Vitamin E is essential , and supplementation to the diet is often needed to meet the requirements of cows . Current supplementation recommendation s may be overestimated in forage -based systems where grazing or grass -clover silages are the basal diet, with low to moderate levels of concentrate feed.

Vitamin E is essential and supplementation to the diet is often needed to meet the requirements of farm animals. This is particularly relevant during long indoor periods where conserved forages must be fed, as conservation can degrade Vitamin E. However, synthetic vitamins are regarded as contentious inputs in organic agriculture.

Vitamin E is essential and supplementation to the diet is often needed to meet the requirements of farm animals. This is particularly relevant during long indoor periods where conserved forages must be fed, as conserva-tion can degrade Vitamin E. However, synthetic vitamins are regarded as contentious inputs in organic agriculture.

Published in "Biological Agriculture and Horticulture". Vitamin E is essential and supplementation to the diet is often needed to meet the requirements of farm animals. This is particularly relevant during long indoor periods where conserved forages must be fed, as conservation can degrade Vitamin E. However, synthetic vitamins are regarded as contentious inputs in organic agriculture.

Although input use in organic agriculture is strictly regulated, and significantly less contentious inputs are applied in organic than in conventional farming systems, copper, mineral oil, external nutrient input, anthelmintics, antibiotics and vitamins are still commonly used among organic farmers in the EU, partly due to the scarce availability of alternative products and the difficulty of implementing preventive strategies.

Data from breeder hens and chicks are particularly critical for the development of vitamin B2 recommendations for organic poultry. To test safe thresholds of supplementation, 100 breeder hens (Hubbard JA 57 K) and ten cockerels were allocated to ten housing groups, with each receiving supplementation of either 4.0 (treatment CON) or 2.5 mg (treatment RED) riboflavin per kg feed. After 15 weeks of experimental feeding, 256 eggs were incubated.

Although input use in organic agriculture is strictly regulated, and significantly less contentious inputs are applied in organic than in conventional farming systems, copper, mineral oil, external nutrient input, anthelmintics, antibiotics and vitamins are still commonly used among organic farmers in the EU, partly due to the scarce availability of alternative products and the difficulty of implementing preventive strategies.