Spilt Milk Worth Crying Over?

Mark Eisler

Chair in Global Farm Animal HealthSchool of Veterinary Sciences

University of Bristol

Planetary boundariesPeople and the Planet.Royal Society 2012

“Global PIN Code”

Global human population in billions:

Americas . Europe . Africa . Asia

Now: 1 . 1 . 1 . 4 (7 billion)

2050+: 1 . 1 . 4 . 5 (11 billion)

Increase mainly in Africa

Hans Rosling, Karolinska Institute

Holstein imported into Africa

and Asia in huge numbers

30+ litres milk per day

Bred for intensive management

Bred for temperate climate

‘World’s least fertile farm animal’

Example of species/genotypes

not suited to the environment

Poor resistance to heat, humidity, tropical diseases, parasites

Extra costs: Disease-free environment; extra drugs

Not grazed: cut-and-carry fodder; buy expensive feed

Production lower than expected,

Expenses outweigh extra income?

The Perfect Cow?

Spilt milk worth crying over?

≈4.2m tonnes of food wasted per year in UK

Milk ranks third of all foodstuffs

420,000 tonnes of avoidable dairy and egg waste in UK 2012

Cost: £780m

A throwaway commodity?

Quested, T., Ingle, R. & Parry, A. Household Food and Drink Waste in the

UK. Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), 2013.

44p per Litre44p 39p per Litre

All Hail the Holstein!

Vanishing profit margins

➢‘Darwinian’ selection

Dairy industry super-efficient

Fewer, larger herds

Minimised labour costs

High-yielding Holstein

10,000+ litre yields

The perfect cow

The Perfect Cow?

Infertility

Lameness

Mastitis

Metabolic disease

Digestive disorders

Infectious disease

Routine antibiotic and hormone treatments

…the perfect storm?

All Hail the Holstein!

Prodigious yield requires energy and protein➢ far beyond levels available from pasture

Consumes valuable potential human food➢more than own body weight of cereals in a single lactation

Ill-equipped to digest a grain-rich diet:➢ sub-acute ruminal acidosis, displaced abomasum etc.

Concentrate feed uses artificial fertiliser

Cereal diet negates ruminant’s evolutionary advantage:➢ ability to digest forage, green waste and by-products of low

nutritional value to species such as pigs, poultry or humans

Dairy Dilemma

Pareto Principle 80:20 Rule?

20% more yield

80% more N

80% of yield

20% of N

‘Modern dairy systems producing 24% of the manure,

43% of CH4, and 56% of N2O per billion kg of milk

compared with equivalent milk from historical dairying.’

Feeding, production, and efficiency of Holstein-Friesian,

Jersey, and mixed-breed lactating dairy cows

in commercial Danish herdsT. Kristensen, C. Jensen, S. Østergaard,

M.R. Weisbjerg, O. Aaes and N.I. Nielsen

J. Dairy Science 98, 263–274 (2015)

Estimation of efficiencies relating to energy, production, and environment, based on

commercial herd data, can be an important aid in daily herd management.

A strong positive correlation between the evaluated efficiency measures and

between production and efficiency in general indicates that it is possible to increase

productivity while decreasing the environmental load from dairy farming. Only a

minor part of the variation in efficiency between herds could be explained by

differences in the nutrient or roughage contents of DMI. This might be because data

are based on herds participating in intensive feed planning and feed control.

Holstein cows have a higher production and intake but lower efficiency than

Jersey, when compared at the average production level of the commercial

herds.

Mega Dairies?

Nocton Dairies scraps super dairy

plans16 February 2011 | By Ben Briggs, Alistair Driver

NOCTON Dairies have scrapped plans to set up

the UK’s biggest dairy herd, blaming the

Environment Agency for the decision. …3,770 cow

dairy farm at Nocton Heath, Lincolnshire. The sole

reason for this decision is the response of the

Environment Agency, which has maintained its

objection to the proposal.

Mega Dairies?

Nocton Dairies scraps super dairy

plans16 February 2011 | By Ben Briggs, Alistair Driver

NOCTON Dairies have scrapped plans to set up

the UK’s biggest dairy herd, blaming the

Environment Agency for the decision. …3,770 cow

dairy farm at Nocton Heath, Lincolnshire. The sole

reason for this decision is the response of the

Environment Agency, which has maintained its

objection to the proposal.

Concerns:

Welfare

• Expression of natural behaviour

Animal & human health

Antibiotics and hormones

GHG emissions

N & P cycles

Local environmental pollution

Sustainability

Mega Dairies

Mega Dairies?

La ferme des mille vaches suspendue à la décision du tribunal

The Trouble with TMR

Living with environmental uncertainty21

Roughly half of Brazil's Cerrado

(≈250m acres) has been cleared

for agriculture

Ecosystem Benefits of Pasture

over Monoculture

Carbon emissions

Management of cow manure, slurry and dirty water

Water requirements

Reduce, reuse and recycling of resources

Soil nutrients

Feed and forage

Bedding

Fuel

Pollution and pathogen control

Recycling

Biodiversity and conservation

Not so Bad?

Nocton Dairies Sustainability Statement

Welfare standards

The needs of a cow

Cow environment

Building design

Outside access

Temperature control and ventilation

Cubicles and bedding

Calving

Slurry removal

Milking

Handling facilities

Youngstock and calves

Food and Water

Training

Health & Biosecurity

Not so Bad?

Nocton Dairies Welfare Statement

Land Sharing

Land Sparing

A. Arneth, C. Brown and M.D.A. Rounsevell. Global models of human decision-making for land-based

mitigation and adaptation assessment. Nature Climate Change 4, 550–557 (2014).

Agent Based Model