As a practising dairy veterinarian in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s, I did not deal with many organic dairy farms; only one of our hundred or so dairy clients was certified as organic. I struggled to memorise the constraints on drug use on that farm, and I still vividly remember the sense of panic I always felt when it came to discussions about health management choices. It seemed to me at the time that there was a degree of arbitrariness in the acceptable thresholds for the use of technology, concentrate feeds, and veterinary drugs. Fortunately, things have changed now, and both statutory and non-statutory requirements for organic producers are clearly set out on the Web (a major deficiency during the 1980s). European Union countries are committed to increasing the proportion of land under organic cultivation and supporting organic production throughout the supply chain, and the proportion of dairy farms that are organic has increased.

Advances in organic dairy cattle farming is in the familiar and appealing style of the rest of the Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science: physically robust, well organised, and well referenced. It is directed very clearly at a European market. Thirty-five authors, all based in Europe, contributed to the volume, the majority from Switzerland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The book is divided into three parts. Part one (‘Improving breeding and nutrition’) includes chapters on organic dairy cattle breeding; optimising soils, pasture and grassland management; milk quality assessment. Part two (‘Improving health, welfare and life opportunities’) includes chapters on One Health and One Welfare; the lives of calves; improving herd health management and disease prevention; plant bioactive compounds and other alternative therapeutic strategies; management of parasites; an ethical framework for responsible use of technology. Part three (‘Improving sustainability’) includes integration of cattle into the whole farm context; organic dairy farming contribution to biodiversity and ecosystem health; market structures and community attitudes; organic dairy farming as part of a sustainable ecological and social food systems. Together these chapters cover the intended scope of the book very well. Indexes are often overlooked in books these days, but they are important. I found the structure of the index rather confusing, some entries either duplicated or concealed under broader, inexplicable classifications. Some of the terms that do appear in the index appear not to be genuinely searchable terms.

The book is coherently structured, and although stylistically the chapters differ from each other, all seem to be scientifically rigorous. The authors seem generally to have been open and honest about the challenges presented by the often quite restrictive requirements for organic farming, and the inevitable trade-offs among greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, animal welfare and profitability. The extent to which each chapter is based on new information derived from recent research varies.

In relation to complementary veterinary medicines, some statements in the chapter on herd health management and disease prevention and the chapter on plant bioactive compounds and alternative therapeutics could be challenged. However, the statements are consistent with European legislation for organic production (Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production and labelling of organic products), and for authorisation of homeopathic products (Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products). The different efficacy requirements of synthetic allopathic (conventional) and homeopathic veterinary medicines in these regulations are problematic for a veterinarian grounded in the practice of evidence-based medicine to accept. The topic of efficacy in alternative veterinary medicine is addressed in several places in the book, and although homeopathic remedies are not promoted strongly, explicit reference is made to the concept of evidence-based veterinary practice and the types of evidence that should be admitted as support for any given practice. I consider some of the proposed evidence to be questionable.

There is also a conceptual issue that reading the book might raise in the readers’ minds. Much of what is written about organic systems could also be written about conventional systems, or at least those conventional systems that are responding to market signals to improve ecosystems services. For example, relatively little of the chapter on parasite management is specific to organic systems, probably reflecting the increasing convergence of views on good practice for parasite control in conventional and organic systems. Similarly, the chapter on breeding and genetics provides a detailed and thoughtful analysis of the challenges of breeding cattle for organic systems. It states that ‘…traits related to climate impact, robustness, welfare, feed efficiency related to roughage consumption, and ability to withstand heat (or cold) will be ranked high in organic production’. While this might not be true for all conventional farmers, improving these traits would be among the breeding goals of most dairy farmers operating conventional, grazing dairy farms. The authors note in the introduction to the section that ‘… the optimal solution will either be customised indices for organic farmers or establishing a separate organic breeding programme with specialised breeding goals’. Although the authors suggest that the first option would not be expected to obtain as high a rate of genetic gain as the second, it seems likely to be more feasible. Indeed, although organic-specific indices aren’t available, it could be argued that the ‘EnviroCow’ and ‘HealthyCow’ indices, used in the United Kingdom, or equivalent indices used in other countries, would make good proxies. This apparent increasing convergence of best practice in conventional systems with the organic system could be taken as testament to the forward-looking nature of the original concept of organic production. However, this convergence of two trajectories is not always mutually agreeable. For some sections of the organic movement, it might be a problem. The tension at the core of convergence is addressed directly in the chapter on an ethical framework for the responsible use of technology, where reference is made to BK Obach’s opinion that ‘market forces have hollowed out the essence of the movement’.

A related question: is organic versus conventional farming a dichotomous construct, apart from the obvious requirement for compliance with organic labelling? With increasing social pressures on all animal farming activities, conventional farmers in Europe are now expected to improve, not to diminish, ecosystem services, while ensuring high standards of animal welfare, and to provide high quality, pure products, often with health-improving functions. These outcomes are broadly aligned with the foundational concepts of organic farming – health, ecology, fairness and care. Many of the strategies that farmers are expected to introduce on their farms are expensive, but costs might be offset in some cases by government support programmes. To me, the dichotomy is real and can be found in the deontological clarity behind organic production that sets it apart from the incremental, market-driven approach arising from all farmers’ ever diminishing social licence to operate. Organic production is driven by the four values of health, ecology, fairness and care, not by the consequences of direct incentivisation by the market or government regulation, regardless of how similar some of the practices might be. Hence, it is deontological rather than consequentialist in essence. Indeed, as noted by Rose, Schillings, and Keily-Thurstan in their contribution on the use of technology in Chapter 10 we should remember ‘the origins of the [organic farming] movement rooted in counterculture and rejection of neoliberal, corporate control over the food system’.

The book provides a good overview of the state of organic production and is well worth reading. It might not have helped me as a young veterinary practitioner, trying to work out what I was allowed to prescribe and what I was not allowed to prescribe, but that is not necessary now that (and for as long as) we have the Web. However, it would have greatly helped me to understand the philosophy and rationale behind the rules, and some of the chapters are packed with useful information. One of the small but quite significant messages that I will take away from it is from the introductory chapter, where the importance of vocabulary in writing about farming is addressed. The authors note that ‘farmed animals’ is preferable to ‘livestock’, and terms such as ‘surplus calves’should be avoided. I think I agree and will give some more thought to my use of words when writing on animal science topics.