Organic goat production,processing and marketing: Opportunities,challenges and outlook

Organic goat production can be a rewarding livelihood and is gaining popularity. Global organic production has increased significantly annually over the past decade. Industry analysts forecast that demand in many markets will continue to grow at 10–30% per year, with the international organic market expected to grow to a volume of US$ 100 billion in the next decade. Organic dairy has shown stronger growth rates than organic meat production. In certain regions, the rise in organic milk production has increased the range of processed value-added organic milk and dairy products, and demand is out-stripping supply. The basic principles of organic goat production include care, ecology, fairness, and health as stated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM). Organic goat production can improve animal welfare, protect the environment, and sustain rewarding rural live styles. There are challenges when dealing with organic goat production, especially when one hopes to control intestinal parasites and to achieve adequate nutritional management. Exploring nutritional technology and disease prevention and treatment will eventually improve the production efficiency. There are various regulations in different countries that apply to certify organic foods, and the number of regulations is growing. One of the leading federations in international organic farming is IFOAM. The standards can be certified under IFOAM then can be recognized in many counties around the world. These regulations serve as branding effort, not only to protect the “organic” brand but also to promote it. Future of organic goat production will have to rely on continue search for alternatives in nutrition and disease prevention and control that are environmentally friendly, human health conscientious and animal considerate. Understanding organic goat farming from economic, ecological, and animal welfare perspectives will increase the likelihood of success.     

Organic Farming in the Nordic Countries – Animal Health and Production

Organic farming (or ecological agriculture) is of growing importance in the agricultural sector worldwide. In the Nordic countries, 1–10% of the arable land was in organic production in 1999. Organic farming can be seen as an approach to agriculture where the aim is to create integrated, humane, environmentally and economically sustainable agricultural production systems. Principles like nutrient recycling, prevention rather than treatment and the precautionary principle are included in aims and standards. Animal welfare is another hallmark of organic livestock production but despite this, several studies have indicated severe health problems e.g. in organic poultry production in Denmark. Also the quality of animal food products in relation to human health, particularly the risk of zoonotic infections, has been debated. For these reasons there is a need for improvement of production methods and animal health status. Vets play an important role in this development through work in clinical practice and in research. On-farm consultancy should be tailored to the individual farmers needs, and the practitioner should be willing to take up new ideas and when needed, to enter a critical dialogue in relation to animal welfare. Better base line data on animal health and food safety in organic food systems are needed.     

Restoration of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services on Agricultural Land

Cultivation and cropping are major causes of destruction and degradation of natural ecosystems throughout the world. We face the challenge of maintaining provisioning services while conserving or enhancing other ecosystem services and biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. There is a range of possibilities within two types of intervention, namely “land sharing” and “land separation”; the former advocates the enhancement of the farmed environment, but the latter a separation between land designated for farming versus conservation. Land sharing may involve biodiversity-based agricultural practices, learning from traditional farming, changing from conventional to organic agriculture and from “simple” crops and pastures to agro-forestry systems, and restoring or creating specific elements to benefit wildlife and particular services without decreasing agricultural production. Land separation in the farmland context involves restoring or creating non-farmland habitat at the expense of field-level agricultural production—for example, woodland on arable land. Restoration by land sharing has the potential to enhance agricultural production, other ecosystem services and biodiversity at both the field and landscape scale; however, restoration by land separation would provide these benefits only at the landscape scale. Although recent debate has contrasted these approaches, we suggest they should be used in combination to maximize benefits. Furthermore, we suggest “woodland islets”, an intermediate approach between land abandonment and farmland afforestation, for ecological restoration in extensive agricultural landscapes. This approach allows reconciliation of farmland production, conservation of values linked to cultural landscapes, enhancement of biodiversity, and provision of a range of ecosystem services. Beyond academic research, restoration projects within agricultural landscapes are essential if we want to halt environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.     

The effects of farming systems (organic vs. conventional) on dairy cow welfare,based on the Welfare Quality® protocol

Animal welfare in livestock production is of great interest to consumers. The organic farming approach strives to ensure animal welfare based on preventive measures, but there are very few scientific studies that compare the actual differences in animal welfare between organic and conventional farms. Those studies that have been carried out frequently focus on specific aspects of animal welfare, mostly health issues. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to investigate the effects of the farming system on the welfare of dairy cows in a more holistic way. Although this study was carried out in just two federal states of Germany, the results could serve as a suitable model for the whole country. We used the Welfare Quality assessment protocol to measure welfare for dairy cattle (Welfare Quality®, 2009) and the results showed significant differences (P < 0.05) between organic and conventional farms, but there was also considerable variance between individual farms of the same farming system. Organic farms scored higher in all four Welfare Quality® principles: “Good Feeding”, “Good Housing”, “Good Health” and “Appropriate Behavior” compared to conventional farms. In particular, organic farms obtained higher scores with respect to Welfare Quality® measures of resting comfort, which contributes to a lower percentage of lameness; organic farms also implemented less painful methods for disbudding, or indeed carried out no disbudding, and provided access to pasture and outdoor exercise. However, organic farms still have room for improvement, especially with respect to animal health. Therefore, outcome‐based specifications should be included in the current (purely action-oriented) European regulation of organic production (EC, 2008; EU, 2018) to safeguard the health‐related aspects of animal welfare.     

Energy and Environmental Issues in Organic and Conventional Agriculture

Humanity is facing possibly the greatest challenge in its history. Population is expected to reach 9 billion in 2030. At the same time agricultural land is becoming scarcer and poorer in quality. Furthermore, the environmental impact of intensive agriculture and the effects of climate change are threatening food security in many regions of the globe. Further, shortage of fossil fuels will have dramatic effects on the performance of intensive agriculture. There is an urge to develop more ecological agricultural practices both to meet the need to preserve agroecosystems health and to deal with the reduced availability of “cheap” energy from fossil fuels. This paper reviews a number of studies comparing the performances of conventional and organic agriculture in light of energy use, CO ₂ emission and other environmental issues. Organic agriculture, along with other low input agriculture practices, results in less energy demand compared to intensive agriculture and could represent a means to improve energy savings and CO₂ abatement if adopted on a large scale. At the same time it can provide a number of important environmental and social services, such as preserving and improving soil quality, increasing carbon sink, minimizing water use, preserving biodiversity, halting the use of harmful chemicals, thereby guaranteeing healthy food to consumers. We claim that more work should be done in terms of research and investment to explore the potential of organic farming for reducing environmental impact of agricultural practices. However, in the case of organic agriculture, the implications of a reduced productivity for the socioeconomic system should be considered and suitable agricultural policies worked out.     

The Impact of Organic Farming on Quality of Tomatoes Is Associated to Increased Oxidative Stress during Fruit Development

This study was conducted with the objective of testing the hypothesis that tomato fruits from organic farming accumulate more nutritional compounds, such as phenolics and vitamin C as a consequence of the stressing conditions associated with farming system. Growth was reduced in fruits from organic farming while titratable acidity, the soluble solids content and the concentrations in vitamin C were respectively +29%, +57% and +55% higher at the stage of commercial maturity. At that time, the total phenolic content was +139% higher than in the fruits from conventional farming which seems consistent with the more than two times higher activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) we observed throughout fruit development in fruits from organic farming. Cell membrane lipid peroxidation (LPO) degree was 60% higher in organic tomatoes. SOD activity was also dramatically higher in the fruits from organic farming. Taken together, our observations suggest that tomato fruits from organic farming experienced stressing conditions that resulted in oxidative stress and the accumulation of higher concentrations of soluble solids as sugars and other compounds contributing to fruit nutritional quality such as vitamin C and phenolic compounds.     

Are Neglected Plants the Food for the Future?

Malnutrition, poor health, hunger, and even starvation are still the world's greatest challenges. Malnutrition is defined as deficiency of nutrition due to not ingesting the proper amounts of nutrients by simply not eating enough food and/or by consuming nutrient-poor food in respect to the daily nutritional requirements. Moreover, malnutrition and disease are closely associated and incidences of such diet-related diseases increase particularly in low- and middle-income states. While foods of animal origin are often unaffordable to low-income families, various neglected crops can offer an alternative source of micronutrients, vitamins, as well as health-promoting secondary plant metabolites. Therefore, agricultural and horticultural research should develop strategies not only to produce more food, but also to improve access to more nutritious food. In this context, one promising approach is to promote biodiversity in the dietary pattern of low-income people by getting access to nutritional as well as affordable food and providing recommendations for food selection and preparation. Worldwide, a multitude of various plant species are assigned to be consumed as grains, vegetables, and fruits, but only a limited number of these species are used as commercial cash crops. Consequently, numerous neglected and underutilized species offer the potential to diversify not only the human diet, but also increase food production levels, and, thus, enable more sustainable and resilient agro- and horti-food systems. To exploit the potential of neglected plant (NP) species, coordinated approaches on the local, regional, and international level have to be integrated that consequently demand the involvement of numerous multi-stakeholders. Thus, the objective of the present review is to evaluate whether NP species are important as “Future Food” for improving the nutritional status of humans as well as increasing resilience of agro- and horti-food systems.     

有机类肥料对土壤养分含量的影响

绿色、可持续是我国发展现代农业的必然要求,肥料投入是关键之一。基于有机肥培肥土壤、生态友好的优势,发展和推广有机肥已经成为我国农业生产的一项基本国策。我国有机肥来源广泛、种类繁多,农业生产条件千差万别。本文分析了我国有机肥产品种类及标准现状、理化性质差异、碳氮矿化特性差异及影响因素,评述了施用有机肥对提高耕地基础地力的作用。因来源、制作工艺不同,不同有机肥的有机碳组分含量、全氮和活性氮含量、碳氮比等基本性质差异明显,这四者是影响有机肥碳氮矿化率、碳氮矿化量、碱解氮释放量等碳氮供应特性的主要内在因素;加之土壤环境等外界因素的影响,不同有机肥表现出不同的养分供应特性。总体上,有机肥一方面对提高土壤有机质含量,尤其是活性有机质含量和碳库管理指数效果明显,另一方面可增加土壤氮磷钾养分容量,减少作物生长消耗带来的土壤养分亏损,促进土壤质量良性发展。今后,应加强有机肥在耕地培肥中的应用,并加强有机肥肥效理论的基础研究和安全高效有机肥新产品的开发,促进有机肥资源的高效循环利用,使其成为重要的农业资源。     

Processing of Apple Pomace for Bioactive Molecules

The growth of horticulture industries worldwide has generated huge quantities of fruit wastes (25%–40% of the total fruits processed). These residues are generally a good source of carbohydrates, especially cell wall polysaccharides and other functionally important bioactive molecules such as proteins, vitamins, minerals and natural antioxidants. “Apple pomace” is a left-over solid biomass with a high moisture content, obtained as a by-product during the processing of apple fruits for juice, cider or wine preparation. Owing to the high carbohydrate content, apple pomace is used as a substrate in a number of microbial processes for the production of organic acids, enzymes, single cell protein, ethanol, low alcoholic drinks and pigments. Recent research trends reveal that there is an increase in the utilization of apple pomace as a food processing residue for the extraction of value added products such as dietary fibre, protein, natural antioxidants, biopolymers, pigments and compounds with unique properties. However, the central dogma is still the stability, safety and economic feasibility of the process(s)/product(s) developed. This review is mainly focused on assessing recent research developments in extraction, isolation and characterization of bioactive molecules from apple pomace, along with their commercial utilization, in food fortification.     

Retrospect and prospects of secondary agriculture and bioprocessing

Secondary agriculture plays a significant role in making a positive impact on the country’s economy. It has potential to increase the value of primary agriculture. It ensures better utilization of renewable agro-bioresources either through value addition or waste utilization. Nurseries, bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, compost, fruit-processed products, agro-tourism, weaving, flavours, and dyes are some of the avenues of secondary agriculture. By-products from agricultural crops like wheat and rice bran, corn gluten meal and germ, pulses meal and husk, and sugarcane bagasse, if processed appropriately for deriving industrial products could pave a way in getting better economic returns from agriculture rather using them as livestock feed. Among food crops, major post-harvest losses (30–40%) occurs in fruits and vegetables; their waste being rich in several bioactive compounds possess great potential to be added as a polyphenol rich and fibre source in food products or for the synthesis of food-grade industrial products like ethanol, citric acid and pectin etc. Wastes from floriculture industries can also be utilised for the production of several value-added products such as biofuels, bio-ethanol, compost, organic acids, pigments and dyes, incense sticks, handmade paper production, and sugar syrup. Around the world, 80% of population is dependent on traditional medicine for health care needs. The secondary metabolites from medicinal plants possess pharmaceutical properties and advancement in extraction techniques can lead to novel range of herbal products of high economic value. The market potential of agro-produce seems to be naïve but opportunistic in near future. The advancement in technologies, equipments, and processes would enable enhanced secondary agriculture practices giving range of materials of better quality, yield, nutrition, and convenience. Hence, the potential of secondary agriculture and bioprocessing could be strong boost to the economy, societal status and environmental protection. In this article we have made an effort to understand the secondary agriculture, its potential to uplift the economy and strategies for value addition in different agricultural domains such as horticulture, floriculture and medicinal plants.     

Effects of elevated CO2 concentration on the quality of agricultural products: a review

The increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2 and the nutritional quality of human diets are the two important issues we are facing. At present, the atmospheric CO2 concentration is about 380 micromol mol(-1), and to be reached 550 micromol mol(-1) by 2050. A great deal of researches indicated that the quality of agricultural products is not only determined by inherited genes, but also affected by the crop growth environmental conditions. This paper summarized the common methods adopted at home and abroad for studying the effects of CO2 enrichment on the quality of agricultural products, and reviewed the research advances in evaluating the effects of elevated CO2 on the quality of rice, wheat, soybean, and vegetables. Many experimental results showed that elevated CO2 concentration causes a decrease of protein content in the grains of staple food crops and an overall decreasing trend of trace elements contents in the crops, but improves the quality of vegetable products to some extent. Some issues and future directions regarding the effects of elevated CO2 concentration on the quality of agricultural products were also discussed, based on the present status of related researches.     

Could energy flow in agro-ecosystems be used as a “tool” for crop and farming system replacement?

Energy flow in orchards can be used to determine first the best management practices and second the possibility of using those which have best environmental advantages. Conventional and organic peach and kiwi orchards were selected in order to (a) determine energy flow of the farming systems, and (b) reveal the importance of energy inputs in crop and farming system replacement. Fifteen farms (four conventional and three organic kiwi orchards; four conventional and four organic peach orchards) were selected with proportional stratified random sampling during the years 2010–2013. The Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) method was applied using nine production coefficients' variables (fertilizers, fungicides, insecticides, weed control, diesel, labor, irrigation, branches shoring, and machinery) and revealed three groups of the studied orchards. The highest contributors in cluster formation were weed control, branches shoring, labor, and machinery. The effect of the production coefficients on the grouping of the studied orchards reveals their importance for these crops and farming systems. Most of the production coefficients showed their lowest values in organic kiwi orchards (Group 3), so it could be said that they can play a key role in the replacement of the peaches, and conventional kiwi orchards. It seems that production coefficients can be used as a “tool” for decision makers who are seeking for crops and farming systems with low energy inputs and best environmental advantages in order to use them in crop replacement in agro-ecosystems.     

Ethanol Tolerance in Bacteria

Abstract

One promising application of biotechnology is in making the production of energy and chemical products from plants (“biomass”) practical. Applications include new markets for crops and reduction of wastes by using field residues or “wastelands” as feedstocks in biomass energy production. In addition, engineered crops could synthesize complex compounds. However, conversion to widespread use of biomass could have undesirable impacts. For example, changes in cropping practices may reduce wildlife populations or disrupt food chains. Other negative impacts of an environmentally insensitive development might include increased release of CO₂ (worsening global warming), and production of wastes, either water, chemical or biological, that present disposal problems. Biotechnology applied to biomass and chemical production has the potential for aiding economic development while greatly improving environmental quality. Environmental concerns are expressed in this paper, in the belief that consideration of potential problems at the inception of a technology increases the likelihood that environmentally sound courses will be pursued.     

Primate Crop Feeding Behavior,Crop Protection,and Conservation

Many species across a range of primate genera, irrespective of dietary and locomotory specializations, can and will incorporate agricultural crops in their diets. However, although there is little doubt that rapid, extensive conversion of natural habitats to agricultural areas is significantly impacting primate populations, primate crop foraging behaviors cannot be understood solely in terms of animals shifting to cultivated crops to compensate for reduced wild food availability. To understand fully why, how, and when primates might incorporate crops in their dietary repertoire, we need to examine primate crop foraging behavior in the context of their feeding strategies and nutritional ecology. Here I briefly outline current debates about the use of terms such as human–wildlife conflict and crop raiding and why they are misleading, summarize current knowledge about primate crop foraging behavior, and highlight some key areas for future research to support human–primate coexistence in an increasingly anthropogenic world.     

Distinct soil microbial diversity under long-term organic and conventional farming

Low-input agricultural systems aim at reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in order to improve sustainable production and ecosystem health. Despite the integral role of the soil microbiome in agricultural production, we still have a limited understanding of the complex response of microbial diversity to organic and conventional farming. Here we report on the structural response of the soil microbiome to more than two decades of different agricultural management in a long-term field experiment using a high-throughput pyrosequencing approach of bacterial and fungal ribosomal markers. Organic farming increased richness, decreased evenness, reduced dispersion and shifted the structure of the soil microbiota when compared with conventionally managed soils under exclusively mineral fertilization. This effect was largely attributed to the use and quality of organic fertilizers, as differences became smaller when conventionally managed soils under an integrated fertilization scheme were examined. The impact of the plant protection regime, characterized by moderate and targeted application of pesticides, was of subordinate importance. Systems not receiving manure harboured a dispersed and functionally versatile community characterized by presumably oligotrophic organisms adapted to nutrient-limited environments. Systems receiving organic fertilizer were characterized by specific microbial guilds known to be involved in degradation of complex organic compounds such as manure and compost. The throughput and resolution of the sequencing approach permitted to detect specific structural shifts at the level of individual microbial taxa that harbours a novel potential for managing the soil environment by means of promoting beneficial and suppressing detrimental organisms.     

土壤植物营养与农产品品质及人畜健康关系

综述了土壤中Ca,Mg,S,Zn,Fe等中微量营养元素及Se,I等有益元素的丰缺情况,概述了矿质营养元素和有机物质对农产品品质的影响与人畜健康的关系,展望了今后应预以加强的研究方向,为进一步开展土壤植物营养与产品品质的研究提供参考。     

The role of organic amendments to soil for crop protection: Induction of suppression of soilborne pathogens

Application of external organic inputs to soils can be considered as one of the most ancient strategies in agriculture, and it has been commonly used since the very beginning of human-based agricultural practices. During all this time, application of several organic matters to agricultural soils has demonstrated their benefit to plants and soils. Organic amendments have proved to be useful in recovering soil properties, improving soil quality and, in some cases, can be directly involved in providing beneficial effects to plants. All these obtained effects finally lead to an increase in crop protection and sustainability. One most expected effect caused by the application of organic amendments, is the suppression of a wide range of soilborne pathogens (mainly bacterial and fungal pathogens) due to the induction of physicochemical and biological changes in soils. In order to get insight into the nature of the induced soil suppression of soilborne plant pathogens, the analysis of the physical, chemical and the microbial changes, pointed to the key role of beneficial activities produced by soil microorganisms finally adapted to the environmental changes produced by the influence of organic amendments. As shown in the case studies reported here, participation of soil microbes specifically selected after organic amendment is crucial in the control of fungal soilborne diseases. Moreover, the development of “omics” approaches allowed these recent studies to go one step further, revealing the main actors involved in the induced soil suppressiveness and their activities. Thus “omics” techniques will help to understand the soil and its microbiome as a whole system, and to assign the important roles of its biological components.