History of the livestock farming science

The history of the livestock farming in Latvia is closely related to the origins of agricultural education at the Agricultural section of the Rīga Polytechnicum, where studies and research in general livestock farming started already in 1868. Persivals Štegmans was one of the first professors who began to lecture general livestock farming. During the first period of Latvia’s independence, scientific activities in the field of livestock farming were concentrated mainly at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Latvia, and from 1939 – at Jelgava Academy of Agriculture. Study and research farms of the University of Latvia and of the Jelgava Academy of Agriculture, “Vecauce” and “Rāmava”, were used as the research base. Science and higher education were closely linked; therefore, the academic staff members conducted a number of studies in several livestock farming sectors: A. Bušmanis un Paulis Lejiņš – in horse breeding and dairy farming; Fridrihs Neilands – in dairy farming; Arvīds Silmalis – in pig farming; P. Rizga – in apiculture and poultry farming; and A. Kirhenšteins – in dairy bacteriology. After the World War II, studies in livestock farming were directed to solve practical problems related to the war-affected economy, including restoration of livestock farming, extension of cow, pig, sheep and horse herds, arrangement of breeding activities, development of the forage base, raising of healthy animals, and providing proper nutrition for animals. The period from 1950 to 1960 in Latvia was associated with radical changes in agriculture. The establishment and consolidation of collective farms, as well as establishment of larger farms created the need for new organizational forms in livestock farming. The new situation called for relevant research and solutions to improve the technologies for keeping and feeding livestock. After Latvia regained independence in the early 1990s, there were radical reforms introduced in the agricultural production process, which significantly affected the development of the livestock farming science. Collective farms and state farms were abolished, but part of the livestock – slaughtered. In the new conditions, the situation in livestock farming had to be clarified and the measures for further action had to be developed; therefore, the livestock farming scientists focused on livestock surveying and on preserving and developing the animal gene pool.