Acta agriculturae slovenica, suplement 1(avgust 2004), 5–14. 
12th Int. Symp. “Animal Science Days”, Bled, Slovenia, Sept. 2–4, 2004. 
Review paper 
Pregledni znanstveni prispevek 
PERSPECTIVES OF SLOVENIAN ANIMAL PRODUCTION ARE IN SUSTAINABLE 
AGRICULTURE 
Jože OSTERC a), Ivan ŠTUHEC b), Nežika PETRIČ c) and Antonija HOLCMAN b) 
a) Univ. of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Fac., Zootechnical Dept., Groblje 3, SI-1230 Domžale, Slovenia, Prof., Ph.D. 
b) Same address as a), Assoc. Prof., Ph.D. 
c) Same address as a), Ass., Ph.D. 
ABSTRACT 
Due to the karst and gravely agricultural land, Slovenia is very sensitive as far as the agricultural 
production is concerned. For this reason sustainable agriculture is most suitable, set on 
contemporary ecological, ethological, ethical and socio-economic requirements. The later apply 
also for animal production. Consumers are concerned about the over-all quality of animal origin 
products, which can best be achieved by sustainable production methods. Most legal acts and 
laws have already been accepted, providing fundamentals for the sustainable production methods 
to be put into practice. Integrated production is spreading rapidly in crop production, more than 
50% of new orchards and fields for growing vegetables are included to integrated production 
control. 4.4% farmland is in ecological agricultural control, and 632 farms already possess the 
Certificate, which enables them to sell their ecological products, most of them being from animal 
production and mountain farms. The highest rank in ecological cattle production has the 
production of suckler cows with the trade mark “Pohorje beef”. Sustainable steer and copon 
production are also ranking high. The interest for sustainable farming of any kind of farm 
animals is increasing, mostly in case of cattle and small ruminant production. 
Key words: sustainable agriculture / animal production / Slovenia 
PERSPEKTIVE SLOVENSKE ŽIVINOREJE SO V SONARAVNEM KMETOVANJU 
IZVLEČEK 
Zaradi kraških in prodnatih kmetijskih površin je Slovenija zelo občutljiva za način kmetovanja. 
Zato so za Slovenijo primerne sonaravne oblike kmetovanja, ki temeljijo na celostni filozofiji in 
upoštevajo današnje ekološke, etične in družbeno-gospodarske zahteve. To velja tudi za 
živinorejo. Porabniki zahtevajo tudi vsestransko kakovost živinorejskih proizvodov, ki jo je s 
sonaravnimi oblikami reje domačih živali lažje zagotoviti. V Sloveniji smo že sprejeli večino 
zakonskih in podzakonskih predpisov, ki omogočajo uveljavljanje sonaravnih oblik kmetovanja. 
V rastlinski proizvodnji se hitro širi integrirana pridelava, preko 50 % novejših sadovnjakov in 
površin za pridelavo zelenjave je v kontroli integrirane pridelave. V kontroli ekološkega 
kmetovanja je 4,4 % kmetijskih površin, Certifikat za prodajo ekoloških pridelkov ima 632 
kmetij, večina teh je živinorejskih in v hribih. Najbolj uveljavljena ekološka govedoreja je reja 
dojilj za znamko »Pohorje beef«. Uveljavljata se tudi sonaravna reja volov in kopunov. 
Zanimanje za sonaravno rejo živali vseh vrst se povečuje, najbolj za rejo govedi in drobnice. 
Ključne besede: sonaravno kmetijstvo / živinoreja / Slovenija 
INTRODUCTION 
Animal production has been the most important agricultural activity in Slovenia for centuries. 
In times of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, 150 years ago, for instance, Slovenian farmers 
http://www.bfro.uni-lj.si/zoo/publikacije/zbornik/suplementi/index.htm
Acta agriculturae slovenica, suplement 1(avgust 2004). 
 
6 
grew excellent animals and received numerous prices at the European cattle exhibitions. 
Slovenia is rich on grassland, as much as two thirds of agricultural land is under meadows and 
pastures, therefore ruminant production development has been prosperous, especially for cattle 
and small ruminants. For this reason most probably, it was one hundred years ago in the town of 
Maribor, where milk recording of Brown cows started – the first in the Austro-Hungarian 
Monarchy (Schallerl, 2004). Tradition and natural conditions influenced the fact that cattle 
production has kept the main role in Slovene agriculture also later on. In the last decades it 
represents about two thirds of the gross income for Slovenian farmers. With its 40% gross 
income cattle production, no doubt, presents the most important agricultural activity in Slovenia. 
Within the frame of cattle production milk production is considered more important than meat 
production. It takes about 30% of the mentioned 40%. Almost the same percentage is expected 
also after the accession of Slovenia to EU. The main question arising when considering and 
planning the future Slovenian cattle production is the question of used rearing system and 
production technology. Especially now, that people are becoming more and more aware of 
ecology, and when Slovenia has to follow the international ecological rules, this question is 
becoming a topic of many discussions. There is a growing number of people who are certain that 
Slovenia needs to develop in the direction of sustainable form of agriculture. Even the latest 
outline of Development Strategy for Slovenia in the chapter devoted to environment it announces 
greater consideration for sustainable ways of behaviour in agriculture (UMAR, 2004). 
NATURAL CONDITIONS DICTATE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IN SLOVENIA 
Slovenia is poor in view of quality fields. Earable land is mostly located on gravely river 
banks, and quite an amount to karst regions. Gravely fields and karstic agricultural land are 
porous and therefore not only very environment sensitive, but also not suitable for the intensive 
conventional cultivation. So, one of the forms of sustainable agriculture is significantly more 
suitable for Slovenia, which applies also for animal production. 
Sustainable agriculture id based on the so called holistic or wholesome philosophy (Juga, 
1998). According to the cited author animal production is sustainable if it respects numerous 
ecological requirements (preservation of the environment, improvement of its quality), ethical (to 
satisfy ethical requirements towards production potential), and socio-economic requirements. 
Ethical relations to production potentials also include the relation to animals, fertile land, life 
within this land, and relations towards mankind, indirectly also towards plants. Because of the 
holistic overview it is important that the sustainable animal production has to follow and also 
cover the holistic principle the whole way along the production chain: from the cultivation of 
soil, fodder production and storage, breeding goals, animal nutrition and husbandry, agricultural 
production and marketing of products. According to Feenstra (1997) sustainable agriculture, 
which by all means includes animal production process as well, should be a well managed 
process, respecting natural and humane sources in the production of goods, and which does not 
endanger the possibilities for future generations. They too, must have a chance to exploit natural 
resources for food and for the survival. Such can only be animal production that is well adapted 
to the local natural and social conditions. In Slovenia these conditions require the proper 
sustainable animal production methods. So far our experiences are not satisfactory because the 
intensive, not sustainable animal production methods have made lots of damage to the 
environment; polluted underground water, the soil, even the air (pig farms, large scale intensive 
cattle production farms, large scale poultry production enterprises). The fundamental factor in 
sustainable animal production is a closed circle of organic and inorganic matters. This circle is 
most problematic on large scale enterprises. Unsuitable usage or incorrect storage of organic 
manure can be considered the main cause for non sustainability and the major cause for the 
Osterc, J. et al. Perspectives of Slovenian animal production are in sustainable agriculture. 7
environmental pollution. So, large scale enterprises will have to follow EU legislation and by 
2010 or 2012 they definitely will have to adapt the production and solve the problem of manure 
according to EU standards. Pig producers are trying to use sedimentation and solid phase of 
manure for the fertilisation, and anaerobic degradation of slurry to get biogas as the final product 
(Osterc et al., 2002). There are also smaller farm units which keep an exceeding number of 
animals per ha of agricultural land, who have not yet adapted to the sustainable ways of 
production. Very strict EU measures will force these farmers into the change and adaptation. To 
preserve fertile farmland, to keep the required amounts of humus, the introduction of crop 
rotation and correct usage of organic manure is inevitable (Toplak et al., 2003). 
With higher standard of living, improved knowledge on preservation of healthy environment 
and rapid warnings of different media on the meaning of quality food for human health, our 
consumers too, are becoming well aware of more demanding ways of food production in 
agriculture and animal husbandry. Many people are organised in different associations, several 
demanding improved ethics in domestic animal husbandry. In the assessment of products of 
animal origin the consumers are very critical in regard to animal fats. According to the findings 
that some fatty acids, mostly conjugated linoleic acid, have anti cancer and anti atherogene 
effects, have risen the request for milk and meat products which contain higher quantities of 
these acids. Apart from these, numerous studies have also shown that nutrition can significantly 
influence the content of fatty acids, along with some other substances that are beneficial to 
human health (Bauman, 1998 and Bessa et al., 2000, cit. in Kompan, 2003¸ Lee et al., 1994 and 
Parodi, 1997, cit. in Salobir, 2000; Velimirov and Mueller, 2003, cit. in Turinek, 2004). In meat 
and milk gained by cattle from pasture, the quantities of conjugated linoleic acid and omega-3 
fatty acids are presumably higher. Similar findings are evident also in egg production. It is well 
known that omega-3 fatty acids in eggs increase if hens are kept in free range production on 
grass (Holcman et al., 2004). This kind of findings and ameliorated ethical relation of people 
towards environment provide better chances for the implementation of sustainable farming 
methods. By their reports media greatly influences the public opinion on ecological (organic, 
biological) farming. Quite often one gets the impression that authors of such articles are certain 
that the change to ecological farming can solve all the problems of Slovenian agriculture in a 
very short period of time. Usually, they mention the slight increase of prices for ecological 
products, and maintain that market for such products does not present a problem. Their 
statements are backed with the practice in Austria, where ecological farming is well developed. 
We can call such reports incorrect, they are misleading, because they do not give the picture of 
entire situation in Austria, where we know, the production does not rise at all. In spite of very 
promising predictions some years ago the EU data (Commission EU, 2004) shows that about 
8.5% of land in Austria is used for organic agriculture. In its action programme the same 
Commission points out the necessity to promote this form of agriculture and to do much more in 
order to make the consumers aware of its benefits. According to data there are 3.5% of 
agricultural land used for ecological farming at the moment in EU (15 countries), while there are 
2% of products sold on the market from ecological farming (EU Commission, 2004). It is quite 
clear that the extent of ecological farming is much lower in regard to area unit and animal, 
therefore, understandably, more expensive. The basic question that arises here is how to find 
buyers for more expensive products for the increased ecological husbandry and production. Here 
again it is not easy to answer the question of possible enlargement of areas for ecological 
farming and at the same time not significantly decrease the production potential. Cessation in the 
enlargement of ecological farming areas in the countries with the highest rate (Austria) shows, 
that the possibilities of expansion are often overestimated. Yet, this does not mean that the 
ecological farming areas will not expand. Ecological farming will certainly improve in future 
and larger areas will be granted for its purpose. This applies also for Slovenia. The basic solution 
for more rapid growth of sustainable agriculture in Slovenia can be seen in the growth of 
Acta agriculturae slovenica, suplement 1(avgust 2004). 
 
8 
integrated agricultural production methods. They can be regarded as intermediate stage between 
the conventional and ecological farming activities, and because they aim towards the 
implementation of sustainable principles into the production process, we can easily call it 
sustainable agriculture. Integrated farming developed from the integrated protection of fruit 
trees. It does not abolish the use of mineral fertilisers and phytopharmaceuticals, but the usage of 
both are best adapted to the needs of plants and the suppression of pests just under the limit of 
serious economic harm. Commonly we say that this farming is performed by the good farming 
practice. The main objective of integrated farming is the controlled usage of fertilisers and 
phytopharmaceuticals, thus reducing negative effects of farming to the environment and human 
health. Slovenia has quite a well extended integrated plant production. The Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Food (MAFF) issued the Regulations for the integrated fruit, grapes, 
wine, vegetables and crop production in the year 2004. Therefore it is understanding that the 
number of agricultural units are included in the integrated plant production. There were as much 
as 3,940 ha (890 farms) of orchards included into the integrated control, which represents even 
more than a half of intensive orchards (Pravilnik, 2004a). Apart from this there are 350 vegetable 
producers who had 910 ha of the fields in the integrated control (Pravilnik, 2004b). Hrastar 
(2004) states that according to SURS there were 1,867 farmers who produced market vegetables 
on 1,740 ha of land in 2003. It means that over 50% vegetable fields were included to the 
integrated control in 2003. There is also a growing number of wine producers and farmers who 
adopted integrated farming practice. In this respect, integrated animal production is more 
demanding. Apart from the integrated fodder production integrated animal husbandry needs to 
respect ethological requirements and such production methods which do not cause stress in farm 
animals. In other words, the ration for even the most productive dairy cow has to be prepared in 
such a way that it provides animal friendly digestion and metabolism. Some experts are certain 
that a ration for dairy cows should not contain more than 40% dry matter part of concentrates, or 
else, the ration lacks crude fibre. According to Haiger (1998) numerous researches report that 
dairy cows with milk yield 10,000 kg or over per lactation should get for a longer period after 
calving more than 50% dry matter per ration of concentrates. If the ration does not contain 
enough crude fibre it prevents the extraction of saliva and thus negatively effects digestion. It is 
therefore not correct. The cow is in stress, the animal is actually sick and such husbandry is not 
ethical at all. There are similar other unethical cases also in other species of farm animals, also in 
Slovenia. They will definitely have to be solved.  
Environmental sensibility of Slovenian agriculture, preservation of fertile land, respect of 
ethics in animal production, and not the least the respect of consumers’ demand for quality 
products of animal origin are the main reasons for the statement that the Slovenian perspectives 
of animal production are in sustainable agriculture. The success in sustainable methods applied 
to plant growing shows that the same is possible in animal production, too. To adopt and accept 
the sustainable way of thinking in agriculture, it is necessary to constantly endeavour in this 
direction – the government will have to accept the required legislation and suitable incentives. 
Some of them have already been made during the process of adaptation of our to EU legislation. 
EU DEMANDS AND INTERNATIONAL REQUIREMENT IN THE FRAME OF 
ANIMAL HANDLING 
Prior to accession to EU, Slovenia had put much effort into the adaptation to EU legislation in 
the frame of animal protection activities. The Animal Protection law (1999) meant a base for 
numerous other regulations, such as: 
– Rule on Animal Shelter Standards (Pravilnik, 2000e) 
– Rule on Animal Transport Standards and Methods (Pravilnik, 2000c) 
Osterc, J. et al. Perspectives of Slovenian animal production are in sustainable agriculture. 9
– Rule on the Changes and Amendments on Animal Transport Standards and Methods 
(Pravilnik, 2000d) 
– Rule on the Changes on Animal Transport Standards and Methods (Pravilnik, 2001) 
– Rule on the Changes on Animal Transport Standards and Methods (Pravilnik, 2002) 
– Rule on Animal Welfare Council (Pravilnik, 2000a) 
– Rule on Ethics Commission for Experimental Animals (2000) 
– Decree on Accommodation Standards and Rearing of Free-Range Animals in Captivity 
(Odredba, 2001) 
– Rule on Minimum Standards for Farm Animal Protection, and Registration Procedure for 
Large Laying Hen Farms (Pravilnik,2003) 
– Decree on Protection of Free Range Animal Species (Uredba 2004a) 
– Rule on Expert Staff and Technical Standards for the Experiments on Animals (Pravilnik, 
2004) 
– Rule on Protection and Handling Methods in the Trade of Animal and Plant Species 
(Uredba, 2004b)  
Probably, the most important among the above rules is the Rule on Minimum Standards for 
Farm Animal Protection, and Registration Procedure for Large Laying Hen Farms (Pravilnik, 
2003). There are, unfortunately, some mistakes still present in the Rule. But, the good part of it is 
that it gathers the requirements of the following EU rules: 
– Council Directive 91/629/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of 
calves, 
– Council Directive 91/630/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs, 
– Council Directive 97/2/EC amending Directive 91/629/EEC laying down minimum 
standards for the protection of calves, 
– Commission decision 97/182/EC amending the Annex to Directive 91/629/EEC laying 
down minimum standards for the protection of calves, 
– Council Directive 98/58/EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming 
purposes, 
– Council Directive 99/74/EC laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying 
hens, 
– Commission decision 2000/50/EC concerning minimum requirements for the inspection of 
holdings on which animals are kept for farming purposes, 
– Council Directive 2001/88/EC amending Directive 91/630/EEC laying down minimum 
standards for the protection of pigs, 
– Commission Directive 2001/93/EC amending Directive 91/630/EEC laying down 
minimum standards for the protection of pigs, 
– Commission Directive 2002/4/EC on the registration of establishments keeping laying 
hens, covered by Council Directive 1999/74/EC. 
Besides the basic rules and general conditions the Rule on Minimum Standards for Farm 
Animal Protection, and Registration Procedure for Large Laying Hen Farms (Pravilnik, 2003) 
contains special conditions which apply to calf, pig and laying hen protection. These were 
mostly presented by Štuhec et al. (2002), therefore they will not be discussed in detail here. The 
husbandry standards are essential for animal production farms and also all the other animal 
production enterprises. The legal requirements on minimal standards on farm animal welfare are 
not so animal friendly that Slovene farmers would have to perform drastic changes in animal 
housing system in order to suit international standards. The only exception are large scale laying 
hen enterprises, which will have to change classical battery cages with the improved ones or 
even pass over to different housing system. 
The Animal Production Act (Zakon, 2002) only partly covers animal protection activities. 
Among 18 goals there are five that directly accumulate the protection of farm animals: 
Acta agriculturae slovenica, suplement 1(avgust 2004). 
 
10 
– Protection of animal welfare 
– Assurance of species characteristic ways of feeding and nutrition 
– Performance of sustainable animal production 
– Assurance of biodiversity in animal production 
– Respecting zoo-hygienic and ethical norms in animal production 
In the following citation taken from the Animal Production Act (Zakon, 2002) a slight animal 
welfare concern may be felt: “Farm animals have to be produced in such a way that they feel 
well, that their biological needs can be satisfied, that their bodily functions and behaviour are not 
disturbed, that their adaptation abilities are not exceeded, and that they are handled according to 
the rules on animal welfare and animal health”. 
The Veterinary Act (Zakon, 2001) deals with animal protection activity, basically in view of 
animal health. In its 51st Article veterinary activities are listed. There are 64 on the list, and only 
two of them can be possibly related to animal welfare: 
– 60: Animal protection against torture 
– 61: Examination of animal health and welfare 
Number 4 in Article 52 discusses the aid to animals. Animal protection against torture is a 
very precious and noble act, and lately much required activity. The German minister of 
consumers’, nutrition and agriculture protection Mrs. Renate Kuehnast (Tierschutzbericht der 
Bundesregierung, 2003) among other matters wrote also: “Humane handling of animals is a 
dignified and highly responsible job, not only in view of ethics. It is fundamental for the ever 
lasting trust that consumers should have in all agricultural products”. 
Animal production in sustainable agriculture can not be imagined without the constant 
environmental respect and awareness. In the EU publication titled Directive on water protection 
against nitrates from agricultural sources (91/676/EEC) water protection is entirely a matter of 
agricultural activity. It dictates the EU member countries to prepare good agricultural practices, 
among which the exact time for fertilisation, and the exact amount of animal manure application 
should be stated. The Directive in its Introduction expresses the opinion that increased intensive 
animal production requires higher attention in environmental protection policy. In their 
legislation the member countries must lay down rules on good agricultural practice and 
determine vulnerable areas, where wash-off can easily reach surface and underground waters. 
With good agricultural practice the behaviour of nitrogen compounds in the environment (water, 
soil) could better be understood. For different climatic conditions it is necessary to determine a 
period for which dunging is not allowed. In line with this demand the capacity of solid manure 
storage and underground liquid manure storage should also be determined. Nitrogen content in 
soil should be considered at the beginning of growth period and nitrogen supply by the aid of 
mineralized nitrogen reserves in the ground, and additional supply through the dunging process. 
The highest nitrogen quantity supplied by animal manure is 170 kg N/ha. The Rule on the 
application of dangerous substances and plant nutrients to soil (Uredba, 1996), still valid in 
Slovenia does not correspond completely with the European Directive on protection of water 
against nitrogen pollution from agricultural sources (91/676/EEC), for it allowed the application 
of 210 kg nitrogen per ha of soil. The European Directive and its request of 170 kg nitrogen /ha 
had been put into the Rules on the change and amendment of the Rules on the application of 
dangerous and plant nutrients to soil only in 2001 (Uredba, 2001). According to the Slovene 
Rules the allowed application of animal fertiliser is even 3 AU/ha of land in case of cattle 
production. Usually, the highest possible load with animal manure is 2AU/ha, or even less. Very 
complicated is the calculation of AU considering the Slovene Rules because each breeding boar 
or sow presents 0.34, fattening pig 0.13, runner 0.032, and each piglet 0.007 AU. In Germany 
this calculation is much simpler and as such also much more useful. Each manure unit of a large 
animal equals three sows with litter up to 20 kg, and fattening pigs over 20 kg (Studt-Juers et al., 
1998). In Slovenia we have the Instructions for good agricultural practice in regard to 
Osterc, J. et al. Perspectives of Slovenian animal production are in sustainable agriculture. 11
fertilization (Navodila, 2000). It determines storage methods for animal manure: 2 m2 for solid 
manure, and 3.5 m3 for underground urine storage. Still better should be 4 m2 for solid manure (6 
months storage), and 2 m3 for four months urine storage. The mentioned facts show that 
profession played an insufficient role in laying down the legislation. In spite of some deficiencies 
in animal production legislation, as well as in handling of animals, Slovenia has accepted the 
basic rules that enable expansion of the sustainable forms of animal production. 
EXAMPLES OF SUSTAINABLE ANIMAL PRODUCTION IN SLOVENIA AND ITS 
EXPANSION POSSIBILITIES 
Among the more demanding forms of sustainable agriculture is ecological animal production. 
It has started quite early in Slovenia, mostly due to the prevailing grassland. In the year 2003 
there were 1,415 farms with 20,018 ha of agricultural land included to ecological control. 632 
farmers possessed the certificate for the trade of ecological products and provisions. Among the 
controlled areas there were 93% of grassland (Bavec, 2004). It is therefore understandable that 
they were mainly animal production farms. The majority were controlled cattle and small 
ruminants (Table 1). But usually these farms also keep other species, or just one of the other 
animal species. 
The majority of ecological farms are located in the mountains, usually they are large in size. 
Thus the average size of ecological farms in Slovenia is 14.2 ha, which is 2.7 times more 
compared to the average size of farms in the country. 20,018 ha of agricultural land is under the 
ecological farming control, which represents 4.4% of all agricultural land in Slovenia. According 
to these data we exceeded the EU rate (15) – (Bavec, 2004, Commission EU, 2004). 
 
Table 1. Farm animals included to the ecological farming control in Slovenia in 2003 
 
Species Number 
Cattle 11 480 
Sheep and goats 19 900 
Pigs 2 090 
Horses 1 390 
Poultry 12 560 
Bees 1 650 familys 
Source: Agriculture and Forest Chamber of Slovenia; Maribor Unit, 2004 
 
Among the ecological cattle farms the production under the trade mark “Pohorje Beef” 
prevails. This kind of production comprises of farms with Simmental suckler cow production, 
crossed with beef Limousine bulls. Mating is seasonable. Calves from this production, mainly 
young bulls, are slaughtered after the pasture season, weighing 250 to 350 kg, or after a short 
fattening period in the stable. If the demand for this kind of meat is low, young bulls are ideal for 
fattening to higher weight. The system controls as many as 60 farms with the average number of 
12 cows/farm, or 720 cows in total (KGZS – Agricultural Unit Maribor, 2004). The mentioned 
farms are mainly located in Pohorje region, and the farmers often posses woods, so the additional 
income comes from there. The size of farms is 35 ha, of which 11 ha belongs to cultivated land. 
Although they have the certificate for special quality meat, marketing of the products is 
problematic. The holder of the trade mark is the Cooperative Association Maribor. Breeders are 
not co-owners, therefore they do not do much for the organised trade of the quality animals.  
Sustainable animal production offers the revitalisation of the past well appreciated quality 
products of animal origin. Among them is most certainly steer meat, which was up to the World 
Acta agriculturae slovenica, suplement 1(avgust 2004). 
 
12 
War II in the territory of Slovenia greatly demanded and appreciated. It was produced traditional 
way, very similar to the sustainable one. Under the close inspection of the Faculty for 
Agriculture, Maribor, this kind of production is spreading rapidly in the North-East part of 
Slovenia. The animals are mostly Simmental cattle or crossbreeds with Simmental breed. Young 
bulls are castrated at the age of 2–4 months. Usually steers are on pasture for two seasons and 
then fattened in the stable with home produced grain for another two months. At 600 kg the 
steers are slaughtered. At this body weight they reach an average 52% dressing. About 2/3 steers 
are classified to R class for meat yield, and 3rd class for fattiness (Volk, 2004). Trading is in 
domain with a private butchery. Meat of steers produced in such a way is of specific quality and 
the demand for it is rising. The success of promotion and trade is, no doubt, effected by the 
ability of breeders to cooperate with each other, to improve the production technology and 
trading of produced meat. 
Similar to steers, copon production became popular again mainly in Styria region, using the 
autochthonous Styria breed. The interest for copon production is rising, therefore much effort is 
put into its revitalisation (Holcman et al., 2004). Sustainable animal production is also becoming 
more and more popular ever since Slovenia accepted the SKOP measures (Slovenian agro-
environmental programme). The number of farms that register mostly for the four- measures 
production of ruminants is presented in Table 2 
 
Table 2. Number of accepted applications for SKOP measures and payments per ha in years 
2002 and 2003 
 
2002 2003 
Measure No. of acc. 
applications 
Payment, 
SIT ha–1 
No. of acc. 
applications 
Payment, 
SIT ha–1 
Sustainable farming 9 009 9 000 9 509 9 000 
Mountain pasture 50 4 000 33 4 000 
Mount. pasture with 
shepherd 156 7 000 141 7 000 
Ecological farming 897 20 000–120 750 1 148 40 000–120 750 
Source: Archive of the Agency for Agricultural Market and Landscape Development of Slovenia 
 
Table 3. Number of accepted applications for SKOP, number of AU and AU/farm 
 
2002 2003 
Measure No. of 
applic. Total AU AU/farm 
No. of 
applic. Total AU AU/farm 
Sustainable farming 9 009 81 447 9.04 9 509 93 555 9.84 
Ecological farming 897 9 180 10.23 1 148 11 308 9.85 
AU – animal unit 
Source: Archive of the Agency for Agricultural Market and Landscape Development of Slovenia 
 
Much interest is given to the measure “Sustainable animal farming”, which is very similar to 
the traditional ways of farming in Slovenia (Table 3). Approximate calculation proves that it is 
about 20% of cattle and small ruminants produced in sustainable farming conditions. The interest 
is still rising. The same applies also for the interest in ecological farming, while the interest for 
mountain pasture is not so pronounced, most probably due to disappearance of mountain pasture 
areas. 
The interest for sustainable animal production can be understood. It is from the view of 
integrated plant production a very similar activity. Therefore we can easily expect it to expand, 
Osterc, J. et al. Perspectives of Slovenian animal production are in sustainable agriculture. 13
just as was the case in integrated fruits and vegetables production. In line with the integrated 
fodder production and the accepted legislation on animal husbandry we are almost certain that 
sustainable animal production will gain even higher importance in the future in Slovenia. 
CONCLUSIONS 
There are more than 50% farms in Slovenia that use classical farming methods. With minor 
adaptations they could soon change to sustainable farming system. Here we are having in mind 
the integrated, not so much the ecological farms. Along with the suitable control and close 
cooperation these farms could promote sustainable ways of animal production, and together they 
could succeed also in the trade of their products by the price, increased so that the additional 
work and knowledge would be paid. Such farming enables better protection of natural sources, 
and respects ethology standards in animal husbandry much more than conventional farming 
system. Therefore, sustainable animal farming should be the main goal not only for the Slovene 
animal breeders, but also for the Slovene government. 
REFERENCES 
Bavec, M. Med ekološkimi kmetijami prevladujejo živinorejske. Kmečki glas, 61(2004)9, 9. 
Commission decision 97/182/EC amending the Annex to Directive 91/629/EEC laying down minimum standards 
for the protection of calves. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 76, 18.03.1997, 30–31. 
Commission decision 2000/50/EC concerning minimum requirements for the inspection of holdings on which 
animals are kept for farming purposes. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 19, 25.01.2000,  
51–573. 
Commission directive 2001/93/EC amending Directive 91/630/EEC laying down minimum standards for the 
protection of pigs. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 316, 01.12.2001, 36–38. 
Commission Directive 2002/4/EC on the registration of establishments keeping laying hens, covered by Council 
Directive 1999/74/EC. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 30, 31.01.2002, 44–46. 
Council Directive 91/629/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves. Official Journal of the 
European Communities, No L 340, 11.12.1991, 28–32. 
Council Directive 91/630/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs. Official Journal of the 
European Communities, No L 340, 11.12.1991, 33–38. 
Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from 
agricultural sources. Official Journal of the European Communities, No L 375, 31.12.1991, 1–8 
Council Directive 97/2/EC amending Directive 91/629/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of 
calves. Official Journal of the European Communities, No L 25, 28.01.1997, 24–25. 
Council directive 98/58/EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes. Official Journal of the 
European Communities, L 221, 08.08.1998, 23–27. 
Council directive 1999/74/EC laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens. Official Journal of 
the European Communities, L 203, 03.08.1999, 53–57. 
Council directive 2001/88/EC amending Directive 91/630/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection 
of pigs. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 316, 01.12.2001, 1–4. 
Feenstra, G. 1997. What is sustainable agriculture? http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm  
Haiger, A. Rinderzucht am Scheideweg. In: 25. Viehwirtschaftliche Fachtagung, Gumpenstein, 1998-05-19/20. 
Gumpenstein, Bal, 1998, 55–59.  
Holcman, A./ Salobir, J./ Zorman-Rojs, O./ Kavčič, S. Reja kokoši v manjših jatah. Ljubljana, Založba Kmečki glas, 
2004, 226 p.  
Hrastar, K. Vrtnarstvo na 1740 hektarjih. Kmečki glas, 61(2004)27, 4. julij, 5. 
Juga, J. The nordic model for animal welfare and sustainability: Is it competitive? Acta Agric. Scand., Sect. A, 
Animal Sci., (1998)Suppl.29: 108–114. 
Kompan, D. Vpliv dodatka omega-3 maščobnih kislin v obrok na sestavo kozjega mleka in število somatskih celic v 
njem. Doktorska disertacija. Ljubljana, Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za zootehniko, 2003, 84 p. 
Pravilnik o integrirani pridelavi sadja. Tehnološka navodila za integrirano pridelavo sadja. Ljubljana, MKGP, 
2004a, 65 p. 
Pravilnik o integrirani pridelavi zelenjave. Tehnološka navodila za integrirano pridelavo zelenjave. Ljubljana, 
MKGP, 2004b, 107 p. 
Acta agriculturae slovenica, suplement 1(avgust 2004). 
 
14 
Navodilo za izvajanje dobre kmetijske prakse pri gnojenju. Ur.l. RS, št. 34-1555/2000. 
Odredba o bivalnih razmerah in oskrbi živali prosto živečih vrst v ujetništvu. Ur.l. RS, št. 90-4524/2001. 
Osterc, J./ Čepin, S./ Štuhec, I./ Jurkovič, J. Adaptation of slovene livestock to environment friendly animal 
husbandry. Acta Agraria Kapovariensis, 6(2002)2, 25–32. 
Pravilnik o etični komisiji za poskuse na živalih. Ur.l. RS, št. 84-3777/2000a. 
Pravilnik o strokovnem svetu za zaščito živali. Ur.l. RS, št. 62-2793/2000b. 
Pravilnik o pogojih in načinu prevoza živali. Ur.l. RS, št. 86-3830/2000c. 
Pravilnik o spremembah in dopolnitvi pravilnika o pogojih in načinu prevoza živali. Ur.l. RS, št. 108-4518/2000d.  
Pravilnik o pogojih za zavetišča za zapuščene živali. Ur.l. RS, št. 45-2089/2000e. 
Pravilnik o spremembah pravilnika o pogojih in načinu prevoza živali. Ur.l. RS, št. 64-3519/2001. 
Pravilnik o spremembah pravilnika o pogojih in načinu prevoza živali. Ur.l. RS, št. 16-643/2002. 
Pravilnik o minimalnih pogojih za zaščito rejnih živali in postopku registracije hlevov za rejo kokoši nesnic. Ur.l. 
RS, št. 41-2006/2003. 
Pravilnik o strokovnih, kadrovskih in tehničnih pogojih za opravljanje poskusov na živalih. Ur.l. RS, št. 36-
1598/2004. 
Salobir, K. Pomen mesa v prehrani. In: Meso in mesnine za kakovostno prehrano. 2. posvet o vlogi in pomenu mesa 
v normalni – zdravi in dietni prehrani, Portorož, 2000-02-10/11. Ljubljana, Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za 
živilstvo, 2000, 171–185. 
Schallerl, F. 100 Jahre Leistungsprüfung in der Steiermark. Zucht und Besamung, 1(2004), 1–4. 
Studt-Jürs, I./ Stooss, M./ Gerth, H. Umweltschutz im EU-Recht-Bundesrecht-Landesrecht für die Landwirtschaft. 
Gesetze, Verordnungen, Richtlinien und Erlasse. Betriebswirtschaftliche Mitteilungen, (1998)518/519, 1–108. 
Štuhec, I./ Siard, N./ Dobeic, M. Farm animal welfare legislation in Slovenia. Acta Agraria Kaposváriensis, 
6(2002)2, 67–73. 
Tierschutzbericht der Bundesregierung 2003. Berlin, Bundesministerium für Verbraucherschutz, Ernährung und 
Landwirtschaft, 2003: 1–148. 
Toplak, A./ Leslošek, M./ Osterc, J. Govedoreja kot dejavnih oskrbljenosti slovenskih njiv s humusom. Sod. kmet., 
36(2003)9: 33–36 
Turinek, M. Je ekološko pridelana hrana res boljša? Agronom, 9(2004)3, 26–29. 
UMAR. Strategija razvoja Slovenije. Osnutek; Poglavji: Regionalni in prostorski razvoj in Okolje, 2004, s. 87–109.  
Uredba o vnosu nevarnih snovi in rastlinskih hranil v tla. Ur.l. RS, št. 68-3721/96. 
Uredba o spremembah in dopolnitvah Uredbe o vnosu nevarnih snovi in rastlinskih hranil v tla. Ur.l. RS, št. 35-
4048/2001. 
Uredba o zavarovanih prosto živečih živalskih vrstah. Ur. l. RS, št. 46-2216/2004. 
Uredba o ravnanjih in načinih varstva pri trgovini z živalskimi in rastlinskimi vrstami. Ur.l. RS, št. 52-2370/2004. 
Volk, M. Sonaravna reja volov – alternativna oblika prireje govejega mesa. V: Posvet KGZ, Ljubljana, 2004-03-13. 
56-59. 
Zakon o veterinarstvu. Ur.l. RS, št. 33-1959/2001. 
Zakon o zaščiti živali. Ur.l. RS, št. 98-4617/1999. 
Zakon o živinoreji. Ur.l. RS, št. 18-716/2002.