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.
2024
Authors
Mario Guajardo Rasmus Bang Leif Jarle Asheim Ola Flaten Bjørn Gunnar Hansen Jon Kristian SommersethAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Mario Guajardo Rasmus Bang Leif Jarle Asheim Ola Flaten Bjørn Gunnar Hansen Jon Kristian SommersethAbstract
Interest for organic products and concerns regarding sustainable practices raise an important question for farmers: should they run their farms conventionally or organically? We address this question by means of a mathematical programming model, which aims to optimize gross margin of cattle farms. We implement the model using data from Norway, including government support stipulations and a number of other features. A computational study allows us to assess the economic performance of organic farming compared to conventional farming systems. We derive some insights into the conditions when organic outperforms conventional systems, and vice versa. These hold significant relevance not only to farmers, but also to farm advisors and policy makers.
Abstract
Housing and indoor feeding of sheep is required throughout the cold season, which can last more than half a year, in Nordic highlands and Alpine regions. This study aimed to examine and evaluate the housing costs, including labour requirements, according to type of sheep housing system and degree of mechanized feeding by investigating systems commonly used in Nordic and Alpine regions. Detailed cost data were obtained from 61 surveyed sheep farmers in Norway with sheep houses built between the years 2008 and 2015. Costs were calculated for a baseline scenario (2021-prices) as well as for five scenarios at low and high discount rates and opportunity cost of labour, and high energy prices. The median (interquartile range) flock size was 150 (100) winter-fed sheep. Houses with slatted floors were more expensive than deep-litter systems. Costs of bedding material and feed waste were however higher, and the net value of the manure were lower in houses with deeplitter systems. At the baseline assumptions, overall net housing costs per sheep was not statistically different among the main housing types studied. Multiple regression analyses showed that net housing costs per sheep were lower in larger flocks and for centrally located farms (control variables). Undertaking daily chores, such as feeding of roughages twice a day rather than once, resulted in significantly higher net housing costs. Mechanized feeding of roughages, and even more so for concentrates, were not economically justified since labour savings were not sufficient to pay for the additional capital costs. A round bale chopper lowered net housing costs, significantly at a high labour cost. None of the scenarios found slatted floors to be significantly more expensive than deep-litter systems. High costs of labour and capital favoured deep-litter systems, while slatted floor systems were more advantageous at rising prices of energy that resulted in increased values of organic manures and costs of feed wastes and bedding materials. The study was based on a decade old data from common Norwegian sheep house variants. Farmers that consider constructing a new sheep house today, still must compare these variants as their main alternatives. We encourage other researchers to include effects of housing systems and mechanized feeding on animal performance, health, and welfare. Moreover, future studies should preferably also be undertaken in other environmental or socio-economic settings to produce more general results.
Abstract
Fruit yield in wild berry species can vary greatly from year to year. Despite the short growing season and low temperatures in the Arctic region, many small fruit species are thriving under such conditions. Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus L.) is a perennial dioecious plant dependent upon insects for pollination. Cloudberries are high-valued, but fruit set and yield can fluctuate substantially between years. Although most commercial harvesting of cloudberries is done from wild stands, a few commercial cultivars are available, and cultivation techniques for natural stands have been developed. There is limited knowledge of variations in cloudberry crops. Increased research on this topic can be crucial for enhancing our knowledge of cloudberry cultivation and having better predictions for increased commercial utilization.
Authors
Akhil Reddy Pashapu Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Marit Jørgensen Marian Schubert Odd Arne Rognli Mallikarjuna Rao KoviAbstract
The sustainable production of perennial grasses in Northern Norway is at risk due to the ongoing climate change. The predicted increase in temperatures and variable weather patterns are further expected to create challenges for winter survival of timothy (Phleum pratense L.). Knowledge about the molecular mechanisms underlying freezing tolerance is crucial for developing robust cultivars. The current study is aimed at identifying genes involved in freezing stress response of timothy and studying gene expression differentiation due to field selection in contrasting environments using RNAseq. Four timothy cultivars were field tested for three years in Tromsø and Vesterålen, in Northern Norway. The surviving material from the field tests, along with plants raised from the original seed lots, were subjected to freezing tests. LT50 values varied across cultivars and materials. Many genes coding for transcription factors and proteins known to play an important role in freezing tolerance, like dehydrins, c-repeat binding factors, and late embryogenesis abundant proteins were upregulated with decreasing temperatures. Moreover, genes associated with glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, TCA cycle, glutathione metabolism, proteasome pathways and genes encoding autophagy-related proteins, plasma membrane-associated proteins, sugar and amino acid transporters had elevated expression in field survivors compared to plants raised from the original material. The lower freezing stress tolerance of field survivors despite the elevated expression of several stress-responsive genes might be due to a combination of selection in the field and the age effect. Furthermore, differences in freezing stress response between northern and southern adapted cultivars and surviving material from two field trial locations are discussed.
Authors
Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Marit Jørgensen Helga Amdahl Kristoffer Herland Hellton Odd Arne RognliAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Marit Jørgensen Helga Amdahl Kristoffer Herland Hellton Odd Arne RognliAbstract
Norway stretches from latitude 58° to 71° north. Thus, the climate is very different in the south compared to the north. Since seed production in the north is unpredictable due to the short growing season, commercial seed production of perennial forage grass cultivars has been located in the south-eastern part of Norway. We tested freezing and ice-encasement tolerances of three seed lots of different age of each of the northern-adapted cultivars ‘Engmo’ and ‘Noreng’. The seed lots were prebasic (original), intermediate (mid), and current commercial (late). The results showed that both cultivars had reduced freezing tolerance when comparing plants from the original seed lots with plants from the current commercial seed lots, which originate from several generations of seed multiplication in the south. Regarding tolerance toward ice-encasement, there were no significant differences between seed lots or cultivars. This indicates phenotypic and genetic shifts within the cultivars towards less frost-tolerant populations. It is therefore important to implement seed production regimes of northern-adapted cultivars that reduce the risk of shifts and preserve the cultivar characteristics.
Authors
Akhil Reddy Pashapu Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Marit Jørgensen Odd Arne Rognli Mallikarjuna Rao KoviAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered