Production systems with monogastric animals rely mainly on high-quality feeds from external sources that compete with food for human consumption. Livestock production systems are highly specialised and decoupled from other areas of farming. Such systems prioritise high yields rather than low environmental impact, resilience and sustainability.
The imperative challenge is to design systems which overcome an apparent contradiction between animal welfare and "naturalness" on one hand, and feed and resource efficiency on the other. Within this context, the joint conference "Improving sustainability and welfare in organic poultry and pig production" is a perfect opportunity to share the unique knowledge acquired during the four projects OK-Net EcoFeed, PPILOW, FreeBirds and POWER. These include ration-planning tools, sustainable and regional feeding for pigs and poultry, welfare self-assessment tools and the development of the Organic Farm Knowledge platform.
The event aims to be a meaningful contribution to improving the sustainability and animal welfare in organic livestock production, and will also host a policy debate targeting a wide range of audience including policy makers, farmer and animal welfare associations, processors, feed companies and retailers.
Further information
Contact
- Andreas Basler, FiBL Switzerland
- Lauren Dietemann, FiBL Switzerland
- Helga Willer, FiBL Switzerland
Links
- OK-Net EcoFeed in the FiBL project database
- POWER in the FiBL project database
- ok-net-ecofeed.eu: OK-Net EcoFeed project website
- ppilow.eu: PPILOW project website
- projects.au.dk: Further information on the FreeBirds project
- projects.au.dk: Further information on the POWER project