Archive
2,595 posts
Full costing of arable crops
A full-cost calculation is made for six arable crops based on the years 2001 to 2003. Direct costs represent between 20 and 30 % of the total costs. Machinery accounts for the main part of the costs (about 30 %), followed by labour costs with 20 %. The comparison of full costs and revenues shows that…
A quantitative analysis of liberalising land laws
Land-laws in German speaking countries contain restrictions how a farm is valued in cases of succession or inheritance. We construct a system dynamics model to estimate the impacts which legal concepts have for agricultural structures and the land market. It shows that current laws slow down structural change and prevent a broader distribution of land.
Dynamics of nitrogen in the soil under no-tillage and ploughing
Over a period of several years, the mineral nitrogen contents of a loamy cambisol at the Inforama Rütti in Zollikofen, Switzerland, were compared within an arable crop rotation without fallow periods using the two cropping systems of «no-tillage» (NT) and «ploughing» (P). In both systems, the plants received the same amount of mineral nitrogen, but…
Retrospettiva fenologica dell`anno 2005
Nonostante che l’anno 2005 sia stato generalmente troppo secco, tra il 18 e il 22 agosto precipitazioni molto abbondanti hanno colpito diverse regioni della Svizzera nordalpina, causando danni estesi. A basse quote le temperature sono risultate superiori alla media (1961-1990), mentre a quote più alte sono state leggermente inferiori.L’inizio del periodo vegetativo è stato caratterizzato…
Anionic salts in the feeding of dairy cattle
A feeding trial with dairy cows was conducted to assess the effect of different calcium concentrations in diets without or with the supplementation of anionic salts on mineral metabolism and acid-base balance in periparturient cows. Twenty-four Holstein cows were assigned to four groups. From day 263 of gestation until parturition, each group was fed a…
New Swiss cultivars of perennial ryegrass: Arvella, Salamandra and Alligator
Our cultivars Arvella (diploid), Salamandra and Alligator (both tetraploid) enhance the assortment of Swiss cultivars of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) available for forage production. Arvella is nearly as early heading as Arion and it’s resistance to crown rust is markedly improved compared to that standard cultivar. Therefore, Arvella can replace Arion in the grass-white…
Soil water under no-tillage and ploughing
In the long-term field trial “Oberacker” at the Inforama Ruetti in Zollikofen (Switzerland), no-tillage and conventional plough tillage have been compared on a light to medium textured gleyic cambisol since 1994. The soil physical analyses carried out within the cantonal soil monitoring program (KABO) between 1999 and 2004 provide information on structure, stability and water…
Mountain meadows have a high ecological quality
In 20 municipalities of the Northern and Central Eastern Alps of Switzerland grasslands of the three management types extensive ecological compensation area (ECA), low intensive ECA and conventional meadows were investigated. Based on botanical relevés, the ecological quality of each meadow was assessed according to the Environmental Quality Ordinance (EQO). We found that the ecological…
Dynamic modelling of a standardised dairy farm in the plain area
The development of an average farm of the ‘dairying/arable crops’ type (20 cows) in the plain area is simulated by means of a dynamic simulation model. As a result of milk price reductions, the farm will suffer continuous equity-capital losses if it maintains its current production. The present study investigates the alternative of specialisation in…
Determinants of farm succession
Agroscope FAT Tänikon investigated the farm succession situation in Swiss agriculture on the basis of a postal survey of a representative sample of 776 Swiss male and female farm managers aged 40 and over and their children living on the farm as well as several focus groups. An analysis of the factors and processes determining…
Determination of increase in cereal crop yields
The cereal crop yields vary from year to year, mainly as a result of the weather during the growth period. Nevertheless, a trend towards ever-higher yields is observed over time. This has to do with biotechnological advances. The aim of this paper was to analyse the cereal crop yields and to determine the size of…
First case of resistance to sulfonylurea herbicides reported in Switzerland: a biotype of loosy silk-bent (Apera spica-venti (L.) P.B.).
The first case of resistance to sulfonylurea herbicides detected in Switzerland is described in this paper. It concerns a biotype of loosy silky-bent (Apera spica-venti), one of the most serious grass weed infesting arable fields in Switzerland. The exact level and amplitude of this resistance, as well as its mechanism and genetics, still need to…
Policy related transaction costs of direct payments
To date, evaluations of direct payments have, in the main, neglected to consider the costs of enforcement and control. However, the question of the degree to which these policy related transaction costs influence the implementation and efficiency of agricultural policy measures is relevant for the development of agricultural policy. An assessment of policy related transaction…
On work productivity in agriculture
Given the pressure exerted by the high production costs of Swiss agriculture, the production factor of ‘work’ is quite rightly gaining in importance. The current discussion often deals with the quantitative productivity. This kind of productivity however can be bought by a disproportionate input of capital. The present article suggests using the work income earned…
Phosphorus losses in the drainage water of wet soils used as grassland
Nutrient losses from agricultural systems should be avoided for ecological and economical reasons. The leaching of phosphorus into the drainage water was investigated in a catchment area of about 10 ha used as grassland in the village of Reichenburg (SZ, Linthebene). The main factors that affect phosphorus leaching into the drainage water are precipitation, soil…
Does the soil bebefit wildflower strips?
Several plant and animal species are promoted by wildflower strips. So far, potential benefits of this ecological compensation element to the soil have not yet been examined. Therefore, in the cantons Aargau and Basel-Land two soil aspects have been studied: five or six years old wildflower strips were compared to cereal fields and permanent meadows…
Baking quality of winter wheat in official Swiss trials under extensiv or organic conditions
The official Swiss winter wheat trials have been carried out during 2002, 2003 and 2004 under extensiv or organic conditions. The results of baking quality analyses have been compared. Rheological analyses show generally lower results for the varieties cultivated under organic conditions when baking tests result nearly identical in both networks. Correlations between the two…
Winter wheat cultivars in organic or extensive conditions
For the varietal study of winter wheat, two experimental networks were carried out between 2002 and 2004, one according to the requirements of organic farming and the other in extensive conditions. The purpose of the comparison of the networks was not to explain the differences between crop management in organic farming or extensive conditions, but…
Effects of nitrogen and potassium fertilization on a low input meadow
We assessed the evolution of the yield, the nutritive value of the herbage and the botanical composition of a low input permanent meadow that received different amounts of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertilisers. The yield was reduced in similar proportion by the cessation of the N or the K fertilisation. A yield loss was…
Eco-meadows maintain species richness in the Alps
In municipalities of the Swiss Alpine regions the share of ecological compensation areas (ECAs) ranges from 2 % to over 40 % of the used agricultural area. How do climatic, agronomic, or socio-economic conditions explain these variations and how does the amount of ECAs influence the success of the ecological compensation programme? As part of…
