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Author |
Meul, M.; Van Passel, S.; Nevens, F.; Dessein, J.; Rogge, E.; Mulier, A.; Van Hauwermeiren, A. |
![find record details (via OpenURL) openurl](img/xref.gif)
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Title |
MOTIFS : a monitoring tool for integrated farm sustainability |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
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Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Agronomy For Sustainable Development |
Abbreviated Journal |
Agron Sustain Dev |
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Volume |
28 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
321-332 |
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Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Economics |
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Abstract |
Indicator-based monitoring tools are frequently applied for sustainability assessments, also in agriculture. However, many indicators focus on a rather restricted number of sustainability aspects such as economy or ecology. Moreover the choice of the indicator is rarely explained. The aim of our study was to develop an indicator-based monitoring tool for integrated farm sustainability – i.e. taking into account economic and ecological and social aspects – based on a supported vision of sustainable agriculture and using a set of relevant indicators. Hereby, specific attention was paid to aspects of communication and user-friendliness. Four methodological steps were considered: (i) translating the major principles of a supported vision of sustainable Flemish agriculture into concrete and relevant themes; (ii) designing indicators to monitor progress towards sustainability for each of those themes; (iii) aggregating the indicators into an integrated farm sustainability monitoring tool and (iv) applying the monitoring tool on a practical farm, as a first attempt at end-use validation. Stakeholder participation and expert consulting played an important part in each of these methodological steps. As a case study, the methodology was applied to Flemish dairy farms. As a result, we developed MOTIFS, a user-friendly and strongly communicative indicator-based monitoring tool that allows the measurement of progress towards integrated sustainable dairy farming systems and fits within a well-founded methodological framework. MOTIFS is based on the equality of the economic, ecological and social sustainability dimensions, and this equality is inherently built into the system. Through the applied methodology, we founded the selected themes and indicators and we avoided using indicators that are not relevant to the problem at hand. |
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Wos |
000256235500018 |
Publication Date |
2008-03-21 |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
1774-0746 |
ISBN |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
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Impact Factor |
4.101 |
Times cited |
97 |
Open Access |
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Notes |
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Approved |
Most recent IF: 4.101; 2008 IF: 1.649 |
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Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:136763 |
Serial |
6229 |
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Permanent link to this record |
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Author |
Meul, M.; Van Passel, S.; Fremaut, D.; Haesaert, G. |
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Title |
Higher sustainability performance of intensive grazing versus zero-grazing dairy systems |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
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Year |
2012 |
Publication |
Agronomy For Sustainable Development |
Abbreviated Journal |
Agron Sustain Dev |
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Volume |
32 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
629-638 |
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Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Engineering Management (ENM) |
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Abstract |
Although grazing of dairy cows is an integral part of dairy farming in many European countries, farmers today more often choose for zero-grazing systems, where cows are housed throughout the year. Some studies already compared grazing and zero-grazing systems for specific issues such as labor efficiency, environmental impact, or animal welfare. In our study, we perform a more integrated evaluation, considering relevant ecological, economic, and social aspects. This allows for a balanced and more complete comparison of the sustainability performance of the two production methods. We evaluated ten intensive grazing and ten zero-grazing specialized Flemish dairy farms on the use of nutrients and energy, productivity and profitability, labor input, and animal welfare. In addition, we put special effort in formulating useful management advice for farmers. Therefore, we combined a detailed analysis of the sustainability indicators with an intensive interaction and discussion with farmers and farm advisors. Results show that, on average, the zero-grazing farms performed significantly worse from an ecological and economic point of view. This fact is explained mainly due to a less efficient use of concentrates and byproducts. Social sustainability performance did not differ significantly between the two groups. As a result, the integrated sustainability performance was significantly lower for the zero-grazing group. This finding shows that a further shift from intensive grazing to zero-grazing can move dairy farming in Flanders further away from sustainability. An important advice to improve the ecological and economic performance of zero-grazing farms is to optimize cows' rations to include more forages and optimize forage production and use. More detailed site- and case-specific management advice for farmers of both groups was provided during a discussion meeting. We consider this an essential additional step to any sustainability evaluation, since progress can only be made when monitoring results are translated into practical measures. |
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000306061800003 |
Publication Date |
2012-01-11 |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
1774-0746 |
ISBN |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
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Impact Factor |
4.101 |
Times cited |
26 |
Open Access |
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Notes |
; ; |
Approved |
Most recent IF: 4.101; 2012 IF: 3.573 |
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Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:127557 |
Serial |
6209 |
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Permanent link to this record |
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Author |
Van Passel, S. |
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Title |
Food miles to assess sustainability : a revision |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
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Year |
2013 |
Publication |
Sustainable Development |
Abbreviated Journal |
Sustain Dev |
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Volume |
21 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
1-17 |
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Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Economics; Engineering Management (ENM) |
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Abstract |
Sustainability assessment is an essential process in our aim to reach a more sustainable production and consumption pattern. This research revises the food miles concept as a guiding tool to assess sustainability. Food miles measure the distance that food travels from where it is grown or raised to where it is consumed. Three different concepts to assess sustainability are described: (i) food miles, (ii) enhanced food miles, (iii) food chain sustainability. An illustrative case study shows that there is a strong danger of oversimplification when using food miles as an assessment tool. Second, the food miles concept can be enhanced with all relevant transport externalities taking into account different transport modes and transport (in)efficiency. Third, all relevant economic, social, and ecological aspects should be taken into account. Besides transport externalities, also externalities caused by food production, food packaging, food marketing, and food consumption should be incorporated. Moreover, the trade-off with development goals cannot be neglected. As a consequence, there is a strong danger of incommensurability as the result of different sustainability model assumptions and unclear system boundaries. Nevertheless, sustainability assessment can enrich policy making and support tailored policy measures to improve food chain sustainability. Copyright (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. |
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Wos |
000314187900001 |
Publication Date |
2010-07-15 |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
0968-0802 |
ISBN |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
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Impact Factor |
2.167 |
Times cited |
17 |
Open Access |
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Notes |
; ; |
Approved |
Most recent IF: 2.167; 2013 IF: 1.692 |
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Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:127553 |
Serial |
6204 |
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Permanent link to this record |