Project

Discipline

environmental performance; economic performance; benchmarking; dairy farming

Lead
L’élevage laitier est le secteur le plus important de l’agriculture suisse. Un secteur laitier viable économiquement et respectueux de l’environnement est donc essentiel pour garantir le développement durable de la filière agroalimentaire suisse. Il existe actuellement très peu de connaissances sur la relation entre la performance économique et la performance environnementale de ces exploitations.
Lay summary
Contenu et objectifs du travail de recherche Notre principal objectif est de contribuer à une meilleure compréhension de la relation entre la performance économique et performance environnementale des exploitations laitières suisses de la région de montagne. Plus précisément, nous souhaitons (i) fournir un cadre de référence pour la mesure de la performance environnementale d’une exploitation agricole (ii) analyser les synergies et les conflits dans la promotion de la performance économique et environnementale des exploitations laitières suisses de la région de montagne, (iii) identifier les pratiques associées avec une bonne performance économique et environnementale et (iv) montrer comment les exploitations peuvent, dans la pratique, améliorer leur performance économique et environnementale et tester la faisabilité de la mise en œuvre de ces recommandations avec les chefs d’exploitation.  Contexte scientifique et social du projet de recherche Nos travaux fourniront un cadre de référence pour la mesure de la performance environnementale d’une exploitation agricole et contribueront ainsi à clarifier le flou existant actuellement dans ce domaine. En outre, des connaissances inédites sur la relation entre performance économique et performance environnementale des exploitations laitières seront générées. Ces connaissances seront d’une très grande valeur non seulement pour le milieu agricole et la communauté scientifique mais également pour les décideurs politiques lors de la conception de futures politiques agricoles.

Direct link to Lay Summary

Last update: 19.07.2013

Active participation

Active participation

Communication	Title	Media	Place	Year

Dairy farming is the most important sector in Swiss agriculture. An economically viable, environmentally friendly and sustainable dairy farming is therefore essential for guaranteeing the sustainable development of the Swiss agro-food chain. Promoting the economic and environmental performance of the Swiss dairy sector calls for improved know-how at farm level as regards both the determinants of farm economic and environmental performance and the relationship between these two dimensions of the sustainable performance of a farm. The present project aims to: (i) Provide a comprehensive framework for the assessment of environmental performance at farm level;(ii) Investigate in depth the synergies and trade-offs in the promotion of the economic and environmental performance of Swiss dairy farms in the mountain region; (iii) Identify the determinants of, and practices associated with, good economic and environmental performance at farm level;(iv) Demonstrate how farms can improve their economic and environmental performance in practice and test the feasibility of these recommendations with farm managers taking into account the existing path dependency in the development of their farm, as well as the production constraints faced by them.The concept of environmental performance will be further developed and implemented at farm level according to the initial considerations of Jan et al. (2012b), who distinguish between local and global farm environmental performance. These considerations build upon those of Halberg et al. (2005) and Blonk et al. (2010). The project work will be based on a unique and innovative dataset combining both economic and precise and comprehensive environmental (Life Cycle Assessments) data for an unbalanced pooled sample of 56 dairy farms. This dataset will be supplemented with on-farm interviews aiming to contribute to the identification of on-farm practices associated with poor vs. good economic/environmental performance, as well as to test the feasibility of recommendations for improving farm economic and environmental performance.The applicant’s accumulated know-how and experience in farm environmental performance assessment (see Jan et al., 2011; Jan, 2012; Jan et al., 2012a; Jan et al., 2012b), as well as the availability of a unique dataset combining FADN and LCA data for a large sample of dairy farms in the mountain region are the two major strengths of this project for its successful completion. The project will be of benefit for farm managers, farm consultants, policy makers, or other stakeholders such as food processors and retailers, in their endeavour to improve the sustainable performance of the Swiss dairy sector.