SUCCEED - Sustainable systems with cow-calf-contact for higher welfare in dairy production

Traditionally, the dairy cow and calf are separated at birth. This practice is debated. Cow-calf contact (CCC) satisfies the species-specific cow-calf needs, such as suckling&nursing, allogrooming and social learning. Before the project started, there was a need for more knowledge about how CCC and subsequently different separation strategies affect behaviour and cow-calf performance. Likewise, there was a need for new knowledge about practical solutions for CCC, both on pasture and inside both new and older barns. Since CCC entails that the calf drinks more milk from the cow than the amount traditionally allocated to artificially reared calves, we investigated how CCC may affect the farmer's economy, the long-term effects on the cow-calf health and performance, as well as how actors in the value chain for milk react to CCC. The SUCCEED project (2020-2023) has been a collaborative project led by the Veterinary Institute. R&D environments nationally (NMBU, NORSØK, Ruralis, NIBIO) and internationally (University of British Columbia, Sveriges Lantbrukuniversitet and Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut) have worked closely with the industry (TINE, DeLaval, NoFence, Felleskjøpet, Norgesfôrfor and Geno). In the project, two controlled trials, a survey among milk producers, two epidemiological studies and several interview studies have been carried out. We have documented that approx. 3% of today's milk producers practiced CCC (beyond 2 weeks after birth) in 2022. It is interesting to note that a full 15% wanted to start with CCC in the future. The project has worked with functional, technical solutions that allow cow and calf to be kept together, both in the barn and on pasture. For producers wanting to practice CCC, there may be a need for changes in the barn layout, but more than 2/3 of the interviewed producers report the costs being < NOK 10,000. Perceived barriers to implementing CCC are extra work and lost income, the need for increased space in the barn and stress for the animals during separation. The latter has caused some to stop practicing CCC. SUCCEED has developed barn drawings for new and existing barns. We have documented how CCC, and later separation, affects behaviour, health and production, both on pasture and in loose-housing barns. The project has taught us that CCC can be practiced successfully on farms with very different solutions. We have particularly investigated a flexible CCC system where the cow visits the calf in an area dedicated to the calf. An experiment with cow-calf interaction on pasture showed that the calf's behavior is affected by interaction with the cow. The calves get to exercise more natural behavior with suckling, cow-calf care and interactions with adult cows than artificially reared calves. We also documented such natural behaviour, an important prerequisite for good animal welfare, in an indoor experiment. At separation (approx. 9 weeks after birth), cows and calves reacted with increased vocalizations and activity. We found that a slow reduction in CCC resulted in less separation stress and positively influenced cow-calf performance. The grazing trial has documented challenges related to milk let-down, especially for heifers and during separation. We demonstrated no association between CCC and calf health. The risk of being treated for common calf diseases did not differ between farms with CCC or traditional calf rearing, nor the risk of calf death, while the risk of mastitis treatment was lower on farms with CCC. We found no clear differences in milk production after separation between cows that had no, short or longer CCC. The dominant attitude among interviewed representatives from farmers, dairies, food chains and consumers is that Norwegian regulations for animal welfare and current practice in relation to early separation is "good enough". Low price seems to be the most important quality factor for the consumers. There are currently few schemes in the market to increase the price of dairy products marked with CCC, but e.g political decisions or increased demand in the market may change this in the future. CCC is a moral question for the farmer, and increased animal welfare, well-being for the farmer and better calf health are incentives that the farmers themselves mention. Economic analyzes indicate that CCC has financial consequences for the farmer: under the assumption that calves reared traditionally receive limited milk, the herd saleble milk may be lower with CCC, especially when producing less than the quota. If society believes that CCC is important, there must be a willingness to pay (e.g. extra price for milk, animal welfare supplement, investment subsidy). We have developed a system to record maternal behavior that enables future breeding to select for good maternal characteristics. The project has resulted in a solid knowledge base for TINE to give practical recommendations to dairy producers who want to practice CCC.

SUCCEED-prosjektets tette samarbeid mellom FoU-aktører og næringa innebærer at det er kort vei fra ny kunnskap om ku-kalvsamvær i melkeproduksjon til dem som skal bruke resultatene. SUCCEEDs sluttbrukere er melkeprodusenter og dyra de tar hånd om. I neste linje er brukerne melkeprodusentenes rådgivningsapparat i form av samvirkeorganisasjonene i jordbruket, veterinærer, Mattilsynet og leverandører av teknologi og driftsmidler. I Norge i dag etterspør mange melkeprodusenter informasjon fra sitt rådgivningsapparat om ku-kalvsamvær. SUCCEED har skapt ny kunnskap om ulike driftsløsninger for ku-kalvsamvær både inne i ulike fjøs og på beite, bedre metoder for separasjon av ku og kalv, langtidseffekter av diing på kuas produksjon og kalvens helse, morsegenskaper hos norske melkekyr, økonomiske konsekvenser av ku-kalvsamvær, og holdninger hos forskjellige aktører i verdikjeden. Vi har dokumentert artsspesifikk atferd som ku og kalv er høyt motiverte for, som diing, stell og lek. Vi har også dokumentert indikatorer på stress ved separasjon av ku og kalv. Denne kunnskapen er viktig for best mulig utforming av nye driftsløsninger for samvær mellom ku og kalv. Vi har lært at melkeprodusenter selv har skreddersydd løsninger for å få til ku-kalv samvær i egne fjøs. Prosjektet har utvikla fjøstegninger for planlagte og eksisterende fjøs. Disse tegningene kan tas i bruk av rådgivere som skal planlegge tilrettelegging for ku-kalv samvær. Dette gjør at det blir enklere for flere å starte opp et slikt system. Med SUCCEED-prosjektet har vi fått et estimat på hvor mange som praktiserer ku-kalvsamvær: 3 % av norske melkeprodusenter praktiserte dette i 2022, mens 15 % planla å implementere denne praksisen videre. I håndboka formidler vi den kunnskapen vi har ervervet på en oversiktlig måte, slik at de som vil praktisere ku-kalvsamvær kan finne inspirasjon og løsninger. De holdninger vi har identifisert hos aktører i verdikjeden har gittkunnskap om mulighetene for å møte bøndenes økonomiske bekymringer ved implementering av ulike støtteordninger. De fleste norske melkeprodusenter er ikke klare for å legge om til ku-kalv samvær, og det kan ikke forventes at forbrukerne er klare for økte priser på melkeprodukter. Likevel har vi tro på at den forholdsvis store interessen hos melkeprodusenter, kanskje sammen med økonomiske virkemidler, vil bidra til at samvær mellom ku og kalv vil få en gradvis økt utbredelse i norsk melkeproduksjon, i takt med kunnskapsutviklingen på feltet, selv om det ikke blir noe krav om endring av praksis. Norge er i en særstilling med gode helsedata, interesserte melkeprodusenter og en meierinæring som er med på å utvikle ny kunnskap. Slik kan melkeprodusenter som ønsker å implementere ku-kalvsamvær i sin drift få tilgang på ny kunnskap om denne driftsløsningen.

The SUCCEED project aims to establish science based and practically feasible methods to allow increased contact between cow and calf in dairy production. Public acceptance is pivotal for a sustainable dairy production, and the early separation of cow and calf is a management practice that has been questioned. New cow-calf contact systems have the potential to meet consumers' expectations and to improve animal health and welfare. The project aims to be in the forefront of developing solutions that consumers may demand in near future, and the project combines biological and social scientific methods to approach these issues. Thus, the SUCCEED project will develop functional technical solutions for cow-calf contact in robot and milk parlour systems, indoors and outdoors (WP1). The effects of co-grazing systems on animal health, behaviour and production will be studied (WP2); and long term effects of suckling on calf and cow performance (behaviour, health, production, fertility) will be identified (WP3). Current and possible obstacles and opportunities for implementing systems for increased contact between cow and calf in dairy production, as identified by actors in the value chain of dairy products, will be identified (WP4). Economic consequences of various cow-calf contact systems will be documented (WP4), and implementation of maternal traits in the breeding program of Geno will be prepared (WP3). SUCCEED facilitates a joint action from the industry, dairy producers and researchers. The project will provide an important basis for recommendations for the industry, and will enable the TINE advisory team to support farmers who want to implement cow-calf contact systems. The SUCCEED project will ensure high standards of animal health and welfare in dairy cow-calf contact systems and contribute to a sustainable production.