Is dairy farming intensive or extensive?

Industrialized dairy farming which is practiced for getting maximum yield uses intensive farming methods. Intensive farming is a way of raising livestock or crops by incorporating modern techniques, large numbers of labor and money to increase the yield per area of land. In industrialized dairy farming which is practiced across the globe, each cattle is provided with proper nutrition, medical checkups, treatments, improvised breeding, etc.

Thus, to handle these processes a lot of money is spent on buildings, machinery, veterinary doctors, labors, etc. That’s why we consider it an intensive farming method. Good animal husbandry practices are necessary such as sanitation, waste management, etc. as the waste from cattle, if released untreated or decomposed can pollute nearby water bodies.

Moreover, cattle waste is considered responsible for around 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. But, the methane released from cattle waste is a part of the biogenic carbon cycle which breaks down into CO₂ and H₂O in about 12 years. We can further reduce greenhouse gases released from the cattle industry by using feed additives, optimum nutrition, switching to plant-based feeds, using manure storage covers and anaerobic digesters, drying manures, etc.

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