This case study documents the start-up of a successful alternative dairy farm in Wisconsin. Initially the vision was to establish a 97-ha biodynamic farm with dairy and cash cropping. Low milk prices throughout most of 1991 and the heavy work load associated with conventional dairying forced the farm family to look for alternative strategies. They experimented with management-intensive grazing in 1992, and by spring 1994 had seeded their entire farm to sod. The work load still was too heavy, so they switched to seasonal dairying and outwintering of their dry stock, which reduced the daily midwinter work load from 12 to 3.5 hours. By the end of 1995, yearly net farm income from operations had risen from $21,500 (1990 and 1991) to $54,000 (1994 and 1995). The farm family, with its alternative approach (biodynamic, grass-based, seasonal milking) weathered the stresses of entering dairy farming at a time when entry rates were very low and existing dairy farmers faced substantial financial pressure. The grassbased system required low purchased feed inputs ($300 per cow) and nearly reached equilibrium in the whole-farm nutrient budget. Good herd management has maintained high productivity (rolling herd average of 17,000 lbs) and excellent herd health. Renting the farm and managing money carefully have resulted in a low debt load ($73 per cow). This study illustrates the complexities and adjustments associated with the initiation of an alternative farm business.
This case study documents the trajectory of a successful alternative dairy farm in southeastern Wisconsin. The 1990s were a difficult period for dairying and the Krusenbaum family entered this shifting field in 1990 with a 37-cow Holstein herd in a stanchion barn, 88 tillable hectares and a vision to gradually develop a biodynamic dairy. Low milk prices and the unrelenting workload associated with conventional dairying forced the family to look for alternative strategies. By 1995 they had converted all their land to 47 rotationally grazed paddocks, increased herd size to 70 cows and their annual net farm income had grown to a solid $54,000. The workload remained very heavy, and during the next few years they introduced a swing-16 milking parlor that approximately doubled their milking efficiency and allowed them to again increase herd size, implemented seasonal dairying and constructed an outwintering shed (1997) that greatly facilitated animal management during the winter. By 2002 the farming system had been, by and large, consolidated and by not focusing solely on milk production and crossbreeding with non-Holstein breeds, the herd benefited from improved reproductive vigor. They were then able to synchronize annual calving and the herd's maximum nutritional needs with the spring flush of their pastures, which resulted in lowered purchased feed costs per cow. By this time, annual milk production was fairly constant [around 7400 kg rolling herd average (RHA)], herd health was good and annual net farm income had grown to $75,600. In 2003, the farm became certified organic. With this change the value of the milk increased dramatically from $0.31 liter−1 to $0.45 liter−1 ($14.27–$20.24 per hundredweight), but feed costs climbed sharply due to the high cost of organic feed, as did labor costs due to the decision to train new farmers in grass-based dairying rather than simply hire employees. Due to very sound farm management, good money management and an entrepreneurial philosophy, this farm, by most performance standards, is now both highly profitable and environmentally sound and the families living on it have a good quality of life.
computation of resilience/vulnerability indices at the farming system scale. Thirdly, the consistency of the computation method is tested to produce results by defining the test of optimal decision rules considering the effective contexts where decisions are made (external shocks, institutional design etc.). The necessary conditions for actions and policies in favour of SIDS' resilience to emerge are then explained. Insight on the method suggested in the viability theory Since late 1980, viability theory has focused on the study of constrained discrete or continuous dynamic systems (partly controlled by humans or regulated by nature), partly subject to known but unpredictable perturbations or to systemic approximate assessment and for which qualitative objectives may be prescribed such as reaching a target in finite time or optimizing some overall criteria. Viability tools can handle complexity which avoids the use of classical methods such as optimal control theory or Monte Carlo as in statistical methods. Typically viability analysis answers the question: starting from a given initial situation, does it at least one viable evolution exist? Above all viability analysis provides the decision rules which when applied will sustain viability. Expected results The research contributions are theoretical, empirical as well as practical. Theoretically, a re-foundation of the agricultural sector analysed as a determinant of the SIDS vulnerability is expected. On the empirical viewpoint, a robust protocol that determines the viable evolutions of the agricultural sector should be built. At the practical level, the interpretation of measurement results should provide the rules of decision the different stakeholders (from the producer to the politician) have to follow using a guidebook, in order to generate resilience in SIDS from an agricultural development viewpoint in line with the new requirements of adaptability and sustainability.
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