Organic dairy production systems in Pennsylvania: a case study evaluation

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Economics
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Dairy Science

Background:

• Growing demand for organic milk encourages dairy producers, especially small farms, to explore organic production for economic improvement.
• Organic dairy systems exhibit wide variations in scale, practices, and agroclimatic conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize existing organic dairy systems in Pennsylvania using case studies.
• To compare the performance and economic viability of four distinct dairy production systems: organic grass, organic crop, conventional crop with grazing, and conventional confinement.

Main Methods:

• Utilized case studies from four actual organic dairy farms in Pennsylvania.
• Employed the Integrated Farm System Model for whole-farm simulations over 25 years of central Pennsylvania weather data.
• Conducted whole-farm budget analyses and sensitivity analyses to assess economic performance.

Main Results:

• Potential concerns identified for organic farms include soil phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) accumulation when using poultry manure, and P erosion/runoff with annual crop production due to increased tillage.
• Whole-farm budgets indicated an economic advantage for organic over conventional production under recent market prices.
• The economic advantage of organic production is sensitive to the organic milk price premium and differences in milk production between organic and conventional systems.

Conclusions:

• Organic dairy production systems, as studied, offer a viable option for enhancing the economic sustainability of dairy operations in Pennsylvania at the current organic milk price.
• A substantial and persistent price difference between organic and conventional milk is crucial for motivating the transition to organic dairy systems.