IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v8y2016i9p957-d78576.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic Farms in Denmark

Author

Listed:
  • Evelien M. De Olde

    (Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Inge Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
    Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Frank W. Oudshoorn

    (Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Inge Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
    SEGES, Agro Food Park 15, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark)

  • Eddie A. M. Bokkers

    (Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Anke Stubsgaard

    (SEGES, Agro Food Park 15, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark)

  • Claus A. G. Sørensen

    (Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Inge Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark)

  • Imke J. M. De Boer

    (Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The growth of organic agriculture in Denmark raises the interest of both producers and consumers in the sustainability performance of organic production. The aim of this study was to examine the sustainability performance of farms in four agricultural sectors (vegetable, dairy, pig and poultry) using the sustainability assessment tool RISE 2.0. Thirty seven organic farms were assessed on 10 themes, including 51 subthemes. For one theme (water use) and 17 subthemes, a difference between sectors was found. Using the thresholds of RISE, the vegetable, dairy and pig sector performed positively for seven themes and the poultry sector for eight themes. The performance on the nutrient flows and energy and climate themes, however, was critical for all sectors. Moreover, the performance on the economic viability theme was critical for vegetable, dairy and pig farms. The development of a tool, including decisions, such as the selection of themes and indicators, reference values, weights and aggregation methods, influences the assessment results. This emphasizes the need for transparency and reflection on decisions made in sustainability assessment tools. The results of RISE present a starting point to discuss sustainability at the farm-level and contribute to an increase in awareness and learning about sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Evelien M. De Olde & Frank W. Oudshoorn & Eddie A. M. Bokkers & Anke Stubsgaard & Claus A. G. Sørensen & Imke J. M. De Boer, 2016. "Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic Farms in Denmark," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:9:p:957-:d:78576
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/9/957/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/9/957/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baumgärtner, Stefan & Becker, Christian & Frank, Karin & Müller, Birgit & Quaas, Martin, 2008. "Relating the philosophy and practice of ecological economics: The role of concepts, models, and case studies in inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability research," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 384-393, October.
    2. de Ponti, Tomek & Rijk, Bert & van Ittersum, Martin K., 2012. "The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 1-9.
    3. Merfield, Charles & Moller, Henrik & Manhire, Jon & Rosin, Chris & Norton, Solis & Carey, Peter & Hunt, Lesley & Reid, John & Fairweather, John & Benge, Jayson & Quellec, Isabelle Le & Campbell, Hugh , 2015. "Are Organic Standards Sufficient to Ensure Sustainable Agriculture? Lessons From New Zealand’s ARGOS and Sustainability Dashboard Projects," Sustainable Agriculture Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 4(3 Special).
    4. Verena Seufert & Navin Ramankutty & Jonathan A. Foley, 2012. "Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture," Nature, Nature, vol. 485(7397), pages 229-232, May.
    5. Urutyan, Vardan E. & Thalmann, Christian, 2011. "Assessing Sustainability at Farm Level using RISE Tool: Results from Armenia," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114820, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Wier, Mette & O'Doherty Jensen, Katherine & Andersen, Laura Mørch & Millock, Katrin, 2008. "The character of demand in mature organic food markets: Great Britain and Denmark compared," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 406-421, October.
    7. Tom Waas & Jean Hugé & Thomas Block & Tarah Wright & Francisco Benitez-Capistros & Aviel Verbruggen, 2014. "Sustainability Assessment and Indicators: Tools in a Decision-Making Strategy for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-23, August.
    8. Hani, Fritz & Braga, Francesco S. & Stampfli, Andreas & Keller, Thomas & Fischer, Matthew & Porsche, Hans, 2003. "RISE, a Tool for Holistic Sustainability Assessment at the Farm Level," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 6(4), pages 1-13.
    9. Tom Waas & Jean Huge & Thomas BLOCK & Tarah Wright & Francisco Javier Benitez Capistros & Aviel Verbruggen, 2014. "Sustainability assessment and indicators: Tools in a decision-making strategy for sustainable development," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/189410, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. Binder, C.R. & Schmid, A. & Steinberger, J.K., 2012. "Sustainability solution space of the Swiss milk value added chain," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 210-220.
    11. Christian Schader & Lukas Baumgart & Jan Landert & Adrian Muller & Brian Ssebunya & Johan Blockeel & Rainer Weisshaidinger & Richard Petrasek & Dóra Mészáros & Susanne Padel & Catherine Gerrard & Laur, 2016. "Using the Sustainability Monitoring and Assessment Routine (SMART) for the Systematic Analysis of Trade-Offs and Synergies between Sustainability Dimensions and Themes at Farm Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-20, March.
    12. Gómez-Limón, José A. & Sanchez-Fernandez, Gabriela, 2010. "Empirical evaluation of agricultural sustainability using composite indicators," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1062-1075, March.
    13. Pollesch, N. & Dale, V.H., 2015. "Applications of aggregation theory to sustainability assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 117-127.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. de Olde, Evelien M. & Bokkers, Eddie A.M. & de Boer, Imke J.M., 2017. "The Choice of the Sustainability Assessment Tool Matters: Differences in Thematic Scope and Assessment Results," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 77-85.
    2. Adam Kleofas Berbeć & Beata Feledyn-Szewczyk & Christian Thalmann & Rebekka Wyss & Jan Grenz & Jerzy Kopiński & Jarosław Stalenga & Paweł Radzikowski, 2018. "Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic and Low-Input Conventional Farms from Eastern Poland with the RISE Indicator System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Evangelos Alexandropoulos & Vasileios Anestis & Federico Dragoni & Anja Hansen & Saoirse Cummins & Donal O’Brien & Barbara Amon & Thomas Bartzanas, 2023. "Decision Support Systems Based on Gaseous Emissions and Their Impact on the Sustainability Assessment at the Livestock Farm Level: An Evaluation from the User’s Side," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-29, August.
    4. Antonia Katharina Ruckli & Stefan Josef Hörtenhuber & Paolo Ferrari & Jonathan Guy & Juliane Helmerichs & Robert Hoste & Carmen Hubbard & Nadja Kasperczyk & Christine Leeb & Agata Malak-Rawlikowska & , 2022. "Integrative Sustainability Analysis of European Pig Farms: Development of a Multi-Criteria Assessment Tool," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-26, May.
    5. Maria G. Lampridi & Claus G. Sørensen & Dionysis Bochtis, 2019. "Agricultural Sustainability: A Review of Concepts and Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-27, September.
    6. Alexander Zorn & Michele Esteves & Ivo Baur & Markus Lips, 2018. "Financial Ratios as Indicators of Economic Sustainability: A Quantitative Analysis for Swiss Dairy Farms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, August.
    7. Andreas Stylianou & Despina Sdrali & Constantinos D. Apostolopoulos, 2020. "Integrated Sustainability Assessment of Divergent Mediterranean Farming Systems: Cyprus as a Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-24, July.
    8. Ioan Sebastian Brumă & Simona-Roxana Ulman & Cristina Cautisanu & Lucian Tanasă & Gabriel Vasile Hoha, 2021. "Sustainability in the Case of Small Vegetable Farmers: A Matrix Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-32, September.
    9. Tshering Choden & Bhim Bahadur Ghaley, 2021. "A Portfolio of Effective Water and Soil Conservation Practices for Arable Production Systems in Europe and North Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Norman Siebrecht, 2020. "Sustainable Agriculture and Its Implementation Gap—Overcoming Obstacles to Implementation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-27, May.
    2. Ionuț-Alexandru Spânu & Alexandru Ozunu & Dacinia Crina Petrescu & Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, 2022. "A Comparative View of Agri-Environmental Indicators and Stakeholders’ Assessment of Their Quality," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Beadle, Brian, 2023. "The design and application of an agricultural sustainability index using item response theory," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 278112, March.
    4. Sylvain Quiédeville & Jean-Baptiste Bassene & Frédéric Lançon & Didier Chabrol & Paule Moustier, 2018. "Systemic Sustainability of the French Organic Rice and PGI Einkorn Value Chains: A Preliminary Assessment Based on Network Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Atanu Mukherjee & Emmanuel C. Omondi & Paul R. Hepperly & Rita Seidel & Wade P. Heller, 2020. "Impacts of Organic and Conventional Management on the Nutritional Level of Vegetables," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-25, October.
    6. Catherine Le Roux & Marius Pretorius, 2016. "Conceptualizing the Limiting Issues Inhibiting Sustainability Embeddedness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-22, April.
    7. Janet MacFall & Joanna Lelekacs & Todd LeVasseur & Steve Moore & Jennifer Walker, 2015. "Toward resilient food systems through increased agricultural diversity and local sourcing in the Carolinas," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(4), pages 608-622, December.
    8. Justyna Patalas-Maliszewska & Hanna Łosyk, 2020. "An Approach to Assessing Sustainability in the Development of a Manufacturing Company," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-18, October.
    9. Sofia Dahlgren & Jonas Ammenberg, 2021. "Sustainability Assessment of Public Transport, Part II—Applying a Multi-Criteria Assessment Method to Compare Different Bus Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-30, January.
    10. Nesar Ahmed & Shirley Thompson & Giovanni M. Turchini, 2020. "Organic aquaculture productivity, environmental sustainability, and food security: insights from organic agriculture," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(6), pages 1253-1267, December.
    11. Bourceret, Amélie & Accatino, Francesco & Robert, Corinne, 2024. "A modeling framework of a territorial socio-ecosystem to study the trajectories of change in agricultural phytosanitary practices," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 494(C).
    12. SIngh Verma, Juhee & Sharma, Pritee, 2019. "Potential of Organic Farming to Mitigate Climate Change and Increase Small Farmers’ Welfare," MPRA Paper 99994, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    14. Weiwei Li & Pingtao Yi & Danning Zhang, 2018. "Sustainability Evaluation of Cities in Northeastern China Using Dynamic TOPSIS-Entropy Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, December.
    15. de la Cruz, Vera Ysabel V. & Tantriani, & Cheng, Weiguo & Tawaraya, Keitaro, 2023. "Yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems across climate types and sub-types: A meta-analysis," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    16. Bang, Rasmus & Hansen, Bjørn Gunnar & Guajardo, Mario & Sommerseth, Jon Kristian & Flaten, Ola & Asheim, Leif Jarle, 2024. "Conventional or organic cattle farming? Trade-offs between crop yield, livestock capacity, organic premiums, and government payments," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    17. Natalia Brzezina & Birgit Kopainsky & Erik Mathijs, 2016. "Can Organic Farming Reduce Vulnerabilities and Enhance the Resilience of the European Food System? A Critical Assessment Using System Dynamics Structural Thinking Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-32, September.
    18. Patrick M. Carr & Greta G. Gramig & Mark A. Liebig, 2013. "Impacts of Organic Zero Tillage Systems on Crops, Weeds, and Soil Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-30, July.
    19. Ranjan Roy & Ngai Weng Chan, 2012. "An assessment of agricultural sustainability indicators in Bangladesh: review and synthesis," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 99-110, March.
    20. Stylianou, Andreas & Sdrali, Despina & Apostolopoulos, Constantinos D., 2020. "Capturing the diversity of Mediterranean farming systems prior to their sustainability assessment: The case of Cyprus," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:9:p:957-:d:78576. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.