of the soil for nutrients and water are enhanced. Such management techniques also play an important role in soil erosion control. The length of time that the soil is exposed to erosive forces is decreased, soil biodiversity is increased, and nutrient losses are reduced, helping to maintain and enhance soil productivity. Organic farming as systematized and certifiable approach for agriculture, there is no surprise that it faces some challenges among both farmers and public sector. This can be clearly demonstrated particularly in the absence of the essential conditions needed to implement successfully the soil management practices like green manure and composting to improve soil fertility including crop rotation, cover cropping and reduced tillage. Those issues beside others will be fully discussed highlighting their beneficial impact on the environmental soil characteristics. Keywords: soil fertility, organic matter, plant nutrition

Reconciling scientific approaches for organic farming research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baars, T.

2002-01-01

Part I : Reflection on research methods in organic grassland and animal production at the Louis Bolk Institute, The Netherlands

Key words: organic agriculture, anthroposophy, methodology, research strategy, experiential science,

Multifunctionality of Organic Farming: Case Study from Southern Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Śpiewak Ruta

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this article is to answer the question whether organic farming, which is developing in some parts of Poland, can be considered as a form of multifunctional farming and contribute so to non-commodity functions and the process of change in a particular territory of given areas. The analyses are based on data obtained from 2013 of several points in the south of Poland representing a cluster of organic market oriented farmers. The results show that namely market organic farming may serve as multifunctional one, but only under certain conditions and for a specific type of farming. Through specific functions, organic farming facilitates the changes, primarily on a local scale. The existence of a strong integrated organic farming sector might influences development and change, resulting in not only the improvement of economic welfare of organic farmers, but also of whole local communities, strengthening the bonds amongst them, mobilising the social resources.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS IN ORGANIC FARMING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra MUSCĂNESCU

2013-10-01

Full Text Available As regards to organic farming, organic farms have a lot of shortcomings in ensuring smooth organization of production due to climatic factors or crop sensitivity and action of pests and diseases, but especially to the high cost of inputs, reduced subsidies and difficulties in obtaining fair prices on the market. Understanding how the organizational structure of the business can compete to ensure efficiency at farm level is an important means to resolve these deficiencies. In this context, this paper aims to identify the characteristics of the organization of organic crop farms starting from an interview-based analysis of two large crop specialised farms in Tulcea and Calaraşi Counties. The information obtained through this method of investigation has been translated into a SWOT analysis and represented the basis for comparison with information gathered from other interviews from two organic farms in Scotland. The main conclusions we reached highlight two types of organization systems, one without integration and another with supply chain integration, very similar to the Scottish ones, but also showing a very obvious difference in the mentality of the farm owners; Romanians focusing on meeting the conditions for certification and maintenance of crops in organic, and the Scots at finding new markets.

Comparing risk in conventional and organic dairy farming in the Netherlands: an empirical analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Berentsen, P B M; Kovacs, K; van Asseldonk, M A P M

2012-07-01

This study was undertaken to contribute to the understanding of why most dairy farmers do not convert to organic farming. Therefore, the objective of this research was to assess and compare risks for conventional and organic farming in the Netherlands with respect to gross margin and the underlying price and production variables. To investigate the risk factors a farm accountancy database was used containing panel data from both conventional and organic representative Dutch dairy farms (2001-2007). Variables with regard to price and production risk were identified using a gross margin analysis scheme. Price risk variables were milk price and concentrate price. The main production risk variables were milk yield per cow, roughage yield per hectare, and veterinary costs per cow. To assess risk, an error component implicit detrending method was applied and the resulting detrended standard deviations were compared between conventional and organic farms. Results indicate that the risk included in the gross margin per cow is significantly higher in organic farming. This is caused by both higher price and production risks. Price risks are significantly higher in organic farming for both milk price and concentrate price. With regard to production risk, only milk yield per cow poses a significantly higher risk in organic farming. Copyright © 2012 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Breeding birds on organic and conventional arable farms

OpenAIRE

Kragten, Steven

2009-01-01

As a result of agricultural intensification, farmland bird populations have been declining dramatically over the past decades. Organic farming is often mentioned to be a possible solution to stop these declines. In order to see whether farmland birds really benefit from organic farming a study was carried out comparing breeding bird densities, breeding success and bird food abundance between organic and conventional arable farms in Flevoland, the Netherlands. skylark (Alauda arvensis) and lap...

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: does farm size affect their abundance?

Science.gov (United States)

Hedström, Ingemar; Denzel, Andrew; Owens, Gareth

2006-09-01

The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs nonorganic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test). However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms.

Organic Farming, Gender, and the Labor Process

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Alan; Mogyorody, Veronika

2007-01-01

This paper seeks to explain variations in gender participation in farm production and decision-making through an analysis of organic farm types, sizes, and orientations. Based on both survey and case study data, the analysis shows that female farmers on vegetable farms and mixed livestock/cash crop farms are more likely to be involved in farm…

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: Does farm size affect their abundance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingemar Hedström

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs non-organic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test. However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (3: 965-969. Epub 2006 Sept. 29.

The Economics of Smallholder Organic Contract Farming in Tropical Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolwig, Simon; Gibbon, Peter; Jones, Edward Samuel

2009-01-01

The paper examines the revenue effects of certified organic contract farming for smallholders and of adoption of organic agricultural farming methods in a tropical African context. The comparison in both cases is with farming systems that are "organic by default." Survey data from a large organic...... coffee contract farming scheme in Uganda are reported and analyzed using a standard OLS regression and a full information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimate of the Heckman selection model. The analysis finds that, controlling for a range of factors, there are positive revenue effects both from...... participation in the scheme and, more modestly, from applying organic farming techniques....

Relations between views of nature and practices in Danish organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaltoft, Pernille

1996-01-01

research in organic farming: The organic farming in practice represents a variety of views of nature. So does scientific work, but especially the natural scientifical and agrotechnical sciences has no tradition for reflecting that kind of matters. If the scientific approaches do not try to make......The paper presents and discusses empirical results from my ph.d. study concerning environmental ethics as a concept of practice. The theoretical approach to the study of environmental ethics is not purely philosophical. It questions what guides professionals in action with nature (farmers....... These findings are related to the actual manuring strategies, diversity in crops and products and ways of treating the herd at the same farms. The empirical study is methodologically based on qualitative methods inspired by phenomenology, ethnography and narrativity.The outcome is four distinct groups of organic...

Effects of organic farming duration on field boundary vegetation in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Sune; Axelsen, Jørgen A.; Tybirk, Knud

2006-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess, whether organic dairy farming has increased the biological diversity of field boundary vegetation when compared to conventional dairy farming, and if increasing organic farming duration affected diversity. The diversity of plant species in field boundaries...... was found to be higher under organic than under conventional farming. Analysis of community patterns revealed that ruderal species and species with affinity to nutrient rich conditions were most common in conventional field borders, whereas stress-tolerant species were more abundant around organic farming....... These differences occurred only 3-4 years after conversion to organic farming....

Comparison of landscape features in organic and conventional farming systems.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mansvelt, van J.D.; Stobbelaar, D.J.; Hendriks, K.

1998-01-01

Four organic (biodynamic) farms coupled with conventional farms from their neighbourhood in The Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, and 3 organic farms and 4 conventional farms from the West Friesean region in The Netherlands were evaluated to compare their impact on landscape diversity. Materials used

Biogas production on organic farms: Sustainable energy and better nutrient cycling

OpenAIRE

Grieb, Beatrice; Zerger, Uli

2014-01-01

Biogas production in organic farming is an approach to combine renewable energy and organic farming with numerous positive impacts on the farming system. In Germany biogas on organic farms has a long tradition, now the EU Project “SUSTAINGAS” aims at promotion of this issue on an EU-level. In this context a description of organic biogas was established.

Nitrate leaching from organic and conventional crop production farms

OpenAIRE

Olesen, J.E.; Berntsen, J.; Petersen, B.M.; Kristensen, I.S.

2004-01-01

Farm accounting data from the Institute of Food Economics and from Central Agricultural Registers in Denmark were used to define the import of nitrogen (N) to farmed fields on conventional and organic arable farms to 129 and 51 kg N ha-1 yr-1, respectively. Based on the recorded distribution of crops, a generalised crop rotation was defined for each of the two farming systems. The crop rotation for the organic farm had a high share of spring cereals and additionally 20% grass-clover in the ro...

TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC FARMING IN BULGARIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina AGAPIEVA

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to follow trends in the development of organic farming in Bulgaria, and to identify the factors’ strength and direction of their impact on organic production of agricultural products. The study covers the period from 2003 to 2013 and is based on information from official statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and the author's own research. There are distinct rates of increase in both areas and organic agricultural production in Bulgaria. While in 2003 the areas under organic management are 8,364 ha by 2013 they numbered 56, 287 ha. Bulgaria has a high potential for production and export of organic agricultural products fresh and processed, but significantly lags behind other European countries. However, there is increasing momentum in organic farming, driven by a group of economic, market, social and legislative initiatives. The main reason for this growth is consumer demand of organic products in Bulgaria. In general, the motivations of Bulgarian consumers of organic products are related to the benefits for health and the environment, to the improvement of food quality and to the support of local small farmers, communities and markets.

Dairy cattle management, health and welfare in smallholder farms: An organic farming perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Odhong, Charles; Wahome, Raphael; Vaarst, Mette

2015-01-01

livestock production practices as specified by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and the East Africa Organic Product Standard. A longitudinal study of 24 farms was conducted to document and assess management practices and their potential effect on animal health and welfare......Organic production principles aim at achieving good animal health and welfare of livestock. The objective of the present study was to investigate animal management, health and welfare in smallholder dairy farms in Kenya, Africa, and to be able to give recommendations which can guide organic...... type, aspects of the housing system, farm characteristics, and management routines. The average herd size was 3.15 in Kiambu and 3.91 in Kajiado, with all the cows’ zero-grazed. Seventy five percent of the cubicles were small (less than 2.50m2). Many of the farmers sprayed their animals weekly (47...

The Future Path of Organic Farming - Values, Standards and Controversy!

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgård, Bente; Pedersen, Kirsten Bransholm; Land, Birgit

The study focuses on the recent debate about what is, or what constitutes, organic farming and what is the right path for organic farming in the future. The study is based on a critical discourse analysis of the controversy about suspending the private standard for organic farming adopted by the ...

Organic farming methods affect the concentration of phenolic compounds in sea buckthorn leaves

OpenAIRE

Heinäaho, Merja; Pusenius, Jyrki; Julkunen-Tiitto, Riitta

2006-01-01

- Berries, juice and other products of organically cultivated sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L., Eleagnaceae) are in great demand because of their beneficial health effects. The availability of berries is not sufficient especially for locally growing market. However no research has been done on the effects of farming methods on the quality of sea buckthorn tissues before. We established a field experiment to study the effects of organic farming methods on the concentra-tions of phenolic ...

Weed species diversity in organic and integrated farming systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magdalena Jastrzębska

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Phytosociological data were collected in 1994–1996 in plots (relevés at the Research Station for Organic Farming and Conservation Breeding of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Popielno included in a large-area experiment conducted according to the concept and method proposed by Prof. S. Nawrocki. In a four-field crop rotation (root crops – spring barley undersown with red clover and grasses – red clover/grass mixture – winter triticale, each field was divided into two management units, organic and integrated. Data were collected in relevés by the Braun-Blanquet method, each year at the peak of the growing season. Weed abundance (% cover in cultivated fields and the number of weed species (species richness in crops were determined, which provided a basis for calculating the Shannon-Wiener indices of species diversity and evenness, and the Rényi profiles. The qualitative (species and quantitative structure of weed communities was compared using the Sørensen index. A total of 115 weed taxa (species, subspecies and varieties were identified in the examined agro-phytocenoses. Echinochloa crus-galli, Chenopodium album, Matricaria maritima subsp. inodora, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Thlaspi arvense and Stellaria media were the most abundant. Weed infestation was slightly higher in the organic farming system than in the integrated system. Organic farming contributed to higher weed species diversity in root crops, red clover/grass mixtures and winter triticale. Weed species richness was reduced in red clover/grass stands, while root crops and – to a lesser degree – spring barley undersown with red clover and grasses decreased weed species diversity. The species composition and in particular the quantitative structure of weeds were affected by crop species and cultivation regime rather than by the farming system. Weed communities of crops grown under organic and integrated farming systems were more similar with regard to species composition

Biogas and Bioethanol Production in Organic Farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oleskowicz-Popiel, Piotr

The thesis consists of two parts. First one is an introduction providing background information on organic farming, ethanol and anaerobic digestion processes, and concept of on‐farm bioenergy production. Second part consists of 8 papers....

Breeding birds on organic and conventional arable farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kragten, Steven

2009-01-01

As a result of agricultural intensification, farmland bird populations have been declining dramatically over the past decades. Organic farming is often mentioned to be a possible solution to stop these declines. In order to see whether farmland birds really benefit from organic farming a study was

Energy balance in olive oil farms: comparison of organic and conventional farming systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, Marta M.; Meco, Ramón; Moreno, Carmen

2013-04-01

The viability of an agricultural production system not only depends on the crop yields, but especially on the efficient use of available resources. However, the current agricultural systems depend heavily on non-renewable energy consumption in the form of fertilizers, fossil fuels, pesticides and machinery. In developed countries, the economic profitability of different productive systems is dependent on the granting of subsidies of diverse origin that affect both production factors (or inputs) and the final product (or output). Leaving such external aids, energy balance analysis reveals the real and most efficient form of management for each agroclimatic region, and is also directly related to the economic activity and the environmental state. In this work we compare the energy balance resulting from organic and conventional olive oil farms under the semi-arid conditions of Central Spain. The results indicate that the mean energy supplied to the organic farms was sensitively lower (about 30%) in comparison with the conventional management, and these differences were more pronounced for the biggest farms (> 15 ha). Mean energy outputs were about 20% lower in the organic system, although organic small farms (ratio scarcely reached 25%. Human labor item only represented a very small amount of the total energy input in both cases (less than 1%). As conclusions, both management systems were efficient from an energy point of view. The value of the organic production should be focused on the environmental benefits it provides, which are not usually considered in the conventional management on not valuing the damage it produces to the environment. Organic farming would improve the energy efficiency in these environmental conditions, offering a sustainable production with minimal inputs.

Yesterday and Today of Organic Farming in KOP Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Havva Eda Üstüntaş

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Organic farming aims not to use chemical inputs, to increase quality not the yield, control and certify every steps of the production and is a human and environmental friendly production system. In recent years, use of organic food has increased parallel with the increasing interest in the environmental protection and safe foods in the developed countries. Turkey has a great potential for organic farming due to its wide diversity of climatic and soil conditions. KOP (Konya Plain Project Region, includes the provinces as Aksaray, Karaman, Konya, Niğde, has a wide agricultural fields where not used chemical fertilizer and not contaminated with pesticides. Therefore this region is very important for organic agriculture. In 2013 year, planting area is 769.014 hectares and organic production is 1.620.466 tons in Turkey. KOP Region has a 0.47% planting area and 3.4% organic production in Turkey. Niğde which had the first rank in terms of organic production, constituted about 61% organic production amount. KOP Region could present significant opportunities and benefits to potential investors in terms of organic farming. In KOP Region, organic farming practices should be cared and supported.

Ecological concepts in organic farming and their consequences for an organic crop ideotype

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lammerts van Bueren, E.T.; Struik, P.C.; Jacobsen, E.

2002-01-01

Currently, organic farmers largely depend on varieties supplied by conventional plant breeders and developed for farming systems in which artificial fertilizers and agro-chemicals are widely used. The organic farming system differs fundamentally in soil fertility, weed, pest and disease management,

Biomass energy in organic farming - the potential role of short rotation coppice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joergensen, Uffe; Dalgaard, Tommy [Danish Inst. of Agricultural Sciences (DIAS), Dept. of Agroecology, Research Centre Foulum, Tjele (Denmark); Kristensen, Erik Steen [Danish Research Centre for Organic Farming (DARCOF), Research Centre Foulum, Tjele (Denmark)

2005-02-01

One of the aims of organic farming is to 'reduce the use of non-renewable resources (e.g. fossil fuels) to a minimum'. So far, however, only very little progress has been made to introduce renewable energy in organic farming. This paper presents energy balances of Danish organic farming compared with energy balances of conventional farming. In general, the conversion to organic farming leads to a lower energy use (approximately 10% per unit of product). But the production of energy in organic farming is very low compared with the extensive utilisation of straw from conventional farming in Denmark (energy content of straw used for energy production was equivalent to 18% of total energy input in Danish agriculture in 1996). Biomass is a key energy carrier with a good potential for on-farm development. Apart from utilising farm manure and crop residues for biogas production, the production of nutrient efficient short rotation coppice (SRC) is an option in organic farming. Alder (Alnus spp.) is an interesting crop due to its symbiosis with the actinomycete Frankia, which has the ability to fix up to 185 kg/ha nitrogen (N{sub 2}) from the air. Yields obtained at different European sites are presented and the R and D needed to implement energy cropping in organic farming is discussed. Possible win-win solutions for SRC production in organic farming that may facilitate its implementation are; the protection of ground water quality in intensively farmed areas, utilisation of wastewater for irrigation, or combination with outdoor animal husbandry such as pigs or poultry. (Author)

Chlorinated pesticides in stream sediments from organic, integrated and conventional farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahpoury, Pourya; Hageman, Kimberly J.; Matthaei, Christoph D.; Magbanua, Francis S.

2013-01-01

To determine if current sheep/beef farming practices affect pesticide residues in streams, current-use and legacy chlorinated pesticides were quantified in 100 sediment samples from 15 streams on the South Island of New Zealand. The study involved five blocks of three neighboring farms, with each block containing farms managed by organic, integrated and conventional farming practices. Significantly higher concentrations of dieldrin, ∑ endosulfans, ∑ current-use pesticides, and ∑ chlorinated pesticides were measured in sediments from conventional farms compared to organic and integrated farms. However, streams in the latter two farming categories were not pesticide-free and sometimes contained relatively high concentrations of legacy pesticides. Comparison of measured pesticide concentrations with sediment quality guidelines showed that, regardless of farming practice, mean pesticide concentrations were below the recommended toxicity thresholds. However, up to 23% of individual samples contained chlorpyrifos, endosulfan sulfate, ∑ DDT, dieldrin, or ∑ chlordane concentrations above these thresholds. -- Highlights: •Pesticides were measured in streams in organic, integrated, and conventional farms. •Higher concentrations of some pesticides were found in conventional sites. •Streams in organic and integrated sites were not pesticide free. •Mean pesticide concentrations were below the recommended toxicity thresholds. -- Higher concentrations of several chlorinated pesticides were found in conventional farms; however, organic and integrated practices were not pesticide-free

Consumer perception and communication on welfare in organic laying hen farming

OpenAIRE

Heerkens, Jasper; Tuyttens, Frank

2012-01-01

A major reason for increased societal popularity of organic production systems is the growing general discontent with intensive farming practices. However, urbanization leads to limited knowledge of farming and farm animal welfare. Consumers believe organic farming leads to better animal welfare, although most health and welfare issues seen in conventional systems are also found in organic poultry systems. The majority of consumers do not translate attitude and good intention into action, the...

Effects of stored feed cropping systems and farm size on the profitability of Maine organic dairy farm simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoshide, A K; Halloran, J M; Kersbergen, R J; Griffin, T S; DeFauw, S L; LaGasse, B J; Jain, S

2011-11-01

United States organic dairy production has increased to meet the growing demand for organic milk. Despite higher prices received for milk, organic dairy farmers have come under increasing financial stress due to increases in concentrated feed prices over the past few years, which can make up one-third of variable costs. Market demand for milk has also leveled in the last year, resulting in some downward pressure on prices paid to dairy farmers. Organic dairy farmers in the Northeast United States have experimented with growing different forage and grain crops to maximize on-farm production of protein and energy to improve profitability. Three representative organic feed systems were simulated using the integrated farm system model for farms with 30, 120, and 220 milk cows. Increasing intensity of equipment use was represented by organic dairy farms growing only perennial sod (low) to those with corn-based forage systems, which purchase supplemental grain (medium) or which produce and feed soybeans (high). The relative profitability of these 3 organic feed systems was strongly dependent on dairy farm size. From results, we suggest smaller organic dairy farms can be more profitable with perennial sod-based rather than corn-based forage systems due to lower fixed costs from using only equipment associated with perennial forage harvest and storage. The largest farm size was more profitable using a corn-based system due to greater economies of scale for growing soybeans, corn grain, winter cereals, and corn silages. At an intermediate farm size of 120 cows, corn-based forage systems were more profitable if perennial sod was not harvested at optimum quality, corn was grown on better soils, or if milk yield was 10% higher. Delayed harvest decreased the protein and energy content of perennial sod crops, requiring more purchased grain to balance the ration and resulting in lower profits. Corn-based systems were less affected by lower perennial forage quality, as corn silage

Building student capacity to lead sustainability transitions in the food system through farm-based authentic research modules in sustainability sciences (FARMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selena Ahmed

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Undergraduate courses provide valuable opportunities to train and empower students with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to advance society in more sustainable directions. This article emphasizes the value of bridging primary scientific research with undergraduate education through the presentation of an integrated experiential learning and primary research model called Farm-based Authentic Research Modules in Sustainability Sciences (FARMS. FARMS are collaboratively designed with agricultural stakeholders through a community needs assessment on pressing food system issues and opportunities with the objective for faculty and students to jointly identify evidence-based management solutions. We illustrate the implementation of FARMS in an undergraduate course in Ecological Agriculture at Dartmouth College, NH where students assessed various agroecological solutions for managing plant vitality, weeds, soil quality, pests, pollinators, and biodiversity at the Dartmouth Organic Farm. Student reflections indicate that the FARMS course component was beneficial for understanding agroecological theories and concepts while also motivating involvement in sustainability sciences despite the challenges of primary research. Educator reflections noted that the FARMS pedagogical approach facilitated achieving course objectives to develop students’ ability for systems thinking, critical thinking, and interdisciplinarity while fostering students’ collaboration skills and overall motivation for creating change. Adopting the FARMS model should enable faculty in the sustainability sciences to serve as bridges between the learning, practicing, and scientific communities while supporting educational programming at student and community farms. Ultimately, it is expected that the implementation of FARMS will increase student capacity and prepare the next generation of leaders to address complex challenges of the food system using an evidence-based approach.

Opinions on biogas in organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiske, Stefan; Østergård, Hanne

2011-01-01

The application of biogas technologies in organic farming involves many considerations: Benefits like improved fertilizer supply and fossil fuel savings are opposed to concerns about economical risks and incompliance with organic principles. A questionnaire developed by Risø DTU gives an idea about...

Soil biota and agriculture production in conventional and organic farming

Science.gov (United States)

Schrama, Maarten; de Haan, Joj; Carvalho, Sabrina; Kroonen, Mark; Verstegen, Harry; Van der Putten, Wim

2015-04-01

Sustainable food production for a growing world population requires a healthy soil that can buffer environmental extremes and minimize its losses. There are currently two views on how to achieve this: by intensifying conventional agriculture or by developing organically based agriculture. It has been established that yields of conventional agriculture can be 20% higher than of organic agriculture. However, high yields of intensified conventional agriculture trade off with loss of soil biodiversity, leaching of nutrients, and other unwanted ecosystem dis-services. One of the key explanations for the loss of nutrients and GHG from intensive agriculture is that it results in high dynamics of nutrient losses, and policy has aimed at reducing temporal variation. However, little is known about how different agricultural practices affect spatial variation, and it is unknown how soil fauna acts this. In this study we compare the spatial and temporal variation of physical, chemical and biological parameters in a long term (13-year) field experiment with two conventional farming systems (low and medium organic matter input) and one organic farming system (high organic matter input) and we evaluate the impact on ecosystem services that these farming systems provide. Soil chemical (N availability, N mineralization, pH) and soil biological parameters (nematode abundance, bacterial and fungal biomass) show considerably higher spatial variation under conventional farming than under organic farming. Higher variation in soil chemical and biological parameters coincides with the presence of 'leaky' spots (high nitrate leaching) in conventional farming systems, which shift unpredictably over the course of one season. Although variation in soil physical factors (soil organic matter, soil aggregation, soil moisture) was similar between treatments, but averages were higher under organic farming, indicating more buffered conditions for nutrient cycling. All these changes coincide with

Managing soil nutrients with compost in organic farms of East Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Ghambashidze, Giorgi

2013-04-01

Soil Fertility management in organic farming relies on a long-term integrated approach rather than the more short-term very targeted solutions common in conventional agriculture. Increasing soil organic matter content through the addition of organic amendments has proven to be a valuable practice for maintaining or restoring soil quality. Organic agriculture relies greatly on building soil organic matter with compost typically replacing inorganic fertilizers and animal manure as the fertility source of choice. In Georgia, more and more attention is paid to the development of organic farming, occupying less than 1% of total agricultural land of the country. Due to increased interest towards organic production the question about soil amendments is arising with special focus on organic fertilizers as basic nutrient supply sources under organic management practice. In the frame of current research two different types of compost was prepared and their nutritional value was studied. The one was prepared from organic fraction municipal solid waste and another one using fruit processing residues. In addition to main nutritional properties both composts were tested on heavy metals content, as one of the main quality parameter. The results have shown that concentration of main nutrient is higher in municipal solid waste compost, but it contains also more heavy metals, which is not allowed in organic farming system. Fruit processing residue compost also has lower pH value and is lower in total salt content being is more acceptable for soil in lowlands of East Georgia, mainly characterised by alkaline reaction. .

Use of homeopathy in organic dairy farming in Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Orjales, Inmaculada; López-Alonso, Marta; Rodríguez-Bermúdez, Ruth; Rey-Crespo, Francisco; Villar, Ana; Miranda, Marta

2016-02-01

Organic farming principles promote the use of unconventional therapies as an alternative to chemical substances (which are limited by organic regulations), with homeopathy being the most extensive. Traditionally, Spain has had little faith in homeopathy but its use in organic farming is growing. Fifty-six Spanish organic dairy farmers were interviewed to obtain what we believe to be the first data on the use of homeopathy in organic dairy cattle in Spain. Only 32% of farms use some sort of alternative therapy (16.1% homeopathy, 10.7% phytotherapy and 5.3% using both therapies) and interestingly, a clear geographical pattern showing a higher use towards the East (similar to that in the human population) was observed. The main motivation to use homeopathy was the need to reduce chemical substances promoted by organic regulations, and the treatment of clinical mastitis being the principle reason. The number of total treatments was lower in farms using homeopathy compared with those applying allopathic therapies (0.13 and 0.54 treatments/cow/year respectively) and although the bulk SCC was significantly higher (p Homeopathy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANIC FARMING ON THE SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY - ROMANIA AND EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BURJA CAMELIA

2017-02-01

Full Text Available A major trend adopted by the European Union member countries that are making efforts for sustainable development is the development of organic farming. The article studies the influences generated by the organic farming development in the EU countries, in the period 2006-2014, in terms of sustainable society. The statistical analysis is based on the use of certain variables that have a significant influence on the components of sustainable society. The identification of estimators for panelling data showed the favourable consequences of increasing the organic area for many indicators underpinning the economic, environmental and human wellbeing. The results confirm that the organic farming is a viable alternative to the conventional agriculture for raising the quality of life. The paper essentially quantifies the multiple effects of the organic farming for sustainable development and demonstrates that one of the directions to accelerate the development of the European economy on a sustainable basis is to stimulate the organic farming.

Organic Farming: Biodiversity Impacts Can Depend on Dispersal Characteristics and Landscape Context

Science.gov (United States)

Feber, Ruth E.; Johnson, Paul J.; Bell, James R.; Chamberlain, Dan E.; Firbank, Leslie G.; Fuller, Robert J.; Manley, Will; Mathews, Fiona; Norton, Lisa R.; Townsend, Martin; Macdonald, David W.

2015-01-01

Organic farming, a low intensity system, may offer benefits for a range of taxa, but what affects the extent of those benefits is imperfectly understood. We explored the effects of organic farming and landscape on the activity density and species density of spiders and carabid beetles, using a large sample of paired organic and conventional farms in the UK. Spider activity density and species density were influenced by both farming system and surrounding landscape. Hunting spiders, which tend to have lower dispersal capabilities, had higher activity density, and more species were captured, on organic compared to conventional farms. There was also evidence for an interaction, as the farming system effect was particularly marked in the cropped area before harvest and was more pronounced in complex landscapes (those with little arable land). There was no evidence for any effect of farming system or landscape on web-building spiders (which include the linyphiids, many of which have high dispersal capabilities). For carabid beetles, the farming system effects were inconsistent. Before harvest, higher activity densities were observed in the crops on organic farms compared with conventional farms. After harvest, no difference was detected in the cropped area, but more carabids were captured on conventional compared to organic boundaries. Carabids were more species-dense in complex landscapes, and farming system did not affect this. There was little evidence that non-cropped habitat differences explained the farming system effects for either spiders or carabid beetles. For spiders, the farming system effects in the cropped area were probably largely attributable to differences in crop management; reduced inputs of pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) and fertilisers are possible influences, and there was some evidence for an effect of non-crop plant species richness on hunting spider activity density. The benefits of organic farming may be greatest for taxa with lower

Organic Farming: Biodiversity Impacts Can Depend on Dispersal Characteristics and Landscape Context.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth E Feber

Full Text Available Organic farming, a low intensity system, may offer benefits for a range of taxa, but what affects the extent of those benefits is imperfectly understood. We explored the effects of organic farming and landscape on the activity density and species density of spiders and carabid beetles, using a large sample of paired organic and conventional farms in the UK. Spider activity density and species density were influenced by both farming system and surrounding landscape. Hunting spiders, which tend to have lower dispersal capabilities, had higher activity density, and more species were captured, on organic compared to conventional farms. There was also evidence for an interaction, as the farming system effect was particularly marked in the cropped area before harvest and was more pronounced in complex landscapes (those with little arable land. There was no evidence for any effect of farming system or landscape on web-building spiders (which include the linyphiids, many of which have high dispersal capabilities. For carabid beetles, the farming system effects were inconsistent. Before harvest, higher activity densities were observed in the crops on organic farms compared with conventional farms. After harvest, no difference was detected in the cropped area, but more carabids were captured on conventional compared to organic boundaries. Carabids were more species-dense in complex landscapes, and farming system did not affect this. There was little evidence that non-cropped habitat differences explained the farming system effects for either spiders or carabid beetles. For spiders, the farming system effects in the cropped area were probably largely attributable to differences in crop management; reduced inputs of pesticides (herbicides and insecticides and fertilisers are possible influences, and there was some evidence for an effect of non-crop plant species richness on hunting spider activity density. The benefits of organic farming may be greatest for

Economic efficiency of legume-cereal intercrops in conditions of organic farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaroslav Jánský

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents economic analysis of growing of legume-cereal intercropping in conditions of organic farming. Results of the analysis are based on data monitoring in chosen organic farms that grow LCI. In the paper there is also compared economic efficiency of LCI grown in organic and conventional farming system. Methodological solution results from costingness and earnings monitoring of LCI production in five chosen organic farms in the period 2007–2008.When evaluating costs existing in individual variants of LCI growing it is necessary to say that the selection of individual machines and machine aggregations represents the most important factor of influencing direct costs, namely with regard to the size of organic farms and to the area of individual field blocks. Under conditions of organic farms, the LCI production is also significantly influenced also by agrotechnical (tillage operations. As compared with conventional farms, the final yield of both green fodder and grain is lower by 14–38%. Total direct costs per hectare of harvested LCI acreage ranged in case of fodder production from 9.249 CZK to 11.620 CZK per hectare. In case of grain production, the corresponding costs ranged from 8.848 to 9.970 CZK per hectare. In case of LCI, the direct costs of organic farms per unit of production of both fodder and grain consist mainly of material costs, which represent 63–76% and 61–68% of total expenses associated with production of fodder and grain, respectively. These direct costs are influenced also by higher prices of inputs.

Analysis of organic farming practices amongst crop farmers in Delta ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr. atoma & Family

but not limited to sensitization of consumers on the benefit of organic foods, ... Organic farming is an agricultural technique of naturally producing quality crops, vegetables or animals ... This goal cannot be achieved by the conventional farming.

Grazing management for Nordic organic dairy farming

OpenAIRE

Kuusela, Eeva

2005-01-01

The aims of this study were to identify limiting factors and to develop adjusted grazing management for Nordic organic dairy farming conditions. The focus was to combine the aspects of plant, animal and organic production, as they are all involved in organic dairy pastures.

Contribution of organic farming to public goods in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jespersen, Lizzie Melby; Baggesen, Dorte Lau; Fog, Erik

2017-01-01

€”in particular in relation to the public goods Energy and Climate, which at present are not addressed in the EU Organic Regulation. Moreover, some organic farming requirements and practices cause dilemmas; e.g. more space per animal and outdoor access improves Animal Health and Welfare but at the same time has......The potential contribution of organic farming to the public goods, ‘Nature and Biodiversity’, ‘Environment’, ‘Energy and Climate’, ‘Human Health and Welfare’ and ‘Animal Health and Welfare’ in Denmark is guided and partly secured by the principles and specific requirements...... of the EU Organic Regulation. However, other factors, such as the production type, farm size, geographical location and—not the least—the management of the farm, also influence the contribution. Using the ban on synthetic pesticides and restricted use of antibiotics, including the requirements...

New Research in Organic Agriculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

1996-01-01

The book is the proceedings from the bi-annual international scientific conference on organic agriculture. The chapters are: - plant and soil interactions, - animal production systems, - traditional knowledge in sustainable agriculture, - research, education and extension in sustainable agricultu......, - environmental impact and nature, - potentials of organic farming, - community, consumer and market, and - policy and financial strategies.......The book is the proceedings from the bi-annual international scientific conference on organic agriculture. The chapters are: - plant and soil interactions, - animal production systems, - traditional knowledge in sustainable agriculture, - research, education and extension in sustainable agriculture...

Technologies in organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Jesper

2015-01-01

the nutrient gap by recycling sewage sludge, and in particular the criteria applied when these technologies are assessed, are analysed. This part of the analysis shows how organic consumers base their assessment of alternative strategies and technologies primarily on concerns about environmental risks...... to phase out their use of conventional manure before 2021. This, however, raises a number of questions about consumers’ acceptance of the alternative technologies that have been proposed to close the nutrient gap. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Danish organic consumers, this paper first discusses...... what, from a consumers perspective, characterizes the technologies consumers associate with organic production. This part of the analysis shows that by and large consumers regard organic technologies as the opposite of conventional farming. Second, consumers’ perceptions of solutions suggested to close...

The effect of feed demand on greenhouse gas emissions and farm profitability for organic and conventional dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiefer, Lukas; Menzel, Friederike; Bahrs, Enno

2014-12-01

The reduction of product-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in milk production appears to be necessary. The reduction of emissions on an individual farm might be highly accepted by farm owners if it were accompanied by an increase in profitability. Using life cycle assessments to determine the product carbon footprints (PCF) and farm-level evaluations to record profitability, we explored opportunities for optimization based on analysis of 81 organic and conventional pasture-based dairy farms in southern Germany. The objective of the present study was to detect common determining factors for low PCF and high management incomes (MI) to achieve GHG reductions at the lowest possible operational cost. In our sample, organic farms, which performed economically better than conventional farms, produced PCF that were significantly higher than those produced by conventional farms [1.61 ± 0.29 vs. 1.45 ± 0.28 kg of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂eq) per kg of milk; means ± SD)]. A multiple linear regression analysis of the sample demonstrated that low feed demand per kilogram of milk, high grassland yield, and low forage area requirements per cow are the main factors that decrease PCF. These factors are also useful for improving a farm's profitability in principle. For organic farms, a reduction of feed demand of 100 g/kg of milk resulted in a PCF reduction of 105 g of CO₂eq/kg of milk and an increase in MI of approximately 2.1 euro cents (c)/kg of milk. For conventional farms, a decrease of feed demand of 100 g/kg of milk corresponded to a reduction in PCF of 117 g of CO₂eq/kg of milk and an increase in MI of approximately 3.1 c/kg of milk. Accordingly, farmers could achieve higher profits while reducing GHG emissions. Improved education and training of farmers and consultants regarding GHG mitigation and farm profitability appear to be the best methods of improving efficiency under traditional and organic farming practices.

Nitrogen cycling in organic farming systems with rotational grass-clover and arable crops

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berntsen, Jørgen; Grant, Ruth; Olesen, Jørgen E.

2006-01-01

Organic farming is considered an effective means of reducing nitrogen losses compared with more intensive conventional farming systems. However, under certain conditions, organic farming may also be susceptible to large nitrogen (N) losses. This i especially the case for organic .....

Influence of Organic Farming on the Potato Transcriptome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Pacifico

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Organic agriculture sparks a lively debate on its potential health and environmental benefits. Comparative studies often investigate the response of crops to organic farming through targeted approaches and within a limited experimental work. To clarify this issue, the transcriptomic profile of a cultivar of the potato grown for two years under organic and conventional farming was compared with the profile of an experimental clone grown in the same location of Southern Italy for one year. Transcriptomic raw data were obtained through Potato Oligo Chip Initiative (POCI microarrays and were processed using unsupervised coupling multivariate statistical analysis and bioinformatics (MapMan software. One-hundred-forty-four genes showed the same expression in both years, and 113 showed the same expression in both genotypes. Their functional characterization revealed the strong involvement of the farming system in metabolism associated with the nutritional aspects of organic tubers (e.g., phenylpropanoid, flavonoid, glycoalcaloid, asparagine, ascorbic acid. Moreover, further investigation showed that eight of 42,034 features exhibited the same trend of expression irrespective of the year and genotype, making them possible candidates as markers of traceability. This paper raises the issue regarding the choice of genotype in organic management and the relevance of assessing seasonal conditions effects when studying the effects of organic cultivation on tuber metabolism.

What is the benefit of organically-reared dairy cattle? Societal perception towards conventional and organic dairy farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inken Christoph-Schulz

2015-07-01

Full Text Available During the last years, current systems in agriculture and food production have been topic in public discussions. Especially modern animal husbandry seems not to match consumers’ or societal needs any longer. This paper concentrates on the society’s perspective regarding dairy farming in general and diverting perceptions and expectations with respect to dairy cattle either reared organically or reared conventionally. It aims to give orientation to farmers as well as policymakers about the societal point of view of dairy farming.Six focus groups were carried out in three German cities to capture the scope of opinions and expectations among the population. Three of those groups consisted of participants buying mainly organic food while the other three comprised citizens buying mainly conventional food.With respect to society’s perception of today’s dairy farming results showed that participants put emphasis on the following topics: the space for each cow was considered as insufficient and not species-appropriate, assumed application of medications as too high, and in particular the prophylactic use of antibiotics as problematic.Asked about perceived differences between organic versus conventional farming it became obvious that organic in contrast to the conventional farming was perceived as more species-appropriate. More or less, all previously criticized aspects seem to be regarded as irrelevant in organic farming. Some participants showed a very romantic view of organic dairy farming. The most critical point was an assumed high rate of rogue traders among organic farmers.

Intensity of the production organisation in organic and conventional dairy farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urszula Malaga-Toboła

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a comparative analysis of the intensity of the production organization between dairy farms conducting agricultural activity in organic and conventional production systems. Study groups of farms were located in the southern (fifteen organic farms, central and eastern part of Poland (fifteen conventional farms. The study was conducted in the form of a directed interview in the marketing year 2010/2011. Area, structure of land use and crop, livestock and the size of plant and animal in the production global and commodity were specified. The analysis showed a lot of differences between the two systems of production, from the area of farm and structure of land use and finally the production outputs. Basic statistical analysis was also conducted. It showed a significant negative correlation between the area of agricultural land and a positive correlation between the livestock and intensity of organisation of production. However, the correlation coefficients between the studied variables in the analysed farm groups differed from each other.

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: Does farm size affect their abundance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingemar Hedström

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs non-organic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test. However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (3: 965-969. Epub 2006 Sept. 29.Por un año estudiamos las abejas de la tribu Euglossini (abejas de las orquídeas, especialmente el género Euglossa en Atenas y San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica, para identificar su potencial como bioindicadoras de fincas orgánicas y fincas "convencionales" de café. Usamos como atrayente aceite de eucalipto (1.8-cineole. Las abejas son más abundantes en las fincas de café orgánico (t-Student. Sin embargo, el relativamente bajo número de abejas en la menor de las dos fincas orgánicas sugiere que el tamaño de una finca orgánica y la proximidad a las fincas convencionales, podrían tener efectos negativos en la orgánica. Estas abejas podrían servir como bioindicadores de fincas orgánicas.

Animal Health and Welfare Planning in Organic Dairy Cattle Farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vaarst, Mette; Winckler, Christoph; Roderick, Stephen

2011-01-01

Continuous development is needed within the farm to reach the goal of good animal health and welfare in organic livestock farming. The very different conditions between countries call for models that are relevant for different farming types and can be integrated into local practice and be relevant...... for each type of farming context. This article reviews frameworks, principles and practices for animal health and welfare planning which are relevant for organic livestock farming. This review is based on preliminary analyses carried out within a European project (acronym ANIPLAN) with participants from...... as well as animal health and welfare professionals (veterinarians and advisors) is paramount. This paper provides an overview of some current animal health and welfare planning initiatives and explains the principles of animal health and welfare planning which are being implemented in ANIPLAN partner...

Evaluation of wildlife management through organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Topping, Christopher John

2011-01-01

Organic farming has often been suggested as a way of increasing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, but literature reports a variable success. The drivers in play are multi-factorial and include the particular species groups under consideration, the precise form of organic management, the la...

On Farm Feeding;Replacing Bought in Pig Feed with Home-Grown Straights at Sheepdrove Organic Farm

OpenAIRE

Nelder, Rebecca

2009-01-01

Organic systems aim to operate in an ecological and economical way, importing cereals grown thousands of miles away, processed at a mill and then transported again to our farms is costly in oil and therefore money. It is neither ecologically nor economically sustainable. British farms are capable of producing a large amount of high quality cereal, the majority of which is usually sold. Transportation and processing of the grain uses oil and leaves farms vulnerable to market prices. If farm...

THE ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC RICE CONTRACT FARMING IN CAMBODIA: A LESSON LEARNED FOR INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Betti Rosita Sari

2015-12-01

Full Text Available  This study examines organic rice contract farming inCambodiaand its impact on farmers’ livelihood. The study’s objective is to gain a better insight of the terms and conditions of rice contract farming scheme inCambodia, and determine under what conditions contract farming could bring improvements to farmers’ livelihoods. This study contributes new research findings on contract farming practices and farmers’ livelihood due to organic-rice contract farming with a case study in Kampong Speu province,Cambodia.Rice contract farming is not widespread inCambodiaat present, but is expected to expand significantly in the near future. Contract farming can increase investment into agricultural and infrastructure in rural areas. Contract farming can also enable farmers to access credit, inputs, technical advice and information about market condition and pricing trends. Yet, the disadvantages of contract farming include loss of farmer bargaining power and a potential reduction in profit margins, increased emphasis on improving production quality, land consolidation in favor of participating contract farmers, and less secure livelihoods.In this study, the contract farming arrangements of Angkor Kasekam Rongroeung (AKR Company is studied. A survey of 16 contract farmers and 20 non-contract farmers in Kampong Speu province has been undertaken to examine the AKR contract farming scheme arrangements and to identify farmer’s motivations to participate in contract farming and its impact on farmers’ livelihood.AKR rice contract farming improves farmers’ livelihood because they get a higher income and rice yields. Higher price, good rice seed, and access to market are the main reasons for farmers to participate in AKR contract farming. However, strict requirements, heavy penalties, poor extension services, and lack of information about the contract terms and conditions reduce farmers’ long-term participation in contract farming. In addition

Prospects of Organic Farming in Bhutan: A SWOT Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonam Tashi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A study was conducted to investigate the prospects of organic agriculture (OA in Bhutan from the experts’ perspective, particularly the SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat aspect. Thirty-five Bhutanese experts were interviewed. The strengths of OA were (i good alignment of the principles of OA with Bhutan’s development philosophy, (ii strong policy and political support, (iii pristine environment, (iv OA practices similar to traditional farming, and (v compatibility of OA with the local farming knowledge. The major weaknesses were (i a lack of awareness of the benefits of OA, (ii lack of incentives, (iii shortage of farm labor, (iv small and irregular supply of organic product, (v lack of clarity in policy, (vi limited plant protection materials, and (vii a lack of coordination between agencies. Opportunities were (i a huge regional and global organic market, (ii promoting healthy lifestyle, (iii sustainable use of resources, (iv lowering dependence on food and input imports, (v development of local organic manure suppliers, (vi creating seed sovereignty, (vii conserving local crops, (viii building soil fertility, (ix introducing premium price for organic products, and (x addressing unemployment. Threats included (i increasing incidences of pests and diseases, (ii decline in sources of organic manure, and (iii limited sources of organic manures and fertilizers.

Comparing organic farming and land sparing: optimizing yield and butterfly populations at a landscape scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Hodgson, Jenny A; Kunin, William E; Thomas, Chris D; Benton, Tim G; Gabriel, Doreen

2010-11-01

Organic farming aims to be wildlife-friendly, but it may not benefit wildlife overall if much greater areas are needed to produce a given quantity of food. We measured the density and species richness of butterflies on organic farms, conventional farms and grassland nature reserves in 16 landscapes. Organic farms supported a higher density of butterflies than conventional farms, but a lower density than reserves. Using our data, we predict the optimal land-use strategy to maintain yield whilst maximizing butterfly abundance under different scenarios. Farming conventionally and sparing land as nature reserves is better for butterflies when the organic yield per hectare falls below 87% of conventional yield. However, if the spared land is simply extra field margins, organic farming is optimal whenever organic yields are over 35% of conventional yields. The optimal balance of land sparing and wildlife-friendly farming to maintain production and biodiversity will differ between landscapes. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Effect of yield and price risk on conversion from conventional to organic farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acs, S.; Berentsen, P.B.M.; Huirne, R.B.M.; Asseldonk, van M.A.P.M.

2009-01-01

Although the benefits of organic farming are already well known, the conversion to organic farming does not proceed as the Dutch government expected. In order to investigate the conversion decisions of Dutch arable farms, a discrete stochastic dynamic utility-efficient programming (DUEP) model is

Is organic farming safer to farmers' health? A comparison between organic and traditional farming.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Carla; García-Lestón, Julia; Costa, Solange; Coelho, Patrícia; Silva, Susana; Pingarilho, Marta; Valdiglesias, Vanessa; Mattei, Francesca; Dall'Armi, Valentina; Bonassi, Stefano; Laffon, Blanca; Snawder, John; Teixeira, João Paulo

2014-10-15

Exposure to pesticides is a major public health concern, because of the widespread distribution of these compounds and their possible long term effects. Recently, organic farming has been introduced as a consumer and environmental friendly agricultural system, although little is known about the effects on workers' health. The aim of this work was to evaluate genetic damage and immunological alterations in workers of both traditional and organic farming. Eighty-five farmers exposed to several pesticides, thirty-six organic farmers and sixty-one controls took part in the study. Biomarkers of exposure (pyrethroids, organophosphates, carbamates, and thioethers in urine and butyrylcholinesterase activity in plasma), early effect (micronuclei in lymphocytes and reticulocytes, T-cell receptor mutation assay, chromosomal aberrations, comet assay and lymphocytes subpopulations) and susceptibility (genetic polymorphisms related to metabolism - EPHX1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 - and DNA repair-XRCC1 and XRCC2) were evaluated. When compared to controls and organic farmers, pesticide farmers presented a significant increase of micronuclei in lymphocytes (frequency ratio, FR=2.80) and reticulocytes (FR=1.89), chromosomal aberrations (FR=2.19), DNA damage assessed by comet assay (mean ratio, MR=1.71), and a significant decrease in the proportion of B lymphocytes (MR=0.88). Results were not consistent for organic farmers when compared to controls, with a 48% increase of micronuclei in lumphocytes frequency (p=0.016) contrasted by the significant decreases of TCR-Mf (p=0.001) and %T (p=0.001). Our data confirm the increased presence of DNA damage in farmers exposed to pesticides, and show as exposure conditions may influence observed effects. These results must be interpreted with caution due to the small size of the sample and the unbalanced distribution of individuals in the three study groups. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Yield and economic performance of organic and conventional cotton-based farming systems--results from a field trial in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Forster, Dionys; Andres, Christian; Verma, Rajeev; Zundel, Christine; Messmer, Monika M; Mäder, Paul

2013-01-01

The debate on the relative benefits of conventional and organic farming systems has in recent time gained significant interest. So far, global agricultural development has focused on increased productivity rather than on a holistic natural resource management for food security. Thus, developing more sustainable farming practices on a large scale is of utmost importance. However, information concerning the performance of farming systems under organic and conventional management in tropical and subtropical regions is scarce. This study presents agronomic and economic data from the conversion phase (2007-2010) of a farming systems comparison trial on a Vertisol soil in Madhya Pradesh, central India. A cotton-soybean-wheat crop rotation under biodynamic, organic and conventional (with and without Bt cotton) management was investigated. We observed a significant yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems in the 1(st) crop cycle (cycle 1: 2007-2008) for cotton (-29%) and wheat (-27%), whereas in the 2(nd) crop cycle (cycle 2: 2009-2010) cotton and wheat yields were similar in all farming systems due to lower yields in the conventional systems. In contrast, organic soybean (a nitrogen fixing leguminous plant) yields were marginally lower than conventional yields (-1% in cycle 1, -11% in cycle 2). Averaged across all crops, conventional farming systems achieved significantly higher gross margins in cycle 1 (+29%), whereas in cycle 2 gross margins in organic farming systems were significantly higher (+25%) due to lower variable production costs but similar yields. Soybean gross margin was significantly higher in the organic system (+11%) across the four harvest years compared to the conventional systems. Our results suggest that organic soybean production is a viable option for smallholder farmers under the prevailing semi-arid conditions in India. Future research needs to elucidate the long-term productivity and profitability, particularly of cotton and

Comparative evaluation of organic and conventional farming on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Five samples of organic fruits with seal certification, organic fruits without seal certification and conventional fruits were acquired from supermarkets and farm in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Organic lime and orange showed higher mean values of acidity, being 4.5 and 34.8% higher, when compared to conventional fruit, ...

Methods for assessing phosphorus overfeeding on organic and conventional dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordqvist, M; Holtenius, K; Spörndly, R

2014-02-01

Phosphorus (P) losses from dairy farms can severely damage aquatic ecosystems, so it is important to have tools to assess overfeeding of P. This study screened P intake and faecal excretion of different P fractions in dairy cows on conventional and organic farms, compared the P feeding level of the herds against the recommendations and analysed different sampling and analysis methods for assessing the general status of P feeding on the farms. The organic (n=14) and conventional farms (n=15) were of comparable size and were located in southern Sweden. On each farm, feed intake was registered for 10 cows representing four different lactation stages and their P intake was calculated and related to current recommendations. Faecal samples taken from the same cows were analysed for total P (TP) and soluble P. Milk production data for the cows were obtained from the Swedish official milk recording scheme. TP was determined in one slurry sample per farm. More than 70% of the cows studied, representing both conventional and organic herds, consumed P in excess of the recommendations. Conventional herds had higher P content in the ration than organic herds, and lactating cows in conventional herds had higher faecal concentrations of total and soluble P than those in organic herds. However in dry cows, the P content of the ration and soluble P and TP in faeces did not differ between the two management systems. Soluble P was well correlated to TP in faeces, and both were good indicators of P overfeeding.

Impacts of Alternative Implementations of the Single Farm Payment on Organi-cally and Conventionally Producing Farms in Austria

OpenAIRE

Schmid, Erwin; Sinabell, Franz

2007-01-01

In 2003, the Common Agricultural Policy underwent a substantial reform. Direct pay-ments that were linked to the production of certain crops and livestock were abolished. Alternatively, the Single Farm Payment was introduced in EU-15 Member States. We investigate the distributional consequences of alternative implementation choices for organic farms in Austria. Results show that net-returns of farms and the distribution of farm revenues depend on the particular implementation of the reform.

The productive efficiency of organic farming: the case of grape sector in Catalonia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guesmi, B.; Serra, T.; Kallas, Z.; Gil Roig, J. M.

2012-11-01

Knowledge about productivity and efficiency differences between conventional and organic farms has important implications for the evaluation of the economic viability of these two agricultural practices. The main purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency ratings of organic and conventional grape farms in Catalonia. To do so, we fit a stochastic production frontier to cross sectional, farm-level data collected from a sample of 141 Catalan farms that specialize in grape growing. Results show that organic farmers, on average, are more efficient than their conventional counterparts (efficiency ratings are on the order of 0.80 and 0.64, respectively). Apart from adoption of organic practices, experience is also found to improve technical efficiency. Conversely, technical efficiency tends to decrease with the relevance of unpaid family labor, farm location in less favored areas, and farmers strong environmental preservation preferences. (Author) 41 refs.

An ecosystem approach to assess soil quality in organically and conventionally managed farms in Iceland and Austria

Science.gov (United States)

van Leeuwen, J. P.; Lehtinen, T.; Lair, G. J.; Bloem, J.; Hemerik, L.; Ragnarsdóttir, K. V.; Gísladóttir, G.; Newton, J. S.; de Ruiter, P. C.

2015-01-01

Intensive agricultural production can be an important driver for the loss of long-term soil quality. For this reason, the European Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) network adopted four pairs of agricultural CZO sites that differ in their management: conventional or organic. The CZO sites include two pairs of grassland farms in Iceland and two pairs of arable farms in Austria. Conventional fields differed from the organic fields in the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides. Soils of these eight farms were analysed in terms of their physical, chemical, and biological properties, including soil aggregate size distribution, soil organic matter contents, abundance of soil microbes and soil fauna, and taxonomic diversity of soil microarthropods. In Icelandic grasslands, organically farmed soils had larger mean weight diameters of soil aggregates than the conventional farms, while there were no differences on the Austrian farms. Organic farming did not systematically influence organic matter contents or composition, nor soil carbon and nitrogen contents. Also, soil food web structures, in terms of presence of trophic groups of soil organisms, were highly similar among all farms, indicating a low sensitivity of trophic structure to land use or climate. However, soil organism biomass, especially of bacteria and nematodes, was consistently higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. Within the microarthropods, taxonomic diversity was systematically higher in the organic farms compared to the conventional farms. This difference was found across countries and farm, crop, and soil types. The results do not show systematic differences in physical and chemical properties between organic and conventional farms, but confirm that organic farming can enhance soil biomass and that microarthropod diversity is a sensitive and consistent indicator for land management.

Heavy metals and other elements in serum of cattle from organic and conventional farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomza-Marciniak, Agnieszka; Pilarczyk, Bogumiła; Bąkowska, Małgorzata; Pilarczyk, Renata; Wójcik, Jerzy

2011-11-01

Concentrations of cadmium, lead, iron, zinc, copper, chromium, nickel, aluminium and arsenium were analysed in blood serum of cattle from organic (n=20) and conventional (n=21) farms. The elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry using an Optima 2000 DV instrument (Perkin Elmer Inc.). Animals from the organic farm were characterised by significantly lower (Panimals from the conventional farm. The concentration of Cd was similar in animals from both organic and conventional farms. The concentration of toxic elements in cattle from organic and conventional farms studied was very low. The trace essential elements were generally within the adequate ranges except Zn and Cu, which were deficient. In organically reared animals, also serum Fe content was below the critical level for diagnosing iron deficiency. Pb was significantly correlated with Cd, Zn, Fe, Cu and Ni. A significant positive correlation between the concentration of Cd and Zn, Cu and Ni concentrations was only observed in cows from the organic farm. The present results suggest that organically raised animals are less exposed to harmful environmental influences such as the environmental pollution with heavy metals. On the other hand, these animals are at a greater risk of mineral deficiency compared to animals kept on conventional farms.

Organic farming at the heart of the rural development policy. The example of Austria

OpenAIRE

Darnhofer, Ika

2006-01-01

With about 10% of all Austrian farms being certified organic, Austria has one of the highest rates of organic farms in the European Union. Organic farms receive payments within the agri-environmental programme (AEP). With about 78% of farms participating in the AEP, Austria is also leading the field in the EU. The high participation rates can be seen as a result of a successful Austrian agricultural policy which aims to reconcile agricultural production, environmental protection, social cohes...

POLISH ORGANIC FARMING ON THE BACKGROUND OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IN LIGHT OF NEW REGULATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bartosz Mickiewicz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The theme of the development of organic farming in the EU and in Poland was taken up in the study, pointing out that organic production is an element of the EU agricultural product quality schemes. In this sense, organic production pursues the same objectives under the Common Agricultural Policy which are an integral part of all the EU systems of quality agricultural production. Within the EU, the number of organic farms increased from 124.8 thousand in 2004 to 186.2 thousand in 2010 (49.2%, while the level of organic crops increased respectively from 5.9 million hectares to 9.2 million hectares (55.9%. In Poland in 2013, there were 19,900 certified organic farms adding 6.7 thousand ones which were to undertake organic production during the so-called transition (adaptation period. The average area of an organic farm was twice larger than that of the average size in the country. These farms occupied 1.4% of the total area of agricultural land including farms which are in the stage of transition. This area accounted for 2.0% of arable land in the country. An important part of the functioning of such farms was their certification, which implied products with logos and mandatory labelling. Financial support for organic farming was carried out within the framework of agri-environmental programmes with participation of farmers in the food quality scheme of the RDP. Between 2014–2020, additional actions related to organic farming were undertaken.

Effects of organic fertilizers on yield and quality of potato tubers in organic farming

OpenAIRE

Kolbe, Hartmut

2006-01-01

In this lecture, an overview was given over effects of organic fertilizers (compost, farmyard manure, slurry, organic commercial fertilizers) on yield and quality (DM, starch, contents of N, P, K) of potato tubers in organic farming.

Effect of Localities and organic Fertilizers on Yield in Conditions of Organic Farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiri Antosovsky

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Nitrogen fertilization cannot be used by actual needs of plants during vegetation in organic farming. The proper crop rotation and harmonic nutrition are necessary for good and quality products. The methods of treatment are mainly realized by cultivation of green manure crop and fertilizing by organic fertilizers. The aim of the long-term experiment was to evaluate the effect of different localities and different organic fertilizers on crop yield in organic farming. Variants of fertilization included in the experiment are: 1. Unfertilized control, 2. Green manure, 3. Green manure + renewable external sources, 4. Green manure + renewable external sources + auxiliary substances, 5. Green manure + farm fertilizers, 6. Green manure + farm fertilizers + auxiliary substances. The experiment started by sowing of winter wheat so green manure crop was not grown in the first experimental year. The highest yield of winter wheat grain coming from the first year of the experiment was observed on the variant with renewable external sources (digestate. Average grain yield on this variant was about 7.12 t/ha (up to 0.74 t/ha increased than the unfertilized control. Average yield of potatoes from the second year of the experiment was the highest after combination with green manure + renewable external sources (compost + digestate + auxiliary substances. This variant achieved yield about 34.08 t/ha, which is increased by 9.35 t/ha compared to the control variant. Results from this two-year experiment showed that the most suitable combination of fertilization with or without green manure crop is compost + digestate. These results were probably caused by higher content of nitrogen in organic fertilizers (compost + digestate used in this variant compared to other variants. Statistical difference of achieved yields was observed between each experimental station in both experimental years.

Yield and economic performance of organic and conventional cotton-based farming systems--results from a field trial in India.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dionys Forster

Full Text Available The debate on the relative benefits of conventional and organic farming systems has in recent time gained significant interest. So far, global agricultural development has focused on increased productivity rather than on a holistic natural resource management for food security. Thus, developing more sustainable farming practices on a large scale is of utmost importance. However, information concerning the performance of farming systems under organic and conventional management in tropical and subtropical regions is scarce. This study presents agronomic and economic data from the conversion phase (2007-2010 of a farming systems comparison trial on a Vertisol soil in Madhya Pradesh, central India. A cotton-soybean-wheat crop rotation under biodynamic, organic and conventional (with and without Bt cotton management was investigated. We observed a significant yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems in the 1(st crop cycle (cycle 1: 2007-2008 for cotton (-29% and wheat (-27%, whereas in the 2(nd crop cycle (cycle 2: 2009-2010 cotton and wheat yields were similar in all farming systems due to lower yields in the conventional systems. In contrast, organic soybean (a nitrogen fixing leguminous plant yields were marginally lower than conventional yields (-1% in cycle 1, -11% in cycle 2. Averaged across all crops, conventional farming systems achieved significantly higher gross margins in cycle 1 (+29%, whereas in cycle 2 gross margins in organic farming systems were significantly higher (+25% due to lower variable production costs but similar yields. Soybean gross margin was significantly higher in the organic system (+11% across the four harvest years compared to the conventional systems. Our results suggest that organic soybean production is a viable option for smallholder farmers under the prevailing semi-arid conditions in India. Future research needs to elucidate the long-term productivity and profitability, particularly of cotton

Organic Farming and Social-Ecological Resilience: the Alpine Valleys of Sölktäler, Austria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecka Milestad

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Farming in the Austrian Alps is small in scale and involves a high degree of manual labor. In the face of structural changes in agriculture, alpine farms are finding it increasingly difficult to remain economically viable. Organic farming presents a promising alternative for alpine farmers because it receives considerable financial support under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of organic farms in Austria in general, and in alpine areas in particular. Using data from an empirical study carried out in the alpine area of Sölktäler, Austria, this paper examines the issues of how closely the regulations and principles of organic farming match farmers' perspectives on sustainable agriculture and whether or not organic farming is capable of building social-ecological resilience for local farms. Qualitative interviews and a series of workshops were used to learn about farmers' "desired system state" with regard to their region, disturbances to this system, and their perspectives on organic farming. The desired system in Sölktäler as formulated by the farmers depicts a vivid farming community that manages a diverse traditional agricultural landscape and performs a number of ecological services. The desired system and the principles of organic farming have several aspects in common, and many management practices and features of the social system support social-ecological resilience. The vulnerability of farms increases, however, when farmers must deal with structural changes in agriculture, the erosion of traditional ecological knowledge, and societal transformation. In conclusion, organic farming is a tool that can be used to build social-ecological resilience for Sölktäler farms, because it secures economic funding for the area and makes it possible to sustain environmentally benign practices. What remains is the question of whether the farming community is capable of

Identifying sources of metal exposure in organic and conventional dairy farming.

Science.gov (United States)

López-Alonso, M; Rey-Crespo, F; Herrero-Latorre, C; Miranda, M

2017-10-01

In humans the main route of exposure to toxic metals is through the diet, and there is therefore a clear need for this source of contamination to be minimized, particularly in food of animal origin. For this purpose, the various sources of toxic metals in livestock farming (which vary depending on the production system) must be taken into account. The objectives of the present study were to establish the profile of metal exposure in dairy cattle in Spain and to determine, by chemometric (multivariate statistical) analysis, any differences between organic and conventional systems. Blood samples from 522 cows (341 from organic farms and 181 from conventional farms) were analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine the concentrations of 14 elements: As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, I, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn. In conventional systems the generally high and balanced trace element concentrations in the mineral-supplemented concentrate feed strongly determined the metal status of the cattle. However, in organic systems, soil ingestion was an important contributing factor. Our results demonstrate that general information about the effects of mineral supplementation in conventional farming cannot be directly extrapolated to organic farming and special attention should be given to the contribution of ingestion of soil during grazing and/or ingestion of soil contaminated forage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrogen Turnover on Organic and Conventional Mixed Farms

OpenAIRE

Halberg, Niels; Kristensen, Erik Steen; Kristensen, Ib Sillebak

1995-01-01

Separate focus on crop fertilization or feeding practices inadequately describes nitrogen (N) loss from mixed dairy farms because of (1) interaction between animal and crop production and between the production system and the manager, and (2) uncertainties of herd N production and crop N utilization. Therefore a systems approach was used to study N turnover and N efficiency on 16 conventional and 14 organic private Danish farms with mixed animal (dairy) and crop production. There were signifi...

Current situation, potentials and prospects for the development of organic farming in Šumadija

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brković Duško

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Šumadija is rich in natural potentials which provide a good basis for the future development of organic farming, given the fact that natural resources are limited. The composition and structure of natural resources are highly suitable for organic production. The region's relatively unpolluted land, favourable climate, abundant water resources and preserved biodiversity are some of the main organic farming requirements satisfied. Organic production is not possible without ensuring at least a minimum level of preservation of natural resources in areas where organic farming is practised; on the other hand, organic production itself has a positive effect on the preservation and improvement of environmental quality in these areas. Small plots of land can be advantageous for this production, particularly in upland areas, and used specifically for organic production as the conversion period is short. They can be used for vegetable farming because the soil is uncontaminated owing to distance from roads. Positive experience indicates that potatoes, rye, oats and root vegetables can be successfully grown in these areas. Another advantage is the wealth of indigenous cultivars of apples, pears and plums which are highly resistant to pathogenic pests and environmental conditions, and hence suitable for cultivation without the use of mineral fertilisers and chemical agents. Major issues currently facing organic farming are a small-scale organic market and low prices of organic products, a low level of consumer awareness of the advantages of organic farming, suspicion and ignorance, low purchasing power, low availability of organic products through sales channels, etc.

Amplified recruitment pressure of biofouling organisms in commercial salmon farms: potential causes and implications for farm management.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloecher, Nina; Floerl, Oliver; Sunde, Leif Magne

2015-01-01

The development of biofouling on finfish aquaculture farms presents challenges for the industry, but the factors underlying nuisance growths are still not well understood. Artificial settlement surfaces were used to examine two possible explanations for high rates of biofouling in Norwegian salmon farms: (1) increased propagule release during net cleaning operations, resulting in elevated recruitment rates; and (2) potential reservoir effects of farm surfaces. The presence of salmon farms was associated with consistently and substantially (up to 49-fold) elevated recruitment rates. Temporal patterns of recruitment were not driven by net cleaning. Resident populations of biofouling organisms were encountered on all submerged farm surfaces. Calculations indicate that a resident population of the hydroid Ectopleura larynx, a major biofouling species, could release between 0.3 × 10(9) and 4.7 × 10(9) larvae per farm annually. Such resident populations could form propagule reservoirs and be one explanation for the elevated recruitment pressure at salmon farms.

Systems of organic farming in spring vetch I: Biological response of sucking insect pests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivelina Nikolova

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Four systems of organic farming and a conventional farming system were studied over the period 2012-2014. The organic system trial variants included: I – an organic farming system without any biological products used (growth under natural soil fertility – Control; II – an organic farming system involving the use of a biological foliar fertilizer and a biological plant growth regulator (Polyversum+Biofa; III – an organic farming system in which a biological insecticide (NeemAzal T/S was used; IV – an organic farming system including a combination of three organic products: the foliar fertilizer, the plant growth regulator and the bioinsecticide (Polyversum+Biofa+NeemAzal T/S. Variant V represented a conventional farming system in which synthetic products were used in combination (foliar fertilizer, plant growth regulator and insecticide: Masterblend+Flordimex 420+Nurelle D. Treatment of vetch plants with the biological insecticide NeemAzal in combination with Biofa and Polyversum resulted in the lowest density of sucking pests, compared to all other organic farming methods tested (i.e. without NeemAzal, with NeemAzal alone, and its combination with Biofa and Polyversum. The greatest reduction in pest numbers during the vegetation period in that variant was observed in species of the order Thysanoptera (36.0-41.4%, followed by Hemiptera, and the families Aphididae (31.6-40.3% and Cicadellidae (27.3-28.6%. This combination showed an efficient synergistic interaction and an increase in biological efficacy as compared to individual application of NeemAzal. The highest toxic impact was found against Thrips tabaci, followed by Acyrthosiphon pisum. An analysis of variance regarding the efficacy against the species A. pisum, E. pteridis and T. tabaci showed that type of treatment had the most dominant influence and statistically significant impact.

Perceptions of French private veterinary practitioners’ on their role in organic dairy farms and opportunities to improve their advisory services for organic dairy farmers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duval, J E; Bareille, N; Fourichon, C

2016-01-01

are – from private veterinary practitioners’ point of views- i) to describe the roles of veterinarians today in organic dairy farmers’ animal health promotion strategies, ii) to identify factors related to organic farming which determine their role on organic dairy farms, and, iii) to identify opportunities...... for improvement of veterinarians’ advisory services for organic dairy herds. Fourteen veterinarians, providing herd health advisory services to dairy farmers, were interviewed using qualitative semi-structured research interviews. A modified approach to Grounded Theory was used for data collection and analysis...... veterinarians considered that there was no direct economic interest for them in the organic dairy sector and that could diminish their willingness to invest in this sector. Possible opportunities for improvement were identified; for example proposing more proactively advice via existing organisations, by making...

Evaluation of wildlife management through organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Topping, Christopher John

2011-01-01

for six common agricultural wildlife species. ALMaSS outputs can be expressed as a simple index of relative change in abundance and distribution, allowing easy comparison between scenarios. Results indicate that organic farming generally had a beneficial effect, but the degree was variable with all...

Statistical coordinates of organic farming in Romania during the period 2000-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DUGULEANA Liliana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper emphasizes the importance of developing organic farming in Romania. This sector was not affected by the economic crisis, at the end of 2008, neither in Romania, nor in European Union. The sustainable character of its evolution was doubled by the benefits and the consequences for a better and healthier life of consumers, in the spirit of respecting the principles of environmental and life sustainability. The evolutions of organic areas in Romania in comparison with the level of the European Union, and also of its proportion in the agricultural land, are presented for the period 2000-2014. Some important structural characteristics of organic farming in Romania are analysed for 2011 and 2012, the years when the expansion of organic areas was the highest. These emphasized changes could be the future factors of organic farming development.

Assessment of herd management on organic and conventional dairy farms in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Stiglbauer, K E; Cicconi-Hogan, K M; Richert, R; Schukken, Y H; Ruegg, P L; Gamroth, M

2013-02-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate management characteristics on organic and similarly sized conventional dairy farms located in New York, Wisconsin, and Oregon. Data from 192 organic farms (ORG), 64 conventional nongrazing farms (CON-NG), and 36 conventional grazing farms (CON-GR) were collected during farm visits and were size-matched and analyzed. The average lactation number of animals on ORG and CON-GR farms was 2.6 lactations, which was greater than that on CON-NG farms (2.3 lactations). A greater percentage of first-lactation heifers were found on conventional farms than on ORG farms. Facilities used by adult animals, including housing and milking facilities, did not differ among the grazing systems. Cattle on conventional farms were fed approximately twice as much grain as cattle on ORG farms and had greater milk production. Little difference was found for the average reported somatic cell count and standard plate count, suggesting that milk quality is not dependent on grazing system. Milking procedures were similar across all 3 grazing systems, indicating that an industry standard now exists for milking and that milk quality problems will need to be addressed with other management problems in mind. Although some disease prevention measures were commonly utilized on ORG farms, such as keeping a closed herd and having a written record of treatments administered to the animals, the use of outside support and vaccinations were found to be less prevalent on organic farms than on conventional farms. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Use of Radiation to Develop Organic Farming for Food Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Office of Atoms fo Peace

2006-09-01

The conference of the use of radiation to develop organic farming for food safety was held on 28-29 September 2006 in Bangkok. This conference contain paper on non-power applications of nuclear technology in farming, agriculture and industry.

Importance of bee pollination for cotton production in conventional and organic farms in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viviane C. Pires

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the importance of wild bee and feral honeybee visits for cotton production on conventional and organic farms. Experiments were conducted in Brazil, on a conventional cotton farm in Mato Grosso state in the Amazon biome and on an organic farm in Paraíba state in the Caatinga biome. On the conventional farm, bee assemblage and cotton production were measured near to and far from natural vegetation. Bee richness, fibre fraction, seed number and yield (Kg/ha were higher by 57.14, 1.95, 17.77 and 18.44% respectively in plots near natural vegetation, but bee abundance did not vary with distance to natural vegetation. On the organic farm, because the cropping area is surrounded by natural vegetation, pollination deficit was evaluated using an exclusion experiment where cotton production of flowers bagged to prevent bee visitation (spontaneous self-pollination was compared to production of flowers open to bee visitation (open pollination. Open pollinated flowers had higher average boll weight, fibre weight and seed number. Although cotton is not directly dependent on bee pollination, bees increased cotton production on the organic farm by more than 12% for fibre weight and over 17% for seed number. Our data confirm the importance of maintaining communities of pollinators on cotton farms, especially for organic production.

Comparison of Management Styles in Organic and Conventional Farming with Respect to Disruptive External Influences. The Case of Organic Dairy Farming and Conventional Horticulture in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blom, M.; Gremmen, H.G.J.

2012-01-01

Conventional Dutch farming systems are constantly improving their technology to withstand disruptive external influences, while organic farming tends to focus on methods that stress conservation of natural and nonrenewable resources. We hypothesize that management styles to withstand disruptive

Differences in sheep and goats milk microbiological profile between conventional and organic farming systems in Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Malissiova, Eleni; Papadopoulos, Theofilos; Kyriazi, Aikaterini; Mparda, Maria; Sakorafa, Christina; Katsioulis, Antonios; Katsiaflaka, Anna; Kyritsi, Maria; Zdragas, Antonios; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos

2017-05-01

The aim of this study was to examine differences in the microbiological profile and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from milk from organic and conventional sheep and goat farms. Twenty-five organic and 25 conventional sheep and goat farms in the region of Thessaly, Greece participated in this study. A standardised detailed questionnaire was used to describe farming practices. A total of 50 samples were collected and analysed for total viable count (TVC), total coliform count (TCC) and somatic cell count (SCC), while Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were isolated using standard methods. Isolates were identified at species level by Api-test and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Susceptibility to a panel of 20 for E. coli and 16 for S. aureus antimicrobials was determined by the agar dilution method. Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed for S. aureus and E. coli isolates to determine predominant clones. Lower counts of TVC, TCC and SCC were identified in milk from the organic farms, possibly due to differences in the hygienic farming practices found on those farms. API-tests and MALDI-TOF MS showed no significant differences in the S. aureus and E. coli isolates. Overall, antimicrobial resistance rates were low, while a statistically higher percentage was estimated among strains originating from conventional farms in comparison with organic farms, possibly due to the restriction of antibiotic use in organic farming. PFGE revealed diversity among S. aureus and E. coli populations in both organic and conventional farms indicating circulation of 2-3 main clones changing slightly during their evolution. Consequently, there is evidence that milk from the organic farms presents a better microbiological profile when compared with milk from conventional farms.

Reduced soil cultivation and organic fertilization on organic farms: effects on crop yield and soil physical traits

Science.gov (United States)

Surböck, Andreas; Gollner, Gabriele; Klik, Andreas; Freyer, Bernhard; Friedel, Jürgen K.

2017-04-01

A continuous investment in soil fertility is necessary to achieve sustainable yields in organic arable farming. Crucial factors here besides the crop rotation are organic fertilization and the soil tillage system. On this topic, an operational group (Project BIOBO*) was established in the frame of an European Innovation Partnership in 2016 consisting of organic farmers, consultants and scientists in the farming region of eastern Austria. The aim of this group is the development and testing of innovative, reduced soil cultivation, green manure and organic fertilization systems under on-farm and on-station conditions to facilitate the sharing and transfer of experience and knowledge within and outside the group. Possibilities for optimization of the farm-specific reduced soil tillage system in combination with green manuring are being studied in field trials on six organic farms. The aim is to determine, how these measures contribute to an increase in soil organic matter contents, yields and income, to an improved nitrogen and nutrient supply to the crops, as well as support soil fertility in general. Within a long-term monitoring project (MUBIL), the effects of different organic fertilization systems on plant and soil traits have been investigated since 2003, when the farm was converted to organic management. The examined organic fertilization systems, i.e. four treatments representing stockless and livestock keeping systems, differ in lucerne management and the supply of organic manure (communal compost, farmyard manure, digestate from a biogas plant). Previous results of this on-station experiment have shown an improvement of some soil properties, especially soil physical properties, since 2003 in all fertilization systems and without differences between them. The infiltration rate of rainwater has increased because of higher hydraulic conductivity. The aggregate stability has shown also positive trends, which reduces the susceptibility to soil erosion by wind and

A Diagnosis of Biophysical and Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Farmers' Choice to Adopt Organic or Conventional Farming Systems for Cotton Production.

Science.gov (United States)

Riar, Amritbir; Mandloi, Lokendra S; Poswal, Randhir S; Messmer, Monika M; Bhullar, Gurbir S

2017-01-01

Organic agriculture is one of the most widely known alternative production systems advocated for its benefits to soil, environment, health and economic well-being of farming communities. Rapid increase in the market demand for organic products presents a remarkable opportunity for expansion of organic agriculture. A thorough understanding of the context specific motivations of farmers for adoption of organic farming systems is important so that appropriate policy measures are put in place. With an aim of understanding the social and biophysical motivations of organic and conventional cotton farmers for following their respective farming practices, a detailed farm survey was conducted in Nimar valley of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The study area was chosen for being an important region for cotton production, where established organic and conventional farms operate under comparable circumstances. We found considerable variation among organic and conventional farmers for their social and biophysical motivations. Organic farmers were motivated by the sustainability of cotton production and growing safer food without pesticides, whereas conventional farmers were sensitive about their reputation in community. Organic farmers with larger holdings were more concerned about closed nutrient cycles and reducing their dependence on external inputs, whereas medium and small holding organic farmers were clearly motivated by the premium price of organic cotton. Higher productivity was the only important motivation for conventional farmers with larger land holdings. We also found considerable yield gaps among different farms, both under conventional and organic management, that need to be addressed through extension and training. Our findings suggest that research and policy measures need to be directed toward strengthening of extension services, local capacity building, enhancing availability of suitable inputs and market access for organic farmers.

THE FARMING AND MARKETING OF ORGANIC LETTUCE: STUDY AT BOBOSAN VILLAGE, KEDUNGBANTENG SUB-DISTRICT, BANYUMAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irene Kartika Eka Wijayanti

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Banyumas has great potential as a producer of organic lettuce in term of condition of natural, human resources and availability of market. The centre producer of organic lettuce is located in district of Kedungbanteng, and managed by farmers group "abdi tani". The aim of this study is to analyze: 1. The cost and income farming of organic lettuce; 2. Financial feasibility of organic lettuce farm; 3. The channel and structure of organic lettuce market. Processing and data analysis performed qualitatively and quantitatively. The data used is to the production and marketing of organic lettuce in period of June-July 2016. Quantitative analysis performed using analysis of cost, farm income, and R/C. Qualitative analysis was conducted to determine the channel and structure of organic lettuce market. The results showed that organic lettuce farm income generating positive value and the value of R/C is greater than one (R/C >1, the farming is profitable and feasible. Organic lettuce marketing channels through the use of one channel, such farmers, traders, retailers (supermarket. Farmers faced monopsony market structure, while traders and retailers deal with oligopoly one

The Impact of Values Concerning Nature on Practice and Knowledge in Organic Farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaltoft, Pernille

1997-01-01

that the view of nature influence practise: The focus of the organic farmers on environmental concerns, product quality concerns, earth-fertility concerns, utilitarian ethics or bioethics means different practical choices. Four paradigms of knowledge related to organic farming has further more been identified...... impact on the development of the organic farming and on the conceptualising of environmental issues in society and thereby the initiatives taken: Priority is given to the more conventional ways of understanding: obtaining sustainability by not using poison, treating manure as a question of optimising...... nitrogen and the other nutrients. On the other hand learning processes take place in and around the organic farms extending the farmers concepts of sustainability....

Sustainability evaluation of automatic and conventional milking systems on organic dairy farms in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oudshoorn, Frank W; Kristensen, Troels; van der Zijpp, A J

2012-01-01

Organic dairy farmers in Denmark currently are implementing automatic milking systems (AMS) to save labour costs. As organic agriculture aims at sustainable production, the introduction of a new technology such as AMS should be evaluated regarding its economic viability, environmental impact...... conventional milking systems (CMS). Sustainability indicators were quantified for economic performance of the farm, on-farm eutrophication, on-farm biodiversity, animal welfare (including health), grazing time, milk composition and labour time. Milk yield per cow per year was higher for AMS farms (9021 kg...... was not due to the use of AMS but was caused by a higher export of manure by the CMS farms. The number of veterinary treatments per cow per year was unaffected by AMS use, but culling rate was higher for the AMS farms (38%) than for the CMS farms (32%). There was no difference between the AMS and CMS farms...

Technology for recycling of manure and organic residues in a whole-farm perspective. Vol. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petersen, Soeren O. (ed.)

2006-08-15

Efficient use of agricultural residues and imported waste materials within agriculture is increasingly viewed from a whole-farm perspective. A wide range of management decisions - including feeding, manure collection systems, and treatment for hygienization or energy production - influence the nutrient value and environmental impact of agricultural residues. Field application of manure and urban wastes are affected by societal constraints, such as legislation, tradition, consumer attitudes towards waste recycling, and pollution risks. Hence, the optimal use of manure and organic wastes as a nutrient source and soil conditioner interacts strongly with many other aspects of farming. The objective behind this 12th International Conference of the Ramiran network is to present and discuss on-farm interactions between manure and waste management practices, and to consider methods to describe and quantify the overall effects of a given strategy or treatment practice. Accordingly, the research presented at the conference and in the proceedings cover a wide range of topics, from feed impact on manure composition to environmental losses in the field, from energy production to odour control, from biochemistry to modelling. We hope that everyone involved in the conference will see this as an opportunity to discover interfaces with other research areas that can strengthen the whole-farm perspective of future research. (au)

Technology for recycling of manure and organic residues in a whole-farm perspective. Vol. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petersen, Soeren O. (ed.)

2006-08-15

Efficient use of agricultural residues and imported waste materials within agriculture is increasingly viewed from a whole-farm perspective. A wide range of management decisions - including feeding, manure collection systems, and treatment for hygienization or energy production - influence the nutrient value and environmental impact of agricultural residues. Field application of manure and urban wastes are affected by societal constraints, such as legislation, tradition, consumer attitudes towards waste recycling, and pollution risks. Hence, the optimal use of manure and organic wastes as a nutrient source and soil conditioner interacts strongly with many other aspects of farming. The objective behind this 12th International Conference of the Ramiran network is to present and discuss on-farm interactions between manure and waste management practices, and to consider methods to describe and quantify the overall effects of a given strategy or treatment practice. Accordingly, the research presented at the conference and in the proceedings cover a wide range of topics, from feed impact on manure composition to environmental losses in the field, from energy production to odour control, from biochemistry to modelling. We hope that everyone involved in the conference will see this as an opportunity to discover interfaces with other research areas that can strengthen the whole-farm perspective of future research. (au)

Research on large-scale wind farm modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Longfei; Zhang, Baoqun; Gong, Cheng; Jiao, Ran; Shi, Rui; Chi, Zhongjun; Ding, Yifeng

2017-01-01

Due to intermittent and adulatory properties of wind energy, when large-scale wind farm connected to the grid, it will have much impact on the power system, which is different from traditional power plants. Therefore it is necessary to establish an effective wind farm model to simulate and analyze the influence wind farms have on the grid as well as the transient characteristics of the wind turbines when the grid is at fault. However we must first establish an effective WTGs model. As the doubly-fed VSCF wind turbine has become the mainstream wind turbine model currently, this article first investigates the research progress of doubly-fed VSCF wind turbine, and then describes the detailed building process of the model. After that investigating the common wind farm modeling methods and pointing out the problems encountered. As WAMS is widely used in the power system, which makes online parameter identification of the wind farm model based on off-output characteristics of wind farm be possible, with a focus on interpretation of the new idea of identification-based modeling of large wind farms, which can be realized by two concrete methods.

Do differences in food web structure between organic and conventional farms affect the ecosystem service of pest control?

Science.gov (United States)

Macfadyen, Sarina; Gibson, Rachel; Polaszek, Andrew; Morris, Rebecca J; Craze, Paul G; Planqué, Robert; Symondson, William O C; Memmott, Jane

2009-03-01

While many studies have demonstrated that organic farms support greater levels of biodiversity, it is not known whether this translates into better provision of ecosystem services. Here we use a food-web approach to analyse the community structure and function at the whole-farm scale. Quantitative food webs from 10 replicate pairs of organic and conventional farms showed that organic farms have significantly more species at three trophic levels (plant, herbivore and parasitoid) and significantly different network structure. Herbivores on organic farms were attacked by more parasitoid species on organic farms than on conventional farms. However, differences in network structure did not translate into differences in robustness to simulated species loss and we found no difference in percentage parasitism (natural pest control) across a variety of host species. Furthermore, a manipulative field experiment demonstrated that the higher species richness of parasitoids on the organic farms did not increase mortality of a novel herbivore used to bioassay ecosystem service. The explanation for these differences is likely to include inherent differences in management strategies and landscape structure between the two farming systems.

A Diagnosis of Biophysical and Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Farmers’ Choice to Adopt Organic or Conventional Farming Systems for Cotton Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amritbir Riar

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Organic agriculture is one of the most widely known alternative production systems advocated for its benefits to soil, environment, health and economic well-being of farming communities. Rapid increase in the market demand for organic products presents a remarkable opportunity for expansion of organic agriculture. A thorough understanding of the context specific motivations of farmers for adoption of organic farming systems is important so that appropriate policy measures are put in place. With an aim of understanding the social and biophysical motivations of organic and conventional cotton farmers for following their respective farming practices, a detailed farm survey was conducted in Nimar valley of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The study area was chosen for being an important region for cotton production, where established organic and conventional farms operate under comparable circumstances. We found considerable variation among organic and conventional farmers for their social and biophysical motivations. Organic farmers were motivated by the sustainability of cotton production and growing safer food without pesticides, whereas conventional farmers were sensitive about their reputation in community. Organic farmers with larger holdings were more concerned about closed nutrient cycles and reducing their dependence on external inputs, whereas medium and small holding organic farmers were clearly motivated by the premium price of organic cotton. Higher productivity was the only important motivation for conventional farmers with larger land holdings. We also found considerable yield gaps among different farms, both under conventional and organic management, that need to be addressed through extension and training. Our findings suggest that research and policy measures need to be directed toward strengthening of extension services, local capacity building, enhancing availability of suitable inputs and market access for organic farmers.

Restricted use of antibiotics in organic pig farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aabo, Søren; Jensen, Annette Nygaard

2013-01-01

Can the restricted use of antibiotics in organic pig farming be documented to provide a safer, high quality meat product with less antibiotic resistant bacteria? The project SafeOrganic aims to document that the restricted use of antimicrobials in organic pig production leads to lower levels...... of antibiotic resistant bacteria compared with the level in conventional pigs. However, the project will also address the risk of losing this quality parameter, due to a widespread practice of slaughtering organic pigs together with conventional pigs, implying a risk of cross-contamination....

The development of organic farming in the world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KOMOROWSKA Dorota

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article aims to present the size of organic farming and organic food market in each region of the world based on available statistics. The largest area of agricultural land farmed using organic methods is located in Australia, Europe and South America, while the biggest organic food markets are located in the rich countries of North America, mainly in the United States, and in the Western European countries. Fruits and vegetables are the organic products that are the most eagerly bought and dominate the organic food market. Rezumat. Articolul îşi propune să prezinte dimensiunea agriculturii ecologice şi a pieţei produselor alimentare ecologice în fiecare regiune a lumii în baza datelor statistice disponibile. Cea mai mare suprafaţă de teren agricol cultivat folosind metode organice se află în Australia, Europa şi America de Sud, în timp ce cele mai mari pieţe de produse alimentare ecologice sunt situate în ţările bogate din America de Nord, în special în Statele Unite ale Americii, precum şi în ţările din Europa de Vest. Fructele şi legumele sunt produsele organice care se vând cel mai bine şi care domină piaţa produselor alimentare ecologice.

Modelling conventional and organic farming : a literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acs, S.; Berentsen, P.B.M.; Huirne, R.B.M.

2005-01-01

Literature shows a significant development of organic farming in Europe but with considerable differences between countries. These depend on general agricultural policy (the set of regulations and laws), specific policy incentives, and also on differences in consumer behaviour. This paper reviews

FINANCIAL MONITORING FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FARMS OF AGRICULTURAL BUDGETARY INSTITUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Larysa Oliynik

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The article highlights the core of financial monitoring and the basic indicators of its implementation at education and research farms of agricultural budgetary institution. The case study for its peculiarities defined is Separated Subdivision of NULES of Ukraine “Velykosnytinske Education and Research Farm named after O. Muzychenka”, the financial monitoring of which allowed offering the enterprise certain directions to improve efficiency under modern conditions. While carrying out financial monitoring of  education and research farms,  there should be awareness that such farms are based on self-supporting, being non-profit institutions that function as public institutions. Consequently, they make estimates. The specific features of financial statements and reports are due to the fact that revenues of educational and research farms are derived from the special  fund.  Financial  monitoring  for  education  and  research  farms  of  agricultural  budgetary institution  is  proven  to  be  implemented  by  using  traditional  analysis  given  the  peculiarities  of budgetary institutions. Keywords: financial  monitoring,  education and research farm,  budgetary  institution,  cost accounting, special fund, estimate. JEL: M 20

ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC CROP AND ANIMAL FARMS IN ROMANIA. COMPARATIVE EVOLUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra MUSCĂNESCU

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The organic sector in our country, although as shown in continuous development, faces a multitude of problems: the climatic conditions of our country, characterized by periods of drought in many parts of the country, high input prices, the majority of which are imported; difficulties in identifying markets for products, reduced subsidies, standardized conditions difficult to meet, etc. The problems the sector is facing reflect in the organization of the production activity and hence the economic performance of farm production. Accordingly, the aim of this paper was to analyze on the basis of annual financial and accounting information collected in the two vegetable farms and the two animal breeding farms, their efficiency / inefficiency, and the results were compared to identify the causes of the differences obtained in the efficiency at a farm level. The results obtained reveal a higher level of return on integrated vegetable farm in a joint recovery and a high efficiency for chain integrated animal farms.

EVALUATION OF FARMERS APPRECIATION IN REDUCING PESTICIDE BY ORGANIC FARMING PRACTICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indraningsih Indraningsih

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Vegetables and dairy milk are important commodities in Pangalengan and Lembang, West Java. However, agrochemicals are used intensively and excessively in production system. Therefore, pesticide residues and contamination commonly occurred in agricultural products and environments. The study aimed to assess farmers’ attitudes on pesticide toxicity and reducing pesticide residues in animal and food crops products, and investigate the attitude changes of farmers on pesticide use. It was an on-farm research and farmers were directly involved in the study. The attitude change was analyzed on questionnaire and interview base for over 99 respondents in Pangalengan and Lembang between 2001 and 2003. Samples of soils, weeds, cabbages and milk were collected for pesticide residue analysis. Results showed that farmers did not aware on toxicity effects of pesticides in both animal and human health. There was misinterpretation among the farmers where pesticides were regarded as drugs rather than toxic compound to increase productivity. The organochlorines/OCs (lindane and heptachlor were common pesticide contaminants found in soils of 7.9- 11.4 ppb, but no organophospates (OPs were detected. Both OCs and OPs were also detected in soils of Lembang at a range of 11.53-65.63 ppb and 0.6-2.6 ppb, respectively. There were pesticide residues detected in weeds collected from Pangalengan (8.93 ppb lindane, 2.05 ppb heptachlor, and 33.27 ppb chlorpyriphos methyl/CPM and Lembang (6.45 ppb lindane, 2.65 ppb endosulfan, 6.85 ppb diazinon, and 0.5 ppb CPM. Only endosulfan with least residue level (0.1 ppb was detected in organic cabbages, whereas lindane was detected much higher (3.7 ppb in non-organic cabbages. Pesticide residues were not detected in milk of dairy cattle fed on by-products of organic cabbages, but lindane was still present in milk of dairy cattle fed on non-organic cabbages for 7 days subsequently. The present study indicates that the organic farming

Management and use of dairy cattle feed resources on smallholder certified organic pineapple farms in Central Uganda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Kiggundu

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Formulation of exclusively organic diets that meet maintenance and production requirements of dairy cattle is a major limitation to production of premium organic products of animal origin. This study was therefore carried out to assess the use and availability of feed resources and the coping strategies used by farmers to overcome dry season feed shortages on 64 smallholder certified organic pineapple farms. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and two focus group discussions. Majority of households were headed by males (62.9% while average age of respondents was 42.5 years. Farmers allocated more land (P<0.05 to organic pineapple production compared to livestock. Beside dairy cattle, farmers also kept chickens, goats and pigs. Tethering was the commonest cattle management system. Fifty three percent of respondents reported using both natural pastures and crop residues as major dairy cattle feed resources while only 19% reported using elephant grass. Banana peels (25.1% and sweet potato vines (24.7% were the most important crop residues fed to cattle. Farmers reported high cost of concentrates and scarcity of feeds as their biggest challenges in dairy cattle production. Of the respondents, 51.4% conserved feed for their cattle as fodder banks. As a coping strategy to feed shortages, majority (42.9% of farmer scavenged for feed resources from both organic certified and nonorganic neighbouring farms which is contrary to organic livestock farming standards. It was, therefore, concluded that management of livestock feeding in the study area fell short of the requirements for organic livestock feeding standards. Research to develop strategies that can use alternative on-farm feed resources through ensiling organic pineapple wastes during the dry season is recommended as a long term strategy to address feed challenges for organic livestock farmers.

Stability in Organic Milk Farm Prices: A Comparative Study

OpenAIRE

Su, Ye; Brown, Scott; Cook, Michael L.

2013-01-01

The organic milk pay price is more stable year round and increases every year. However, the conventional milk price varies within the year and from year to year. As an emerging segment of the milk industry, consumer demand for organic milk is increasing rapidly. The growth in demand relative to supply provides organic milk producers and processors large premiums over the conventional milk price. Many conventional dairy farms have converted to organic operations for the more stable price. The ...

Differences in sheep and goats milk fatty acid profile between conventional and organic farming systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsiplakou, Eleni; Kotrotsios, Vaios; Hadjigeorgiou, Ioannis; Zervas, George

2010-08-01

The objective of this study was to investigate whether there is a difference in chemical composition and particularly in fatty acid (FA) profile, with emphasis on cis-9, trans-11 CLA, of milk obtained from conventional and organic dairy sheep and goats farms under the farming conditions practiced in Greece. Four dairy sheep and four dairy goat farms, representing common conventional production systems and another four dairy sheep and four dairy goat farms, organically certified, representing organic production and feeding systems were selected from all over Greece. One hundred and sixty two individual milk samples were collected from those farms in January-February 2009, about three months after parturition. The milk samples were analyzed for their main chemical constituents and their FA profile. The results showed that the production system affected milk chemical composition: in particular fat content was lower in the organic sheep and goats milk compared with the corresponding conventional. Milk from organic sheep had higher content in MUFA, PUFA, alpha-LNA, cis-9, trans-11 CLA, and omega-3 FA, whereas in milk from organic goats alpha-LNA and omega-3 FA content was higher than that in conventional one. These differences are, mainly, attributed to different feeding practices used by the two production systems. The results of this study show that the organic milk produced under the farming conditions practiced in Greece has higher nutritional value, due to its FA profile, compared with the respective conventional milk.

Effects of care farms: Scientific research on the benefits of care farms for clients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elings, M.

2012-01-01

Over the last years, the number of care farms has grown rapidly in Europe and beyond. Research was implemented to study how for example young people with behavioural problems or older people with dementia benefit from their stay on a care farm. And what are the effects of working or living on a care

Some criteria for landscape quality applied on an organic goat farm in Gelderland, the Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendriks, K.; Stobbelaar, D.J.; Mansvelt, van J.D.

1997-01-01

Within the framework of the concerted action 'The landscape and nature production capacity of organic/sustainable types of agriculture', the authors visited the organic goat farm Caprica to test some criteria on farm level

Niche farm fresh products: organic and biodynamic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Annette Nygaard; Baggesen, Dorte Lau

2013-01-01

There has been a general increase in demand for ‘organic’ or ‘biodynamic’ produce. As mineral nitrogen fertilizers are prohibited in organic farming, livestock manure often becomes the central fertilizer. Livestock manure is a known potential source of human pathogens, so it can be speculated...... that the observed increase in vegetable-associated foodborne outbreaks of pathogens is linked to its use. Legislation and guidelines vary regarding minimization of contamination risk in relation to use of livestock manure. An assessment of the effect of differences in management between organic and conventional...

Farms could slash pesticide use without losses, research reveals

OpenAIRE

2017-01-01

Study shows almost all farms could significantly cut chemical use while producing as much food, in a major challenge to the billion-dollar pesticide industry. Virtually all farms could significantly cut their pesticide use while still producing as much food, according to a major new study. The research also shows chemical treatments could be cut without affecting farm profits on over three-quarters of farms. The scientists said that many farmers wanted to reduce pesticide use, partly due to c...

Organic Agriculture 3.0 is innovation with research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rahmann, Gerold; Ardakani, Mohammad Reza; Bàrberi, Paolo

2017-01-01

to strengthen organic food and farming as a means to solve future challenges. In 2010, a global discussion about Organic 3.0 was initiated to address current problems our agri-food systems are facing. Many scientifically and practically proven results are already available to make organic agriculture a strong...... of Organic Agricultural Research (ISOFAR) Symposium “Organic 3.0 is Innovation with Research”, held September 20–22, 2015, in conjunction with the first ISOFAR International Organic Expo, in Goesan County, Republic of Korea. Some of the world’s most active scientists in organic agriculture attended...

I Have a Dream: Organic Movements Include Gene Manipulation to Improve Sustainable Farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerhart U. Ryffel

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Several papers in a Special Issue of Sustainability have recently discussed various aspects to evaluate whether organic farming and gene manipulation are compatible. A special emphasis was given to new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs. These new approaches allow the most predictable genetic alterations of crop plants in ways that the genetically modified plant is identical to a plant generated by conventional breeding. The articles of the Special Issue present the arguments pro and contra the inclusion of the plants generated by NPBTs in organic farming. Organic movements have not yet made a final decision whether some of these techniques should be accepted or banned. In my view these novel genetically manipulated (GM crops could be used in such a way as to respect the requirements for genetically manipulated organisms (GMOs formulated by the International Federation of Organic Movements (IFOAM. Reviewing the potential benefits of disease-resistant potatoes and bananas, it seems possible that these crops support organic farming. To this end, I propose specific requirements that the organic movements should proactively formulate as their standards to accept specific GM crops.

Opponent note no. 5b:: Support to Organic Farming and Bio-energy as rural development drivers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reinhard, A.J.

2006-01-01

Given the current competitive strength of North West European agriculture, organic farming and bio-energy production will not expand without subsidies. Technical research shows that high tech agriculture can be viable in the future if it is both efficient with respect to the environment and with

Organic farming increases richness of fungal taxa in the wheat phyllosphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Karlsson, Ida; Friberg, Hanna; Kolseth, Anna-Karin; Steinberg, Christian; Persson, Paula

2017-07-01

Organic farming is often advocated as an approach to mitigate biodiversity loss on agricultural land. The phyllosphere provides a habitat for diverse fungal communities that are important for plant health and productivity. However, it is still unknown how organic farming affects the diversity of phyllosphere fungi in major crops. We sampled wheat leaves from 22 organically and conventionally cultivated fields in Sweden, paired based on their geographical location and wheat cultivar. Fungal communities were described using amplicon sequencing and real-time PCR. Species richness was higher on wheat leaves from organically managed fields, with a mean of 54 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) compared with 40 OTUs for conventionally managed fields. The main components of the fungal community were similar throughout the 350-km-long sampling area, and seven OTUs were present in all fields: Zymoseptoria, Dioszegia fristingensis, Cladosporium, Dioszegia hungarica, Cryptococcus, Ascochyta and Dioszegia. Fungal abundance was highly variable between fields, 10 3 -10 5 internal transcribed spacer copies per ng wheat DNA, but did not differ between cropping systems. Further analyses showed that weed biomass was the strongest explanatory variable for fungal community composition and OTU richness. These findings help provide a more comprehensive understanding of the effect of organic farming on the diversity of organism groups in different habitats within the agroecosystem. © 2017 The Authors Molecular Ecology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of organic versus conventional arable farming on soil structure and organic matter dynamics in a marine loam in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pulleman, M.M.; Jongmans, A.G.; Marinissen, J.C.Y.; Bouma, J.

2003-01-01

We compared the effects of conventional and organic arable farming on soil organic matter (SOM) content, soil structure, aggregate stability and C and N mineralization, which are considered important factors in defining sustainable land management. Within one soil series, three different farming

Implementation of bioherbicides and seed treatment in organic farming

OpenAIRE

Kuehne, Stefan; Verschwele, Arnd; von Hoersten, Dieter; Jahn, Marga

2005-01-01

The paper gives an overview over the prospects and risks of the application of bioherbicides in Organic Farming and wants to support the general acceptance by the EEC Council Regulation on Organic Production of Agricultural Products. Another problem of current importance is the maintenance of seed health. Several methods of seed treatments and their practical use are described (hot water, hot air, microwave steam, radio-frequency, low energy electrons, micro-organisms and natural substances).

Long-term citrus organic farming strategy results in soil organic matter recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Novara, Agata; Pereira, Paulo; Barone, Ettore; Giménez Morera, Antonio; Keesstra, Saskia; Gristina, Luciano; Jordán, Antonio; Parras-Alcantara, Luis; Cerdà, Artemi

2017-04-01

ABSTRACT Soils play a key role in the Earth System (Keesstra et al., 2012; Brevick et al., 2015). Soils are a key resource for the human societies (Mol and Keesstra, 2012) and they are relevant to achieve the sustainability such as the United Nations Goals highlight (Keesstra et al., 2016). Agriculture soils, especially those under conventional tillage, are prone to organic matter mineralization, soil erosion, compaction and increase of greenhouse gases emission (Novara et al., 2011; Bruun et al., 2015; de Moraes et al., 2015; Choudhury et al., 2016; del Mar et al., 2016). The adoption of organic farming and sustainable management practices may provide a sustainable crop productivity, and in the meanwhile mitigate the negative impact of agriculture on ecosystem services benefits (Laudicina et al., 2015; Parras-Alcantara et al., 2015; 2016). The aim of this study was to examine, under field conditions, the long-term changes of soil organic matter under organic farming management in citrus orchards in Mediterranean environment and evaluate the ecosystem service on C sequestration in terms of economic benefits. The research was carried out at the Alcoleja Experimental Station located in the Cànyoles river watershed in the Eastern Spain on 45year old citrus plantation. Soil Organic Matter (SOM) content was monitored for 20 years at 6 different soil depth. The profitability of citrus plantation was estimated under conventional and organic management. Results showed that SOM in the 0-30 cm soil depth was the double after 20 years of organic farming management, ranging from 0.8 g kg-1 in 1995 to 1.5 g kg-1 in 2006. The highest SOM increase was in the top soil layer (368% of SOM increase in comparison to the initial SOM content) and decreased with soil depth. The effect of organic farming was relevant after 5 years since land management change, indicating that in Mediterranean environment the duration of long term studies should be higher than five years and proper policy

Farmers’ reasons for deregistering from organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koesling, Matthias; Løes, Anne-Kristin; Flaten, Ola

2012-01-01

Every year since 2002, 150 to 200 farmers in Norway have deregistered from certified organic production. The aim of this study was to get behind these figures and improve our understanding of the reasoning leading to decisions to opt out. Four cases of deregistered organic farmers with grain, sheep......, dairy or vegetable production were selected for in-depth studies. The cases were analysed from the perspective of individual competencies and the competencies available in the networks of the selected organic farmers. Besides the conspicuous reasons to opt out of certified organic farming......, such as regulations getting stricter over time and low income, personal reasons such as disappointment and need for acceptance were also important. This shows that hard mechanisms, such as economic support and premium prices, are not sufficient to motivate farmers for sustained organic management. Support...

Analysing Production Technology and Risk in Organic and Conventional Dutch Arable Farming using Panel Data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gardebroek, C.; Chavez Clemente, M.D.; Oude Lansink, A.G.J.M.

2010-01-01

Abstract This paper compares the production technology and production risk of organic and conventional arable farms in the Netherlands. Just–Pope production functions that explicitly account for output variability are estimated using panel data of Dutch organic and conventional farms. Prior

Prokaryotic Diversity in the Rhizosphere of Organic, Intensive, and Transitional Coffee Farms in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Adam Collins; Silva, Lívia Carneiro Fidéles; da Silva, Cynthia Canêdo; Ouverney, Cleber Costa

2015-01-01

Despite a continuous rise in consumption of coffee over the past 60 years and recent studies showing positive benefits linked to human health, intensive coffee farming practices have been associated with environmental damage, risks to human health, and reductions in biodiversity. In contrast, organic farming has become an increasingly popular alternative, with both environmental and health benefits. This study aimed to characterize and determine the differences in the prokaryotic soil microbiology of three Brazilian coffee farms: one practicing intensive farming, one practicing organic farming, and one undergoing a transition from intensive to organic practices. Soil samples were collected from 20 coffee plant rhizospheres (soil directly influenced by the plant root exudates) and 10 control sites (soil 5 m away from the coffee plantation) at each of the three farms for a total of 90 samples. Profiling of 16S rRNA gene V4 regions revealed high levels of prokaryotic diversity in all three farms, with thousands of species level operational taxonomic units identified in each farm. Additionally, a statistically significant difference was found between each farm's coffee rhizosphere microbiome, as well as between coffee rhizosphere soils and control soils. Two groups of prokaryotes associated with the nitrogen cycle, the archaeal genus Candidatus Nitrososphaera and the bacterial order Rhizobiales were found to be abundant and statistically different in composition between the three farms and in inverse relationship to each other. Many of the nitrogen-fixing genera known to enhance plant growth were found in low numbers (e.g. Rhizobium, Agrobacter, Acetobacter, Rhodospirillum, Azospirillum), but the families in which they belong had some of the highest relative abundance in the dataset, suggesting many new groups may exist in these samples that can be further studied as potential plant growth-promoting bacteria to improve coffee production while diminishing negative

Measures to support the development of organic farming in the EU and Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roljević-Nikolić Svetlana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aim of this paper work is analyzing the situation in the sector of organic agriculture, as well as system of support that this production provides in the European Union and Serbia. Organic farming shows a dynamic process of growth and development, especially in economically developed countries. In the past ten years, the area under organic production in the EU increased by 70%, the number of certified producers increased by 60%, while the total market value doubled. On the other hand, the growth and development of organic agriculture in Serbia is very slow. Currently, the area under organic production accounted for only 0.4% of total utilized agricultural area, while in this mode of food production certified 0.3% of the total number of farms. Intensive growth of organic farming in the EU provides a stable support both in terms of rate and financial resources, while in Serbia has been changed not only amount of support from year to year but also types of support. On this basis, it can be concluded that a stable government support is crucial for boosting growth and improving the sector of organic agriculture.

Durum Wheat in Conventional and Organic Farming: Yield Amount and Pasta Quality in Southern Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massimo Fagnano

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Five durum wheat cultivars were grown in a Mediterranean area (Southern Italy under conventional and organic farming with the aim to evaluate agronomic, technological, sensory, and sanitary quality of grains and pasta. The cultivar Matt produced the best pasta quality under conventional cropping system, while the quality parameters evaluated were unsatisfactory under organic farming. The cultivar Saragolla showed the best yield amount and pasta quality in all the experimental conditions, thus proving to be the cultivar more adapt to organic farming. In all the tested experimental conditions, nivalenol (NIV and deoxynivalenol (DON occurrence was very low and the other mycotoxins evaluated were completely absent. These data confirm the low risk of mycotoxin contamination in the Mediterranean climate conditions. Finally, it has been possible to produce high-quality pasta in Southern Italy from durum wheat grown both in conventional and organic farming.

Investigations on dairy welfare and performance on German organic farms

OpenAIRE

Hoerning, Bernhard; Simantke, Christel; Aubel, Erhard

2005-01-01

An investigation was carried out on 74 organic dairy farms in Germany. Results were an average milk production of 5.960 kg, 223.000 somatic cell counts (SCC), 387 days calving interval, 23.5 % culling rate, 46 Euro annual veterinary costs per cow. Farmers were asked for disease incidences. Cows were scored for injuries and body condition. The results were combined with possible influencing factors (herd size, breed, region, farming association, housing system, housing factors, amounts of conc...

Recent productivity developments and technical change in Danish organic farming - stagnation?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sauer, Johannes; Graversen, Jesper Tranbjerg; Park, Tim

This paper attempts to quantitatively measure the change in the productivity of Dan-ish organic farming in recent years by using panel data on 56 organic farms mainly engaged in milk production for the period 2002 to 2004. Based on a translog pro-duction frontier framework the technical and scale...... efficiency on farm level is ana-lysed by considering also curvature consistency. The total change in productivity for the reference period is measured by using the Malmquist total factor productivity in-dex approach based on a time trends as well as a general index model specification. Input specific bias...... in technical change as well elasticities of input substitution are analyzed. Fators for the development of technical change and the change in effi-ciency over time are investigated by applying a bootstrapped ITSUR technique. Fi-nally we try to conclude on the significance of subsidies for promoting long term...

Poverty and Gender Effects of Smallholder Organic Contract Farming in Uganda

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolwig, Simon

in developed countries have recognized these new market opportunities. As a result, the last decade has seen the emergence and rapid growth of certified organic food and beverage exports from the region (Willer and Yussefi 2007). But organic export growth does not necessarily translate into improved welfare...... for producers and workers, whether measured in terms of income, health, food security, or other variables. Recent debates have centered on how the rapid conversion of farmland into organic management systems affects food availability and access in poor regions of the world (Sciallaba and Hattam 2002; WWI 2006......; FAO 2007). The objectives of this study were, first, to examine the impacts of certified organic contract farming on the food security of the smallholder farm households participating in such arrangements, and second, to assess the role of gender relations in these dynamics. In particular, the study...

Soil Decomposition of Added Organic C in an Organic Farming System

Science.gov (United States)

Kpomblekou-A, Kokoasse; Sissoko, Alassane; McElhenney, Wendell

2015-04-01

In the United States, large quantities of poultry waste are added every year to soil under organic management. Decomposition of the added organic C releases plant nutrients, promotes soil structure, and plays a vital role in the soil food web. In organic agriculture the added C serves as the only source of nutrients for plant growth. Thus understanding the decomposition rates of such C in organic farming systems are critical in making recommendations of organic inputs to organic producers. We investigated and compared relative accumulation and decomposition of organic C in an organic farming system trial at the George Washington Carver Agricultural Experiment Station at Tuskegee, Alabama on a Marvyn sandy loam (fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic, Typic Kanhapludults) soil. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replicates and four treatments. The main plot (54' × 20') was split into three equal subplots to plant three sweet potato cultivars. The treatments included a weed (control with no cover crop, no fertilizer), crimson clover alone (CC), crimson clover plus broiler litter (BL), and crimson clover plus NPK mineral fertilizers (NPK). For five years, late in fall, the field was planted with crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L) that was cut with a mower and incorporated into soil the following spring. Moreover, broiler litter (4.65 Mg ha-1) or ammonium nitrate (150 kg N ha-1), triple super phosphate (120 kg P2O5 ha-1), and potassium chloride (160 kg K2O ha-1) were applied to the BL or the NPK plot and planted with sweet potato. Just before harvest, six soil samples were collected within the two middle rows of each sweet potato plot with an auger at incremental depths of 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-5, 5-10, and 10-15 cm. Samples from each subplot and depth were composited and mixed in a plastic bag. The samples were sieved moist through a

Temporal trends in arthropod abundances after the transition to organic farming in paddy fields.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masaru H Tsutsui

Full Text Available Organic farming aims to reduce the effect on the ecosystem and enhance biodiversity in agricultural areas, but the long-term effectiveness of its application is unclear. Assessments have rarely included various taxonomic groups with different ecological and economic roles. In paddy fields with different numbers of years elapsed since the transition from conventional to organic farming, we investigated changes in the abundance of insect pests, generalist predators, and species of conservation concern. The abundance of various arthropods exhibited diverse trends with respect to years elapsed since the transition to organic farming. Larval lepidopterans, Tetragnatha spiders, and some planthoppers and stink bugs showed non-linear increases over time, eventually reaching saturation, such as the abundance increasing for several years and then becoming stable after 10 years. This pattern can be explained by the effects of residual pesticides, the lag time of soil mineralization, and dispersal limitation. A damselfly (Ischnura asiatica did not show a particular trend over time, probably due to its rapid immigration from source habitats. Unexpectedly, both planthoppers and some leafhoppers exhibited gradual decreases over time. As their abundances were negatively related to the abundance of Tetragnatha spiders, increased predation by natural enemies might gradually decrease these insect populations. These results suggest that the consideration of time-dependent responses of organisms is essential for the evaluation of the costs and benefits of organic farming, and such evaluations could provide a basis for guidelines regarding the length of time for organic farming to restore biodiversity or the economic subsidy needed to compensate for pest damage.

Conventional, organic and biodynamic farming: differences in polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of Batavia lettuce.

Science.gov (United States)

Heimler, Daniela; Vignolini, Pamela; Arfaioli, Paola; Isolani, Laura; Romani, Annalisa

2012-02-01

Lactuca sativa L. ssp. acephala L., cv. Batavia red Mohican plants were cultivated under intensive conventional, organic and biodynamic farming and were analyzed for their polyphenol content and antiradical activity in order to demonstrate the influence of farming on yield, polyphenol content and antiradical activity. The yield of plants from conventional farming was the highest (2.89 kg m⁻²), while polyphenol content, measured by spectrophotometry, of these plants was lower at P flavonoid and hydroxycinnamic acid contents. Flavonoid, hydroxycinnamic acid and anthocyan patterns were not affected by the type of cultivation, while quantitative differences were demonstrated and some differences were found between conventional farming and organic or biodynamic farming. The yield of conventionally grown salads was the highest. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

Anaerobic digestion for closing the loop of a biorefinery for organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernandez, Maria Santamaria; Karkov Ytting, Nanna; Lübeck, Mette

2016-01-01

The availability of organic animal feed for monogastric animals and organic fertilizer is in many regions a limiting factor for the further spread of organic farming. The production of these two commodities based on regionally organically grown grass biomass is the main target of a green...

Developing novel farming systems: effective use of nutrients from cover crops in intensive organic farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burgt, van der G.J.H.M.; Scholberg, J.M.S.; Koopmans, C.J.

2011-01-01

On-farm nitrogen fixation is a driving force in organic agriculture. The efficiency with which this nitrogen is used can be increased by using alfalfa or grass-clover crops directly as fertilizer on other fields: cut-and-carry fertilizers. In two crops in two years, the use of several types of

Interrill Erodibility of P and C on conventially and organically farmed Devon soils

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, N. J.

2012-04-01

Soil erosion can have significant off-site effects on water quality and thus human and habitat health. Apart from sedimentation, the transfer of nutrients, both dissolved and particulate, is a major concern. The particulate transfer of nutrients from agricultural land can occur either by rill or interrill erosion. Rill erosion is non-selective and affects only a limited extent of agricultural land. Interrill processes such as crusting, splash and raindrop-impacted wash, on the other hand, act on all cropland and affect the quality of the water from all areas generating runoff. A significant amount of phosphorus (P) is contained in the surface soil layer transformed by interrill processes annually. In the EU, the P content of a crusted (2 mm) surface layer corresponds to 4 to 40 kg ha-1 of P on arable land (1.094 mil km2). Therefore, the role of interrill processes and erosion for regional nutrient cycling requires close attention. Interrill erosion is a complex phenomenon, involving the detachment, transport and deposition of soil particles by raindrop impacted flow. Resistance to interrill erosion varies between soils depending on their physical, chemical and mineralogical properties. In addition, significant changes in soil resistance to interrill erosion occur during storms as a result of changes in surface roughness, cohesion and particle size. As a consequence, erosion on interrill areas is selective, moving the most easily detached small and/or light soil particles which are often enriched in clay, P and organic C. Commonly, the risk of erosion associated with organically farmed soils is lower than those farmed in a conventional way. This is attributed to greater aggregate stability and thus greater infiltration and lower erodibility. Erosion of nutrients on organically farmed soils is therefore considered to be reduced by the same order of magnitude than the amount of eroded soil compared to conventionally farmed soils. However, the selective nature of

Holstein-Friesian milk performance in organic farming in North Spain: Comparison with other systems and breeds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth Rodríguez-Bermúdez

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Organic systems are highly dependent on the environment and require animals well adapted to local conditions. In Spain, organic dairy farmers are not satisfied with the productive performance of their herds and ask for technical advice to obtain suitable animals for organic systems. The milk productive performance (milk yield, nutritional composition, and somatic cell count of Holstein-Friesian cows in organic farming in North Spain compared with conventional farms has been analysed. When breed diversity was present in the same organic farm, Holstein-Friesian milk performance was compared with other breeds and/or crosses. Holstein-Friesian cows in organic farming produce slightly less milk than grazing conventional cows, but milk was similar in composition and somatic cell count across systems. The limited data from organic farms where breed diversity exists indicate that Holstein-Friesian cows produce numerically more milk than other breeds and crosses but with statistically lower protein content. Considering that in Spain organic milk production is mostly used for liquid milk consumption and that the payment system is based only on milk volume, Holstein-Friesian cows would better fit the farmer interests than other breeds or crosses. However, in addition to productive performance, reproductive efficiency, animal health and consumer’s preferences should be fully considered when selecting a breed for organic production. If Holstein-Friesian was the selected breed, efforts should be made to identify cows within the breed that are best adapted to organic conditions. New productive, reproductive, nutritional and economic studies would be needed to develop a genetic merit index for organic systems.

Effect Of Intercropping System On Green Peach Aphid Dinamics On Organic Farming Of Potato In Karo Highland

OpenAIRE

Lamria Sidauruk; Darma Bakti; Retna Astuti Kuswardani; Chairani Hanum

2015-01-01

Abstract Green peach aphid Myzus persicae Sulzer represents one of the major pest affecting decreased production which found in different potato fields in Karo Highland. This study was conducted to determine the population dynamics of Myzus persicae Sulzer on potato cropping system. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with main plot are farming system such as conventional farming semi organic farming and organic farming. The sub plot are intercropping system consist of potato mon...

NEW RESEARCHES REGARDING THE FEEDING SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR HOLSTEIN-FRISIAN CATTLE FARMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LAVINIA MOISE

2008-05-01

Full Text Available In the organization and development of production activity, which has like result economical efficiency into a cattle farm, the application of viable breeding technologies it’s the best way to obtain positives results.The feeding system of Holstein-Frisian cattle, applied in the Dambovita farms it’s a model can be extended and applied in all the cattle farms, in the same climate and soil conditions, even if the farm dimensions and working organization are different.At the studied farms the cattle don’t paste; the arable land it’s used for perennial and annual fodder culture, that assure the necessary in green forage during the summer and raw material for fibroses and silo-forage preparing. At these farms it isn’t a practice to feed the cattle only with green fodder in the summer period (for milk production but with a balanced quantity of dry substances represented by fibrouses, industrial succulent and wet corn, near by green fodder.One of the reason that assure a big quantity of milk of Holstein-Frisian cattle it is represented by different feeding, depending on milk quantity and physical estate of each cow.An essential condition for a profitable activity of cattle farms is the presence of arable land to assure, at least, the production of base forage, respectively green and succulent forage, silo corn and hay; without this surfaces can’t speak about efficient breeding of cattle in a farm or agricultural exploitation.

Mapping farm animal welfare research in an enlarged Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirchner, Marlene K.; Košťál, Ľubor; Bilčík, Boris

2017-01-01

)’ was moderately correlated with the input factors for FAW research such as the average number of PhDs currently employed in the institutions (rs = 0.66; p researchers (rs = 0.56; p ...Against the background of divergent political developments across Europe, farm animal welfare (FAW) science has evolved during the last three decades as an inter-disciplinary research area. Recent achievements include pan-European research projects and the implementation of animal welfare...... assessment systems on-farm. The aim of this study was mapping activities for FAW science and investigating geographical differences in FAW research in Europe (EU28 + candidate countries and the European Economic Area) with regard to available resources (e.g. human resources, infrastructure, funding...

Isotopic discrimination as a tool for organic farming certification in sweet pepper.

Science.gov (United States)

del Amor, Francisco M; Navarro, Joaquín; Aparicio, Pedro M

2008-01-01

Organic farming is a form of agriculture that excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms. These fertilizers have been traditionally overused in conventional farming to avoid lost revenue, but this often not does not take into account the potential contamination of aquifers and river due to nitrate leaching. Transition to organic farming practices could provide an instrument to reduce contamination and increase potential income. It is difficult to determine to what extent those fertilizers could have been used within a complete traceability of the production process. In this experiment, we evaluated the use of (15)N/(14)N isotopic discrimination in sweet pepper plants to test the hypothesis that synthetic fertilizers significantly reduce (15)N/(14)N compared with exclusively organic practices. Therefore, three common types of organic manures (sheep, hen, or horse) were applied at a rate of 8 kg m(-2) with or without synthetic fertilizer amendments under fully controlled environmental and irrigation conditions. Results indicate that (i) use of synthetic fertilizers significantly reduced (15/14)N(2)vsN(2)atm compared with treatments that only received water; (ii) with respect to the plant organs, old leaves and fruits were more sensitive to the synthetic fertilizer additions with reductions in (15/14)N(2)vsN(2)atm of 24.1 and 27.8%, respectively; and (iii) independently of the organic manure used, no additional fertilization (synthetic or organic) is required before 106 days after transplanting at that dosage because plant fresh weight was not reduced.

OPPORTUNITIES TO USE PEA - WHEAT MIXES IN ORGANIC FARMING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grigori Ivanov

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article presented the results of productivity and quality of the green mass of pea-wheat mixes grown in conditions of organic farming. Are explored 5 wheat varieties - Sadovo 1, Geia 1, Guinness, Farmer, Liusil and 4 varieties of winter peas -Mir, Vesela, №11, L12AB, at different ratio between them - 50:50 and 30:70%. The selection of varieties is made based on previous studies of their complex characteristics – ripening, yield, chemistry (Angelova S., T.Georgieva, M.Sabeva, 2011. Setting up and raising the experimental mixture of seeds has been made in a medium free of organic and mineral fertilizers. We have studied the changes in green mass yield and the biochemistry of surface biomass. The cultivation of pea–wheat mixtures under conditions of organic farming leads to increased yields of green mass in comparison with the self-seeding of wheat and peas. According to the results obtained at early ripening and the highest crude protein content average of three years is the mixture Sadovo1–Mir 30:70%. The most productive is the mixture Sadovo1-Mir 50-50%.

Factors Affecting the Structural Features of Dairy Farming Organizations in Yalova: Determining the Breeding Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galip BAKIR

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This research has been performed to determine dairy farms’ breeders’ social conditions, presence of animals, care, milk production, happiness with animal farming, problems and situation of being organized in Yalova. The data that obtained from 324 randomly chosen dairy farms around the city by the means of the survey comprised the material of research. The obtained data has been analyzed in SPSS package program by taking animal numbers, age and educational background of breeders as factors affecting the structural condition of farm. In the analysis of race distribution it was determined that breeders having primary education preferred to use crossbred animals, whereas breeders having secondary, high school and higher education tended to use culture breeds. For determining the heat in animals, breeders who have primary school education take bellowing and mounting of animals into consideration. All breeders at any education level considered the 15-18 months of age as age at fist insemination for heifers. As the age of breeders increased, contrary to education level, the ratio for 15-18 month age criterion decreased. In the farms producing less than 10 kg milk the ratio of farmers having primary school education is 68.9%. This ratio is 8.5% for high school and higher graduates. 61.2% of breeders who have middle school education level obtain 11-20 kg milk yield in their farms. While 48.6% of breeders who have less than 5 animals obtain 10 kg milk yield, as the number of animals rises, this rate declined to 23.1%. In the farms having less than 5 animals the proportion of obtaining 10-21 kg milk yield is 48.4%. As the animals numbers increased this proportion increased up to 63.5%.

Biofilm responses to marine fish farm wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanz-Lazaro, Carlos, E-mail: carsanz@um.es [Departamento de Ecologia e Hidrologia, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia (Spain); Navarrete-Mier, Francisco; Marin, Arnaldo [Departamento de Ecologia e Hidrologia, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia (Spain)

2011-03-15

The changes in the biofilm community due to organic matter enrichment, eutrophication and metal contamination derived from fish farming were studied. The biofilm biomass, polysaccharide content, trophic niche and element accumulation were quantified along an environmental gradient of fish farm wastes in two seasons. Biofilm structure and trophic diversity was influenced by seasonality as well as by the fish farm waste load. Fish farming enhanced the accumulation of organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals by the biofilm community. The accumulation pattern of these elements was similar regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community. This suggests that the biofilm communities can be considered a reliable tool for assessing dissolved aquaculture wastes. Due to the ubiquity of biofilms and its wide range of consumers, its role as a sink of dissolved wastes may have important implications for the transfer of aquaculture wastes to higher trophic levels in coastal systems. - Research highlights: > Biofilms can act as a trophic pathway of fish farm dissolved wastes. > Biofilms are reliable tools for monitoring fish farm dissolved wastes. > The influence of the fish farm dissolved wastes can be detected 120-350 m from farm. - Under the influence of fish farming biofilm accumulates organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals, regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community.

Closing the natural cycles - using biowaste compost in organic farming in Vienna

Science.gov (United States)

Erhart, Eva; Rogalski, Wojciech; Maurer, Ludwig; Hartl, Wilfried

2014-05-01

One of the basic principles of organic farming - that organic management should fit the cycles and ecological balances in nature - is put into practice in Vienna on a large scale. In Vienna, compost produced from separately collected biowaste and greenwaste is used on more than 1000 ha of organic farmland. These municipally owned farms are managed organically, but are stockless, like the vast majority of farms in the region. The apparent need for a substitute for animal manure triggered the development of an innovative biowaste management. Together with the Municipal Department 48 responsible for waste management, which was keen for the reduction of residual waste, the Municipal Department 49 - Forestry Office and Urban Agriculture and Bio Forschung Austria developed Vienna's biowaste management model. Organic household wastes and greenwastes are source-separated by the urban population and collected in a closely monitored system to ensure high compost quality. A composting plant was constructed which today produces a total of 43000 t compost per year in a monitored open windrow process. The quality of the compost produced conforms to the EU regulation 834/2007. A large part of the compost is used as organic fertilizer on the organic farmland in Vienna, and the remainder is used in arable farming and in viticulture in the region around Vienna and for substrate production. Vienna`s biowaste management-model is operating successfully since the 1980s and has gained international recognition in form of the Best Practice-Award of the United Nations Development Programme. In order to assess the effects of biowaste compost fertilization on crop yield and on the environment, a field experiment was set up near Vienna in 1992, which is now one of the longest standing compost experiments in Europe. The results showed, that the yields increased for 7 - 10 % with compost fertilization compared to the unfertilized control and the nitrogen recovery by crops was between 4 and 6

Comparing ELISA test-positive prevalence, risk factors and management recommendations for Johne's disease prevention between organic and conventional dairy farms in Ontario, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Pieper, Laura; Sorge, Ulrike S; DeVries, Trevor; Godkin, Ann; Lissemore, Kerry; Kelton, David

2015-11-01

test positive animals (Count Ratio=2.02). Further research is necessary to investigate the apparent disconnect between risk factors and recommendations on organic dairy farms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC FARMING?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Afagh VEISI

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this study was to investigate the main barriers to development of organic farming system in Kermanshah Province, Iran. Statistical population in this study consisted of all farmers in Kermanshah province, Iran. Applying stratified random sampling method, 137 farmers were selected as a sample. The main instrument in this study was questionnaire which its validity was confirmed by the panel of experts and its reliability was established by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. Data was analyzed by SPSSWin16 software. Principal component analysis was used as main statistical technique to analyze the data. The results of factor analysis revealed that 4 factors including “Infrastructural”, “technical-managerial”, “economic-financial” and “educational” explained 42.36 percent of the variance. Results of this study have applications for agriculture development policy- makers for development of organic farming in Iran.

Offshore Wind Farm Research at the NWO Institutes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.A.S. Witteveen (Jeroen)

2013-01-01

htmlabstractFundamental scientific research is essential to take the necessary next step in offshore wind farm innovation. The NWO scientific research institutes play a central role in the Dutch knowledge infrastructure for disseminating scientific discoveries into industrial innovations. Multiple

Economic Sustainability of Organic Aloe Vera Farming in Greece under Risk and Uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelos Liontakis

2016-04-01

Full Text Available During the last decade, an encouraging environment for the restructuring and modernization of the agricultural sector has formed in Greece. The diversification into higher-value crops can be a promising option for small and average-sized farms, particularly during the current economic crisis. One of the most promising alternative crops that have been recently established in Greece is the organic Aloe vera crop. The main advantage of this crop is that it can utilize poor farmlands and, therefore, can facilitate rural development in marginal areas. This study explores the economic sustainability of the Aloe vera crop, considering the embedded risk and uncertainty. The results indicate that organic aloe farming is a promising alternative to “traditional” crops in Greece, particularly for family farms in rural areas. In contrast, this activity is not advisable to the most entrepreneurial type of farmers, unless their crop size allows economies of scales. Finally, the Stochastic Efficiency with Respect to a Function (SERF analysis associates farmers’ risk attitude with their willingness to be involved in organic Aloe vera farming. SERF analysis highlights the crucial role of farmers’ risk aversion and concludes that, above a certain level of risk aversion, farmers have no incentive to adopt this economic activity.

Update welzijnsprestaties biologische veehouderij = Update animal welfare status of organic farming in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruis, M.A.W.; Pinxterhuis, J.B.; Vrolijk, M.

2010-01-01

Organic farming intends to farm in a socially responsible manner, with attention for, among others, environment, climate, nature and landscape, food quality, income and animal welfare. This report focuses on animal welfare, as one of the sustainability themes. The existing knowledge about the

Exposure to Inhalable Dust, Endotoxin, and Total Volatile Organic Carbons on Dairy Farms Using Manual and Automated Feeding Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basinas, Ioannis; Cronin, Garvin; Hogan, Victoria

2017-01-01

Introduction: Agricultural workers tend to have high exposures to organic dusts which may induce or exacerbate respiratory disorders. Studies investigating the effect of work tasks and farm characteristics on organic dust exposures among farm workers suggest that handling of animal feed is an imp...... feeding. Until effective permanent engineering controls are established farm workers should be encouraged to wear respiratory protective equipment during these tasks....... of exposure to these agents depend on the applied feeding system in the farms. Methods: Thirty-eight personal exposure measurements were collected from farmers across seven dairy farms. The farms used manual, loft, or semi-automated feeding systems. Information on worker tasks and farm characteristics...

Treatment practices and quantification of antimicrobial drug usage in conventional and organic dairy farms in Wisconsin.

Science.gov (United States)

Pol, M; Ruegg, P L

2007-01-01

The objective of this study was to develop a method to quantify antimicrobial drug usage and treatment practices on conventional and organic dairy farms that had been recruited to represent a broad spectrum of potential exposure to antimicrobial drugs. Data on disease prevalence and treatment practices of organic (n = 20) and conventional (n = 20) farms were obtained during a farm visit using a survey instrument. A standardized estimate of antimicrobial drug usage was developed using a defined daily dose (DDD) of selected compounds. Density of antimicrobial drug usage was expressed as the number of DDD per adult cow per year. Differences in prevalence and management of selected diseases between conventional and organic farms were identified. The overall estimated prevalence of selected diseases was greater for conventional farms compared with organic farms. Organic farmers reported use of a variety of nonantimicrobial compounds for treatment and prevention of disease. Conventional farmers reported that penicillin was the compound most commonly used for dry cow therapy and cephapirin was most commonly used for treatment of clinical mastitis. On conventional farms, the estimated overall exposure to antimicrobial drugs was 5.43 DDD per cow per year composed of 3.58 and 1.85 DDD of intramammary and parenteral antimicrobial drugs, respectively. Of total intramammary antimicrobial drug usage, treatment of clinical mastitis contributed 2.02 DDD compared with 1.56 DDD attributed to the use of dry cow therapy. Of total parenteral treatments, the distribution of exposure was 0.52 (dry cow therapy), 1.43 (clinical mastitis treatment), 0.39 (treatment of foot disease), 0.14 (treatment of respiratory disease), and 0.32 (treatment of metritis) DDD. For treatments of foot infections (0.33 DDD), respiratory infections (0.07 DDD), and metritis (0.19 DDD), the mean density of ceftiofur usage was significantly greater compared with other compounds.

Is the Modern High Potential Dairy Cow Suitable for Organic Farming Conditions?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harðarson Grétar H

2002-03-01

Full Text Available It is not acceptable to compromise animal welfare in any system of farming. Feeding should be aimed at meeting the nutritional requirements at the various stages of production. This paper deals with the detrimental effects that organic, extensive or low input farming systems may have on the energy status in early lactation of the high potential dairy cow. Bovine ketosis is the most important disease resulting from insufficient energy intake in early lactation. It is also important to realize that ketosis is a part of the so-called periparturient disease complex, which includes milk fever, mastitis, retained placenta, endometritis and poor fertility also. All these diseases are interrelated and reflect to a large extent the nutritional status of the animal. If organic dairy farming is to be successful the breeding programmes have to divert from selection for high yields as a main goal, to more emphasis on a flatter lactation curve, less production diseases and longevity.

The Carbon and Global Warming Potential Impacts of Organic Farming: Does It Have a Significant Role in an Energy Constrained World?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralph C. Martin

2011-01-01

Full Text Available About 130 studies were analyzed to compare farm-level energy use and global warming potential (GWP of organic and conventional production sectors. Cross cutting issues such as tillage, compost, soil carbon sequestration and energy offsets were also reviewed. Finally, we contrasted E and GWP data from the wider food system. We concluded that the evidence strongly favours organic farming with respect to whole-farm energy use and energy efficiency both on a per hectare and per farm product basis, with the possible exception of poultry and fruit sectors. For GWP, evidence is insufficient except in a few sectors, with results per ha more consistently favouring organic farming than GWP per unit product. Tillage was consistently a negligible contributor to farm E use and additional tillage on organic farms does not appear to significantly deplete soil C. Energy offsets, biogas, energy crops and residues have a more limited role on organic farms compared to conventional ones, because of the nutrient and soil building uses of soil organic matter, and the high demand for organic foods in human markets. If farm E use represents 35% of total food chain E use, improvements shown of 20% or more in E efficiency through organic farm management would reduce food-chain E use by 7% or more. Among other food supply chain stages, wholesale/retail (including cooling and packaging and processing often each contribute 30% or more to total food system E. Thus, additional improvements can be obtained with reduced processing, whole foods and food waste minimization.

Fractionation and characterization of soil organic carbon during transition to organic farming

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelrahman, H.; Olk, D.; Cocozza, C.; Miano, T.

2012-04-01

The transition from conventional to organic farming is the most difficult period faced by organic growers as it could be characterized by unstable conditions, such as nutrient availability, production reductions, mineralization extents. As soil organic matter (SOM), specifically soil organic carbon (SOC), is known to play important roles in maintenance and improvement of many soil properties, it is important to define its changes during the transition period. Total SOC might not be the suitable tool to track the changes in organically based soil fertility within a 3- to 5-yr transition period. Labile fractions that are important for nutrient cycling and supply are likely to be controlled by management to a much greater extent than is total SOM. Two field experiments, in south of Italy, were established in 2009 to study the changes in SOC during transition to organic farming. Experiments included a cereal/leguminous rotation with triplicates treatments of permitted amendments (compost and fertilizers). Soils were sampled at the beginning of the project, and after each crop harvest in 2010 and 2011. A sequential fractionation procedure was used to separate different SOC-fractions: light fraction (LF), two size classes of particulate organic matter (POM), mobile humic acid (MHA) and Ca++ bound humic acid (CaHA). Isolated fractions were quantified and analyzed for their content of C, N, carbohydrates and amino compounds fingerprints. The obtained results showed that compost application contributed to significantly higher quantities of LF, POM and MHA than did fertilizers application. Carbohydrates content decreased in LF while increased noticeably in POM and slightly in MHA fractions, which indicates that decomposing materials are converted, within the time span of humification, from young fractions into more mature fractions. Amino compounds were found to provide up to 40% of total soil N with a major contribution of the humified fractions, MHA and CaHA. The utilized

Steps towards food web management on farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smeding, F.W.

2001-01-01

This paper is the report of four years of research on the functional group composition of the animal community in relation to farm and ecological infrastructure (E.I.) management on organic arable farms. The results are mainly based on abundance data of ground dwelling arthropods obtained

Biofilm responses to marine fish farm wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanz-Lazaro, Carlos; Navarrete-Mier, Francisco; Marin, Arnaldo

2011-01-01

The changes in the biofilm community due to organic matter enrichment, eutrophication and metal contamination derived from fish farming were studied. The biofilm biomass, polysaccharide content, trophic niche and element accumulation were quantified along an environmental gradient of fish farm wastes in two seasons. Biofilm structure and trophic diversity was influenced by seasonality as well as by the fish farm waste load. Fish farming enhanced the accumulation of organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals by the biofilm community. The accumulation pattern of these elements was similar regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community. This suggests that the biofilm communities can be considered a reliable tool for assessing dissolved aquaculture wastes. Due to the ubiquity of biofilms and its wide range of consumers, its role as a sink of dissolved wastes may have important implications for the transfer of aquaculture wastes to higher trophic levels in coastal systems. - Research highlights: → Biofilms can act as a trophic pathway of fish farm dissolved wastes. → Biofilms are reliable tools for monitoring fish farm dissolved wastes. → The influence of the fish farm dissolved wastes can be detected 120-350 m from farm. - Under the influence of fish farming biofilm accumulates organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals, regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community.

PERSPECTIVES OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THE LIGHT OF EMPIRICAL STUDY SURVEYED AMONG CONVENTIONAL FARMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karol Kociszewski

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to evaluate the perspectives of development of organic food supply in Poland. The work contains the results of the nationwide survey which was carried out among conventional farms’ owners. It was evaluated that – according to farmers’ declaration – organic farms number can be equal to 6.8-24.2% of all Polish farms. The main incentives influencing conversion into organic farming methods are health and environment care, satisfaction from work and agri-environmental subsidies. The main identified barriers are limited sales possibilities, low profitability of production, high labour intensity, high production cost, and low yield. In a long run the development of organic market could be stimulated by the increase of demand. In the middle time period, there is a need for the increase of subsidies rates which should be combined with the improvement of certification and control system.

A Review of Organic Farming for Sustainable Agriculture in Northern India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. K. Yadav

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In the post independence period, the most important challenge in India has been to produce enough food for the growing population. Hence, high-yielding varieties are being used with infusion of irrigation water, fertilizers, or pesticides. This combination of high-yielding production technology has helped the country develop a food surplus as well as contributing to concerns of soil health, environmental pollution, pesticide toxicity, and sustainability of agricultural production. Scientists and policy planners are, therefore, reassessing agricultural practices which relied more on biological inputs rather than heavy usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farming can provide quality food without adversely affecting the soil’s health and the environment; however, a concern is whether large-scale organic farming will produce enough food for India’s large population. Certified organic products including all varieties of food products including basmati rice, pulses, honey, tea, spices, coffee, oilseeds, fruits, cereals, herbal medicines, and their value-added products are produced in India. Non edible organic products include cotton, garments, cosmetics, functional food products, body care products, and similar products. The production of these organic crops and products is reviewed with regard to sustainable agriculture in northern India.

Can organic farming feed the world? : a contribution to the debate on the ability of organic farming systems to provide sustainable supplies of food

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goulding, K.W.T.; Trewavas, A.J.; Giller, K.E.

2009-01-01

A recent paper Badgley et al. (2007) claimed that organic farming, if used worldwide, would provide sufficient food for a growing world population. The paper stimulated much critical response. Our paper makes a critical assessment of this claim for wheat, a major cereal crop and source of food

A Simulation Model of Combined Biogas, Bioethanol and Protein Fodder Co-Production in Organic Farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oleskowicz-Popiel, Piotr; Thomsen, Mette Hedegaard; Thomsen, Anne Belinda

2009-01-01

In order to evaluate new strategies for the production of renewable energy within sustainable organic agriculture, a process-simulation model for a 100 ha organic farm was developed. Data used for the model was obtained from laboratory trials, literature data, consultancy with experts, and results...... ha organic farm with ethanol or biogas, respectively. This calculation was based on the assumption that the electrical efficiency of CHP (combined heat and power) unit was 38%. A variety of different scenarios can be simulated to mirror the farmer's needs....

How organic farming of wheat may affect the sourdough and the nutritional and technological features of leavened baked goods.

Science.gov (United States)

Pontonio, Erica; Rizzello, Carlo G; Di Cagno, Raffaella; Dousset, Xavier; Clément, Héliciane; Filannino, Pasquale; Onno, Bernard; Gobbetti, Marco

2016-12-19

Organic farming is gaining broad recognition as a system that complies well with sustainability, an overarching principle that should drive agriculture now and in the coming year. Different cultivars and products can harbour different abundances of specific bacterial groups, farming system may influence the composition and abundances of microbial communities found on food product. Despite the growing interest towards organic foods, we still have a limited understanding of the diversity of food-associated microbial communities and the factors that influence the composition of these communities. Consumers in developed nations are commonly exposed to differences in farming practices through their choice between organic and conventionally farmed foods. Organic farming practices can differ from conventional farming practices in a variety of ways, including the types of fertilizer and pesticides that are used. This review aiming to gather current knowledge on chemical, technological, toxicological and functional properties and microbiota composition of wheat flours originating from organic and conventional farming systems and how the use of these may affect the sourdough fermentation and breadmaking. Sourdough fermentation is the most natural and best-performing process to ensure optimal sensory and functional characteristics. It fits perfectly into the processing chain that starts with the organic farming, especially for old wheat varieties with weaker technological properties. Recently, organic and sourdough microbiota diversity was investigated and in some case a comparison between organic and conventional microbial ecosystem was also carried out. Opposites evidences arise. Once a higher diversity of lactic acid bacteria species was found in conventional wheat sourdoughs, while when the diversity of Firmicutes was investigated, organic sourdoughs showed the highest complexity. When occurring, the differences between conventional and organic sourdough microbiota and

Animal Welfare in Relation to Standards in Organic Farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hammarberg Karl-Erik

2002-03-01

Full Text Available The new EU-regulations on organic farming (1804/1999 are also influencing the animal welfare. A lot of positive regulations is to find, but also regulations that seen to mind more about the general public and customer and their view on organic farming, than the health and welfare of the animals. The paper specially focus on the impact of the regulations and the recommendations that phytotherapeutic essences and homeopathic products take precedence over the so called chemically-synthesised allopatic veterinary medical products, and that the use of the same is prohibited for preventive treatments. Key questions here are the lack of scientific evidence concerning homeopathy in animals, and that Swedish veterinarians are not allowed to work with homeopathy. Differences in interpretation of the regulations between animal owners and veterinarians will also be discussed. What is a disease that needs treatment? Who is to decide about the treatment? Parasitic infections are discussed as an illustrative example. Other consequences of the regulations concerning the animal welfare are problems in certain geographical zones, for instance subarctic areas where necessary crops are impossible to grow. Animal transports and splitting mother-offspring are briefly discussed as future problems to be handled in the regulations, and the paper ends by presenting the need of regulated herd health control programs in organic husbandry, which can detect and focus on welfare and production problems. The organic movement is not static, and must not be so.

Feeding trials in organic food quality and health research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Velimirov, Alberta; Huber, Machteld; Lauridsen, Charlotte

2010-01-01

Feeding experiments comparing organically and conventionally produced food are performed to assess the overall impact on the animals' health as a model for the effects experienced by the human consumers. These experiments are based on systems research and characterized by their focus on production...... research is not just about simple cause-effect chains, but rather about the pluralism of interactions in biological networks; therefore, the interpretation of the outcome of whole food experiments is difficult. Furthermore, the test diets of organic and conventional origin can be constituted in different...... methods, whole food testing and procedures in accordance with the terms of organic farming. A short review of such experiments shows that the majority of these tests revealed effects of the organically produced feed on health parameters such as reproductive performance and immune responses. Systems...

Organic Farming as a Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

For climate change adaptation, OF systems have a strong potential for building resilient food systems through farm diversification and building soil fertility with organic matter. In developing countries, OF offers alternatives to energy-intensive production inputs such as synthetic fertilizers which are limited for poor rural ...

Farm Population Trends and Farm Characteristics. Rural Development Research Report No. 3.

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Vera J.

While total farm population is declining, the number of people living on the farms which produce the bulk of the nation's food and fiber is increasing. The 1970-75 total farm population decline was 13 percent, but the number of people living on farms with annual sales greater than $40,000 increased 76 percent. Such farms account for about 80…

The concept of animal welfare at the interface between producers and scientists: the example of organic pig farming.

Science.gov (United States)

Leeb, Christine

2011-06-01

In organic farming animal welfare is one important aspect included in the internationally agreed organic principles of health, ecology, fairness and care (IFOAM 2006), reflecting expectation of consumers and farmers. The definition of organic animal welfare includes-besides traditional terms of animal welfare-'regeneration' and 'naturalness'. Organic animal welfare assessment needs to reflect this and use complex parameters, include natural behaviour and a systemic view. Furthermore, various parties with seemingly conflicting interests are involved, causing ethical dilemmas, such as the use of nose rings for outdoor sows (impaired animal welfare vs. destruction of humus). Solutions can only be found when foundational concepts are translated and applied to practical situations. On-farm animal welfare assessment and implementation of improvement strategies are increasingly relevant scientific areas. They combine on-farm welfare assessment, identification of key problem areas and connected risk factors. Constant communication between all parties is crucial for success. Animal health and welfare planning is one application of this approach, which was carried out on Austrian organic pig farms as well as organic dairy farms in seven European countries. The projects included welfare assessment, feedback and benchmarking as a tool for communication between farmers, advisors and scientists. Finally goals were set by the farmer and improvement strategies applicable to organic farming were implemented. This included prevention of disease by management strategies instead of routine treatment with pharmaceutical products. It appeared that next to problem structuring, multidisciplinary problem solving demands good communications skills to relate animal welfare science to value reflections.

Effect of farming systems on the yield, quality parameters and sensory properties of conventionally and organically grown potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers.

Science.gov (United States)

Brazinskiene, V; Asakaviciute, R; Miezeliene, A; Alencikiene, G; Ivanauskas, L; Jakstas, V; Viskelis, P; Razukas, A

2014-02-15

The objectives of this two-year research were to study the impact of two different farming types, conventional and organic, on the yield and sensory properties of five Lithuanian varieties of potato tuber. The parameters and properties examined were: phenolic acids; dry matter and starch content; and the spread and intensity of Phytophthora infestans growth. It was determined that potato yield fluctuates with the variety, but for conventional farming it is significantly (p0.05) on the content of phenolic acids. No significant effect (p>0.05) of farming type on dry matter and starch content, or sensory properties was found. No significant relation (p>0.05) was found between the content of phenolic acids and P. infestans spread. The spread of P. infestans was faster and infection was heavier in organically grown potatoes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ARIZONA FARM LABOR REPORT.

Science.gov (United States)

SALTER, RICHARD H.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FARM PLACEMENT PROGRAM IS DESCRIBED. INCLUDED ARE THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATIONS, THE LOCAL LEVELS, THE STATE FARM LABOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND THE PLANNING AND OPERATING METHODS USED BY FARM PLACEMENT PERSONNEL IN MEETING FARM LABOR NEEDS. MAJOR CROP ACTIVITIES ARE RELATED TO COTTON AND VEGETABLES. THE LABOR FORCE IS…

Analysis of organic farming practices amongst crop farmers in Delta ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The past decade has been characterized by public concern over nutrition, health and food safety issues. Consumers perceive high risk associated with the consumption of conventionally grown produce. Organic farming is beneficial because it is a source of healthy food and healthy living. The United Nations regards ...

Organic and Low-Input Dairy Farming: Avenues to Enhance Sustainability and Competitiveness in the EU

OpenAIRE

Scollan, Nigel; Padel, Susanne; Halberg, Niels; Hermansen, J.E.; Nicholas, Pip; Rinne, Marketta; Zanoli, Raffaele; Zollitsch, Werner; Lauwers, Ludwig

2017-01-01

Whether farming strategies built on continuing input intensification or relying on integrated natural resource management are more sustainable and competitive is at the core of the agricultural development debate. The five-year (2011–16) Sustainable Organic and Low Input Dairying (SOLID) project, funded by the European Commission, involved 25 partners across 10 European countries and was designed to support innovation in European organic and low-input dairy farming. Results show that such sys...

Dynamics of mammary infections in organic dairy farms in Northern Spain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villar, A.; Gradillas, G.; Fernandez-Ruiz, C.; Rodriguez-Bermudez, R.; Lopez-Alonso, M.

2016-11-01

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the microbiological state and the dynamics of the mammary infections of organic farms in North Spain to discover if the high somatic cell count (SCC) observed in these farms is associated to a high incidence of mastitis. Microbiological cultures and SCC were performed in 8,496 foremilk samples collected from 160 cows in five representative organic farms from February 2006 to January 2008. Even though 79.3% of cultures were positive, only 21.2% of the total fit our diagnosis of mastitis (clinical, subclinical and chronic). The great prevalence of Corynebacterium bovis (teat canal-region pathogen) in the positive cultures that did not fit the mastitis diagnosis criteria (nearly 70%) compared with those that did (27%) was found to be related to lack of post-milking teat disinfection. The study prevalence of mastitis was 69.2% (66.7% subclinical mastitis, 27.8% clinical mastitis); the mean monthly prevalence was 47.4%; the mean monthly incidence was 12.9% and the mean duration of infection was 3.84 ± 3.98 months The high SCC in foremilk samples from old cows (three or more lactations) not diagnosed as mastitis compared to the heifers, reflects a worsening health status of the animals over time. When compared with the conventional sector in Northern Spain, these parameters indicate a poorer udder health in the studied organic herds with a high presence of chronic subclinical processes. (Author)

Dynamics of mammary infections in organic dairy farms in Northern Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Villar

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to evaluate the microbiological state and the dynamics of the mammary infections of organic farms in North Spain to discover if the high somatic cell count (SCC observed in these farms is associated to a high incidence of mastitis. Microbiological cultures and SCC were performed in 8,496 foremilk samples collected from 160 cows in five representative organic farms from February 2006 to January 2008. Even though 79.3% of cultures were positive, only 21.2% of the total fit our diagnosis of mastitis (clinical, subclinical and chronic. The great prevalence of Corynebacterium bovis (teat canal-region pathogen in the positive cultures that did not fit the mastitis diagnosis criteria (nearly 70% compared with those that did (27% was found to be related to lack of post-milking teat disinfection. The study prevalence of mastitis was 69.2% (66.7% subclinical mastitis, 27.8% clinical mastitis; the mean monthly prevalence was 47.4%; the mean monthly incidence was 12.9% and the mean duration of infection was 3.84 ± 3.98 months The high SCC in foremilk samples from old cows (three or more lactations not diagnosed as mastitis compared to the heifers, reflects a worsening health status of the animals over time. When compared with the conventional sector in Northern Spain, these parameters indicate a poorer udder health in the studied organic herds with a high presence of chronic subclinical processes.

Organic farming and social capital building in small holder farmer communities in the Rwenzori region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tibasiima, Thaddeo; Nalunga, Jane; Vaarst, Mette

uniqueness. The approach also promotes whole household participation. The facilitator who basically guides the learning stirs farmers into developing confidence within and among themselves in the organic production processes, using agro-ecological farming methods and practices which are economically...... learning garden and learning involves the growth cycle of the enterprise in question, the FFLG approach considers each farm as being unique and as a special learning entity. The approach therefore, involves farmers rotating from one farm to another to learn and support the particular farm in respect to its...

Development of Organic Farming in Europe at the Crossroads: Looking for the Way Forward through System Archetypes Lenses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Brzezina

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Over the last several decades, policymakers and stakeholders in the European Union (EU have put considerable effort into increasing the adoption of organic farming, with the overall objective of its sustainable development. However, the growth of the organic sector has come with many challenges that jeopardize its sustainability. The question then is how to move organic farming in Europe forward and at the same time capitalize on its potential contribution to sustainability? Organic farming in the EU is a highly complex and dynamic food system and as such this question cannot be answered in isolation using a one-dimensional mind-set and tools of the past. In this paper, we use three system archetypes—Limits to Growth, Shifting the Burden and Eroding Goals—to sharpen our ability: (1 to analyze and anticipate difficulties in the development of organic farming in the EU under the current policy measures; and (2 to find effective ways to address these difficulties. A system archetype consists of a generic system structure that leads to unintended behavior over time and effective strategies for changing the structure into one that generates desirable behavior. The analysis reveals that in order to move forward, policymakers and stakeholders should reemphasize fundamental solutions rather than quick fixes that often generate unintended consequences. Specifically, Limits to Growth shows us that the leverage for moving organic farming out of the niche does not necessarily lie in increasing subsidies that push engines of growth, but rather in anticipating and managing its limits arising from, for instance, market dynamics or intrinsic environmental motivation. In turn, Shifting the Burden brings to attention how easily and unnoticeably the EU’s organic farming system can become dependent on third countries thereby undermining its own sustainability. Finally, Eroding Goals highlights that is it important to continuously improve regulatory standards

Indian farmers’ experience with and perceptions of organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peramaiyan, Panneer; Halberg, Niels; Vaarst, Mette

2012-01-01

to organic agriculture in three different Indian contexts—in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand states. In each state, 40 farmers from both organic and conventional systems were interviewed. The findings indicated that conventional producers identified production and marketing barriers as the main...... to the low cost of production, and in Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand due to the price premium and health benefits. On the other hand, organic farmers were more concerned with health, environmental and production factors when institutional support was available. The years under conversion were positively...... associated with reduced input costs in all three states and with increased income in Tamil Nadu and increased yield in Madhya Pradesh. Both organic and conventional farmers found the two production factors, low yield and pest control, to be of major concern. However, organic farms in Madhya Pradesh...

Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in onion roots from organic and conventional farming systems in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Galván, Guillermo A; Parádi, István; Burger, Karin; Baar, Jacqueline; Kuyper, Thomas W; Scholten, Olga E; Kik, Chris

2009-06-01

Diversity and colonization levels of naturally occurring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in onion roots were studied to compare organic and conventional farming systems in the Netherlands. In 2004, 20 onion fields were sampled in a balanced survey between farming systems and between two regions, namely, Zeeland and Flevoland. In 2005, nine conventional and ten organic fields were additionally surveyed in Flevoland. AMF phylotypes were identified by rDNA sequencing. All plants were colonized, with 60% for arbuscular colonization and 84% for hyphal colonization as grand means. In Zeeland, onion roots from organic fields had higher fractional colonization levels than those from conventional fields. Onion yields in conventional farming were positively correlated with colonization level. Overall, 14 AMF phylotypes were identified. The number of phylotypes per field ranged from one to six. Two phylotypes associated with the Glomus mosseae-coronatum and the G. caledonium-geosporum species complexes were the most abundant, whereas other phylotypes were infrequently found. Organic and conventional farming systems had similar number of phylotypes per field and Shannon diversity indices. A few organic and conventional fields had larger number of phylotypes, including phylotypes associated with the genera Glomus-B, Archaeospora, and Paraglomus. This suggests that farming systems as such did not influence AMF diversity, but rather specific environmental conditions or agricultural practices.

Assessing the research and education needs of the organic dairy industry in the northeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, A B D; Brito, A F; Townson, L L; Townson, D H

2013-01-01

Demographic and management data about organic dairies have been reported previously, but the current study is the first needs assessment of research and educational priorities of organic dairy farmers in the northeastern United States based directly upon their input. Our objectives were to (1) develop an initial understanding of the emerging research and educational needs of organic dairy farmers in the northeastern United States via focus group interviews, and (2) prioritize the needs identified by the focus groups with a broader population of organic dairy farmers via survey methods. Focus group interviews determined the questions used for the survey questionnaire distributed to 1,200 members of the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance. The members were asked about demographic information, but more importantly, challenges concerning business management and marketing, organic certification, and animal nutrition, health, and reproduction. The results (183 respondents, 15% response rate) were parsed by region (New England farms compared with New York and Pennsylvania farms), herd size (i.e., 12 to 37, 38 to 59, and >60 cows), and years of organic certification (organic treatments for mastitis (92% respondents), growing forages for organic production (84%), and developing value-added products (84%). Farms with organic certification were concerned with level of knowledge and experience of local certifiers, whereas organic producers with ≥ 4 yr of organic certification were more interested in field testing of new organic products. Opportunities for educational programs included learning about direct marketing possibilities (76% respondents) and providing training to regional veterinarians interested in organic remedies (91%). In conclusion, the information obtained from the current needs assessment provides a foundation for future research proposals and educational outreach programs, germane to stakeholder needs, which could benefit the organic dairy industry

Environmental contamination and transmission of Ascaris suum in Danish organic pig farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katakam, Kiran K.; Thamsborg, Stig M.; Dalsgaard, Anders

2016-01-01

Background: Although Ascaris suum is the most common pig nematode, the on-farm transmission dynamics are not well described. Methods: We performed a 1-year field study on five organic pig farms, mapping egg contamination levels in pens and pasture soil as well as faecal egg counts in starter pigs...... % in starters, finishers, dry and lactating sows, respectively. For starters and finishers, the prevalence varied with season increasing towards the end of the year when 83-96 % of finishing pigs from each farm had fresh liver white spots. Farrowing pastures were contaminated with a mean of 78-171 larvated eggs....../kg dry soil depending on farm, while pastures for starter pigs contained 290-5397 larvated eggs/kg dry soil. The concentration of eggs in soil was highest in the autumn. Indoors, all pen areas were contaminated with A. suum eggs at comparable levels for shallow and deep litter. Overall there were 106...

Soil microbial biomass in organic farming system Biomassa microbiana do solo em sistemas orgânicos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ademir Sérgio Ferreira de Araújo

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Agricultural production systems have to combine management practices in order to sustain soil's profitability and quality. Organic farming is gaining worldwide acceptance and has been expanding at an annual rate of 20% in the last decade, accounting for over 24 million hectares worldwide. Organic practices avoid applications of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, rely on organic inputs and recycling for nutrient supply, and emphasize cropping system design and biological processes for pest management, as defined by organic farming regulation in the world. In comparison with conventional farming, organic farming has potential benefits in improving food quality and safety. Plant production in organic farming mainly depends on nutrient release as a function of mineralization processes in soils. The build-up of a large and active soil microbial biomass is important pool of accessible nutrients, therefore, is an important priority in organic farming. In organic farming, there is positive effect of quantity and quality of inputs of organic residues on soil microbial biomass. In this way, the organic systems are extremely important for the increase of the soil fertility and the maintenance of the environmental sustainability.A produção agrícola tem de combinar práticas para prover a sustentabilidade do solo. A agricultura orgânica está ganhando aceitação mundial e cresce à taxa anual de 20% na última década, contabilizando mais de 24 milhões de hectares. As práticas orgânicas evitam o uso de fertilizantes sintéticos e pesticidas, enfatiza a aplicação de matéria orgânica, como também a reciclagem de nutrientes e de processos biológicos para manejo de pragas, através das regras dos sistemas orgânicos no mundo. Em comparação com a agricultura convencional, os sistemas orgânicos têm potencial de melhorar a qualidade e a segurança dos alimentos. A produção das plantas no sistema orgânico depende da liberação de nutrientes

On weed competition and population dynamics : considerations for crop rotations & organic farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mertens, S.K.

2002-01-01

Key words: organic farming, weeds, weed management, weed ecology, weed diversity, matrix population model, elasticity analysis, neighbourhood model, survey, crop row spacing, mechanical hoe, harrow, Polygonum convolvulus ,