Dairy Farm Sustainability ~ by Tattersall, Philip J
Normally $20, Now $10 until sold out
MEANING & MEASUREMENTS. Learning from the farmer.
A report summarising a four year M.Sc. research project that looked in detail at dairy farm sustainability across a spectrum of five Tasmanian dairy farms from certified organic to high input conventional.
For a number of years researchers have been busy searching for ways to measure farm sustainability using an indicator approach.
Reliable indicators are thought to be of great value in the design and management of farming
systems, particularly in the fragile Australian environment.
Research on indicators continues to be challenging due in part to the diversity of opinions on just what constitutes a sustainable farm.
The nature of the sustainability concept is such that human perceptions, values and ethical considerations quickly enter the picture, making any research just that much more interesting.
The book explores the linkage between perceptions and values on the one hand and, on the other, concrete ways to measure and monitor farm sustainability. A set of indicators are arrived at across all farms, but in the end it‘s all a matter of interpretation by individual farming families.
The findings are thought to be important for those who seek to develop relevant and user friendly indicators of sustainability across the various paradigms and approaches to farming.
