Relationship between profit and environmental performance in dairy farming

What is it about?

How is the relationship between profitability and environmental performance on organic and conventional dairy farms, and which determinants influence these relationships? Organic farms performed better on the examined local (N surplus per hectare) and global environmental indicators (N surplus, GHG emissions, and energy intensity per unit output produced). For forage and milk yields, conventional farms outperformed organic farms, whereas labour input and farm profits did not differ. Higher profitability was associated with improved environmental performance. Intensification through increased use of concentrates improved profit and reduced N surplus, GHG emissions, and energy intensity per unit output within each farming system while N surplus per hectare could be negatively affected. In-depth data from 10 conventional and 8 organic dairy farms in Western Norway were analyzed.

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Why is it important?

This study contributes to the understanding of how dairy farmers can find win–win solutions for both their farm profits and the environment. By improving profitability, farmers will improve their environmental performance and vice versa. Exclusively focusing on either the global or local dimension of farm environmental performance can compromise the environmental evaluation of livestock systems because it will not account for negative effects on other environmental impacts. Considerations of both local area-based and global product-based dimensions are needed to ensure a balanced representation of the environmental consequences.