“Globally, dairy provides 5% of the energy in the diet. It is a key source of one of the highest quality and most accessible proteins in the human diet, and in developing regions of the world where high-quality proteins are scarce, dairy can literally be a lifesaver. In countries such as India, where it is estimated that up to 70% of the population suffers some degree of protein calorie malnutrition, and 40% of the workforce experienced stunting as children, this notion is all too real,” the article notes.

One argument with cows and grazing is that the land could be turned over to arable farmland, but this is not the case, the article says. “Roughly 70% of the land currently used worldwide to raise cows is permanent pastureland, the type of land that because of topography, soil quality, or other factors would not serve as viable crop land under the best of circumstances. It has been estimated that approximately only 3% of the land used globally by dairy cows is potential arable land.”

Meanwhile, these marvellous animals are a miracle in turning poor quality into high quality protein. “The protein cows tend to ingest is largely inedible by humans and of far lower quality than the protein cows produce. It has been estimated that roughly 86% of the feed consumed by livestock is not consumed by humans. As an example, in California, cows consume upward of 38 million pounds of almond hulls per year, a by-product of the almond industry that would otherwise end up in landfills.”

So, the cow is a recycling unit on four hooves. You can also use her manure for fertiliser and increase the sustainability footprint further.

If we look at greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the numbers back up the cows too. “All of agriculture accounts for 24% of GHG emissions; within that dairy is responsible for 2.7%. However, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s 2016 US and global reports, the transportation sector in the US accounts for ~28% of GHG emissions (14% globally), energy ~28% (25% globally), and industry ~22% (21% globally).”

Further, a growing body of evidence indicates that the primary GHG produced by cows, methane, has a significantly lower warming potential than the CO2 produced by fossil fuels.

So, the landscape without cows: imagine your country’s rural areas looking bleak. “Roughly 600 million people around the world live on approximately 133 million dairy farms, mostly small farms that house on average 2 to 3 cows. Another 400 million people in and outside these farming communities derive their livelihoods from the dairy industry. Imagine the effects on whole towns and regions if cows disappeared from the landscape,” the article notes.

Dr Kanter also wonders about why livestock is considered a GHG “offender”, when other animals such as horses and pets get a free pass. There are nine million dairy cows and horses in the US, and over 160 million carnivorous cats and dogs, the latter consuming 30% as much food and producing 30% as much faeces as humans.

It’s a worthwhile read. You can find the article here.

• Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
  Keep in touch via email: suzanne@bellpublishing.com
  Twitter: @dairyindustries or LinkedIn: Dairy Industries International magazine.

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Jack Morrison, brand manager at LFD, wrote, in an email to Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest:

We can only apologise if the recent fitness activity has caused offense, as you can imagine this wasn’t our intent…there will not be further events.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA), thanked LFD for understanding the concerns of Hindu community, which felt that yoga with cows in Lancashire farm was not a good idea.

Zed suggested that companies like LFD should send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they had an understanding of the feelings of customers and communities when introducing new products, organising events or launching advertising campaigns.

Zed had stated that cow, the seat of many deities, which was sacred and had long been venerated in Hinduism; should not be used as prop for human entertainment. Moreover; he said this frivolity seemed to be diluting the profound, sacred and ancient discipline of yoga. He had pointed out that objective of yoga, which found reference in world’s oldest extant scripture Rig-Veda and other early Hindu texts, was the state of blissful liberation. It involved withdrawal, inner concentration, focusing of the mind and ensued in self-purification and higher planes of consciousness.

Real yogis, said Zed, should not attend such events where cows were inappropriately used, causing unnecessary disturbance to cows and putting them in stressful situations; as cows should be left well alone and accorded the respect they deserved. Moreover, unpredictable cows could be a distraction in a path of self-discovery that drew the yogi inward; Zed had indicated.

Zed had noted that this event, which had been described as UK’s first cow yoga class, should be discouraged before it became a ‘trendy’ fad with herds of people flocking to dairy farms to do yoga alongside cows, as many could visualize it as an Instagram opportunity. Zed had urged Lancashire Farm Dairies to rethink, revisit and reevaluate its yoga classes with cows.

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The milk producers and Hochland are thus jointly opposing the undesirable side-effects of importing animal feed from overseas: on the one hand, valuable natural areas are being lost for the large-scale cultivation of fodder crops, especially soya, in countries like Brazil and Argentina. On the other hand, every kilogram of feed imports nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into Europe. These nutrients are missing in the exporting countries. The originally fertile soils there become desolate, while a nutrient surplus in many European countries leads to increased nitrate levels in the groundwater. This also applies to Germany as one of the world’s largest importers of soybeans and soy meal.

The avoidance of feed from overseas is a further step on the joint path of Hochland and its milk producers towards more sustainability. A clause to this effect has been included in the milk supply contracts and will come into force on 1 July.

The agreement is part of the “Milk for Hochland” quality programme, which Hochland has been implementing together with the farmers for several years. All milk suppliers undertake, among other things, to participate in the nationwide “QM Milk” programme and to produce without genetic engineering.

Most recently, the milk suppliers, together with Hochland, had declared that they would refrain from using non-selective herbicides and fermentation substrates that could contain plastic particles on their meadows and fields.
Hochland is compensating the farmers for the additional effort from the “Milk for Hochland” programme with a surcharge of €0.01 per kilogram on top of the milk pay.

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The Beeb has an extensive back catalogue, although it is not why I was watching Britain’s Ancient Capital: The Secrets of Orkney, as that was more down to the fact that I’ve never met a Neolithic stone circle I didn’t like. However, in this particular episode, it showed the results of an abandoned island, Swona, which was home to a herd of formerly domestic cows. I enjoyed how they went feral after awhile, kind of like most of our children after several weeks of home schooling. Which was quite neat to see.

In between all this television watching, I made ricotta cheese with the abundance of milk. I occasionally do this as ricotta can sometimes be a bit tricky to get hold of in the grocery stores and it’s nice in a pasta dish. I’d like to thank my boss, Sarah, for providing me with the cheese making kit in the first place. I showed my offspring how it was being made, but while he demanded mozzarella, he was unwilling to do any kneading, so none of that for him. He still ate it in the finished dish. I still prefer to just eat cheese rather than make it myself.

It goes to show you how hard cheese makers work, and how we should support them and pay for their delicious output. As UK farmhouse cheddar Mary Quicke says, “Get to know the cheese mongers, food producers, butchers and chefs reaching out online.”

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To build the database, Arla’s 9,900 farmer owners, 2,300 of which are UK based, will input externally verified data from their farm covering everything from herd size and housing, to milk volumes, feed, energy and fuel usage on farm and renewable energy production. This information will then give the farmer an overall environmental score and help identify areas they can further reduce their on farm carbon emissions.

Ash Amirahmadi, managing director Arla Foods UK said: “Sustainable foods must not only minimise environmental impact, but also be nutritionally adequate, remain affordable and support biodiversity ecosystems. Arla is working towards all this in the production of its dairy products. And with Arla farmers producing around 14 billion litres of milk a year, on farm changes could have significant impact to the cooperatives overall emissions.”

Current measurements show Arla farmers already producing milk with less than half the average emissions per litre compared to global dairy production. However, the data captured will provide bespoke data for each farmer on what level of carbon emissions they produce per litre of milk and identify where there is room for improvement. Average reductions on each farm of 3% per year would see Arla on track to hit its on farm carbon reduction targets of 30% by 2030. With farmers who participate in the programme being paid more for their milk, it is expected at least 90% of Arla’s farmer owners will do so – meaning this new initiative could have a huge impact on emissions overall.

Farmer owner David Christensen, based in Oxfordshire, said: “Farming is a long-term business with long-term investments and most farmers are working to pass their farm onto the next generation in a better shape than when they took it over. Caring for the world around us plays a huge part in that and having the science based targets to help us keep on improving will ensure Arla’s farmers go even further with their efforts. I’m very proud to think we are trying to improve the countryside whilst making a living producing milk.”

The announcement marks the latest in a serious of sustainability measures taken by Arla and its farmer owners. These include participating in the development of a global and scientifically approved way to measure carbon sequestration, Arla’s own research to evaluate ways methane emissions might be reduced through feed choices and experimenting with ways to increase biodiversity on farm.

Ash Amirahmadi added: “Whilst there is a lot of negative comment about the impact of food production to the environment, farmers are, in reality, the caretakers of the countryside and inextricably linked to many positive natural process that are critical to caring for the world around us. This initiative shows the commitment of Arla farmers to care for Britain’s countryside and play their part in tackling our climate emergency.”

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This will work to strengthen the meadow milk segment, which has recently been slightly reduced. The meadow milk plays an important role in Arla’s product portfolio in Germany, where Arla organic meadow milk relies on the successful combination of the meadow concept with organic milk. In addition, meadow milk is marketed under the regional brand Hansano.

To receive the Pro Weideland quality seal, Arla Foods must push the production requirements even higher: Every dairy cow must have 2,000 square metres of forage available in the future. This is defined as permanent grassland that has a positive impact on the environment and biodiversity, or alternatively as a renewable grassland, where farmers make an additional contribution to biodiversity by, for example, planting flower strips.

“With the introduction of the label we want to increase the requirements for our meadow milk in line with our recently published sustainability strategy. Because grazing contributes to the biological diversification and grassland is preserved as carbon storage. The criteria of the Pro Weideland seal are now part of our Arla Weidemilch standard – ie all Arla farmers must produce their meadow milk according to these specifications. From June the seal of quality will be used on our fresh Hansano meadow milk. Especially in this area, we want to boost sales and marketing by introducing the recognised label,” said Kasper Thormod Nielsen, head of corporate communications and public affairs at Arla Foods in Germany.

The label has been on the German market since mid-2017. The quality seal regulates and controls the production and processing of meadow milk in Germany, as there are no uniform criteria in the EU so far for this type of milk production.

Dairy farmers participating in the programme undertake that their cows have freedom of movement throughout the year and graze for at least six hours on pasture for at least 120 days.

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Mike Cronin, Fonterra managing director of co-operative affairs, said: “Signing up New Zealand farms to significantly increase supply of high quality milk to The a2 Milk Company is a positive step forward. It clearly shows the strength of our strategic relationship, and our shared commitment to fast-track market growth and enable farmers to create additional value from their milk.”

The co-op’s initial milk pool will be based in the Waikato around its Hautapu site and will support the production of ingredients. It is anticipated around 100 farms will be needed for next season.

Jayne Hrdlicka, The a2 Milk Company managing director and CEO, said: “The a2 Milk Company is pleased to be making progress on our relationship with Fonterra. These farms will help support new growth areas for our company across existing and new markets. This is the next step in what we believe will be a fruitful long-term relationship with tremendous potential.”

Most of the value from the relationship with The a2 Milk Company will be returned to all co-op farmers through the dividend. Participating farms will also receive a premium for their milk.

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A newsletter from the European Milk Board shared an article by Frank M. Mitloehner, Professor of animal science and air quality extension specialist at the University of California, ‘Yes, eating meat affects the environment, but cows are not killing the climate’ showing that this claim is wrong. He says that avoiding meat and meat products won’t fix climate change in the way we might think.

Mitloehner states that livestock don’t emit the largest amount of greenhouse gas emissions – 2016 data from the US Environmental Protection Agency showed that all of agriculture amounts to 9% of all emissions and less than half of this (3.9%) from animal agriculture. Meanwhile, the data showed the largest producers were in fact electricity production (28%), transportation (28%) and industry (22%). A big difference.

The author claims that the misconceptions about livestock emissions came from an FAO study in 2016 that stated livestock produced 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, more than all of the world transportation combined. The claim was corrected by the report’s co-author Henning Steinfeld.

Mitloehner states the mistake was that analysts used two different methods to determine emissions from livestock and transportation giving distorted results. A revised report from FAO estimated that transportation and livestock amounted to 14% and 5% of emissions respectively.

The article also says that removing animals from US agriculture would lower national greenhouse gas emissions by a small amount, but it would need to replace it with other products to fulfill consumer’s dietary requirements – for example vital vitamin B12 can only be found in animal products. According to the study at the University of California, if the practice of Meat-free Mondays was adopted by all Americans, it would give a reduction of only 0.5%.

Excerpt from the article: ‘Yes, eating meat affects the environment, but cows are not killing the climate’ by Frank M. Mitloehner, Professor of Animal Science and Air Quality Extension Specialist, University of California, Davis, October 25, 2018.

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The United Nations’ SDGs are part of a universal agenda, meant to bring the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. There are 17 goals with 169 targets, which seek to end poverty, improve the lives of all peoples and secure the planet for future generations through the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.

The EDA said: “The European dairy sector will play a key role in fulfilling these goals, as it provides key nutritional, social and economic inputs. Moreover, as an emitter of greenhouse gases, it accepts its responsibilities and has continuously worked on greater sustainability through various international, as well as national, initiatives.”

The biggest criticism of the animal dairy industry are its contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. The EDA admitted this, but maintained it was making strides to reduce them.

Methane gas is used to generate heat, power and vehicular fuel, while in large-scale dairy operations, anaerobic digestions systems have even been known to produce enough energy to cover internal requirements and even feed back into the public energy grid.

The global dairy sector is a significant contributor to the global greenhouse gas emissions, with the entire sector contributing an average of 2.7%. The global average of carbon dioxide per kg of liquid milk is 2.4kg, yet it is significantly lower in Europe at 1.5kg. The European dairy sector has been particularly active in recent years and has lowered its climate impact through feed modifications, better manure management and especially through the reductions of dairy cow herds, which has been made possible through increased yields per cow.

The total average milk yield per cow was 5,484kg in 2000, whereas it increased to 6,906kg in 2016. This has allowed for a thinning of the herd and a subsequent reduced climate impact. Moreover, dairy producers can help reduce the greenhouse gas impact through efficient farm management which promotes soil carbon sequestration. This has the potential of sequestering more than 10% of the anthropogenic emissions.

Read the full factsheet here.

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The official EU Protein Balance Sheet published by the European Commission services does not include any data on the importance of roughage for the dairy sector due to the lack of reliable quantitative information on this type of fodder. The EDA – IFCN study has filled this gap with high quality data for all 28 EU Member States.

In its explanatory note of the EU Protein Balance Sheet, the European Commission underlines that “roughage (like pasture, green forage, silage) is an important source of protein, in particular for ruminants.”

The EDA – IFCN study shows that, at EU level, almost 70% of the total protein intake of dairy cows stems from roughage, with Ireland (84%) and Austria (80%) having the highest ratio. The study also found that 95% of the roughage used in dairy farms in the Union is grown ‘on farm’.

Dairy cows are able to consume stock that is inedible for humans and turn it into high value protein for human consumption. Other benefits include that roughage is grown on land that cannot be used for other cultures and it therefore maintains a landscape and enhances the biodiversity.

EDA secretary general Alexander Anton said: “We support the overall idea of establishing an EU Protein Strategy. Roughage like pasture, green forage or silage is non-edible for humans and grown on ecologically valuable pastureland. In volume, roughage represents at least 70-85% of a dairy cows’ daily diet. Our joint EDA – IFCN study now shows that on-farm-grown roughage is also the protein basis for the EU dairy sector, accounting for more than 80% of the total protein intake of cows in Ireland or in Austria”.

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• The cows must either participate in the Regular Outdoor Run (RAUS) programme and/or the Pet-friendly Stable Farming (BTS) programme. According to the Swiss milk producers (SMP), 83% of farms currently participate in RAUS and 37% in BTS.
• The minimum holding period for calves is 21 days for all born calves.
• The cows must be milked at least twice a day.
• Animal keepers participating in shows and exhibitions must comply with the regulations of the Association of Swiss Cattle Breeders (ASR).
• Slaughter cows should not be pregnant.

When feeding, BOM sets two guidelines:

• When soybean meal is used, it must come from sustainable sources.
• The dairy cow feed must not contain palm fat or palm oil.

The other requirements concern the following areas:

• The farmer may not use critical antibiotics that are controversial because of possible resistance formation without a doctor’s order.
• The ecological performance certificate (ÖLN) must be fulfilled. This is already a prerequisite for the receipt of direct payments.
• Each cow must have a name.

There will also be additional requirements, which the farmers can choose two requirements from. These additional criteria will be defined by a working group over the next few weeks.

It also defines what processing and trade requirements will be met to meet the standards. In addition, regulations including sanctions must be worked out and decided as to how hardship cases are assessed at RAUS.

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It will present a broad product portfolio provided by its subsidiary DOC Dairy Partners BV and its business units DMK International, featuring the Oldenburger and Rose brands, and DMK Industry.

DOC Dairy partners BV will be showcasing the oldest cheese brand in the Netherlands, Uniekaas. The assortment of real Dutch cheeses includes a PGI-certified gouda, plus maasdam, edam, smoked cheese and goat cheese.

Highlights of the Oldenburger range include strawberry, banana and chocolate flavoured milk drinks and a new flavoured yogurt drink that epitomises healthy enjoyment and at the same time responds to the continuously growing to-go trend. Oldenburger also will present a broad range of products specifically designed for the food service sector, from UHT whipping cream and coffee cream to butter and a wide variety of cheeses in different formats like grated and diced Mozzarella.

Rose is a UHT milk brand in the Middle East and Africa producing UHT milk, milk powder and cheese. At SIAL, the brand will showcase new instant fat2 filled milk powder enriched with vitamins as well as processed cheese in slices and triangles.

The DMK business unit will be present with offerings for private label and contract manufacturing including product and packaging varieties and special skills in the production of dairy products. DMK International also offers industry customers mozzarella and semi-hard cheese with tailor made recipes like lactose free or specific melting and browning properties.

DMK Industry is a partner and supplier of large international industry customers. Its ingredients division (DMK Ingredients) and its DP Supply BV and wheyco GmbH subsidiaries produce semi-finished and finished dry and liquid dairy products. The DMK Ingredients brand offers professional solutions for applications in the field of bakery, beverages, confectionary, convenience, dairy Processing, ice cream and pizza.

At SIAL, trade visitors can exchange views on their passion for dairy ingredients with colleagues at DMK Group booth C105, hall 7.

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The trainers will learn about nutrition, housing and calf rearing, among other dairy topics at TAFE SA campuses in Adelaide and in the state’s South East region, which has a long history of producing premium dairy products for Australian and global markets.

TAFE SA is South Australia’s largest vocational education and training provider and one of the largest in Australia. The Indian dairy trainers will be certified to train dairy farmers at Bhagayalakshmi back in Western India.

TAFE SA director of primary industries, animal and laboratory sciences Ann Beacham says TAFE SA has extensive experience in providing primary production, animal welfare and livestock management training both nationally and internationally.

“TAFE SA’s dairy and agriculture lecturers have many years’ of experience in industry as well as established support networks of industry specialists,” Beacham says.
India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of milk and dairy products.

TAFE SA staff visited Parag Milk Foods and the Bhagyalakshmi Dairy Farm in April 2016 to undertake a scoping visit ahead of the partnership.

In addition, they attended the Global Rajasthan Agricultural Meet in November 2016 – at the invitation of the Rajasthan government – to gain a greater understanding of the challenges facing the agricultural and dairy sectors of Manchar and Rajasthan, particularly around capacity building.

South Australia and Rajasthan formalized a sister-state relationship based on an exchange of technical capabilities and research in 2015. The agreement provides collaborative opportunities across key sectors such as water management and farming.

Parag Milk Foods chairman Devendra Shah says the partnership with TAFE SA would help the company improve the productivity of its cows by better educating farmers on best practice for breeding, feeding, animal husbandry and management.

“We are aiming to train all of our associated dairy farmers under this initiative,” Shah says. “We are also looking at creating a pool of professional farm hands in various aspects of farm management.”

The train-the-trainer partnership between TAFE SA and Parag Milk Foods was facilitated by Austrade.

Australian Trade Commissioner in India Mark Morley says Austrade hoped to replicate similar partnerships between Australia and India, and other Asian markets such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh going forward.

“This partnership demonstrates the possibilities of collaboration between the agricultural industries of both countries as India focuses on climate resilient agriculture production capabilities,” Morley says.

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Like the Snickers bars with funny words on them, it provides the consumer with an opportunity to buy the product that speaks most directly to them, as well as enjoying their much-loved treats.

So, there is an opportunity to gain customers through novelty value and then keep them through quality products. Marmite has also cottoned onto this idea, as has Coca-Cola. Indeed, personalisation has hit the soft drinks industry and millennials are buying experiences that mean something to them. And what could mean more than drinking milk produced by a single cow on a certain day?

In a world where there is more anonymous experiences with mass-produced products, the move by consumers to find a personalised, bespoke experience is greater than ever. Dairy processors, particularly those with smaller geographical areas, can provide these experiences. I look forward to drinking my milk from Elsie the cow very soon.

The post How to customise customers appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

Dairy farmer Matthijs Baan from Molenaarsgraaf will be the first to use the technology that TOP is currently developing.

Baan says, “Every cow is unique, so every cow’s milk tastes different. One might be creamy and taste like ice cream, while other bottles might be very fresh or sweet.”

Supermarkets throughout the Netherlands will shortly have sweet milk from Clara 8 and creamy milk from Floortje 30 on their shelves.

For both projects it is the introduction of a new technology that facilitates dairy farmers to create new business models. Due to the impending nationwide launch and to protect its partners, TOP will not share any more information about both projects in the coming months.

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Dairy farmer Dean Wright has created the new cheese as the first in a planned number of products, including butter, on the 200-acre farm. His family has been farming in the area since 1820.

Wright says, “Food critic Charles Campion tasted the Triple Cream cheese in early 2017 and advised us of some changes. It was then launched at the BBC Good Food Show in Belfast in November 2017 and was also a success during the Food NI presentation at London’s Borough Market in March.

“I made sure I listened to the experts and I think what we have now is pretty special” he continues. “It is a rich, decadent cheese made from pasteurised cow’s milk with added cream. It has a white mould with its full flavour balanced by salty, lemony notes. There is nothing else like it on the market.”

The Triple Cream has recently gone into commercial production and is aimed at delis and speciality food suppliers across the UK and Ireland and then to export markets.

The cheese is made on a daily basis in a purpose-built facility nearby, acquired in June 2017.

Wright’s aim is to utilise the entire two million litre pool of milk within three years, particularly as the facility is designed to cope with expansion. His focus is on the dairy and the further development of more cheeses, including a blue version of the Triple Cream, a soft creamy Brie and a gourmet butter.

“I think there is definitely room in the market for these kinds of cheeses,” he explains. “We also want to produce a traditional artisan butter – again small batch made in the time-honoured way as simply and as purely as possible.

“Our culture starts with the soil on farm and goes right through to the customer eating the product. Everything has to be done in such a fashion. Honesty and integrity are the standard bywords of our production.”

Wright took over the farm in 2007 from his father and since then has almost doubled in size. There are currently around 200 Friesian dairy cows, 50 dairy replacements and another 200 Aberdeen Angus and Belgian Blue beef cattle.

“Everything born on the farm stays on the farm to preserve the herd’s high health status.  To do something fully traceable is very important to me,” he says. “Everything we do is based around provenance and herd health.

“We don’t buy in any cattle because we want to keep disease out and also show 100 percent provenance and traceability,” explains Dean. “A healthy herd of cows, a good farm and great raw material is the core of what we do.”

The diversification into cheese production followed an extensive period of market research to identify new business opportunities in dairy.

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The Rochdale, UK-based company has committed to only using free range milk in every yogurt pot. The decision will guarantee that the cows that produce the milk for the company’s range of yogurts, will spend almost half the year grazing in open pastures.

Unlike free range eggs, there are currently no regulations in place to define free range milk so, after much consideration of the welfare of the cows and weather conditions in the Lancashire area, Lancashire Farm agreed a minimum of 150 days grazing with its farmers. This allows cows the freedom to benefit from roaming the fields, whereas a higher number could mean the herd is outside in harmful cold and wet conditions.

Azhar Zouq, managing director of Lancashire Farm Dairies, says, “As free range eggs are now readily available, many consumers think that free range milk and yogurt is the norm, but unfortunately it isn’t across the industry. At Lancashire Farm we see ourselves as innovators and strive to provide the best product for our customers while maintaining the welfare of our farmers and their cows.

“We believe that it only takes one of us to take the first step to make a change, for everyone else to follow suit and set the standard across the industry. Happy cows produce the best tasting milk, so it’s a no-brainer to do everything in our power to achieve this, and our Grazing Guarantee will do exactly that.”

Not only does free range milk improve animal welfare, farmers will also benefit by saving on feed and bedding, as well as receiving a higher price for their milk.

Zouq adds, “With 4,000 British dairy farmers going out of business in the last ten years, we want to support the sector and free range is one way of doing so.”

Newly branded free range pots of Lancashire Farm Dairies yogurt are available in UK stores nationwide including Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda.

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A new review published in the Journal of Dairy Science projects how dairy producers will meet these challenges and take advantage of opportunities in 2067 and beyond.

Global population is expected to increase from 7.6 to 10.5 billion people by 2067, while arable land per capita will decrease by 25%. Because population growth will be uneven, disparity in arable land per capita is also expected to increase. With increased population density comes increased urbanisation, which has typically led to greater personal income and greater demand for dairy products.

It is also expected that climate change will force changes in the location of dairy production. In the Northern Hemisphere, where 86% of the world’s milk is produced, the effects of climate change are less tempered by oceanic effects. Dairy production will shift to areas with more sustainable water supplies and adequate growing seasons in response to changes in climate.

To meet increased demand in the face of these challenges will require dairy farms to be profitable and sustainable.

Jack H. Britt, PhD, professor and associate dean emeritus from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, says, “Dairy farmers in 2067 will meet the world’s needs for essential nutrients by adopting technologies and practices that provide improved cow health and longevity, profitable dairy farms, and sustainable agriculture.”

The authors forecast that dairy farmers will adopt ways of managing the microbiomes of cows’ digestive systems and other body systems to improve health and well-being. They also believe that there will be more attention to managing a cow’s epigenome, which mediates longer-term responses to the environment.

The dairy industry will increase production and safety through consolidation, modernisation, and specialisation. Global trade will be an important factor influencing profitability, and larger dairy farms will continue to make greater use of automation to reduce costs. Improvements in genetic selection will lead to dairy cattle lines that are healthier, produce milk more efficiently, and are more disease- and heat-resistant. The authors expect a shift from simply exporting surpluses to producing value-added products tailored to specific tastes and customs.

“The world faces a challenge in feeding its expanding population during the next 50 years, and we forecast that dairying will meet this challenge by exploiting knowledge and technology to develop better dairy cows and more productive and sustainable dairy farms,” according to Dr. Britt. “Our vision is that dairying in the future will reflect sustainable intensification that benefits animals, agroecosystems, and humankind through production of key nutrients for human consumption.”

The review is available online at: http://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(18)30181-4/fulltext.

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Speaking at the OIE Global Animal Welfare Forum, Emond says, “With consumer interest in animal welfare growing across the globe, the spotlight has been focused on animals involved in the production of food, with the dairy sector no exception.”

“Farmers know that healthy cows produce quality milk. To build on their success in this area, the global dairy sector needs to develop communication of the numerous actions undertaken for years to improve animal health and welfare.

“Dairy is a vital part of the global food system and provides economic, nutritional and social benefits to a large proportion of the world’s population. The growing world population needs nutritional security, and we must provide this both safely and sustainably.”

Alongside key strategic partners including OIE, ISO and FAO, the IDF has been at the vanguard of developing science-based best practice guidelines for animal welfare. IDF represents the dairy sector in the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock and is a founding member of the Dairy Sustainability Framework. Later this year will also see the publication of the updated IDF Guide to Good Animal Welfare in Dairy Production.

Emond adds, “At the IDF, the leading source of scientific and technical global dairy expertise, we are proud to contribute to the development of animal welfare expertise that benefits to animals, farmers and society.”

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Thus, as a large co-operative, the Kiwi firm has to head into the global marketplace every so often and get a new CEO, as well as selling its many products overseas. Theo Spierings has been at the helm since 2011, and he acknowledged recently to the New Zealand Herald that there have been hits and misses during his tenure. The investment in China’s infant formula company Beingmate and a write-off from a legal settlement with Danone were not the highlights.

Also, during his time there, the A2 Milk company has also set up in Fonterra’s backyard, so to speak, and is now New Zealand’s biggest listed company. It will be something to see A2 and Fonterra go head to head in Europe and the US. The latter has turned around its businesses in these markets, with some savvy buys, such as A-ware. Through Fonterra Ventures, the co-operative is also investing in firms such as foodspring in Germany, which produces a range of products for the modern lifestyle, including whey protein shakes.

The challenge is always keeping up with the pace of change in dairy, and the next seven years promise to be as eventful as Spierings’ tenure was. It will be interesting to see who comes on board and takes this industry giant into the 2020s.

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