Karl-Ivar Kumm

Sustainable development of food production: a case study on scenarios for pig production.

Abstract To study future, sustainable production systems, a step-wise method was used to create three future scenarios for pig production based on different sustainability goals. The first scenario focused on animal welfare and the natural behavior of the animals. The second targeted low impacts on the environment and the efficient use of natural resources. The third scenario aimed at product quality and safety. Each scenario fulfilled different aspects of sustainability, but there were goal conflicts because no scenario fulfilled all sustainability goals. The scenarios were then parameterized. The environmental impact was calculated using the life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, and the economic cost was calculated from the same data set. The cost per kilo of pork was highest for the animal welfare scenario and similar for the other two scenarios. The environmental scenario had the lowest environmental impact, and the product-quality scenario the highest. The results are discussed based on different future priorities.

Sustainability of organic meat production under Swedish conditions.

Abstract World meat consumption has increased considerably during recent decades at the same time as questions about the sustainability of livestock systems. The aim of the paper is to investigate whether organic meat production can be more sustainable than conventional meat production. Organic meat production is supposed to use ecological resources, such as natural grasslands and by-products with low alternative value together with fodder that is grown without artificial fertilisers and pesticides. The organic animals are given the possibility of more natural behaviour, for example, they stay outdoors all year in nature and use simple buildings. For organic meat production to expand in a sustainable way, consumers must perceive it as at least as good as conventional production regarding environmental quality and price. Therefore, possible future organic and conventional meat production are compared regarding production costs, land requirements, soil conservation, nature conservation, energy needs, and chemical requirements as well as the discharge of nitrogen and greenhouse gases. The results suggest that organic production can be more sustainable than conventional production for beef and lamb, but not for pork. Organic beef and lamb production has advantages compared with conventional pig production regarding soil conservation, nature conservation and independence of chemicals. However, the production costs and discharge of nitrogen and greenhouse gases per kilo of meat are larger than in conventional pork production. Organic production also needs more land, which limits its sustainability if land for food production and energy crops is scarce. When food is scarce, organic meat production should aim to use land and by-products that cannot be used in any other way for food production.

Sustainable management of Swedish seminatural pastures with high species diversity

Abstract Historically, semi-natural pastures were important for Swedens food supply but this importance, and the area grazed, decreased strongly during the 20 th century. Remaining areas are of major importance for nature conservancy today on account of their high biodiversity and cultural values. Consequently, a national goal is to ensure that those areas still grazed are also grazed in the future and that grazing is expanded to include particularly important seminatural pastures where grazing has ceased. The aim of this paper is to consider scenarios under which economically sustainable grazing of species-rich semi-natural pastures can be achieved. These scenarios are informed both by agricultural statistics describing trends in livestock availability in Sweden and by interviews with a sample of farmers who manage valuable pastures. The statistics show a rapid decrease in number of herds and a slightly reduced number of grazing animals. Three scenarios are considered: 1, continued grazing on existing farms with the farmers own animals; 2, nature conservancy entrepreneurs who move grazing animals around on otherwise ungrazed pastures, and 3, creating large areas of pasture-forest mosaics from existing and previously abandoned pastures and marginal arable land, thereby enabling a combination of nature conservancy and cost-efficient meat production. The interviews reveal that it would be unrealistic to expect scenario 1 alone to fulfil the conservation goal, especially in forest-dominated regions characterised by a high proportion of elderly farmers with small herds. Development of new enterprises, according to scenarios 2 and 3, is therefore an essential complement to the present EU environmental allowances if the cost of preserving grazing-dependent biodiversity is not to increase massively in the future.

Ways to reduce nitrogen pollution from Swedish pork production

The aim of this paper is to examine measures in Swedish pork production to improve N-use efficiency and to reduce N-pollution of water and air. The entire chain of feed production, animal feed conversion and the use of animal manure is included, as well as the spatial allocation of pork production. A calculation model is developed using experimental data. It is simple and possible to use in practical environmental control. Using catch crops and halving N-input in feed grain production reduces N-leaching up to 25% per hectare. These measures have considerably less effect on leaching per kilo of produced animal growth and NH3-losses than on leaching per hectare. Reduced protein level in feed and Specific Pathogen Free pig production reduce both leaching and volatilisation, especially per kilo of animal growth. These animal-centred measures can also be profitable for many producers. Spreading all manure in spring and rapid incorporation is an effective way to reduce N-losses. However, as with catch crops and reduced fertilization, it is associated with considerable costs for the producers. A combination of best manure handling, catch crops and low protein feeding can reduce N-leaching and volatilisation up to 50%. Leaching from pig production on clay soil in Central Sweden is only one third of that on sandy soil in southwest Sweden. Spatial allocation of pork production also influences the environmental effects of N losses. These effects can be more negative in coastal zones with high N-deposition and low N-retention before the water reaches the sea, than in interior regions of Sweden with low original deposition. The results indicate that improved animal protein conversion, and especially suitable spatial allocation of pig production, are more cost-effective than additional measures in feed production and manure handling.

Searching for Economically Sustainable Swedish Beef Production Systems Based on Suckler Cows after Decoupling EU Income Support

After decoupling EU income support, normal Swedish systems for suckler cow-based beef production are unable to pay the costs of new investments and market wages for labour. New production systems, able to achieve full cost coverage, were identified by an expert panel. The two most profitable suggestions can be characterized as ‘organic with high environmental grants and premium price for beef’ and ‘conventional with outdoor wintering of cows’. Both systems presuppose the availability of large areas of semi-natural pasture per cow and larger herd sizes than are now common in Sweden. Breeding progress and other biological improvements could only marginally improve the profitabil.

Towards Sustainable Swedish Agriculture

ABSTRACT On behalf of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, research has been carried out on how to make Swedish agriculture sustainable with regard to production capacity, environment and profitability. A future development of conventional agriculture (FC) and a future development of organic agriculture (FO) were studied. FC achieves the production and profitability goals as well as the goal of less nitrogen pollution, but not the goals for landscape management, bio-diversity and reduced pesticide use. FO achieves the three later goals, but not the goals for reduced nitrogen pollution and increased production capacity. The optimal solution is a “unified vision” consisting of most cereal, oil seed, root crop, pig and poultry production with FC technology and most hay, milk and beef production with FO technology.

Profitability of organic and conventional cow-calf operations under Swedish conditions

In order to maintain the high natural values of Swedish semi-natural pasture, suckler cow numbers must increase, but numbers are more likely to decrease due to low profitability, changes to the EU support system and increasing wage levels. This study sought to identify production models for cow-calf operations with sufficient profitability to pay at least stipulated farm workers wage. In the calculations, the income from weaned calves and EU support was reduced by operating costs, excluding labour. The surplus was divided by hours spent on labour, resulting in a return to labour per hour. The calculations were carried out in varying future scenarios where the Common Agricultural Policy is changing. The results showed that organic production models created a higher return to labour than conventional production models. One reason for this is the environmental payment for organic farming. Another reason is that organic production maintains more acreage, equalling higher environmental payments and other EU support per suckler cow. Other more profitable production models included spring calving, heavy cows and winter feed based on silage. Some organic production models gave a return to labour above the stipulated farm workers wage. However, if the single farm payment scheme is phased out and not replaced by an increase in environmental payments, the return to labour will be at best half the stipulated farm workers wage.

Nitrogen Pollution from Swedish Beef Production based on Suckle-Cows

Measures to improve N-use efficiency and thus reduce N-pollutionare scrutinized in beef production based on suckle-cows. Measures in feed production, animal feed conversion and the use of animal manure are included and their economic opportunities are analysed. The resultssuggest that production based on non-N-fertilized grassgives very low losses of NO3, NH3 and N2Oper ha. Production based on pastures and leys given 100 kgN ha-1 results in considerably higher losses, especially perha but also per kg of produced beef. Beef productionwithout input of mineral fertilizers might be profitablein regions abundant in land with low opportunity cost,especially if environmental support is provided. Clover-basedbeef production gives relatively high N losses bothper ha and per kg of beef. The reason is unnecessarilyhigh N-content in the clover, resulting in high N-level inexcreta and increased losses from manure and pastures. Achange from a deep straw bed manure system to slurryspread only in spring and immediately incorporated canreduce N-losses considerably but is unprofitable insuckle-cow-production. Beef production has lower N-lossesthan pork production per ha but higher per kg of produced meat.

Achieving Profitable, Productive Climate-Neutral Swedish Agriculture

A futuristic study by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in the 1990s on how to make Swedish agriculture environmentally and economically sustainable by 2021 has been updated. The updating was based on assumptions of far-reaching improvements in biological productivity and the replacement of all existing EU support with environmental payments based on landscape values and the climate utility of carbon sequestration. The results suggest that economically sustainable food production satisfying domestic demand can be achieved through large-scale labour- and capital-saving rationalization and compensation for additional costs arising from special Swedish animal welfare regulations. Such rationalization is also necessary for the economically sustainable preservation of landscape values, including grazed semi-natural pastures and remaining arable land in forest-dominated districts. Carbon sequestration by broad-leaved trees planted on pastures and on arable land not needed for food production could compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions from food production.