By Boehncke, E. and Herrmann, H. J. and Krutzinna, C., Biological Agriculture and Horticulture, 1996
Description
The results of a study of organic milk production in Germany, based on a sample of 268 organic dairy farms with a total of 7990 cows are reported. Data such as milk yield and the number and age of dairy cows are from 1992. Only 40 (15%) of the 268 farms were certified organic before 1979, with most (139 or 52%) completing their conversion between 1980 and 1990. The average milk yield of these farms was 4941 kg/cow per lactation. The cows on average were only 5.7 years old, and were milked for only 3.2 years. Concentrate feeding was moderate (average of 580 kg/cow per year). The diets mainly consisted of silage, hay and fodder beet. On 60% of the sample farms, the cows were housed in tie stalls and 26% were confined all year round. The order of importance of herd health problems was the same as in conventional agriculture: mastitis, fertility disorders and hoof diseases were the main problems on 56, 37 and 26% of 204 of the farms respectively. Metabolic disorders, such as ketosis and parturient paresis were less frequent. Usually, diseases were treated by a combination of methods, including conventional veterinary medicine (53%), homeopathy (27%) and other alternative methods, such as herb medicine and home remedies (20%)
The results of a study of organic milk production in Germany, based on a sample of 268 organic dairy farms with a total of 7990 cows are reported. Data such as milk yield and the number and age of dairy cows are from 1992. Only 40 (15%) of the 268 farms were certified organic before 1979, with most (139 or 52%) completing their conversion between 1980 and 1990. The average milk yield of these farms was 4941 kg/cow per lactation. The cows on average were only 5.7 years old, and were milked for only 3.2 years. Concentrate feeding was moderate (average of 580 kg/cow per year). The diets mainly consisted of silage, hay and fodder beet. On 60% of the sample farms, the cows were housed in tie stalls and 26% were confined all year round. The order of importance of herd health problems was the same as in conventional agriculture: mastitis, fertility disorders and hoof diseases were the main problems on 56, 37 and 26% of 204 of the farms respectively. Metabolic disorders, such as ketosis and parturient paresis were less frequent. Usually, diseases were treated by a combination of methods, including conventional veterinary medicine (53%), homeopathy (27%) and other alternative methods, such as herb medicine and home remedies (20%)
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