How Now, Milk Cow?

When dairy cattle are stressed they are more vulnerable to illness and injury, which costs the farmer in terms of decreased milk production and veterinary bills. While the bulk of dairy research is devoted to nutrition and production – input and output – the faculty of Land and Food Systems’ Animal Welfare Program takes a more holistic approach by considering the animal’s psychological state.

Whether the motivation is animal welfare or milk production, establishing the animal’s likes and dislikes in terms of surroundings and other conditions can only be to the benefit of both cattle and industry.

UBC’s Agassiz-based Dairy Education and Research Centre (DERC) has the capacity for observing more than 300 cattle. “How dairy cattle eat, sleep, rest and interact speaks volumes about their preferences,” says associate professor Marina von Keyserlingk. “By analyzing their behaviour, we can help producers avoid costly problems such as lameness and other common illnesses.” Food and water intake is automatically monitored for each animal and their movements and choices are closely recorded. Sophisticated software is then used to analyse the data. The researchers are particularly interested in key phases of the life cycle when the animals are most susceptible to illness, such as the start of lactation, the end of lactation and the weaning process for calves.

To support their research, von Keyserlingk and her colleagues, professors Dan Weary and David Fraser, received a $1 million Industrial Research Chair joint award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and eight Canadian dairy farming organizations.

The faculty has an international reputation for this approach to dairy research, which is concerned with animal welfare but accompanied by recommendations and solutions that make sense for industry. This expertise has been sought out by industrial partners in Brazil, Chile, Germany and other counties.

Andreia Vieira, a Brazilian veterinarian sponsored by her government to study at UBC, is a PhD student in the faculty. She is concentrating on the social enrichment and cognitive
development of weaning calves. Today’s practices involve removing a calf from its mother shortly after birth and rearing it in isolation. Her research shows that stress at weaning is greatly reduced if the calves are reared in pairs. “Brazil has major beef and poultry industries and there’s a huge interest in what UBC is doing in this relatively new science of combining animal psychology and production,” she says.

In Canada, a new code of recommended practice for the care and handling of dairy cattle, published in March by the Dairy Farmers of Canada, drew heavily on DERC findings, such as pain control methods during dehorning, improved calf housing, feeding practices and lameness prevention.

“We have the strongest group of cattle welfare researchers in the world,” says Weary. “A long history of collaboration with the dairy industry also keeps our research current. The
changes we suggest are grounded in the constraints of modern dairy farming while still improving the lives of animals.”

Trek UBC’s Alumni magazine Summer 2009 p. 11