Practical on-farm solutions for welfare and sustainability: solutions to chronic welfare problems
Project Lead
Challenges
Scotland aims to provide farm animals with the highest possible standards of welfare. This aim sits within the context of a viable and adaptable agriculture sector, able to meet requirements for sustainability, climate change and biodiversity. These drivers are complex, requiring an evolving scientific evidence base to support decision-making, and flexible and innovative approaches to describe and support good welfare practices.
Agricultural practice is plagued by intractable and challenging welfare issues that are the focus of consumer attention:
- Separation of mothers and offspring
- Use of painful procedures,
- Chronic disease issues
- Confinement of animals in limited space with limited opportunities to express natural behaviour.
Increasingly, the ability of farms to meet consumers’ expectations for animal welfare is part of a ‘social licence to operate’ and essential if animal-based farming is to continue alongside other social requirements.
Despite leaving the European Union (EU), Scottish farming policy is influenced by changes in EU legislative approaches to, for example,
- Phase out the use of farrowing crates
- Cease to kill new-born male chicks (Germany)
- Movements towards circular agriculture (the Netherlands)
- Improved sustainability
- Prohibition of using painful management procedures without anaesthesia or analgesia in many countries
For Scottish agriculture to remain competitive and deliver on its ambitions to have some of the highest standards of animal welfare in the world, opportunities to improve farm animal welfare must keep pace with other developments.
Questions
Solutions
This project aims to develop practical solutions to the key on-farm welfare issues and in response to the changing economic and social climate occurring via the UK’s EU-Exit. This includes evaluating precision livestock farming approaches to develop early warning systems for behaviour problems in pigs and disease issues in sheep, their ethical and practical implications, and how suitable these methods are for welfare management in different contexts.
Evaluating Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) approaches to develop early warning systems for behaviour problems in pigs and disease issues in sheep
We have previously explored the use of precision livestock farming monitoring tail posture and behaviour to indicate behaviour, health and welfare problems in pigs, and chronic welfare issues in sheep using 2D or 3D cameras, sensors, and other monitors. The work has scope to allow greater use to be made of the data and to allow greater understanding of behavioural responses in sheep. We are evaluating the ethical and practical implications of using PLF approaches for different species, and how suitable these methods are for welfare management in different contexts. In sheep, we also consider the opportunities to provide improved welfare and sustainability through use of sensor-based assessments of behaviour and welfare.
Evaluating and disseminating alternatives to farrowing crate systems for pigs
The UK operates 40% of its breeding herd in zero confinement systems outdoors but there is pressure for higher welfare indoor alternatives. However, producers have concerns about increased piglet mortality, cost, and stock person safety from these alternatives. Early adopters have recorded both positive and negative experiences. We are examining the available evidence to produce best-practice solutions.
Developing on-farm solutions to improve monitoring of nutritional management of cattle and sheep
Undernutrition or poor nutritional management is one of the most important chronic welfare issues for the management of cattle and sheep. We are improving the monitoring of nutritional management to provide practical on-farm tools to assist farmers in managing this welfare issue. We are then evaluating the effectiveness of alternative methods to reduce the pain associated with management procedures. Pain, experienced by cattle, sheep and pigs, as a direct or indirect consequence of management remains an important welfare issue, and one where consumer attention is often focused.
Providing mother-offspring contact in dairy systems
In conventional dairy farms, calves are separated from their dams (mothers) typically within the first 24 hours after birth. In recent years, some farmers in Scotland have started keeping the calf and mother together for three to six months after birth. The milk, and other dairy products, from these farms command a high premium, indicating high demand, at least in some sectors of the community. We are researching these alternative approaches to explore weaning at an older age as the distress, and extent of cross-suckling of older calves is much more evident than in day-old calves.
Positioning male dairy calves in the value chain
The fate of male and female dairy calves in excess of farm replacement needs is a contentious issue. Consumers object to euthanasia of male calves on the farm of birth and the transport of young calves. In response, some progressive milk buyers and retailers require farmers to retain all calves on the origin farm until 8-12 weeks of age. The use of sexed semen may reduce the number of unwanted males. However, some calves are of low value and likely to receive poor care. We are investigating the blockages that prevent excess male and female calves becoming valuable products to the dairy-beef sector.
Project Partners
Progress
2023 / 2024
All objectives for this year have been completed in full.
The first objective of the project for this year was to determine if pig behaviour around challenges could be reliably captured with 3D cameras. This was done by comparing the camera-derived data against video-recordings of behaviour. Analysis showed a good correlation between the two sources of data.
To address the objective on assessment of the use of technology to monitor welfare in sheep, a study on the use of use of proximity beacons and recorders on ewes and lambs was undertaken to assess whether these would a) provide a valid indicator of ewe lamb distance, and b) whether changes in ewe-lamb distance could act as an early warning system for ewe or lamb welfare issues. While there were no health issues with the lambs, some ewes suffered health problems. Ewes that suffered health problems had closer ewe-lamb distances than healthy ewes. The data suggest that assessments of ewe-lamb distance, measured by technology, may be a suitable candidate for a Precision-Livestock Farming approach to managing endemic welfare issues in grazing sheep.
A social science approach was used to examine challenges and opportunities for sheep farmers regarding the use of technology. A group of farmers from Norway were interviewed as they have longer experience with technological solutions, and their views can be used to inform on potential issues for Scottish farmers. The most commonly used sensors were those providing sheep location. The farmers were motivated to use technology to save time and money. Additionally, many welcomed the novelty and interest created by using technology, and they engaged more with the behaviour of their animals because of the data from the sensors.
In relation to pig farming, the free-farrowing website has been updated throughout the year, with the latest references and new systems added. There has been a lot of engagement with the free-farrowing project. Frequent discussions with industry, NGOs and academics were held over the last year and a number of visits to the free-farrowing facility at SRUC's farm were hosted. Keynote presentations at a number of symposia attended by industry and researchers were made. Two further sources of funding have been secured to assess the economics of free-farrowing systems and industry readiness for a transition away from crates.
In relation to cattle farming objectives, data from a full year of calving has been completed. The body condition of the cows was measured before and after calving. Video-recordings were collected of calvings and measures of the vigour of the calf (e.g, time to stand and suckle) were captured. Preparation for another calving season is underway at present, and this data will increase the sample size for future analysis. The value of body condition scoring for beef cattle and the way it should be done were highlighted at a number of events across the country including the Royal Highland Show, the Museum of Rural Life (MooFest), and presentations at farmer Open Days and Monitor Farm meetings. Additionally, an aligned PhD studentship was secured to add value to the project.
Aspects of health welfare of cows in cow-calf contact (CCC) systems were also assessed. Data from an experiment in Sweden using breeds and management similar to those used in Scotland were analysed. It was shown that there was no difference between cows in a CCC system and a conventional system in the cell count of their milk (an indicator of udder disease). However, there was a large variation between CCC cows. The study also found that CCC cows lost much less body condition in early lactation than conventionally managed cows. Loss of body condition at this time is associated with poor health and fertility in conventional herds. The cow-calf contact work (CCC) has led to the award of a European Thematic Network (£3M) project which includes farmers, advisors, supply chain representatives and academics across fourteen countries in Europe.
2022 / 2023
PLF approaches to pig welfare
A review of PLF approaches for pig welfare has shown that there is a range of sensor technology and analytical methods becoming commercially available, with more in the research phase of development. Machine vision cameras use the latest 'deep learning' approaches to monitor growth and behaviour. Disease monitoring is also possible through the detection of sound (coughs) and disease specific volatile gases. Animal production and efficiency will likely drive adoption of PLF, but there are opportunities for welfare assessment to add value.
Free-farrowing systems
A number of reviews and a policy brief have been produced discussing the welfare impacts of free-farrowing systems. Dr Emma Baxter's expertise has been colled on in consultations in the UK and across the world in regard to alternative farrowing systems. This research has also been referenced many times by outside sources in support of free-farrowing systems.
Developing of on-farm solutions to improve cattle and sheep welfare
Research into the effect of body condition score (BCS) in beef cattle on cow welfare and calf outcomes is on-going. Body condition scoring has been conducted three times on ~230 spring-calving cows on SRUC's (Scotland's Rural College) research farm, with a motivational hunger test conducted twice on these same animals. Based on BCS results (pattern of change of condition score over winter housing) a smaller cohort of cows have been selected for observation at calving - which will include scoring of calving ease, as well as calf weight and vigour. The study will continue through 2023 spring calving, with a repeat of measurements through winter and spring 2023/2024.
Research into pain associated with different castration methods has shown that all castration methods cause some degree of pain, but the use of rubber rings is particularly painful. These responses are seen in very young lambs, so the current legislation that permits these procedures to be carried out on lambs less than 7 days old is not supported by the scientific evidence. Alternatives do now exist that could be used on farm, and these should be promoted.
Providing mother-offspring contact in dairy systems
An economic analysis of cow-calf contact systems has shown that there are only small or moderate cost impacts on saleable milk yield of having a calf suckling in the same period. This suggests that a small premium can be charged on the sale of this milk to cover costs. However, there are positive welfare benefits for cow and calf that need to be accounted for. Analysis of video footage yielded new information on frequency and duration of calf suckling events under this management system.
Project Impact
Expertise on free-farrowing systems has been requested numerous times during this year, with various industry and policy engagement. The results and other output from work in this area has been referenced in the legislation in New Zealand and other regions.
Previous Projects
Related Projects
Improved husbandry & reduction of painful procedures
Our aim is to provide an evidence base for advice to farmers on the best approaches to improve the welfare of their animals. Guided by Scottish Government (RESAS) priorities, our work covers two specific areas, covering 4 species of commercial importance:
Welfare assessment techniques
To improve assessment of animal welfare in order to be able to characterise where animals are experiencing a net positive Quality of Life: Welfare of farmed livestock is an important ethical concern. Policy interest in the concept of 'positive welfare’ underlies our work. For this we aim to develop innovative welfare assessment techniques that improve our assessment of positive and negative welfare and overall Quality of Life.