Livestock production

This situation is changing rapidly as more farms convert to organic principles, and livestock production is becoming more prevalent. Whether organic producers farm beef, sheep and/or pigs will depend on the type of farm, position and climate. The upland farm will have a very different production plan to the lowland farm, but with sensible and logical co-ordination both types of farm can help bring more finished livestock to the marketplace. 

Organic beef production is predominately based on the suckler cow system. The breed type will depend on the nature of the farm and its system. Commonly the breeds must be good grass finishers, such as Limousin, Hereford, Angus or South Devon, and not the classic intensive finishers such as the Belgian Blue or the Charolais, although crosses 

Organic suckler cows could have a lifespan of 15 years or more. Should there be a calf fatality at birth, a non-organic calf may be sourced in to take off the cow s milk, but this calf cannot be sold into the organic meat chain. 

Given that finished lamb for slaughter is the main output product, much thought must be put to the type of breed that best suits the farm and its climate, with a view to the best marketing opportunities. While the marketplace is looking for lamb all year round, this demand will need to be met from a variety of farms with their own unique systems and seasonal marketing patterns. 

Typically the flock would be rotated around clean grazing among the typical 5-year rotational farm plan, and normally the flock would not revisit the same grassland for the consecutive year. The clean grazing policy should minimise the build-up of internal parasites. 

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The estimates in Table 3 represent one inventory however, a further estimate of uncertainties may be found by comparing other recent ongoing inventories for the UK. Pain et alJ have very recently estimated UK emissions from livestock production systems (including tillage crops) at 240 Gg NHj yr while ApSimon et al. (personal communication) estimate a figure of around 280 Gg NHj yr h Including the non-agriciiltiiral sources at around 40 Gg NHj yr the official estimate recently adopted by the Department of the Environment is 320 Gg NHj yr h If these estimates are contrasted with the other recent estimate of UK... 

The ingestion of natural compounds, some of which can be identical to those administered for medicinal purposes, which have adverse effects especially in extensively reared animals, has been estimated to be about the equivalent of a 2% tax on livestock productions" For example, in the UK this would amount to about 20 million (calculated from MAFF data, 1995)S°... 

It has been estimated that of the total U.S. increase in farm output between 1940 and 1955, 43 percent is attributable to increased crop yields per hectare, 27 percent to increases in value added by livestock production, 23 percent to reduction in farm-produced power, and 7 percent to changes in the amount of capital used. While it is not possible to isolate the effect of a single input, it is estimated that increased use of fertilizer accounted for more... 

Chapagain AK, Hoekstra AY (2003) Virtual water flows between nations in relation to trade in livestock and livestock products. Value of water research report series No. 13, IHE, Delft, the Netherlands... 

The production of livestock and livestock products has been greatly increased through the effective application of agricultural chemicals, as evidenced in the control of insects and diseases on and around dairy cattle, which has resulted in many instances of increased milk production ranging between 15 and 20%. It has been reliably estimated that the treatment of beef cattle for insect pests has resulted in additional gains of 50 pounds per head of beef animals treated. The dollar value of these increases in both beef and milk has been estimated at 54,000,000 per year. 

Climate change is seen as a major threat to the survival of many species, ecosystems, and the sustainability of livestock production systems in many parts of the world [6], The growing... 

If all parts of the livestock production lifecycle are included, livestock are estimated to account for 18% of global anthropogenic emissions [57]. According to Gill and coworkers [57], apart from enteric fermentation and manure management, the other sources of GHG emission from livestock and related activities are fossil fuels used during feed and fertilizer production and transport of processed animal products. 

Malik PK, Bhatta R, Takahashi J, Kohn RA, Prasad CS. Livestock production and climate change. CABI Climate Change Series 6, CABI Nosworthy Way, Wallingford,... 

Bhatta R, Malik PK, Prasad CS. Enteric methane emission status, mitigation and future challenges—an Indian perspective (chapter 15). In Malik PK, Bhatta R, Takahashi J, Kohn RA, and Prasad CS (eds.), Livestock Production and Climate Change. Publisher CABI, Oxfordshire, UK CABI, Boston, MA, USA. 2015 pp. 229-244. 

Another issue is represented by dairy production and the carbon footprint of milk [56,50], An important area of research is the production of animal feed for the different diets used in livestock production [57-58],... 

Lange IG, Daxenberger A, Schiffer B, Witters H, Ibarreta D, Meyer HHD (2002) Sex hormones originating from different livestock production systems fate and potential disrupting activity in the environment. Anal Chim Acta 473 27-37... 

Part II provides detailed information on the main quality and safety issues related to the production of organic livestock foods. This includes three chapters (Chapters 7 to 9) which review the effect of livestock husbandry on nutritional and sensory quality of livestock foods including milk and dairy products (Chapter 7), poultry (Chapter 8) and pork (Chapter 9). It also includes four chapters (Chapters 10 to 13) which review the strategies used to minimise microbiological risks and antibiotic and veterinary medicine use in livestock production systems including safety of ruminants (Chapter 10), mastitis treatment in organic dairy production systems (Chapter 11), internal parasites (Chapter 12) and pigs and poultry (Chapter 13). 

Important food quality and safety issues associated with organic livestock production are addressed further in Part 2 of the book. 

Hansson I, Hamilton C, Ekman T and Forslund K (2000) Carcass quality in certified organic production compared with conventional livestock production . Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series B-Infectious Diseases and Veterinary Public Health, 47, 111-120. 

Bennedsgaard T W, Thamsborg S M, Vaarst M and Enevoldsen C (2003), Eleven years of organic production in Denmark herd health and production related to time of conversion and compared to conventional production , Livestock Production Science, 80, 121-131. 

Chilliard Y, Ferlay A and Doreau M (2001), Effects of different types of forages, animal fat or marine oils in cow s diet on milk fat secretion and composition, especially conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids , Livestock Production Science, 70, 31-48. 

Sundrum A, (2001), Organic livestock farming a critical review , Livestock Production Science, 67, 207-215. 

Over the last 40 years conventional poultry (and in particular chicken) production has undergone the most extreme level of intensification of all major livestock production systems. This was driven by a more rapid increase in demand for poultry meat (which was perceived by consumers as leaner and healthier) and to a lesser extent eggs, compared to other livestock products (e.g. red meat, milk), which often saw unchanged or decreasing consumption patterns (Frazer, 1996 Tilman et al., 2002). 

Kouba M. (2003). Quality of organic animal products , Livestock Production Science, 80, 33-40. 

Pork is the product of a very complex process. All the various characteristics of pork quality cannot be assessed directly in each carcass because these measurements and assessments would be too expensive. Therefore, previous scientific quality assessment of meat is primarily an indirect approach based on a few easily detectable quantitative traits and on the prescription of minimal standards in relation to the product in terms of size or composition and in relation to the production process. The prescriptions and the exclusion criteria vary between countries or between labelling programmes. The most encompassing prescriptions are enshrined in the EC regulation on organic livestock production (EEC No. 2092/91). Owing to this approach, extreme deviations in quality traits and deleterious effects are prevented. However, there is still space left within these framework conditions for huge variability in pork quality. 

Difference between organic and conventional livestock production... 

Pig production today faces the difficult task of effectively meeting emerging consumer concerns while remaining competitive in its major target markets. Providing a high sensorial quality of pork and meeting consumer concerns about product safety and animal welfare are identified as key attention points for future livestock production. The relevance of these issues pertains to... 

McEachern M G and Schroder M J (2002), The role of livestock production ethics in consumer values towards meat , J Agric Environ Ethics, 15, 221-237. 

Sundrum A (1999), EEC-Regulation on organic livestock production and their contribution to the animal welfare issue , KTBL-Schrift, 270, 93-97. 

Van den Weghe H (1999), Environmental effects of livestock production systems , Zttchtungskunde, 71, 64-77. 

Verbeke W A and Viaene J (2000), Ethical challenges for livestock production meeting consumer concerns about meat safety and animal welfare , J Agric Environ Ethics, 12, 141-151. 

Conventional livestock production systems can be very diverse and this diversity is influenced by economic, geographic, environmental and cultural factors. Conventional inputs for direct use in ruminant production include many types of plant feeds (i.e. forages, cereals, soybeans, etc.), industrial by-products (i.e. molasses, distiller s dried grain, meat bone meal, etc.), feed... 

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