PRODUCTION ECONOMY OF ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL MILK: PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION AND MARKETING

The article deals with the breeding of dairy cows in organic farming systems in the Czech Republic in the years 2010–2014, an evaluation of the organic milk production and a comparison of the production economy of organic milk and milk produced in the conventional manner. The growing popularity of organic milk is reflected in the increasing number of organic dairy farmers and thereby also in increasing production of organic milk. The sad fact is that the growth of this industry is currently driven mainly by an interest occurring in foreign countries, where organic milk can be marketed as an organic product and simultaneously it is possible to achieve a better evaluation. Although the number of businesses breeding cows and the organic milk production are growing, with regards to both scale of production and economic importance, the production of organic milk can be characterised as less important. The increase of interest in producing organic milk is primarily a matter of the production economy, which is unfavourable. The market price of milk even with aid has not covered production costs. In 2014, as estimated, the production economy of organic milk improved