Advances in Organic Dairy Cattle Farming

The dairy sector continues to face increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact and contribution to climate change. It must also address consumer concerns surrounding issues such as animal welfare, antibiotic usage/resistance and the ethics of intensive production systems. Advances in organic dairy cattle farming considers how organic dairy farming has the potential to address these challenges whilst also meeting the key organic principles of health, ecology, fairness and care. The book reviews advances in areas such as breeding, optimising pasture-based nutrition and organic milk quality, improving the health and welfare of calves and adult cows, as well as promoting biodiversity and the move to a more circular, sustainable bioeconomy. By providing a comprehensive insight into current research, the book highlights how the sector can develop and best contribute to the sustainability of farming. Edited by a team of international experts, the book will be a standard reference for university and other researchers in organic agriculture, national, regional and international bodies responsible for organic regulation and certification, as well as organic dairy farmers. Dr Mette Vaarst is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Animal Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. She has published extensively on organic animal farming, coordinated several European research projects and co-edited Improving organic animal farming, published by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing in 2019. Dr Stephen Roderick is Research Manager in the Rural Business School at Duchy College in the UK. He has published widely on animal health and farm resource management, was formerly Associate Editor of Organic Agriculture and co-edited Improving organic animal farming. Dr Lindsay Whistance is Senior Livestock Researcher at the Organic Research Centre in the UK. She is internationally known for her research on farm animal behaviour, health, welfare and nutrition in organic agriculture.