Environmental Considerations
Dairy farms are continually working towards overall sustainability. Compared to farms in 1960 today's dairy farms are on average producing almost three times more milk with about half the number of cows thanks to genetic improvements, better feed nutrition, and improved cow comfort, including reduced heat stress, better ventilation and stall design, as well as other management practices. Farmers are evaluating how they can reduce potential externalities, including air quality impacts, water quality impacts, and any impact on microbial resistance.
Environmental concerns related to the dairy industry such as those in the list below have been studied with reports and related materials posted.
- Meeting New York State’s Energy, Environmental and Economic Goals While Strengthening Dairy Farms Through the Widespread Adoption of Manure-Based Anaerobic Digestion Technology Working Paper - Jennifer Pronto, Curt Gooch, Pete Wright (October 2017)
- Dairy Farmer’s Perspective on Sustainability - Skip Hardie (July 2015)
- Cost-effective and Environmentally Beneficial Dairy Manure Management Practices - National Dairy Environmental Stewardship Council (2005)
Antimicrobial Resistance
Antibiotics are chemicals that kill or impede bacterial growth. Parallel to their use and importance for human health, antibiotics are important medicines used on dairy farms to prevent and treat bovine bacterial infections. When antibiotics are administered to dairy cattle, milk and meat withholding times are strictly followed to prevent antibiotic residues from entering the food system.
Antibiotic Resistance (AR) is a naturally occurring process where previously susceptible bacteria develop the ability to resist the effects of an antibiotic. The use of both human and veterinary antibiotics has accelerated antibiotic-resistant bacteria development.
Information found on this page was developed under USDA funding that supports work to investigate and report on the efficacy of dairy manure treatment systems to mitigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
