Questions About the Dairy Industry

Kasia Szymańska, University College Dublin

Op-Ed   

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do necessarily reflect those of SAVMA or The Vet Gazette.

      The age-old question of how we are going to feed the ever-expanding global population and tackle hunger, remains wide open. By 2050, an additional two billion more people will be added to the planet, making it necessary to feed a total of nine billion. At the same time, the global demand for animal-based protein continues to rise. The future of food production rests in providing adequate amounts of nutritious, safe and affordable food that is sourced sustainably.

To gain insight in to different food production methods, and specifically the veterinary practices and legislation surrounding livestock, I traveled to Sweden and New York State. I received support from the Thomas O’ Hanlon Award from the School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Ireland, an AVMA accredited school, where I am a rising third year veterinary student. The summer provided me with the opportunity to consider different approaches to dairy herd management as well as look closer at antimicrobial usage and animal welfare standards.

My summer began with the Distriktsveterinärerna, or State District Veterinarians, who are employed by the Swedish Board of Agriculture. I was based in southern Sweden, which is also known as the country’s “milk belt”. Here, Falun red houses and grazing cows dot the countryside. Although only about 17 percent of the farms have 100 dairy cows or more and the average herd size is about 70 cows per farm, yields are around 9,500 kg (20,944 lbs) of milk, per cow, per year. A majority (47 percent) of the country’s cows are kept in free stall barns with the common breeds being Swedish Red and Holstein (2012 Swedish Board of Agriculture). During the summer however, all cattle older than six months graze outdoors for at least six hours per day, as mandated by legislation aimed at promoting high animal welfare standards.

While in upstate New York, I spent time at the Countryside Veterinary Clinic in the foothills of the Adirondack mountains. The clinic is next-door to the largest Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese manufacturing facility in the United States and is flanked by long stretches of corn fields that are used for animal-feed.

Depending on the year, New York State hovers at number three or four in the ranks of top milk production in the country. The state also happens to be the largest producer of yogurt in the US, supplying much of their milk to the makers of Greek-style yogurt at Chobani.

Farm size and housing varies greatly in New York. While only 25 percent of dairies have more than 100 cows, the largest farms in the area have anywhere between 900 to 4,000 cows. Smaller farms are tie-stall based, while larger farms have free-stall housing and maximize cow comfort with the latest innovations including sand bedding, DeLeval swinging cow brushes, and sprinkler systems. Holstein is the predominant breed and 9,537 kg (21,026 lbs) of milk are produced per cow per year in the state (2010 National Agricultural Statistics Service).

Across the pond, as far back as the 80s, concerns of multi-drug resistant bacteria and a post-antibiotic era led Sweden to take measures to regulate antimicrobials. In fact, cephalosporins, a broad class of antibiotics, which are often thought of as a last defense in human medicine against certain infections, are only permitted for animal use when all other treatment options have been exhausted and cephalosporins are tested effective. This prudent philosophy on the use of antibiotics was well illustrated in a recent study published in the Journal of Infection Ecology and Epidemiology on antibiotic usage in 2013 on one intensive 2,000 lactating cow dairy herd in NY State. The cephalosporin usage at that concentrated animal feed operation (CAFO) dairy was 3.4kg. In stark contrast the use of cephalosporins across the entire Swedish cattle population (0.5 million animals) did not exceed more than 7.0 kg in 2012.

The judicious usage of antimicrobials in Sweden meant that while seeing practice on dozens of farms, bacterial cultures where taken for every mastitis case we came across. During my three-week stay, the only antibiotic I saw being prescribed was penicillin. Veterinarians practiced strict bio-security measures and donned clean clothing for each new farm visit. And because bio-security is high, it’s likely that Sweden can remain free from highly drug-resistant bacteria, bovine viral diarrhea, paratuberculosis as well as salmonellosis for years to come.

Although comparing veterinary practice and dairy management in Sweden and New York State reveals a long list of differences, the objective of this article is not to itemize these but to reflect on these issues in the context of the direction being taken by global dairy production. With the lifting of the European milk quota, which is planned for April 2015, European dairy production will have an increasing hold on the competitive global dairy market where currently New Zealand is probably the most significant player. European dairy exports already constitute a slightly larger percentage of the global market than do American exports.

The milk quota was originally set by the European Union some twenty years ago in an effort to control rising milk production and stabilize milk producer prices among its Member States. European countries are now well advanced in gearing up for the lifting of milk quota. Germany, followed by France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Ireland are predicted to expand greatly to meet growing markets like China and Africa with products like milk powder. The growth in milk production of these European countries is forecasted to far exceed America’s expected growth in dairy production.

On top of this, there are currently discussions in the European Union to restrict the use of regionally specific names to foods only produced in those areas. In other words, Parmesan cheese not made in the Italian provinces associated with Parmigiano-Reggiano would have to be labeled with another identifier, like “Italian-style”. If this measure passes, American companies, like Chobani and Kraft will have to give Europe back its regional names, and more than likely a cut of their profit too, if consumers decide to endorse the “real stuff” instead.

Consumer choice has important implications for the future of food production. But are consumers informed? For the average person, food labels are misleading and difficult to navigate. With numerous options available in stores that are advertised as certified, natural, free-range or organic, it can take a while to distill the most important information. Although it may be a challenge, making the consumer in touch with the farm to fork continuum and helping them to understand food production can positively shape the future of how we produce food.