Dairy farming is a highly complex and demanding activity. Dairy farmers’ responsibilities include crop, animal and business management, as well as their interactions. Because of that degree of complexity, skilled managers often rely on guidance from specialists such as agronomists, animal scientists and veterinarians, to name a few, each contributing specific bits of information. The producer then weighs the various opinions, often contradictory, to determine what course of action to take. For instance, land-grant universities and the National Academy of Science constantly evaluate and periodically publish updated recommendations in nutrient requirements of dairy cattle and fertilizer recommended rates for common crops and soil types across the US. In the past, however, cheap feeds and fertilizers relative to milk prices led to relaxed attitudes toward feed allowances (quantity and quality) to cows and in fertilizer applications to crops. If feasible, consultants recommended and producers followed up by allowing a wide safety margin to ensure that yields would not be limited, often ignoring nutrient recycling with the farm. Disconnection between fertilizer and nutritional recommendations further exacerbate nutrient imbalances, resulting in farming systems increasingly dependent on costly nutrient imports to the farm and potentially contribute to excess nutrient losses to the environment. Since then, feed costs soared and milk prices have become more volatile, making it ever more important to plan carefully and keep expenses and excesses very close to the minimum necessary. Society now demands that animal welfare and environmental sustainability also be added to that list of dairy farming responsibilities. Sustainability is a continuously evolving concept inextricably associated with social, economic and environmental aspects, the interactions of which have challenged scientists, producers and society. In this presentation we will review the scientific literature on recommended practices for the sustainability of dairy production systems in the US. I will incorporate results of our research on dairy nutrition and waste management in Louisiana small grazing dairies. We will discuss potential limitations of those practices and suggest future research to address gaps in knowledge.