Doughnut agronomy. Dairy farming and well-being in 21st century Denmark

For decades, agriculture in Denmark has been shaped by a productivity-oriented livestock agronomy. However, national and international climate and ecological crises pose a scientific as well as practical challenge to the dominant and seemingly limitless productivist farming model. Currently, Denmark pursues net-zero climate targets mainly through technological optimisation, a narrow approach with potential socio-ecological consequences that occludes alternative sustainability pathways. This paper presents reflections based on interdisciplinary research by anthropologists and animal and veterinary scientists on Danish dairy farms with low-input, grass-based and regenerative practices. More specifically, the paper shows how mainstream agronomy has largely failed to attend to extensive dairy systems that do not target maximised yields but instead prioritize ecological limits and meaningful human-animal-nature relationships. Building on economist Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics-framework and its holistic approach to sustainability, the paper argues for making visible these alternative dairy farming systems as practices worthy of agronomic attention. Extensive dairy systems can work as a productive challenge to mainstream agronomy, urging it to become a science for the 21st century by expanding its knowledge base to include farming that integrates cattle into local landscapes and sustainable food systems, while nurturing both human and animal well-being.