Kate Creutzinger, assistant professor of animal welfare and behavior at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, has been awarded two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants to study the welfare of calves in different situations.
The practice of keeping dairy calves with their mothers is an alternative practice to conventional dairy practices. Dairy calves are commonly removed from their mothers within hours of being born. This reduces the risk of disease transmission to the calf and also ensures they receive proper nutrition that is key to future health.
However, public interest has increased regarding concerns that calf separation from their mothers is detrimental to the cow’s and calf’s welfare. Creutzinger’s research will explore common measures of health and animal welfare on farms that keep dairy calves and cows together for extended periods of time.
Creutzinger was awarded a second USDA grant in conjunction with Jessica Pempek, a research animal scientist with the USDA Livestock Research Unit. Their project will study the health and welfare of calves in the veal and also dairy-beef systems. Such calves are referred to as “surplus calves.”
The cow-calf study is for two years while the study of dairy-beef calves has a five-year timeline. Those longer timelines allow for more detailed, thorough research, Creutzinger said. Funding for the two grants totals $600,000 for UW-River Falls. The projects allow for student research and also provides students with valuable learning opportunities, she said.
Creutzinger said she proposed researching those two projects because of their high level of importance currently in the dairy industry. A growing number of consumers are concerned about the living conditions under which farm animals are raised. They often make buying decisions based on that information, she said.
“There is huge concern from the public about both of these practices. We need good information to make data driven decisions going forward,” she said.
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