Shifting the welfare paradigm of surplus dairy calves

Project Outline

The increasing demand for animal products has to a large extent driven the industrialisation of dairy production systems across the globe. In this situation, declining farmgate prices and resulting financial pressure, pushes farmers to maximise whole-farm efficiency, with a resulting 14.1% increase in United Kingdom milk yields in the decade preceding 2018. Seasonal grassland-based dairy production systems have come to the fore in this climate, as their low-cost nature, tends to maximise outputs in relation to inputs, thus conveying a competitive economic and environmental advantage. These systems predominantly consist of spring-calving cows which are small in stature, typified by the Jersey and Norwegian red breeds, and highly adapted to utilise grazed grass to produce milk. Although these traits are a blessing when it comes to the production of low-cost milk, they can also be considered a curse for the progeny from these cows that can’t be further utilised in the dairy enterprise. Such animals are typically defined as surplus calves and are to a large extent considered a by-product of the dairy industry. Indeed, the perceived low economic value of surplus calves for food production within the beef supply chain, has historically resulted in euthanasia soon after birth as a means of removing these animals from the herd. Indeed in 2018, reports indicate as many as 15% of male dairy-sired calves were euthanised at birth in Great Britain.

This does not go without notice, and evidence would suggest that consumers are increasingly concerned about the welfare of farmed animals within agricultural production systems, and the euthanasia of surplus calves at birth remains one of the most contentious practices1. Other stakeholders are also concerned, and market pressure has forced milk processors to act, with some recently imposing contractual obligations upon farmers, where they are prohibited from the euthanasia of surplus calves as a means of cost control. This alternative fate is not necessarily beneficial when it comes to animal welfare, as the perceived lack of value of these calves often results in poor management, performance, health and ultimately a greater chance of mortality. There are, however, potential solutions to this problem, where the recent advent of sexed semen for artificial insemination, facilitates the use of a beef sire when mating small-stature dairy cows2, and produces progeny with hybrid traits which are better suited for beef production. Indeed, there is now anecdotal evidence from farm businesses to suggest that these hybrids can be used for more economical beef production than traditional beef breeds. Despite this evidence, the beef sector still perceives these animals to be of limited economic value, and little business incentive exists for dairy producers to maximise the performance and health of surplus calves.

This project aims to improve the welfare of surplus dairy calves within agricultural production systems by demonstrating their economic potential and overcoming social barriers to their widescale adoption in the beef industry. The project will take a mixed methods approach, where initial bioeconomic models will utilise secondary data to determine the economic potential of these calves in different beef production systems (e.g. intensive versus extensive), and contrast that with animals typically used for beef production. Subsequently, social science studies will be utilised in the form of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus groups to determine the current welfare status of these calves and establish interventions which will create meaningful change within the industry, significantly improving calf welfare and the economic and environmental sustainability of the industry.

References

Bolton et al (2021) Front Vet Sci 8:1-12;

Balzani et al (2021) Front Vet Sci 7:1-7.

Techniques

Bio-economic modelling of farm animal production systems.

Social science research methods: questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus groups.