Livestock farming systems research in Europe and its potential contribution for managing towards sustainability in livestock farming

Gibon, Annick; Sibbald, A. R.; Flamant, J.; Lhoste, Philippe; Revilla, R.; Rubino, R.; Sørensen, Jan Tind

doi:10.1016/s0301-6226(99)00062-7

Cited by 118 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In this way, they clearly refer to the livestock farming system approaches (Dent et al, 1995;Gibon et al, 1999) and contribute to strengthening one way of investigation considering work as a brake on the adoption of innovations (Mak, 2001;Ruthven and Kumar, 2002;Joannon et al, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current dynamics show that such a separation is no longer relevant. Livestock farming system research proposes a framework (Gibon et al, 1999) that helps to jointly consider the farmer's projects, the decisions and social norms, and the productive system. In this research field, some studies have underscored the need for more understanding of the socioeconomic component of the farm system, i.e.…”

Section: Livestock Farming Systems In the Research Field On Work Orgamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is nonetheless the farmers' responsibility to adapt the management of both their technical activity and their work, at the scale of the working year and on the long-term evolution of their farm management pattern. These movements affect the -E-mail: sophie.madelrieux@cemagref.fr technical and social components of livestock farming systems (Dent et al, 1994;Gibon et al, 1999) and their interactions in work organisation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Qualification and assessment of work organisation in livestock farms

Madélrieux¹,

Dedieu²

2008

Animal

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Farmers have to cope with both society and market pressures in their working practices, as well as with the enlargement of farms, off-farm opportunities and profound changes in the workforce. Expectations in terms of working duration and rhythms are increasingly expressed by farmers, meaning that working conditions and the efficiency of work organisation are critical issues nowadays. The bibliography shows that work organisation is mainly discussed by social scientists, but that livestock scientists make a significant contribution to the debate. Indeed, technical changes modify working calendars, priorities between tasks and interchangeability among workers; technical adaptations are levers to solving problems of work with equipment, buildings and the workforce. We present here French approaches to work organisation that take into account livestock management and its implications in work organisation. The 'Work Assessment' method represents the work organisation and evaluates work durations and time flexibility for farmers. The ATELAGE model describes and qualifies work organisation with its various regulations and time scales, integrating the other activities -economic or private -that farmers can carry on. Three principles underpin them: not all workers are interchangeable; tasks have different temporal characteristics (rhythms, postponement, etc.); and the year is a succession of work periods that differ in their daily form of organisation. We illustrate with concrete examples how these approaches contribute to helping and guiding farmers in their thoughts about change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Livestock Farming Systems In the Research Field On Work Orgamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Qualification and assessment of work organisation in livestock farms

Madélrieux¹,

Dedieu²

2008

Animal

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“…There are many existing models designed to represent the operation of livestock farming systems (Gibon et al, 1999;Dedieu et al, 2008); but to our knowledge, none of them was explicitly built to support farmers in redesigning their whole system. However, all of them produce knowledge about the operation of livestock farming systems, including dynamic aspects, and they are often presented as contributions to supporting changes in livestock farming practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We will therefore focus on one particular way of supporting changes in livestock farming practice, that is, supporting farmers in redesigning their livestock farming systems, although others could be considered, such as supporting agricultural policy-makers' decisions (Bontkes and Van Keulen, 2003). In the models, this choice requires to include terms that are relevant for the farmers to decide.There are many existing models designed to represent the operation of livestock farming systems (Gibon et al, 1999;Dedieu et al, 2008); but to our knowledge, none of them was explicitly built to support farmers in redesigning their whole system. However, all of them produce knowledge about the operation of livestock farming systems, including dynamic aspects, and they are often presented as contributions to supporting changes in livestock farming practice.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling as a tool to redesign livestock farming systems: a literature review

Gouttenoire

Cournut

Ingrand

2011

Animal

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Livestock farming has recently come under close scrutiny, in response especially to environmental issues. Farmers are encouraged to redesign their livestock farming systems in depth to improve their sustainability. Assuming that modelling can be a relevant tool to address such systemic changes, we sought to answer the following question: 'How can livestock farming systems be modelled to help farmers redesign their whole farming systems?' To this end, we made a literature review of the models of livestock farming systems published from 2000 to mid-2009 (n 5 79). We used an analysis grid based on three considerations: (i) system definition, (ii) the intended use of the model and (iii) the way in which farmers' decision-making processes were represented and how agricultural experts and farmers were involved in the modelling processes. Consistent rationales in approaches to supporting changes in livestock farming were identified in three different groups of models, covering 83% of the whole set. These could be defined according to (i) the way in which farmers' decisions were represented and (ii) the model's type of contribution to supporting changes. The first type gathered models that dynamically simulated the system according to different management options; the farmers' decision-making processes are assumed to consist in choosing certain values for management factors. Such models allow long-term simulations and endorse different disciplinary viewpoints, but the farmers are weakly involved in their design. Models of the second type can indicate the best combination of farm activities under given constraints, provided the farmers' objectives are profit maximisation. However, when used to support redesigning processes, they address neither how to implement the optimal solution nor its long-term consequences. Models of the third type enable users to dynamically simulate different options for the farming system, the management of which is assumed to be planned according to the farmers' general objectives. Although more comprehensive, these models do not easily integrate different disciplinary viewpoints and different subsystems, which limits their usefulness as support tools for redesigning processes. Finally, we concluded about what specific requirements should be for modelling approaches if farmers were to be supported in redesigning their whole livestock farming systems using models.Keywords: livestock farming systems, modelling, support tools, innovative process, redesign ImplicationsThis review analyses the strengths and weaknesses of published models of livestock farming systems to support farmers in redesigning their whole systems. It is a first step towards building more efficient tools to help farmers to switch towards more sustainable livestock farming systems. IntroductionLivestock farming has recently come under close scrutiny, in response especially to environmental issues (Steinfeld et al., 2006). There is increasing societal pressure for more sustainable livestock practices prompting, for example, the E...

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Forage mixture productivity and silage quality from a grass/legume intercrop in a semiarid Mediterranean environment

2023

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In semiarid environments of the Mediterranean region, intercropping is a sustainable agricultural system of long standing. In this area, the pea (Pisum sativum L.) is one of the most commonly grown legume crops. Little information is available on the quality of silages to be obtained from forage mixtures of pea intercropped with cereals or annual grasses. In this study, two experiments were conducted over the course of two growing seasons in Sicily (Italy) with the aim to determine the biomass production of forage crop mixtures and assess, only in the second experiment, the silage quality of grass and legumes. Four cereals and one annual grass species were grown in pure stand and in mixture with pea, and their main agronomic traits were determined.The land equivalent ratio (LER), competitive ratio, and aggressivity index were also calculated. A number of parameters were considered to assess the quality of silage obtained from fermented biomasses derived from pea-ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam. var. Westerwoldicum) intercropping. In the first experiment, the best performance between the intercrops was recorded for the pea-wheat mixture. The total LER calculated for fodder yields was always greater than 1, indicating crop yield advantages ranging from 2.0% to 47.0%. In the second experiment, the pea-ryegrass mixture appeared to respond well, depending on plant arrangement and seeding ratio factors: the ratios 50:50 and 100:50 showed the greatest crop yield advantages, of 12.0% and 11.0%, respectively. All silages revealed a very good suitability of a pearyegrass intercropping system with high-quality silage production in the Southern Mediterranean region.

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Livestock farming systems research in Europe and its potential contribution for managing towards sustainability in livestock farming

Cited by 118 publications

References 16 publications

Qualification and assessment of work organisation in livestock farms

Qualification and assessment of work organisation in livestock farms

Modelling as a tool to redesign livestock farming systems: a literature review

Forage mixture productivity and silage quality from a grass/legume intercrop in a semiarid Mediterranean environment

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