Long term farm study of organic milk production — moderate concentrate inputs and high milk yields on Tingvoll farm

Long term studies of organic milk production on a Norwegian organic farm (Tingvoll farm) show that it is possible to achieve high milk yields with moderate concentrate inputs in organic milk production with Norwegian Red Cattle. The milk yields at Tingvoll farm were generally higher, and the concentrate input lower than the average of all Norwegian dairy farms. Average annual milk yields, as well as annual concentrate consumption per cow increased during the study period both for organic and conventional dairy production in Norway. The results from Tingvoll farm may inspire conventional dairy farmers to convert, since the differences to organic production are not necessarily too large. Alternatively, they may be inspired to reduce their concentrate inputs

Long-term changes in soil nutrients and grass/clover yields on Tingvoll farm

Long term studies (1989-2012) of soil nutrients and ley yields on a Norwegian organic dairy farm (Tingvoll experimental farm) showed that soil nutrient concentrations decreased over time after conversion. A potential decline in yields due to reduced nutrient concentrations will be difficult to detect, because of large annual variations in yield levels. The sustainability of the nutrient management on the farm should be considered, aiming at keeping soil nutrient concentrations above levels impacting negatively on the yields

Do the new organic producers differ from the “old guard”? Empirical results from Norwegian dairy farming

Conventional farmers converting to organics has contributed to most of the rapid expansion of organic farming in recent years. The new organic farmers may differ from their more established colleagues, which may have implications for the development of the organic farming sector and its distinctiveness vis-à-vis conventional production and marketing practices. The aim of this study was to explore Norwegian organic dairy farmers’ personal and farm production characteristics, farming goals, conversion motives, and attitudes to organic farming, grouped by year of conversion (three groups). A postal survey was undertaken among organic dairy farmers (n = 161). The results show that the newcomers (converted in 2000 or later) were less educated than the early entrants (the so-called “old guard”) who converted in 1995 or earlier. The frequency of activities like vegetable growing and poultry farming among the old guard was high. The late-entry organic herds were fed more concentrates and had a higher milk production intensity, showed a higher incidence of veterinary treatments and less frequent use of alternative medicine than the herds of the two earlier converting groups. For all groups of farmers, the highest ranked farming goals were sustainable and environment-friendly farming and the production of high quality food. Late entrants more often mentioned goals related to profit and leisure time. On average, the most frequently mentioned motives for conversion were food quality and professional challenges. The old guard were more strongly motivated by food quality and soil fertility/pollution issues than the others, whereas financial reasons (organic payments included) were relatively more important among the newcomers. All groups held very favorable views about the environmental qualities of organic farming methods, albeit with different strengths of beliefs. Even though trends towards more pragmatic and business oriented farming were found, the majority of the newcomers were fairly committed