Characterization of semi-extensive goat production systems in southern Spain

This study attempts to describe the semi-extensive goat farming sector in Andalusia (south of Spain) and to establish characteristics. Eighty-nine goat farmers were surveyed in three areas of this region. The survey examined all aspects of the systems, from socio-economy to management. A multivariate analysis (multiple correspondence and cluster) was used to determine the different farm characteristics. Most of the goat farms studied are single-worker or family managed. The farmers lack training and are elderly, so that continuity of the activity is not assured, although newcomers are usually young. All the farms have some area in ownership, although the farms most specialized in dairy goat products are the smallest in both ownership and total area. The roads are generally in good condition, except on farms with little land, situated in areas of the sierra. Machine-milking installations, closely related to the presence of infrastructures and of goats with a dairy tendency, are generally lacking, (this aspect is improving day by day). Artificial nursing is less generalized than machine-milking. Farms specializing in milk production, whose main activity is dairy goat farming, have dairy specialized breed or crossbred (milk and meat) goats. Feeding depends largely on grazing, with little area being cultivated to produce feed for the goats. Little distinction is made for the production level. Olive or acorn tree branches (Quercus ilex spp.) are used as feedstuff, depending on the types of tree predominating in the area. Five farm types were established, the differences depending on 14 variables of socio-economic aspects, level of production, infrastructure and installations, and feeding. Generated information from this study entails an advance into knowledge of goat farming systems in the Mediterranean area (where little information is generated). The relevance of this study is important since Andalusia has 40% of goats in Spain that produce more than half of the total goat milk in the country, which points out the socio-economical importance for most depressed areas in the region. This work supposes previous steps for improving the semi-extensive goat farming sector. From a methodological point of view, the discussion on variable types and utility establishes farm type characteristics.     

Environmental Impacts of Products:Policy Relevant Information and Data Challenges

The research and analysis presented in this special issue shows that the same limited number of consumption categories are consistently revealed to be responsible for the largest share of environmental impact: mobility (automobile and air transport), food (meat, poultry, fish, and dairy followed by plant‐based food), and residential energy use in the house (heating, cooling, electrical appliances, and lighting). It appears that differences in impact per euro between the product groupings are relatively limited, so it is essential to reduce the life‐cycle impacts of products as such, rather than to shift expenditures to less impact‐intensive product groupings. Furthermore, the effectiveness of expenditure on material products to improve quality of life leaves much room for improvement. Environmentally extended input‐output (EEIO) tables probably form, in this field, the most appropriate information support tool for priority setting, prospective assessment of options, scenario analysis, and monitoring. A clear benefit would result from integrating the input–output (IO) tables in the report to Eurostat of the 25 individual countries that make up the European Union (EU), with other officially available information on emissions and resources use, into a 60‐sector EEIO table for the EU. This, obviously, would be the first step toward more detailed tables. Three strategies are suggested to realize the additional, desirable detail of 150 sectors or more, each achievable at an increasing time horizon and with increasing effort: (1) developing further the current CEDA EU25 table; (2) building a truly European detailed input–output table accepting the restrictions of existing data gathering procedures; and (3) as (2), but developing new, dedicated data gathering and classification procedures. In all cases, a key issue is harmonizing classification systems for industry sectors, consumer expenditure categories, and product classifications (as in import/export statistics) in such a way that data sets may adequately be linked to input–output tables.     

Review: Precision livestock farming,automats and new technologies: possible applications in extensive dairy sheep farming

Precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies are becoming increasingly common in modern agriculture. They are frequently integrated with other new technologies in order to improve human–livestock interactions, productivity and economical sustainability of modern farms. New systems are constantly being developed for concentrated farming operations as well as for extensive and pasture-based farming systems. The development of technologies for grazing animals is of particular interest for the Mediterranean extensive sheep farming sector. Dairy sheep farming is a typical production system of the area linked to its historical and cultural traditions. The area provides roughly 40% of the world sheep milk, having 27% of the milk-producing ewes. Developed countries of the area (France, Italy, Greece and Spain – FIGS) have highly specialized production systems improved through animal selection, feeding techniques and intensification of production. However, extensive systems are still practiced alongside intensive ones due to their lower input costs and better resilience to market fluctuations. In the current article, we evaluate possible PLF systems and their suitability to be incorporated in extensive dairy sheep farming as practiced in the FIGS countries. Available products include: electronic identification systems (now mandatory in the EU) such as ear tags, ruminal boluses and sub-cutaneous radio-frequency identification; on-animal sensors such as accelerometers, global positioning systems and social activity loggers; and stationary management systems such as walk-over-weights, automatic drafter (AD), virtual fencing and milking parlour-related technologies. The systems were considered according to their suitability for the management and business model common in dairy sheep farming. However, adoption of new technologies does not take place immediately in small and medium scale extensive farming. As sheep farmers usually belong to more conservative technology consumers, characterized by an average age of 60 and a very transparent community, the dynamics do not favour financial risk taking involved with new technologies. Financial barriers linked to production volumes and resource management of extensive farming are also a barrier for innovation. However, future prospectives could increase the importance of technology and promote its wider adoption. Trends such as global sheep milk economics, global warming, awareness to animal welfare, antibiotics resistance and European agricultural policies could influence the farming practices and stimulate wider adoption of PLF systems in the near future.     

The European Union ban on conventional cages for laying hens: history and prospects

Since the publication of Animal Machines (Harrison, 1964), there has been widespread public pressure in Europe-supported by European institutions-to “ban the battery cage. ”The European Union (EU) and national governments (particularly in Northern Europe) funded research on noncage systems for egg production and enriched cages. In 1986, the EU passed a Directive specifying a minimum size for cages, but public opinion-again particularly in the North-continued to require more. A market sector emerged that would pay more for noncage eggs. Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland passed more stringent legislation than the rest of Europe. A 1999 Directive with details based on advice from the EU's Scientific Veterinary Committee will phase out conventional laying cages but allow enriched cages. Implementation depends on various factors, including negotiations in the World Trade Organization. In the next 10 years, however, major changes to the housing of most laying hens in Europe almost certainly will occur. Similar changes in other countries will follow. As in Europe, change probably will be piecemeal, affected both by public pressure and by all sectors of society: producers, retailers, consumers, legislators, and the media.     

European organic dairy farmers’ preference for animal health management within the farm management system

The expertise and knowledge of veterinary advisors on improving animal health management is key towards a better herd health status. However, veterinary advisors are not always aware of the goals and priorities of dairy farmers. To dairy farmers animal health is only one aspect of farm management and resources may be allocated to other more preferred areas. Veterinary advisors may experience this as non-compliant with their advice. To explore the preferences of European Union (EU) organic dairy farmers for improved animal health management relative to other farm management areas an adaptive conjoint analysis (ACA) was performed. A total of 215 farmers participated originating from organic dairy farms in France (n=70), Germany (n=60), Spain (n=28) and Sweden (n=57). The management areas udder health and claw health represented animal health management whereas barn, calf and pasture management represented potential conflicting management areas. Results indicate that EU organic dairy farmers differ in their preferences for improved animal health management within the farming system. In general, improved calf management was the most preferred area and improved claw health management was found to be least preferred, the remaining areas were of intermediate interest. Cluster analyses on claw health measures and udder health measures resulted in respectively seven and nine distinct preference profiles. The results indicate a high degree of variation in farmers’ preference, which cannot be explained by the typical herd characteristics. With the individual preferences revealed by ACA, a veterinary advisor can now find out whether his intended advice is directed at a favourable or unfavourable management area of the farmer. If the latter is the case the veterinarian should first create awareness of the problem to the farmer. Insights in individual farmers preferences will allow veterinary advisors to better understand why farmers were incompliant with their advice and improve their advice by showing, for example, the potential benefits of their advice.     

A non-parametric bootstrap-data envelopment analysis approach for environmental policy planning and management of agricultural efficiency in EU countries

Globally, agriculture is a dominant form of human use of land with agro-ecosystems covering about 40% of the terrestrial surface of the Earth. In this context, the European Union considers agriculture a key sector of the economy, recognizing, however, the related environmental implications. The aim of this paper is to examine the agricultural efficiency of EU countries, through a bootstrap-Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach, an effective nonparametric method for evaluating the relative efficiency of the decision-making units. European datasets, suitable for policies and focused on the integration between agricultural productivity and ecosystem services (ESs) conservation, have been used to support planners and managers. Data related to five inputs (labor, land, capital, fertilizers, and irrigation area) and to one output connected to the economic value of agricultural production were collected from 1993 to 2013. The results show that the majority of EU countries have been experiencing increasing or decreasing returns to scale, highlighting their potential to increase their production efficiency by modifying their input use. Both for the output-oriented approach and the input-oriented approach, the majority of EU countries could better rationalize their input use obtaining more outputs and achieving production efficiency. DEA, a non-parametric methodology has been applied, using the concept of a reference group of efficient decision-making units that produce a similar output (peer group). Input-oriented and output-oriented DEA results and comparison indicate that most of the oldest EU countries have a more efficient and optimized crop production process in terms of resource savings and output maximization. This is probably due to the application of the Common Agricultural Policy. Therefore, in policy planning but also in management decisions, attention should always be paid not only to the maximization of agricultural production, but also to the environmental resource overexploitation. In this sense, best agricultural practices could represent a model to follow because they can maintain ESs without depressing production by using practices like conservation tillage, crop diversification, legume intensification and biological control perform giving the same results as intensive, high-input systems.     

How effective are the sustainability criteria accompanying the European Union 2020 biofuel targets?

The expansion of biofuel production can lead to an array of negative environmental impacts. Therefore, the European Union (EU) has recently imposed sustainability criteria on biofuel production in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). In this article, we analyse the effectiveness of the sustainability criteria for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. We first use a global agriculture and forestry model to investigate environmental effects of the EU member states National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) without sustainability criteria. We conclude that these targets would drive losses of 2.2 Mha of highly biodiverse areas and generate 95 Mt CO ₂ eq of additional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, in a second step, we demonstrate that the EU biofuel demand could be satisfied ‘sustainably’ according to RED despite its negative environmental effects. This is because the majority of global crop production is produced ‘sustainably’ in the sense of RED and can provide more than 10 times the total European biofuel demand in 2020 if reallocated from sectors without sustainability criteria. This finding points to a potential policy failure of applying sustainability regulation to a single sector in a single region. To be effective this policy needs to be more complete in targeting a wider scope of agricultural commodities and more comprehensive in its membership of countries.     

Attitudes of European farmers towards GM crop adoption

This article analyses European Union (EU) farmers' attitudes towards adoption of genetically modified crops by identifying and classifying groups of farmers. Cluster analysis provided two groups of farmers allowing us to classify farmers into potential adopters or rejecters of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops. Results showed that economic issues such as the guarantee of a higher income and the reduction of weed control costs are the most encouraging reasons for potential adopters and rejecters of GMHT crops. This article also examines how putting in place measures to ensure coexistence between GM and non-GM crops may influence farmers' attitudes towards GMHT crop adoption. Results show that the implementation of a coexistence policy would have a negative impact on farmers' attitudes on adoption and consequently may hamper GMHT adoption in the EU.     

Harnessing the biodiversity value of Central and Eastern European farmland

A large proportion of European biodiversity today depends on habitat provided by low‐intensity farming practices, yet this resource is declining as European agriculture intensifies. Within the European Union, particularly the central and eastern new member states have retained relatively large areas of species‐rich farmland, but despite increased investment in nature conservation here in recent years, farmland biodiversity trends appear to be worsening. Although the high biodiversity value of Central and Eastern European farmland has long been reported, the amount of research in the international literature focused on farmland biodiversity in this region remains comparatively tiny, and measures within the EU Common Agricultural Policy are relatively poorly adapted to support it. In this opinion study, we argue that, 10 years after the accession of the first eastern EU new member states, the continued under‐representation of the low‐intensity farmland in Central and Eastern Europe in the international literature and EU policy is impeding the development of sound, evidence‐based conservation interventions. The biodiversity benefits for Europe of existing low‐intensity farmland, particularly in the central and eastern states, should be harnessed before they are lost. Instead of waiting for species‐rich farmland to further decline, targeted research and monitoring to create locally appropriate conservation strategies for these habitats is needed now.     

Relevance of genetically modified crops in light of future environmental and legislative challenges to the agri-environment

A key challenge for countries like Ireland up to 2030 is to produce sufficient supplies of food, feed and fuel, without compromising on public health or negatively impacting the environment. As we progress through the technology era, certain agricultural technologies [e.g. genetically modified (GM) crops] have been championed to maximise production while minimising environmental impact. Yet, multiple arguments have been made to counter such a claim, which has led to a polarisation of opinions and a plethora of generic commentaries being made in regard to the impact of this technology. Yet, few studies within the European Union (EU) have conducted a critical needs analysis to assess the potential of specific GM traits in light of issues, such as climate change, increased environmental legislation (e.g. EU Water Framework, Nitrates Directive, proposed reform to the Pesticide Directive and Common Agricultural Policy reform), mitigating biodiversity loss and sustainable biofuel production. The goal of this study is to collate a register of GM traits such that a list of potential GM crops could be prioritised against the backdrop of the challenges facing the tillage sector. Clearly, the crops with the most significant potential for genetic modification are those that are grown widely and/or receive high applications of pesticides and fertilisers (e.g. potato, wheat, barley and maize). GM traits with significant agronomic potential include late blight resistant potato, Fusarium head blight resistant wheat and Septoria resistant wheat and herbicide‐tolerant winter oilseed rape and maize. Following on from these, crops with enhanced nitrogen‐use efficiency could provide significant input to the tillage sector in light of EU‐based restrictions on nitrogen usage, crops with elevated protein content could offset the costs of imported animal feed and crops with modified oil content/lignocellulose composition could assist in biodiesel/bioenergy production at a regional level. This study is relevant to other European countries that cultivate similar crops and like Ireland, are facing multiple challenges to their tillage sector in the near future.     

How do 28 European Union Member States perform in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions? It depends on what we look at: Application of the multi-criteria analysis

European Union (EU) Member States have agreed to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, including emissions from agricultural sector. The aggregated GHG emission rate (i.e. t CO₂ eq. from agricultural sector per country) is commonly used to measure the overall size of agriculture’s influence on climate. And indeed, since 2005, EU has managed to decrease its aggregated GHG emissions by 3.1%. However, the question is—does that mean that EU’s agriculture has become less emission intensive? This paper answers the question by providing a different perspective for the assessment and comparison of the agricultural GHG emissions in 28 EU Member States. It is done by applying three different approaches, including creation of derived indicators and application of multi-criteria analysis (TOPSIS), which is a novel approach for comparison of agricultural GHG emission mitigation performance. The results show that each EU Member State performs very differently in emission intensities. Even more, the emission intensity results show an alarming tendency of increase in most of the EU Member States, which indicates that the measured changes in aggregate agricultural GHG emission rates are misleading. Therefore, the paper suggests reconsidering the policy targets for GHG emission limits.     

Socioeconomic assessment of the relevance of a community-based goat breeding project in smallholding systems

In the last decade, community-based animal breeding programs have gained attention for the genetic improvement of small ruminants in the tropics. Nevertheless, implementing such programs remains challenged by the issue of smallholders' participation. To shed light on this issue of participation, a goat genetic improvement project has been assessed for its socioeconomic relevance through participatory methods, taking account of goat multifunctionality. We quantified the gross margins per flock and per animal as indicators of viability. We assessed then the correspondence between the goat functions defined through a proportional piling tool with the relative share of these functions in the gross revenue. For that purpose, 160 smallholders were surveyed and 77 among them were monitored for one year. A cluster analysis of factors linked to the dynamic of goat farming identified three groups of farmers. The first group gathered farmers with the smallest goat flocks, who were goat oriented in the future. Their sustainable participation in goat breeding project was impeded by the excessive sales of goats. The second group involved farmers with the highest farm size, who planned to buy cattle to replace part of their goats. The third group included farmers who were members of the project with the largest goat flocks. This group emphasized the importance of goat for their future but showed weak abilities to manage large flocks. The gross margin per animal was the highest in the third group. The relative importance of goat functions as defined through participatory tools did not correspond to the relative share of these functions in the composition of the gross revenue from goats. Participatory tools and economic calculation then appear as complementary to understand farmers' priorities. Consolidating breeders' associations and supporting farmers to diversify their sources of income are two ways proposed here to ensure an enabling environment to goat husbandry and farmers' well-being.     

Assessment of lifetime performance of small ruminants under different feeding systems

Evaluation of lifetime productivity of individual animals in response to various interventions allows assessment of long-term investment opportunities for farmers. In order to gain a better understanding of promising feed interventions for improvement of small ruminant production in Southwestern Nigeria, a dynamic modelling approach was used to explore the effect of different feeding strategies on the lifetime productivity of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Modifications were made to the current version of Livestock Simulator developed for cattle production to simulate goat production systems particularly for WAD goats. Effects of changes in input parameters (quality of feed and potential adult weight) confirmed the sensitivity of the modelled weight development and reproductive performance. The values of simulated model outputs corresponded well with observed values for most of the variables, except for the pre-weaning mortality rate in the cut-and-carry system where a wide discrepancy between simulated (2.1%) and observed (23%) data was found. The scenario analysis showed that simulated goats in the free grazing system attained sexual maturity and kidded much later than those in the grazing with supplementation and the cut-and-carry systems. The simulated results suggested that goats require supplementation with protein and energy sources, in order to promote lifetime productivity, early sexual maturity and higher birth weight. In terms of economic returns based on feed cost alone, the moderately intense system produced the most profit. We therefore conclude that grazing with adequate supplementation using farm-generated feed resources offers an opportunity for improving smallholder goat production systems in West Africa.     

Sheep's and goat's dairy products in Italy: Technological,chemical, microbiological,and sensory aspects

Dairy sheep and goat breeding in Europe is most common around the Mediterranean basin, particularly in France, Greece, Italy, and Spain. The milk of sheep and goat is mainly reserved for cheese making that is usually conducted at farm level or in small local dairies. A large part of the production, principally for sheep milk cheese, is protected by the European Community (EC) regulations: the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and the Protected Geographic Indication (PGI). These designations constitute an element for the protection of the biodiversity, i.e. territory, animals, microbes, practices, and production systems. Microbiological features and diversity of sheep and goats milk compared to the cow's milk, give peculiar attributes to the cheeses. In several cases, rennet paste, produced from the abomasa of the suckling lambs or kids is used, strongly influencing chemical and sensory characteristics of the cheeses. In this review the technological, microbiological, chemical, and sensory aspects of the PDO and PGI Italian sheep and goat dairy products are reported.     

Evaluating mountain goat dairy systems for conversion to the organic model, using a multicriteria method

Organic farming conserves natural resources, promotes biodiversity, guarantees animal welfare and obtains healthy products from raw materials through natural processes. In order to evaluate possibilities of increasing organic animal production, this study proposes a farm-scale multicriteria method for assessing the conversion of dairy goat systems to the organic model. In addition, a case study in the Northern Sierra of Seville, southern Spain, is analysed. A consensus of expert opinions and a field survey are used to validate a list of potential indicators and issues for assessing the conversion, which consider not only the European Community regulations for organic livestock farming, but also agroecological principles. As a result, the method includes 56 variables integrated in nine indicators: Nutritional management, Sustainable pasture management, Soil fertility and contamination, Weed and pest control, Disease prevention, Breeds and reproduction, Animal welfare, Food safety and Marketing and management. The nine indicators are finally integrated in a global index named OLPI (Organic Livestock Proximity Index). Application of the method to a case study with 24 goat farms reveals an OLPI value of 46.5% for dairy goat farms located in mountain areas of southern Spain. The aspects that differ most from the agroecological model include soil management, animal nutrition and product marketing. Results of the case study indicate that the proposed method is easy to implement and is useful for quantifying the approximation of conventional farms to an organic model.     

Suggesting a new European language policy

Conflict is the most intriguing aspect of contact linguistics. Throughout history ever since the Tower of Babel was left unfinished, contacts between speakers of different languages have unavoidably resulted in conflicts between speakers of those languages. Without any doubt, the European Union (EU)--above all after the decision to enlarge the community--has accepted the multidisciplinary symbolic function of language and culture as a basis for European political unification. Accordingly, European Union policy makers have had to analyze conflicts caused by monolingualism and multilingualism, all aspects of contact linguistics. Can these conflicts be solved, minimized or neutralized by strategies of language planning, language policies and language politics? Initial results of European language policy strategies permit at least a cautious measure of optimism and open broad perspectives for the future of a New Multilingualism which will be discussed in our contribution.     

Dairy cattle production in Europe

The European Union (EU) is a major player on world markets for most dairy products and produces the largest single share of the global market. Dairying is one of the most profitable sectors of EU agriculture. Milk yields per cow have increased steadily in every member state between 1985 and 1997. Overall EU dairy production continues to follow a trend towards increased intensification on a smaller number of larger, more specialised production units. In this paper we highlight the main characteristics of dairy cattle production in the EU, as well as their impact on cow and herd reproductive performances. AI is widely used in areas where there is high input:high output farming and farmers' primary objective is to have each cow produce a calf every 12 months without any particular calving pattern. The use of embryo technologies is increasing and in some areas (e.g. IVP embryo transfers) Europe leads the world. In most areas of Europe, because of both year round calving and ethical or consumer concerns, hormones are mainly used to treat reproductive diseases and not for pharmaceutical control of breeding.     

Combining life cycle assessment and economic modelling to assess environmental impacts of agricultural policies: the case of the French ruminant sector

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Numerous policy instruments are applied to agricultural production in the European Union (EU27). Implementing them may significantly influence...