Biography

Competence:
  • Life Cycle Assessment - LCA
    • Dairy production
    • Sheep production
    • Feed and grain production
    • Macro-algae farming
    • Inclusion of machinery and buildings
    • introduction to use of LCA for students and pupils
  • FARMnor (Flow Analysis and Resource Management): maintenance and further development of the LCA-model
  • Evaluation of climate gasses using GWP, GWP* and GTP; usually on a 100-years horizon
  • Combination of LCA and econommic analysis
  • Organic production
  • Questionaires, qualitative and quantitative
  • Field trials; forage and grain: varieties, fertilizing and weed-control
Education:
  • Dr. agr. (Doctor of Agricultural Sciences) at the Faculty of Organic Agriculture of Kassel University, Germany (2017).
  • Diplom-Agraringenieur (corresponds to master of science) at the Faculty of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences of Kiel University, Germany (1993).
  • Certification as agronomist, Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (1986).

Member:

Member of EGTOP (Expert group for technical advice on organic production) for the EU-Commission under Directorate-General Agriculture and Rural Development.

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Abstract

Enabling the FARMnor LCA-model (Flow Analysis and Resource Management for Norway) to handle large number of farms to calculate farm-specific LCA's. For each farm, data are automatically imported, the LCA calculated and results stored before proceeding with the next farm. This update allows in addition to conduct sensitivity and uncertainty analyses.

Abstract

Extending the FARMnor model (Flow Analysis and Resource Management for Norway) for sheep based on the guidelines from IPCC (2019) and Carbon Limits (2021). In the calultaions it is differentiated between lambs, sheep, ewes and rams and period in barn as well as grazing farm- and rangeland. In addition the possibility to include carbon sequestration due to grazing rangeland was added.

Abstract

Updating the LCA-model FARMnor (Flow Analysis and Resource Management for Norway) to version 09 allowing to conduct environmental assessment for pigs. FARMnor runs on the LCA-software Umberto and allows to use information from the database ecoinvent.

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Abstract

The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances with plant protection or fertilising effects in organic production, and to advise on aspects of organic production of yams. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances and methods is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production, and whether they should be included in Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With

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Abstract

The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production and whether they should therefore be included in Annex III of Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to feed the Group recommends the following: - Leonardite should not be included in Annex III. - Sepiolitic clay should be included in Annex III, part B. - Peat should not be included in Annex III. With respect to pet food, the Group recommends the following: - Locust bean gum should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food and obtained only from the roasting process and from organic production, if available. - Acacia-Arabic gum should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food and from organic production, if available. - Carrageenan should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food. - Ammonium chloride should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food intended to be used for special nutritional purposes for cats. - (Ortho-)phosphoric acid should not be included in Annex III. - Taurine should be included in Annex III, part B with the following conditions/limits: only for cats and dogs, not from GMO origin and if possible not from synthetic origin. - Methionine should not be included in Annex III. - Disodium dihydrogen diphosphate (SAPP) should be included in Annex III, part A with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food. - Pentasodium triphosphate (STPP) should be included in Annex III, part A with the following conditions/limits: only for pet food.

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Abstract

The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production and whether they should therefore be included in Annex III of Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to feed the Group recommends the following: - Calcium hydroxide should not be included in Annex III. - Calcium pidolate should not be included in Annex III. - Algal oil should be included in Annex III, part A. - The trace elements; Copper (II) chelate of protein hydrolysates, Iron (II) chelate of protein hydrolysates, Manganese chelate of protein hydrolysates and Zinc chelate of protein hydrolysates should be included in Annex III, part B. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Propylene glycol should be included in Annex III, part A. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Calcium chloride should be included in Annex III, part A. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Calcium propionate should not be included in Annex III. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Iron dextran should be included in Annex III, part B. - The feed for special nutritional purposes; Iron (II) fumarate should not be included in Annex III. - Vegetable charcoal should not be included in Annex III. - Selenised yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae cncm i-3060, inactivated, should be included in Annex III, part B. With respect to pet food, the Group recommends the following: - Algae flour should not be included in Annex III. - Papain should be included in Annex III, part B.

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Abstract

The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances with plant protection or fertilising effects in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production, and whether they should therefore be included in Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to Annex I to Reg. (EU) 2021/1165, the Group recommends the following: - Aqueous extract from the germinated seeds of sweet Lupinus albus should be included in Annex I, part 2 (low risk active substances). - Low risk active substances of plant or animal origin should be authorised generically in Annex I, part 2, provided that they are not of GMO origin. This would mean that they can be used in organic production as soon as they are approved under pesticide legislation, without the need for evaluation by EGTOP and without explicit mentioning in Annex I to Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. - Ferric pyrophosphate should be included in Annex I, part 2 (low risk active substances). - The entries for deltamethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin should be modified as follows: (i) for both substances, the authorisation should be limited until 2026; (ii) for the time period until 2026, deltamethrin should also be authorised against Rhagoletis completa with the same restrictions as for other uses, i.e. ‘only in traps with specific attractants’. With respect to Annex II to Reg. (EU) 2021/1165, the Group recommends the following: - The entry on ‘Composted or fermented household waste’ should be changed to ‘Composted or fermented bio-waste’. - Recovered struvite and precipitated phosphate salts should be included in Annex II with the following restrictions: (i) Products must meet the requirements defined by Reg. (EU) 2019/1009, for products derived from waste materials. (ii) Animal manure as source material cannot have factory farming origin. - Bone charcoal should not be included in Annex II. - Potassium chloride (muriate of potash) should be included in Annex II with the following restriction: Only of natural origin. - Phosphogypsum should not be included in Annex II. - Comment on widespread environmental contamination: In the Group’s opinion, circular economy is important and should be widely adopted also in organic production. However, recycled materials may be contaminated with undesirable substances such as microplastic, heavy metals, veterinary drugs or pesticides. The Group does not recommend any changes in the organic legislation at the moment. However, the Group highlights these risks and recommends that the European Commission and Member States take them into consideration within the framework of policies and regulations concerning organic farming development, circular economy and environmental protection. Moreover, these risks should be continuously monitored and preventively managed in the use of pesticides, veterinary drugs, plastic or any other potentially polluting materials and in the production of organic fertilizers from recycled materials. Finally, the organic sector should be aware that the proposed measures can reduce contaminations (in frequency and in amounts), but may not always completely eliminate them from the organic production chain. Under these circumstances, a certain level of contamination can be difficult to avoid in organic products. The issue of how to handle such residues is hotly debated at the moment. The Group would welcome harmonization among EU member states of control practises and on actions taken in case of detections of residues of non-allowed products on organic products and in organic farms.

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Abstract

The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production and whether they should therefore be included in Annex III of Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to food the Group recommends the following: - Magnesium carbonate should be included in Annex V B as processing aid. - Lecithin should be included in Annex III as a food additive in animal origin products. - Potassium sodium tartrate tetrahydrate (E337) should be included as a food additive. - The extension of the use of ascorbic acid (E300) should be included in ‘meat preparations’, but the EGTOP sub-group suggests a new mandate for a comprehensive assessment of the substance.

Abstract

To hundre mjølkebruk i Midt-Norge blei delt i tre nesten like store grupper; 'Låg' (68 gardar), 'Medium' (67 gardar) og 'Høg' (68 garder), etter årleg tildeling av kraftfôr til mjølkekyrne for å teste effekten av kraftfôrnivå på indikatorar for miljøpåverknad og økonomisk lønsemd. Gjennomsnittleg årleg kraftfôrnivå per ku var 15,4, 18,8 og 21,7 GJ nettoenergi laktasjon (NEL) og årleg avdrått i energikorrigert mjølk (EKM) per ku var 7868, 8421 og 8906 kg i høvesvis 'Låg', ‘Medium’og ‘Høg’. Standard livsløpsanalyse og dekningsbidrag blei brukt til å bestemme indikatorar for miljøpåverknad og økonomiske resultat av mjølk- og kjøttproduksjon. Den funksjonelle eininga var mengde 2,78 MJ spiseleg energi, tilsvarande 1,0 kg EKM eller 0,42 kg kjøtt eller en kombinasjon av mjølk og kjøtt som utgjer 2,78 MJ, altså EKM ekvivalent i mjølk og kjøtt levert EKM-eq. Det globale oppvarmingspotensialet, energiintensiteten og nitrogenintensiteten var i gjennomsnitt 1,46 kg CO2- eq./kg EKM-eq., 5,61 MJ energibruk/kg EKM-eq., og 6,83 N input/N-produkt, og var ikkje forskjellig mellom gruppene. Gardar med ‘Låg’ kraftfôrtildeling brukte mindre areal av total arealbruk til dyrking av innkjøpt fôr utanfor garden enn de i ‘Høg’ (0,39 vs. 0,46 daa/daa), men det totale arealet som blei brukt per kg EKM-eq. var større ('Låg' 3,24 vs. 'Høg' 2,84 m2/kg EKM-eq.). Dekningsbidraget per kg EKM-eq. levert var i gjennomsnitt høgare på 'Låg' gardar (6,57 NOK/kg EKM-eq.) enn 'Medium' (6,04 NOK/ kg EKM-eq.) og 'Høg' (5,73 NOK/kg ECM-eq.). Vår analyse viser at høgare kraftfôrnivå ikkje alltid gir mindre global oppvarmingspotensiale og mengd fossil energi per kg mjølk og kjøtt produsert samanlikna med lågare kraftfôrnivå.

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Abstract

As the demand for proteins increases with growing populations, farmed seaweed is a potential option for use directly as an ingredient for food, feed, or other applications, as it does not require agricultural areas. In this study, a life cycle assessment was utilised to calculate the environmental performance and evaluate possible improvements of the entire value chain from production of sugar kelp seedings to extracted protein. The impacts of both technical- and biological factors on the environmental outcomes were examined, and sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were conducted to analyse the impact of the uncertainty of the input variables on the variance of the environmental impact results of seaweed protein production. The current production of seaweed protein was found to have a global warming potential (GWP) that is four times higher than that of soy protein from Brazil. Further, of the 23 scenarios modelled, two resulted in lower GWPs and energy consumption per kg of seaweed protein relative to soy protein. These results present possibilities for improving the environmental impact of seaweed protein production. The most important variables for producing seaweed protein with low environmental impact are the source of drying energy for seaweed, followed by a high protein content in the dry matter, and a high dry matter in the harvested seaweed. In the two best scenarios modelled in this study, the dry matter content was 20% and the protein content 19.2% and 24.3% in dry matter. This resulted in a lower environmental impact for seaweed protein production than that of soy protein from Brazil. These scenarios should be the basis for a more environmental protein production in the future.

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Abstract

SusCatt considered a wide range of innovations or system comparisons in the 6 countries, all aimed to improve sustainability within European cattle farming. On the whole, these involved reducing production intensity, making greater use of home-grown grass and other forage crops on farms – generally with promising results for beef and dairy production when we considered their potential impact across the 3 pillars of sustainability...

Abstract

Farms in Central Norway, feeding more forage and pasture to their dairy cows, achieved lower milk yield per cow but higher profitability than farms feeding more concentrate feeds, mainly because of more governmental subsidies per kg milk and meat produced. Also, our analysis does not support the general assumption that higher concentrate feeding and milk production lowers global warming potential and energy needed per kg of milk and meat produced compared with more extensive systems

Abstract

The LCA-model FARMnor (Flow Analysis and Resource Management for Norway) was updated to run using the new Umberto LCA+ version. This update allows also to get access to the new ecoinvent LCA-database version 3.x.

Abstract

The aim of this work was to calculate farm specific LCAs for milk-production on 200 dairy farms in Central Norway, where 185 farmed conventional and 15 according to organic standards. We assume that there are variations in environmental emission drivers between farms and therefore also variation in indicators. We think that information can be utilized to find management improvements on individual farms. Farm specific data on inputs and production for the calendar years 2014 to 2016 were used. The LCAs were calculated for purchased products and on farm-emissions, including atmospheric deposition, biological nitrogen fixation, use of fertilizer and manure. The enteric methane emission from digestion was calculated for different animal groups. The functional unit was one kg energy- corrected milk (ECM) delivered at farm-gate. For the 200 dairy farms there were huge variations of farm characteristics, environmental per- formance and economic outcome. On average, the organic farms produced milk with a lower carbon footprint (1.2 kg CO2 eq./kg ECM) than the conventional ones (1.4 kg CO2 eq./kg ECM). The organic farms had also a lower energy intensity (3.1 MJ/kg ECM) and nitrogen intensity (5.0 kg N/kg N) than their conventional colleagues (4.1 MJ/kg ECM and 6.9 kg N/kg N respectively). The contribution margin was better on the organic farms with 6.6 NOK/kg ECM compared to the conventional with 5.9 NOK/kg ECM. The average levels of the environmental indicators were comparable but slightly higher than findings in other international studies. The current study proved that the FARMnor model allows to calculate LCAs for large number of individual farms. The results show that the environmental performance and economic outcome vary between farms. We recommend that farm specific LCA-results are used to unveil what needs to be changed for improving a farm’s environmental performance.

Abstract

The aim of this work was to calculate farm specific LCAs for milk-production on 200 dairy farms in Central Norway, where 185 farmed conventional and 15 according to organic standards. We assume that there are variations in environmental emission drivers between farms and therefore also variation in indicators. We think that information can be utilized to find management improvements on individual farms. Farm specific data on inputs and production for the calendar years 2014 to 2016 were used. The LCAs were calculated for purchased products and on farm-emissions, including atmospheric deposition, biological nitrogen fixation, use of fertilizer and manure. The enteric methane emission from digestion was calculated for different animal groups. The functional unit was one kg energy- corrected milk (ECM) delivered at farm-gate. For the 200 dairy farms there were huge variations of farm characteristics, environmental per- formance and economic outcome. On average, the organic farms produced milk with a lower carbon footprint (1.2 kg CO2 eq./kg ECM) than the conventional ones (1.4 kg CO2 eq./kg ECM). The organic farms had also a lower energy intensity (3.1 MJ/kg ECM) and nitrogen intensity (5.0 kg N/kg N) than their conventional colleagues (4.1 MJ/kg ECM and 6.9 kg N/kg N respectively). The contribution margin was better on the organic farms with 6.6 NOK/kg ECM compared to the conventional with 5.9 NOK/kg ECM. The average levels of the environmental indicators were comparable but slightly higher than findings in other international studies. The current study proved that the FARMnor model allows to calculate LCAs for large number of individual farms. The results show that the environmental performance and economic outcome vary between farms. We recommend that farm specific LCA-results are used to unveil what needs to be changed for improving a farm’s environmental performance.

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Abstract

Soy protein concentrate (SPC) is a key ingredient in fish feed and most of it originates from Brazil. However, the Brazilian soy industry has reportedly resulted in significant environmental problems including deforestation. Consequently, new sources for protein are investigated and protein extracted from farmed seaweed is considered an alternative. Therefore, we investigate how seaweed protein product (SPP) can compete against SPC as a protein ingredient for fish feed. The study uses the positioning matrix, cost analyses involving the power law, and uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo simulations, and key research challenges are identified. The initial finding is that, with the emerging seaweed industry, the cost of producing SPP is too high to be competitive for fish feed applications. To overcome this challenge, two solutions are investigated. First, substantial investments in cultivation and processing infrastructure are needed to accomplish scale, and a break-even scale of 65,000 tonnes is suggested. The second but more promising avenue, preferably in combination with the former, is the extraction of seaweed protein and high-value seaweed components. With mannitol and laminaran as co-products to the SPP, there is a 25–30% probability of a positive bottom line. Researches on extraction processes are therefore a necessity to maximize the extraction of value-added ingredients. Over time, it is expected that the competitive position of SPP will improve due to the upscaling of the volume of production as well as better biorefinery processes.

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Abstract

The continuous increase in global population and living standards, is leading to an increase in demand for food and feed resources. The world’s oceans have the largest unlocked potential for meeting such demands. Norway already has an extensive aquaculture industry, but still has great ambitions and possibilities to develop and expand this industry. One of the important topics for improving the value chain of Norwegian aquaculture is to secure the access to feed resources and to improve the environmental impacts. Today, most of the feed-protein sources used in aquaculture are imported in the form of soy protein. The research project Energy efficient PROcessing of MACroalgae in blue-green value chains (PROMAC) aimed, among other research questions, to investigate cultivated seaweeds as a potential raw material for fish feed. This paper assesses Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)-perspectives of scenarios for future seaweed production of feed-protein for fish and compares this with today’s situation of imported soy protein for fish feed. The insights from the LCA are very important for the configuration of the entire production value chain, to ensure that the environmental aspects are taken into account in a holistic fashion.

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Abstract

Docks (Rumex spp.) are a considerable problem in grassland production worldwide. We investigated how different cultural management techniques affected dock populations during grassland renewal: (I) renewal time, (II) companion crop, (III) false seedbed, (IV) taproot cutting (V), plough skimmer and (VI) ploughing depth. Three factorial split-split plot experiments were carried out in Norway in 2007–2008 (three locations), 2008–2009 (one location) and 2009 (one location). After grassland renewal, more dock plants emerged from seeds than from roots. Summer renewal resulted in more dock seed and root plants than spring renewal. Adding a spring barley companion crop to the grassland crop often reduced dock density and biomass. A false seedbed resulted in 71% fewer dock seed plants following summer renewal, but tended to increase the number of dock plants after spring renewal. In some instances, taproot cutting resulted in less dock biomass, but the effect was weak and inconsistent, and if ploughing was shallow (16 cm) or omitted, it instead increased dock root plant emergence. Fewer root plants emerged after deep ploughing (24 cm) compared to shallow ploughing, and a plough skimmer tended to reduce the number further. We conclude that a competitive companion crop can assist in controlling both dock seed and root plants, but it is more important that the renewal time is favourable to the main crop. Taproot cutting in conjunction with ploughing is not an effective way to reduce dock root plants, but ploughing is more effective if it is deep and a skimmer is used.

Abstract

Research is being poured into developing both potential products and the processes required to convert seaweed, or macroalgae, into products. So far, the results are products for high-end markets, such as restaurants, but in very modest volumes. To understand what it will take to create a large-scale seaweed industry, research is conducted into the strategic-, environmental- and economic realities such an industry would have to deal with as suppliers of fish-feed. The idea is that unless the industry has something to offer that competing products do not, in terms of cost, performance or environmental- and economic footprint, the seaweed industry will be delegated to small volumes for special needs and high value products. These topics are discussed below.

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Abstract

This study examines the relationships between profitability, nitrogen (N) surplus, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and energy intensity and factors influencing these relationships in dairy farming. In-depth data from 10 conventional and 8 organic dairy farms in Western Norway were analyzed. Organic farms had lower N surplus per hectare (local, onfarm) and per unit output (global, cradle-to-farm-gate), and lower estimated GHG emissions and energy intensity per unit output, whereas labor input and farm profits did not differ. Higher profitability tended to be associated with improved performance of the environmental indicators examined. Intensification through increased use of concentrates tended to improve profit and reduce N surplus, GHG emissions, and energy intensity per unit output within each farming system while N surplus per hectare could be negatively affected. To ensure a balanced representation of the environmental consequences of both organic and conventional farming systems,our results give support to extensive examination of both area and product-based environmental performance indicators.

Abstract

To improve environmental sustainability it is important that all sectors in a society contribute to improving the utilization of inputs as energy and nutrients. In Norway, dairy farming contributes with an important share to the added value from the agricultural sector, although there is little information available about utilization of energy and nitrogen (N). Many results on sustainability have been published on dairy farming. However, due to Norway’s Nordic climatic conditions, mountainous and rugged topography and an agricultural policy that can design its own prices and subsidies, results from other countries are hardly representative for Norwegian conditions. To bridge this gap, the objective of this study was to analyse if the utilisation of nitrogen and energy in dairy farming in Norway can be improved to strengthen its environmental sustainability. Data were collected from 2010 to 2012 on 10 conventional and 10 organic farms in a region in central Norway with dairy farming as the main enterprise. The farms varied in area, number of dairy cows and milk yield. For nitrogen, a farm gate balance was applied and supplemented with nitrogen fixation by clover and atmospheric N-deposition. The total farm area was broken down into three categories: dairy farm area utilized directly by the farm, off-farm area needed to produce imported roughages and concentrates, and free rangeland that only can be used for grazing.

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Abstract

Reduced N-surpluses in dairy farming is a strategy to reduce the environmental pollution from this production. This study was designed to analyse the important variables influencing nitrogen (N) surplus per hectare and per unit of N in produce for dairy farms and dairy systems across 10 certified organic and 10 conventional commercial dairy farms in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway, between 2010 and 2012. The N-surplus per hectare was calculated as N-input (net N-purchase and inputs from biological N-fixation, atmospheric deposition and free rangeland) minus N in produce (sold milk and meat gain), and the N-surplus per unit of N-produce as net Ninput divided by N in produce. On average, the organic farms produced milk and meat with lower N-surplus per hectare (88 ± 25 kg N·ha−1) than did conventional farms (220 ± 56 kg N·ha−1). Also, the N-surplus per unit of N-produce was on average lower on organic than on conventional farms, 4.2 ± 1.2 kg N·kg N−1 and 6.3 ± 0.9 kg N·kg N−1, respectively. All farms included both fully-cultivated land and native grassland. Nsurplus was found to be higher on the fully cultivated land than on native grassland. N-fertilizers (43%) and concentrates (30%) accounted for most of the N input on conventional farms. On organic farms, biological Nfixation and concentrates contributed to 32% and 36% of the N-input (43 ± 18 N·kg N−1 and 48 ± 11 N·kg N−1), respectively. An increase in N-input per hectare increased the amount of N-produce in milk and meat per hectare, but, on average for all farms, only 11% of the N-input was utilised as N-output; however, the N-surplus per unit of N in produce (delivered milk and meat gain) was not correlated to total N-input. This surplus was calculated for the dairy system, which also included the N-surplus on the off-farm area. Only 16% and 18% of this surplus on conventional and organic farms, respectively, was attributed to surplus derived from off-farm production of purchased feed and animals. Since the dairy farm area of conventional and organic farms comprised 52% and 60% of the dairy system area, respectively, it is crucial to relate production not only to dairy farm area but also to the dairy system area. On conventional dairy farms, the N-surplus per unit of N in produce decreased with increasing milk yield per cow. Organic farms tended to have lower N-surpluses than conventional farms with no correlation between the milk yield and the N-surplus. For both dairy farm and dairy system area, N-surpluses increased with increasing use of fertilizer N per hectare, biological N-fixation, imported concentrates and roughages and decreased with higher production per area. This highlights the importance of good agronomy that well utilize available nitrogen.

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Abstract

Due to the limited resources of fossil fuels and the need to mitigate climate change, energy utilisation for all human activity has to be improved. The objective of this study was to analyse the correlation between energy intensity on dairy farms and production mode, to examine the influence of machinery and buildings on energy intensity, and to find production related solutions for conventional and organic dairy farms to reduce energy intensity. Data from ten conventional and ten organic commercial dairy farms in Norway from 2010 to 2012 were used to calculate the amount of embodied energy as the sum of primary energy used for production of inputs from cradle-to-farm gates using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Energy intensities of dairy farms were used to show the amount of embodied energy needed to produce the inputs per metabolizable energy in the output. Energy intensities allow to easily point out the contribution of different inputs. The results showed that organic farms produced milk and meat with lower energy intensities on average than the conventional ones. On conventional farms, the energy intensity on all inputs was 2.6 ± 0.4 (MJMJ?1) and on organic farms it was significantly lower at 2.1 ± 0.3 (MJ MJ?1). On conventional farms, machinery and buildings contributed 18% ± 4%, on organic farms 29% ± 4% to the overall energy use. The high relative contribution of machinery and buildings to the overall energy consumption underlines the importance of considering them when developing solutions to reduce energy consumption in dairy production. For conventional and organic dairy farms, different strategies are recommend to reduce the energy intensity on all inputs. Conventional farms can reduce energy intensity by reducing the tractor weight and on most of them, it should be possible to reduce the use of nitrogen fertilisers without reducing yields. On organic dairy farms, energy intensity can be reduced by reducing embodied energy in barns and increasing yields. The embodied energy in existing barns can be reduced by a higher milk production per cow and by a longer use of the barns than the estimated lifetime. In the long run, new barns should be built with a lower amount of embodied energy. The high variation of energy intensity on all inputs from 1.6 to 3.3 (MJ MJ?1) (corresponding to the energy use of 4.5e9.3 MJ kg-1 milk) found on the 20 farms shows a potential for producing milk and meat with lower energy intensity on many farms. Based on the results, separate recommendations were provided for conventional and organic farms for reducing energy intensity.

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Abstract

Embodied energy in barns is found to contribute to about 10–30% of total energy use on dairy farms. Nevertheless, research on sustainability of dairy farming has largely excluded consideration of embodied energy. The main objectives of this study were to apply an established model from the residential and commercial building sector and estimate the amount of embodied energy in the building envelopes on 20 dairy farms in Norway. Construction techniques varied across the buildings and our results showed that the variables which contributed most significantly to levels of embodied energy were the area per cow-place, use of concrete in walls and insulation in concrete walls. Our findings are in contrast to the assumption that buildings are similar and would show no significant differences. We conclude that the methodology is sufficiently flexible to accommodate different building design and use of materials, and allows for an efficient means of estimating embodied energy reducing the work compared to a mass material calculation. Choosing a design that requires less material or materials with a low amount of embodied energy, can significantly reduce the amount of embodied energy in buildings.

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Abstract

The calculation of the embedded energy (EE) of twenty barns shows that there is a considerable variation of EE per cow, where the lowest values were one fourth of the highest. Use of timber instead of concrete in walls had most effect to reduce the amount of EE. Cold barns can contribute to reduce the amount of EE, while the amount of EE is higher in free-stall than in tie-stall barns.While for an existing building the amount of EE is nearly fixed, calculating the anticipated amount for a new building can contribute to reduce this value considerably. This progress can help to reduce energy use in organic agriculture and thus contribute to a more sustainable production. Incorporating EE in planning new buildings should be of special importance for organic farming, since regulations demand for more area per animal than in conventional farming. In addition to building new, renovation and extension as well as recycling of building materials should be considered. Planning a new building should also include other topics as operational energy, as well as working conditions, animal welfare and economic considerations.

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Abstract

The calculation of the embedded energy (EE) of twenty barns shows that there is a considerable variation of EE per cow, where the lowest values were one fourth of the highest. Use of timber instead of concrete in walls had most effect to reduce the amount of EE. Cold barns can contribute to reduce the amount of EE, while the amount of EE is higher in free-stall than in tie-stall barns. While for an existing building the amount of EE is nearly fixed, calculating the anticipated amount for a new building can help to reduce energy use in agriculture and thus contribute to a more sustainable production. Incorporating EE in planning new buildings should be of special importance for organic farming, since regulations demand more area per animal than in conventional farming. In addition to building new, renovation, extension as well as recycling of building materials should be considered. Planning new buildings should also include operational energy, as well as working conditions, animal welfare and economic considerations.

Abstract

Docks are among the most important perennial weeds in grasslands throughout the world and the need for more effective control methods is especially crucial in organic forage production. To find more effective control methods, field trials over 2 years at 4 Norwegian locations, were carried out mainly as a full-factorial design, including factors expected to reduce docks significantly. (i) Date of grassland establishment: may be important for preventing/decreasing the flush of seedlings from seeds as well as shoots from root fragments.(ii) False seedbed preparation: to decrease soil seed bank. (iii) Use of nurse crop (cover crop) to increase competitiveness against Rumex seedlings. (iv) Cutting the taproot, using a rotary tiller before ploughing, or the "dock-plough" (a skimmer modified to cut roots in the entire furrow width at ca 7 cm depth): as new shoots mostly come from the neck and the upper 5 cm of the taproot. (v) Ploughing depth and skimming: to decrease shoots from root fragments. Weed development was assessed as the number of emerging Rumex seedlings and plants sprouting from root fragments. Results indicated that frequently more plants emerged from seeds than from root fragments. Neither renewing the grassland in summer, nor the use of the rotary tiller or the "dock plough" reduced the number of docks in the renewed grasslands. The use of the false seedbed and nurse crop, at some locations and years, reduced the number of docks in the renewed grasslands. Deep ploughing (24cm) reduced the number of Rumex plants from roots by 65% percent compared to shallow ploughing (16cm). Furthermore, the use of a skimmer reduced the number of docks sprouting from roots by 28%. Among the investigated factors, competitiveness, false seedbed and ploughing depth, as well as ploughing quality, seems to be the most promising factors for reducing the number of docks in renewed grassland.

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Abstract

In Norway, public procurement of food to youth is not well developed in comparison to many other European and Scandinavian countries. School meals are only offered in very few primary schools, and the common school meal is a packed lunch (sandwiches) brought from home, consumed in the class room. Subscription schemes for milk were introduced around 1970, and for fruit around 1995. Organic milk and fruit is offered only in some regions. Since 2007, fruit is served without payment in all schools with a lower secondary level (class 8-10 or 1-10). This effort was introduced as a first step to develop a free school meal in all public schools, which is a goal of one of the political parties in the current government. As in many other European countries, free school meals were offered (especially to poor children) in schools in the larger Norwegian cities around 1900. However, these meals were criticised for being unhealthy, and replaced by whole grain bread, milk and vegetables around 1930. Increasing private wealth, and increased demand for investments in school buildings, books etc changed the public priority and free school meals disappeared in Oslo around 1960. Today, there is not a general agreement about the optimal school meal composition, and whether or not the meals should be funded by the public. However, the increasing length of the school day and unsatisfactory scores of Norwegian pupils in international comparison tests (e.g. PISA) makes the school meal sector highly relevant in the public debate. Three cases that will be studied in a research project about public organic food procurement for youth are briefly described: The municipality of Trondheim, Øya music festival in Oslo and the Air Force Academy. (Increased) serving of organic food is an important aim in all these cases, and young people are an important target group. The report is produced within the project “innovative Public Organic food Procurement for Youth”, iPOPY, and will be updated and revised during the project period (2007-2010).

Abstract

Conventional farmers converting to organics have contributed to most of the rapid expansion of organic farming in recent years. The new organic farmers may differ from their more established colleagues, which may have implications for the development of the organic farming sector and its distinctiveness vis-a-vis conventional production and marketing practices. The aim of this study was to explore Norwegian organic dairy farmers' personal and farm production characteristics, farming goals, conversion motives, and attitudes to organic farming, grouped by year of conversion (three groups). A postal survey was undertaken among organic dairy farmers (n=161). The results show that the newcomers (converted in 2000 or later) were less educated than the early entrants (the so-called 'old guard') who converted in 1995 or earlier. The frequency of activities like vegetable growing and poultry farming among the old guard was high. The late-entry organic herds were fed with more concentrates and had a higher milk production intensity, showed a higher incidence of veterinary treatments and less frequent use of alternative medicine than the herds of the two earlier converting groups. For all groups of farmers, the highest ranked farming goals were sustainable and environment-friendly farming and the production of high-quality food. Late entrants more often mentioned goals related to profit and leisure time. On average, the most frequently mentioned motives for conversion were food quality and professional challenges. The old guard was more strongly motivated by food quality and soil fertility/pollution issues than the others, whereas financial reasons (organic payments included) were relatively more important among the newcomers. All groups held very favorable views about the environmental qualities of organic farming methods, albeit with different strengths of beliefs. Even though trends towards more pragmatic and business-oriented farming were found, the majority of the newcomers were fairly committed.

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Abstract

This study was conducted to explore organic and conventional dairy farmers' perceptions of risk and risk management, and to examine relationships between farm and farmer characteristics, risk perceptions, and strategies. The data originate from a survey of conventional (n=363) and organic (n=162) dairy farmers in Norway. Organic farmers had the least risk averse perceptions. Institutional and production risks were perceived as primary sources of risk, with farm support payments at the top. Compared to their conventional colleagues, organic farmers gave more weight to institutional factors related to their production systems. Conventional farmers were more concerned about costs of purchased inputs and animal welfare policy. Organic and conventional farmers' management responses were more similar than their risk perceptions. Financial measures such as liquidity and costs of production, disease prevention, and insurance were perceived as important ways to handle risk. Even though perceptions were highly farmer-specific, a number of socio-economic variables were found to be related to risk and risk management. The primary role of institutional risks implies that policy makers should be cautious about changing policy capriciously and they should consider the scope for strategic policy initiatives that give farmers some greater confidence about the longer term. Further, researchers should pay more attention to institutional risks. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract

Animal health and health handling were studied in organic dairy farms separated into three groups according to time of conversion. The study showed differences in both health and health handling between the groups and especially so for the earliest converters.

Abstract

About 22 % of the conventional dairy and cash crop farmers in Norway were considering or were planning to convert to organic farming during the next four years. For these farmers, here called potential converters, higher soil fertility, professional challenges, profitability, and organic farming payments were important motives for considering to convert.

Abstract

About 22 % of the conventional dairy and cash crop farmers in Norway were considering or were planning to convert to organic farming during the next four years. For these farmers, here called potential converters, higher soil fertility, professional challenges, profitability, and organic farming payments were important motives for considering to convert.

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore organic and conventional dairy farmers? perceptions of risk and risk management, and to examine relationships between farm and farmer characteristics, risk perceptions, and strategies.

To document

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore organic and conventional dairy farmers perceptions of risk and risk management, and to examine relationships between farm and farmer characteristics, risk perceptions, and strategies. The data originate from a survey of conventional (n = 363) and organic (n = 162) dairy farmers in Norway. Organic farmers had the least risk averse perceptions. Institutional and production risks were perceived as primary sources of risk, with farm support payments at the top. Compared to their conventional colleagues, organic farmers gave more weight to institutional factors related to their production systems. Conventional farmers were more concerned about costs of purchased inputs and animal welfare policy. Organic and conventional farmers management responses were more similar than their risk perceptions. Financial measures such as liquidity and costs of production, disease prevention, and insurance were perceived as important ways to handle risk. Even though perceptions were highly farmer-specific, a number of socio-economic variables were found to be related to risk and risk management. The primary role of institutional risks implies that policy makers should be cautious about changing policy capriciously and they should consider the scope for strategic policy initiatives that give farmers some greater confidence about the longer term. Further, researchers should pay more attention to institutional risks.

To document

Abstract

This study presents empirical insight into organic and conventional cash crop farmers' perceptions of risk and risk management strategies, and identifies socio-economic variables linked to these perceptions. The data originate from a questionnaire survey of farmers in Norway. The results indicate that organic farmers perceived themselves to be less risk aversethan conventional farmers. For both groups, crop prices and yield variability were the two top rated sources of risk, followed by institutional risks. The two groups evaluated risk management strategies quite similarly; favoured strategies weregood liquidity and to prevent and reduce crop diseases and pests. The farmers' evaluation of sources of risk and choice of risk strategies depended onvarious socio-economic variables. The importance of institutional risks implies that policy makers should be cautious about changing policy capriciously and they should consider strategic policy initiatives that give farmers more long-term reliability.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to provide empirical insight into dairy farmers goals, relative risk attitude, sources of risk and risk management responses. The study also examines whether organic dairy farming, leads to important risk sources not experienced in conventional farming and, if so, howthose extra risks are managed. The data originate from a questionnaire survey of conventional (n=373) and organic (n = 162) dairy farmers in Norway. The results show that organic farmers have somewhat different goals than conventional farmers,and that the average organic farmer is less risk averse. Institutional risk was perceived as the most important source ofrisk, independently of conventional or organic production system. Keeping cash on hand wasthe most important strategy to manage risk for all dairy farmers.

Abstract

As more data have been amassed and interest in working with the ensuing data sets have grown, methods for organizing and examining the data have evolved. The need to work with these larger amounts of data has led to the development of ‘data mining’ methods and software. Data mining has a somewhat skewed reputation, and has often been characterised as ‘data dredging’ or ‘fishing expeditions’ . However, most of us must admit that such ‘expeditions’ or what one also could call hypothesis-generating approaches where we look for both likely and less likely associations, has occurred within our own research. In principal, generating promising associations is what data mining is all about. In this paper we have applied one of many commercial software available (Enterprise Miner, SAS) on a small dataset merged from a questionnaire data set and the national dairy cattle health and production records. We investigated for patterns separating organic dairy farmers from the conventional ones. The main framework of the data mining approach, some of the core modelling methods and the data mining results are briefly described and assessed.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to provide empirical insight into dairy farmers’ goals, relative risk attitude, sources of risk and risk management responses. The study also examines whether organic dairy farming, leads to important risk sources not experienced in conventional farming and, if so, how those extra risks is managed. The data originate from a questionnaire survey of conventional (n=370) and organic (n = 160) dairy farmers in Norway. The results show that organic farmers have somewhat different goals than conventional farmers, and that the average organic farmer is less risk averse. Institutional risk was perceived as the most important source of risk, independently of conventional or organic production system, while organic farmers indicated greater concern about forage yield risk. Keeping cash on hand was the most important strategy to manage risk for all dairy farmers. Diversification and different kinds of flexibility was regarded as a more important risk management strategies among organic than conventional farmers.

Abstract

The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture (1999) has announced its goal of converting 10% of the total agricultural area to organic farming methods by the year 2009. Considerations of profitability and risk will be especially important, when the conversion of a farm is planned. Studies of risk and risk management in organic farming have been lacking in Norway. Only very few such studies have been carried out internationally, thus showing that there is a definite need for more risk and risk management research in organic farming. The project aims to increase knowledge about risks and risk management in organic farming systems. It is a co-operation between NILF, NORSK, and NVH. Both biological and economic aspects of risk will be taken into consideration. We wish to test and apply acknowledged statistical and risk analysis theories and methods on issues related to organic farming. The project will deal with the extent of risk in organic farming, strategies used by organic farmers to handle risk and whole-farm models to analyse optimal economic solutions under uncertainty in organic farming. The project will cover farms that are still in conversion and completely converted farms. Results from the project will directly benefit farmers and farm advisers. Politicians and public administrators will receive access to significant information for the design of future policies.