Average Dairy Farm Research Articles

Financial Barriers to Reducing Nitrogen Pollution in Dutch Dairy Farms

SummaryNitrogen fertiliser boosts agricultural yields, but its excessive use destabilises ecosystems. That is why Dutch policy makers want to reduce nitrogen pollution on dairy farms. Cleaner technologies and structural changes could reduce farm emissions. We benchmarked farms, organised an expert consultation, and reviewed the literature to determine the degree to which the lack of available internal and external finance is a barrier to reducing nitrogen pollution. Although the average dairy farm in our sample can finance these investments, a significant share of farmers cannot. We find that investments vastly drain the currently accessible finances available to dairy farmers. Subsidies to reduce the price of investments and measures to increase farm net cash flows could mitigate this problem, while equity funds or preferential interest rate systems would be ineffective. Farm management is not bound by access to finance. Our findings suggest that improved management could vastly reduce the accumulation of nitrogen surplus on farms. Interestingly, we estimate that this can be achieved while increasing profits. The wide‐scale adoption of best practices can be facilitated by establishing and financing advisory services and peer learning programmes to spread knowledge and awareness.

The impacts of precision livestock farming tools on the greenhouse gas emissions of an average Scottish dairy farm

Precision livestock farming (PLF) tools are increasingly used in daily herd management to improve health, welfare, and overall production. While not intended to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on farm, PLF tools can do so indirectly by improving overall efficiency, thereby reducing the emissions per unit of product. This work modelled the potential effects of commercially available PLF tools on whole enterprise and product emissions of two average Scottish dairy farm systems (an 8,000 L and 10,000 L herd) using the Agrecalc carbon footprinting tool. Scenarios modelled included an improvement in fertility and an improvement in fertility and yield from the introduction of an accelerometer-based sensor, and an improvement in health from introduction of an accelerometer-based sensor, with and without the use of management interventions. Use of a sensor intended to improve fertility had the largest reduction in total emissions (kg CO2e) of −1.42% for a 10,000 L farm, with management changes applied. The largest reduction in emissions from milk production (kg CO2e) of −2.31% was observed via fertility technology application in an 8,000 L farm, without management changes. The largest reduction in kg CO2e per kg fat and protein corrected milk of −6.72% was observed from an improvement in fertility and yield in a 10,000 L herd, with management changes. This study has highlighted the realistic opportunities available to dairy farmers in low and high input dairy systems to reduce their emissions through adoption of animal mounted PLF technologies.

Economic Competitiveness of Dairy Farms from the Top Milk-Producing Countries in the EU: Assessment in 2014–2021

This study aims to present changes in the competitive positions of the dairy farms from EU countries with the highest milk production in 2020. The assessment was based on data from the FADN system for the years 2014–2021 and covered average and large dairy farms from five EU countries: Germany, France, The Netherlands, Italy, and Poland. To assess the competitive positions of dairy farms from the selected EU countries, we developed the Synthetic Measure of Competitive Position based on the resource-based theory of enterprises. The conducted research showed that: (1) average dairy farms in Poland had the lowest production potential resulting from their possessed resources. (2) The highest value of the Synthetic Measure of Competitive Position for 2014–2021 was achieved by average dairy farms from Germany and their position in the ranking strengthened throughout the analyzed period. (3) The same analysis conducted on the group of large dairy farms showed that the competitive position, measured with the Synthetic Measure of Competitive Position, was the highest in the case of Polish dairy farms.

What can we learn from the past? Tracking sustainability indicators for the Swedish dairy sector over 30 years

CONTEXTThe dairy sector has undergone profound transformation over recent decades, resulting in considerably fewer but larger and more specialised farms, with unclear implications across sustainability dimensions. OBJECTIVEThe objective was to develop and employ a framework for assessing sustainability in the Swedish dairy sector to shed light on how recent historical developments (1990–2020) have influenced sustainability outcomes. METHODSUsing a data-driven, multidisciplinary approach, main areas of concern for sustainability in the primary production stages of the dairy sector were identified. These were then populated with indicators to track developments over time and highlight synergies and trade-offs. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSFour areas of concern were identified and populated with eight indicators (listed in brackets): ‘supporting ecosystems’ (semi-natural grassland area, ley area, mean field size), ‘climate impact’ (methane from enteric fermentation), ‘animal welfare’ (veterinary treatments, percentage of culled cows due to diseases) and ‘farm viability’ (competitive wages, farmer age structure). The results showed that area of semi-natural grassland per dairy cow decreased by 27% from 2003 to 2020. Area of ley per cow decreased slightly but the proportion of arable land on dairy farms devoted to ley cultivation increased, due to improved roughage quality enabling an increase in proportion of roughage in feed rations. In terms of climate impact, enteric methane emissions per kg milk decreased by 21%. Regarding animal welfare, veterinary treatments of diseases decreased from 45% to 21% over the 30 years, with declining trends for most recorded diseases except hoof disease. The indicators for farm viability showed that the average dairy farm was unable to pay a wage comparable to the national average throughout most of the period 2004–2020, but a slightly positive trend was observed, although with large year-on-year variability. A rapid change in age structure was seen between 2003 and 2020, with the proportion of land managed by older farmers (+60 years) increasing from 12% to 22%, indicating challenges with demographic viability. SIGNIFICANCETracking changes over time across sustainability dimensions gives important insights into improvements made and challenges that remain to be solved. Overall, developments in the Swedish dairy sector have diminished its capacity to support ecosystems, particularly related to semi-natural grasslands, while reducing its climate impacts and improving animal welfare. An increased specialisation has also resulted in spillover effects where services and impacts have shifted from dairy herds to specialised beef herds. These findings are important in navigating policy processes targeting developments in the dairy sector.

Measuring dynamic and static eco-efficiency in Norwegian dairy farms: a parametric approach

Eco-efficiency is gaining popularity to measure the agricultural system's economic and environmental performance. The dynamic eco-efficiency of the agricultural system is assessed in this study using a parametric frontier framework that considers the inter-temporal nature of production decisions and methane emissions. We also estimated the static eco-efficiency model for comparison. The empirical analysis is based on 30 years of unbalanced panel data from 692 dairy farms (1991–2020). The generalized method of moment estimation is used to compute dynamic models. Both dynamic and static models show that dairy farms in the study area used available technology inefficiently, which means that some farmers produced lower outputs per input than the best-performing farmers. According to the dynamic eco-efficiency score, dairy farms only generate 94% of the maximum viable output for the input used. If all dairy farms became eco-efficient, an average dairy farm could raise its output by about 6% using the existing technology. According to the projected scores, farmers might improve their eco-efficiency by 10% on average without using more inputs in a static condition. Policymakers should encourage dairy farms to share information with the best-performing dairy farms on how to improve production while considering environmental concerns.

Evaluating Yield Gap and Yield Improvement Potential in the Dairy Sector of Pakistan

A survey data of 600 dairy farms obtained from the largest dairy cluster in Pakistan’s Punjab was used to provide new evidence on the yield gap and yield improvement potential of dairy farms producing milk and meat. The yield gap was estimated by the frontier-based input distance function analysis. The results indicated that a large yield gap exists in the sample where an average dairy farm has a yield improvement potential of 55 percent. By closing the gap, an average dairy farm can increase yearly production of fat-corrected milk (FCM) by 120,036 kg and non-milking herd for meat by 25 heads. The evidence also shows that small farms (< 25 herd-size) are technically more efficient than those of medium (26 ≤ herd-size ≤ 50) and large farms (> 50 herd-size). The study finds clear evidence of an efficiency boost for keeping a higher share of non-milking to milking herd, a greater proportion of exotic cows to local breeds, and a higher farm-gate price of milk, which can all trigger efficiency gains. Policymakers hence have room to provide adequate intervention strategies that can help in enhancing efficiency.

67. The effect of precision livestock farming technologies and improved efficiency on the carbon footprint of an average Scottish dairy farm

67. The effect of precision livestock farming technologies and improved efficiency on the carbon footprint of an average Scottish dairy farm

Financial Impacts of Liver Fluke on Livestock Farms Under Climate Change-A Farm Level Assessment.

Liver fluke infection (fascioliasis) is a parasitic disease which affects the health and welfare of ruminants. It is a concern for the livestock industry and is considered as a growing threat to the industry because changing climatic conditions are projected to be more favorable to increased frequency and intensity of liver fluke outbreaks. Recent reports highlighted that the incidence and geographic range of liver fluke has increased in the UK over the last decade and estimated to increase the average risk of liver fluke in the UK due to increasing temperature and rainfall. This paper explores financial impacts of the disease with and without climate change effects on Scottish livestock farms using a farm-level economic model. The model is based on farming system analysis and uses linear programming technique to maximize farm net profit within farm resources. Farm level data from a sample of 160 Scottish livestock farms is used under a no disease baseline scenario and two disease scenarios (with and without climate change). These two disease scenarios are compared with the baseline scenario to estimate the financial impact of the disease at farm levels. The results suggest a 12% reduction in net profit on an average dairy farm compared to 6% reduction on an average beef farm under standard disease conditions. The losses increase by 2-fold on a dairy farm and 6-fold on a beef farm when climate change effects are included with disease conditions on farms. There is a large variability within farm groups with profitable farms incurring relatively lesser economic losses than non-profitable farms. There is a substantial increase in number of vulnerable farms both in dairy (+20%) and beef farms (+27%) under the disease alongside climate change conditions.

Competitiveness of Polish dairy farms in the European Union

This article analyses the competitiveness of dairy farms in Poland in relation to selected EU countries. The competitive advantage of dairy farms was evaluated and compared based on remuneration for family labour. Two variants of the above indicator were calculated: (1) Remuneration for family labour (FL1) as the relationship between farm net income and the farmer’s unpaid labour input, and (2) Remuneration for family labour (FL2) as the relationship between farm net income minus the opportunity costs of own land and capital to the farmer’s unpaid labour input. The calculations were performed based on EU FADN (European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network) data for an average dairy farm in 2005, 2010 and 2016. The study revealed the highest average remuneration for family labour (FL1) in Irish and German dairy farms. The value of the second indicator (FL2) was also highest in Germany, followed by France. The analysis produced interesting results regarding dairy farms in Denmark and the Netherlands which were characterised by the highest scale of production in the evaluated period (high net value added), but very low farm incomes and remuneration for family labour. The study revealed that Polish dairy farms were characterised by average competitiveness relative.

Impact of delivering ‘green’ dairy products on farm in New Zealand

There has been an increasing demand for livestock products with credence attributes (CAs), such as environmental sustainability and high animal welfare standards. Although most livestock product CAs are strongly related to farm-level production processes, rarely have studies explored the issue from an on-farm perspective. Therefore, this paper aims to explore whether consumers' willingness-to-pay (WTP) a price premium could incentivise dairy farmers to deliver products with CAs in New Zealand. We first employed a meta-regression analysis to estimate WTP for CAs of dairy products, and then incorporated the WTP estimates into farm system models to estimate the economic and environmental (nitrogen and GHG losses) impacts for the farms. Data for the meta-regression models were sourced from a literature survey yielding 32 studies estimating WTP for CAs of dairy products. The results showed that price premium ranged from 5.3% to 47.5% for environmentally-friendly dairy products. Farm system (FARMAX), farm environmental (OVERSEER) and life cycle assessment (LCA) models were used to model the farm system changes required to deliver ‘green’ dairy by using data for the average Waikato dairy farm. The results showed that the economic and environmental outcomes varied over the predicted range in WTP as well as for different farm system scenarios. Findings of the study could help inform NZ farmers as to how to adjust their farm systems in response to market signals and thereby potentially gain a price premium.

STRATEGIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AVERAGE POLISH DAIRY FARMS IN THE CONDITIONS OF A SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET

The paper aims to achieve two objectives: 1) To determine the competitive potential of Polish dairy farms and assess the economic results they achieved compared to other European Union entities, 2) To determine and assess the economic effects of possible development directions (strategies) for average Polish dairy farms. The analyses show that the production and economic potential of dairy farms from the European Union countries, characterized by the largest increase in milk production in years 2005–2015, was very diverse. On average, in 2016, the total value of the fixed assets of a Danish agricultural holding was 16 times higher than the value of the fixed assets of a farm in Poland and the average net value added generated by a Polish farm in 2016 was over thirteen times lower compared to Danish farms. However, if we take into account the costs of engaging external factors of production (land, labour and capital), it turns out that Danish farms are losing their advantages. The simulations of three possible variants of development for an average Polish dairy farm showed that good economic results were generated by the variant in which the land was leased and farm holders got employment outside the farm. The variant, which assumed an increase in the number of dairy cows (from 15 to 30) and the resulting growth in milk production could potentially give a slightly higher total net income for the farm family in the first two years, but it was certainly more risky.

Management characteristics of Pennsylvania dairy farms

ABSTRACT Objective Our objective was to characterize dairy farming strategies in Pennsylvania to provide baseline data for modeling and assessing economic and environmental impacts of the industry. Material and Methods The USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) data were used to characterize management practices for 5 dairy farm strategies and 4 herd size categories. Production strategies were confinement, semi-confinement, organic, management intensive rotational grazing, and Amish (use of draft animals with no use of electricity or mobile, powered equipment). Results and Discussion Cattle breed and homegrown and purchased feed type and quantity differed significantly among the 5 strategies, whereas housing and manure management varied with herd size. Solid manure handling was used on 41% of farms, consistent with small herd sizes and wide use of tiestall housing (34% of farms). Confinement dairy farms maintained more cows with greater milk production per cow and had more crop area per cow with less reliance on purchased feeds than the weighted average dairy farm. These farms received the lowest net return per unit of milk, which is consistent with a reduction in the number of small confinement farms from the year 2000 to 2010. Although organic dairy producers had 37% greater variable costs, primarily from the high cost of organic feeds, these farms received the greatest return per unit of milk sold through a 51% greater milk price received. Implications and Applications Management practices found on Pennsylvania dairy farms around the year 2010 are documented to support further assessment of production practices and sustainability of the industry.

Dairy Intensification and Quota Abolition: A Comparative Study of Production in Ireland and the Netherlands

SummaryThe milk quota abolition in 2015 set in motion major adjustments in the EU dairy sector and considerable differences in expansion and contraction of milk production are observed across Member States. Despite significant differences in production methods, Ireland and the Netherlands are among the EU countries that achieved the largest dairy production growth rates. This article compares and contrasts Irish and Dutch dairy farms that intensified and expanded production. To this end, Farm Accountancy Data Network data of specialised dairy farms are used and Principal Component Analysis was performed with a view to assessing common themes and differences in intensification efforts. In both countries, farms that intensified their production have higher gross investments and larger dairy herds, when compared to the average dairy farm in their country. The Principal Component Analysis revealed farm size variables, dairy specialisation and direct payments, as well as investments and financial leverage as common themes of intensification, with differing importance in the two countries. Implications of intensification for policies to ensure longer‐term sustainability are discussed.

Circular Biogas-Based Economy in a Rural Agricultural Setting

This study investigates the application of a circular economy in a rural agricultural setting in Northern Ireland, centered around a typical anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, showing its potential to provide renewable energy for the electricity and transport fuel needs of an average dairy farm and associated milk processing facilities. It was calculated that a typical AD plant has the potential to fuel 22 average sized dairy farms in Northern Ireland, equating to the production, transport, and processing of 51,986 litres of milk per day. The feedstock needs of the AD plant can be provided by the local farming community.

Evaluation of allocation methods for calculation of carbon footprint of grass-based dairy production

A major methodological issue for life cycle assessment, commonly used to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems, is allocation from multifunctional processes. When a process produces more than one output, the environmental burden has to be assigned between the outputs, such as milk and meat from a dairy cow. In the absence of an objective function for choosing an allocation method, a decision must be made considering a range of factors, one of which is the availability and quality of necessary data. The objective of this study was to evaluate allocation methods to calculate the climate change impact of the economically average (€/ha) dairy farm in Ireland considering both milk and meat outputs, focusing specifically on the pedigree of the available data for each method. The methods were: economic, energy, protein, emergy, mass of liveweight, mass of carcass weight and physical causality. The data quality for each method was expressed using a pedigree score based on reliability of the source, completeness, temporal applicability, geographical alignment and technological appropriateness. Scenario analysis was used to compare the normalised impact per functional unit (FU) from the different allocation methods, between the best and worst third of farms (in economic terms, €/ha) in the national farm survey. For the average farm, the allocation factors for milk ranged from 75% (physical causality) to 89% (mass of carcass weight), which in turn resulted in an impact per FU, from 1.04 to 1.22 kg CO2-eq/kg (fat and protein corrected milk). Pedigree scores ranged from 6.0 to 17.1 with protein and economic allocation having the best pedigree. It was concluded that when making the choice of allocation method, the quality of the data available (pedigree) should be given greater emphasis during the decision making process because the effect of allocation on the results. A range of allocation methods could be deployed to understand the uncertainty associated with the decision.

Environmental and socioeconomic benefits of a division of labour between lowland and mountain farms in milk production systems

Swiss mountains and lowlands feature different climatic and topographic conditions for agricultural production. Thus, farmers developed a collaborative dairy production scheme, where they take advantage of the specific environment of the two regions. In this contract rearing system, the young stock is reared on a mountain farm and the more intensive milk production is performed in the lowlands. This system is an example for the principle of comparative advantage, where each region focuses on the activity where it has the lowest opportunity costs. We hypothesised that the same principle can also be applied in an environmental context, to reduce the environmental impacts of agricultural production. Based on the life cycle assessments of average dairy farms, we could show that the absolute environmental impact was higher on mountain farms for both, the production of one heifer for restocking and the production of one kg milk. However, they had a comparative environmental advantage for rearing, as the young stock was better suitable for their local conditions than the dairy cows. Therefore, milk produced in collaboration between lowland and mountain farms had an up to 4.5% lower non-renewable energy demand and used up to 30.9% less potassium and up to 5.2% less phosphorus resources compared to non-collaborative production. Further consequences of collaboration were a reduced workload and income on mountain farms, and a potentially increased income on lowland farms. We conclude that the principle of comparative environmental advantage is appropriate as a screening method to identify suitable production systems for less favoured regions. However, the total effects of a possible division of labour among regions need to be assessed in a more holistic way where possible side-effects on other aspects are considered as well.

Intensification, nitrogen use and recovery in grazing-based dairy systems

There is increased international interest in the intensification of grazing-based dairy systems such as those that occur in Australia. However, associated with increased milk production on a per ha basis is the potential for decreasing nitrogen (N) recovery and increased N losses to the environment. In this study we produced a 22-year (1990–2012) time series of N recovery measures, for the entire Australian dairy industry and largest dairy producing State, Victoria, using a farm-gate N balance method and long-term farm survey data. Nitrogen recovery measures included whole-farm N surplus (kgNha–1), N use efficiency (%), milk production N surplus (gNl–1 milk) and total industry-wide N surplus (tN). On-going intensification in dairy production at both the national and state level led to fewer and larger dairy farms, with increased stocking rates, reliance on imported feed, nitrogen fertiliser use and milk production per cow and per hectare. All N recovery measures deteriorated markedly over the 22year period, although the adverse trend moderated somewhat since 2006. The Victorian industry was higher-performing in terms of N recovery compared to the national dairy industry as a whole, though there was some convergence during the last decade. The whole-farm N surplus for the ‘industry’ average Australian dairy farm increased from 54 to 158kgNha–1 and 38 to 136kgNha–1 yr.–1 for the average Victorian dairy farm. Nitrogen use efficiency declined from 40 to 26% and from 51 to 29% for the average Australian and Victorian farm, respectively. Milk production N surplus increased from 10.2 to 17.3 (Australian farm) and 6.9 to 15.2gNl–1 milk (Victorian farm). Total N surplus increased from 63,076 to 164,621tN for the Australian dairy industry as a whole, despite a decline of 470,000ha in land used in dairying, suggesting a growing problem in terms of higher losses of reactive N. Looking to the future, we examined a scenario whereby N use efficiency for Victorian dairy farms increases to 35% by 2030 due to higher milk yields per cow and per hectare, increased forage yields, improved bovine genetics and feed conversion efficiencies. Given the trends over 22years and currentN use efficiency, this goal will be difficult to achieve within current grazing-based dairy farming operations. Improvements in N recovery will likely depend on significant on-farm mitigation incentivised by cost-effective policy measures, as well as future technological advances stemming from strong public and industry investment in research and development.

Milk production, quality, and consumption in Jimma (Ethiopia): Facts and producers’, retailers’, and consumers’ perspectives

Four studies were performed to quantify milk production, quality and consumption in the town Jimma, Ethiopia. First, 47 dairy farmers and 44 milk retailers were interviewed to gain more insights in dairy farming and marketing, and associated constraints. Second, bulk milk samples (n=188) were collected for 4 consecutive weeks to investigate milk quality [Total Bacterial Counts (TBC), Coliform Counts (CC), Somatic Cell Counts (SCC), and antimicrobial residues]. Third, (bulk) milk samples from 32 farms, 46 milk retailers and the 3 local milk collection centers were collected to determine the presence of oxacillin susceptible–and oxacillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Fourth, 208 adult inhabitants were interviewed to gain more insight in milk consumption and associated concerns of consumers. The average dairy farm included in the studies consisted of 5 lactating cows, produced 43 liters of milk per day and was owned by male, literate adults. Milk was sold to retailers (71% of the production) and directly to customers (25%) without any quality control, whereas 4% was self-consumed. Shortage of animal nutrition and adulteration of the milk were the main constraints for farmers and retailers, respectively. The median TBC, CC and SCC were 122,500CFU/mL, 1,005CFU/mL and 609,500cells/mL, respectively. Antimicrobial residues were detected in 20% of all samples. In general, the milk quality was considered to be poor (TBC>10,000CFU/mL, and/or CC>100CFU/mL, and/or SCC>400,000cells/mL and/or presence of antimicrobial residues) in 97% of all samples. S. aureus was isolated from 12 (38%), 13 (33%), and 2 out of 3 of the milk samples originating from the dairy farms, the milk retailers, and the milk collection centers, respectively. Seven (26%) of the isolates were resistant to oxacillin suggesting the presence of MRSA (Lee, 2003). Local milk is occasionally consumed by adults but more frequently by children. Adults mainly drink spontaneously fermented milk (57% of 105 interviewees consuming local milk) whereas most milk for children is boiled (86% of 110 households with children consuming local milk). Most consumers are concerned about adulteration and milk borne diseases but not about antimicrobial residues. Educated consumers (secondary school or higher) were more likely to boil milk for own consumption, to be concerned about antimicrobial residues in milk, to be concerned about milk borne diseases and to be willing to pay more for milk with proven good quality compared to poorly educated consumers.We conclude that milk quality incentives should be introduced in Jimma, and investments should be made in knowledge transfer, training, milk collection systems and a central milk quality lab.

Farm gate level nitrogen balance and use efficiency changes post implementation of the EU Nitrates Directive

Farm gate nitrogen (N) balance and use efficiency was estimated across 150 specialist Irish dairy farms over a 7 year period between 2006 and 2012 using nationally representative data. The study period coincided with the introduction of EU Nitrates Directive regulations aimed at minimising losses of N to the aquatic environment and results indicated that N balance declined by 25.1 kg ha−1 from 180.4 to 155.3 kg ha−1 over the study period. This decline can almost entirely be attributed to reduced chemical N fertiliser inputs of 23.1 kg ha−1 over the period, equivalent to 1247 kg N, or a cost saving of €1347 per annum across the average dairy farm. Nitrogen use efficiency also increased by 2.1 % points over the period from 20.8 to 22.9 %. This was achieved while increasing milk solids output from 405.3 to 449.6 kg ha−1 in the context of a declining stocking rate (1.86–1.84 livestock units ha−1). These results suggest some positive impact of the regulations on N management on Irish dairy farms at the nutrient source end of the nutrient transfer continuum. This increased N management efficiency has a potential double dividend effect of increased returns to agricultural production while reducing the risk of N transfer to the aquatic environment. In addition to the introduction of the regulations, results of a random effects panel data model indicated that N balance and use efficiency are significantly influenced by factors such as fertiliser prices, stocking rates, land use potential, contact with extension services and climatic variables.

Integration of production and financial models to analyse the financial impact of livestock diseases: a case study of Schmallenberg virus disease on British and French dairy farms

Aims and objectivesThe aim of the study was to investigate and compare the financial impact of Schmallenberg disease for different dairy production types in the United Kingdom and France.Materials and...