Around Europe

An overview of current topics in partner countries

Each issue of CORE Organic news will bring an overview of current topics in the individual countries regarding research in organic food and farming. Current topics are:

Austria

Long-term monitoring of different management systems within organic farming and their effects on arable land and landscape

Phase I: Monitoring of the conversion to organic farming

In Eastern European regions, organic arable stockless farming becomes more and more significant since also bigger farms convert to organic farming. In those dry regions, with high wind erosion, low landscape element area and low plant, macro- and microorganism biodiversity, conversion to organic farming is a challenge for every farmer. Referring to nutrient cycles and soil fertility, the stockless system operates without any compost input, but with green manure. Hence, the question arises, how to close these cycles.

Therefore a long term field monitoring is performed at the farm “Rutzendorf”, which is managed by the “Landwirtschaftliche Bundesversuchswirtschaften GesmbH”. The farm with 143 hectares is located in the Marchfeld region east of Vienna, Austria. The climate is warm and dry (average annual temperature: 9.8°C, average annual rainfall: 520 mm), the soil is a chernozem with a pH value of 7.6. Eleven scientific divisions – 10 of them from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) – have been working interdisciplinary since 2003 at different investigation levels on the farm.

The overall research objective is, to understand the impact of stockless organic farming on soil, groundwater, erosion, flora and fauna, crop yields, quality and economy, and to identify and monitor different strategies for optimising the agricultural system in dry areas. The gained knowledge should contribute to a higher conversion rate as well as to document the potential of organic farming under such climatic, environmental and economic conditions. Research is done on three levels:

• With field trials the effect of different organic manure systems (green manure, green manure plus communal compost, farmyard manure) based on one crop rotation on soil properties and on crop performances is estimated.
  
• Transect trials serve to analyze the reservoir function of existing and new biotopes (hedges and flowering stripes) and to examine their effects on microclimate, water capacity of the soils, crop yields, pests and beneficials in adjacent fields.
  
• The whole farming system including landscape elements is monitored to evaluate agro-ecological as well as economic effects with the conversion to organic farming.

The first three project years (2003 – 2005) as start phase of the long term field monitoring were now finalized. The present state of the different examined parameters at the beginning of the conversion to organic farming and before the first organic fertilizer input was determined and further annual examinations were realized. In this short time no significant effects of the changed farm management can be expected. Nevertheless, first selected and preliminary results and knowledge have been achieved:

• Various soil parameters (chemical and physical, content and subsequent supply of nitrogen, microbial and fungal biomass, soil fauna) have not been affected by the conversion to organic farming and the fertilisation after three years. Yield and quality analysis showed a tendency but no significant difference in favour of the treatments with an additional organic fertilisation (communal compost, farmyard manure).
  
• Crop yields (lucerne and winter wheat) increased closer to a hedge due to a higher availability of soil water.
  
• With new flowering stripes the ecological value of the area could be enhanced. The different food plants in the stripes were attractive for carabid beetles, hoverflies and wild bees. Lucerne as part of the crop rotation of the farm (+- 25 %) with its multi-functional properties proved to be a valuable habitat for beneficials, wild bees, larks, and quails.
  

The project starts now in the second phase. For further information see http://www.lebensministerium.at/article/articleview/43477/1/5106 or contact the project leader bernhard.freyer@boku.ac.at resp. the project coordinator andreas.surboeck@boku.ac.at.

Denmark

PhD-scholarships within organic farming in a global food chain perspective

Two PhD-scholarships are available within the context of organic food and farming in a global perspective. The three-year scholarships are expected to be effective from September 2006 or soon thereafter. Applications are welcomed within the following two areas.

To assess the consequences of large scale conversion to organic farming for food supply and food security among urban and rural poor at a regional scale by use of and further development of relevant international food security models.

To investigate nutrient balances in different organic production systems in China, Brazil and Egypt and to aggregate these balances into decision supporting simulation models. The work will partly consist of data collection and verification in the field and in modelling work in office.

For more information please visit the project web site at www.globalorg.org

Fewer universities and no sector research

The Danish government would like research structure with fewer and stronger universities that are merged with sector research institutes. In this way the university education will be strengthened through new opportunities for cooperation, and the universities will attain more international power and effectiveness, says the Danish Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Helge Sander, in relation to the release of the government’s proposal for a new research system.

Work and discussions regarding integration of sector research in the universities and university mergers has been in the process for the past year. The 12 universities and 13 of the sector research institutes have stated their preferences for the future, and based on these preferences, the government has proposed a new structure with only six universities in Denmark.

One of the outstanding problems is that agricultural and food related research is dispersed on three universities: University of Copenhagen, University of Aarhus and the Danish Technical University. Upcoming negotiations are to investigate possibilities for a more united research in the area.

Book on the DARCOF II programme

From 2000 until 2005 41 Danish research projects within organic food and farming have been carried out. Together, these projects are known as DARCOF II.

The aim of a new book is to provide a concise, but overall picture of the research in DARCOF II. Part of the research can be used for improving products and processes at organic farms and organic businesses. Other results demonstrate how organic agriculture can contribute to common goods like clean drinking water, less spillages of greenhouse gases and a more versatile nature. Furthermore, the research provides perspectives in relation to developing a more sustainable agriculture all together.

The book can be downloaded from the DARCOF website, and as long as the book is in stock it can be ordered from DARCOF.

Finland

Planning of a new strategy for organic agri-food chain in Finland

In Finland, the area of organic farming has decreased last year and the market share of organic products is low. Therefore, a new strategy is needed for the Finnish agri-food production chain.

All the actors of the food chain are now involved in the planning of a new strategy, which will set its goals as far as year 2015. Also research activities will be part of the strategy.

More information: Chairman of the group, Member of the parliament Heidi Hautala (tel +358 50 511 3129)

Netherlands

Organic propagation material

In organic farming it is obliged to produce propagation material (seed, tubers, plants etc.) organically. However, several challenges are met to produce high quality propagation material under organic production conditions and make it available to the farmers. In the Netherlands the Ministry of Agriculture Nature Management and Food quality finances a research program on this topic. Researchers from other EU countries are invited to collaborate with this program. A brochure with the summary of the program can be downloaded in PDF format through the link: http://www.kennisonline.wur.nl/NR/rdonlyres/A85AA466-58CF-4575-A3DE-3517DF2B049C/25002/EngelstaligBiologischbericht2006.pdf.

Potential of organic protein feed

From 25 August 2005 to the 1st of January 2012 organic farmers are obliged to gradually increase the use of exclusively feeds that are produced by organic farming methods from 85% to 100%. In this desk study the characteristics and potential of organically produced proteinaceous crops are described. See: http://www.biofoon.nl/Biobieb/PDF/QualityLowInputFood.pdf

New nitrogen model

The nitrogen model NDICEA, presented at the Joint Organic Congress in Denmark, will be used for analysing data from experiments in Scotland (Tulloch rotation trial) and Germany (University of Giessen, Research Station Gladbacherhof). The model, being developed by Wageningen University and Louis Bolk Instituut, has been validated on Dutch and German datasets (Van der Burgt et al, 2006. The NDICEA model, a tool to improve nitrogen use efficiency in cropping systems. In: Nutrient Cycling in Agroeco Systems (in press). The model can be found on www.ndicea.nl in Dutch and English.

Norway

Six new research projects

After a specific call for organic projects in April, six projects were recently selected and will start their activities in August 2006. The largest amount of funding was granted Bioforsk, Norwegian Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Research - Organic Food and Farming Division, and Matforsk Norwegian Food Research Institute. The Bioforsk Organic projects will study how to cope with docks, a perennial weed that causes much trouble in grassland systems (total budget 0,5 mill Euro), and how to increase the production of organic protein concentrates and edible oil from rapeseed in Norway (0,8 mill Euro). The Matforsk projects will develop a fermented sausage from organic meat (0,4 mill Euro) as well as tasty bread from Norwegian organic wheat (0,2 mill Euro). The Norwegian Institute of Public Health received 0,3 mill Euro to study the relationship between nutrition and health of mother and child, in a large cohort study following 100 000 mothers and their children during pregnancy and childhood. Finally, 0,2 mill Euro was given to a user-initiated project to study organic growing of raspberry, black currant and gooseberry. In total, close to 2,5 mill Euro will be used during the next four years to study these topics. Norwegian consumers may look forward to new and tasty, locally and sustainable produced organic food, and new insight into the effect of organic diet on peoples’ health.

More proposals for organic research projects were delivered in June 2006, in competition with other proposals within food and agriculture.

Follow-up on the 15% goal

The government recently established a board of representatives from several ministries led by Ms. Sigrid Hjørnegård from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, to suggest strategies to achieve the goal of 15% production and consumption of organic food by 2015. The ministries of Health, Environment, Fishery and Education are represented in the board.

Sweden

Synthesis report from the BERAS project recently published

The excessive nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea have long been a problem for the countries around the Baltic Sea. Blue-green algal blooms and anoxic conditions over vast areas of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland are some of the serious effects of the eutrophication. The main contribution of nutrients comes from agriculture.

The aim of the BERAS project was to evaluate and demonstrate the effect of ecological, recycling agriculture, both as a method to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus discharge into the Baltic Sea and also to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

The project includes five main reports (Work Packages). The synthesis report sums up the work and also describes the challenges put by the interdisciplinarity of the work. The BERAS project was funded by the EU INTERREG III B programme and also by the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Poland.

The synthesis report can be downloaded from www.cul.slu.se/information/publik/BERAS_slutrapport.pdf