Social impacts of once-a-day milking

The dairy farming industry has a vision of being the ‘World’s best in dairying’ and its purpose is: “To enhance the sustainable competitive advantage of New Zealand dairy farming”. Sustainability is expressed in an imperative to: “Increase the efficient use of resources, reduce reliance on non-renewable resources, and minimize negative impacts on the environment”. Social sustainability is not mentioned expressly but it appears by implication in another imperative: “Be an attractive career prospect for current and potential farmers” (Strategic Framework for Dairy Farming’s Future, 2005). However, whether the industry will continue to be socially sustainable is an open question. As an area of traditional family business it is disturbing to find that while only 30 percent of family businesses in general survive to a second generation, some studies report succession rates as low as six percent for dairy farming (Lockhart and Reid, 2005) – perhaps an indication of an increasingly unacceptable lifestyle. We undertook an exploratory investigation into the social implications of OAD milking. Formal and informal interviews on OAD milking were conducted with 6 farmers who employed staff. Of these, two were milking once a day; two were milking twice a day, in the traditional manner, but were considering change and still weighing up the benefits and drawbacks; and two were milking twice a day and had no intention of changing. Also, 8 workers on dairy farms were interviewed, and several wives and partners of men involved in dairy farming. Interviews took place in September and October 2005