Newsletter of the LowInputBreeds project. Issue 3. EU project LowInputBreeds - Development of integrated livestock breeding and management strategies to improve animal health, product quality and performance in European organic and ‘low input’ milk, meat and egg production

Summary

With this third newsletter of the EU-funded project LowInputBreeds we intend to inform our readers about recent project activities and results in cattle, sheep, pig and laying hen production systems as well as in economic and multi-criteria impact assessment.
Furthermore researchers from the LowInputBreeds project have compiled two brief articles. The first article describes the use of genome-wide selection strategies for improving functional traits in cattle, the second article describes the concept of integrated control strategies for sheep in mountainous production systems, which will be developed in the LowInputBreeds project.
We would also like to draw your attention to the first LowInputBreeds Symposium, taking place on March 15 and 16, 2011 in the Netherlands. Researchers from LowInputBreeds and from the European Consortium for Organic Animal Breeding ECO-AB will present their approaches and breeding methods used. Discussion of ethical aspects will be initiated by invited speakers from relevant stakeholder groups.
The first general assembly meeting will take place during the symposium. More information is available at page 12 of this newsletter as well as on our homepage www.LowInputBreeds.org.