Mini-paper- Indicators for robust and resilient dairy farming

The dairy sector is a valuable part of the economic structure of many countries, both in the EU and globally. Promoting the economic health of the dairying enterprises is in the national interest. However, dairy farms face challenges at many levels. Farm businesses are exposed to fluctuations in the price of milk outputs and costs of inputs such as feed and labour. Dairy cows are exposed to challenges due to health and disease, thermal stress, poor quality housing and management which may lead to reduced productivity and fertility. For dairy farm businesses to remain viable, these challenges must be managed to create a state of economic stability and health and welfare in the cattle. The terms 'robustness' and 'resilience' are often used to describe this state of relative stability and research has been done to investigate the means by which stability can be achieved. In order to determine whether a system is 'robust' or 'resilient', its stability must be measured or assessed.