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This study, commissioned by LTO Nederland (the Netherlands Agricultural and Horticultural Association), NZO (Dutch Dairy Association) and Rabobank, calculated the effect of the expected development of the Dutch dairy farming sector if current policies are continued combined with an integrated package of measures to reduce ammonia emissions. The calculated reduction of ammonia emitted by the Dutch dairy sector in 2030 compared to 2018 amounts to 28%. The additional investment for ammonia measures in barns, water storage and land was calculated to be 1.3 billion euro at sector level. The overall effect on the financial result of dairy farms is on average -1.07 euro per 100 kg of milk. Given that on average the margins per kg of milk are narrow, this constitutes a significant impact for many farms. The package of measures evaluated in this study can be considered realistic in terms of the level of change compared to current average practice. With respect to the assumed degree of implementation, it is ambitious. In dit onderzoek is op verzoek van LTO Nederland, Nederlandse Zuivel Organisatie (NZO) en Rabobank doorgerekend wat het gecombineerde effect kan zijn van de verwachte ontwikkeling van de Nederlandse melkveesector bij voortzetting van huidig beleid en een integraal pakket van maatregelen om ammoniakemissie te reduceren. De berekende reductie van NH3-emissie uit de Nederlandse melkveehouderij in 2030 ten opzichte van 2018 bedraagt 28%. De berekende extra investering voor ammoniakmaatregelen in stallen, wateropslag en grond bedragen op sectorniveau 1,3 miljard euro. Het totaaleffect van de ammoniakmaatregelen op het economisch resultaat van melkveebedrijven bedraagt gemiddeld -1,07 euro per 100 kg melk. Omdat de marges per kg melk gemiddeld klein zijn, is dit een substantieel effect voor veel bedrijven. Het in dit onderzoek doorgerekende maatregelpakket kan worden beschouwd als realistisch ten aanzien van het niveau van de maatregelen en de aansluiting bij de huidige praktijk en ambitieus ten aanzien van de veronderstelde implementatiegraad.

Het ministerie van LNV wil duidelijk hebben of mestvergisting bij kan dragen aan de klimaatdoelstellingen waar de landbouw aan moet voldoen. De vraag is of mestvergisting kan bijdragen aan de reductie van broeikasgas- en ammoniakemissie, wat het (lange termijn) effect is op de organische stofopbouw en of het toevoegen van extra organisch materiaal aan de mest in de mestvergister hierop van invloed is. In deze studie is gekeken naar verschillende scenario’s: rundveedrijfmest, varkensdrijfmest, beide mest typen 100% vergist en beide mest typen met covergist met organisch materiaal. Uit de literatuur komt naar voren dat er nog weinig (veld)onderzoek gedaan is naar het verschil in effect dat mestvergisting heeft op de emissies en opbouw van organische stof in de bodem. Toedieningstechniek, (weers)omstandigheden, viscositeit van de mest en bodemcondities bepalen of mestvergisten wel of niet bijdraagt aan emissiereductie. Het wel of niet meteen afvoeren van de mest naar de vergister blijkt volgens het gebruikte vergistingsmodel het meest te bepalen of vergisting bijdraagt aan de reductie van broeikasgas- en ammoniakemissie. Monovergisting met rundveedrijfmest blijk volgens het organische stof model substantieel meer bij de dragen aan de organische stof opbouw in de bodem dan de overige meststypen.

In dit rapport worden de resultaten gepresenteerd van een deskstudie bestaande uit expertkennis en literatuurstudie met als doel om de risicofactoren voor dierenwelzijn- en diergezondheidsindicatoren bij vleeskuikens in kaart te brengen. Dit onderzoek is uitgevoerd door Wageningen Livestock Research binnen het kader van de Publiek Private Samenwerking (PPS) "Vital Chick Chain” (BO-63-001-032). Dit project is een samenwerking tussen het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit en een consortium van verschillende partijen. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat de uitval (1e week en totaal) sterk beïnvloed wordt door het management en gezondheid van de vleeskuikenouderdieren. Daarnaast is het broedproces en het management op het vleeskuikenbedrijf belangrijk voor de uitval van de vleeskuikens. De primaire oorzaak van voetzoollaesies is de strooiselkwaliteit en alle factoren die daarmee samenhangen. Het optreden van borstspierafwijkingen bij vleeskuikens wordt vooral veroorzaakt door te hoge of onregelmatige groei (onder invloed van voeding) in combinatie met verhoogde activiteit en stress.

In many Natura 2000 area’s, the nitrogen deposition is higher than wished for. This led to a deadlock in economic development of,among others,livestock husbandry. For the three sector groups Traffic and Transportation, Industry and Energy, and Agriculture source measures were listedin 2017 to deal with the bottlenecks. For agriculture, the list with measures is updated in consultation with representatives of the agricultural sector, research and policy, developed and written in this present report. This study was performed by order of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food qualitybefore the Council of State made judgement regarding PAS. De stikstofdepositie in veel Natura2000-gebieden in Nederland is hoger dan gewenst. Dit heeft geleid tot een impasse in economische ontwikkeling van onder meer de veehouderij. Voor de drie sectorclusters Verkeer en Vervoer, Industrie en Energie en de Landbouw werden daarom in 2017 bronmaatregelen geïnventariseerdom knelpunten op te vangen. Voor de landbouw is de lijst met maatregelen geupdate in overleg met vertegenwoordigers van de sector, onderzoek en beleid, uitgewerkt en beschreven in onderhavig rapport. Deze studie is uitgevoerd in opdrachtvan het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteiten tot stand gekomen vóór de uitspraak van de Raad van State aangaande PAS.

The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality has asked Wageningen Research to provide an overview of facts and figures in the different livestock sectors. The overview refers to size of the sector, economic data, production, production and quality systems and data on the impact of the sector on environment, public health, animal health and animal welfare. Het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Voedselkwaliteit heeft Wageningen Research gevraagd een overzicht te maken van feiten en cijfers in de verschillende dierlijke sectoren. Het overzicht betreft gegevens omtrent de omvang van de sectoren, economische kengetallen, productie, productconcepten, kwaliteitssystemen en keurmerken en gegevens over de impact van de sector op milieu, volksgezondheid, diergezondheid en dierenwelzijn.

The ambition of Global Gap Add-on to reduce ammonia emission exceed the legal standards. Scrubber systems comply with the standards, but are not preferable. Alternatives to reduce ammonia emission on existing farms has been mapped out. A combination of measurements from Rav and PAS lead to different options. The reduction of protein in animal feed in addition to a housing measurement has a positive prospect. Internal deduction on farm level leads to different options. The measurements will lead to more exploitation costs on the pig farm. Het ambitieniveau van Varken van Morgen voor de emissiereductie van ammoniak gaat verder dan de wettelijke normen. Luchtwassystemen voldoen aan de normen, maar hebben niet de voorkeur. Voor bestaande bedrijven worden alternatieven in kaart gebracht om aan de gewenste ammoniak-doelstelling te voldoen. Door een combinatie van maatregelen uit de Rav en PAS (Programma Aanpak Stikstof) zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden. Van de PAS-maatregelen is vooral het verlagen van het eiwitgehalte in het diervoeder in aanvulling op een Rav-maatregel perspectiefvol. Door interne saldering zijn er op bedrijfsniveau diverse combinaties van maatregelen mogelijk. Alle maatregelen leiden tot extra exploitatiekosten voor het varkensbedrijf.

In many Natura 2000 area’s, the nitrogen deposition is higher than wished for. This led to a deadlock in economic development of, among others, livestock husbandry. The interdepartmental program ‘Programma Aanpak Stikstof’ (PAS), is meant to overcome the standstill of grants of permits to produce, while in term preservation goals of nature area’s can be achieved. For the three sector groups Traffic and Transportation, Industry and Energy, and Agriculture source measures are inventoried to deal with the bottlenecks. By order of the Ministry of Economic Affairs this report presents the inventory of measures for agriculture. De stikstofdepositie in veel Natura 2000-gebieden in Nederland is hoger dan gewenst. Dit heeft geleid tot een impasse in economische ontwikkeling van onder meer de veehouderij. Het interdepartementale Programma Aanpak Stikstof (PAS) heeft tot doel de vastgelopen vergunningverlening weer vlot te trekken en ervoor te zorgen dat op termijn de instandhoudingsdoelstellingen van de natuurgebieden kunnen worden gehaald. Voor de drie sectorclusters Verkeer en Vervoer, Industrie en Energie en de Landbouw worden daarom bronmaatregelen geïnventariseerd om knelpunten op te vangen. In opdracht van het Ministerie van Economische Zaken is dit de inventarisatie van maatregelen voor de landbouwsector.

Free range and organic systems expose the laying hen more to unexpected events and adverse climatic conditions than barn and cage systems. In France, The Netherlands and Switzerland the requirements for a hen suitable to produce in free range and organic systems were discussed with farmers. The farmers preferred for these systems a more ‘robust’ hen, more specifically defined as a heavier hen with good eating capacity. Benchmarking of flocks in a web-based management program in The Netherlands from layer flocks finished in 2008 – 2013 indicated that in earlier years indeed mortality among organic and to a lesser extent free range hens was higher than among barn or cage hens. Feed conversion (kg feed/kg eggs) is higher, but the gap is closing. Improvements in management of the hens during rearing and in the layer phase in free range and organic systems seem to be important. Breeding companies take behaviour and performance in non-cage systems into account in their selection programs. Heavier hens need a diet with a lower protein to energy ratio. From model calculations we concluded that in organic systems a heavier hen might be economically profitable, as total feed costs are lower for the heavier hen then for a hen with a lower body weight requiring a diet with a high protein content. For conventional free range hens this is not the case as then the protein content can be adapted by synthetic amino acids. Field studies and cooperation between farmers and breeding organisations will have to show if a strain of heavier hens will be successful in the rather small organic market.

The objective of this review is to give an overview of the effect of floor types on claw health in group housed sows. The risk on lameness caused by the pen floor is increasing with group housing becoming more important. Lameness is a major welfare and production problem and often related to claw lesions. A good-quality floor to ensure healthy claws is characterized by a surface with friction (non-slip), abrasion, soft and dry properties and rounded edges. During pregnancy, aggressive interactions should be minimized because the walking and activity characteristics are more important than in individual farrowing pens. During lactation, claws can recover from lesions in pregnancy and should heal before the start of a new reproductive cycle. Plastic-coated non-slippery floors are preferred during lactation. A rubber top layer is beneficial for pregnant sow claw health in the lying area and in part of the activity (slatted) area too. A combination of a good-quality floor and management measures minimizing aggressive interactions is a good basis for healthy claws in group housed sows.

In response to the Dutch Pig Welfare Regulations, research was carried out aiming at evaluating the extension of the total floor area in existing pig houses to 1.0 m2 per fattening pig by adding a second floor, a platform, to a pig pen. Through the second floor, the solid floor area was increased to 0.6 m2 per pig. The study has been carried out during two batches in two rooms at an experimental farm (27% of total floor space available on platform, synthetic flooring). The use and the accessibility of the platform were video taped and analysed. Additional observations were made at a commercial pig farm, which has concrete flooring and 33% of total floor space available on platform. At the experimental farm, the use of the platform increased as the fattening pigs grew. On average, 20% of the pigs were present on the upper level. According to the criteria that were determined beforehand, enough pigs were present on the upper level. The ramp with a slope of 28 to reach the upper level functioned well. Of all pigs, 95% was observed at least once on the upper level. There was no signs that the design of the pen influenced the health of the pigs, such as leg problems. A two-level pen for fattening pigs is a well functioning housing system that is adequately used as living space by the pigs. Individual pigs had no obstructions to visit the platform. Flooring material, ventilation system, and outdoor temperatures seem to have an influence on the use of the platform.

The upcoming ban on battery cages in the European Union is expected to cause a shift in husbandry systems from predominantly battery cages to enriched cages and loose housing systems, such as barn, free range and organic systems. To gain insight into ecological and economic consequences of such a ban, we quantified the ecological and economic performance of the most commonly used egg production systems in the Netherlands, and identified which parameters explain differences in performance. We included the conventional battery cage system and the following loose housing systems: single and multi-tiered barn systems, single and multi-tiered free range systems, and single and multi-tiered organic systems. Ecological indicators used were deduced from a life cycle assessment, and were: global warming potential, energy use, land occupation, fossil phosphorus use, acidification potential, nitrogen and phosphorus deficit, and nitrogen and phosphorus surplus, each expressed per kg of egg. Economic indicator used was net farm income per full time employee. Based on our ecological evaluation of Dutch egg production systems, we predict that a ban on battery cages in the European Union will increase global warming potential, land occupation and acidification potential per kg of egg produced, whereas the effect on energy use, fossil phosphorus use, nitrogen and phosphorus deficit, and nitrogen and phosphorus surplus depends on relative importance of different loose housing systems. Of all loose housing systems, organic systems had lowest global warming potential, energy use, fossil phosphorus use, and nitrogen and phosphorus surplus, whereas land occupation and nitrogen and phosphorus deficit was lowest for barn systems. Acidification potential was lowest for a multi-tiered barn system. Differences in LCA results among production systems can be explained mainly by differences; in feed conversion, in parameters that determine ecological impact per kg feed ingredient (e.g., crop yield per ha; number field operations, type and amount of fertilization), in drying of grain, in transport of concentrates and manure, in type of hen house and in N excretion per hen per year. Free range systems had highest net farm income, followed by organic systems. Multi-tiered systems had a higher net farm income than single-tiered systems. In case differences among egg and cost prices of different systems do not change after a ban on the battery cage, multi-tiered free range and organic systems are economically most favourable.

International audience; 1. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of 100% organic feed for organic broilers by comparing it with 80% organic feed (situation at the time of the experiment; 2004) and 95% organic feed (alternative). 2. Diets were optimised for nutritional value, allowing a maximum 10% increase in feed price when using 100% organic feedstuffs. This could only be achieved at the expense of the methionine content. 3. The broilers were reared from zero to three weeks of age in a broiler house in three groups of 500 broilers each on either an 80-, a 95-, or a 100% organic starter diet. At three weeks of age, the broilers were transferred to 15 pens with an outdoor run. Each treatment group of 500 broilers was divided into five groups of 95 broilers and fed an 80-, a 95, or a 100% organic finisher diet. 4. Broilers that received 100% organic feed reached a lower body weight and grew slower than broilers that received 95% organic feed, caused mainly by a lower feed intake. 5. Broilers that received 95 or 100% organic feed had a higher incidence of breast blisters than broilers that received 80% organic feed. 6. The cost price for meat from broilers that received 80% organic feed was € 1.83 per kg live weight. The cost prices for broilers that received 95 and 100% organic feed were € 1.84 (+0.8%) and € 1.93 (+5.4%) per kg live weight respectively. 7. In conclusion, 95% organic feed led to a better performance than 100% organic feed in this study. Probably, the lower methionine content in the 100% organic feed negatively affected performance. The results for 95% organic feed were similar to 80% organic feed, except for a higher incidence of breast blisters.

A central ventilation system, which extracts air from several rooms into a central air channel, is often used in practice in Western Europe, especially in new pig facilities. An important advantage of this central ventilation system is the energy reduction that can be realised. For a central ventilation system the central fans are powered by variable frequency controllers, which have a higher energy efficiency than the conventional triac controllers. In this research a calculation method was developed to determine the energy consumption for ventilation in pig facilities with a conventional triac controlled fan per room and with a central ventilation system. Calculation methods for both ventilation systems were successfully validated. With the calculation method developed the energy consumption for ventilation for several cases was calculated, and also the yearly costs of some facilities with both ventilation systems were estimated. For a facility for growing-finishing pigs the energy consumption calculated was 30% lower for a central ventilation system than for a ventilation system with one fan per room. The economic evaluation showed that for a facility for growing-finishing pigs, one ventilator per room resulted in the lowest yearly costs. Central ventilation had higher yearly costs of US$ 0.88 per animal place because of the higher investment costs. An important advantage of a central ventilation system is energy reduction. However, when none of the other advantages of the system are used (shifting the emission point, integration of exhaust air treatment like air scrubbing), cheaper alternatives are available to reduce energy consumption for ventilation.