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Frick R., Huber K., Moschitz H., Alföldi Th.

Agricultural demonstration events: what matters

Together with institutionalised further and higher education courses, exchanges between professional colleagues have an important role to play when it comes to introducing new ideas and technologies into farming practice. Accordingly, demonstration events have a long tradition in Switzerland. Until now there has been virtually no research into the factors influencing the impacts of farming…
Agricultural economics

Heiniger J., Hochuli A.

Direct marketing is widespread among organic farms in the Canton of Bern

Direct marketing in the agricultural sector is becoming increasingly important in Switzerland. Between 2010 and 2016, this business sector recorded an increase of 60 % across Switzerland, measured as the number of farms adopting this form of marketing. A cross-sectional comparison of the Canton of Bern was used to investigate the extent to which the…
Agricultural economics

Binder S., Mann St.

How do the cantons support their agricultural sector?

With an agricultural policy that is largely shaped by the Confederation, Switzerland’s federalist structures are only marginally noticeable. Even so, depending on their location, farms can take part in certain cantonal programmes whilst making use of the direct-payment instruments of the Confederation. With the aim of promoting and steering regional agriculture according to local needs,…
Plant production

Kay S., Jäger M., Herzog F.

Protecting resources with agroforestry systems: regionally adapted solutions

The Swiss Federal Government’s agricultural policy aims inter alia to provide agricultural ecosystem services, reduce environmental impacts, and increase the resilience of the agricultural sector. Combining the cultivation of trees with crops or grass – termed «agroforestry » – can contribute to achieving these goals without substantially limiting agricultural production. We identified the regions where…
Food

Bachmann H.-P., Kohn Ch., von Ah U., Shani N.

Safety clearances for the Liebefeld cultures

The microbial strains that Agroscope uses for practical trials and which, if successful, subsequently become part of a defined mixed culture, must demonstrate a high level of safety. With this end in view, 186 strains of lactic acid bacteria from the Agroscope Culture Collection were tested for transferable antibiotic resistances, the formation of biogenic amines,…
Environment

Janker J., Fuchs K., Krütli P.

Social sustainability in agriculture: a media analysis

Nowadays, the term «sustainability» is ubiquitous – in politics, in science, and in everyday speech. What it means, however, and what ideas are associated with it, varies significantly. Thus, for example, the social dimension is largely neglected in the discourse on sustainability. Perception of sustainability is influenced inter alia by the media, political programmes or…
Plant production

Frick R., Suter D., Hirschi H.

Trials with meadow fescue: two new varieties recommended

From 2016 to 2018, Agroscope tested a total of 23 varieties of meadow fescue, including 16 new varieties, in comparative variety trials at six locations. The varieties were assessed on the basis of systematic examinations and observations of forage yield, vigour, juvenile development, competitive ability, persistence, tolerance to winter influences, resistance to leaf diseases, digestibility…
Animal production

Bracher A.

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…
Agricultural economics

Fry P., Mettler D., Jakob F., Brugger M., Flückiger E.

Social learning: videos put across success factors for marketing regional products

As part of a «by farmers to farmers» project, authentic films have been produced and used in the networks in collaboration with a support group from research, administration and practice. In making these films, the «social learning video» method was applied. The purpose of these films is to motivate farmers to implement new regional marketing…
Agricultural economics

Mann S., Stoinescu A., Nüssli S.-M., Spycher L.

Communal alpine pastures: between commons and incentive

Communal alpine pastures are a popular subject for the study of collective economic activity, despite the fact that there is very little empirical material available on which to base this study. In order to create a broader empirical foundation, five alpine pastures were visited whose organisation and economic processes were tracked by means of participatory…
Animal production

Zähner M., Leinweber Th., Schrade S.

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…
Environment

Ritschard E., Zingg S., Arlettaz R., Humbert J-Y.

Biodiversity promotion areas: increasing their proportion and quality benefits birds and butterflies

The intensification of agricultural practices has led to an alarming decline in farmland biodiversity. With the aim of stopping and even reversing this trend, biodiversity promotion areas (BPA – formerly named «ecological compensation areas») were introduced in the 1990s. In this study, the influence of BPA on the biodiversity of butterflies and breeding birds was…
Plant production

Strahm S., Füglistaller D., Lädrach C., Enggist A., Thuet A., Luginbühl C., Ramseier H., Hiltbrunner J.

Growing buckwheat in Switzerland: new varieties for an old niche crop

Interest in buckwheat production has been growing for several years now in Switzerland. Previously, this field crop had almost completely been forgotten. Since it is not related to other arable crops, buckwheat is ideal for breaking up crop rotations. It is also interesting from a nutritional point of view, as it contains zinc and selenium,…
Animal production

Kasper C., Ruiz-Ascacibar I., Stoll P., Bee G.

Genetic parameters of protein efficiency in a Swiss Large White pig population

Pork production contributes to environmental pollution through the emission of nitrogen compounds. In addition, pig fattening in Switzerland requires imports of soybean, since the protein requirement of feed cannot be met by domestic plant-protein sources alone. It is therefore desirable to improve protein efficiency, i.e. to achieve a similar protein uptake in the carcass with…
Animal production

Müller Richli M., Scheeder M.

Good fattening results despite reduced crude protein content in the feed

Feeding strategies to improve the nutritional value of pork and at the same time reduce the environmental burden were examined on three pig farms representing single-feed, two-phase and multi-phase feeding systems. The experimental feed was supplemented with selenium, vitamin E and crushed linseed. Furthermore, the protein content was reduced. Fattening runs with common feed served…
Food

Müller Richli M., Zurlinden M., Harms E., Giger C., Stratz P., Scheeder M.

How nutritional value and eating quality of pork can be further improved

A feeding experiment was conducted on three pig farms to evaluate the possibility of producing pork with both a specifically improved nutritional value and exceptional eating quality. By supplementing the feed, the concentrations of selenium, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids were increased in the meat and adipose tissue of the pigs as well as…
Plant production

Baux A., Schumacher P.

The growth of companion cropping in oilseed rape: feedback on the opinions of Swiss producers

The practice of sowing companion crops (or «service plants») in among oilseed rape began to get off the ground in Switzerland several years ago. Certain farmers see companion cropping as an innovative technique allowing them to cut back on the use of plant-protection products, and in particular enabling them to forgo the use of herbicides,…
Plant production

Aubry S., Eigenmann Ch.

New challenges to digitization of genetic resources for food and agriculture

A comprehensive stewardship of genetic resources is necessary to insure a resilient and sustainable agriculture. Most of our food comes from a handful of domesticated species which diversity is constantly shrinking. On the contrary, modern genomics keep discovering the marvels of diversity contained in genetic resources for food and agriculture. High-throughput sequencing and related techniques…
Food

Maurer J., Wechsler D., Irmler St., Berger Th.

Avoiding persistent contamination with propionic acid bacteria and Lactobacillus parabuchneri in milking systems

Persistent contaminations with propionic acid bacteria and Lactobacillus parabuchneri in milking systems have repeatedly resulted in financial losses in cheese processing. Moreover, histamine in the cheese, caused by Lactobacillus parabuchneri, can also affect consumer health. Biochemical and molecular biological methods have been developed and introduced into practice to enable the quick and reliable identification of…
Agricultural economics

Mack G., Heitkämper K., El Benni N.

What factors influence the perception of administrative work?

When it comes to developing recommendations for action for limiting administrative work, knowledge about both the perception of work and the actual work is important. This topic was investigated using the example of the Programme for the Promotion of Grassland-Based Milk and Meat Production (GMMP). A survey of 892 farmers revealed that the perception of…
Plant production

Sinaj S., Jeangros B.

Preserving the sustainability of field crop systems: overview of 50 years of trials in Changins

Preserving soil fertility is a major challenge for farms without livestock specialised in field crops. Several decades ago, several trials were set up at the Agroscope experimental station in Changins to study the long-term effects of different cultural practices on soil fertility and crop yields. This article summarises the main results obtained in these trials.…
Environment

Riedel S., Lüscher G., Meier E., Herzog F., Hofer G.

Ecological Quality of Meadows Supported with Biodiversity Contributions

The «Agriculture-Related Environmental Objectives» (AEOs) set binding targets for the conservation of species and habitat diversity in the agricultural landscape. For these, lists of species meriting particular consideration (AEO species) were drawn up. An initial evaluation of the ALL-EMA «Agricultural Species and Habitats» Monitoring Programme shows that in Switzerland, on average only 13 % of…