Ameztoy, J.M.
ITG Ganadero. Crta el Sadar. Edificio El Sario. 31006 Pamplona. Spain.
Tl ++34 948239762 fax ++34 948154311 Email: jmameztoy@itgganadero.com
Introduction
Due to the limited development of organic animal husbandry in Spain, there are no published studies of the conversion period. Many of the extensive livestock systems are close to organic production, but in many cases this is not enough to claim organic status for the produce. The farmer’s perception of the organic production standards, the diversification of the production, the farm’s self-sufficiency status and the farm structure all influence whether a farm initiates conversion or not.
Several authors suggest that case studies are a useful tool in the description and development of the ecological agriculture (Lampkin, 1986, Kaffka et al, 1988, Loes, 1997). A case study gives a holistic view of the production process, and includes factors that often are not contemplated by the difficulty in their quantification. Case studies are based on the fact that each case, or farm, is an independent unit, with its own peculiarities that differentiate it from the rest and need an individualized attention. Lampkin (1986) argues that the objective of the case studies is not to produce a great amount of data for the statistical analysis, but to increase the knowledge that we have on livestock systems.
The following data has been collected from several farms in the Navarra
region, with the objectives of identifying the technical and production criteria for farm
conversion and collecting information about the different organic livestock systems in the
region.
Materials and methods
The presented results are based on data gathered during the years 1997 and 1998 on farms certified by the Council of the Ecological Agrarian Production of Navarre (CPAEN). The farms were located in different zones of Navarre with geographic and climatic differences. The livestock systems were two sheep farms, two dairy/sheep farms and four beef farms.
Several visits were made to the farms at different times of the year for the preparation of a questionnaire about the production and management characteristics of the farms. These included general farm details, information on the management and husbandry practices and animal production. Also, information on the marketing of farm produce was collected.
Results and discussion
In Table 1, the general farm details are described. In the analysis, the farms are grouped according to livestock system.
Table 1. General farm details
| SHEEP | DAIRY SHEEP | CATTLE |
||||||||
Arable Area (ha) |
40 |
19.5 |
7 |
10 |
4 |
26 |
10 |
30 |
LU/ha Arable + Pastures |
1.8 |
1.4 |
<1 |
<1 |
<1 |
<1 |
<1 |
1.5 |
LU * |
110 |
28.5 |
21.5 |
28.5 |
30 |
25 |
30 |
40 |
Grazing Communal Pastures |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
||
Fattening |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
||
Farmer Age |
<40 |
<40 |
<45 |
<45 |
<40 |
<55 |
<45 |
<50 |
* 1 LU = 1 cow = 7 ewes
Sheep farms
These farms were located in various areas of the region and varied in size, but had in common a high degree of self-sufficiency in forage and crop production (Figure 1). They were also farms with a high degree of mechanisation. The fattening lambs were kept until 24 kg of live weight, at which time 25% of the feed was grain. When a part of the lamb crop is sold as young lambs, the proportion of grain decreases considerably (Table 2).
Dairy/sheep farms
These were located in the mountain region, and based their livestock system on the use of communal pastures. The ewes were 4 or 5 months in milk. Most farms produced local cheese on the farm. Due to the geographic location of these farms, the period of winter is long, and there is a need to buy forage and concentrates (Figure 2). The dairy/sheep systems tended to rely least on concentrate feeding of all the systems studied (Table 2).
Beef farms
These farms differed greatly from each other, with some of them having a long grazing period (Figure 2). They had, however, in common a great dependency on bought-in concentrates for the fattening animals (Table 2). The calves were weaned at about 5-6 months and were fattened approximately until one year of age.
Table 2. Energy intake
|
Concentrate |
Hay |
Silage |
Grassland |
Natural Pastures |
Indoor |
Grazing |
Sheep 1 |
20 |
25 |
40 |
15 |
45 |
55 |
|
Sheep 2 |
27 |
32 |
41 |
59 |
41 |
||
Dairy Sheep 1 |
15 |
15 |
70 |
30 |
70 |
||
Dairy Sheep 2 |
20 |
15 |
65 |
35 |
65 |
||
Cattle 1 |
30 |
15 |
55 |
45 |
55 |
||
Cattle 2 |
30 |
35 |
35 |
65 |
35 |
||
Cattle 3 |
32 |
18 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
||
Cattle 4 |
35 |
10 |
22 |
32 |
68 |
32 |
Conclusions
- Most converting farms were in the forefront of modernisation, with qualified farmers and associative initiatives.
- All farms had a high dependency on bought-in concentrate, suffering from the lack of ecological provisions in the market.
- Although the farms have a low stocking rate and use the communal pastures, the beef cattle and sheep farms were dependent on concentrate inputs for the fattening stock.
- Most farms marketed their products directly off farm.
References:
Kaffka, S., H.H. Koepf, F. Sattler (1988) Nahrstoffbilanz und energiebedarf im landwirtschaftlichen Betriebsorganismus. Eine fallstudie. Lebendige Erde, helf 1-5 1988. Darmstadt, W. Germany.
Lampkin, N (1986) A research concept for investigating organic farming systems: Case studies. In : Global perspectives on agroecology and sustainable agrycultural systems, Proceeding of the 6th international scientific conference of IFOAM; Santa Cruz, California, USA. (pp. 121-134).
Loes, A.K (1990) Case Studies as a reserch method in ecological agriculture. Proceedings of the ecological agriculture nš5,. SLU, Uppsala. (pp. 90-98).