Conventional or organic cattle farming? Trade-offs between crop yield, livestock capacity, organic premiums, and government payments
An important question for farmers is whether to run their farm conventionally or organically. This choice can significantly affect the farm’s financial performance and its impact on the environment. OBJECTIVE – The primary objective of this study is to compare the profitability of conventional and organic cattle systems and investigate how it is associated with […]
Vitamin E supplementation – revised recommendations for organic dairy cow production
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. An update of the requirements and […]
Animal Welfare and Parasite Infections in Organic and Conventional Dairy Farms: A Comparative Pilot Study in Central Italy
The study investigated and compared welfare conditions and gastrointestinal (GI) parasites distribution among organic (ORG) and conventional (CONV) farms in central Italy. Five ORG and five CONV farms were assessed for animal welfare with an adapted version of the AssureWel protocol. Faecal samples collected from the rectum of the animals both in ORG (n = […]
Vacche da latte biologiche sane come quelle non biologiche: lo rileva uno studio italiano
Le vacche da latte biologiche sono altrettanto sane delle loro controparti non biologiche per quanto riguarda il rischio di infezioni parassitarie: lo rileva uno studio pilota italiano pubblicato su Animals (si può scaricare a questo LINK). A differenza della produzione lattiero-casearia non biologica, le normative per il latte biologico in Europa (e in Nord America) […]
Welfare of dairy cattle in summer and winter – a comparison of organic and conventional herds in a farm network in Germany
Dairy cow welfare in 19 organic and 15 conventional farms in distinct soil climate regions of Germany was examined using the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for dairy cattle (WQ®). In comparison to other studies, this one is outstanding in that (a) the WQ® protocol was carried out twice per farm (in the winter period 2014/2015 […]
Vacche da latte in regime bio: nella Ue riscontrato un elevato stato di benessere degli animali
Il benessere degli animali è diventato sempre più importante per il pubblico in generale, ed i consumatori sono curiosi di sapere quali tipi di gestione offrono il miglior benessere degli animali per i prodotti di loro origine, come i latticini, che acquistano. Ci sono stati sino ad oggi pochi studi completi che hanno confrontato molti […]
