Present and Future Dairy Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

The challenges of dairy production are extremely complex and require great economic investment and managerial skill. The search for innovations and their application in dairy production is desirable, useful, and important, as it can contribute to reducing costs and simultaneously increasing productivity and profitability.

The dairy sector has increasingly adopted technological solutions aiming to overcome the challenges associated with optimising operational efficiency. Precision Livestock Farming and the use of automated measurement methods is becoming increasingly widespread to monitor the levels of the following traits: production (milk production, level of lactose fat and protein, etc.), functional (milkability, milk flow, udder quality, etc.), behaviour and welfare (rumination, eating, standing, lying, oestrus, etc.), and health traits (lameness, mastitis, electrical conductivity, somatic cell count, etc.). At present, the major problem in the dairy industry is the ongoing climate change. It is crucial to find the best way to overcome problems associated with heat stress. Various challenges may still arise in the future.

This Special Issue aims to direct research towards the challenges in dairy production. The goal is to make milk production sustainable. It is necessary to promote milk production models that will strive for the self-sufficiency of each country. Countries with moderate climates are more oriented towards cattle milk production, while the countries in warmer areas are more oriented towards the milk production of other species such as sheep, goats, camels, llamas, alpacas, equine, etc. These are all good examples of the survival and revitalization of livestock.

The topics of interest to this Special Issue are:

• Dairy challenges;
• Present and future milk production for dairy animals (cattle, equine, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, llamas, alpacas);
• Market requirements of milk products;
• Milk products and functional food (equine milk, camel milk, llama milk, sheep milk, goat milk, etc.);
• Precision Livestock Farming (infrared thermography, sensors, software, etc.);
• Sustainability models for future dairy farms;
• Using Automatic Milking Systems information in dairy management;
• Dairy animal behaviour and welfare;
• Climate changes and farm ambient temperature;
• Analysis of milk quality for production and health management.

Prof. Dr. Pero Mijić
Dr. Maja Gregić
Dr. Tina Bobić
Guest Editors

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• Keywords: dairy challenges
• precision farming
• sustainability
• AMS information
• dairy management
• market requirements
• behaviour and welfare
• heat stress