Water Performance Indicators and Benchmarks for Dairy Production Systems

The aim of the study is to discern benchmarks for the indicators L water cow-1 day-1 and L water kg milk-1 day-1 per type of production system and season. A total of 876 commercial dairy farms underwent comprehensive water consumption monitoring from January 2021 to December 2022. The monitored water consumptions were animal drinking water and water usage for cleaning. Confined systems exhibited the highest average for animal drinking and cleaning, 87.5 L water cow-1 day-1 and 84.4 L water cow-1 day-1, respectively. Semi-confined systems presented the lowest average for animal drinking, 54.4 L water cow-1 day-1. Pasture systems showed the lowest average for cleaning, 45.2 L water cow-1 day-1. The benchmarks proposed in this study can serve as the first references for animal drinking and milking parlor washing consumption for production systems in tropical conditions.