EUROPEAN DAIRY FARMERS: MORE THAN 20 YEARSOF INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

Dairy production systems vary inside a country and among different countries in Europe. Depending on production factors, different dairy farming strategies have developed, influencing production costs of dairy farms. Alongside regional aspects, the competences of the farm manager or owner have an important impact on the economic success of a dairy farm. A combination of both regional and individual aspects influence the competitiveness of individual dairy farms in a region but also of dairy production as a whole production sector between regions or countries. For more than 20 years now, the EDF has been providing information and knowledge as well as a platform of exchanging observations. Dairy farmers can make use of the network to find solutions for improving the effectiveness of production and at the same time lead to maintain or improve the competitiveness of the dairy enterprise.