Projects / Programmes
ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL FARMING SYSTEMS FOR GOAT MILK PRODUCTION
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 4.02.00 |
Biotechnical sciences |
Animal production |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B400 |
Biomedical sciences |
Zootechny, animal husbandry, breeding |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 4.02 |
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences |
Animal and Dairy science |
goat milk production, organic, conventional, product quality, economy
Researchers (22)
Organisations (3)
Abstract
Organic production of milk and dairy products in small ruminants is small and does not reach the demand for these products. So far the research, carried out on sheep and goat farming in Slovenia was not very intensive. In addition the research carried in the World, which could be of direct relevance to the Slovenian condition is also rare. Therefore, we do not have appropriate solutions to the existing problems in Slovenian farms. The purpose of the project is the holistic approach to investigate what we can achieve in Slovenia in conventional and organic goat farming. To clarify these problems we will make a research on 70 goats of Slovenian Alpine breed dedicated to the milk production, which will be divided into two groups. The first group will be reared in an organic way, while the second group will be reared in a conventional way. To each of these ways we will adapt the rearing system in terms of production and technology, as well as nutrition and we will monitor and compare all incoming components (feed, fertilizers, energy, work, quantity of protection materials ...), all output products (quantity and quality of milk, offsprings, breeding animals…). We will take into account amortization costs and all other cost in order to economically evaluate both farming ways (affordable cost, the impact of cost of sale channels, the differences in the measures of agricultural policy etc.). All these data will be used in the preparation of model calculations for dairy goats, which serve as a tool for the assessment of the situation and are also a good tool in educational processes. Over the course of the project we will manage the nutrition from the establishment of the herd, with particular attention to the quality and nutritional value of home-grown feed, starting with pasture to the artificially dried forage on the drying device. Diets, which will be supplemented with purchased ecological or conventional feeds, will be adapted to the nutritional value of home-grown feeds, in order to achieve as closely as possible the optimal production (growth before the parturition, body condition, milk yield). On pasture, where both groups of goats, will be on separate field, managed according to the rearing way (e.g. use of fertilizers, grass sowing)we will determine the growth of forages (mass), we will sample the pasture to determine botanical and floristic composition. In the second year of the project after the goat parturitions we will perform milking controls in each goat group and we will collect the individual and bulk milk samples. These will be analysed to their fat, protein and lactose contents and on their somatic cell count and fatty acid contents. The somatic cell count will be used as a measure of udder health, while fatty acid composition as a measure o product quality. In addition, we will monitor the production data on the two farms, which are already oriented into organic and conventional goat milk production. On these two farms we will also follow the costs and incomes, with the purpose to evaluate economics of one and another in practice. In the course of project we also monitor the behaviour of the animals in both rearing ways, focusing mainly on the possible impacts of the feed quality on behaviour (e.g. on daily rhythms, duration of grazing). On the basis of four principles (appropriate feeding, suitable accommodation, good health and proper behaviour) and 12 criteria described in the "Welfare Quality" project (http://www.welfarequality.net/everyone/43299/7/0/22) we will assess the well-being of goats. On the basis of the goat behaviour, welfare and monitored production parameters we will assess the suitability of the Slovenian Alpine goat for breeding in organic or conventional way. In the last year of the project, we will evaluate all obtained research data and disseminate the findings in the form of the recommended technological instructions separately for each way of rearing. In addition, the results will be prese
Significance for science
Glede na dejstvo, da se globalno povečuje število koz in da se povečuje tudi
povpraševanje po ekoloških proizvodih v tej panogi, se na področju raziskav
povečuje število objav, ki govorijo o raziskavah na področju ekološke prireje
in predvsem kakovosti proizvodov iz te reje. Večina takih raziskav je
usmerjena v govedorejo in prirejo mleka in mesa goved. Na znanstvenih
konferencah je opaziti premik raziskav tudi na področje kozjereje in na
specifičnosti proizvodov (kozje mleko in kozje meso). Z rastjo te panoge se
potrebe po znanju in raziskavah povečujejo. Ker rezultati tujih raziskav še zdaleč niso primerni za enačenje zaključkov, njihova implementacijo v naše okolje pa je lahko močno zavajajoča, je izredno pomembno, da se v
raziskavah posvetimo tudi specifikam, ki so značilne za Slovenski kmetijski
prostor in bi dale odgovore za razmere kmetijski panogi na slovenskem.
Stroka na tem področju nima opravljenih raziskav, ki bi jih lahko prenesla v
prakso, zato se poslužuje bolj posrednih rezultatov raziskav na drugih
področjih in v drugem okolju.
Significance for the country
Pomen projekta je za živinorejo in predvsem za panogo kozjerejo zelo pomemben, saj doslej na tem področju raziskav, ki bi dale oprijemljive rezultate in podatke o kakovosti proizvodov in gospodarnosti reje tako rejcem kot tudi malim mlekarnam (SME), ki se za proizvod ekološko kozje mleko zanimajo, ni na voljo. Tudi svetovalna služba in drug strokovni kader nima kje dobiti podatkov, ki bi jih lahko uporabili in ustrezno svetovali pri preusmeritvah iz ekološkega v konvencionalni način prireje kozjega mleka in mesa.
»Prednostna naloga ekološke živinoreje je upoštevanje specifičnih potreb vrste domačih živali in zagotavljanje visoke ravni dobrega počutja. Iz tega razloga bomo tekom projekta v obeh sistemih reje spremljali tudi obnašanje živali, kjer se bomo osredotočili predvsem na možen vpliv kakovosti krme (npr. dnevni ritem in trajanje paše). Na osnovi 4 načel (primerno krmljenje, primerna namestitev, dobro zdravje in ustrezno obnašanje) in 12 kriterijev opisanih v »Welfare Quality« projektu (http://www.welfarequality.net/everyone/43299/7/0/22 ) bomo ocenili dobro počutje koz. V ta namen bomo prilagodili obstoječi protokol za krave molznice. Na podlagi rezultatov obnašanja, ocen dobrega počutja ter spremljanih proizvodnih parametrov bomo podali oceno primernosti srnaste pasme za rejo na EKO oziroma KONV način.
Dokaz, da je raziskava pomembna tudi za naše gospodarstvo, je interes male mlekarne, ki bi tudi sodelovala pri projektu in je predvsem zainteresirana za čimprejšnji prenos znanja in spoznanj v prakso, s tem, da želi vzpostaviti nekaj ekoloških kmetij za prirejo kozjega mleka.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2016,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2016,
final report
