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As part of the Sustainable Production and Consumption strategy, The European Commission is establishing the framework for a harmonised assessment of the environmental impact of products (PEF) based on a life cycle approach. This also includes methodologies for foods, including livestock products. The farming stage is by far the largest contributor to the environmental profile of such foods, so it is important to have sound data representing this stage. This report identifies in a Nordic context what primary farm activity data that is perceived relatively easy to collect and what supplementary data and life cycle inventory analysis data (LCI) that are needed. It is concluded that there is in particular a need for LCI’s for feeds produced in the Nordic countries and for recruitment animals in different livestock systems, and a relevant granularity for such datasets are proposed.

Within agri- and aquaculture, a specific bioeconomy challenge – and a bioeconomy opportunity – has been identified concerning sustainable protein supply for livestock production and fish farming. Today, imported soy products are by far the most important protein source however several alternative ways of producing protein rich feed has been identified using regional resources. Production of legumes, pulses and grass can be expanded. Alternative protein rich sources include single cell protein (bacteria/fungi), macroalgae (seaweed), mussels and insects. Local protein production has a number of benefits in the form of generation of local jobs, reduction in the import of nutrients and in general boosting the bioeconomy. Many of the alternative ways of producing protein rich feed are still under development, this report therefor also includes recommendations concerning how to proceed.

Økologien er en succeshistorie. I 2015 har der næppe været én dag uden positive historier i medierne om fremgang i den økologiske sektor, stigende efterspørgsel, stort anlagtekampagner i supermarkederne, succes på eksportmarkederne og økologiske producenter, som klarer sig bedre økonomisk end konventionelle. Økologien nyder i høj grad positiv bevågenhed i offentligheden, og der er stor forbrugerinteresse for økologiske produkter både på grund af produktkvalitet og produktions form. Men økologien leverer ikke kun gode fødevarer, den bidrager også til fælles samfundsgoder som f.eks. drikkevand uden pesticidrester, bedre dyrevelfærd og større biologiskmangfoldighed. Det enestående ved økologisk produktion er, at de fælles gevinster i meget høj grad betales af forbrugerne og bæres oppe af et velfungerende marked. Hvis ikke økologien gav disse gevinster, skulle man søge at tilvejebringe dem på anden vis, f.eks. gennem strammere regulering af landbruget generelt. Det økologiske jordbrug har som mål at udvikle bæredygtige jordbrugsformer, som tager bedre hensyn til natur, biodiversitet, miljø, dyrevelfærd m.m. og prioriterer fødevarer af høj kvalitet. Internationale og danske analyser har tidligere vist, at dette lykkes på en række områder. Resultaterne afhænger dog dels af bedriftstypen og dels af driftspraksis på de enkelte økologiske landbrug, og der er stadig områder, hvor økologiens bidrag til samfundsgoderne kan forbedres. Der er derfor brug for en forsknings-, udviklings- og rådgivningsindsats, som kan styrke økologiens bidrag yderligere. For at sikre et videnskabeligt vidensgrundlag for arbejdet med disse forbedringer af den økologiske produktionsform, har over 75 danske forskere og eksperter i løbet af 2015 været involverede i kortlægning af den eksisterende viden om økologiens samfundsmæssige bidrag. Resultatet er denne vidensyntese, "Økologiens bidrag til samfundsgoder". Arbejdet er gennem ført på opdrag af og med støtte fra NaturErhvervstyrelsen, og er blevet iværksat og koordineret af Internationalt Center for Forskning i Økologisk Jordbrug og Fødevaresystemer,ICROFS. Vidensyntesen koncentrerer sig om seks områder, hvor økologien potentielt set har mulighed for at bidrage væsentligt til samfundsgoderne. Det er natur og biodiversitet, miljø, energi og klima, sundhed og velfærd for mennesker, sundhed og velfærd for dyr samt erhverv og landdistrikter. På hvert af disse områder er de økologiske principper og reglers betydning for økologisk jordbrugs bidrag til samfundsgoderne blevet kortlagt, og på basis heraf er der identificeret synergier og dilemmaer, hvor der er brug for en fremtidig indsats inden for forskning, udvikling og rådgivning til at forbedre bidragene. Det er intentionen, at vidensyntesen skal være et redskab for politikere og myndigheder i arbejdet med at udvikle lovgivningsmæssige rammer, handleplaner og andre incitamenter for den økologiske sektor i relation til de forskellige samfundsgoder. Samtidig skal den inspirere forskere, rådgivere, landmænd og andre relevante aktører til at prioritere og vælge indsatsområder for det fremtidige udviklingsarbejde. Danmark har været i front internationalt med hensyn til at prioritere forskning, der kan styrke den økologiske sektor på et vidensbaseret grundlag. Forskningen har gjort økologien markedsegnet, sikret god produktivitetsudvikling og styrket bæredygtigheden. Uden dette grundlag ville det økologiske marked i Danmark ikke være så varieret, konkurrencedygtigt og attraktivt, som det er i dag. Vi skal fortsat investere i forskning, udvikling og innovation for at styrke sektoren, og vi skal styrke den yderligere, så bidraget til samfundet, bl.a. i form af bedre miljø, dyrevel færd og sundhed, øges

Dairy farming is the largest agricultural contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. In this study, the carbon footprint of organic dairying was evaluated by the means of life cycle assessment. Carbon footprint was calculated using real farm data from six European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy and United Kingdom. Total of 34 farms were analyzed. Assessment was carried out with attributional approach with system boundaries from cradle to farm gate. For the dairy production, functional unit of 1 kg of energy corrected milk was used. Results averaged to 1.04 ± 0.29 kg CO2 equivalents per kg of energy corrected milk, which is consistent with recent previous studies. Main contributor to this is enteric fermentation from producing animals, resulting in 43 % of total GHG emissions, which is consistent with previous studies.

Undersøgelser viser, at der er et stort potentiale for et udvidet salg af svinekød. Økologisk svineproduktion skal dog i fremtiden leve op til forøgede kvalitetskrav mht. miljøbelastning, husdyrvelfærd og sundhed. Rapporten er udarbejdet på baggrund af en vidensyntese om muligheder og begrænsninger i økologisk svineproduktion. I rapporten præsenteres tilgængelig viden om svineproduktionssystemer, sygdomsrisiko ved frilandsproduktion, stimulering af svins modstandsdytighed mod infektioner gennem fodringsstrategier, svins forsyning med essentielle næringsstoffer og produktkvaliteten.

Life cycle assessment of organic and conventional arable crop rotations - focusing on greenhouse gas emissions. Five arable crop rotations in long-term field trials were investigated; four organic and one conventional - in three years on three different locations in Denmark. The organic crop rotations represented alternative scenarios for outphasing conventional slurry in organic systems. Crops from rotations with grass-clover for biogas in one out of four years had the lowest carbon footprint per kg crop DM. Including soil carbon changes in the life cycle assessment affected the results markedly.

Økologisk svineproduktion er en af de svagest udviklede økologiske produktionsgrene i Danmark, og der er mange uafklarede spørgsmål vedrørende mulighederne for at etablere og udvikle en rationel svineproduktion. På denne baggrund afholdtes en temadag om økologisk svineproduktion, og denne rapport opsummerer indlæg og posters herfra. Emnerne omfatter produktionsforhold, foder og foderværdi, sundhedsforhold samt samgræsning mellem svin og kvæg.

International audience

Den sortbrogede danske landrace er meget forskellig fra de moderne krydsninger. Økologisk svinekød og økologiske kyllinger er betydeligt dyrere end tilsvarende konventionelle produkter. Derfor har mange forbrugere en forventning om, at de økologiske produkter adskiller sig fra de konventionelle - og at kvaliteten retfærdiggør merprisen. Det er baggrunden for, at der i projektet: Kvalitet og integritet i økologiske æg-, kyllinge- og svinekødsprodukter undersøges strategier for mere forskelligartet svine- og kyllingeproduktion.

While there is a markedly growth in organically farmed land and in the organic food sector as such in Europe and North America, the organic pig sector has not developed correspondingly in most countries. This weaker development seems most likely to be due to difficulties for pig producers to comply with the organic standards, which impose comparatively more pronounced changes in the way of production than e.g. in ruminant production systems. Pigs should have access to roughage and to grazing in the summer period although finishers can be kept in barns if access to an outdoor rum. A common way to comply with these regulations is to have sows on grassland all year round, but to rear the finishers in stables. Outdoor piglet production can be very efficient but careful measures needs to be taken to avoid environmental risks. Ringing of sows to avoid rooting on the grassland is a matter of concern. The regulations for housing include a considerable larger area per pig than in conventional production. This support good production and health results in the finisher production, and the regulation stating no tail docking does not seem to impose problems. However, such stables are often very expensive to establish and outdoor rearing of finishers throughout the growing period should be considered. Recent results indicate that this is a viable option. The ban on use of synthetic amino acids and GMO products for feeding represent a challenge in the feeding of finishers. There is a risk regarding carcass quality when soybean meal and amino acid are substituted with more oil rich ingredients for protein supply. On the other hand inclusion of new protein sources in the diet may results in particular meat quality characteristics including positive effects. It is concluded that there is a need in organic pig production to produce “new” products, which differ from the conventional pork products in order to comply with consumer expectations.

The effects of age, sex and genotype on growth and sensory characteristics in organically produced broilers, when kept considerably longer before slaughtering, were examined. A total of 450 birds consisting of three genotypes, Light Sussex, New Hampshire, and the commercial strain I 657 were inserted at Fejoe Research Orchard. Half the birds were slaughtered at 91 days of age and half at 120 days of age. I 657 was significantly heavier compared to the slower growing breeds and Light Sussex was significantly heavier than New Hampshire. Males were significantly heavier than females across genotype, but weight ratios differed with genotype. No overall effect of genotype was found on the flavour or smell of the breast meat, but the commercial strain went towards a tougher and less tender consistency at 120 days of age, whereas the opposite was the case for the slower growing pure breeds. The positive flavour of salt was significantly improved at 120 days of age across genotype and age, with females having saltier flavour than the males. The positive flavour of sweet corn was improved in the meat from the males, but the positive smell of sweet corn was significantly improved in both males and females. No negative consequences of age were found.

Outdoor rearing of finishers can be considered a relevant option in organic pig production. The performance and carcass characteristics of 245 organically produced and free-range born crossbred pigs allocated to five treatments were compared. The five treatments were: transfer to a barn with free access to feed (1) at weaning and until slaughter, (2) at a live weight of 40 kg and until slaughter, (3) at live weight of 80 kg and until slaughter, or reared at pasture (4) with free or (5) limited access to concentrates until slaughter. Pigs fed ad libitum fed indoor compared to pigs fed ad libitum outdoor had a significant lower feed consumption (5 MJ ME /kg gain), lower lean percentage (2.3%), and a higher backfat depth (1.1 mm)(all P < 0.05). Compared with outdoor pigs fed ad libitum, restricted feeding outdoor resulted in a significantly lower daily gain (107 g), a lower feed consumption (6.3 MJ ME/kg gain), higher lean percentage (2.1% units), and a reduced backfat (1.8 mm) (all P < .001). Pigs, which at a live weight of 40 kg, were transferred to indoor facilities with free access to feed compensated almost completely before slaughter, while pigs transferred at 80 kg live weight only compensated little. Although the housing environment (in- or outdoor) seems to affect performance and carcass traits, the length of energy restriction appears to be of greater importance.