Three years of situated social learning and development of diverse cow-calf contact systems in Danish organic dairy farms

Abstract

This study had 2 aims: first, to describe the intent of a learning process among farmers about cow-calf contact (CCC) systems using a so-called Stable School approach, where farmers advise farmers. The second aim was to identify the main themes that arose from the conversations held throughout the 21 meetings that focused on the topic of CCC. The meetings were hosted by 10 host farmers. In total, 32 farmers, farm managers, employees, and calf caregivers who collectively represented 16 farms participated. Characteristics of participating farms varied widely, including herd sizes, which ranged from 7 to 600 cows. At each of the 21 meetings, a written summary was recorded and uploaded to a common data storage site. Using an inductive approach, words, phrases, topics, and suggestions were coded into themes relevant to CCC systems and processes of learning and change. The longitudinal nature of this study allowed for the capturing of how farmers changed their views on how to care for the animals and the concept of keeping cows and calves together. A central theme was how they identified particular challenges associated with a CCC system, such as space requirements or pasture access, and then collectively identified potential solutions for implementing cow-calf contact on their farms, increasingly using experience from their own farms. In addition to raising questions regarding the practical aspects of implementing a CCC system, many participants also raised ethical questions, and many acknowledged their pleasure and joy in seeing the system work and the animals thriving (e.g., when calves were playing or seemed to learn very quickly from the cows). Steps that led to an increased understanding among farmers on this topic included developing a shared language, for instance, referring to the "sharing of milk with the calf" rather than the "loss of milk." Despite the diversity of farms represented by the participants, there was an overall acceptance that they were colleagues and thus were highly supportive of each other. Many participants viewed foster cow systems as a more feasible option for providing CCC than dam-rearing systems, but some also viewed the foster cow system as a stepping stone to their long-term goal of implementing a dam-rearing system. This study provided evidence that socially situated learning and communities of practice can facilitate learning by farmers interested in developing, implementing, and improving CCC systems in different dairy farming contexts.