Options and challenges for organic milk production in East African smallholder farms under certified organic crop production

Vaarst, M.; Smolders, G.; Wahome, R.G.; Odhong, Charles; Kiggundu, Muhammad; Kabi, Fred; Nalubwama, Sylvia; Halberg, Niels

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2019.01.006

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The feed efficiency was not affected by reduced levels of concentrate, indicating that the dependence of the milk yield on concentrate is less significant in dairy cows with lower commercial screening, such as the Pantaneira breed. There are good possibilities for the better integration of local animals and the use of grazing areas to the benefit of organic systems [ 39 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Milk Potential of Pantaneira Cows, a Local Breed, at Organic System

Biazolli

Oliveira

Luz

et al. 2020

Animals

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Pantaneiro cattle (Bos taurus taurus) is a breed locally adapted to the Brazilian Pantanal. Local breeds are essential for the quality production of organic systems based on planned grazing practices, because of their results in resilient and productive ecosystems, enhancing biodiversity. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of Pantaneira primiparous cows, and systems with reduced use of concentrate, simulating organic production conditions. Five animals, with an average body weight of 396.2 ± 43.5 kg, were kept in individual continuous grazing regimes and supplemented with different concentrate levels (1.2%, 0.9%, 0.6%, 0.3%, and 0.0% of body weight). The animals were allocated at random in a 5 × 5 Latin square design repeated twice during the study time. The cows had a low dry matter and nutrient intake with a reduction in concentrate level, with improvement in neutral detergent fiber digestibility and a reduction in total nutrient digestibility. No changes were observed in plasma glucose levels or urea excretion, but the plasma urea nitrogen decreased with reductions in concentrate levels. There was a reduction in milk yield, but the energy-corrected milk was not affected by the reduction in concentrate levels; furthermore, the milk yield efficiency was not affected. The milk fat content improved with the reduction in concentrate levels. The Pantaneira breed has the genetic potential for the maintenance of competitive production and quality in organic systems.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Milk Potential of Pantaneira Cows, a Local Breed, at Organic System

Biazolli

Oliveira

Luz

et al. 2020

Animals

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“…The intensive milk production system is replacing the traditional system, which until recently was the most common, although the latter will continue to dominate for a long time in some parts of the world (especially in developing countries) [43][44][45][46]. On traditional farms, the cows are kept in tie-stall barns with or without litter.…”

Section: Traditional Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic versus Conventional Raw Cow Milk as Material for Processing

Brodziak

Wajs

Zuba‐Ciszewska

et al. 2021

Animals

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Milk, as one of the basic raw materials of animal origin, must be of adequate hygienic and physicochemical quality for processing. The aim of the article was to compare the quality of raw milk from three production systems, intensive, traditional (together referred to as conventional), and organic, as material for processing, as well as the quality of products made from it. Particular attention was focused on hygienic quality (somatic cell count and total bacterial count), physical characteristics (acidity), basic nutritional value (content of dry matter, total protein, casein, fat, and lactose), content of health-promoting substances (whey proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals), and technological parameters (rennet clotting time, heat stability, and protein-to-fat ratio). Research assessing the quality of organic milk and dairy products is significantly less extensive (if available at all) than for milk from conventional production (intensive and traditional). The available reports indicate that raw milk from organic farms is more valuable, especially in terms of the content of health-promoting compounds, including vitamins, fatty acids, whey proteins, and minerals. This applies to organic dairy products as well, mainly cheese and yoghurt. This is explained by the fact that organic farming requires that animals are kept in the pasture. However, the hygienic quality of the raw milk, and often the products as well, raises some concerns; for this reason, organic milk producers should be supported in this regard, e.g., through consultancy and training in Good Hygienic Practices. Importantly, milk production in the traditional and organic systems is in line with the concept of the European Green Deal.

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“…On the other hand, the idea of integrating planting and breeding systems has gradually developed. Recycling crop residues and organic manure as feeds for livestock and soil amendments, is a kind of resource-efficient benefit of crop-animal integration that might be worth using for other countries [ 30 ]. Cerutti et al [ 31 ] compared the differences between three production practices (conventional, organic and integrated) in order to quantify the climate change reduction potential of different production methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Cattle Breeding Based on the Ecological Cycle Model

Guo

Yang

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Over the past few decades, the supply of beef has increasingly become available with the great improvement of the quality of life, especially in developing countries. However, along with the demand for meat products of high quality and the transformation of dietary structure, the impact of massive agricultural greenhouse gas emissions on the environmental load cannot be ignored. Therefore, the objective of this study is to predict the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 10 million heads of beef cattle under both the ecological cycle model (EC model) and the non-ecological cycle model (non-EC model), respectively, in order to compare the differences between these two production models in each process, and thus explore which one is more sustainable and environmentally friendly. To this end, through the life cycle assessment (LCA), this paper performs relevant calculations according to the methodology of 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2019 IPCC Inventories). The results have shown that the total GHG emissions of the non-EC model were almost 4 times higher than those of the EC model, and feed-grain cultivation and manure management were main emission sources in both models. The non-EC model produced significantly more emissions than the EC model in each kind of GHG, especially the largest gap between these two was in CO2 emissions that accounted for 68.01% and 56.17% of the respective planting and breeding systems. This study demonstrates that the transformation of a beef cattle breeding model has a significant direct impact on cutting agricultural GHG emissions, and persuades other countries in the similar situation to vigorously advocate ecological cycling breeding model instead of the traditional ones so that promotes coordinated development between planting industry and beef cattle breeding industry.

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Options and challenges for organic milk production in East African smallholder farms under certified organic crop production

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Milk Potential of Pantaneira Cows, a Local Breed, at Organic System

Milk Potential of Pantaneira Cows, a Local Breed, at Organic System

Organic versus Conventional Raw Cow Milk as Material for Processing

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Cattle Breeding Based on the Ecological Cycle Model

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