Research in organic livestock production

The development in organic farming has not always been pulled by the scientific communities, often the development has been pushed by the interest of consumers, NGOs, and farmers who have been sceptical towards the production methods used in conventional farming. So, although it must be acknowledged that a few institutes have made a special effort as regards research of particular interest for organic livestock production, the overall picture is that not many published papers address the particular topics that are of importance to the development of organic livestock production.

Therefore it is interesting that a special issue of Livestock Production Science (vol 80 nos 1-2, 2003) is just published. In this issue 15 papers highlight recent findings both of global questions in relation to organic livestock production and of experimental work. Also focus is put on both comparative work (with non-organic production) and work that allows a better understanding of how organic livestock production can be further developed in accordance with the aims of organic farming.