Analysis and outlook of dairy sector in Baltic States
2021
Rizojeva-Silava, A., Latvia Univ. of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava (Latvia) | Zeverte-Rivza, S., Latvia Univ. of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava (Latvia) | Rivza, P., Latvia Univ. of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava (Latvia)
The dairy sector is one of the most developed and most important agricultural commodity production sectors besides grain production in the Baltic States – Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. In the structure of agriculture production in the Baltic States, milk production is the most important sector among livestock farming sectors. Over the last 16 years, farms have been modernized (including the purchase of new machinery and improving the infrastructure), largely it has been possible due to the availability of the European Union (EU) structural funds (farmers have access to various forms of support, such as direct payments to farmers, investment in agricultural production and processing). They have also been targeted towards educating farmers in animal management, animal welfare and feeding. An important factor is also breeding of animals – the farmers are choosing cows with a higher genetic potential for productivity. As a result, the average milk yield per cow increased, while the number of dairy cows decreased (mainly due to the small family farms with 1–5 cows going out of the business). As the industry is influenced by many factors (for example, the lactation process of cows), it is important to prepare and review the sector’s development outlook. The purpose of this study is to analyse the dairy sector in the Baltic States and prepare the outlook for its future development trajectories. To reach these purposes, research tasks were set, which helped analyse the key elements of the dairy sector in the Baltic States.
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