Does a higher environmental consciousness of farmers reduce expectations for financial compensation? A choice experiment to improve the organic farming intervention in Romania.

Organic farming is increasingly considered in the European Common Agricultural Policy. Sound evaluations of the effects of policy measures on organic farms in the EU are needed to face the challenges in future policy design. The effects of various policy scenarios on profitability and development strategies of typical organic arable and dairy farms are analysed for the EU-countries Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Italy. Based on an approach which links simulation modelling and focus groups consisting, profitability of model farms is analysed ex-post for year the 1999 and their potential development simulated until 2008 under Agenda 2000 and two alternative policy scenarios. For each policy scenario potential farm adaptation strategies are forecasted. Size, structure, productivity, achieved output prices and policy environment of typical organic farms differ widely between countries and farm types. Great differences in the contribution of payments to total farm profit and farm family labour remuneration are observed. Dairy model farms are expected to slightly benefit from Agenda 2000, while arable farms are more susceptible to price reductions of the Agenda 2000 package. In adaptation to Agenda 2000 organic dairy farms are expected to grow, while arable farms are more likely to diversify production or follow valued adding strategies. Two extreme alternative scenarios are also analysed in their impacts on organic farms, a policy-driven scenario (Organic Paradise) and a demand-driven scenario (Green Europe). The Organic Paradise scenario results in higher profitability of organic farms than Green Europe scenario in the long term. The effects of alternative policy scenarios on profitability of typical farms are similar in all countries. The choice of adaptation strategy of farmers in the different countries, however, vary significantly, mainly due to the current national market situation.

Recently, environmental consciousness and demand of healthy food have increased rapidly. In this context, organic agriculture has been used in all countries. In addition, production area and producers have increased each passing days. “Organic agriculture” also known as “ecological agriculture or biological agriculture” is a production method that aims eco-friendly production, development of plant resistance, and conservations of agriculture soil. Besides, organic agriculture aims to reconstruct of lost natural balance. Organic agriculture bans use of pesticides, hormones, and chemical fertilizers. Especially, organic agriculture gained a commercial dimension with the increasing of consumer demands in 1980s. In organic cotton agriculture, genetically modified cotton seeds are not used. The fundamental of organic cotton agriculture is that cotton seeds are not treated microwave energy and radiation. Organic cotton agriculture consists of all agriculture systems that encourage eco-friendly fiber production. Furthermore, it causes to remove use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. For this reason, organic agriculture causes to increase the fertility of soil. In this chapter, organic agriculture, organic cotton agriculture, comparison conventional cotton agriculture with organic cotton agriculture, environmental impacts of organic cotton agriculture, and use of organic cotton products were investigated.KeywordsOrganic cottonOrganic agricultureEnvironmental impacts

Inner farm nutrient flows between arable land and permanent grassland via the stable in organic cropping systems

We aim to reveal organic food producer profiles in terms of firm characteristics, environmental consciousness, perception of entry barriers, and constraints in the organic food sector in Turkey using a producer survey that we have conducted with members of commerce and industrial associations. The results show that compared with conventional producers, Turkish organic producers are mostly middle-sized firms and unionized, and they have environmental consciousness and believe that production costs such as transportation, certification, and multiplicity of imported goods are important constraints on the supply side of the organic food market. They also consider the unawareness of the term organic in society as a problem for the development of the organic food sector in Turkey, whilst conventional food producers believe that the lack of education of employees is an important entry barrier for the organic food market. Differing perceptions of conventional and organic food producers imply that different incentives are necessary for the development of the organic food sector.

Optimising nitrogen (N) management improves soil fertility and reduces negative environmental impacts. Mineral N fertilizers are of key importance in intensive conventional farming (CF). In contrast, organic farming (OF) is highly dependent on closed nutrient cycles, biological N fixation and crop rotations. However, both systems need to minimise N balances and maximise nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE). NUE of organic and conventional crop production systems was evaluated in three regions in Germany by analysing N input, N output and N balance of 30 pairs of one OF and one CF farm each from the network of pilot farms for the period 2009–2011; indicators were calculated using the farm management system REPRO. CF had higher N input in all farm pairs. In 90% of the comparisons, N output of CF was higher than OF, in 7% it was the same and in 3% lower. NUE was higher in 60% of the OF, the same in 37% and lower in only 3%. The NUE of crop production in OF was 91% (arable farms: 83%; mixed/dairy farms: 95%) and the NUE in CF was 79% (arable farms: 77%; dairy farms: 80%). N balance was lower in 90% of the OF. The yearly average N balance was four times higher in CF (59 kg N ha−1 a−1) than in OF (15 kg N ha−1 a−1). The results show a huge individual variability within OF and CF. Organic mixed/dairy farms had the lowest N balances and the highest NUE. A further expansion of OF area can help to reduce high N balances and increase the NUE of crop production.

This review provides an introduction to organic farming, its history and concepts, organic certification systems and governmental support, impacts to the environment and food security, the quality of organic food, and the impact of organic farming on human health. Organic farming is a holistic approach to agriculture and food systems that is based on agroecosystem health, soil fertility, reduction of inputs, and locally to regionally adapted farming systems. The first organic ideas were developed after World War I in Europe as an alternative to the existing conventional farming systems which induced rapid and crucial social and environmental changes in rural areas. Today, organic farming is growing rapidly on a global scale, with around 370 million hectares currently under certified organic management and a turnover of organic products amounting to 60 billion US dollars. Given that organic farming has environmental benefits, some governments are subsidizing organic farmers, while others establish legally valid organic standards that must be followed to enhance consumer trust in organic labeling.Many recent studies comparing organic and conventional farming have been performed, although almost exclusively in North America and Europe. These studies show that environmental impacts of organic farming are less than those from conventional farming, but the conclusions depend on the different farming systems used for comparison and on the parameters that were assessed. For soil parameters such as organic matter or aggregate stability, the effect from organic farming systems was positive compared to conventional farming systems, although contrary results exist in some cases. For nitrate leaching, study results are diverse and depend on production systems (animal husbandry, crop production, proportion of legumes). For greenhouse gas emissions, organic farming provides lower emissions on a per hectare basis compared to conventional farming, but the same or higher emissions on a product basis because of lower yields. If the yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems could be reduced, the potential for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would rise. Organic farming performed better with regard to biodiversity compared to conventional farming for most taxa assessed. The impact of organic farming on food security cannot be clearly assessed because studies on the performance of organic farming in developing countries are lacking. Currently, some authors argue that organic farmers in developing countries profit from organic production if they can realize a price premium for the products and reduce input costs.One of the most important consumer motivations for the purchase of organic products is their health benefits. Organic products performed better than conventional products for different food compounds by containing less pesticide residues that are harmful to human health, having more desirable bioactive substances, and in the case of organic meat and milk, having more desirable fatty-acid composition. Animal experiments have shown positive health impacts from organic food. Several studies conducted on rats have indicated higher immune system reactivity in organically fed rats compared to conventionally fed animals. Similar results have been obtained for chickens and cows.The rapid growth of organic farming also can be a threat to future development if the organic sector cannot maintain its integrity and credibility. Organic products are available not only in farmer markets but in on-farm shops and organic food stores and are becoming increasingly present in conventional supermarkets. This involves long supply-chains, large suppliers, as well as processing, distribution, and trade via conventional processors and wholesalers. This conventionalization of organic food-chains may challenge the credibility of the organic sector as an environmentally friendly and socially fair form of agriculture. As the organic sector depends very much on this credibility, the question of how to retain this authenticity will be a major concern for the future.

The contribution of ploughing permanent grassland and leys to emissions of N2O and CO2 is not yet well known. In this paper, the contribution of ploughing permanent grassland and leys, including grassland renovation, to CO2 and N2O emissions and mitigation options are explored. Land use changes in the Netherlands during 1970–2020 are used as a case study. Three grassland management operations are defined: (i) conversion of permanent grassland to arable land and leys; (ii) rotations of leys with arable crops or bulbs; and (iii) grassland renovation. The Introductory Carbon Balance Model (ICBM) is modified to calculate C and N accumulation and release. Model calibration is based on ICBM parameters, soil organic N data and C to N ratios. IPCC emission factors are used to estimate N2O-emissions. The model is validated with data from the Rothamsted Park Grass experiments. Conversion of permanent grassland to arable land, a ley arable rotation of 3 years ley and 3 years arable crops, and a ley bulb rotation of 6 years ley and one year bulbs, result in calculated N2O and CO2 emissions totalling 250, 150 and 30 ton CO2-equivalents ha–1, respectively. Most of this comes from CO2. Emissions are very high directly after ploughing and decrease slowly over a period of more than 50 years. N2O emissions in 3/3 ley arable rotation and 6/1 ley bulb rotation are 2.1 and 11.0 ton CO2-equivalents ha–1 year–1, respectively. From each grassland renovation, N2O emissions amount to 1.8 to 5.5 ton CO2-equivalents ha–1. The calculated total annual emissions caused by ploughing in the Netherlands range from 0.5 to 0.65 Mton CO2-equivalents year–1. Grassland renovation in spring offers realistic opportunities to lower the N2O emissions. Developing appropriate combinations of ley, arable crops and bulbs, will reduce the need for conversion of permanent pasture. It will also decrease the rotational losses, due to a decreased proportion of leys in rotations. Also spatial policies are effective in reducing emissions of CO2 and N2O. Grassland ploughing contributes significantly to N2O and CO2 emissions. The conclusion can be drawn that total N2O emissions are underestimated, because emissions from grassland ploughing are not taken into account. Specific emission factors and the development of mitigation options are required to account for the emissions and to realise a reduction of emissions due to the changes in grassland ploughing.

The expansion of organic farming has taken off in the European Union and particularly in Austria, where 9% of farmland is certified organic. The main reasons for this development are subsidies and cooperation with supermarket chains. In Austria, many organic farms are located in the mountainous areas, while lowlands with arable cropping have fewer organic farms than the national average. Exploring two regions as case studies, this paper investigates whether the organic farming movement can keep its promises of environmental safety, economic viability and social justice. There is a high level of environmental concern among those who practice organic farming, but local differences are large. It is the individual farmer who determines whether environmental issues beyond the official organic regulations are considered. The economic situation for organic farms is positive due to the financial support from the government and cooperation with supermarket chains, but processing and marketing operations are still lacking for organic products. Regarding social justice, organic farming enjoys a high esteem among consumers, but relations and cooperation between organic and conventional farm sectors is poor. We conclude that it is crucial for the organic movement to focus on qualitative issues rather than quantitative expansion for further sound development of organic farming in Austria.

2Organic food production faces rapidly growing consumer demand in the U.S. and other industrialized countries, along with a worldwide regulatory framework and rapidly developing support infrastructure, making it a premier technology in the efforts of many public and private organizations that advocate more sustainable farming practices. The use of organic farming systems for crop production in the U.S. has grown rapidly during the last decade, but is still under 0.5 percent of total U.S. farmland—substantially less than in many countries in Europe and elsewhere. Within the U.S., conversion to organic farming systems has been more extensive in particular commodity sectors and regions. In California, for example, about two percent of the state’s crop acreage is managed under organic farming systems, and over 15 percent of the dairies in some New England states are organic. The objectives of this paper are to examine commodity-sector adoption rates and trends for organic farming systems in the U.S., and determine the impact of evolving markets and public support on adoption. First we will describe the current adoption and trends for the US and the world for organic production. Next we will examine current research on consumer attitudes towards organic products. We will then look at relevant issues raised from the results of research trials comparing the risks and input requirements of organic versus conventional agriculture. In most cases organic producers rely on price premiums to offset the increased risks and production costs. We will discuss market policies that directly and indirectly affect the profitability of organic production. We will then look at current farm policies in the context of adoption of organic production. Finally, we will discuss organic production in the context of the next farm bill.

The impact of biogas plants on regional dynamics of permanent grassland and maize area—The example of Hesse, Germany (2005–2010)

Cross compliance and the protection of grassland – Illustrative analyses of land use transitions between permanent grassland and arable land in German regions

This paper analyses the institutional development of organic food and farming from 2004 to 2012 in six European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Romania. Based on document analysis and expert interviews with key informants on organic farming development in each country, similarities and differences in the development of the organic sector were analysed to evaluate if countries gaining accession to the EU at different times undergo similar organic sector development. Furthermore, the development of the organic sector was explored against the background of increasing involvement of the mainstream agricultural sector in organic farming development. To conclude, the uptake and support of organic farming by mainstream agriculture resulted in a change in the nature of the organic farming community. Rather than influencing the mainstream agricultural system, the organic farming community is increasingly reacting to changes in mainstream agricultural institutions. There has been a loss of influence by the organic farming community over the development of the organic sector. Organic farming is rather seen by the mainstream agricultural sector as a way to address current problems the regime is dealing with, rather than providing a role model for future farming development.

There has been little systematic analysis of the extent to which organic farming policies have influenced growth in the organic sector. Analyses of organic farming policy instruments, for the most part, provide extensive and detailed reviews of instruments applied either in a single country or across countries. Hence, there is a great need to examine systematically whether there is a relationship between the introduction of organic farming policies and the growth of the organic food sector, and whether particular designs of organic farming policies are more effective than others. In this paper, we take the first step in the endeavour of analysing the effects of organic farming by undertaking an econometric analysis of the relationship between organic farming policies in Denmark and the UK and their effects on the number of farmers and growers converting to organic production.

About half of all N and P loads to Swedish waters originate from agriculture and must decrease to reach environmental goals. Studying nutrient management at farm level can provide an understanding of nutrient recycling and the risk of losses. In a survey of organic and conventional dairy and arable farms in three southern counties of Sweden, farm-gate N and P balances and N use efficiency (NUE) were analysed. Crop distribution differed significantly between organic and conventional farms, with organic dairy farms having higher proportions of ley and pulse crops and organic arable farms having a much higher proportion of N-fixing crops than corresponding conventional farms. Conventional dairy and arable farms had on average 70% and 40% higher N surplus than corresponding organic farms. Farm-gate P surplus was larger on conventional dairy farms and much larger on organic arable farms, mainly due to purchase of P-rich organic fertilisers. Organic dairy farms had higher NUE than corresponding conventional farms, but the opposite was true for arable farms. However, in the southernmost county Skåne, where soil fertility and yield potential are high, NUE was similar on all arable farms. Total inputs of N and P were positively correlated with N and P surpluses, especially on dairy farms. Improved manure and crop residue management, reduced use of purchased mineral N fertilisers coupled to more uniform within-farm distribution of manure, use of catch crops, intercropping and organic fertilisers with appropriate N:P ratio are measures that can reduce farm nutrient surpluses and improve nutrient management on both organic and conventional farms.

Permanent grasslands cover 34% of the European Union’s agricultural area and are vital for a wide variety of ecosystem services essential for our society. Over recent decades, the permanent grassland area has declined and land use change continues to threaten its extent. Simultaneously, the management intensity of permanent grasslands increased. We performed a systematic literature review on the multifunctionality of permanent grasslands in Europe, examining the effects of land use and management on 19 grassland ecosystem service indicators. Based on the evidence in 696 out of 70,456 screened papers, published since 1980, we found that both land use change and intensification of management decreased multifunctionality. In particular, preventing conversion of permanent grasslands to croplands secured the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. A lower management intensity was associated with benefits for biodiversity, climate regulation and water purification, but impacted the provision of high-quality animal feed. Increasing the number of species in the sward enhanced multifunctionality of permanent grassland without significant trade-offs such as losses in production. Our review covered many aspects of land use, management and ecosystem services, but we also identified areas with no or only few studies. The most prominent gaps were related to comparisons between permanent and temporary grasslands, and effects of management practices on the provision of cultural values, and on erosion and flood control. We suggest that, despite apparent changes in human dietary preferences, the protection of permanent grasslands in Europe must be prioritised. At the same time, considering the need to reduce ruminant livestock’s contribution to climate change, the time seems ripe to increase support for low-intensity grassland management to optimise the provision of essential ecosystem services from Europe’s permanent grasslands.