Nighttime pasture access: Comparing the effect of production pasture and exercise paddock on milk production and cow behavior in an automatic milking system

Kismul, H.; Spörndly, E.; Höglind, Mats; Eriksson, Torsten

doi:10.3168/jds.2019-16416

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This indicates that pasture is preferred and implies that not all of pasture’s welfare benefits are transferable to more intensive production systems. Restricted pasture access, as in our study, may be a practical alternative [26,73]. Using the Welfare Quality ® assessment protocol for dairy cattle [120], Wagner et al [13] identified many of the same advantages for cows with 6–12 h of pasture per day as for cows with >12 h per day.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Cows in the PAS treatment had 18 h of daily pasture access, from approximately 16:00 (post-afternoon milking) until 10:00 the next morning. This covered the main grazing times (dawn and dusk [26,73,79,80]) and is when cattle choose to access pasture [24,25,26,27,30,31]. PAS cows were managed in a rotational grazing system, so the treatment groups were kept on different pastures.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, limited research has investigated the welfare impacts of restricted pasture access, where cows are fed indoors for part of the day [26,73]. Moreover, few experimental studies have compared behavioral welfare indicators at pasture and in indoor housing [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pasture Access Affects Behavioral Indicators of Wellbeing in Dairy Cows

Crump

Jenkins

Bethell

et al. 2019

Animals

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Simple SummaryDairy cows in Europe and the United States are increasingly housed indoors year-round. Even cows with pasture access are usually kept inside during the winter and around calving. However, animal welfare scientists and dairy consumers are concerned that full-time housing impacts cattle welfare. We investigated how pasture influences behavioral indicators of wellbeing. Using cow pedometers, we recorded 29 animals’ lying and walking activity during 18 days of pasture access and 18 days of indoor housing. Cattle at pasture had fewer lying bouts but longer lying times, indicating they were more comfortable and less restless. Lying behavior was also more synchronous outdoors, with most of the herd lying at the same time. These results indicate pasture provides a comfortable surface and reduces competition for lying space. Furthermore, cows at pasture walked farther, with potential benefits for their physical health and psychological wellbeing. Our findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that pasture access improves dairy cow welfare. As a society, we must decide whether full-time housing is a price worth paying for dairy products.AbstractDairy cows are increasingly housed indoors, either year-round or for long stretches over the winter and around parturition. This may create health and welfare issues. In cattle, lying and walking are highly motivated, and herds synchronize lying behavior when they have comfortable surfaces and little competition for space. Lying and walking activity can, therefore, indicate good welfare. Using a repeated measures crossover design, we gave 29 Holstein–Friesian dairy cows 18 days of overnight pasture access (PAS treatment) and 18 days of indoor housing (PEN treatment). Accelerometers recorded their lying and locomotory behavior. We measured behavioral synchrony with Fleiss’ Kappa and analyzed the accelerometry data using linear mixed models. Compared to the PEN treatment, the PAS treatment had longer overnight lying durations (χ21 = 27.51, p < 0.001), fewer lying bouts (χ21 = 22.53, p < 0.001), longer lying bouts (χ21 = 25.53, p < 0.001), and fewer transitions up or down (χ21 = 16.83, p < 0.001). Herd lying behavior was also more synchronous at pasture (χ21 = 230.25, p < 0.001). In addition, nightly step counts were higher in the PAS treatment than the PEN treatment (χ21 = 2946.31, p < 0.001). These results suggest pasture access improves dairy cow welfare by increasing comfort, reducing competition and boredom, and facilitating motivated behavior.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pasture Access Affects Behavioral Indicators of Wellbeing in Dairy Cows

Crump

Jenkins

Bethell

et al. 2019

Animals

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“…Furthermore, when a nutritionally balanced diet is provided with less variability and higher precision, producers are able to extract the full potential of their animals [ 131 ]. The diet of these animals is highly controlled, and consists of energy rich foods, such as concentrated feed, corn silage, grass, and soy cuts, amongst others [ 132 , 133 ].…”

Section: Milk Production: From Rearing To Milkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical Evolution of Cattle Management and Herd Health of Dairy Farms in OECD Countries

Medeiros

Fernández-Novo

Astiz³

et al. 2022

Veterinary Sciences

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This work aimed to review the important aspects of the dairy industry evolution at herd level, interrelating production with health management systems. Since the beginning of the industrialization of the dairy cattle sector (1950s), driven by the need to feed the rapidly growing urban areas, this industry has experienced several improvements, evolving in management and technology. These changes have been felt above all in the terms of milking, rearing, nutrition, reproductive management, and design of facilities. Shortage of labor, emphasis on increasing farm efficiency, and quality of life of the farmers were the driving factors for these changes. To achieve it, in many areas of the world, pasture production has been abandoned, moving to indoor production, which allows for greater nutritional and reproductive control of the animals. To keep pace with this paradigm in milk production, animal health management has also been improved. Prevention and biosecurity have become essential to control and prevent pathologies that cause great economic losses. As such, veterinary herd health management programs were created, allowing the management of health of the herd as a whole, through the common work of veterinarians and farmers. These programs address the farms holistically, from breeding to nutrition, from prevention to consultancy. In addition, farmers are now faced with a consumer more concerned on animal production, valuing certified products that respect animal health and welfare, as well as environmental sustainability.

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“…La reducción del uso del ensilado es un recurso de gran importancia que se puede emplear a la hora de minimizar los costos asociados a la alimentación bovina. Este proceso se debe realizar asegurando un acceso a los forrajes durante las horas de la tarde e, incluso, en las noches (Kismul et al, 2019). El acceso a las pasturas se puede realizar en horas restringidas, delimitando así este proceso y suministrando el concentrado en el resto del tiempo, lo que puede también aumentar la eficiencia del pastoreo (Kennedy et al, 2009).…”

Section: Segunda Estrategiaunclassified

Análisis y reducción de costos alimenticios asociados a la producción láctea de un sistema bovino semiespecializado, mediante el uso de la metodología AHP

Paternina-Acosta

Ruiz-Meza

Hernández–Mendo

2021

CTA

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La producción de leche es un renglón importante dentro del sector agropecuario y la economía de un país. En México, el aporte del sector agropecuario al producto interno bruto (PIB) nominal es del 4,2 %, con una participación del 30,2 % de la ganadería. Este tipo de producción presenta diversos sistemas mejorados para aumentar la tasa de rendimiento. Sin embargo, es necesario conocer los costos de producción asociados a la alimentación de los bovinos en términos de materia seca consumida. En esta investigación, realizamos el análisis de los costos variables de alimentación dentro del proceso de producción de leche para vacas de alta y baja producción en un sistema bovino semiespecializado. Se desarrollaron procesos de diagnóstico y levantamiento de la información, análisis bromatológico, análisis de producción láctea, cálculo de los costos asociados y, por último, evaluación de reducción de costos bajo la metodología multicriterio de proceso de análisis jerárquico (AHP, por sus siglas en inglés). Se calcularon los costos de alimentación asociados a forraje, ensilado y concentrado, los cuales alcanzan el 20,3 % y 21,9 % de los ingresos totales por venta de leche para grupos de vacas de alta y baja producción, respectivamente. Determinamos que la estrategia de reducción de costos que genera mejores resultados, en cuanto a criterios de productividad, eficiencia, ambiente y factores financieros, corresponde a elaboración de diferentes dietas según la tasa de producción de leche. El ahorro asociado a esta estrategia demuestra un potencial de disminuir los costos anuales de alimentación hasta en USD 444 para las vacas objeto de estudio.

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Nighttime pasture access: Comparing the effect of production pasture and exercise paddock on milk production and cow behavior in an automatic milking system

Cited by 10 publications

References 33 publications

Pasture Access Affects Behavioral Indicators of Wellbeing in Dairy Cows

Pasture Access Affects Behavioral Indicators of Wellbeing in Dairy Cows

Historical Evolution of Cattle Management and Herd Health of Dairy Farms in OECD Countries

Análisis y reducción de costos alimenticios asociados a la producción láctea de un sistema bovino semiespecializado, mediante el uso de la metodología AHP

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