Diolog workshop by Tönnies Research
Animal welfare and emissions - how do we create optimal husbandry? The actors addressed this question at the most recent workshop at Tönnies Forschungs gGmbH. To show how these two aspects can be optimally combined in livestock farming, producers, scientists and representatives from companies, agricultural organizations and food retailers came together in the monastery gate in Marienfeld. In the end, we came to the conclusion that there are many good ideas, successful practical examples and goal-oriented approaches, but there are also just as many thick boards that still need to be drilled.
“It is remarkable that the plenary session covered most of the German food retail sector, while at the same time agriculture, the meat industry and research entered into the discussion,” praised Professor Dr. Hans-Joachim Bätza, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Tönnies Research. There is no one quintessence, but rather a wealth of building blocks that are worth looking at much more closely - for example feed efficiency, improved stable conditions, selective breeding, health management, low-emission feeding, management systems for liquid manure and manure, alternative protein sources, education and training .
“Further optimization is fundamental for the change towards more sustainable systems,” emphasizes Dr. Gereon Schulze Althoff, managing director of the non-profit organization. The combination of these and other measures could result in livestock farming that is consistently geared towards the animal and at the same time takes environmental concerns into account. There is a need for long-lasting, healthy and resilient livestock, a genetic performance level that corresponds to the production potential of the available feed, and consistent promotion of animal health. “All in all, this is nothing other than a professional circular economy.”
The podium was filled with top-class people. Professor Dr. Dr. Kai Frölich (Arche Warder) made it clear how intensive and extensive livestock farming fit together and how Arche Warder contributes to the preservation of endangered breeds. Pasture farming, emissions and biodiversity were discussed by Professor Dr. Friedhelm Taube in focus. Lars Broer (Agricultural Investigation and Research Institute of the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture) highlighted the connection between open stables and emission reductions. Bernhard Feller from the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture explained new stable construction concepts and their advantages and disadvantages.
Frölich calls for a stronger orientation of food production towards sustainability, environmental compatibility and regionality. To a certain extent, his concept represents a return to a form of agriculture that could become an important pillar of nature conservation and in which old farm animal breeds play important roles. Of central importance would initially be a detailed determination and differentiation of suitable areas that would either be used intensively as part of precision farming or in extensive agriculture with less yield potential. “Small and medium-sized farming structures must be preserved and farmers with this form of use must be specifically supported,” says Frölich. State funding instruments should no longer take the size of the area into account, as was previously the case, but should instead be based primarily on the extent of the respective ecosystem services, for example the concept of the public welfare bonus of the German Association for Landscape Conservation.
The role of livestock farming in the context of securing world food supply as well as in the context of ecological intensification was discussed by Professor Dr. Friedhelm Taube from the University of Kiel using the example of cattle farming. It argues that securing world food security is linked to a significant reduction in the consumption of animal foods in rich countries. For German and European agriculture, this means that in the future milk should be produced primarily from grassland and not - as can be seen in the current trend - increasingly from fields with fodder corn and concentrated feed. In addition, the level of animal husbandry must be adapted to the fulfillment of ecosystem services in the areas of water protection, climate protection and biodiversity. With the results of the “Eco-efficient pasture milk production Lindhof” project, Taube shows in an exemplary manner that this holistic approach can be successful. “With the combination of elements of organic farming in forage production (clover grass systems) and integrated farming in cash crop production towards 'hybrid systems', the achievement of the objectives of the European farm-to-fork strategy is guaranteed while maintaining a high level of production; this must be supported by politics and trade “Argues Professor Taube.
Results from a study funded by the state of Lower Saxony lead to the conclusion that the spread of odors from outdoor stables appears to be limited: at least that is what Lars Broer from LUFA Nord-West concludes from the data. Emissions therefore only come from the functional area where feces and urine are deposited. The prerequisite is a structuring of the bay. The run should definitely be covered and the “toilet area” should be made of slatted floors, is Broer’s recommendation. “The drier the area, the fewer ammonia emissions.”
Bernhard Feller from the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture can only agree with this: Modern stable construction concepts must meet the requirements of higher animal welfare standards, lower environmental impacts and labor economy. Existing buildings are often opened and converted into outdoor climate stables. However, the approval for this is subject to emissions and nature conservation law “and therefore represents a significant hurdle”. Today, the basis for decision-making for a stable system is the availability of workers, bedding material as well as the ability to obtain approval and a price structure that enables economical husbandry.
At the end of the event, the four speakers discussed with the invited experts what pressing research questions now need to be answered in order to make further progress in view of the ongoing lack of state planning security and support for animal welfare and climate protection. It became clear that questions of marketing and contract design strategies in particular require the integration of social sciences in order to reduce the obstacles in the so-called consumer citizen gap. What everyone wants but no one buys – resolving this contradiction is the big challenge.
background objects
Tönnies Research is a non-profit research platform about the future of animal welfare and the sustainability of livestock farming. To this end, it has initiated and supported research projects and studies since 2010 with the aim of improving livestock farming, taking into account animal, climate, environmental, nature and consumer protection as well as healthy nutrition, as well as the dissemination of the results and their application in the to promote practice. More about Tönnie's research at: www.toennies-forschung.de
