A Model to Analyse and Classify the Level of Farmer's Qualification in Sustainable Dairy Farming

This paper investigates performance characteristics of dairy farms from zootechnical data. The studied farms characterised as qualified, average and unqualified by a multiple-response test analysing a set of algorythmic rules based on zootechnical data: - farm size, - animal housing and - milking mechanisation. Other studied data regarding animal nutrition, animal husbandry and animal health will be published later. The parameters of farm size included: - number of dairy cows, - area of cultivated land, - milk production per farm, - genetic selection for milk yield, and - artificial insemination. The parameters of animal housing were - type of barn, - type of barn floor, - storage for feed materials, - infirmary unit, - barn structure for natural ventilation, and - provision of drinking water. The parameters of milking mechanisation were - type of milking device and way of milking, - calibration of milking device, - sanitation, - pre-milking, and - hygiene before and after milking. The applicability and validity of the results obtained from the multiple-response test were made by the comparisons with the results obtained from the average statistics applied to the same data. The mode statistic, but not the mean statistic meets the terms of results obtained from the multiple-response test for the characterisation of farms within each of three sets of zootechnical data. The method of multi-response analysis determining the level of farmer's qualification in a sustainable dairy farming was remarkably reproducible. The overall results indicated that 27% of farms were qualified, 38% were averaged and 35% were unqualified farms in the activity of sustainable dairy farming. These figures were discussed with previous findings. The way of present classification helps the regional policy makers to efficiently provide the milk services. Important recommendations and possible changes in current dairy policies were underlined for policy makers as well as for dairy unions.

JRC.D.5 - Food Safety and Quality