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Economic Evaluation of Longevity in Organic Dairy Farming

Horn, Marco; Knaus, Wilhelm; Kirner, Leopold and Steinwidder, Andreas (2012) Economic Evaluation of Longevity in Organic Dairy Farming. In: Rahmann, G. and Godinho, D. (Eds.) Tackling the Future Challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry, 2nd Organic Animal Husbandry Conference (362), Agriculture and Forestry Research, pp. 265-268.

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Summary

The aim of this study was to highlight the economic importance of longevity in organic dairy cattle husbandry. Performance and reproductive data of 44,976 Austrian organic Simmental dairy cows were analysed by applying a bio-economic model. A farm scenario as well as different market situations were modelled. Overall costs declined with increasing longevity, due to dropping replacement costs. Annual profit was influenced considerably by milk yield and longevity. Short-lived animals needed substantially higher annual milk yields than long-lived animals to achieve equal annual profits. The applied market scenarios showed an increasing importance of longevity in situations of increasing economic pressure (+20% of concentrate price). It has been proven that extending longevity allows lower milk yield levels without decreasing profitability. Lower use of concentrates and reduced dependence on off-farm inputs and market fluctuations are further benefits.


EPrint Type:Conference paper, poster, etc.
Type of presentation:Paper
Keywords:lifespan, profitability, costs, dairy cow, sustainability
Subjects: Animal husbandry
Research affiliation:Austria > Univ. BOKU Wien
Austria > Federal Agency AWI
Austria > HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein
Deposited By: Horn, DI Marco
ID Code:22878
Deposited On:19 Sep 2013 10:43
Last Modified:19 Sep 2013 10:54
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Peer-reviewed and accepted

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