Laufende Forschungsprojekte
Weideökologie
Automated grazing management
Status: on-going
Projektbeginn: 01.04.2018
Projektende: 31.03.2021
Beschreibung
Grazing management is often associated with high labor inputs and unknown feed intake, which makes ration balancing difficult. For this reason, some farmers prefer to keep the cows housed or graze only occasionally. To counteract this, our research focuses on evaluating new approaches that make pasture use more efficient by accurately assessing the available for and consumed feed by grazing cows. These new approaches could support farmers' decision making as to which pastures to allocate for their herds and for how long. In addition, an evaluation of these new methods is needed so that farmers can make an informed investment choice, and to point out strength and weaknesses in the technology development.
Therefore, this project addresses three aspects including: (i) getting real-time information on grass biomass and quality that is available to the cow on the pasture, (ii) investigating the response of individual animals to changing availability of feed over time; and (iii) assessing labor time requirements and benefits associated with the use of smart farming tools.
Accordingly, this project will address the following research questions:
- Are existing smart farming tools for grassland quantity and quality assessment ready to supersede conventional approaches?
- Can automated monitoring of grazing-behavior be included to detect deficits in feed allowance on pastures?
- How can smart tools benefit farm workers involved in grazing management?
The project contributes to increasing the attractiveness of grazing systems through automated solutions with the underlying idea of achieving a demand-adapted feeding strategy.
Beteiligte Personen
- Leonie Hart (external PhD candidate, Agroscope, Tänikon, Switzerland)
- Dr. Christiana Umstätter (Agroscope)
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Quendler
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
- Competiveness and System Evaluation, Agroscope, Tänikon, Switzerland
- Fg. Tierernährung und Weidewirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen
- Institue of Agricultural Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
Förderer
- Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture within the project "GrassQ" under the ICT-Agri ERA-Net Call "Enabling precision agriculture", Project ID 35779
- Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture within the project "CowData" under the ICT-Agri ERA-Net Call "Farm data integration - key to cattle management success", Project ID 37729
- Disability Insurance Office (IV-Stelle), Clarifications Department, Bern.
Status: laufend
Projektbeginn: 01.04.2018
Projektende: 31.09.2021
Förderkennzeichen: BMEL FKZ 2817OE011
Beschreibung
Ziel des Projektes ist es, innovative und regional angepasste Beweidungssysteme für ökologisch wirtschaftende Milchviehbetriebe im Südwesten Deutschlands zu entwickeln, die die Produktivität der Weidevegetation und die Futteraufnahme und Leistung der Tiere erhöhen, die gemeinsame Beweidung von Tieren unterschiedlicher Altersgruppen ermöglichen und die Nachhaltigkeit der weidebasierten Milchproduktion fördern. Innovative Beweidungsstrategien werden in einem partizipativen Ansatz entwickelt und getestet. Ihr Einfluss auf den Ertrag und Futterwert der Weidevegetation sowie die Futteraufnahme, Leistung und Gesundheit von Rindern wird in Beweidungsexperimenten untersucht. Basierend auf den Ergebnissen wird der Beitrag der innovativen Beweidungsstrategien zur Verbesserung der Verfügbarkeit und Nutzun von betriebseigenen Futterprotein und der Nachhaltigkeit der Milchproduktion bewertet.
Beteiligte Personen
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
- Dr. Jessica Werner
- Elizabeth Velasco (Doctoral candidate)
- Sari Perdana-Decker (Doctoral candidate)
- Corinna Nieland (Demeter e.V.)
- Sigrid Griese (Bioland Beratung GmbH)
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
- Fg. Tierernährung und Weidewirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen
Weitere Informationen
Förderer
Digitale Wertschöpfungsketten für eine nachhaltige kleinstrukturierte Landwirtschaft (DiWenkLa)
Status: laufend
Projektbeginn: 01.03.2020
Projektende: 01.03.2023
Projekt Homepage und weitere Details
Beschreibung
Das Teilprojekt „Weidemanagement und Tierfütterung“ innerhalb eines Verbundvorhabens der Universität Hohenheim und der Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt Nürtingen-Geislingen („DiWenkLa“ www.diwenkla.de) behandelt die Erhöhung von Effizienz und Nachhaltigkeit des Beweidungs- und Fütterungsmanagements in der weidebasierten Rinderhaltung mit Unterstützung digitaler Technologien und Datenverarbeitungssoftware. Insbesondere sollen Technologien und Softwarelösungen im Bereich Sensorik und Datenübertragung für Weideaufwuchsmessungen und Futteraufnahmeverhalten sowie die Informationsverarbeitung als Basis für Entscheidungshilfen im Fütterungs‐ und Beweidungsmanagement auf Betriebsebene getestet und validiert werden.
Spezifische Projektziele beinhalten:
- Praxistaugliches Messgerät zur Bestimmung der verfügbaren Futtermenge auf der Weide
- Erfassung der Futteraufnahme der Milchkühe auf der Weide durch Sensoren zur Bestimmung optimaler Beweidungs- und Zufütterungsstrategien
- Entwicklung eines Prototyps einer digitalen Entscheidungshilfe für das Herden- und Beweidungsmanagement
Beteiligte Personen
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
- Dr. Jessica Werner
- Christian Bateki
- Daniel Höhn
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
Förderer
Systemanalyse und Methodenentwicklung
Status: laufend
Projektbeginn: 01.03.2016
Projektende: 28.02.2019
Beschreibung
Grass and woodlands cover about 35% of the global land surface but the growing human dependence especially on grasslands for overall food and feed production is changing the land uses associated with these areas. Also true for the African Guinea Savanna (~ 600 million hectares of land), such scales of grassland conversion may have far reaching negative effects on the environment (soils, plant and animal biodiversity, hydrology and carbon storage).
Therefore, focusing on the ruminant production land uses, we aim at:
- exploring animal-related models for quantitatively and qualitatively predicting feed resource use by ruminants
- conceptualizing and implementing possible linkages with existing grassland crop and socio-economic models
Beteiligte Personen
- Dr. Christian Bateki
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
- Fg. Tierernährung und Weidewirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen
- Institut für Tropische Agrarwissenschaften (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institut)
Förderer
Assessing the water footprint of beef cattle production in integrated systems in Brazilian Central West
Status: laufend
Projektbeginn: 27.03.2018
Projektende: 31.03.2021
Beschreibung
The largest share of the increase in consumption of animal products will occur in developing countries. Brazil das the world’s second highest cattle herd according to FAO, with beef accounting for the largest share. Whereas beef production is the largest consumer of fresh water in animal production, the extensive use of pastures in Brazil may offer options to improve productivity while reducing pressure on fresh water demands. Different beef pasture-based systems exist in Brazil including the integrated crop-livestock (ICL) and integrated crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF). However, the fresh water use in these different pasture-based systems has not been quantified.
Therefore, this project will quantify the freshwater use and its flows in beef cattle production under the ICL, ICLF, and the traditional continuous pasture (CON) system in the Brazilian Cerrado.
Beteiligte Personen
- Mariana Pereira (Doctoral candidate)
- Dr. Jessica Werner
- Dr. Roberto Giolo de Almeida (Embrapa Beef Cattle unit)
- Dr. Manuel Caludio Motta Macedo (Embrapa Beef Cattle unit)
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
- Fg. Tierernährung und Weidewirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen
- Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation, Embrapa Beef Cattle
Förderer
Development and validation of prediction equations from feed analysis and modeling tools for improved prediction of nitrogen use efficiency in tropical dairy cows
Status: laufend
Projektbeginn: 15.10.2016
Projektende: 24.06.2021
Beschreibung
Advanced lab techniques exist (e.g., the nylon bag technique and the modified Hohenheim gas test) that can be used to estimate the degradation of microbial and feed nitrogen leaving the rumen of cattle in the Tropics and Subtropics. Whereas such lab techniques are commonly used when analyzing tropical feedstuff, these techniques were developed and validated using ruminant feedstuffs from temperate regions. Similarly, several advanced rumen simulation models exist that could be used to combine information on feed and animal characteristics to predict rumen protein metabolism and its implication for nitrogen use efficiency of tropical cattle. These rumen models were developed using large datasets derived mainly if not exclusively from trials conducted under husbandry conditions in countries found in the temperate regions. Yet, it is not known how adequately the underlying algorithms in these rumen simulation models mimic rumen protein metabolism and its implication for nitrogen use efficiency for tropical cattle.
Consequently, this project aims at validating and adjusting state-of-the-art lab techniques used, as well as the underlying algorithms of rumen simulation models for studying protein nutrition in cattle fed typical tropical diets.
Beteiligte Personen
- Khaterine C. Salazar-Cubillas (Doctoral candidate)
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
Förderer
Tierernährung
Expanding the concept of physically effective fiber: Interactions of effective fiber, chewing behavior, and protein metabolism in dairy cows
Status: laufend
Projektbeginn: 15.06.2018
Projektende: 31.05.2021
Beschreibung
In the context of formulating energy-dense diets for highly productive dairy cows, the concept of physically effective neutral detergent fiber (peNDF) as proposed by Mertens (1997) is gaining increasing importance. The peNDF concept has been mainly discussed with respect to rumen health issues, especially preventing ruminal acidosis and the impact on rumen carbohydrate metabolism. However, many links of the peNDF exist to the rumen nitrogen (N) turnover, e.g. via modifying rumen pH, digesta passage rate, nutrient degradability, or N recycling via the rumino-hepatic cycle.
Therefore, this project aims to unravel the effects of varying peNDF concentrations in the diet on chewing behavior, rumen N turnover, and N use efficiency and partitioning as well as on yield and composition of milk in dairy cows.The results from this project are expected to expand the knowledge of the physiological effects of dietary peNDF concentration on dairy cattle by mechanisms related to protein metabolism.
Beteiligte Personen
- Ruth Heering (Doctoral candidate)
- Dr. Natascha Selje-Aßmann
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
- Fg. Tierernährung und Weidewirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen
- INRA Theix, France
Förderer
Forage Legume Silage: A Panacea to Cattle Production in the Tropics
Status: laufend
Projektbeginn: 15.01.2018
Projektende: 30.09.2021
Beschreibung
Whereas there is a broad diversity of forage legumes available in the Tropics, this diversity does not yet translate into efficient use for tropical cattle production. Silage making offers a valuable option to address the inefficient use of tropical forage legumes for improving cattle nutrition. To integrate legume silages into tropical cattle nutrition, it is imperative to understand how different tropical ensiling conditions and parameters affect forage legume protein nutritional value. Also, understanding how growing cattle respond to variations in protein supply via legume silage would be valuable to predict cattle performance and improve the efficiency of nutrient use. Therefore, this project will determine the effects of ensiling conditions on the nutritional quality of tropical forage legumes and the resultant effects on cattle nutrition in the Tropics
Beteiligte Personen
- Temitope Aloba (Doctoral candidate)
- Edgardo Corea
- Dr. Joaquin Castro-Montoya
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
- Fg. Tierernährung und Weidewirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen
- University of El Salvador
Förderer
- Stiftung Fiat Panis
The fiber utilization of tropical forages and its effects on in vitro ruminal, enzymatic intestinal digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, and its role of different rumen microbial groups
Status: laufend
Projektbeginn: 15.07.2017
Projektende: 15.07.2021
Beschreibung
Several studies conducted in temperate regions have shown that feeding forage legumes to ruminant livestock can enhance animal performance by increasing the dry matter intake. However, findings from studies where tropical forage legumes are fed to ruminant livestock are continue to differ in the outcomes observed. On the one hand, some studies have shown that feeding tropical forage legumes at high inclusion levels (i.e., > 40 g/100 g dry matter) decreases dry matter intake in ruminant livestock, due to their high fiber concentrations and low fiber digestibility. On the other hand, other studies have reported sustained average milk yields and live-weight gains, as well as improved feed conversion efficiency of domestic ruminants fed tropical forage legumes at high inclusion levels.
Therefore, this project seeks to better understand the effect of fiber concentration and digestibility in tropical forage legumes on in vitro rumen fermentation, enzymatic intestinal digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, and on different rumen microbial groups
Beteiligte Personen
- Risma Rizkia Nurdianti (Doctoral candidate)
- Dr. Joaquín Castro-Montoya
- Prof. Dr. Uta Dickhöfer
Beteiligte Einrichtungen
- Fg. Tierernährung und Weidewirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen
- IPB University, Indonesia
- Padjadjaran University, Indonesia
Förderer
-
LPDP (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan/ The Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education) Scholarship
Abgeschlossene Forschungsprojekte
- In situ assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy production system in East Africa
Projektbeginn: 01.03.2015
Projektende: 28.02.2018
Förderer: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung
- Supporting dairy value chains and smallholder agricultural mechanization in Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia and Zambia: Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI)
Projektbeginn: 01.01.2015
Projektende: 01.02.2018
Förderer: Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation
- Optimizing nitrogen use efficiency in ruminant feeding
Projektbeginn: 01.10.2015
Projektende: 30.09.2018
Förderer: Land Baden-Württemberg
- Adaptation strategies to the effects of climate change in the Andes: use of multi-nutrient blocks and chemical treatment of cereal straws
Projektbeginn: 01.04.2015
Projektende: 31.03.2017
Förderer: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
- Tanninhaltige Ackerfuttermittel als Komponenten der Endoparasiten-Bekämpfung bei kleinen Wiederkäuern im ökologischen Landbau
Projektbeginn: 01.06.2015
Projektende: 31.05.2016
Förderer: Land Baden-Württemberg