AGRI100484 Current challenges in organic farming

Type
course with continuous assessment
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Zollitsch, Werner , Muhr, Lui Gregor , Seidel, Sabine , Kirner, Leopold
Organisation
Organic Farming
Offered in
Wintersemester 2026/27
Languages of instruction
Deutsch
Content

To explore the content of the ‘Organic Farming’ lecture in greater depth, to develop new material on organic farming, and to address issues in collaboration with practitioners (farms, associations, certification bodies, etc.). The seminar is held in German!

Current seminar topics (Winter Semester 2026/27), provisional:

Topic 1: Food production on livestock farms with arable land – competition or synergy with food production? Assessment based on model farms

Topic 2: Integration of livestock into organic arable farming

Topic 3: Ecosystem services provided by organic livestock farming (and their protection or promotion, e.g. through organic farming guidelines)

Topic 4: Biostimulants: definition and critical assessment of their benefits in organic arable farming

Topic 5: Ways to promote biodiversity in organic arable farming (case study: the Marchfeld region)

Topic 6: Possibilities and opportunities for integrating perennial crops into organic arable farming

Topic 7: Economic viability of organic pig farming and potential for increased production of organic pork in Austria: calculations based on the internet contribution margin and interviews with organic farmers

Topic 8: Farm succession in organic holdings: factors supporting young organic farmers: studies and interviews with young successors and experts
Previous knowledge expected

None
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

Didactic objectives: objectives during the work in groups: (as far as the work is done in a group) Learning to collaborate within groups (approx. 2-4 people).
Methodological objectives: Finding, interpreting, synthesizing and presenting scientific content on topics in organic farming is learned
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.