Leonardo da Vinci experience exchange project "Knowledge-based decision-making systems in agriculture for practice managers"

Within the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci experience exchange project “Knowledge-based decision-making systems in agriculture for practice managers” No. 2012-1-LV1-LEO03-03444, a mobility visit to the United Kingdom was implemented on 14.10.2012. – 20.10.2012., in which 6 members of the Farmers' Parliament participated: Maira Dzelzkalēja, Ingmārs Sniedze, Andra Balode, Aija Šneidere, Indra Eihvalde, Agris Burmistris.

The goal of the project is to improve professional knowledge and personal growth in organizing internships, gaining experience in international exchange of experience in the United Kingdom in implementing and ensuring knowledge-based decision-making systems in agriculture.

The project program included livestock farms that host trainees on their farms: Tom & Emma Malleson Dairy Farm in Dorchester; OMSCo Organic Dairy Producers Cooperative; Oxford University Farm (pigs, sheep and cattle); Organic Farm Shop; Newport Farm (Organic dairy production); Hatton Farm (Organic dairy production). Cultural and historical sites in Bath, Stonehenge, Dorset, Oxford, Bristol were also visited.

Indra Eihvalde: “It was interesting to learn about the autumn and spring calving of cows, which is carried out on organic farms. The farms we visited had from 150 to 580 dairy cows. The farms we visited had Jersey, Friesian, Shorthorn breeds of cows, whose average milk yield was 5,000 -7,000 kg per cow per year, but the fat content was 5% and the protein content was 4%. The farmers justified the choice of breed by the fact that the cows practically graze all year round and cows of this breed are suitable for grazing. The high fat and protein content ensures a fairly good price for milk. On the farm, which had 580 dairy cows, they purposefully switched from Holstein black-spotted cows to Friesian and Jersey cows. By changing cow breeds and housing technology, cow culling has decreased from 30 to 19%.

All farms practice seasonal calving – autumn or spring. Farmers admitted that spring calving is more economical. Jersey, Friesian and Shorthorn cows are small in size, their average live weight is from 400 to 500 kg, as a result of which newborn calves have a low live weight and cows have easy births. The surprise was that on the farm out of 420 cows that calved from February to March, only 1 – 2% of the calves died.

We visited the Oxford teaching farm, where research is mainly on animal welfare and sustainable production. The study on fattening pigs with grass silage and soy, peas or fodder beans was interesting. When fattening pigs with only concentrated feed, studies have found that pigs develop stomach ulcers. When fed grass silage and various protein feeds, stomach ulcers were not found, and the duration of fattening was only 6 days longer than with traditional fattening.”

The most valuable insights were that by using extensive and efficient knowledge-based agricultural technologies, it is possible to farm successfully and make a profit. Trainees can also be successfully trained without using the most modern livestock farming technologies, as all farming is based on economic calculations and cost calculations.