Adapted vs. conventional cattle genotypes: sustainability for organic and low input dairy production systems

Summary

Dairy cow strains arising from conventional breeding programmes are frequently perceived as unsuitable for organic and low input milk production systems. While farmers have identified a number of breeds and strains as being ‘adapted’ to organic and low input systems, there is often little scientific evidence to indicate that these breeds are more appropriate than conventional genotypes.
Thus the purpose of this study is to examine the response of different dairy genotypes (i.e. "conventional" versus "adapted") to an undersupply with nutrients and energy, which is a characteristic of low input systems with limited dietary supplementation and to provide information on the metabolic response of dairy cows to such dietary restrictions.