Organic dairy farming in Europe

Organic milk production has gained importance in Europe. The European Union introduced regulations to standardise organic production throughout all member countries. The market for organic products is constantly increasing and still has not reached market stability. The differential price of organic products could maintain farms in marginal environments. In many cases, the market is still encouraging as the limit seems to be the availability of organic products. There is a large body of research comparing organic and conventional livestock farming systems, but most of them ignore local and specific factors. Different feeding systems characterise organic and conventional farming. Limits of the use of concentrates in the feed ration diminish production levels of milk. Quality of dairy products has not been changed in European dairy farming by the application of organic regulations. The more "natural" dairy management in organic farms is felt to improve animal welfare and animal health. However, reality does not always resemble this common belief A greater use of pasture vs. more intensive dairy system for conventional herds certainly improves animal welfare, but because of the limit to drug use in organic systems, animal health is not always enhanced. Organic farming systems are more "environment-friendly" than conventional management, especially for the lower eutrophication potential of organic herds. Nevertheless, in organic production, the same amount of milk is obtained by exploiting a larger area of pasture. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.