How can a shrinking dairy industry feed a growing population?

427 thousand of the world’s dairy farmers are leaving the industry each year. But the world’s population is expected to grow to 10 billion by 2050. How can the dairy sector help feed these people sustainably while also ensuring its farmers are able to make a living?

This was the big question posed at the International Farm Comparison Network’s annual researcher conference in Kiel, Germany, earlier this month.

The participants’ collective answer was there is no one-size-fits-all solution but dairy farms of the future will need to:

• Adapt to their location to make the most of their local resources, including available technologies
• Be flexible, developing their operating models to cope with volatile input and milk markets
• Build bridges with the new generation of consumers to highlight the role of farmers as both food producers and environmental stewards.