草饲有机乳制品管理可能是新英格兰地区恢复活力的关键

新的研究强调了农场管理, 提高有机草饲乳制品行业的产奶量

星期四，2022年9月22日

New research from NHAES scientist and 农业，营养和食品系统部 faculty member 安德烈·布里托 highlights farm management, 提高有机草饲乳制品行业的产奶量.

有机草饲管理有何不同?

There is some overlap in the practices used in organic grass-fed (OGF) management and more traditional organic dairy operations. 这两种手术都必须遵守美国农业部不使用抗生素的规定, 激素或转基因生物饲料, and that organic dairy cows must spend a minimum of 120 days at pasture per year and receive at least 30 percent of their diet from fresh pasture grass. 另外, organic cows must live in an organically certified environment for at least a year before their milk can be sold as organic.

Dairies managing as organic grass-fed take these standards a step further by completely eliminating grain from the diets of OGF cows and only feeding them foraged foods, 像牧场的草和三叶草, 干草, 或者青贮或腌制的牧草蔬菜储存以备冬季使用. OGF managed cows must spend at least 150 days per year grazing in pastures and receive approximately 60 percent of their total diet from pasture.

美国.S. 有机乳制品市场正在经历重大转变. 在经历了本世纪头十年和2010年的扩张之后，美国经济增长放缓.S. 在过去的5年里，有机牛奶的销量稳步下降by 2.仅2022年就有3%价格在2017年至2022年间下降了25%, 根据美国农业部农业营销服务处的数据. The slump is largely due to the market mismatch between the growing organic milk production and lower demand for all dairy milk in the U.S. 然而, 新罕布什尔州的小型有机奶牛场面临的挑战, 有100头或更少奶牛的, 是否因饲料成本的增加和大型有机牛奶加工商而恶化, 比如地平线有机和枫树山乳品, recently transitioning to purchasing more milk from larger dairy operations in other U.S. 地区.

尽管存在这些挑战, New England organic dairy farmers can increase their sustainability and market competitiveness is through innovation in their management strategies, 根据安德烈·布里托, a scientist with the NH农业试验站 and associate professor in the 农业，营养和食品系统部.

有机乳制品市场的一个领域不仅出现了增长, 但最近迅速扩张的是有机草饲(OGF)行业. OGF managed farms must adhere to more stringent protocols than a traditional organic dairy operation. 但是OGF管理有两个主要的好处, 布里托解释说, including greater resiliency to rising costs of feed grain and a generally higher price than regular organic milk.

直到最近, 然而, the organic grass-fed management systems have had little research directed to identifying best practices for higher milk production. 布里托是最近几位东北科学家之一纸 可再生农业和粮食系统 杂志研究OGF奶农的管理技术. 由佛蒙特大学的研究人员领导, the study provides a better understanding of this sector and its operations and needs.

这项研究包括对167名OGF农民的全国调查, 收集一般耕作方法的信息, 群管理, 以及觅食和放牧管理. The key findings indicated that the majority of OGF dairy farmers belong to the plain, 或Amish-Mennonite, 社区, 牛奶产量较高的农场通常使用荷斯坦奶牛, 采用严格的牧场轮作制度, 并用糖蜜和海带粉补充放牧饲料.

“Pasture and forage are the cheapest source of feed in a dairy farm as imported grains can be very expensive. 随着时间的推移，有机奶农的利润率不断下降, one solution has been to reduce feed costs and shift to 100 percent forage diets and produce a type of milk that has a higher price point.”

“Pasture and forage are the cheapest source of feed in a dairy farm as imported grains can be very expensive,他补充道. “随着时间的推移，有机奶农的利润率在下降, one solution has been to reduce feed costs and shift to 100 percent forage diets and produce a type of milk that has a higher price point.”

Responses from the survey were generally concentrated in the Northeast (particularly New York) and the Midwest, 这表明大多数OGF农场可能位于这些地区, 布里托说. The researchers are seeing more and more organic dairy operations transitioning to OGF management, as one way to find a competitive advantage in an otherwise stagnating organic dairy industry.

“我很肯定，新英格兰的有机乳制品行业是允许的, 并且仍然允许, 许多农民想继续经营下去,布里托说. “否则，这些规模较小的业务在经济上是不可行的.”

Brito’s and others’ research into OGF management is adding another tool in dairy farmers’ toolbox to allow many small and medium New England dairy farms – in some cases, farms that have been run by the same families for generations – to remain competitive and resilient.

This material is based on work supported by the NH农业试验站 through joint funding from the 美国农业部国家粮食和农业研究所 (根据哈奇奖号1017808)和新罕布什尔州.