Archive
2,433 posts
Agronomic potential of ash from recycled wood
The effect of wood ash as a potash fertiliser was tested on perennial ryegrass in a greenhouse. The ash, which was from recycled wood, was spread – in some cases in combination with organic fertilisers – on two types of soil: an acid soil low in available potassium, and an alkaline soil with normal supplies…
Participation in eco-programmes has no clear-cut influence on full-cost coverage
in ecological and landscape conservation programmes and the recompense of all production factors used on the farms is investigated using full-cost calculations. Accountancy data and an allocation of the overhead costs using keys based on the composition of a farm’s gross output constitute the underlying data of the study. The analytical value-added of the full-cost…
Heterogeneity in compliance costs of agri-environmental measures
In Switzerland, farmer’s compliance costs of participating in voluntary agri-environmental measures are supposed to be compensated by direct payments. Information about these compliance costs can inform policy makers about the effectiveness and efficiency of the corresponding policy scheme. In this study, we calculate average compliance costs based on full-cost accounting and Monte-Carlo simulation of payments…
What do ecological and landscape conservation services cost?
Participation in voluntary ecological or landscape conservation programmes incurs production and opportunity costs which can vary significantly depending on farm structure and region. Precise knowledge about the level of the individual-farm performance costs helps agricultural-policy decisionmakers to set and calculate direct-payment contributions for the programmes in a focused manner. This paper quantifies the performance costs…
Biodiversity and productivity in agriculture
Concerns exist about the rapid decline of biodiversity in agroecosystems. However, we need arable land and the related landscapes to cover a high percentage of basic food supply in our society. Contrary to feed production in grasslands, arable crops need to develop specified harvestable organs before harvest is possible. Thus, the cultivation of crops in…
An incentive tax on nitrogen loss in Swiss agriculture?
Over the past two decades, Swiss agriculture has made almost no progress in dealing with its nitrogen surplus which is perhaps the sector’s main sustainability problem. One possible way to solve this problem would be to implement a market-based policy instrument that decreases the nitrogen surplus in a cost-efficient manner on the basis of a…
Slow feeding systems for horses: feeding times and lying behaviour
Free-living equids spend the greater part of the day grazing – roughly sixteen hours out of every twenty four. With two to three rationed portions of roughage a day, the behaviour of conventionally fed domestic horses is strongly affected. The aim of the present paper was to examine whether a different number of feeds influenced…
New guide values for the nutrient excretions of pigs
In the framework of the current revision of the Swiss Fertilizer Guidelines (SFG) the guide values for nutrient excretion of pigs were checked and adapted to current production practice. The principle used for calculating excretions is input in feed minus retention in in the growth of piglets and young sows. For fattening pigs all the…
Food safety of cheese: process for the treatment of cheesemaking milk
In the manufacture of traditional types of cheese, the processing of fresh milk that has been treatedas gently as possible is of crucial importance. Preserving the microbiome and the activity of the original enzymes in the raw milk to the greatest extent possible allows these cheeses to retain their original character. This objective conflicts with…
High-throughput molecular diagnostics for detecting potato-plant viruses
Every year, Agroscope inspects almost 300 000 tubers for the presence or absence of viruses in order to certify potato plants destined for Swiss producers. From 2016 onwards, this inspection has been performed using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on dormant tubers right after the harvest. The new method allows results to be obtained…
Analysis of pasture-based- or indoor-feeding-dairy production on the net contribution to human food supply
In a whole-system study in lowland of Central Switzerland from 2007 to 2010 compared the performance, efficiency, land productivity and profitability of indoor-feeding (SH) dairy production with that of pasture-based feeding (VW) dairy production. In the present study the net contribution of these systems to human food protein and energy supply was analysed. Depending on…
Comparison of the odour impact of cattle housing with and without an outdoor exercise area
Outdoor exercise areas in loose cattle housing systems represent close-to-the-ground emission sources. Previously, outdoor exercise areas were not taken into account when calculating the minimum distance to residential zones. The aim of these studies was to highlight any possible effect of outdoor exercise areas with solid flooring on odour impact. For this, the odour impact…
Silage quality of catch crops
Although catch crops contribute to additional feed production, they are also considered to be difficult to ensile. In a trial, the ensilability and silage quality of the two standard mixtures 101 and 106 as well as mixtures with black oats, sorghum and foxtail millet were investigated. In addition to variants without an additive, we also…
New guide values for the nutrient excretions of dairy cows
In the framework of the current revision of the Swiss Fertilizer Guidelines (SFG) the guide values for nutrient excretion and forage consumption of dairy cows were checked and adapted to current production practice. The principle used for calculating excretions is input in feed minus retention in milk, calf and growth. A model based on the…
Differences between organic dairy cows sired by artificial insemination and natural service
This study investigated differences between phenotypes of daughters of artificial insemination (AI)-bulls and daughters of natural service (NS)- bulls, respectively, on organic dairy farms in Switzerland. Organic rules recommend the use of natural mating. Therefore it is of interest whether those two groups of phenotypes show different characteristics on organic farms. Only farms using both…
Can water voles be controlled with vole fences?
Fossorial water voles are the major grassland pest north of the Alps. Highly prolific, they are able to spread rapidly across the countryside. Although migration barriers or so-called ’water-vole fences’ can be built to prevent their expansion, the farm area under grassland is usually far too large to be fully fenced with such barriers. Between…
Administrative simplification in agriculture: analysis and optimisation approaches
In addition to their own record-keeping as part of management and planning activities, farmers are nowadays obliged to record data and fill in forms for statistical purposes as well as for the disbursement of government or label-related funding. Two surveys of 26 Swiss farms with different agricultural activities conducted in 2012 and 2015 revealed that…
Digestibility of power maize silage fed alone or in mixed rations
Power maize silage (WPMC) – a mixture of whole-plant maize and cobs used in cattle fattening – has different characteristics from whole-plant maize (WPM). A digestibility test was carried out to determine the nutritional value of WPMC, study the influence of the composition of the ration and verify the application of equations predicting digestibility. Four…
Réglette azote colza®: a decision support tool for rapeseed N management adapted for Switzerland
The Réglette azote colza® is a decision support tool for rapeseed nitrogen fertilization, developed by the French institute Terres Inovia. This tool was designed to determine the nitrogen dose the most adapted to the needs of the crop, based on the rapeseed status at the beginning and at the end of the winter. The parameters…
Cultivation factors influence Fusarium fungi and mycotoxins in Swiss barley
During a 2-year monitoring we observed that the occurrence of Fusarium graminearum and the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol are influenced by several cropping factors. Frequently, not only one but the combination of different factors have to be considered e.g. previous crop and tillage. Thus, the entire cropping system should be taken into consideration to retrieve influencing cropping…
Protein potential of winter wheat varieties
A ‘protein potential’ concept has been developed by analogy with the ‘grain yield’ concept, with the aim of better understanding the factors influencing wheat protein content and identifying the most stable varieties as well as the amount of protein that remains to be reached. The protein potential of 18 varieties of winter wheat covering all…
New guide values for nutrient excretions of suckling cows
The current Swiss guide values for nutrient excretions and forage consumption of suckling cows which are used for the compulsory nutrient balance are from 2001. In the meantime suckling cow production has changed and strongly gained in importance. In the framework of the ongoing revision of the Fertilizer Guidelines these guide values are therefore adapted…
Guest segments for agritourism
Knowledge of guest needs is the prerequisite for the market-oriented design of tourist offerings. Using cluster analysis, the guest segments (clusters) for agritourism in Switzerland were first identified in terms of distinct needs. The classification of the six clusters was based on a survey of 655 potential guests of agritourism enterprises. The six guest segments…
Wheel load-carrying capacity – a useful parameter for practice
Compaction in the subsoil caused by high wheel loads is usually long-lasting, adversely affecting soil functions and productivity. Wheel load-carrying capacity is defined as the maximum wheel load for a specific tyre and inflation pressure that does not result in soil stress in excess of soil strength (defined as precompression stress). We calculated the seasonal…
Phenological development of meadows – 21 years of observations
In spring, the phenological development of meadows influences forage quality, particularly in terms of the digestibility of organic matter. Thus, phenological observations facilitate grassland management during first grass growth. Since vegetation development depends largely on meteorological conditions, long-term phenological monitoring also enables the effects of climate change on vegetation to be assessed. The aim of…
Effects of a new phosphate fertiliser on wheat nutrition and yield
Phosphorus (P) is an essential mineral for plant growth. Given that easily extractable global stocks of P are declining and that P over-fertilisation can be a source of pollution, it would appear necessary to improve the efficiency of phosphate fertilisers in agriculture. Two independent experiments were carried out at Agroscope Changins (Switzerland) and RITTMO-Colmar (France)…
Timothy: two new varieties recommended
Between 2013 and 2015, Agroscope field-tested a total of 21 varieties of timothy (Phleum pratense) as to their suitability for cultivation. Seven of these varieties had already been recommended and served as benchmarks in the trial, whilst simultaneously being required to pass the test again. Yield and digestibility, vigour (density, luxuriance and evenness of the…
