The event began with two presentations by Dr. Margit Velik (HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein). The first presentation focused on current slaughter performance results for ALMO oxen. In her second presentation, she addressed marbling as a quality indicator for beef. She presented current research findings on possible methods for assessing marbling in slaughterhouses. Following this, Jan-Hendrik Puckhaber (Gut Bandelstorf Dairy Farm, Germany) spoke about his experiences with automatic milking systems, specifically addressing challenges related to udder health.
The second part of the conference focused on sorghum as an alternative forage crop in the event of damage caused by corn rootworm or drought in maize cultivation. Within the framework of the EIP project "Innobrotics," the potential use of whole-plant sorghum silage in cattle feeding has been investigated in recent years. Dr. Georg Terler and Reinhard Resch (both HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein) presented the resulting trial results on the nutritional value and fermentation quality of whole-plant silages from various sorghum varieties. Following this, Karl Wurm (Chamber of Agriculture Styria) reported on his experiences using whole-plant sorghum silage on cattle fattening farms in Styria.
The second day began with two presentations by researchers from the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein on the topic of site-appropriate agriculture. First, Dr. Thomas Guggenberger presented the concept of holistic eco-efficiency, which serves to combine the environmental impacts and economic viability of farms. He then provided an overview of the eco-efficiency of Austrian dairy farms based on sample results. In the second presentation, Mag. Christian Fritz demonstrated where greenhouse gases are generated in grassland-based livestock farming and what proportion of the total greenhouse gas emissions of a livestock farm each area contributes.
The final session focused on the impacts of climate change on agriculture and potential adaptation strategies for farms. Dr. Martin Schönhart (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna) began by providing an overview of various climate scenarios and their anticipated effects on agriculture. He also outlined numerous adaptation strategies and emphasized the need for concrete adaptation measures to be implemented as soon as possible. Following this, Reinhard Resch addressed the consequences of climate change for forage production. He explained the potential impacts of drought, heavy rainfall, and heat on forage yield, quality, and ensilability. The final presentation addressed the topic of grassland irrigation. Thomas Prünster (Advisory Service for Mountain Agriculture, South Tyrol) discussed the effects of irrigation on the yield and quality of grassland forage and highlighted key considerations for operating an irrigation system.
The high-quality presentations at this webinar provided participants with an opportunity for professional development even during the coronavirus crisis. The lively participation in the discussions following the presentations, as well as the numerous positive responses, demonstrated the participants' strong interest in the webinar.
The presentations and conference papers from the 47th Livestock Farming Conference can be downloaded free of charge from our website. Videos of the presentations are also available.
