Calf Management Research Articles

Effects of thermal stress on calf welfare

Cold and heat stress present welfare challenges for dairy calves. The consequences of thermal stress on biological functioning have been well documented, and many housing and management strategies have been evaluated to mitigate those detrimental impacts. In cold weather, mitigation strategies have largely focused on nutritional interventions or limiting heat loss with resources such as bedding or jackets. In hot weather, heat abatement strategies such as supplemental shade, increased environmental air exchange through passive ventilation, and forced air movement through mechanical ventilation have been evaluated. Recently in Wisconsin's continental climate, our group evaluated how 2 aspects of calf welfare—the needs for thermal comfort and social contact (i.e., pair or group housing vs. individual housing)—may align or conflict in winter and summer, respectively. In both seasons, calves pair-housed in outdoor hutches preferred social proximity. When 2 calves shared a hutch, the heat load was greater than for a single calf, which may be beneficial for thermal comfort in winter. In summer, the potential detriments from the additional heat load of 2 calves was mitigated with passive hutch ventilation, which calves preferred. Nonetheless, knowledge gaps remain regarding the impacts of thermal stress on calves' affective states, and much remains unknown about their preferences and motivations for specific thermal stress mitigation resources. Future research to address these gaps could improve our understanding of calf welfare and inform best practices for calf management.

Current research considering social behavior to improve the welfare of commercially raised dairy calves

Social contact in early life has broad benefits for behavioral development and welfare of the developing dairy calf. The most accessible approach to providing social contact for commercially raised dairy calves is rearing calves in same-age groups, a practice that is growing in popularity. This symposium review highlights developing areas of research relevant for widespread implementation of social housing on commercial farms. I discuss the onset of social behavior in young calves, development of social preferences, implications of calf management and housing for expression of social behavior, individual differences in social behavior, and implications of environmental complexity within the context of social housing. Under both naturalistic and commercial settings, calves interact socially within the first days of life and develop preferences for familiar social companions. Early introduction to social housing appears to benefit the development of social behavior, which may affect integration in later social groups, with potential long-term effects. Housing and management factors affecting socially housed calves have potential to disrupt social synchrony compared with behavior under more natural conditions, which can reduce social lying, cause competition for access to feed, and may have implications for social bond formation and social learning within the social group. Although calves exhibit preferences for familiar individuals and motivation for social synchrony, social behavior is also widely variable between individuals and over time. Individual differences in social behavior may be attributed to personality as well as transient states such as disease or pain, and accommodating individual preferences for social interaction or isolation may be important within groups of larger calves. Throughout this paper, I contrast behavior of commercially raised calves in social housing with behavior of calves under more naturalistic conditions and address both short-term effects for calf development and potential longer-term implications for behavior and welfare. Welfare of commercially raised calves may be improved by refining social housing to better accommodate natural social behavior.

Dromedary camel's welfare: literature from 1980 to 2023 with a text mining and topic analysis approach.

Dromedary camels are the preferable livestock species in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Most of the world's camel populations are managed under a subsistence/extensive system maintained by migratory pastoralists but intensification is getting more frequent. Even though recently the welfare of camels has been receiving more attention, in many countries there are no regulations to protect their health and welfare. The objectives of this article were to explore the main research topics related to camel welfare, their distribution over time and to highlight research gaps. A literature search was performed to identify records published in English from January 1980 to March 2023 on Dromedary camel welfare via Scopus®, using "Camel welfare," "Camel behaviour," "She-camel" and "Camel management" as search words. A total of 234 records were retained for analysis after automatic and manual screening procedures. Descriptive statistics, text mining (TM) and topic analysis (TA) were performed. The result shows that even though there were fluctuations between years, records on camel welfare have increased exponentially over time. Asia was the region where most of the corresponding authors were located. The first five most frequent words were, "milk," "calv," "behaviour," "femal," and "breed," the least frequent word was "stabl." TA resulted in the five most relevant topics dealing with "Calf management and milk production," "Camel health and management system," "Female and male reproduction," "Camel behaviour and feeding," and "Camel welfare." The topics that contained the oldest records were "female and male reproduction" and "camel health and management system" (in 1980 and 1983, respectively), while the topic named "camel behaviour and feeding" had the first article published in 2000. Overall, even though topics related to camel behaviour and welfare are receiving more attention from academia, research is still needed to fully understand how to safeguard welfare in Dromedary camels.

406 Awardee Talk: Extended Effects of Sequential Weaning and Backgrounding Management in Southeastern U.S. Beef Calves on Performance, Health, and Immunological Responses Through the Feedyard

Abstract Understanding post-weaning management strategy impacts on calf performance and health can help producers add value to their operations and further strengthens the viability of the beef supply chain. A series of research and Extension studies were conducted to: 1) validate perceptions and determine motivations for pre- and post-weaning calf management strategies used in Southeast US cow-calf operations and 2) assess the collective effects these practices have on calf health and performance through the feedyard phase. An interactive, online survey (n = 214 responses) was distributed to Alabama beef producers to assess factors influencing the use of pre- and post-weaning management and management systems. Key challenges producers face in their operations who practice managed weaning and backgrounding strategies include input costs, land availability and market predictability. Developing demonstration data models to address cost-benefits of weaning and backgrounding may help producers evaluate areas of challenges identified in this survey. Subsequently, a two-year study was conducted using 427 Angus-crossed steer calves (294.2 kg) from three Auburn University research farms. Calves were assigned to one of three weaning methods for a 14-d experimental period: fenceline, nose-flap, or abrupt weaning. Response variables included initial and final body weight following the 14-d period, vaccination, and acute phase protein response. In both years of the study, fenceline weaned calves had the greatest average daily gain at 1.08 kg/d (P < 0.0001) and abruptly weaned calves had the lowest average daily gain losing 0.15 kg/d during the 14-d observation period. After the weaning study, calves were brought to a centralized farm and began a 60-d backgrounding period where they were assigned to one of three nutritional management strategies in a 3×3 factorial design: cool-season baleage, bermudagrass hay, or grazing mixed warm-season annuals. All diets were supplemented with 1% BW of DDGS. Body weights and blood samples were again collected throughout the backgrounding period. In the backgrounding period, fenceline weaned calves had the greatest average daily gain (P = 0.02) in the first 30 d of the backgrounding period regardless of backgrounding diet type. Calves fed the hay-based diet also had a greater average daily (P < 0.0001) than both the grazing and baleage groups in the first 30d of backgrounding. From d 30 to 60 of backgrounding in each year, steers on grazing and baleage diets supported greater ADG (P < 0.0001) than hay diets during the last 30-d of the backgrounding period (0.74 kg/d and 0.77 kg/d vs. 0.31 kg/d, respectively). Following the backgrounding, steers were transported to a commercial feedyard where they remained for the finishing phase. Effects of backgrounding management on feedyard performance were only observed during the first 35d in the feedyard. Results indicate that weaning and backgrounding management strategies can influence calf performance during the transition period into the feedyard phase.

Involvement of Women Dairy Farmers in Decision Making Regarding Dairy Farm Activities in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, India

An investigation was carried out to study the decision making of 225 women dairy farmers regarding dairy farm activities in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. The data was collected by administering the interview schedule to the respondents. The data collected during the period of study was scrutinized and tabulated. The study revealed that majority of farm women were participating in decision making regarding taking loans (82.67%), health care of animals (80.00%), management of newborn calves (80.00%), insurance of animals (73.33%), culling of uneconomic animals (73.33%), construction of animal sheds (58.67%), and breeding practices (56.00%) in Narasaraopeta division. .Majority of women dairy farmers in Pedaravuru division were participating in decision making regarding farm expansion (64.00%), purchase of loans (61.33%) and insurance of animals (60.00%) whereas majority of women in Guntur division were participating in decision making in purchase of roughages and feeding of animals (64.00%). Overall, significant (P≤0.01) majority of farm women were participating in decision making regarding purchase of roughages and feeding of animals (44.89%). Only 13.30%, 12.40%, 11.60% and 6.70% were participating in decision making regarding management of pregnant animals, management of sick animals, utility of dung and adoption of scientific management practices, respectively. Overall, 35.60% and 12.90% were regularly participating in decision making regarding preparation of milk products and sale of milk, respectively.

92 Methane Mitigation in Dairy Animals Begins Before Birth with Opportunities to Impact Throughout Life

Abstract Research efforts are underway to identify methane mitigators in the dairy sector to reach net zero carbon emissions, and ideally, net negative global emissions. Methane mitigation is multifactorial, including strategies in genetics, management, diet composition, diet nutrient composition, and implementation of feed additives. Research efforts thus far have primarily focused on adult ruminants. Research on how calf management and its impact on phenotypic traits including milk production and methane production is currently lacking. Supplying different levels of nutrients in late lactation results in demonstrated splits in feed intake, average daily gain, metabolism, and greenhouse gas emissions from their offspring. Post-calving, nutrient-restricted heifers entering the lactating herd are hypothesized to be less productive and have greater environmental impact due to reduced productive efficiency relative to their control herd mates. Identification of feed additives that are locally sourced, alter the rumen microbiome, and have lifetime reductions on emissions are under investigation. Further research efforts include identifying metabolic and genetic profiles to identify animals in early life as either high or low methane emitters. Being able to classify animals early in life can reduce the total economic inputs used to raise animals and reduce the total environmental impact of these animals through early culling or intervention of high methane emitting animals. The goal of this presentation is to discuss current knowledge and future potential of calf management, feeding regimes, and feed additive implementation to reduce methane emissions and total environmental impact in the dairy industry.

Changes in Intestinal Microflora Diversity of Diarrhea Calves among Different Seasons using Metagenomic Sequencing Analysisor

Background: To improve the prevention and control of diseases and level of feeding management of newborn calves, diversity analysis of their gut microbiota was conducted to explore the changes in their gut microbiota during different seasons. Methods: Based on metagenomic sequencing and high-throughput sequencing techniques, the diversity of gut microbiota, functional abundance, and differences in resistance genes of diarrhea calves in different seasons were analyzed. Result: At the phylum level, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria have always been significant dominant microbiota in the four seasons; at the genus level, Bacteroides exists in all four seasons; the variation pattern of microbial communities in different seasons and the relative abundance will change in different seasons. The analysis of Beta diversity shows that compared to the gut microbiota of calves in summer and autumn, the diversity and richness of the microbiota in winter and spring are relatively high. The annotation of the gut microbiota of diarrhea calves through the KEGG database showed that the proportion of genes with metabolic function (Metabolism) was the highest. The annotation gene results showed that amino acid metabolism was the most abundant among metabolic functions. Through functional annotation of CARD, it was found that the types and numbers of antibiotic resistance genes corresponding to the gut microbiota of calves vary in different seasons, with tetW/N/W (the gene name should be in italics) being the main enriched antibiotic resistance gene type. At the same time, potential pathogenicity prediction also found a significant increase in disease risk in the winter group. Spring and winter being the seasons with high incidence of digestive tract diseases in calves.

How can better calf care be realized on dairy farms? A qualitative interview study of veterinarians and farmers

Improving health and welfare outcomes for replacement and surplus dairy calves is important for the sustainability of the dairy industry. Dairy farmers and veterinarians hold expertise in calf management and have valuable perspectives on how to practically motivate improvements. The objective of this study was to determine strategies that could improve the care calves receive on dairy farms from the perspective of dairy farmers and their herd veterinarians. Two veterinary clinics specializing in dairy practice in British Columbia, Canada, and 21 of their client dairy farms participated in the project. Following a meeting in which calf colostrum management was discussed between farmers and their herd veterinarian, participant interviews were conducted. Separate interviews were conducted for the farmers (n = 27 farmers from 21 farms) and their herd veterinarians (n = 7, with 1 to 5 farms that each vet worked with enrolled in the study) using tailored semi-structured question guides. Interviews (n = 42) were transcribed and coded following inductive thematic analysis methodology. The themes identified included strategies for farmers, veterinarians, and calf buyers, as well as contexts that influenced the dairy farmers' internal motivation to provide good calf care. Results indicated that farmers could optimize their calf management through fostering engagement of calf care personnel or by enlisting technology. Veterinarians could provide support to farms by being actively involved in calf monitoring, assisting in developing operating protocols, and setting goals, and especially by using farm-specific data to guide their management recommendations. Calf buyers could communicate with and provide accountability to farmers and improve their purchasing strategies to encourage farms to raise more vigorous surplus calves. Farmers' personal values, social networks, and relationships with different dairy industry stakeholders influenced their concern about the standards of their calf care practices. These findings provide guidance on how dairy farmers could achieve or be prompted to achieve improvements in their calf care practices.

Assessment of Herd, Calf, and Colostrum Management Practices on Austrian Dairy Farms Using a Scoring System.

The objectives of the study were to describe colostrum management on Austrian dairy farms and to explore differences between regions (alpine/flatlands), organic and conventional producing farms, and full-time or part-time operated farms. An online survey (24 questions) on general farm characteristics and herd and calf management was sent to 16,246 farmers. In total, 2328 farmers (response rate 14.3%) answered the questionnaire. To allow an objective comparison, a scoring system was implemented. Farm size is, on average, smaller in the alpine regions than in the foothills/flatlands regions of Austria. Small farms were more often organic-producing farms (81.6%) and operated part-time (93.8%). In foothills/flatland regions, 70.0% of farms have a separate calving area, and in the alpine regions, it is solely 42.8%. Colostrum testing is still mostly done by visual appraisal (63.7%); only a few farmers use a colostrometer (8.8%), brix-refractometer (18.3%), or ColostroCheck® (9.2%, a cone-shaped device to rate the flow velocity of colostrum). The results of the present study using the scoring system showed differences in herd and calf management practices in all sectors. In the future, the findings and especially the scoring system can support Austrian dairy farmers or veterinarians to better assess areas of improvement on farms in order to prevent calves from suffering from Failure of Transfer of Passive Immunity.

Colostrum: Day 1 and beyond

As dairy farms optimize maternity facilities and early life calf management, proper handling and storage of maternal colos­trum become the single point within a dairy system where all animals must flow. The success of this program therefore has a direct impact on calf and cow performance. Research has shown the benefits of feeding high-quality maternal colostrum to new­born calves and the key role it plays in gastrointestinal tract (GIT)1 and immune system development. Further research has shown benefits of extended colostrum feeding beyond day one to provide a local protective effect in the GIT, food for GIT mi­crobiota,2 and even as part of therapy for common early life calf illnesses such as scours3,4 and bovine respiratory disease (BRD).4 Producers and veterinarians should work together to understand how each dairy can best manage their maternity and colostrum programs to optimize early life calf health and development.

Study of calf health and management problems in urban and per-urban dairy farms of selected districts of East Wollega Zone of Oromia Regional State, Western Ethiopia

Calf care is not only essential for the sustenance of the dairy industry but is also essential for preserving and maintaining good-quality of germplasm. On the contrary, high levels of calf mortality have limited dairy herd expansion and genetic improvement in the study area. Therefore, the study was developed to evaluate the existing calf health and management problems and to assess the level of farmers’ knowledge and calf health and management practices in the study areas. Thus, a cross-sectional study design was used and the study districts and peasant association were selected purposely where as the individual household was selected randomly using a systematic random sampling method. A total of 50 households were selected from the three districts and a detailed questionnaire survey format was designed to generate baseline information related to the calf health management system and major calf health problems. As the study result indicated diseases like blackleg, pneumonia, and internal and external parasites were the most dominant calves’ health problems. About 50% of the respondents informed that most calf mortalities occurred due to pneumonia, blackleg, starvation, heartwater, diarrhea, and bloat. Even though all calves were getting access to colostrum feeding, they do not access the optimum level, and regarding calves’ feed natural grass is categorized in the first rank where as concentrated feeds (ground maize, grain, noug cake) and food left over (local brewery by product and straw) were placed in the second and third rank, respectively. And all farmers in the study area have access to veterinary services, however, the accessibility is not uniform among the farmers. In general, as the study revealed there has been poor management practice regarding both feeding and housing of calves in the study area. Therefore, identifying economically important animal diseases and designing strategic preventive and control measures and improvement of calf management practices through awareness creation among farmers is valuable.

Meta-Analysis on the Prevalence of Failed Transfer of Passive Immunity in Calves from Pasture-Based Dairy Farms in Australasia.

Monitoring and minimizing the prevalence of failed transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) in dairy replacement calves within the first week of life is crucial for calf health and farm profitability. In this study, a systematic literature search and meta-analysis were conducted on papers reporting the prevalence of FTPI in calves from pasture-based dairy farms in Australia and New Zealand. Two search methods, a "traditional method" and a "search engine method", were conducted to identify published studies on FTPI in Australia and New Zealand. Data from a total of 13,430 calves from eight studies in Australasia were included in the analysis for FTPI within 8 days of birth. The meta-analysis revealed that the average prevalence of FTPI was 33% across the two countries, with the lowest FTPI (9%) in Western Australia and the highest FTPI (59%) in New Zealand. Using farm data from three studies, the average prevalence of FTPI at the farm level in Australasia was 38%, with the lowest prevalence found in a farm in South Australia (6%). In conclusion, the meta-analysis confirmed the need for good management of cows and newborn calves after birth in pasture-based systems to reduce FTPI in calves. Collecting newborn calves from pasture at least twice per day after birth and providing colostrum of sufficient quantity and quality as soon as possible were the best practices for preventing FTPI in Australasian dairy systems.

Colostrum Composition, Characteristics and Management for Buffalo Calves: A Review.

In this review, the composition, characteristics, and management of dairy buffalo calves were examined and compared with bovines. The neonatal period is critical for buffalo calves and is characterized by a high mortality rate (more than 40%). The early intake of high-quality colostrum (IgG > 50 mg/mL) is the one way to improve the immune system of calves (serum IgG > 10 mg/mL after 12 h), thus increasing their chances of survival. Mainly in intensive farms, the availability of high-quality colostrum is necessary; thus, good quality colostrum is often stored to provide newborn calves which cannot be fed by their mothers. Also, the manipulation of the immunological status of animals through vaccination has been depicted since the quality of colostrum tended to be influenced by vaccination against pathogens. Buffalo breeding is constantly expanding in Italy, mainly thanks to the Mozzarella cheese production that represents the excellence of the "Made in Italy" and is exported worldwide. Indeed, high calf mortality rates directly affect the profitability of the business. For these reasons, the aim of this review was to examine specific research on buffalo colostrum that, compared with other species, are scarce. Improving the knowledge of buffalo colostrum, in terms of characteristics and management, is critical to guarantee buffalo newborns' health in order to reduce their mortality rate. Importantly, considering the knowledge on cattle valid also for buffalo is a widespread, and often erroneous, habit in several fields, including colostrum feeding. Therefore, the two species were compared in this review.

Prevailing Calf Mortality and its Pattern in Indigenous Cattle in Operational Area of Dairy Vigyan Kendra, Vejalpur, Gujarat

The objective of this study was to assess the prevailing indigenous calf mortality & its pattern in the operational area of Dairy Vigyan Kendra (DVK), Vejalpur, Gujarat, India. Using the simple random sampling method, 300 indigenous cattle owners from 6 villages each from 10 talukas were selected for the study from August to December 2021. The data were collected based on the pre-tested structured interview schedule. Overall indigenous calf mortality was observed 27.90 % in the study area. There was a higher mortality rate in male calves (53.43%) than in female indigenous calves (11.97%) due to limited attention towards the male calf. The mortality rate was recorded higher during the first three months of age (76.42%) and during the summer (50.00%). The major reason of calf mortality was diarrhoea or dysentery. Most indigenous cattle owners had not adopted the recommended calf management practices. Farmers urgently need extension services on scientific calf rearing practices such as cutting navel cord with sterilized object, providing colostrum and milk as per body weight, on-time colostrum feeding, provision of milk replacer, calf starter, salt, mineral mixture, deworming, and HS & FMD vaccination.

Management practices of dairy animals in Tarai region of Uttarakhand

The existing dairy farm housing, milking, feeding and calf management practices in Tarai region of Uttarakhand along with performance traits were studied. Total 30 households with 596 livestock were considered for this work. Agriculture is the mainstay in the locale with animal husbandry as subsidiary occupation. Dairy animals mainly comprise 76% crossbreds and 21% Murrah buffaloes. Farms with 43% concrete, 30% bricks on edge and 10% kuchha flooring were recorded. Only 37% herds had 24 hour access to drinking water, 43% farmers fed commercial concentrate preparations, Stripping was practiced by 70% at the end of milking, 93% herdsman bred their cows within 12-18 hour of estrus with 3-5 months service period, and 60% dairymen consulted a veterinarian for services. Least squares mean (LSM) and standard error for Age at first calving (AFC), Calving Interval (CI), Dry Period (DP), Number of service per conception (NS/C), Milk yield per day (MY/D) and Lactation length (LL) were 427.31±5.80 days, 706.74±6.23 days, 378.76±1.48 days, 95.17±2.06 days, 1.32±0.03, 8.98±0.11 litre/day/animal, 315.14±1.65 days, respectively in cattle and 708.06±6.05 days, 948.62±10.09 days, 384.82±2.65 days, 139.08±6.07 days, 1.31±0.03, 9.54±0.15 litre/day/animal and 311.80±2.7 days, respectively in buffaloes. Effect of location on MY/D, LL and CI; of parity on CI and DP; and of AFC on DP was significant in cattle. In buffaloes, CI was significantly affected by location; MY/D, DP and LL by parity; and CI and NS/C by AFC. The results revealed a requisite to focus on stress management, calf care and sick animal management to improve animal performance.

180 Assessment of Weaning and Backgrounding Management Practices Used by Alabama Cattle Producers

Abstract Weaning is one of the most critical and stressful stages of a beef calf’s life. Management strategies practiced during the post-weaning period can have a large impact on calf performance, quality, and economic viability. With the number of different practices that producers can utilize during these stages of production, it is important for Extension educators to understand which management strategies are most commonly used and the potential successes of those practices. In spring 2022, an online survey was conducted to examine beef calf weaning and backgrounding management practices used by Alabama cattle producers. The survey was distributed through Qualtrics software and contained 24 total questions. There were 214 responses received by the end of the survey deadline. A total of 94% of respondents considered their operation to be a cow-calf operation with 52% of respondents identifying as a commercial cow-calf operation. Most participants (46%) indicated they had a smaller size herd of 50 head or less. Almost one-half of respondents (47%) had a calving season in the fall, 23% had a winter calving season, and 19% had a spring calving season. There was an 11% response of producers not having a defined calving season. Participants were asked to describe their method of calf weaning and of the methods listed, 55% said they abruptly wean and 38% reported that they utilize fenceline weaning. Over one-half (61%) of producers indicated that they background or precondition their calves and another 25% stated that they do in some years, but not always. For respondents that do not background, market unpredictability is the main concern when choosing to not precondition calves. Producers who responded that they do background calves indicated that they wean for at least 60 days before sale. These respondents also followed other important management strategies such as a vaccination program (83%), castration (81%) and use of implants (37%). Methods for marketing backgrounded calves differed across respondents with 49% of survey respondents using local livestock auctions as one method of selling their calves and 13% of producers retaining ownership of their calves through the feedyard finishing phase. With these data, potential educational gaps for cow-calf operations, such as marketing knowledge and opportunities have been identified. Extension educators in Alabama will be able to use these data to create resources and programs centered around backgrounding cattle to improve overall understanding related to calf management post-weaning.

Public Awareness, Attitude and Empathy Regarding the Management of Surplus Dairy Calves

Media reports are increasingly drawing attention to animal welfare issues related to surplus calves in dairy farming. Most calves born on conventional or organic dairy farms in Baden-Wuerttemberg (southern Germany) which are not needed for breeding or as replacement heifers are sold at about two to five weeks of age to conventional fattening farms located in northern Germany or other European countries. Associated animal welfare concerns pose an ethical issue, especially for organic dairy farms. In the present study, a representative online survey (N = 918) in south-west Germany is conducted to investigate public’s awareness of issues related to dairy calves and their attitude towards various aspects of calf management. Regression analysis was used to examine whether public’s awareness of animal welfare issues, attitude toward calf management, and empathy with surplus dairy calves are associated with consumption frequency of organic, dairy and beef/veal products. Results indicate that most members of the public are aware of only a few common practices in dairy calf rearing but they are concerned about the well-being of dairy calves and have compassion for these animals. Organic food consumption frequency was linked to participants’ age, income, attitude, and awareness of issues. Consumption frequency of beef/veal products was related to gender, presence of children, attitude, and empathy, whereas dairy product consumption frequency was associated with income, presence of children, and problem awareness. This seems to indicate that members of the public are not aware of the link between dairy and meat industries - or that this awareness is not reflected in their consumption behavior.

Effect of Calf Management Practices in Buffalo to Manage Calf Mortality

Effect of Calf Management Practices in Buffalo to Manage Calf Mortality

Calf management and welfare in the Canadian and US dairy industries: Where do we go from here?

The objective of this narrative review was to compare the results of the 2015 Canadian National Dairy Study and the 2014 US National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Dairy Studies, with a specific focus on calf management and welfare, and to interpret these findings within more recent calf health research to describe where we need to go next in the North American dairy industry. Situating results of periodic national studies within the context of past and recent research provides an opportunity to gauge adoption of recommendations and best practices and to help identify persistent and new challenges that the industry is wrestling with to help guide research needs. Through this review of the 2 national studies, we identified several strengths of the Canadian and US dairy industries. In each area of calf health management, improvements relative to previous NAHMS studies and the published literature have been found in the level of mortality, amount of colostrum fed, housing, and the number of producers using pain control for disbudding and dehorning. There were, however, some areas that present clear opportunities for improvement. Specifically, although mortality levels have improved, a large number of calves die at birth, within the first 48 h of life, and during the preweaning period. To improve the health of calves in early life, producers could look at feeding high-quality colostrum at 10% of body weight in the first feeding, as well as feeding a larger amount of milk during the preweaning period. The barriers to making these management changes and improving overall calf health need to be identified in future studies. The majority of preweaning calves in Canada and the United States are housed in individual housing. This represents a clear opportunity for improvement because recent research has identified the positive aspects of group housing. Finally, with respect to pain control, improvements are needed (particularly in the United States) to ensure that pain management is provided when disbudding and dehorning calves. Although the science is clear on pain management, discussions with producers are needed to identify reasons for the lack of uptake.

We have Some Calves left! Socially Accepted Alternatives to the Current Handling of Male Calves from Dairy Production

Consumers’ actual knowledge about modern food production is limited, and their judgment is often guided by assumptions or associations that are not necessarily in line with reality. Consumers’ rather unrealistic idea of livestock farming is driven by beautiful and romanticized pictures in advertising. If confronted with the reality of modern livestock farming, consumers’ responses are mainly negative. So far, dairy farming still has a more positive image and thus is less affected by public criticism. However, if made public, some of the current production practices in dairy farming have the potential to reduce consumer acceptance which in turn can have a tremendous effect on farmers. A particularly urgent topic is the handling of male dairy calves. Such calves are often treated as surplus animals due to their low genetic merits for meat, with the risk of resulting in the deprivation of animal welfare. To maintain consumer acceptance of dairy products and find socially accepted alternatives for the handling of male calves, insights into consumer perception of current and future production practices in dairy farming are needed. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze how consumers evaluate the current situation of male dairy calves and alternatives in male calf management. A quantitative online survey, representative for the German population in terms of gender, age, education, region, and income, was carried out with 1 194 participants in February 2022. Overall, 60% of participants were not aware of the fact that male dairy calves are less appropriate for fattening purposes. Respondents saw a clear need for alternative methods for handling male calves from dairy production. More, our results show that the use of sexed semen encounters consumer resistance, while other alternatives that were evaluated as more natural were more accepted. A cluster analysis identified 3 distinct consumer segments labelled “sexed semen opponents” (31.6%), “undecided” (30.4%), and “proponents of all alternatives” (38.0%) that differed in their acceptance of alternative handling practices of male dairy calves. The results emphasize the gap between consumers’ expectations and reality on farms and the importance of considering consumer preferences when developing future pathways for dairy farming.