The recent Alltech ONE Ideas Conference looked at the dairy sector and dove into topics of climate change, emissions, feed use and consumer expectations. Many aspects of the industry were covered, including opportunities, solutions and challenges. Here we summarise some of the highlights of the event.
BY CHRIS MCCULLOUGH
Higher milk production, lower carbon hoofprint
Dr Saheed Salami, research fellow at Alltech, outlined some of the main sustainability challenges farmers face. He said: “Greenhouse gas emission remains a top topic. And I think with the Joe Biden Climate Summit recently, it is resonating in the industry, especially in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock chain. “It’s very clear that going forward it’s not going to be business as usual, and stricter environmental regulations will come in from the govern- ment. Much of the dairy industry has to adapt to these changes.” Dr Salami recognised that the dairy industry produces the second largest sources of emissions in the livestock sector. He added: “So what we see is that enteric emission from the rumen and feed use actually contribute the two largest sources of emissions on dairy farms, which contribute over 60% of the total emissions. “We still have other sources of emissions like manure, which is nitrous
oxide specifically, and also artificial fertiliser and electricity use. But of course, we know that if we have to achieve a more sustainable dairy farm, we need to be able to focus on all of these sectors on the farm to be able to reduce emissions. “More specifically, reducing enteric me- thane and feed use offer a large opportunity for us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. The answers, said Dr Salami, involve being able to increase feed digestibility, reduce the use of high carbon inputs in feed ingredients and utilise nitrogen from feed better.
Opportunities for the global milk trade
With a potential seven billion con- sumers around the world, the fu- ture for the global dairy industry is positive but only if the industry fo- cuses on customer requirements. There is a heavy focus on production transparency and source of origin. Dr Torsten Hemme, CEO and founder of IFCN Dairy Research Network, said that, in a
nutshell, dairy demand is all about a glass of milk. Dr Hemme said: “On average a person on this planet is drinking one glass of milk, 0.3 litres, or is eating 30 grammes of cheese per day. The biggest opportunity for the dairy industry lies in the trust of these consumers.” The global supply chain consists of 121 million farms with an average
of just three cows supplying 2.5 tonnes of dairy produce each per year. Looking closely at the dairy market, Dr Hemme said: “People talk about the crude oil price, the world feed price and the world milk price. Dur- ing the Corona times we have had oil prices being very low, feed prices low, milk prices staying quite normal. Now, 12 months later, oil prices have fully rebounded, feed prices are up 50%. And milk prices on the world level look very good. Dairy has gained importance among other food items globally.”
Dr Hemme said farmers needed better IT solutions. “The biggest op- portunity for dairy farmers lies in getting the farming system better managed, more digital and then getting the trust from the consumers. “Our 2050 outlook is telling us there is a possibility that global dairy de- mand will grow by another 50%. But this is only possible if we move to carbon-neutral dairy farming or at least try very, very hard to,” he said.
▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 8, No. 3, 2021 23
PHOTO: RONALD HISSINK
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