ABSTRACT
There is no area of human activity more basic to society than a sustainable agricultural, food and natural resources system. Our existing agricultural production system, particularly in the United States, has provided an abundant, affordable and safe food supply and many industrial and consumer products. It faces a daunting challenge to meet the needs of a growing world population of approximately 9-10 billion people in 2050 with the need to provide about 60-70% more food than now being produced. However, it is more than just agricultural productivity because the system must function within the space of climate change, minimum negative impacts on the environment, reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), reduced water usage, concern for availability and cost of energy, worldwide adoption of biotechnology, increased organic food production, major adoption of information technologies at all phases of the agricultural, food and natural resources system and significant advancements in machine innovations. Nowhere is this more true than on dairy farms of the future where these challenges are evident across systems from large farms (>700 milking cows) to small and diverse dairy holders seeking to balance needs of food security, nutrition and family livelihood. This chapter seeks to assess the degree to which dairy farming is addressing principles and practices of sustainability. Beyond a look at the present status of sustainability and the dairy industry, a significant
effort is directed at the potential of technical and non-technical systems to advance sustainability of the dairy sector.
