Organic dairy farmers must adapt their practices to address climate change while maintaining productivity and reducing their environmental impact. Integrated crop-livestock systems, including pastures, show promise, but the adoption of complex forage mixtures remains limited by a lack of data tailored to the Canadian context.
This five-year project aims to evaluate the effect of different pasture management strategies on soil health and carbon stocks, forage productivity and resilience, and GHG emissions from ruminants in organic dairy production. It is divided into three main objectives:
- Identify the seed mixtures and pasture management strategies commonly used on organic dairy farms in Ontario and Quebec
- Characterize soil health and carbon stocks in pastures on organic dairy farms in Quebec
- Evaluate the yield, drought resistance, palatability, and impact on milk production of different pasture forage mixtures
To achieve these objectives, the team will conduct a survey of producers, analyze soil quality, test forage mixtures under real and simulated conditions, study cows’ feeding preferences, and measure emissions related to cows’ forage diets. The results will enable the formulation of practical recommendations to improve the productivity and sustainability of pastures in organic dairy production.
