On behalf of the European Dairy Association, Peter Stamp Enemark and Katrine Lawatz of Arla Foods discuss how Europe supports the sustainable dairy industry.
The European dairy industry is driven by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is advancing sustainability at its core. The dairy sector, which focuses on economic, social and environmental growth, will play a key role in achieving these goals.
As the voice of the European milk processing industry, the European Dairy Association (EDA) will help guide and accelerate the sustainability journey of the dairy sector. EDA supports dairy farmers to continue to adopt sustainable practices to mitigate their environmental impact.
Peter Stamp Enemark, Chief Specialist of EDA Member Arla Foods, Peter Stamp Enemark, who represents Peter Stamp Enemark, sat on an innovation platform to discuss how European dairy farmers are supported to achieve their sustainability goals. Peter is joined by his colleague, Katrine Lawatz, chief veterinary specialist at Arla Foods.
How is the European dairy industry adapting to achieve its sustainability goals?
Peter Stamp Enemark (PSE): The journey across sustainability has changed dramatically over the years. When Arla first began his sustainability journey about 15 years ago, the concept of sustainability became very broad. We looked at many different aspects on our sustainability journey and worked on ways to make it as concrete as possible for both the dairy production industry and the farmers. We have created a sustainability team to develop goals and inform farm action.
Arla now has a farmer-friendly tool known as the Farmaheadtm Check, which helps determine CO2 emissions per kilogram of milk produced. Farmers enter numbers and actions, and the tool uses the collected data to compile visual reports showing strengths and areas of improvement. FarmaheadTM Check offers advice on how farmers can advance their sustainability transition. Using the toolbox, Arla Farmers can be rewarded for the steps they take and identify the next step that is most effective. The more they do, the more they will be paid for their milk.
I think the idea of sustainability is more focused on today’s climate, but it branches out in a different direction to include other aspects of sustainability, such as animal welfare and the environment that farmers provide to their employees. With regard to Arla, we are currently discussing the introduction of areas including biodiversity, nature and regeneration to give us a broader understanding of what sustainability is.
Katrine Lawetz (KL): You can’t talk about sustainability without talking about animal welfare. Our climate reporting, efficiency and production are not the only way to sustainability on farms. It is also about how farmers work with animals, how they have a satisfying work-life balance, and how they earn a living as a farmer and see themselves.
It’s not as big a problem in Europe as elsewhere, but I’m still hearing about farmers and veterinarians who struggle to recruit the workforce. It relates to the entire story of agriculture and our cooperation with animals. I am pleased to work with healthy thriving animals and have the welfare we want them to have.
What important actions should farmers take to improve the way dairy products are farmed and produced sustainably?
PSE: In principle, it can be very simple. Keep your animals healthy and maintain productivity.
The good thing about CO2 is that it can be an indicator of effective production. It’s greenhouse gases, but it’s also an output that shows whether farmers are doing things efficiently. Reports created by farmers using the FarmaheadTM check tool usually show where improvements can be made.
We confirmed that the main area of improvement is feed efficiency. Our data found that over 40% of farmers’ CO2 emissions come from feed and feed handling. Storage of animal feed and feed efficiency is extremely important. Furthermore, handling of fertilizers is an important consideration to prevent ammonia from entering the air. From animals to storage, it is important to carry out safe handling of fertilizers.
Another area we are investigating is where farmers get energy. Is it biogas? Is it a renewable energy source?
We also expect a lot of research to be taking place on the impact of farm handling in terms of quality and quantity. Can you measure it in a reliable and reliable way? With different types of models for recording this data developed by different research institutes and private companies, I think this is still a major challenge when considering an overall assessment of how CO2 is calculated.
KL: Looking at the entire chain through the farm, there are no identical diseases or predators in the same Europe as other countries and continents. But we see animal loss and I think that’s something the dairy sector needs to deal with. How can you use and keep those animals in a meaningful way? Instead of robbing bull calves as they did years ago, many farmers today use breeding programs to enhance the effectiveness and genetics of their own herds by using the sexual semen of high-producing bulls to continue to advance their herds with the correct genetic effects. On the other hand, you can use beef bulls because you know that some cattle do not add anything worthwhile to your breeding program. This allows for the circulation of animals we already have here. There is a lot of innovation happening in these areas now.
That’s part of the feed efficiency of farms that we don’t really know how to handle yet. Young stocks eat a lot of food and know they don’t pay with milk, so some farms will prefer to have only the heifers they need for the farm. But instead of importing very expensive meat from South America, where CO2 pressures vary very different per kilogram, we need to find a way to handle bull feeding and create locally produced meat. And remember that throughout the efficient agriculture process, grazing cattle play an important role in local ecosystems where land cannot be cultivated due to crops.
How can the European Commission and government help farmers and the dairy industry reduce carbon emissions?
PSE: The keyword here is support. When it comes to law, farmers can view this as a restriction rather than a profit. I think it’s important to create a framework for farmers to act, rather than impose legal requirements.
If certain practices are worth implementing and you can explain to the farmers why they can understand it, then adapting to these new ways of operation is easy. It is also a matter of fairness as farms can be very different in different parts of Europe. For example, farms in the UK have grass all year round, while farms in northern Sweden only have grass for a few months. Therefore, it is important to build a coordinated scope for farmers to act.
What role can innovation play in helping the dairy sector become greener?
PSE: We are looking at ways that technology can help us better assess the health and well-being of animals. Currently, animal health indicators are highly subjective and can depend on the auditor or farmer looking at the animal. Even if you follow the same guidelines, the results obtained may be very different. Therefore, innovations in technology to measure animal behavior and performance can be extremely beneficial, especially when it comes to establishing preventive behaviors. For example, techniques that help farmers detect potentially crippled or sick cows in the early stages can help farmers take the right action to handle it. Animals also need no energy to recover or feed disease, which increases feed efficiency. As I said before, feed efficiency is one of the most important parts of CO2 emissions produced per milk. When it comes to sustainability journeys and the overall climate, a happy cow is very important.
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