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Conference abstract2016

Characteristics of organic dairy farm types in seven European countries

Wallenbeck, Anna; Bieber, A.; Spengler Neff, Anet; Fuerst-Walt, B.; Winckler, C.; Ivemeyer, S.; Simantke, C.; March, S.; Brinkmann, J.; Rousing, T.; Sorensen, J. T.; Walczak, J.; Wójcik, P.; Ribikauskas, V.

Abstract

Development of suitable management and breeding strategies for organic animal production depends on the characteristics of the production systems, which vary between countries, regions and over time. The importance of this variation is frequently discussed among researchers, but often based on inadequate information. An important step in the Core Organic project ORGANICDAIRYHEALTH is to develop a data base on characteristics of major organic dairy farm types in Europe. The process of creating this database include three steps: (1) identify major organic dairy farm types in the partner countries (AT, CH, DE, DK, LT, PL, SE); (2) describe characteristics of the production system in each farm type; (3) Establish and deliver a database with key information on these farm types. Major organic dairy farm types in each country were identified according to a standardised protocol including four criteria; Herd size, Production level, Geographical location and Housing type. The farm type identification protocol was completed using data from national milk recording and organic certification bodies. The number of major farm types identified per country was: AT-5, CH-4, DE-4, DK-1, LT-4, PL-5, SE-4. The production system in each farm type was investigated by a profound farmer questionnaire including detailed questions on: Farm location, structure and size, Housing and milking system, Production level, Animal health and management, Feeding strategy, Breeding and reproduction. We aimed for complete protocol information from at least 10 farms per farm type and ended up with in total 419 completed questionnaires (AT-50, CH-20, DE-41, DK-10, LT-40, PL-198, SE-60). The data base will be used in other steps of the current project and as a basic resource for future research and decision making.

Published in

Annual meeting of the European Association for Animal Production
2016, number: 22, pages: 306-306
Title: Book of Abstracts of the 67th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science
ISBN: 978-90-8686-284-9, eISBN: 978-90-8686-830-8
Publisher: Wageningen Academic Publishers

Conference

67th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science