Heifer health
Best practice farms optimise the health and welfare of their heifers through consultation, planning and documenting their prophylactic and responsive health and medical management protocols.
Cow reproductive health
Best practice farms achieve excellent reproductive outcomes for dairy cows by selecting for positive reproductive traits, careful observation & monitoring at each stage of the cycle, timely and effective interventions when needed and promoting natural reproductive behaviours.
Miimosa
Miimosa is a funding platform dedicated to supporting transition to regenerative agriculture of dairy farms in France. It is co- funded by Danone and public money. http://agriculture.danone-lait.com/fr/projects…
Disbudding of calves
This resource is a training video, in Catalan with Spanish subtitles, which goes through the rationale for disbudding calves, the use of sedation and pain relief, as well as humane methodology for carrying out this procedure. https://www.fawec.org/es/que-hacemos/granjas-piloto/375-desmochado-terneros
Action Guide for Successful Milk Production in Cow Calf Contact Dairy Systems
Cow calf contact dairy husbandry – development of an action guide for successful milk production with cow calf contact dairy husbandry https://www.kuhgebundene-kaelberaufzucht.de/
Good Practice for Dairy Calf Welfare
An infographic on calf welfare was developed in Ireland in partnership with key stakeholders. It can be downloaded from https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/rural-economy/M11042-SWAB-Calf.pdf
Calf Elective Procedures
Best practice farms promote pain-free lives for calves by avoiding unnecessary painful procedures, or when unavoidable, by ensuring an adequate pain management protocol is used.
Calf behaviour
Best practice farms provide an enriched indoor and outdoor environment with kind, animal-centred human-animal interactions. Such farms are more likely to have confident and social calves who express a range of positive natural behaviours.
Calf environment
Best practice farms provide bespoke, clean, comfortable, indoor and outdoor environments that support calves’ social and mental development as well as their growth. Such farms are more likely to have healthy, vigorous calves expressing a range of positive natural behaviours.
Calf nutrition
Best practice farms have healthy and vigorous calves by providing tailor-made, balanced nutrition, in an enriched environment that supports natural behaviours, and by using management strategies that mitigate stress experienced during weaning.
