Lifespan of dairy cow increases by 2 months

Making the dairy chain more sustainable continues to follow the straight path, as the 'Sustainable Dairy Chain' sector report by Wageningen Economic Research shows. Scores were higher on almost all sustainability goals in 2019 than in the previous year. For example, the lifespan of dairy cows has increased by two months for the first time in three years.

After three years of decline, the average lifespan of a dairy cow in 2019 was two months higher than the year before. This is apparent from the sector report 'Sustainable Dairy Chain' by Wageningen Economic Research. Good progress has also been made in the area of ​​ammonia reduction. For the second year in a row, ammonia emissions decreased. Based on the provisional figures, this is a decrease of 2019% for 4 compared to the whole of 2018.

The distance to the target, which must be achieved in 2020, is still considerable for both themes. For example, the Sustainable Dairy Chain's target in terms of lifespan is that it will be extended by 2020 months in 6 compared to the lifespan in 2011. Ammonia emissions must be reduced by 2020 million kilos by 5, compared to 2011. In terms of the reduction of greenhouse gases does come within sight of the goal of 'climate-neutral growth'.

More sustainable energy
The dairy sector also generated more renewable energy in 2019, mainly due to the increase in solar energy production. More than 6% of the energy requirement is now covered with sustainable energy. The distance to the target of 16% is still great, although this is partly due to the measurement method used. Only windmills and co-fermentation installations that are owned by the company are included in this. If all sustainable production on agricultural land from dairy farms were included, this target would already have been achieved.

It seems that there is still a lot of work to be done, but there are also five themes on which all sustainability goals have already been achieved. It concerns responsible use of antibiotics, energy efficiency, responsible soy, grazing and the excretion of phosphate. For example, the Sustainable Dairy Chain aimed to maintain the outdoor grazing percentage of 81,2% in 2021. In 2019 this percentage was 83%. In addition, it wants the phosphate excretion to remain below the European ceiling and that the use of antibiotics is in line with the values ​​of the Veterinary Medicines Authority (SDa).

The entire report can be viewed here.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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