Should Antibiotic Use Be Reduced through Incentives?
Antibiotic use could be curtailed through incentives that improve animal health. Most farmers are open to direct payments in support of this.
Archive
498 posts
Beekeeping – A Mobile Application for Controlling the Varroa Mite
A simple smartphone could soon become an essential ally for beekeepers in their battle to control the varroa mite. A mobile application for identifying and counting these tiny parasites in the hive – the first of its kind in Switzerland – has just been developed.
Creating a Coordination Centre for Swiss Aquaculture
Swiss aquaculture is enjoying strong growth. However, in order to develop sustainably, the sector needs to be better organised. This study analyses the current situation and proposes a concept for the development of a coordination centre.
KLIR: A Model for Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Dairy Farms
Dairy farms are responsible for a significant proportion of greenhouse gases from agriculture. In order to quantify emissions at farm level and identify suitable emissions reduction measures, HAFL researchers developed a model for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms.
Bovine Appetite Is Stimulated by Multi-Species Herbage Mixtures
An optimum grassland botanical composition is a key element of the efficient feeding of ruminants. The fattening cattle in this trial clearly preferred a grass/clover/chicory mixture to pure ryegrass.
The RumiWatch System: Automated Feeding and Health Monitoring for Dairy Cows
The RumiWatch system is a smart farming tool, which enables an accurate detection of eating and rumination behaviours performed by dairy cows. The aim of the researchers was to check, if the system that was already established in science for its practical usage.
‘Green Book’ Guidelines No Longer Suitable for Estimating Net Energy Requirements for Beef Production
The Swiss ‘Green Book’ feeding recommendations for fattening cattle are no longer suitable for today’s animals and current production conditions. An updating of datasets for system calibration is essential.
Not All Cows Are Alike: Cattle Breed Affects Pasture Vegetation and Diversity
The pastures of low-productive Highland Cattle are particularly species-rich because of their relatively low weight, undemandingness and slowness. This is borne out by Agroscope and AgroVet Strickhof studies.
Livestock Recycle By-Products from the Food Industry
Livestock farming is sometimes criticised for creating competition between feed and food production. However, the animals fulfil an important function by recycling plant by-products and thus closing nutrient cycles.
Equine Health: Dust and Ammonia Emissions from Eight Different Bedding Materials
In equine husbandry, dust and ammonia emmissions have an important impact on respiratory health. Eight different bedding materials were tested for these emissions using a standardized method.
Is 100%-Organic Feeding for Piglets Possible?
100%-organic feeding of piglets has been discussed for a long time. A feeding trial on commercial farms shows that completely organic diets are suitable for piglets, and that their introduction is facilitated by a longer suckling period.
Supplement Improves Growth in Low-Birthweight Piglets
The genetic selection of hyperprolific sows has led to a rise in the number of piglets that are underweight at birth, often runtier and with stunted growth. A study tested the effect of a supplement on their development.
What Does an Individual Cow Consume on the Pasture?
Feed selection on the pasture costs cows time and energy. With the aim of optimised pasture feeding and efficient resource use, the feed selection of Swiss and New Zealand Holstein cows was compared.
How Digitised are Swiss Plant Production Farms?
Digital technologies are fixed features of modern agriculture – but to what extent are they already being used in Switzerland? A survey conducted by Agroscope provides answers to this question. Digital technologies reduce the physical workload of farming and contribute to sustainable field management. They also enable optimised management decisions based on plant- or soil-related…
Digital Technologies in Swiss Livestock Production
Digital technologies represent an opportunity for the modern management of farms. For this, already available technologies must also be utilised in practice. An Agroscope survey illustrates the status quo of technology use.
Manure: Nutrient Excretion by Calves from Suckler Cows
Farms operate with a balanced nutrient cycle. Agroscope adjusted the reference values for suckling calves to the latest advances in animal production. The values for feed intake and nutrient excretion are now lower.
Large Predators Make Cost-Effective Alpine Summer Grazing of Sheep Difficult
Protecting sheep from large predators means more work and higher costs for alpine farmers. The economic consequences of the necessary adjustments were investigated in 2017 and 2018 on 13 alpine farms in the cantons of Uri and Valais.
Limiting Protein Supply in Cattle Feeding
Grassland-based milk and meat production promotes the site-specific feeding of ruminants. With the AP22+, the reduction of protein supply via concentrates is under discussion. Agroscope studied the effects of limited protein supply.
Excellent Performance with Larger Litters in Free-Farrowing Pens
Since 2007, only free-farrowing pens may be used in Switzerland. Since then, litter size has increased significantly. Despite this, piglet mortality during the lactation period has remained stable over the years.
Fighting Antibiotic Resistance: a Plant to Reduce Diarrhoea in Piglets
Alternatives to antibiotics must be found to combat antibiotic resistance in animal production. The forage plant sainfoin reduces postweaning diarrhoea in piglets, thus reducing the need for antibiotic treatment.
Estimating Herbage Mass to Make Optimal Use of Pastures
Grazing dairy cows is a characteristic feature of Swiss agriculture. In order to use pasture efficiently, the estimation of herbage mass is recommended. Agroscope compared two methods and developed estimation formulas for implementation in practice.
Manure: How Much Nutrients Excreted by Beef Cattle?
Farms operate with a balanced nutrient cycle. Agroscope has adjusted beef-cattle reference values to the latest advances in animal production. The said values can be used for fertilisation planning and are to be used for the assessment of the farm- based nutrient cycle.
Solid feed intake and weight development of suckler calves
As part of a farm survey, data on the solid feed intake and liveweight development of suckler calves from birth to the age of 305 days were collected and analysed. The data were used to derive estimation formula on weight development and solid feed intake of suckler calves in Switzerland. The analysis showed that weight…
Greenhouse gas emissions from coupled dairy-beef production in Switzerland
Coupled dairy-beef systems are of major significance in Switzerland’s cattle sector. Using Swiss reference data, the present study modelled greenhouse gas emissions per cow and year for a range of different milk and meat yield levels. The study also determined the impact on greenhouse gas emissions of using a combination of sexed semen and beef…
Extent of genomic inbreeding in Swiss sheep and goat breeds
The development of modern technologies now allows thousands of genetic markers in an animal’s genome to be revealed by means of DNA genotyping. This information can be used to deduce genomic inbreeding. This is valuable for populations that have no, or only incomplete, pedigree information. Furthermore, differences in the inbreeding of full siblings can be…
Insects as alternative protein sources for imported protein-rich feed
Saprophage insects convert diverse biowaste streams into protein- and fat-rich insect biomass generated independently of arable land. Since 2017, 7 insect species have been approved for fish feed in the EU so far. The most promising species are: black soldier fly (SF; Hermetia illucens), house fly (HF; Musca domestica), mealworm (MW; Tenebrio molitor), and house…
In vivo digestibility of blue lupin (L. angustifolius), an alternative protein source to soy
Blue lupin can be grown under the conditions prevailing in Switzerland, and its seeds are rich in protein. It could therefore be used as a local alternative to soy imports to meet the protein requirements of ruminants. The aim of this experiment was to determine the in vivo digestibility of organic matter (OMd), crude protein…
Oil seed by-products as alternative protein sources for imported protein-rich feed
The protein-rich, solvent-extracted meals and press cakes of oilseeds are among the most important protein sources used in compound feed worldwide. In Switzerland, 85 % of oil seed by-products have to be imported. Rapeseed and sunflowers are the most important indigenous oilseeds. Domestic production is bound to contractually negotiated quantities and has thus limited expansion…
Cleaning quality and animal behaviour with the use of a dung-removal robot
The use of dung-removal robots on perforated flooring has not been widespread to date. Moreover, scientifically substantiated recommendations for their operation are lacking. In an experiment involving different cleaning frequencies with the Lely Discovery Mobile Barn Cleaner, floor soiling and the behaviour of the cows on perforated flooring were ascertained. The variant with an optimised…
Dealing with «surplus» calves in the mountain regions: A study from Grisons, Switzerland
There is a lack of information on how calves are dealt with in mountain regions. Livestock production is important in this agricultural zone and predominantly takes the form of Alpine transhumance. As part of this study, eleven managers of dairy and beef rearing enterprises in the Canton Grisons were interviewed on the issue of calf…
