Three key factors are involved in tailoring forage systems: planning the forage system, ensuring efficient preservation of on-farm feeds, and accurately assessing the animals’ nutritional needs. The synergy of these three factors allows an increased milk production to be achieved and the environmental impact to be reduced. Two dairy farms in Piedmont, which have been collaborating for several years with ABC-Italia and the University of Turin, have followed such a path. The reorganization of the harvesting strategy, which was introduced to better satisfy the needs of the herd, led to an increased on-farm energy and protein supply and a 9.8% reduction in the carbon footprint. But that’s not all: the production intensity of the farms was boosted by over 20%, with positive outcomes on human health, due to a more favorable milk fatty acid profile. We discussed these results in the international publication “A Living Lab Approach for Sustainable Intensification of Dairy Production: A Case Study of an Organic and a Conventional Farm in Northern Italy.”

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