Possibilities of organic production in Vojvodina

Abstract

During the past decade, the general attitude of the human population towards health, nutrition quality and environment has remarkably changed. As a result of the growing demand for organic products, especially organic milk, the livestock organic production has increased. Figures from the Serbian Ministry of agriculture estimate that around 75 percent of Serbia's agricultural land, and some 650,000 hectares, can be used for organic food production within three years. The "rule of 30%" in organic production means that farm animals kept in organic system must ingest at least 30% of meal dry matter from pastures, makes forage quality of utmost importance. In order to estimate possibilities of organic production in Fruška Gora region forage botanical as well as chemical composition were analysed. A botanical analysis has confirmed presence of plants with high yield and of high nutritive value. Dominant presence of Dactilys glomerata L. and Poa pratensis L. was revealed in the samples of mixed hay, while the Lucerne hay was predominantly composed only by one leguminous species Medicago sativa L. Chemical analyses of hay samples originating from Fruška Gora has pointed out that level of crude proteins, cellulose, fats, macro and trace elements can completely satisfy requirements of animals in organic farming and therefore can present a solid base for further development of organic dairy farming. Possibilities for further development of organic production are great, and it can be expected that organic production will increase in the future and can become a significant branch of livestock production.