Ekonomiska konsekvenser av krav på bete för mjölkkor

I denna rapport om ekonomiska konsekvenser av krav på bete för mjölkkor har ett antal vetenskapliga studier granskats och effekten av betesdrift diskuterats utifrån dess nyttor och kostnader både på företags- och samhällsnivå. Några viktiga slutsatser är:  * Djurvälfärd omfattar inte endast djurens hälsa, utan även djurens känslor och uppfattning av sin situation och djurets möjligheter till att leva ett naturligt liv. Bete ger korna möjlighet till att kunna bete sig naturligt och få utlopp för sina naturliga behov.  * Den vetenskapliga litteraturen visar att det finns positiva djurvälfärds- och djurhälsoeffekter av att ge kor tillgång till bete under sommaren.  * Det är inte berättigat att bortse från de samhällsekonomiska och etiska värden som ett betestvång har, bara för att dessa värden är svåra att skatta.  * Betesdriften ger upphov till externa effekter som ofta förbises trots att de är av stor betydelse.  * Det finns mer än monetära vinster, på kort och lång sikt för djuret, den enskilde mjölkföretagaren och för samhället av att hålla kor på bete

Minskande andelar kraftfoder i foderstaten under betesperioden

Feed costs constitute a large part of the expenses of dairy farmers. Pasture is a high quality feed with a low cost. However, feeding with concentrates has been shown to enhance milk yield (Leaver, 1985; Bargo et al., 2003; Stockdale, 2004). The purpose with this study was to investigate how milk yield and milk composition were affected as the concentrate proportion in the diet decreased. Pasture behaviour was examined to see if the different concentrate levels affected the time cows spent grazing and ruminating. Since ruminating animals give rise to methane emissions, methane emissions from the different feed ratios were estimated using equations obtained from the literature. In the trial 27 lactating dairy cows (Swedish Red Breed) were blocked by parity, lactation number, days in milk and current milk yield. The cows were randomly assigned to five treatments consisting of different concentrate levels in the diet corresponding to: 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60% of the cow’s energy requirement at the start of the experiment. The trial was carried out during the summer of 2008. All cows were milked twice daily and milk samples were collected once a week. During a two week adaptation period (AP) the cows were adapted to their intended concentrate levels in each treatment group. These levels were fed throughout the six week experimental period (FP), assuming a standardized decrease in milk yield of 0.6 and 0.4 kg ECM for older cows and heifers, respectively. During AP and FP the cows grazed together on 10 ha in a rotational grazing system with 6 paddocks. Sward height was measured before and after the cows grazed each paddock and pasture samples were collected and analyzed. The concentrates were supplied in the barn at milking and a supplement of 4 kg dry matter silage was also given daily. At the end of the experimental period all animals were fed according to their requirements during a four week after-period (AP) to estimate residual effects of the experimental feeding regimes. During FP pasture had an average energy content of 10.8 MJ/kg DM. Pasture allowance was lower than expected during the trial and towards the end of the period there was a shortage of pasture (< 25 kg DM/cow and day). The behaviour study showed that a 10% increase in the proportion of concentrates in the diet reduced grazing and ruminating time with 4.1% (P < 0.001) and 2.1% (P < 0.01), respectively. With a 10% increase of the proportion of concentrate in the diet, milk yield increased with 1.5 kg (P < 0.001). An increase in concentrate supplementation with 1 kg gave an average response in milk yield with 0.8 kg milk. There were no differences between high- and low yielding cows in the size of the response to increasing the proportion or the amount of concentrates in the diet. Fat content decreased with 0.06% when the concentrate level increased with 10% while no effects were observed on protein content in milk. Estimated methane emissions varied between 250-350 g/day depending on the empirical models used

Farmers' perceptions and handling of livestock manure in urban/peri-urban areas of Kampala, Uganda

The global population is increasing every day, especially in developing countries. Due to the inadequate distribution methods of the world's resources a lot of people have problems accessing the food they need. Urban migration is causing a high demand of food in towns and farming activities in cities are necessary in different parts of the world. This study was conducted in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, with the aim to investigate farmers handling of livestock manure in the city. The information was gathered through interviews with 125 farmers in two different divisions of Kampala and manure from three types of livestock was analyzed for chemical composition. Most of the farmers kept poultry (61.6%) followed by dairy cattle (45.6%), pigs (27.2%), goats (22.4%) and sheep (3.2%). 72% of the respondents were women and the majority of the respondents were owners of livestock. Livestock was an important part of the respondents' lives and contributed with 25-50% to the household economy in the majority of the households. Livestock was used both for home consumption and for selling products. For all types of livestock it was most common to use the manure as fertilizer for food production. The second common thing was to heap the manure in one place and dispose it later. Pig and poultry manure was experienced to have stronger smell and was harder to remove compared to manure from cattle and goats/sheep. Many farmers had conflicts with neighbours complaining about free ranging animals and noises. Most of the farmers did not consider the manure/urine produced as a problem, but needed tools like gloves, spades and wheelbarrows to facilitate the handling of manure. Pig manure had the highest content of organic carbon (40.7%) and nitrogen (3.5%). Dairy cattle had the lowest value of nitrogen (1.0%) and the highest C:N ratio (31.8). Goat manure had lowest value of organic carbon (28%). Due to the C:N ratio, goat and pig manure is more suitable for biogas production. The manure, from all types of livestock, is appropriate to use to cope with the declining soil fertility

Loss of beef during primary production at Swedish farms 2002-2021

Loss of animals is a considerable waste of resources in the meat supply chain, where quantitative data are scarce but critical for guiding improvements. In this study, we used material flow analysis to track the amount of beef diverted away from the food supply chain at the farm level. The beef losses (absolute and as the proportion of yearly initial production) were estimated from data on assisted and unassisted deaths of cattle on Swedish farms obtained from the central register of bovine animals for 2002-2021 combined with official statistics on slaughter weight. The fallen animals were grouped according to age, sex and breed, to enable estimations of the lost amount of carcass weight, both in total and per animal group. The yearly loss during primary production 2017-2021 was on average 13,000 ton carcass weight, or 8.5% of the initial production. No decreasing trend for the loss rate could be determined after 2015, when the Agenda 2030 target 12.3 (Halved food waste and reduced early losses) was introduced. Female dairy breeds showed greater beef losses than dairy males or beef breeds and crossbreeds of both sexes, and their beef losses mostly occurred at 4-5 years of age, thus constituting the hot spot group for lost beef. The results can serve as a base for directed reduction efforts

Assessing short-term economic consequences of cow-calf contact systems in dairy production using a stochastic partial budgeting approach

Introduction: While early separation of dairy calves after birth has been debated from an ethical and animal welfare lens, the economic evidence surrounding alternative cow-calf contact (CCC) systems is scarce.Methods: To address this knowledge gap, we assessed the economic consequences of CCC systems using data from the Agriwise database as well as parameters from published literature in a stochastic partial budget model. The implementation of CCC is very diverse between farms, so in our study we therefore selected a limited number of CCC systems to assess. The examined CCC systems were: (i) dam rearing with limited contact at milking (15 minutes twice a day for 115 days) with no manual milk feeding; (ii) dam rearing with 21-day full contact, after which calves are manually fed 8 kg of whole milk for 94 days; and (iii) mixed calf rearing with using both dams and foster cows with full contact; calves are initially kept with their dams and then moved to foster cows at 9 days of age.Results: We found that adoption of CCC systems was associated with decreases in contribution margins in the range of 1 to 5.4%, as compared to a rearing system where the calves were separated from their dams after one day and were manually fed 8 kg of milk for 12 weeks. These results illustrated that the costs associated with CCC systems may be fairly high under certain circumstances and may prohibit farmers from adopting this practice. Sensitivity analysis suggested that differences in milk sales, assumptions on changes in labor requirements, and changes in daily calf weight gain depending on CCC system were the main variables that governed the net impact on the contribution margins.Discussion: We did not include building costs in the analyses assuming that barn structures may not change in the short-term. The study focused only on short-term pecuniary associations between changes in CCC systems and contribution margins. To strengthen the economic decision-making around CCC systems, future research should consider non-monetary impacts of different CCC systems, as well as long-term economic impacts of these production strategies

Herd-level risk factors associated with cow mortality in Swedish dairy herds

An increase in on-farm mortality (euthanasia and death) in dairy herds has been reported in several countries in the last decade. This does not only imply possible problems with animal welfare, but it also causes economic losses to the farmer. The objective of this study was to evaluate time trends in on-farm dairy cow mortality in Sweden and identify potential herd-level risk factors. Data was retrieved on all Swedish dairy herds enrolled in the milk recording scheme between 2002 and 2010. Herds with a herd size of 40 dead or euthanized cows per 100 cow-years were excluded. Two different models were used: 1 multiple year analysis which included 6,898 herds during the period 2002 to 2010 and 1 single year analysis including 4,252 herds for the year 2010, where other variables that were not present during the entire multiple year study were analyzed. The outcome variable was the number of euthanized and dead cows per year and season. A negative binomial regression model, adjusted for clustering within herd, was applied to both models. Fixed effects in the multiple year analysis were breed, calving interval, herd size, milk yield, region, season, pasture period, and year. Fixed effects in the single year analysis were breed, calving interval, conventional vs. organic farming, herd size, housing system, milk yield, region, and season. The multiple year analysis demonstrated that MR gradually increased from 5.1 to 6.6 events per 100 cow-years during the study period. Swedish MR are consequently on par with, or even greater than, MR among dairy herds in other comparable countries. Higher mortality was associated with larger herd size, longer calving intervals, and herds that had Swedish Holstein as the predominant breed. Lower mortality was observed in herds with a higher herd average milk yield, during the fall and winter, and in organically managed herds. There were regional differences in mortality. An interaction between herd size and season was found in both models. Also, an interaction between housing system and milk yield was found in the single year analysis. This first assessment of on-farm mortality in Swedish dairy herds confirmed that the MR has increased over the last few years. The study also identified some herd-level risk factors

Animal welfare efforts and farm economic outcomes: Evidence from Swedish beef production

We estimate the relationship between farm animal welfare (FAW) efforts taken by beef farmers and the economic performance of beef farms by using farm accounting data from the Swedish Farm Economic Survey matched with survey data on farm management practices. To this end, we perform a two-step analysis. First, an item response theory (IRT) model estimates the latent FAW effort on farms. FAW effort likely depends on a host of complementary FAW-improving strategies, and the IRT model combines the considered strategies into a unidimensional scale. We take this to represent on-farm FAW effort. Second, we use instrumental variable regressions to estimate the relationship between FAW effort and multiple measures of farm economic performance. We find that higher FAW effort scores have no effect on margins and costs. However, higher FAW effort scores are associated with lower farm sales. Findings suggest that policies (such as targeted label for high FAW) that increase farm revenue as well as incentivize the uptake of FAW-improvement practices may be able to compensate farmers for their FAW effort

Overview of the practices of on-farm emergency slaughter of cattle in the Nordic countries

On farm mortality is an increasing problem in cattle production systems in the Nordic countries. It represents an economic loss to the farmer and raises questions of sustainability, food waste and animal welfare. On-farm emergency slaughter (OFES) represents, in some situations, an opportunity for a farmer to salvage some of the economic value from an animal that cannot be transported to a slaughterhouse. The basis of the regulation of OFES in the Nordic countries originates largely from legislation from the European Union. However, this review has found that the availability and practice of OFES in the Nordic countries differs considerably. For example, in Norway 4.2% of all cattle slaughter is OFES, whilst in Iceland OFES has never been recorded. National food safety authorities have issued differing regulations and guidelines regarding the suitability of sick and injured animals for OFES. This review shows there is a paucity of data regarding the incidence and reasons for the use of OFES of cattle in the Nordic countries and points out the need for more investigation into this area to improve veterinary education, consumer protection and animal welfare

Strategies for keeping dairy cows and calves together - a cross-sectional survey study

Although it is still most common to rear dairy calves separately from adult cattle, the interest in pro-longed contact between dairy calves and lactating cows during early life is increasing. Previous research has documented positive effects of cow-calf contact (CCC) on for example early calf growth and udder health of suckled cows, but also negative effects such as increased separation distress and reduced weight gains after weaning. The aim of this study was to use information from European farms with prolonged cow-calf contact to identify innovative solutions to common challenges for CCC farms. Commercial dairy farms that kept calves with adult lactating cows for seven days or more after birth were invited to participate, and interviews were performed with 104 farmers from six countries. During interviews, information about farm management, calf rearing, farmers' perception of animal health on their farm, and farmers' drivers and barriers for implementing CCC were collected. We found that CCC was practised in a large variety of housing and management systems, and that calves could be reared together with their dam, with foster cows, or using a combination of the two. The contact period varied considerably (7-305 days) between farms and about 25% of the farms manually milk fed the calves during parts of the milk feeding period. Daily contact time varied between farms, from 30 minutes per day to permanent contact except at milking. Behaviours indicative of separation distress, most commonly vocalisation in cows and calves, were reported by 87% of the farmers. Strategies to alleviate separation distress, for example simultaneous gradual weaning and separation, were used on some farms. Building constraints were most often mentioned as a barrier for implementing CCC. Our findings suggest that CCC is practised in a variety of commonly used husbandry systems. Reported challenges were primarily related to weaning and separation, and to building constraints; these aspects should be areas of future research.@2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Animal Consortium. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)