Data Sharing Needed to Improve Dairy Industry for Future

 After two years of lows in pay-outs for milk, world production is finally decreasing, the IFCN said. Latest projections confirm that currently world milk demand is growing faster than the supply in 2016 and 2017.

Torsten Hemme, Managing Director of IFCN, commented at the annual IFCN Supporter Conference: "Further price increases are a logical consequence unless any major dairy demand crisis arises."

Over 110 analysts and dairy professionals from about 80 leading agribusiness companies gathered at the IFCN conference in Wageningen recently, which focused on the question: “What is the future of dairy farming systems?”

IFCN has defined future dairy farms as a today’s farm that will be still producing in 10 years. In the past, successful farms have been doubled their cow numbers in 10 years and reached 5-10 per cent production growth per year. However, in the next 10 years, IFCN predicted there will be over 40 per cent fewer farms in Western Europe.

Economic considerations represent the most limiting factor to dairy farm growth, compared to social, environmental and risk factors, the conference delegates concluded.

The representatives of the dairy industry held a common view that sharing of knowledge and data is the way forward. Only with accurate and appropriate data is it possible to develop new techniques and solutions for dairy farms that will be fit for the future, and ensure that milk supply meets the increasing future milk demand.

TheCattleSite News Desk