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Environment

Jossi W., Schweizer C., Keller S.

Click-beetle species and biological control of wireworms

Wireworms, the larval stages of click beetles, cause feeding damage to a number of crops. With potatoes the tuber quality is frequently impaired, leading to downgrading losses. In Switzerland damage north of the Alps is primarily caused by the Agriotes obscurus, A. lineatus and A. sputator species. All three species have a very similar cycle…
Animal production

Hofstetter P., Stoll P.

Economic aspects of seasonal outdoor pig production under current and future political conditions

The economic aspects of Swiss outdoor pig production integrated with crop rotation have been studied for the first time, including costs for rearing, breeding and fattening. The required working time per animal per day was 2,7, 15,6 and 2,3 man minutes during the rearing, the outdoor breeding and the fattening period, respectively. In the trial…
Animal production

Stoll P., Zihlmann U., Hofstetter P.

Pig production system with seasonal outdoor keeping

A production system with seasonal outdoor rearing of pigs can be designed to be environmentally compatible with properly planned crop rotation. An extended crop rotation of 6 – 7 years avoids damage to the soil, reduces parasite pressure and also permits the cultivation of grain legumes. It is possible to obtain an equalized nitrogen balance…
Agricultural economics

Hug-Sutter M., Durgiai B., Schwarzenbach R.

Two major lines of impact for the milk value chain in mountainous regions

There have always been special requirements for agriculture in mountainous regions. Compared to plain areas an unequal evolution due to different potentials in production and changing demands of society can be observed. Traditionally dairy production was the most important sector of agriculture in most mountainous areas. As a result of environmental changes and the along…
Food

Bisig W., Collomb M., Bütikofer U., Sieber R., Bregy M., Etter L.

Seasonal variation of fatty acid composition in Swiss mountain `s milk

The influence of typical feeds in the five mountain regions Engadin, Rheinwald, Emmental, Luzerner Hinterland and Toggenburg on the fatty acid (FA) compostion of milkfat was investigated over one year from May 2004 till April 2005. The average altitude of grass-based feed (GBF) growth was 1247 ± 465 m for the summer feed and 1136 ±…
Agricultural economics

Etter L., Schwarzenbach R.

Strategies for dairy manufacturing plants in Swiss mountainous areas

Clear and consequent implemented strategies for commercial dairy manufacturing plants in Swiss mountainous areas in a deregulated cheese market will become more important in the future. Due to demand trends of the market there are sound perspectives for the sale of premium quality and authentic cheese products. The plants participating in the mountain dairy project…
Environment

Stämpfli A.

The sustainability evaluation RISE of mountain farms

The Response-Inducing Sustainability Evaluation (RISE) summarizes, based on twelve indicators ecological, economical and social aspect of agricultural production at the farm level. Within the Mountain Dairy Project RISE was used to assess the overall goals of the individual farm strategies. Although an improvement on the economic indicators can be seen, an overall sustainable situation on…
Animal production

Blättler Th., Durgiai B.

Feeding systems for the implementation of mountain milk strategies

The project �Mountain Milk� ran by the Swiss College of Agriculture did not focus on technical aspects of production. But the production processes have influenced the strategic planning activities and they will be very important in implementing the strategies. Both major strategies for dairy production, the “added value” approach and the “growth” approach, are therefore…
Agricultural economics

Durgiai B., Blättler T., Hug-Sutter M.

Strategies for dairy farms in mountain areas

In the dairy project in mountainous areas (�Mountain Milk�) ran by the Swiss College of Agriculture a farm-specific strategic planning process had been carried out with 49 dairy farms during four visits on each farm. The predicted results for a planning interval of ten years (2004 to 2013) are promising and motivating.The chosen strategies are…
Agricultural economics

Durgiai B., Blättler T., Etter L., Hug-Sutter M.

Strategic instruments for dairy farms and manufacturers

In the dairy project in mountainous areas (�Mountain Milk�) ran by the Swiss College of Agriculture family dairy farms and commercial dairy manufacturers had been coached with methods of action research .The clear objective of the project was defined in establishing a sustainable future for the participating families / manufacturers and their peers. Management instruments…
Agricultural economics

Hättenschwiler P., Flury C.

Agriculture`s contribution to food security

In addition to providing other multifunctional services, Swiss agriculture contributes to assuring that the population is supplied with foodstuffs. In the event of a crisis, supplies do not depend primarily on domestic production, but on the foodstuffs available in the mandatory stockpiles and the supply chain. However, the maintenance of production potential is essential for…
Plant production

Kleijer G., Levy L., Schwaerzel R., Fossati D., Brabant C.

Relationship between test weight and several quality parameters in wheat

Test weight has been used as a quality parameter of cereals in a large number of countries and is still employed to determine the price level. Literature studies showed controversial results concerning the relationship between test weight and flour yield as well as with other quality parameters. In this study, the data of a wide…
Plant production

Frey J. E., Koller B., Frey B., Bünter M.

Validation of a method for molecular genotyping of fruit varieties

Microsatellite based genotyping for the identification of cultivar varieties in crop plants is nowadays a widely used and proven method. Many variations of this method are used that differ sometimes strongly with respect to work load and efficiency. We have developed a robust and efficient method that we use with great success since several years.…
Food

Neuweiler R., Krauss J., Konrad P., Imhof T.

Optimized N-fertilization in the production of chicory

During three years between 2004 and 2006 different levels of nitrogen including various strategies of temporal partitioning were studied with the chicory variety Vintor. The objectives of these experiments were to assess the impact of N fertilization on the development and quality of the chicory roots and thereafter on the performance of the roots at…
Animal production

Frutschi Mascher V., Kaech Pitt S., Freund-Ingold U., Kunz P.

Investigation on feed intake of pregnant heifers and first lactating cows in Switzerland

In dairy herds, about one third of the cows are primiparous. These animals are still growing and therefore have specific nutrition requirements. The aim of this project was to show how heifers and primiparous cows are fed on Swiss dairy farms. Feeding, production and health data were collected on 60 Swiss farms for 252 animals.…
Agricultural economics

Pulfer I., Möhring A.

What are the facrors influencing the disbanding of a farming collective?

In January 2006, the Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station ART carried out a survey of all farming collectives (FCs) in Switzerland. The aim of the survey was to obtain findings on the organisation of the FCs, as well as on the satisfaction levels and communication and conflict-management strategies of the partners. In the present study, logistic…
Agricultural economics

Gerber D., Bühlmann G., Seelhofer N., Thürlemann P., Aebischer S., Berger T., Jakob E.

The Swiss Dairy Inspection and Advisory Service (DIAS) – a review of a ten year old pioneer work

For ten years until the extension of equivalence with EC legislation to all food products of animal origin, the Swiss Dairy Inspection and Advisory Service DIAS has delivered competent services to ensure that the requirements for export of the Swiss dairy sector were met with. DIAS has contributed to a high degree to attain high…
Food

Morel I.

Dairy cow feeding and folic acid in milk

A trial with 36 dairy cows in mid-lactation allotted to 3 groups was carried with the aim to evaluate the possibility of increasing the concentration of folic acid in milk by feeding rations naturally rich in folic acid. This experimental ration contained brewery waste, cubes of alfalfa, brewers’ yeast and wheat germ in addition to…
Plant production

Levy L., Schwaerzel R., Kleijer G.

Influence of nitrogen fertilisation on baking cereals quality

A three years study was carried out in two experimental sites to analyse the influence of increasing nitrogen fertilisation on baking quality parameters of wheat. Varieties of various quality levels were studied. An increasing nitrogen fertilisation had a positive impact on the majority of the quality parameters. Yield, protein content and quality increased, as well…

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