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Sustainability

Bodenverdichtung

How does compacted soil recover?

It takes mere seconds to compact a soil, but years or even decades for it to recover. Biological activities by plant roots and soil organisms (earthworms) as well as physical effects like drying out and rewetting phases, and freezing-thawing cycles are vital for natural regeneration. Exactly how recovery happens is being investigated in a long-term field trial. For this, an observational infrastructure with hundreds of soil probes – the Soil Structure Observatory (SSO) – was set up in 2014 together with ETH Zurich. After the initial compaction event, a fallow, a permanent grassland and a crop rotation with and without tillage were set up. This allows to analyse e.g. the influence of plants and tillage on recovery.

Bodenfruchtbarkeit und Bodenschutz
SoilStructureObservatory
Regeneration verdichteter Böden

Publikation Arbeitshaltung Melken

Ergonomics in the milking parlour

Milkers frequently suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, especially in the area of the shoulders and arms.  Agroscope therefore investigated whether appropriate working heights can reduce workload in the milking parlour. For this, the angle of flexion of various joints during milking was recorded in one experiment, whilst a second experiment recorded muscle contractions at three different heights. The study showed that although a lower working height in the milking parlour has no effect on forearms or upper arms, it significantly reduces strain on the shoulders. 

Publications Nina Keil

Berthel R., Dohme-Meier F., Keil N.
Dairy sheep and goats sort for particle size and protein in mixed rations.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 271, (106144), 2024, 1-12.

Pontiggia A., Münger A., Eggerschwiler L., Holinger M., Stucki D., Ammer S., Bruckmaier R.M., Dohme-Meier F., Keil N.
Behavioural responses related to increasing core body temperature of grazing dairy cows experiencing moderate heat stress.
Animal, 18, (3), 2024, 1-10.

Voigt H., Ruckli A., Lutz B., Keil N., Scriba M., Zanolari P.
Aufzuchtsysteme, Gesundheit, Gammaglobulinstatus und Zunahmen von Mastlämmern und -zicklein von Schweizer Milchschaf- und Milchziegenbetrieben.
Dans: Tagungsband 3. 18. Januar, Ed. 12. Leipziger Tierärztekongress, Leipzig. 2024, 162-166.

Voigt H., Ruckli A., Lutz B., Keil N., Zanolari P., Scriba M. F.
Aufzuchtsysteme, Gammaglobulinstatus und Zunahmen von Mastlämmern von Schweizer Milchschaf- und Milchziegenbetrieben.
Dans: 55. Tagung Angewandte Ethologie bei Nutztieren der DVG. 30. November - 2. Dezember, Ed. DVG, Freiburg i. Br. (DE). 2023, 1-9.

Holinger M., Bühl V., Helbing M., Pieper L., Kürmann S., Pontiggia A., Dohme-Meier F., Keil N., Ammer S.
Behavioural changes to moderate heat load in grazing dairy cows under on-farm conditions.
Livestock Science, In Press, 2023, 1-32.

Nawroth C., Wiesmann K., Schlup P., Keil N., Langbein J.
Domestication and breeding objective did not shape the interpretation of physical and social cues in goats (Capra hircus).
Scientific Reports, 13, 2023.

Berthel R., Deichelbohrer. A., Dohme-Meier F., Egli W., Keil N.
Validation of automatic monitoring of feeding behaviours in sheep and goats.
PLOS ONE, 18, (5), 2023, 1-19.

Pontiggia A., Münger A., Ammer S., Philipona C., Bruckmaier R. M., Keil N. M., Dohme-Meier F.
Short-term physiological responses to moderate heat stress in grazing dairy cows in temperate climate.
Animal, 17, (3), 2023, 1-10.

Berthel R., Deichelbohrer, A, Egli, W, Dohme-Meier F., Keil N.
Automatisiertes Monitoring des Fressverhaltens von Milchschafen und -ziegen.
Dans: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemässen Tierhaltung 2022. KTBL-Schrift 11530, Ed. KTBL, Darmstadt. 2022, 190-196.

Berthel R., Dohme-Meier F., Keil N.
Feeding behaviour of sheep and goats on mixed rations varying in cutting lengths.
Dans: Proceedings of the 55th Congress of the ISAE. Ed. ISAE, 2022,150.

Pontiggia A., Münger A., Eggerschwiler L., Pasquier, M., , Keil N., Dohme-Meier F.
Einfluss des Angebots von Schatten auf die individuelle Wasseraufnahme und das Verhalten von weidenden Milchkühen bei mässigem Hitzestress.
Dans: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemässen Tierhaltung 2022. KTBL-Schrift 11530, 2022, 143-151.

Berthel R., Dohme-Meier F., Keil N.
Particle and protein sorting in mixed rations by sheep and goats within two hours after feeding.
Dans: Proceedings of the 55th Congress of the ISAE. Ed. ISAE, 2022,149.

Berthel R., Simmler M., Dohme-Meier F., Keil N.
Dairy sheep and goats prefer the single components over the mixed ration.
Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 2022, 1-12.

Berthel R., Purtschert L., Braillard M., Wiederkehr D. , Scheurer A., Keil N.
Agonistic behaviour of dairy goats and sheep during feeding – A pilot study on Swiss farms with mixed rations.
Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde, 164, (6), 2022, 457-467.

Pontiggia A., Münger A., Stucki D., Ammer S., Bruckmaier R.M., Keil N., Dohme-Meier F.
Physiological response of grazing dairy cows ti incresing ambient temperature in moderate climates.
Dans: Proceedings of the Society of Nutrition Physiology. 2022, Ed. Gesellschaft für Ernährungsphysiologie, Göttingen. 2022, 58-58.

Bisang C., Rufener C., Steiner A., Wechsler B., Keil N.M.
Effects of the anti-sucking device «SuckStop Müller» on calf behavior.
Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde, 163, (4), 2022, 319-328.

Rosenberger K., Simmler M., Langbein, J., Nawroth, C., Keil N.
Responsiveness of domesticated goats towards various stressors following long-term cognitive test exposure.
PeerJ, online, (29 March), 2022, 1-25.

Berthel R., Dohme-Meier F., Keil N.
Fressverhalten von Milchschafen und -Ziegen bei ad libitum Fütterung mit Mischrationen.
Dans: 27. Internationale DVG-Fachtagung zum Thema Tierschutz. 23. März, Ed. Deutsche Veterinärmedizinische Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG), online. 2022, 77-84.

Nawroth C., Rosenberger K., Keil N., Langbein J.
Goats (Capra hircus) from different selection lines differ in their behavioural flexibility.
Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 2022, 1-7.

Berthel R., Dohme-Meier F., Keil N.
Fressverhalten von Milchschafen und -Ziegen bei ad libitum Fütterung mit Mischrationen.
Dans: 27. Internationale DVG-Fachtagung zum Thema Tierschutz. 23. März, Ed. Deutsche Veterinärmedizinische Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG), Deutsche Veterinärmedizinische Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG) online. 2022, 77-84.

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Rinder Fuetterung

Optimised feed reduces environmental impacts

On behalf of Micarna SA, Agroscope analysed the environmental impacts of beef, pork and poultry production. With beef production, feed intensity was crucial. In the case of pork and poultry production, the quantity of feed used per kg of meat had the greatest influence on environmental impacts. The use of European soya with its shorter transport distances had a positive effect. 

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