Quantifying sustainability of dairy farms with the DAIRYMAN-sustainability-index

Bijeenkomst: EGF2015
Auteur: Elsaesser M., Jilg T., Herrmann K., Boonen J., Debruyne L., Laidlaw A.S. and Aarts F.
ISBN: 978-9090-289-61-8
Jaar van uitgifte: 2015
Producttype: Paper
Dairyman was an EU-Interreg IVB project for Northwest Europe which ran from 2009 to 2013 involving 10 regions. A pilot farm network was set up, comprising 127 dairy farms covering the partner regions. The farms were optimized regarding economic, ecological and social aspects, to provide a measure of sustainability. The collected data provided a clear overview of current production systems and the future potential in Northwest Europe. This paper describes the application of a multi-annual data-set used to assess and analyse development of sustainability of an individual farm. A multi-criteria assessment tool has been developed, the Dairyman sustainability index, incorporating economic, ecological and social indicators to describe and comprehend the complexity of the farm as a production system. Moreover this tool can visualize individual farm development and differences in milk production systems over time and between regions.