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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2012

Abstract

The objective was to compare the effects of supplementing lactating dairy cows with synthetic (All-rac), natural (RRR) α-tocopheryl acetate or seaweed with a control on the concentration of α-tocopherol in blood and milk. Twenty four dairy cows in mid lactation, fed an organic feed ration, were randomly allocated to the four treatments in a replicated Latin square design. Plasma and milk α-tocopherol concentrations were higher in RRR and All-rac than in the other treatments and higher in RRR than in All-rac. RRR-α-tocopherol was the predominant steroisomer (> 86%), in both plasma and milk, whereas the remaining part was largely made up by the three synthetic 2R isomers. In cows fed the control, seaweed and RRR, the proportion of RRR-α-tocopherol in plasma and milk constituted more than 97% of the total α-tocopherol. The study demonstrated that dairy cows in mid and late lactation have preferential uptake of RRR-α-tocopherol compared to other stereoisomers.

Abstract

In Norway, most lambs are slaughtered at the end of the grazing season in September. An increased demand for fresh meat during the off-season may change this pattern. Castration of male lambs is not permitted, and off-season slaughtering may affect the acceptability of the meat. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of gender on meat quality from Norwegian White Sheep lambs slaughtered in September at the age of five months. Twenty-nine male lambs and 46 female lambs were included in the experiment. Loin samples of M. Longissimus dorsi were analysed for sensory profile. Meat from male lambs had higher scores for the less pleasant sensory attributes of cloying (P < 0.05) and rancid (P = 0.08) flavour, and lower scores for the more pleasant attributes of sour and sweet taste (P < 0.05 for both attributes) compared to meat from female lambs. The differences were more apparent between lambs grazing ryegrass than between lambs fed a concentrate and roughage diet. It is concluded that even at the normal slaughtering time in September, significant differences between genders may occur.

2011

To document

Abstract

As a primary industry, agriculture is directly dependent on natural conditions and therefore potentially vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. In Norway and Northern Norway in particular, the future climatic changes are expected to be overall positive. Still, the consequences for agriculture are not straightforward, but dependent on the interaction between different weather and biological elements, as well as political, economic and social conditions. In this interdisciplinary study we have assessed biological and agronomic effects of climate change, and their interaction with political, economic and social factors, to identify farmers' vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change. The assessments are based on downscaled climate change scenarios and interviews with local farmers in the three northernmost counties in Northern Norway (latitude 65.5° to 70°). The study shows that the farmers to a degree are vulnerable to a changing climate, not mainly because of the direct effects of changing growing conditions, but because these changes are an added factor to an already tenuous situation created by Norwegian agricultural policy and socio-economic development in general. We have found that farmers are highly adaptive, to both changing growing conditions and changing agricultural policies. However, changes in policy are currently a greater challenge to farmers than climate change, and such changes are therefore a more salient driver of vulnerability.