Page 28 - The Welfare of Cattle

IntroduCtIon 5

According to USDA’s Census of Agriculture there were 5,223 non-family corporation dairy
farms in the US in 1997 (3.1% of 168,473 dairies); 3,355 in 2007 (3.9% of 86,022 dairies); and 3,220
in 2012 (7% of 46,005 dairies). Of all farms (including dairy and all other crops) in the US, only 3%
were not family owned in 2012.
The change toward larger industrialized dairy operations is a direct result of economic forces
that have shaped many businesses since the early 1950’s, lowering costs while improving product
quality and consistency. Today, successful dairy operations have “right-sized” their herds to balance
operational costs with the price of milk they receive. In general, those areas with higher milk prices
and lower operational costs enjoy economically successful herds that are smaller and less industrial-
ized, while in areas with lower milk prices and higher operational costs the need is to be larger and
more process oriented.
Between 1992 and 2012 USDA reports that the number of US dairy herds decreased by 61%
while the average number of cows per herd increased from 74 to 142. While most of the cows in the
USA remain in what we consider to be smaller herds, much of our milk comes from dairies that are
larger in size, provide higher density housing, and maintain cattle on solid flooring rather than pre-
dominantly on dirt or grass. Some individuals refer to these operations as “factory farms”; a label
intended to evoke a negative opinion among many. These farms are definitely industrialized (mean-
ing process and outcomes oriented) and they are confinement operations (meaning more milking
cows per unit of land). Milk quality is generally better, and environmental impacts are lower when
production per cow is higher.
The issue before us isn’t whether farms should be industrialized, that decision has been made
by the earth having a limited supply of arable land (with that acreage shrinking every year due to
urban expansion), limited supplies of fresh water with insufficient reservoir storage capacity to
support agriculture, and a rapidly growing population of hungry human mouths to feed. Intensive
agriculture is here to stay.
The size of the herd isn’t necessarily related to the welfare of the animals in it. Smaller herds
often have fewer laborers sharing a wide variety of chores (generalists), while larger herds tend to
have laborers with specific training and accountability in a narrow area (specialists – such as dedi-
cated milkers, calf raisers, breeders, ration mixers, and feeders, etc.). Record keeping in smaller
herds tends to be via paper, making analysis more difficult and small changes a challenge to recog-
nize and manage. Larger herds use on-farm computers that can provide timely reports or alerts, and
can invest in improving husbandry to capture a small outcome (such as 1% less illness or death rate)
where that would not be visible in the small herd.
I moved from Colorado in the early 1970’s to practice in California because Colorado had a
relatively high milk price to the farm, lower land, labor, feed, tax, and environmental costs, and the
farms could survive without paying as much attention to detail. They tended to be more reactive that
proactive. By comparison, California had lower milk prices, higher costs for land, feed, labor, taxes,
and environmental costs and to be successful the producer had to pay more attention to “the little
stuff”. The impact of health programs implemented to prevent disease and injury could be visible
and measured in larger herds, and paid for in a shorter period of time.
In my experience, the middle-sized dairy may be the most challenging relative to promoting
animal welfare. They may not have right-sized such that it remains dependent on general laborers
without specialized training often in crowded facilities, a lack of resources to invest in technology
and have too many time-demands to manage all aspects of the enterprise. Other strategic threats
that may negatively impact animal welfare include those dairies that are expanding, most often due
to economic pressures, and add more cattle to the same facilities thereby creating overcrowding; or
grow the facilities and slowly add more cattle, but not able to grow the labor force due to the invest-
ment made to expand the facilities that won’t bring in income until it’s filled with milking cows.
High- producing herds have invested in better genetics and provide carefully formulated rations
to support their dairy cattle athletes. Yes, athletes. High producing cows have a metabolism while