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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2009

2008

To document

Abstract

The content of sulphur (S) in grassland on 27 Norwegian organic farms with dairy or sheep production was investigated in 2001 and 2002. The forage content of S was below the norms (2 g S kg DM-1) for both plants and animals in a large proportion of the samples. The average S content in forage at dairy farms was 1.4 g S kg DM-1 and at sheep farms 1.5 g. Even on grasslands with low plant S content (<1 g S kg DM-1), S-fertilization did not increase yields and increased the plants’ S content only very slightly. No indications of S deficiency were observed on the dairy farms. For one sheep farm with a forage S content of 1.1 ± 0.1g S kg DM-1, brittle and short winter wool was reported.

To document

Abstract

From 2002 to 06, the annual dropout rate of certified organic farmers averaged 7.3%. A project was started in 2007 to explore farmer’s reasons for opting out of certified organic production. Important factors seem to be public regulations including standards for organic farming, agronomy, economy, and farm exit. While many organic farmers with relatively small holdings have opted out, farmers with more land and larger herds tend to convert to organic agriculture. The trend towards larger-scale farms in organic than in conventional agriculture, encouraged by the design of the organic farming payments, challenges the organic principles of diversity and fairness. Means should be considered to ensure that small organic enterprises are also economically viable.