Benchmark for dairy cattle 2021

Figure benchmark dairy cows

There are no joint EU-requirements regulating the welfare of dairy cattle – apart from for the calves. So, the baseline indicated here, marked with a vertical line, is (apart from the EU requirements laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves) based on an estimate of the way dairy cattle will be kept and cared for if the focus is only on the most efficient dairy production.

Milk is used as a raw material for different kinds of food products, notably cheese and butter. So far, most market driven initiatives have aimed at milk for drinking. It should, however, be noted that only 10-15% of milk production in Northern Europe is used for drinking milk.

Most important messages from the figure

  1. There are large differences between the countries in terms of the opportunities dairy cattle have for good welfare. Denmark is at the high end with Sweden; the United Kingdom is not far behind; but the Netherlands and Germany are at the bottom, close to the baseline.
  2. Apart from Denmark there is no noticeable difference between the Benchmark-value of each country’s dairy production and the Benchmark-value of milk for drinking sold in the country.

Here you can read about the Benchmark method.

 

The explanation for high scores on the Benchmark-scale for dairy production in Denmark and Sweden is due to two things:

  1. Firstly, the two countries, unlike the other three countries, have welfare legislation for dairy cattle. Such legislation has existed in Sweden since 1988, including a requirement that all heifers and dairy cows must be put on pasture in the summer. In Denmark a law on dairy cattle was passed in 2010. This law defines detailed requirements for housing and care of dairy cattle, for example regarding availability of special boxes for calving and for sick animals and a minimal number of rotating cow brushes. The requirements in the Danish legislation will be phased in over several years. Some are already functioning, some will be valid from 2024, and the last ones will function from 2034.
  2. The other explanation is that in both countries a relatively large part of the dairy production is either organic or undertaken in accordance with another animal welfare label. So, in Sweden 17% of dairy production is organic, while in Denmark 13% of all dairy production is organic and 10% is produced to supply other animal welfare labels.

In the United Kingdom a business standard, Red Tractor, covers 95% of production, which lifts the Benchmark-value considerably compared to the baseline. Furthermore, in the UK on top of complying with Red Tractor 9% of dairy production is organic and 7% of production falls under other animal welfare labels.

The Netherlands and Germany are at the bottom in terms of Benchmark-value for two reasons: Firstly, no national legislation makes demands that go further than the baseline. In neither country do industry standards really extend beyond the baseline. Secondly there is a relatively low production of organic milk or milk produced in line with other animal welfare labels.

The market for milk for drinking that’s sold with a welfare label seems to be more developed in Denmark than in the other countries. Where the Benchmark-value for milk is higher in Denmark compared to national production, this seems to be because welfare labels are used much more on milk for drinking than on other dairy products such as butter and cheese. Welfare-labelled milk will, therefore, be used more in the production of milk for drinking.

 

As with all other methods for making wider comparisons of animal welfare the Benchmark-method has several general limitations. The most important of these are described here: Benchmark method.

Dairy production is much more complex than broiler chicken production in particular. The production consists in more steps and there are more products; besides milk for drinking and other dairy products, veal and beef are also produced. A limitation of the results presented here, then, is that in terms of consumption, we only focus on milk for drinking, and the production of beef and veal is not considered at all.

A paper based on the results regarding the dairy cattle Benchmark is being prepared for an international peer-reviewed journal.

 

New publications: Benchmark dairy cattle