Cattle as the key to a sustainable food supply: the importance, challenges and potential of cattle farming over time
Cattle play a central role in providing nutrient-rich, highly digestible and tasty food. Many areas of the world could never have been populated without cattle, sheep, goats and buffalo and their potential to convert large amounts of fiber-rich plant/parts (grass stocks) into milk and meat. Half of the area used for agriculture in Austria is characterized by this and is of unprecedented relevance to the local, regional and urban food supply to this day and in the future.
Side effects worthy of support are: maintaining the management and maintenance of all grassland areas and thus preventing bush cover and forestation; the beauty of a varied landscape (forest and meadows) and thus its tourist attractiveness.
Sustainable development of the cattle industry requires a holistic view of the indispensable advantages for us humans and a husbandry that meets the needs of the animals as much as possible. Instructions for action based on scientific findings include potential for reducing methane formation.
In a podcast conversation with Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Knaus, recorded on October 17, 2024, Institute of Livestock Sciences, BOKU University, you will learn more about the development and prospects of cattle farming in general and about the potential of dairy cows with forage-based feeding in particular.
If you are interested in these topics or would like to learn more about them, we invite you to listen to our podcast.
Further information:
Research project no. 100881, BMLFUW-LE.1.3.2/0062-II/1/2013, final report
Research project no. 101210 BMLFUW-LE.1.3.2/0073-PR/8/2017, final report
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