The Irish organic dairy sector is growing and consumer demand for high-quality dairy products is increasing, stimulating a need for innovative solutions to address challenges such as antibiotic resistance while promoting environmental outcomes. The Natural Livestock Farming (NLF) network comprising of four countries (the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Uganda, and India) has developed and tested the NLF ‘5-layered approach’ with livestock scientists and veterinarians, to address these needs.
The approach has two main aims: improving cattle health and farmer income, achieved through a collaborative methodology with local stakeholders to define interventions tailored to their specific needs. The approach consists of the following five layers:
1. Improved animal, farm, and soil management, using monitoring protocols and tools.
2. Strategic use of local breeds to increase resilience and adaptation.
3. Use of medicinal plants and other ethnoveterinary practices (EVP) for prevention and cure of livestock health issues and to produce residue-free milk.
4. Milk quality control systems.
5. Better farm income through increased productivity, value addition, better livestock health, and reduced costs.
The NLF strategy is being applied to large-scale dairy farming, and the organisation has trained over 400 farmers and 50 veterinarians. This has the potential to address challenges related to reliance on antibiotic and chemical veterinary drug use in dairy and other types of farming, on a large scale, thus creating more resilience in the agricultural system, and improving ecological and animal-health outcomes.
In the Irish context, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2021-2025) includes measures to promote prudent antibiotic use in agriculture. This agri-innovation may contribute positively towards the Action Plan, and towards enhancing the value proposition of Irish organic dairy products.
You can find out more about this innovation by visiting the NLF website or contacting Claire Kearney at claire@erinn.eu.
