How Can We Assess the Agroecological Status of Swiss Farms?
Agroscope researchers tested the FAO method for assessing the agroecological status of farms in Switzerland for the first time, demonstrating the advantages of a holistic evaluation as well as the limits of the tool.
Extending the Productive Life of Dairy Cows: Who Has a Say?
Which stakeholders in the dairy sector have an influence on the productive life of dairy cows? Research results from FiBL and Agroscope suggest that broad-based cooperation is needed to create structures for a longer productive life.
Community rather than Individual Goals for Climate Change Mitigation
Policies to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are more effective and more efficient if they are set at the regional level and not at the level of individual farms. This can help achieve climate targets.
How Can We Assess the Agroecological Status of Swiss Farms?
Agroscope researchers tested the FAO method for assessing the agroecological status of farms in Switzerland for the first time, demonstrating the advantages of a holistic evaluation as well as the limits of the tool.
Extending the Productive Life of Dairy Cows: Who Has a Say?
Which stakeholders in the dairy sector have an influence on the productive life of dairy cows? Research results from FiBL and Agroscope suggest that broad-based cooperation is needed to create structures for a longer productive life.
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Community rather than Individual Goals for Climate Change Mitigation
Policies to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are more effective and more efficient if they are set at the regional level and not at the level of individual farms. This can help achieve climate targets.
Dairy Farming: Feed, Wind and Temperature Influence Ammonia and Nitrous Oxide Emissions
Agriculture is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions. Agroscope showed that for dairy cattle housing, feed composition plays a role in these emissions as well as wind and temperature.
Controlling Root Knot Nematodes: a New Screening Test Identifies Bacterial Antagonists
The root knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne incognita causes damage in field and greenhouse crops. Agroscope researchers have developed a new screening test to identify bacteria that antagonise this agricultural pest.
Is a Significant Reduction in Pesticides in Wheat and Oilseed Rape Crops Cost-Efficient?
In wheat crops, pesticides can be used more sparingly without sacrificing cost-efficiency. With oilseed rape the situation is more difficult, since the reduced yields are not offset by higher revenues. These are the findings of the analysis of the first two harvest years of the PestiRed project.
What Effect Do Tannin-Containing Feeds Have on Methane Emissions from Dairy Cows?
Tannin-containing feedstuffs like Acacia mearnsii and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) have a measurable impact in reducing methane emissions from dairy cows. However, since these feedstuffs in some cases lead to productivity losses, careful consideration must be given to their use.
Measuring Soil Fertility Directly in the Field
Soil samples can be measured directly in the field by means of spectroscopy. Agroscope researchers have tested mobile devices and shown how to make the best use of them.
Will we in Switzerland be reaching for the spade once again to assess soil structure?
Three widely used and newly revised approaches that optimally complement each other are available to practitioners, trainers and educators. Videos and apps have been designed to facilitate their use.
CULTAN Fertilisation Substantially Reduces Nitrate Leaching in Arable Farming
With CULTAN fertilisation, nitrogen is injected into the soil as an ammonium solution. Multi-year trials conducted by Agroscope show that this method reduces nitrogen leaching by an average 38% without negatively affecting yields.
Swiss Food Security 2023: Current Events and Trends
Global food availability is expected to remain stable in the medium term. Food security challenges in Switzerland include the decline in agricultural land area per capita, higher incidence of extreme weather events and increased pressure from pests.
Plant-Based Drinks – an Alternative to Milk?
Soya-, cereal-, seed- or nut-based plant drinks are consumed increasingly frequently as milk substitutes. Agroscope researchers have studied the macro- and micronutrients in these drinks and have identified major differences between the plant drinks themselves as well as in comparison with milk.
Culture and Policy Incentives Interact to Influence Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation
Different cultural backgrounds lead to different uptake of biodiversity agri-environmental schemes at the inner-Swiss French-German language border. Economic policy incentives could mitigate culture-driven behavioral differences.
Cheese Varieties: Volatile Carboxylic Acids Contribute to their Unmistakeable Character
Cheese varieties from Switzerland are characterised according to various criteria. Agroscope analysed the free volatile carboxylic acids in ten cheese varieties and demonstrated that the latter are suitable for characterisation and differentiation.
How Much Nitrogen from the Air Enters the Soil through Legumes?
Symbiotic nitrogen fixation by bacteria in the soil coexisting with legumes leads to reduced fertiliser requirement. It is not easy to measure this variable on farms, however. Now researchers from Agroscope have developed a method for estimating nitrogen input via symbiotic fixation at farm level.
How Resilient Were Swiss Agri-Food Importing Firms to COVID-19?
The agricultural sector as an aggregate proved resilient to the COVID-19 shock. But how did it impact agribusiness firms within the sector? Using the Swiss case, we provide the first set of evidence on how agri-food importing firms survived the pandemic economically.
