RT Journal Article
T1 Evaluation of organic, conventional and intensive beef farm systems: health, management and animal production
A1 Blanco Penedo, Isabel
A1 López Alonso, María Marta
A1 Shore, Richard F.
A1 Miranda Castañón, Marta Inés
A1 Castillo Rodríguez, Cristina
A1 Hernández Bermúdez, Joaquín
A1 Benedito Castellote, José Luis
K1 Farming systems
K1 Organic cattle
K1 General health
K1 Organic products
AB The overall aim of the present study was to analyse and compare organic beef cattle farming in Spain with intensive and conventional systems. An on-farm study comparing farm management practices and animal health was carried out. The study also focussed on a slaughterhouse analysis by comparing impacts on the safety and quality of the cattle products. Twenty-four organic and 26 conventional farms were inspected, and farmers responded to a questionnaire that covered all basic data on their husbandry practices, farm management, veterinary treatments and reproductive performance during 2007. Furthermore, data on the hygiene and quality of 244, 2596 and 3021 carcasses of calves from organic, intensive and conventional farms, respectively, were retrieved from the official yearbook (2007) of a slaughterhouse. Differences found between organic and conventional farms across the farm analysis did not substantially reflect differences between both farm types in the predominant diseases that usually occur on beef cattle farms. However, calves reared organically presented fewer condemnations at slaughter compared with intensive and to a lesser extent with conventionally reared calves. Carcass performance also reflected differences between farm type and breed and was not necessarily better in organic farms
PB Elsevier
SN 1751-7311
YR 2012
FD 2012
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/24270
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/24270
LA eng
NO Animal, Volume 6, Issue 9, 2012, Pages 1503-1511
NO This study was supported by the Xunta de Galicia (Spain;PGIDT02RA6261001PR) and I.B.P. received a research fellow-ship (AP2003-3835) from the Ministry of Science of Spain
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026