Associations between on-farm animal welfare indicators and productivity and profitability on Canadian dairies: I. On freestall farms

Abstract

Motivating dairy producers to financially invest in the improvement of their animals' comfort and welfare can pose some challenges, especially when financial returns are uncertain. Economic advantages for dairy producers associated with increased animal welfare are likely to come from either a premium paid for the milk or increased productivity. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the associations between measures of herd productivity and farm profitability and animal-, management-, and resource-based indicators of cow welfare and comfort. The cow welfare measures were collected during a cow comfort assessment conducted on 130 Canadian freestall dairy farms, including 20 using an automatic milking system. Herd productivity and farm profitability measures were retrieved or calculated from data collected by the regional dairy herd improvement programs, and included milk production and quality, longevity, and economic margins over replacement costs. Univariable and multivariable linear regression models were used to assess the associations between welfare indicators and productivity and profitability measures. Increased yearly corrected milk production was associated with reduced prevalence of cows with knee lesions [β = 7.40; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.6, 12.2], dirty flanks (β = 26.9; 95% CI: 7.4, 46.5), and lameness (β = 11.7; 95% CI: 3.3, 20.1). The farms' economic margin per cow, calculated over replacement costs, was associated with the within farm average lying time standard deviation (β = −7.2; 95% CI: −12.7, −1.7), percent of stalls with dry bedding (β = 6.4; 95% CI: 1.4, 11.4), and prevalence of cows with knee lesions (β = −5.1; 95% CI: −8.9, −1.3). Some of the relationships found were complex, including several interactions between the animal-, management-, and resource-based measures. Overall, the results suggest that improved cow comfort and welfare on freestall farms is associated with increased herd productivity and profitability, when the latest is calculated by the margins over the replacement costs.

Compost bedded-pack barn as an alternative housing system for dairy cattle in Italy: effects on animal health and welfare and milk and milk product quality

“…Animal performance can also be indirectly influenced by management decisions that determine the conditions under which animals live (Adler et al 2019). The choice of environment for lactating dairy cows is therefore a key decision for dairy producers (Bewley et al 2017), especially because herd productivity and profitability may strictly depend on it (Villettaz Robichaud et al 2019).…”

Symposium review: The impact of management and facilities on cow culling rates

“…Similarly, Rowbotham and Ruegg (2015) found higher rates of milk production and improved udder health in sand-bedded freestall herds compared with herds using manure solids and other types of organic bedding over a mattress, a finding repeated in Danish freestall herds (Andreasen and Forkman, 2012). In both tiestall and freestall facilities, comfort indicators were associated with improved longevity in a Canadian survey: a lower proportion of cows in third or greater parity was associated with greater between-cow variability in lying time in tiestall herds (Villettaz Robichaud et al, 2019a), whereas in freestall herds, longer stall bed platforms were associated with the presence of a greater proportion of older cows, and culling rate was less in herds with a lower prevalence of lameness (Villettaz Robichaud et al, 2019b). Common to studies of high-performing dairy herds with lower rates of herd turnover is the control of lameness.…”

“…It is more likely that high-producing dairy cows, who must spend more time eating and who may spend more time milking, have less available time for rest. That is not to say that higher lying times are not beneficial for improved milk production at the herd level, as was the case in a recent survey of 100 tiestall herds (Villettaz Robichaud et al, 2019a), although it is notable that the same group failed to find such an association in freestall herds that were similarly evaluated (Villettaz Robichaud et al, 2019b).…”

A cross-sectional study of associations between herd-level calf mortality rates, compliance with legislation on calf welfare, and milk feeding management in Norwegian dairy herds

“…On-farm welfare assessment is a good tool for providing such measures. In a recent Canadian study, good animal welfare, as quantified by the use of the Welfare Quality assessment protocol, was associated with improved productivity and longevity (Villettaz Robichaud et al, 2019). Beyond management and resource-based measures, animal-based welfare indicators bring important extensions to the welfare scoring of dairy herds (Hultgren, 2009).…”