Organic Dairying Research Articles

Organic and Low‐Input Dairy Farming: Avenues to Enhance Sustainability and Competitiveness in the EU

SummaryWhether farming strategies built on continuing input intensification or relying on integrated natural resource management are more sustainable and competitive is at the core of the agricultural development debate. The five‐year (2011–16) Sustainable Organic and Low Input Dairying (SOLID) project, funded by the European Commission, involved 25 partners across 10 European countries and was designed to support innovation in European organic and low‐input dairy farming. Results show that such systems are very diverse, and need tailor‐made farm‐specific strategies and related policy measures. This article shows that low‐input dairying has country‐specific farm characteristics, and is potentially competitive when compared to more intensive dairying systems. Certified organic dairy farms commonly receive a price premium. Such market differentiation to attract a premium is not currently an eligible strategy for low‐input systems, but cost savings on input use are possible. Both low‐input and organic dairy farming systems can adopt innovative farming strategies to improve competitiveness. SOLID adopted a participatory approach for research and dissemination, by undertaking innovative science to answer practical problems. In working with farmers and other stakeholders, methodologies were developed to identify opportunities and novel strategies to enhance profitability, such as changes in breeding and feeding strategies, and provide support systems for on‐farm use.

Low-input dairy farming in Europe: Exploring a context-specific notion

Frequently acknowledged as coming forward to environmental issues by reducing external input use, low input (LI) dairy farming is gaining attention. The absence of a clearly delineated description of LI dairying, however, hampers identification and analysis of these farming systems. This paper aims at empirically examining, EU wide, the farm structure, production intensity and productivity of LI with respect to their high input (HI) conventional counterpart and to organic dairying (ORG). A pragmatic quartiles-based categorization of farms from the Farm Accountancy Data Network of 20 important EU dairy countries, with the value of external input costs per grazing livestock unit (GLU) is used as prior discriminating indicator between LI and HI. LI dairy farms are smaller than HI dairy farms, in particular when farm size is expressed as total farm capital. Other variables that differentiate between LI and HI in most countries are number of dairy cows per GLU and area of forage and grassland on total agricultural area. Partial productivities in HI farms exceed those in LI farms, most apparent is milk production per cow. Differentiation of forage production between LI and HI is less uniform throughout Europe. A pairwise matching of differentiation profiles between countries indicates that differentiation between LI and HI is country specific. A similar diversity in country-specific differentiation between ORG and LI farming is found.

Promoting clover-grass: Implications for agricultural land use in Finland

Clovers, such as red clover (Trifolium pratens), are often cultivated with grass in Northern Europe. Clover forages are suitable for sustainable low-input or organic dairying, since they require less nitrogen fertilization, while providing higher protein content in feed, than pure hay grasses. A partial equilibrium, economic sector model was used in analyzing land use and production effects of measures promoting clover-grasses, in forage production, in Finland. Reduced costs, higher clover-grass yield levels, premium payments for clover-grasses, and fertilizer taxes could increase clover-grass areas and feed use. The results suggest that premium payments for clover-grass areas or reduced costs may have little effect, while fertilizer taxes and higher yield levels of clover are more likely to result in significantly increased clover-grass production. We also found that the effectiveness of clover-grass promotion measures is highly dependent on crop and livestock product prices, as well as fertilizer prices. However, the potential for increasing clover-grass is limited due to, e.g., manure spreading requirements. It was found that it is hard to increase clover-grass area above 30%, from the current 15%, of overall grassland area in Finland.

067 Organic pasture versus conventional dairying–Is there a difference in sustainability?

067 Organic pasture versus conventional dairying–Is there a difference in sustainability?

U.S. organic dairy politics: animals, pasture, people, and agribusiness

Foreword by C.S. Sundarensan 1. Introduction: What is Organic Dairying? 2. Agricultural Revolutions: Winter Was Bleak Before Haymaking 3. USDA Organic Pasture War: Where Have All the Cow Herds Gone? 4. Animal Welfare: From Rudolf Steiner to the St. Paul Declaration 5. Stewardship in the Northwest: Dutch Stewards, Vets, and Researchers Discuss US, Canadian, and European Rules 6. Antibiotics And Health in the Northeast and Beyond: Experts on US, Canadian, and European Rules 7. Family Farms and Megadairies: Effects on Cows, Land, and Society 8. Conclusions and Outlook: Agribusiness, Coops, and Power to 2050

Supporting Innovation in Organic Agriculture: A European Perspective Using Experience from the SOLID Project

<p>Organic farming is recognized as one source for innovation helping agriculture to develop sustainably. However, the understanding of innovation in agriculture is characterized by technical optimism, relying mainly on new inputs and technologies originating from research. The paper uses the alternative framework of innovation systems describing innovation as the outcome of stakeholder interaction and examples from the SOLID (Sustainable Organic Low-Input Dairying) project to discuss the role of farmers, researchers and knowledge exchange for innovation. We used a farmer-led participatory approach to identify problems of organic and low-input dairy farming in Europe and develop and evaluate innovative practices. Experience so far shows that improvements of sustainability can be made through better exploitation of knowledge. For example, it is recognized that optimal utilization of good quality forage is vitally important, but farmers showed a lack of confidence in the reliability of forage production both in quantity and quality. We conclude that the systems framework improves the understanding of innovation processes in organic agriculture. Farmer-led research is an effective way to bring together the scientific approach with the farmers’ practical and context knowledge in finding solutions to problems experienced by farmers and to develop sustainability.</p>

Carbon footprints of organic dairying in six European countries—real farm data analysis

Dairy farming is the largest agricultural contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. In this study, the carbon footprint of organic dairying was evaluated by means of a life cycle assessment, based on real farm data from six European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy and United Kingdom. A total of 34 farms were analysed. The assessment was carried out using an attributional approach with system boundaries from cradle to farm gate. In relation to dairy production, a functional unit of 1 kg of energy corrected milk was used. The results gave an average of 1.32 kg CO2 equivalents per kilogramme of energy-corrected milk with standard deviation of 0.22, which is consistent with recent studies. The main contributor to this is enteric fermentation from producing animals, resulting in 45 % of total GHG emissions, which is also consistent with previous studies.

L'accettabilità delle innovazioni nella filiera lattiero casearia: un'analisi tramite la metodologia Q sort

This work illustrates the acceptability of innovations in the Italian dairy supply chain. The research is part of a larger study financed by the EU Commission (EU-FP7 SOLID - Sustainable Organic and Low-Input Dairying) aimed at optimising the financial, agronomic and nutritional aspects of the organic and low input dairy sector. Several studies demonstrate how the development and the adoption of innovations are critical in improving and increasing the competitiveness of the supply chains (es. Stewart-Knox & Mitchell, 2003). In this work, the Q methodology was applied to investigate the innovation acceptability to organic and low input dairy supply chain members (Consumers, Farmers and Retailers & Processors). The aim was to identify and analyse different and common opinions of the Q participants. The results showed two different perspectives. The first one is a ‘sustainable’ view, shared by the majority of participants to the Q study; the second one is more practical, and mostly adopted by farmers. Some methodological and strategic implications are also presented in detail.

Refusing to "Push the Cows": The Rise of Organic Dairying in the Northeast and Midwest in the 1970s-1980s

The organic dairy movement started long before a mainstream market for such products existed. As early as the 1960s, conventional dairy farmers in different regions of the United States adopted organic methods although there were no financial rewards for doing so. They made changes to their production practices because of specific problems they encountered with the conventional system. In the 1980s several pioneering farmers turned to on-farm processing and sold their dairy products in alternative retail outlets. They were also instrumental in the development of organic certification standards. By sharing the stories of the organic dairy farmers at the forefront of the movement, this article documents how organic dairy developed from an “invisible” part of the production process to a niche product of food coops in the 1980s.

Effect of organic farming on selected raw cow milk components and properties

Organic dairying is an alternative for friendly exploitation of environment. This paper was focused on impacts of organic dairying on milk composition and properties. The conventional (C) cow milk was compared to organic (O) milk. Holstein bulk milk samples (BMSs) from winter and summer season in 4 C and 4 O (n = 32 and 32 BMSs; 2 years) herds were investigated. 6 herds were grazed and 2 C herds were not grazed. Mean O cow milk yield (MY, 305 lactation days) was 7037.3 ± 421.5 and C MY 7015.8 ± 1068.1 kg. Higher values (P < 0.05) in O milk had: log acetone (0.7321 > 0.6048); titration acidity (8.34 > 7.82 ml 0.25 mol.l−1 NaOH); alcohol stability (0.6 > 0.44 ml); time for enzymatic coagulation (150.75 > 115.03 second); whey protein (0.54 > 0.49%); fat/crude protein (1.2 > 1.15); milk fermentation ability (FAM) by titration (31.45 > 22.18 ml 0.25 mol.l−1 NaOH). Lower values (P < 0.05) in O milk had: solids–not–fat (8.64 < 8.73%); urea content (19.91 < 29.03 mg.100ml−1); electrical conductivity (3.66 < 4.08 mS.cm−1); whey volume (32.03 < 34.53 ml); crude protein (3.16 < 3.25%); casein (2.47 < 2.58%); non–protein nitrogen compounds (0.15 < 0.18%); urea nitrogen in non-protein nitrogen ratio (40.81 < 49.0%); casein numbers for crude protein and true protein (78.12 < 79.58 and 81.99 < 84.11%); coli bacteria count in normal and logarithm form (330.56 < 1502.92 CFU.ml−1 and 1.484 < 2.5823); actual yoghurt acidity (4.71 < 4.8). O cows suffered probably from lower energy and nitrogen compounds intake due to feeding under mentioned conditions. O milk could be a little better environment for yoghurt cultivation.

Organic Dairy Farming: A Novel Approach in Dairy Sector

The phenomenal growth witnessed during the recent decades in country’s milk production has resulted in India emerging as world’s largest producer with the annual milk production.There has been an increased concern voiced over quality of milk and milk products including the contents of contamination and pollutant and the residual effect of various pesticides, insecticide, chemicals, drugs and hormones. Due to this, the interest in organic dairying is increasing at rapid pace worldwide with faster growth in demand of organic milk and milk products. Under Indian condition, Organic Livestock Farming is most suitable because of indigenous technical knowledge and practices followed by Indian farmers. In order to make organic dairy farming success there is need to take care of certain points, like reducing the paper work and cost for certification; sourcing of organic inputs

Issues related to the management of nutrients on organic dairy farms: Nitrate leaching and maintaining soil nutrient levels

It is often claimed that nutrient management in organic dairying is more environmentally sustainable than its conventional counterpart. Organic dairy farmers often focus on pH, trace elements and nutrient ratios rather than the major nutrients such as phosphorus. As a consequence of less nutrient input, the environmental impacts of organic dairy systems may be smaller than for conventional farms. Some of these issues were explored by surveying eight organic farms in the North Island. The objectives of the nutrient management plans along with trends in soil test values were examined. OVERSEER® Nutrient Budgeting software was used to quantify maintenance fertiliser requirement for the organic dairy farms and likely trends in nutrient status. Nitrogen leaching from the organic farms was also assessed using OVERSEER®. This study suggest that while the current nutrient status of organically managed soils is not dissimilar to that found on conventional farms, sustainable nutrient management on organic dairy farms is an emerging challenge. Of particular note here is a decline in phosphorus status. While organic dairy farms leach much less nitrogen than conventional farms, some of these advantages are eroded when efficiency indicators are invoked. A field trial has been established to identify products that will help organic farmers increase soil nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition. Keywords: organic dairying, nutrient management, nitrogen leaching, nitrogen conversion efficiency, environmental efficiency

Effect of production system, alternative treatments and calf rearing system on udder health in organic dairy cows

In the last decade the main goals of organic dairying have been to attain acceptable levels of milk production, increase opportunities for animals to perform species own behaviour, resulting in improved animal welfare and animal health, and minimize the use of therapeutic interventions, including the reduction of the (preventive) use of antibiotics. Maintaining animal health without the use of therapeutic interventions is a major challenge for organic dairy farmers. In particular, udder health remains a major problem in both conventional and organic farming. In the QualityLowInputFood (QLIF) project udder health status and management were assessed in different production systems and European regions. These studies suggest that good udder health can be maintained in organic or low-input farming management systems. Novel strategies to control mastitis were evaluated and the potential of using internal teat sealers for the control of environment-associated pathogens was shown. Also oral application of a herd profile based single homeopathic remedy combined with homeopathic silica had a significant effect on cows with a relative low somatic cell count before drying-off. Suckling systems in calf rearing, as an integrated management approach, did not result in better udder health. None of the studies presented identified new variables affecting udder health. QLIF studies also demonstrated the importance of comparing udder health parameters in contrasting organic, low input and conventional production systems, since clear differences in antibiotic use against mastitis could be identified not only between organic and conventional systems, but also among dairy systems used in different EU-countries. Although alternative treatments used in organic systems could not be shown to be fully effective, results suggest that the use of individual or combined alternative strategies to improve udder health on organic or low-input farms warrants further investigation. Based on the results obtained it is recommended that future research should focus on identifying the reasons for variability in udder health between organic farms that use different management protocols to identify ‘best current practice’ when carrying out this research.

Organic Dairy Farming – A New Trend in Dairy Sector

Organic Dairy farming means raising animals on organic feed (i.e. pastures cultivated without the use of fertilizers or pesticides), have access to pasture or outside, along with the restricted usage of antibiotics and hormones. Products obtained from Organic dairy farm are the organic dairy products. Organic farming is a system of production, a set of goal-based regulations that allow farmers to manage their own particular situations individually, while maintaining organic integrity. In this article, the benefits, conditions required, constraints involved, and managemental practices of organic dairying, along with information about the regulatory authorities concerned with the organic dairy farming were reviewed briefly to make students and farmers aware of organic dairy farming.

The economics of organic milk production in California: A comparison with conventional costs

Interest in organic dairying is increasing at a rapid pace in California, and the demand for organic milk and dairy products is growing even faster. The intent of this study was to determine the cost of organic milk production, and in particular, to determine the differences in cost of production of organic and conventional milk. Primarily we are interested in whether the differences are due to government-mandated requirements or whether they are the result of optional procedures or personal preferences. Previous studies have indicated that under organic production, the higher net returns observed on organic farming enterprises are due mainly to the lower cost of production. This conclusion is not sustained here. Our results show that the total cost of production on a per cow and a per hundredweight basis is 10-20% higher for organic producers than for conventional producers. While not strongly statistically significant, the differences appear to be due to higher feed costs, higher average labor costs, significantly higher herd replacement costs, and significant transition costs.

Nutrient budgets of Ontario organic dairy farms

The sustainability of organic dairying in Canada, with respect to nutrients, remains unexamined. To assess how management affects nutrient status, we documented whole farm nutrient (NPK) budgets over 2 yr (2003 to 2005) and soil (0 to 15 cm) P and K status on 15 long-term Ontario organic dairy farms. Farm size, livestock density and herd productivity averaged 110 ha, 1.00 livestock units ha-1 and 5656 kg milk cow-1 yr-1, respectively. Annual farm nutrient surpluses of 75 (N), 1 (P) and 11 (K) kg ha-1 yr-1 were lower than those reported for confinement-based dairy farms in the United States, pointing to possible environmental benefits from reduced off farm impacts on air and water quality. Weighted average soil test P levels were low (< 10 mg kg-1) on approximately 50% of farms, while exchangeable K levels were moderate to high (76 to 160 mg kg-1) on all farms. Four farms adopting a "self-sufficient" approach, producing most feed on-farm, imported little P as feed (1.37 to 1.90 kg P ha-1 yr-1) and had negative average farm P balances (avg. -1.54 kg P ha-1 yr-1). An integrated nutrient management approach, along with a flexible feed import strategy, fosters the sustainability of organic dairying systems. Key words: Organic dairying, nutrient budget, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, soil fertility

Current issues in marketing organic milk in the UK

The recent background to the UK market for organic milk is reviewed to establish the background to the Organic Dairy Production: A Sustainable Future for Organic Dairying conference held in March 2002. The presentations given at that conference are critically reviewed. Several of arguably the most important determinants of the sustainable future of organic dairying did not find their full expression at that conference. Issues largely or wholly excluded include: a priori evidence for expecting a higher level of co‐operation among organic than conventional farmers; the distinction between “competitive pricing” and “sustainable pricing”; import penetration and substitution, and post‐conversion subsidies; utilising innovative information technologies to “tell the organic story”; policing organic standards and traceability; and the ownership of the “organic label” and the number of organic standard bodies. The importance of these issues is shown by reference to the current market situation for organic milk in the UK. There is a need for considerable developments in the marketing of organic milk. More distance must be placed between associations that campaign for market growth and an organisation that will need to be appointed to take responsibility for providing reliable and impartial market‐based information.