Separating cows and calves at birth is a long-standing practice in the dairy industry. But are we certain it’s a best practice?
In the academic paper “Prolonged cow-calf contact — A dilemma or simply another step in the evolution of the dairy industry?” by Nigel Cook, MRCVS, and Marina von Keyserlingk published in the Journal of Dairy Science, the authors raise legitimate concerns about cow-calf separation and address ways in which a welcoming of its opposite might result in healthier cows and calves — and more public trust, too.
Since food production is, at its core, a give-and-take relationship with the natural world, dairy farmers bear the burden of having to not only provide for their families and employees but also prove to the onlooker that their production methods withstand criticism.
According to the study by Cook and Keyserlingk, animal welfare, health, natural behaviors, and emotional well-being top consumers’ lists as considerations they most expect from producers. Mention of these considerations and a consumer’s assumption of their vacancy doesn’t mean dairy is on trial. The point, Cook and Keyserlingk said, is to acknowledge that in an industry dependent on animal product for sales, public opinion matters.
“Society is starting to ask questions, so what the dairy industry needs to figure out is how to keep the consumer,” Keyserlingk said in a supplemental podcast interview conducted by RumiNation. “There are a ton of alternatives out there. We want the consumer to want to buy milk, to buy yogurt. And a lot of that comes down to values.”
There are countless ways that values might manifest within the dairy industry, but one of the recurring conversations today is that of cow-calf contact.
“The fact that dairy cows must have a calf to produce milk, and that this calf is separated shortly after birth, contradicts the pastoral image that most people have of the dairy industry,” Cook and Keyserlingk wrote.
Because of this, more operations are looking to evolve their approach. However, research is limited. That’s why Cook and Keyserlingk implore producers to start the journey now by leaning into opportunities to understand what cow-calf contact means and what it would look like at the application level.
Research is key
Public trust is important, and it’s fickle. But doesn’t scientific proof outweigh image? Perhaps — if there is proof.
As it is, cow-calf separation does not claim exclusive evidential support over cow-calf contact. This doesn’t mean there is no research in its favor, but it does mean there is less in its favor than most of us might assume.
The dairy industry has over a hundred years of tradition under its belt of cow-calf separation, so it’s easy to assume it’s the best practice.
Tradition is important — it’s a testament to where we started and how far we’ve come — but Cook and Keyserlingk argued it isn’t reason enough to continue doing something that might benefit from change.
According to their study, “Current standard management practices that involve immediate separation have failed to resolve the issues of failure of passive transfer of immunity and ill health due to diarrhea and pneumonia in young calves . . . We are also becoming increasingly aware that rearing dairy calves isolated during the first months of life leads to a variety of abnormal behaviors.”
The authors stated that “There is substantial evidence that prolonged cow-calf contact improves calf growth rates and reduces negative oral behaviors . . . Of course, the benefits of prolonged cow-calf contact are predicated on good management of the system.”
“Cow-calf contact won’t be the main thing tomorrow. What we need to do as an industry is invest in research,” said Keyserlingk. “Where science can help farmers is to provide some guidance: This is what we recommend you do. We know separation isn’t eradicating our problems, so we need to start doing the work now.”
Should calves have a full- or half-day contact? How will farmers maintain labor and economic needs? Where should contact cows and calves be housed? And on and on the questions go.
Answering these questions will be no simple task, but Keyserlingk sees this new frontier of cow-calf research to be exciting: “It’s a blank slate — how will we define the next 100 years of dairying?”
Change is a good thing
Cook and Keyserlingk encourage the dairy industry not to shy away from this discussion. There may not be definitive answers yet, but they implore producers to keep an open mind.
“Change is scary, but change brings opportunity,” they said. “The dairy industry has always evolved. We might look back on this in 40 years and say, why did we doubt that change?”
Consumers don’t expect the entire tradition of calf rearing to change overnight, but they do expect the industry to attempt to get better every day.
“We must find a new path forward to achieve something that has positive outcomes for the animals, the farm business, the dairy industry, and the wider community,” Cook and Keyserlingk said. “It may be the next in a series of great dairy evolutions.”
