Imagining the ideal dairy farm

Abstract

Practices in agriculture can have negative effects on the environment, rural communities, food safety, and animal welfare. Although disagreements are possible about specific issues and potential solutions, it is widely recognized that public input is needed in the development of socially sustainable agriculture systems. The aim of this study was to assess the views of people not affiliated with the dairy industry on what they perceived to be the ideal dairy farm and their associated reasons. Through an online survey, participants were invited to respond to the following open-ended question: "What do you consider to be an ideal dairy farm and why are these characteristics important to you?" Although participants referenced social, economic, and ecological aspects of dairy farming, animal welfare was the primary issue raised. Concern was expressed directly about the quality of life for the animals, and the indirect effect of animal welfare on milk quality. Thus participants appeared to hold an ethic for dairy farming that included concern for the animal, as well as economic, social, and environmental aspects of the dairy system.

Public concerns about dairy-cow welfare: how should the industry respond?

“…Although some of these approaches may differ from what the public imagines as ideal (i.e. that cows are on pasture all the time; Cardoso et al 2016), we have found that people are often receptive to these hybrid solutions when the constraints and context is provided (e.g. that cows often prefer to come inside during the day and escape the hot sun, and that allowing cows to use pasture when the soil is too wet can damage the pasture).…”

“…People expect, at a minimum, humane care, appropriate hygiene and good husbandry (Cardoso et al 2016), but how can the dairy industry prove that it lives up to these minimum standards? In addition, can the dairy industry position itself so that instead of simply responding to welfare concerns as external threats, it develops a vision that positions itself as a leader on welfare issues?…”

“…In countries such as the United States, few dairy cows have access to pasture; less than 5% of the lactating dairy herd in the USA is able to graze routinely, in direct contrast to what the public wants and expects for dairy cows (Cardoso et al 2016). Early cow-calf separation provides another example of this divergence between public views and industry practice (Ventura et al 2013).…”

“…In contrast to the public, farmers tend to express less concern over animal welfare (Vanhonacker et al 2008), and to rate different dimensions of animal welfare differently from the lay public (Te Velde et al 2002;Lassen et al 2006;Vanhonacker et al 2008;Bergstra et al 2015). The public's perspective of good welfare includes that animals live a reasonably natural life (Lassen et al 2006;Prickett et al 2010;Verbeke et al 2010;Cardoso et al 2016; see review by Clark et al 2016).…”

Bacteriological etiology and treatment of mastitis in Finnish dairy herds

“…It considerably affects milk production, animal welfare, and food safety [6–8]. Today’s consumers make increasing demands for adequate animal welfare as well as food quality and safety, which also must be taken into account on modern dairy farms [9]. …”