Danish Agriculture Research Articles

Mechanisms linking individual and organizational culture change through action research: Creating change agents for organizational and food safety culture development

This article proposes a more individualized approach to organizational and food safety culture development through the creation of culture change agents. The study used action research with individual therapeutic training of sensory and emotional skills as the action intervention to reveal underlying mechanisms of the culture and create long-term culture change. The study was conducted with a group of voluntary employees over a 3-year period at a department under Food Safety and Veterinary Issues in Danish Agriculture and Food Council. Data was collected using individual in-depth qualitative interviews with a novel questionnaire technique that facilitated participants to bring otherwise unconscious underlying assumptions to awareness. The study found that working intensely and therapeutically on an individual and group level, had a significant impact on the surrounding culture and social capital. Five underlying mechanisms were revealed linking individual culture change to changes in the social capital and culture of the department. Going through the five underlying mechanisms may enable individuals to get to the root causes of issues, facilitate more sharing and collaboration to learn from near-misses and failures, and take action despite facing uncomfortable situations, all important abilities to develop FSC. Based on the underlying mechanisms a ‘Change Agent Model’ was developed. The model illustrates the important underlying mechanisms that any individual or group can work through to become culture change agents and drivers for organizational culture and FSC development. This is the first of two articles.

Targeting sustainable greenhouse agriculture policies in China and Denmark: A comparative study

Greenhouse agriculture has become vitally important in promoting sustainable food supplies globally, especially by encouraging local production and consumption practices. However, it also represents an industry with a high risk for groundwater pollution due to much higher application limits allowed for nitrogen fertilizers compared to conventional agriculture. Although sufficient focus has been placed on characterizing any environmental impacts stemming from agriculture, including greenhouses, the influence of social, economic and political aspects on this process are generally overlooked. This one-sided focus may be partly due to the complexity of environmental systems, i.e. in measuring the state of the system accurately. However, any actions taken by a government, i.e. in the form of policy instruments, will play a key role in ensuring the safety and quality of agricultural products and the surrounding environmental systems. Insufficient knowledge regarding policy and related influential factors may thus slow the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ultimately inhibit environmental protection. In light of this, a cross-national comparative study was carried out to enable a systematic understanding of Chinese and Danish greenhouse agriculture policy using the agro-environmental DPSIR (Driver, Pressure, State, Impact, Response) indicator framework. We critically examined whether current legislative steps for mitigating anthropogenic sources of N-pollution are suitably aimed at the parameters controlling (driving) specific pressures/impacts on groundwater. The potential for reaction (feedback/responses) within each legislative system, as well as the key gaps in policy responses for monitoring both water and N-fertilizer applied in greenhouses were identified. Notably, most responses are found to target only the pressure component of the framework. This discovery opens the door for the development of additional response mechanisms, which together could result in more sustainable policy measures for greenhouse agriculture that may be more effective, more quickly. Although many countermeasures exist for control of land, water and fertilizer use at the national level in both countries, their deployment depends heavily on effective stakeholder engagement and local-level adoption strategies, indicating a more holistic and multi-objective (less fragmented) policy approach is needed. Importantly, this paper demonstrates an alternative implementation of the DPSIR framework, where comparative study applications may be used to enable mutual learning that may enhance the uptake of disruptive solutions (technological and/or policy advancement), recognizing that incremental change may not be cost-efficient or sustainable especially for regions with critical water issues.

Understanding the trends in Denmark's global food trade-related greenhouse gas and resource footprint

Food production is a major driver of global warming, water scarcity and biodiversity loss. Denmark has set ambitious targets to lower its territorial carbon emissions in the next decades. In 2019, the Danish Agriculture and Food Council announced a strategy to make Denmark's food production systems climate-neutral by 2050. Therefore, detailed information concerning Denmark's food consumption's environmental impacts is required to implement effective climate mitigation and resource conservation policies that lead to positive local to global results. Using an environmentally extended multi-regional input-output (EE MRIO) analysis and the EXIOBASE v3.4 database, we evaluate Denmark's global food-related consumption-based (CB) greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and resource (land and water use) accounts from 1995 to 2014. Although Denmark's CB food-related blue water use remained relatively stable during the studied period, its food-related CB GHG emissions (excluding land-use change emissions) decreased continuously by 30%. Also, Denmark's cropland and grassland footprints for food declined by 16% (3555 km2) and 27% (621 km2), respectively. Almost two-fifths of Denmark's food consumption was produced abroad in 2014, corresponding to 51% of Denmark's food-related CB GHG emissions and land use apiece and 84% of its food-related blue water use. Whereas animal-based foods accounted for the largest share of Denmark's food-related CB GHG emissions, plant-based diets were responsible for the bulk of Denmark's CB land and blue water use. Dietary changes towards plant-based foods are essential to mitigating Denmark's food-related climate impacts. We recommend that Denmark transfers its sustainable food production technologies to its pollution-and-resource intensive food-exporting trade partners to enhance global climate change mitigation and resource use efficiency.

Королівство Данія: досвід ринкового обігу земель сільськогосподарського призначення

The purpose of the article is to reveal the experience of the functioning of the market circulation of agricultural land in Denmark, in order to further implement in Ukrainian practice, the positive and avoid negative aspects of this experience. Research methods. The study used an empirical method (comprehensive assessment of the modern model of market turnover of agricultural land in Denmark); generalization and systematization (construction of the concept and logical-structural model of economic turnover of lands); abstract-logical method (theoretical generalizations and formulation of conclusions). Research results. It was found that the tightly regulated market turnover of agricultural land in Denmark was changed to a more liberal one, with permission to buy land for foreigners, but this not only did not attract investment as expected, but on the contrary, led to even more negative and crisis phenomena in country. The main tools, mechanisms and conditions of land turnover in agriculture of this country are determined. Scientific novelty. The main purpose of regulating the market turnover of land in Danish agriculture has been established. The legal framework of Denmark for regulating the market circulation of agricultural land has been studied. The structural and logical scheme of market circulation of agricultural lands is formed. The provisions on the Ukrainian model of regulating the market turnover of agricultural lands were further developed, taking into account the experience of the studied country. Practical significance. The results of the study of the experience of the Kingdom of Denmark on the market turnover of land, in terms of granting non-residents access to the right to purchase agricultural land, is a clear practical answer and a caveat that should undoubtedly be taken into account in Ukraine. The application of the Danish experience should help to build an effective model of market turnover of agricultural land in our country. Tabl.: 1. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 18.

Transition from Animal-Based to Plant-Based Food Production to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture—The Case of Denmark

Curbing emissions from agriculture, and especially from livestock production, is essential in order to fulfil the Paris Agreement. Shifting to a diet lower in meat consumption has been emphasized in several studies. Based on the Planetary Health Diet developed by the EAT-Lancet Commission, this study investigates the effect on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions of transitioning the Danish agricultural system, which currently relies mainly on meat and dairy production, towards increased focus on plant-based foods, combined with replacement or reduction of imported feed and carbon sequestration on previous agricultural land. The study finds a large potential for reducing emissions from Danish agriculture through implementation of the Planetary Health Diet, with reductions of up to 20.2 Mt CO2e (CO2 equivalents) (86.5%) under the most ambitious conditions. This demonstrates the potentially large benefits from transitioning towards a more plant-based European agricultural sector and underscores the need for European and national policies incentivizing this transition.

Dynamic Sustainability Assessment Tool: Case Study of Green Biorefineries in Danish Agriculture

In this work, a novel, dynamic sustainability assessment tool is presented and validated in a case study. This tool combines two methods—system dynamics (SD) and temporal soil carbon modelling. The case study for sustainability analysis of Danish agriculture and green biorefineries supply chains in Denmark is used. The development of the Danish agriculture sector is simulated and assessed in relation to the ecosystem’s carrying capacity until 2050, defined as 1.4 livestock units per hectare. The results show that under the current development, the agriculture sector would exceed this carrying capacity shortly after 2030. The results obtained from the dynamic sustainability assessment tool show a more precise and less optimistic projection of future development than the assessment using constant soil carbon modelling values only. The study, therefore, suggests that the use of the temporal aspects in the sustainability assessment should be included and further developed.

Agricultural residues bioenergy potential that sustain soil carbon depends on energy conversion pathways

AbstractAgricultural crop residues represent a significant part of the biomass potentially available for renewable energy systems. Sustaining soil organic carbon (C) is a common limiting factor applied to the biophysically available resource to determine crop residues potential for bioenergy. Studies quantifying this potential have so far largely considered crop biomass to produce renewable energy as being independent from the energy conversion pathway. However, the conversion method has great influence on how much C in crop residues can be returned back and retained in soils. Here, we applied the C‐TOOL soil C model for two extreme conversion pathways of agricultural straw management in terms of C returned back to soils, using Denmark as a case study. Those were anaerobic digestion, involving the return of recalcitrant C to fields, and combustion, involving no C returns to agricultural fields. Danish agriculture was represented by six different soil‐cropping schemes units on which our two extreme bioenergy pathways were modelled. We applied a premise that for a given geographical unit, the same long‐term soil C level needs to be achieved under these extreme bioenergy scenarios; therefore, we identified how much straw could be removed from agricultural fields in each case while maintaining equal soil organic carbon (SOC) levels. We found that at the scale of the whole country, only 26% of the straw potential can be harvested for use in combustion to maintain in average long‐term SOC at the same level as it would have been with the anaerobic digestion scenario. Thus, consideration for the biomass conversion pathway is important when identifying agricultural residue potentials for energy conversion while ensuring that SOC level is not compromised.

The agricultural treadmill -a way out through differentiation? An empirical analysis of organic farming and the agricultural treadmill

The agricultural treadmill describes how technological advances create productivity gains for the benefit of progressive farmers, but where the result is also increased supply, falling prices, economic problems for laggard farmers and thus the need for new achievements in technology. In order to escape from this treadmill, farmers are trying to differentiate and diversify into new more attractive segments. Agro-tourism and organic agriculture are examples of differentiation. The elements and processes in the treadmill are described and supported by empirical time series. Possibilities of delaying or stopping the treadmill are discussed. The question is raised whether organic farming is able to escape the treadmill. The question is answered from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. The empirical analysis is based on examples from Danish agriculture, which has a significant organic agricultural production. The conclusion is, that the structural and productivity developments and the price trends - which are important elements in the treadmill - are almost identical in the organic and conventional agriculture.

Accounting for the wealth of Denmark: a case study of Smithian growth using the emergence of modern accounting in Danish dairying

The idea of “Smithian growth” rests on a “natural” development out of agriculture through capital accumulation, and the division of labour. We confront these concepts with an “historical experiment” and the case of Danish agriculture in the nineteenth century. Specifically, we look at how accounting was used to promote specialization, ultimately in butter production, leading to the massive increases in productivity that Smith predicted. We also observe the emergence of Smithian “philosophers”. This ultimately led to the capital-intensive industrialization of Danish agriculture through butter factories, and general development. We argue that this establishes the historical relevance of Smith’s theories.

A comparison of disaggregated nitrogen budgets for Danish agriculture using Europe-wide and national approaches

Spatially detailed information on agricultural nitrogen (N) budgets is relevant to identify regions where there is a need for a reduction in inputs in view of various forms of N pollution. However, at the scale of the European Union, there is a lack of consistent, reliable, high spatial resolution data necessary for the calculation of regional N losses. To gain insight in the reduction in uncertainty achieved by using higher spatial resolution input data. This was done by comparing spatially disaggregated agricultural N budgets for Denmark for the period 2000–2010, generated by two versions of the European scale model Integrator, a version using high spatial resolution national data for Denmark (Integrator-DK) and a version using available data at the EU scale (Integrator-EU). Results showed that the national N fluxes in the N budgets calculated by the two versions of the model were within 1–5% for N inputs by fertilizer and manure excretion, but inputs by N fixation and N mineralisation differed by 50–100% and N uptake also differed by ca 25%, causing a difference in N leaching and runoff of nearly 50%. Comparison with an independently derived Danish national budget appeared generally to be better with Integrator-EU results in 2000 but with Integrator-DK results in 2010. However, the spatial distribution of manure distribution and N losses from Integrator-DK were closer to observed distributions than those from Integrator-EU. We conclude that close attention to local agronomic practices is needed when using a leaching fraction approach and that for effective support of environmental policymaking, Member States need to collect or submit high spatial resolution agricultural data to Eurostat.

Crude protein yield and theoretical extractable true protein of potential biorefinery feedstocks

Production of a broad spectrum of products from biomass is of key importance for an economically viable and sustainable biorefinery sector. The aim of this study was to determine the total crude protein yield and theoretical extractable true protein of potential biorefinery feedstocks optimized for supplying biomass to biorefineries. Field experiments during 2013–2014 with perennial crops (pure grasses: cocksfoot, festulolium, reed canary, tall fescue, two miscanthus species and two grass-legume mixtures) and annual crops in optimized rotations (winter rye, sugar beet, maize, triticale, hemp and grass-clover) were compared to traditional crops common in Danish agriculture (maize, barley, wheat and triticale). Theoretical extractable true protein was determined according to the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System, which fractionates the crude protein based on solubilities. The easily extractable fraction of the true protein was denoted as neutral-extractable. Concentration of crude protein was on average 164–191 g kg−1 DM per cut of pure grasses and grass-legume mixtures, with the summer cuts having the lowest values. Pure grasses produced the highest crude protein yield per hectare annually, ranging from 2595 to 3693 kg ha−1 irrespective of the year, of which 920–1640 kg ha−1 was neutral-extractable protein. Whilst the neutral-extractable true protein per hectare of festulolium and tall fescue was superior to those of all other crops, the neutral extractable true protein per hectare of grass-legume mixtures and of winter rye and maize double crop was similar to those of reed canary and cocksfoot. On a mass basis, 34–46% of crude protein in pure grasses was neutral-extractable, depending on the year. The potential extractability of crude protein may be increased by 14–35% if the cell wall-bound protein can be extracted too.

Emergy synthesis of conventional fodder maize (Zea mays L.) production in Denmark

With the demand for animal protein on the rise, there is need for phenomenal increase in production of animal feed to meet the increasing demand. Among the feed production systems, conventional fodder maize acreage is increasing due to high yields and nutritional value of maize silage over other feeds. However, conventional fodder maize production systems are input intensive and there is a need to assess resource use in fodder maize production in Danish agriculture and in Europe in general. Hence, the objective of the study was to carry out emergy synthesis to evaluate the resource use in conventional fodder maize production. Among the renewables, rain input (3.08E + 14 seJ/ha) was the largest renewable component input and considered as the total renewable input into the production system. The purchased resources was the significant input constituting 80.5% (1.54E + 15 seJ/ha) of the total emergy. Among the purchased inputs, nitrogen consisted of the bulk of the input of 37.6% (7.18E + 14 seJ/ha), followed by phosphorus (19.5%) and diesel input (16.4%). The fodder maize yield was 3.12E + 7 kg ha−1 equivalent to output (Y) of 4.60E + 11 J/ha. The solar transformity was 4.15E + 03 seJ/J and the fraction of local renewables was 16%. Emergy yield ratio was 1.24 and environmental loading ratio was 5.2 whereas emergy sustainability index was 0.24. The study quantified the different inputs of renewables, local non-renewables and purchased inputs and used a range of emergy indicators to identify the gaps in resource use in fodder maize production. It was evident that purchased resources were the bulk of the input and management measures to improve the use efficiency of these inputs will enhance the emergy use efficiency. Hence, the study outputs are a useful resource for informed decision making to devise management measures by farmers, agricultural advisors and policy makers to optimize the inputs for sustainable production of fodder maize.

Cuban and Danish Agriculture, The Rochdale Principles, and the Renovation of Socialism

In 2011, the Guidelines for Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution announced Cuba's intentions to decentralize state power and economic decision-making, shift toward a mixed economy, and channel up to one-third of state workers to worker-owned cooperative enterprises and the small business sector. As socialist theory requires movement away from state-centered and toward mixed economies, I examine Danish and Cuban cooperative agricultural movements, evaluating them with respect to the Rochdale Principles of cooperative production, to identify appropriate economic production forms for democratic, participatory socialism within the context of globalization. This study argues first that, to maximize efficiency, cooperative production processes must remain entirely in the hands of cooperative federations. Second, a culture of economic democracy is reinforced by the democratic principles of cooperative work. Third, an income tax would function as a more appropriate way for the Cuban state to obtain a share of returns from agricultural cooperatives than the current production quota system, to avoid disrupting cooperative incentive structures. Fourth, cooperatives can perform well in any industry, at all levels of technological development, and should be considered a dominant model for socialism. Finally, although the Rochdale Principles are based on economic and social justice, these principles and their practical application must be continually refined through further experimentation and research.

Possibilities for near-term bioenergy production and GHG-mitigation through sustainable intensification of agriculture and forestry in Denmark

To mitigate climate change it is necessary to further increase the deployment of renewable energy, including bioenergy. This analysis shows how this can be achieved in Danish agriculture and forestry before 2020. The key is a sustainable intensification and we show through three scenarios how it is possible to increase production while at the same time decreasing environmental impact and with only minor consequences on food and feed production. An additional ~10 Tg biomass can be available in 2020 for the Danish energy sector. By converting the biomass in a biorefinery concept it is possible to supply relevant, domestically produced energy carriers that amounts to ~5%−13% of 2020 Danish energy consumption. This has the potential to reduce the GHG emissions with 13%−21% of 2020 emissions. These results are possible because Danish net primary production and the human appropriation hereof can be increased. We show that biomass for bioenergy has a large near-term potential to supply relevant energy carriers to the society while at the same time achieving significant GHG emission mitigation.

Fuelling the English breakfast: hidden energy flows in the Anglo-Danish trade 1870\u20131913

The 1870–1914 globalization period had profound impacts on the international division of labour, with coal-endowed countries specializing in the production of energy-intensive manufacturing goods and others in the production of agricultural goods. This study analyses the environmental consequences of this specialization, by quantifying the flows of energy and hidden energy embodied in the bilateral trade between the UK, the industrial workshop of the world, and Denmark, a coal-poor country with an agricultural economy. We show that the transformations that occurred in Danish agriculture to meet the growing demand for breakfast foods in the UK required significant quantities of feed and coal. Denmark was a net importer of energy throughout the period and a net importer of hidden energy in 1870. However, by the end of this wave of globalization, Denmark had become a significant net exporter of hidden energy to the UK. This was due both to an increase in its land productivity and to the import of coal, grain and fertilizers from abroad.

Quantifying dietary exposure to pesticide residues using spraying journal data

Relatively few studies are available on the combined risk of realistic dietary pesticide exposure. Despite available studies showing low risk, public concern remains. Recent methods used to estimate realistic exposure levels have a number of drawbacks, and better methods are needed. Using a novel approach, we estimated the combined exposure in the Danish population, resulting from pesticide usage in Danish agriculture. The complete Danish spraying journal data from 2014, and supervised trial residue levels reported by EFSA, were used in combination, generating residue estimates in 25 crops. Cumulative risk assessments were made for six typical Danish consumer diets. In terms of intake of cereals, sugar, fruits and vegetables, the 25 crops included accounted 70% of the diets of Danish consumers. The Hazard Index (HI) method was used to assess the consumer risk. Despite the conservative (cautious) approach, low HI values where obtained. Highest HI was 14% of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for Children. The main advantages of the new exposure estimation method are 1) comprehensive use data not relying on random samples, 2) coverage of all pesticides used, and 3) more precise estimates of residues that are below the standard reporting limits in the national monitoring program.

Farmers’ perceptions of climate change and their likely responses in Danish agriculture

Farmers are accustomed to coping with year-to-year changes in climate, but climate change is expected to accelerate the need and magnitude of farmers’ adaptation (Wheeler and Tiffin, 2009). Based on a survey of farmers across Denmark (1053 responses), this paper assesses how farmers’ perceive climate change, weigh its attendant risks, and envision the barriers to adaptation as these factors stand to affect their likelihood to undertake adaptive action in the Global North. Descriptive statistics and an ordered probit model were used to disentangle the magnitude and direction of the cognitive factors underpinning farmers’ likelihood to adapt. We also differentiate between adaptation to positive and negative potential impacts of climate change and provide important new insights on loss aversion and, more specifically, the conditions under which loss aversion may give way to a preference for gains. Our results indicate that Danish farmers are not terribly concerned about climate change impacts and perceive many barriers to adaptation, yet they indicate a moderate likelihood to undertake adaptive action in the future, particularly to potential opportunities from climate change impacts. However, we also find that the more concerned a farmer is about climate change, the more he is likely to adapt in response to negative climate impacts − the balance between loss aversion and gain preferences appears to depend on context. In either case, Danish farmers appear to prefer incremental and flexible adaptations in the face of uncertain future climate change impacts.

A quest for useful knowledge: the early development of agricultural accounting in Denmark and Northern Germany

ABSTRACTWe discuss the early development of sophisticated agricultural accounting in Northern Germany and Denmark within a framework that establishes the role of accounting for knowledge generation and subsequent economic growth. We highlight the work of Thaer, on encouraging and systematising the use of double-entry bookkeeping in agriculture for scientific and efficiency purposes, and that of Gyllembourg, who emphasised the calculation of economic returns in monetary value. Evidence exists to suggest that their work was the basis upon which further developments in accounting practice in the nineteenth century were laid, supporting the rapid modernisation and success of Danish agriculture.

Intra-European labour migration and deteriorating employment relations in Danish cleaning and agriculture: Industrial relations under pressure from EU8/2 labour inflows?

Eastern and Central European labour migration following the EU enlargement has significant impact on the Nordic labour markets. This article demonstrates, through sector-based case studies in Denmark, how labour migration influences working condition and wages in two sectors that have so far only been sparsely studied: the agriculture and cleaning industries. The high inflow of labour migrants is used by some employers to bypass and undermine the institutionalized class compromise, by employing EU8/2-workers at lower wages and often without collective agreements coverage frequently combined with below average working conditions. This put strains on the Danish agreement-based model of industrial relations, potentially leading to a more segmented labour market as well as replacement of native, mainly low-skilled workers with EU8/2-workers.

Gains of integrating sector-wise pollution regulation: The case of nitrogen in Danish crop production and aquaculture

This paper extends the Orani-G Computable General Equilibrium model with an externality market. The externality market is modelled with a limited number of pollution permits that are traded between representative firms in different sectors. The model is applied to identify the gains of a common nitrogen regulation system for Danish agriculture crop and aquaculture production. Common regulation across the two sectors is found to increase GDP by euro 32 million, corresponding to 2.2% of their initial GDP contribution. The direct effect in the two sectors is euro 39 million, where the spill-over effect is −7 million. Full use of recirculation technology in aquaculture entails a further increase in GDP to 106 million. The introduction of a common regulatory system and recirculation technology, simultaneous with a reduction of the common nitrogen cap of 17.6%, corresponding to the current policy objectives, is found to increase GDP by 52 million, 4.1% of their initial contribution. Hence, introducing a common regulatory system and taking advantage of the new technology more than counterbalances the negative socio-economic effect of a cap reduction. The analysis points to the importance of introducing more coherent regulatory frameworks that include all polluters under the same regulatory system.