Farm Management

Good dairy farming practices underpin the production of milk that satisfies the highest expectations of the food industry and consumers. Dairy farmers ensure that the milk and milk products produced are safe and suitable for their intended use, and that the dairy farm enterprise is viable into the future, from the economic, social and environmental perspectives. 

Dairy farmers need to be able to combine profitability with the responsibility of protecting human and animal health and welfare and the environment. Dairy farmers, as the primary producers in the supply chain, should also be given the opportunity to add value to their product by adopting methods of production that satisfy the demands of processors and customers. 

IDF work around farm management covers a range of matters. It addresses farming technologies, such as developments in machine milking, and associated standards and testing procedures and work in cooperation and in support of ISO. 

It considers aspects of animal reproduction influencing performance and health and aspects of milk production and farm management, which impact the efficiency and ethics of production, labour conditions and farmers’ returns. It looks at the influence of animal feeding on milk quality in different parts of the world, and implications of other IDF work on animal health, dairy policies and economics, environment, microbiological hygiene and residues and chemical contaminants on the implications of their findings in the context of farm management.

It also includes cross-cutting activities with international organizations on a range of dairy farm-management-related topics, including FAO and OIE.