Holstein-Friesian milk performance in organic farming in North Spain: Comparison with other systems and breeds

Abstract

Organic systems are highly dependent on the environment and require animals well adapted to local conditions. In Spain, organic dairy farmers are not satisfied with the productive performance of their herds and ask for technical advice to obtain suitable animals for organic systems. The milk productive performance (milk yield, nutritional composition, and somatic cell count) of Holstein-Friesian cows in organic farming in North Spain compared with conventional farms has been analysed. When breed diversity was present in the same organic farm, Holstein-Friesian milk performance was compared with other breeds and/or crosses. Holstein-Friesian cows in organic farming produce slightly less milk than grazing conventional cows, but milk was similar in composition and somatic cell count across systems. The limited data from organic farms where breed diversity exists indicate that Holstein-Friesian cows produce numerically more milk than other breeds and crosses but with statistically lower protein content. Considering that in Spain organic milk production is mostly used for liquid milk consumption and that the payment system is based only on milk volume, Holstein-Friesian cows would better fit the farmer interests than other breeds or crosses. However, in addition to productive performance, reproductive efficiency, animal health and consumer's preferences should be fully considered when selecting a breed for organic production. If Holstein-Friesian was the selected breed, efforts should be made to identify cows within the breed that are best adapted to organic conditions. New productive, reproductive, nutritional and economic studies would be needed to develop a genetic merit index for organic systems.Additional key words: dairy cattle; milk composition; crosses; suitability; production systems.Correspondence should be addressed to Marta López Alonso: marta.lopez.alonso@usc.esAbbreviations used: DCR (dairy control record); FS (farm system); LG (lactation group); SCC (somatic cell count).

Breed performance in organic dairy farming in Northern Spain

“…The most complete study to date, conducted in The Netherlands, compared Holstein‐Friesian, Jersey, Meuse Rhine Yssel, Montbeliarde, Fleckvieh, Brown Swiss, Groningen White Headed and Dutch Friesian, and the various crosses (De Haas et al, ) reported that milk production was highest in cows that carried 100% Holstein‐Friesian genes and lowest for cows that carried 100% Groningen White Headed genes. In our study, differences were also found in fat and protein yield, with the cross‐breed cows producing highest yields, probably because of a combination of intermediate milk yield production and higher percentages of fat and protein, as previously reported (Rodríguez‐Bermúdez et al, ). In this respect, studies involving organic farming have obtained variable results, with some reporting better production of other pure breeds (De Haas et al, ) or Holstein‐Friesian (Mullen, Dingst, Kearns, & Washburn, ; Sundberg et al, ).…”

“…On the contrary, a higher proportion of Holstein‐Friesian cows were culled at the end of the lactation period due to multiple pathologies (identified as ‘others’). Apart from that, Holstein‐Friesian producing in organic systems in Northern Spain has lower productive pressure than in conventional systems (Rodríguez‐Bermúdez et al, ), which could improve their capacity to keeping an acceptable production avoiding a premature culling.…”

Organic or conventional dairy farming in northern Spain: Impacts on cow reproductive performance

“…et al, 2009). The relationship between milk yield and reproductive performance in Holstein-Friesian cattle reared in different production systems was not considered in the present study as not all of the organic farms are registered with a dairy control body; however, the results of a previous study in northern Spain indicate that daily milk production was significantly lower in Holstein-Friesian cows reared on organic farms than in those reared on zero-grazing farms (54%), but only slightly lower than in those reared on pasture-based conventional farms (10%; Rodríguez-Bermúdez et al, 2017). These findings suggest that milk yield is probably not the main reason of the differences in reproductive performance between organic and pasture-based conventional systems observed in the present study.…”

“…Organic agriculture currently performs well in most domains of sustainability, such as animal welfare, farm profitability and low pesticide use; however, yields are generally lower than in intensively managed conventional farming (Rodríguez‐Bermúdez et al, ). Critics as well as many proponents of organic agriculture share the common view that in organic agriculture, yields must increase (Röös et al, ).…”

“…Organic agriculture currently performs well in most domains of sustainability, such as animal welfare, farm profitability and low pesticide use; however, yields are generally lower than in intensively managed conventional farming (Rodríguez-Bermúdez et al, 2017).…”