What is Irish grass-fed milk?
Donal O’Brien, Brian Moran, Laurence Shalloo
Industry impact: Sustained market interest in grass-based milk is leading to more consumer requests for information on the quantities of grass in a dairy cow’s diet. To meet this new demand, we developed a model that can provide robust numbers around the levels of pasture consumed by dairy cows. Our model was published in an internationally peer-reviewed journal and deployed via the Teagasc National Farm Survey’s 320 dairy farms to generate a nationally representative Irish grass-fed number, i.e., the percentage of grass as fed in the diet of dairy cows. The analysis showed that the average grass-fed number for Irish dairy farms is 95% of the diet on an as-fed basis. Currently, the model is being applied within the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme to generate a grass-fed number for every Irish dairy farmer. The model’s approach will be used to develop a grass-fed standard, which will provide certainty for customers and counteract claims that may be false.
Correspondence: donal.mobrien@teagasc.ie
Funding: Teagasc grant-in-aid.