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.     

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.     

The Concept of Animal Welfare at the Interface between Producers and Scientists: The Example of Organic Pig Farming

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.     

The economics of fibre and meat on Norwegian dairy goats

Seasonal variations in the volume of milk in Norwegian goat dairy farming complicate the production of brand goat cheeses. In the specialised goat dairy farming system most kids are culled shortly after birth without utilising the meat. In this paper the farm economics of an alternative system with altered period of kidding (currently from January to March) combined with the production of meat and cashmere fibre, is examined. May kidding combined with raising the kids for 8 or 20 months yielded the most promising economical return. Raising the kids for 1 year is also profitable when kidding takes place in February while December kidding seems to perform best with the present system of culling the kids right after birth. Cashmere fibre production seems to be profitable on Norwegian dairy goat farms and fibre and meat could become an option in countries seeking to improve incomes on dairy goat farms. Compared to the present system the changes would also be favourable from an animal welfare point of view.     

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.     

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.     

Impacts of organic and conventional dairy farmer attitude,behaviour and knowledge on farm biodiversity in Ireland

Agricultural intensification has caused significant declines in biodiversity. Agri-environmental schemes (AES), including organic farming, are thought to benefit biodiversity. However, under similar production conditions and in comparable locations and schemes, farms are not managed in the same way, with variable consequences for production and the environment. Understanding farmer attitude, behaviour and knowledge of the environment and their impacts on biodiversity may help us understand the variable impacts of AES on biodiversity. We combined a sociological survey of nine organic and eight conventional dairy farmers (measuring environmental and achievement attitudes; environmental and production-orientated behaviours and environmental knowledge), in Ireland, with a biodiversity (using plant richness as an indicator) assessment of their farms. We found higher plant richness on organic farms than conventional. Organic and conventional farmers had similar attitudes to farming achievement and the environment but organic farmers were better informed about environmental issues and carried out more environmentally orientated behaviours. Biodiversity was positively related to the amount of environmentally orientated behaviours and negatively related to production-orientated behaviours carried out on farms. Organic farmers who had more positive attitudes to the environment and were better informed about it had higher biodiversity on their farms compared to less positively inclined, less informed organic farmers. We show disparities between attitude and actual behaviour in relation to the environment, with organic farmers sharing similar attitudes to conventional farmers, but more prepared to inform themselves about and carry out environmentally friendly farming. Results indicate that organic farming and environmentally orientated behaviours benefit biodiversity and that there is an important link between farmer environmental attitudes and knowledge and the beneficial effects of organic farming on biodiversity. We encourage conservation orientated thinking and better environmental education among farmers, including those who already participate in an AES. This way, the benefits of the AES for the environment may be maximised.     

Animal welfare official inspections: farmers and inspectors shared concerns

Official inspections to check the compliance of farms with European legislation to protect farm animals are often perceived negatively by farmers. In addition, the inspections have a limited effect on improving farm compliance. We looked at the perceptions of both farmers and their inspectors about animal welfare and the inspections in a case study of dairy production in France. The identification of gaps and commonalities between both parties should help us to propose improvements in the inspection method by which inspections could more likely encourage compliance with animal welfare legislation. To achieve this aim, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 dairy farmers and their 19 inspectors. Both farmers and inspectors described animal welfare in terms of the state of the animal and of the living conditions and care provided to them. The majority of farmers found that the official checklist used by the inspectors is inappropriate to assess the welfare of their animals; inspectors themselves reported that they often use their own criteria and indicators (often based on the observation of animals) in addition to the official checklist. Both groups disagreed with some requirements of the legislation. These findings suggest that the content and background of the legislation to protect animals should be made clearer to both farmers and inspectors and that these two groups of actors should be involved in the definition of key points to be checked on farms, with special attention to animal-based indicators. All this could improve farmers' engagement with the results of the inspections and, hopefully, could lead to better compliance with legislation and improvements in animal welfare on farms.     

Reduced Medication in Organic Farming with Emphasis on Organic Dairy Production

Medication is an important focus area in organic animal husbandry. The combination of goals relating to improved animal welfare and reduced use of chemicals in general creates a common wish to reduce medication. Based on data from current Danish research projects in organic dairy farming, one specific organic medication pattern or policy cannot be described. The disease treatment pattern is influenced by many factors, e.g. the interaction with colleagues, veterinarians and agricultural advisors. No significant difference could be found with regard to incidence of mastitis treatments or somatic cell counts in 27 organic and 57 conventional herds. A marked tendency to shorter treatment periods in relation to mastitis treatments was described for organic farms in comparison with conventional farms (1.9 days versus 3.2 days (5 organic and 7 conventional herds)). In a study of development of health advisory service in organic herds, the dialogue between farmer, veterinarian and agricultural cattle advisor changed the treatment pattern markedly during a period of 6 months. Among important future challenges for veterinarians in organic farming is pointed at the constructive, open, and critical interaction with the single organic farmer as well as the organic animal husbandry system in general.     

Aligning health and welfare principles and practice in organic dairy systems: a review

This review provides an assessment of research findings into the current practices and standards and the principles and aspirations for organic dairy production, with respect to the health and welfare of the dairy cow. The relationships between the four main factors: management, environment, genetics and nutrition and their impact on the health and welfare status of organic dairy cows are considered. The concept that good animal health and welfare is more than merely the absence of disease, with behavioural aspects of health and welfare such as physiological and psychological needs, is also discussed. These factors are inter-related and important in all dairy systems, irrespective of whether the system is organic, low-input or intensive. Incidences of individual clinical and sub-clinical diseases that are recorded in conventional dairy systems also occur in organic dairy systems, with infertility, lameness and mastitis being the major problems. However, the magnitude of the incidence of many of these diseases may be either lower or higher in organic systems due to different management practices and the standards defined for organic milk production that, for example, prohibit the routine use of conventional medicines and require the feeding of high-forage diets. In relation to different systems, it is important to note that contrary to a common assumption, good welfare does not necessarily occur with more extensive systems. The type of organic system (self-sufficient, purchased-feed) also has the potential to have a major influence on the incidence of health problems and the reproductive status of organic dairy herds. Health status is also influenced by environmental and welfare factors, including the method of rearing replacement animals, type of housing and the geographical and climatic conditions of individual farms. Overall, this review identifies where conflicts arise between current practice and the organic principles and standards, and aims to provide suggestions to bring about further improvement in organic dairy health and welfare.     

Can pre-collected register data be used to identify dairy herds with good cattle welfare?

Background

Pre-recorded register data from dairy herds are available in almost all Nordic countries. These databases can be used for research purposes, and one of the research areas is animal welfare. The aim of this study was to investigate if pre-recorded register data could be used to identify herds with good welfare, and to investigate if a combination of register data sets could be used to be able to more correctly distinguish between herds with good welfare and herds with welfare deficiencies.

Methods

As a first step, nine animal-based measurements on calves, young stock and cows in 55 randomly selected herds were performed on-farm as the basis for a classification of welfare at the herd level. The definition for being a case herd with “good welfare” was no score lying among the 10% worst in any of the nine welfare measurements. Twenty-eight of the 55 herds were cases according to this definition. As a second step, 65 potential welfare indicators, based on register data in a national dairy database, were identified by expert opinion. In the final step, the extent to which the suggested welfare indicators predicted farms’ as having good welfare according to the stated definition was assessed. Moreover, the effect of combining in sequence a previously developed model that identified herds with poor welfare with the present model identifying herds with good welfare was investigated.

Results

The final set of welfare indicators used to identify herds with good animal welfare included two fertility measures, cow mortality, stillbirth rate, mastitis incidence and incidence of feed-related diseases (including gastrointestinal disturbances but excluding paralyses and cramps). This set had a test sensitivity of correctly classifying herds with no score lying among the 10% worst of the nine welfare measurements of 96 %. However, the specificity of the test was only 56% indicating difficulties for the test to correctly classifying herds with one or more scores lying among the 10% worst. Combining the previously developed model with the present model, improved the welfare classification.

Conclusions

This study shows that pre-collected register data may be used to give approval to dairy farms with “good welfare” and that combining different sets of register data can improve the classification of herd welfare.

     

Exploring the effect of soil management intensity on taxonomic and functional diversity of ants in Mediterranean olive groves

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Development of agri-environmental indicators to assess dairy farm sustainability in Quebec,Eastern Canada

Agri-environmental indicators are commonly used to assess agricultural sustainability. In North America, few are designed to be easily used by dairy farmers. As farmers assume more responsibility for managing natural resources, they play an increasingly important role in assessing sustainable agriculture. This paper describes the development of an indicator-based self-assessment tool for use at the farm level to evaluate dairy farm sustainability from an environmental standpoint. The agri-environmental indicator set was selected by using two participatory processes: the Delphi method and a focus group. The framework for developing the assessment tool consisted of six steps: (1) Defining the concept of environmental sustainability at the farm level; (2) setting up goals and principles for the assessment; (3) identifying potential indicators and selecting candidate indicators; (4) defining reference values, aggregating indicators into components, and establishing relative weights for indicators; (5) testing the candidate indicators on dairy farms, and (6) selecting the final indicator set. Six criteria were used to evaluate either the practicality or usefulness of indicators. Thirteen indicators were chosen, one of which was divided into four sub-indicators. These indicators were aggregated into four components: soil quality, cropping practices, fertilization management, and farmland management. Expert participation was the first validation of the indicator set. A compromise between feasibility, practicality, and relevance of measurement was found among indicators. When applied to 40 farms over two contrasting regions, the indicator set identified scores that differed according to production context. The tool is user-friendly and well-adapted to dairy farming systems.     

Welfare effects of a disease eradication programme for dairy goats

The Norwegian dairy goat industry has largely succeeded in controlling caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE), caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) and paratuberculosis through a voluntary disease eradication programme called Healthier Goats (HG). The aim of this study was to apply an on-farm welfare assessment protocol to assess the effects of HG on goat welfare. A total of 30 dairy goat farms were visited, of which 15 had completed disease eradication and 15 had not yet started. Three trained observers assessed the welfare on 10 farms each. The welfare assessment protocol comprised both resource-based and animal-based welfare measures, including a preliminary version of qualitative behavioural assessments with five prefixed terms. A total of 20 goats in each herd were randomly selected for observations of human–animal interactions and physical health. The latter included registering abnormalities of eyes, nostrils, ears, skin, lymph nodes, joints, udder, claws and body condition score. For individual-level data, robust clustered logistic regression analyses with farm as cluster variable were conducted to assess the association with disease eradication. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used for comparisons of herd-level data between the two groups. Goats with swollen joints (indicative of CAE) and enlarged lymph nodes (indicative of CLA) were registered on 53% and 93% of the non-HG farms, respectively, but on none of the HG farms. The only other health variables with significantly lower levels in HG herds were skin lesions (P=0.008) and damaged ears due to torn out ear tags (P<0.001). Goats on HG farms showed less fear of unknown humans (P=0.013), and the qualitative behavioural assessments indicated that the animals in these herds were calmer than in non-HG herds. Significantly more space and lower gas concentrations reflected the upgrading of buildings usually done on HG farms. In conclusion, HG has resulted in some welfare improvements beyond the elimination of infectious diseases. The protocol was considered a useful tool to evaluate the welfare consequences of a disease eradication programme. However, larger sample sizes would increase the reliability of prevalence estimates for less common conditions and increase the power to detect differences between the groups. Despite the obvious link between disease and suffering, this aspect is rarely taken into account in the evaluation of disease control programmes. We therefore propose that welfare assessment protocols should be applied to evaluate the merits of disease control or eradication programmes in terms of animal welfare.     

Evaluation of organic,conventional and intensive beef farm systems: health,management and animal production

The overall aim of the present study was to analyse and compare organic beef cattle farming in Spain with intensive and conventional systems. An on-farm study comparing farm management practices and animal health was carried out. The study also focussed on a slaughterhouse analysis by comparing impacts on the safety and quality of the cattle products. Twenty-four organic and 26 conventional farms were inspected, and farmers responded to a questionnaire that covered all basic data on their husbandry practices, farm management, veterinary treatments and reproductive performance during 2007. Furthermore, data on the hygiene and quality of 244, 2596 and 3021 carcasses of calves from organic, intensive and conventional farms, respectively, were retrieved from the official yearbook (2007) of a slaughterhouse. Differences found between organic and conventional farms across the farm analysis did not substantially reflect differences between both farm types in the predominant diseases that usually occur on beef cattle farms. However, calves reared organically presented fewer condemnations at slaughter compared with intensive and to a lesser extent with conventionally reared calves. Carcass performance also reflected differences between farm type and breed and was not necessarily better in organic farms.     

Towards an agroecological assessment of dairy systems: proposal for a set of criteria suited to mountain farming

Ruminant production systems have been facing the sustainability challenge, namely, how to maintain or even increase production while reducing their environmental footprint, and improving social acceptability. One currently discussed option is to encourage farmers to follow agroecological principles, that is, to take advantage of ecological processes to reduce inputs and farm wastes, while preserving natural resources, and using this diversity to increase system resilience. However, these principles need to be made more practical. Here, we present the procedure undertaken for the collaborative construction of an agroecological diagnostic grid for dairy systems with a focus on the mountain farming relying on the use of semi-natural grasslands. This diagnosis will necessarily rely on a multicriteria evaluation as agroecology is based on a series of complementary principles. It requires defining a set of criteria, based on practices to be recommended, that should be complied with to ensure agroecological production. We present how such agroecological criteria were identified and organized to form the architecture of an evaluation model. As a basis for this work, we used five agroecological principles already proposed for animal production systems. A group of five experts of mountain production systems and of their multicriteria evaluation was selected, with a second round of consultation with five additional experts. They first split up each principle into three to four generic sub-principles. For each principle, they listed three to eight categories of state variables on which the fulfilment of the principle should have a positive impact (e.g. main health disorders for the integrated health management principle). State variables are specific for a given production, for example, dairy farms. Crossing principles with state variables enabled experts to build five matrices, with 75 cells relevant for dairy systems. In each cell, criteria are specific to the local context, for example, mountain dairy systems in this study. Finally, we discuss the opportunities offered by our methodology, and the steps remaining for the construction of the evaluation model.     

Methods for assessing phosphorus overfeeding on organic and conventional dairy farms

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.     

Dairy cow nutrition in organic farming systems. Comparison with the conventional system

The energy supplied by the high-forage diets used in organic farming may be insufficient to meet the requirements of dairy cattle. However, few studies have considered this problem. The present study aimed to analyze the composition of the diets and the nutritional status (focusing on the energy–protein balance of the diets) of dairy cattle reared on organic farms in northern Spain, which are similar to other organic farming systems in temperate regions. Exhaustive information about diets was obtained from organic (ORG) and representative conventional grazing (GRZ) and conventional no-grazing (CNG) farms. Samples of feed from the respective farms were analyzed to determine the composition. Overall, the diets used on the ORG farms were very different from those used on the CNG farms, although the difference was not as evident for GRZ. The CNG farms were characterized by a higher total dry matter intake with a high proportion of concentrate feed, maize silage and forage silage. By contrast, on ORG and GRZ farms, the forage, pasture and fibre intake were the most important variables. The ration used on ORG farms contained a significantly higher percentage of ADF and lower organic matter (OM) content than the rations used in both of the conventional farming systems, indicating that the diets in the former were less digestible. Although the protein concentration in the diets used on the grazing farms (ORG and GRZ) was higher than those used on CNG farms, the protein intake was similar. The results indicated an imbalance between energy and protein due to the low level of energy provided by the ORG diets, suggesting that more microbial protein could be synthesized from the available rumen-degraded dietary nitrogen if rumen-fermentable OM was not limiting. The imbalance between energy and protein led to a reduced amount of total digestible protein reaching the intestine and a lower milk yield per kilogram of CP intake on the ORG farms. In order to improve the protein use efficiency and consequently to reduce the loss of nitrogen to the environment, organic farming should aim to increase the energy content of cattle diets by improving forage quality and formulating rations with more balanced combinations of forage and grain.     

Assessment of welfare indicators in dairy farms offering pasture at differing levels

In terms of animal welfare, farming systems of dairy cows are perceived positively by consumers when compared to pigs or poultry. A main reason is that the majority of consumers associate dairy farming with pasture, which in turn they relate with benefits for animal health and welfare. However, holistic scientific assessments of the effects of pasturing on animal welfare are rare. Hence, it was the aim to study the animal welfare level in 61 German loose housing dairy farms by using the measures of the Welfare Quality® protocol for dairy cattle (WQP). Data were collected twice per farm at the end of the pasture season (July to October) and approximately 6 months later at the end of the barn season (December to April). Farms were classified based on the duration cows had access to pasture per day during the pasture season: group 1 (G1)>10 h; group 2 (G2) 6 to 10 h; group 3 (G3)<6 h and group 4 (G4) without pasture access. The average herd size was 129 Holstein-Friesian or Red-Holstein cows (range 58 to 527). In addition to WQP data, performance data were gathered from routine herd data recordings. The indicators were aggregated to criteria applying the scoring system of the WQP. G4 received lower scores at the first than at the second visit for the criterion absence of hunger, while there were no differences between visits in the other groups (P=0.58 – group×farm visit effect). All pasturing groups were scored better at the end of the pasture season than G4 for the criterion comfort around resting (P<0.01). Compared with G1 for both farm visits and G2 for the end of the barn season, G4 reached inferior scores for the criterion absence of injuries, including indicators such as hairless patches, lesions, and swellings and lameness. At both assessments G2 was scored higher than the other groups for the criterion absence of diseases (P=0.04). In conclusion, pasture access had positive effects only on selected welfare indicators, however, these effects were not maintained throughout the barn season.     

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.