Historically cattle were bred for both beef and dairy – farms would be mixed. However, over the years certain breeds were developed through selective breeding to produce more milk and certain breeds have been developed to produce more meat at a younger age. So modern dairy farms are separate from beef farms. Currently the number of cattle in Ireland is over 7 million, across the beef and dairy sector and just under 2 million are slaughtered every year.
Dairy Farms
In 2023 1.5 million dairy calves were born in Ireland and milk output reached 8.8 billion litres. The average herd size is 84 cows with the largest being around 1,000. There are no mega dairies as such in Ireland but the farms with the larger herds are more automated and the cows may spend more time indoors. Most dairy cows in Ireland are pasture reared for most of the year but brought indoors during the winter months. There is a growing number of zero grazing dairy farms where the cows and calves are never out at pasture and spend their whole lives in a barn. The animal welfare problems in the dairy industry are well known. Directorate-General for International Policies of the European Parliament concluded in 2017 “Dairy cows producing large
quantities of milk have high levels of leg disorders, mastitis and reproductive disorders. The proportion of cows affected by one or more of these disorders is high and the animals live with the poor welfare for a substantial part of their lives.”
To produce milk a cow has to first produce a calf. The calves are taken away from the mother shortly or immediately after birth, which can be so stressful for the mother she can be given opioids to calm her. This is known as ‘snatch calving’ and is meant to make the cow think she has given birth to a stillborn calf. Calves are often fed colostrum artificially, sometimes through stomach tubing, and never get to suckle from their mothers at all. Stomach tubing is very distressful for a newborn calf, and if the farmer overestimates the amount of colostrum needed the stomach will overfill and the calf may inhale colostrum into the lungs causing pneumonia.
Male calves have little value, because the breeds usually aren’t great for beef, but there are more cross breeds being reared now that are more popular with the beef sector. In Ireland thousands of male calves are exported, mostly to inhumane veal farms in the Netherlands where they are kept in barren pens on a low iron diet to keep the flesh pale. Calves that are individually stalled and only fed milk and concentrates display stereotypic behaviours like tongue playing and non-nutritive sucking. Feeding hay reduces such abnormal behaviour and housing calves in pairs or small groups will also reduce the incidences of stereotypical behaviour and address their other behavioural needs. However many veal farms do not have grouped housing. These behaviours can also be seen during transport where calves try to suckle the bars on the side of the truck, indicating stress.
Over 180,000 unweaned calves were exported in 2023 with the other biggest importer being Spain. A large percentage of calves sent to Spain end up on livestock vessels bound for North Africa at a few months old.
The majority of calves are reared for beef but a large number are sent to slaughter at 10 – 21 days old. Due to changes brought in by Bord Bia to their standards, dairy farmers can no longer send helathy calves under 8 weeks old to slaughter, if they want to remain accredited. In 2021 around 30,000 calves were slaughtered. Most female calves will be retained on the farm to replace the older cows but as only a certain number are needed to replenish the herd some are exported, sent to slaughter or reared for beef. A cow will be impregnated at around 15 months old, gestation takes nine months, and the cow will be impregnated again roughly three months later. The cow is milked from the moment the calf is taken away through most of her pregnancy. Dairy cows are sent to slaughter at around six years old after just a few lactations.
Cows can now produce on average 25 litres of milk daily, reaching 30 litres during peak lactation, and this has taken a toll on the health and wellbeing of the animals. To put it in perspective, a beef cow will produce just 5 – 10 litres per day. The udders can become engorged and hang heavily which can impair walking and contribute to lameness. Other factors causing lameness include hoof lesions, laminitis and dermatitis. Mastitis is a big issue, and a huge cost, on dairy farms and has contributed to the overuse of antibiotics. Some dairy farms have zero grazing meaning the cows are indoors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This obviously causes health and welafre issues for the animals and when purchasing dairy products it is impossible to know what system the animal was reared in. Organic farms have better welfare and the cows must spend a determined amount of time grazing outdoors.
Sexed semen is used by some dairy farmers as a way of reducing the number of male calves and also to produce better quality calves more suited to rearing for beef. However, this is not really a viable solution to the problem of too many calves as it isn’t reducing the number being produced, just the type. The herd cannot keep expanding indefinitely, it must be reduced for the sake of the animals and the environment with dairy being a huge contributor to pollution and our frowing emissions.
Calf at Foot Dairying
There are some dairy systems where the calf stays with mum for a varying amount of time, normally between three and nine months. These systems are not only better from a welfare point of view but there are also less health issues. Calves that are allowed to suckle from their mothers have faster growth, lower mortality, improved immune systems and they learn social behaviours. There are reduced incidents of mastitis in the mothers and there is no stress of separation, depending on the age of the calf when separation does occur. The older the calf, the lower the stress. Of course there is loss of milk for the farmer but this can be offset by cost and labour savings as there is no need for milk replacer and this is a unique selling point which would attract a greater premium. Unfortunately there are no calf at foot dairy farms in Ireland as yet.
Beef Farms
In 2023 just under 750,000 beef calves were born. Cattle are generally pasture reared, with the exception of winter housing. However, there are a number of feedlots in Ireland where the cattle spend a large chunk of their lives indoors – there are now around 300 feedlots in existence. Many farmers bring their cattle in to ‘finish’ on grain before sending to slaughter or sell to a feedlot for finishing.
Some beef farmers will purchase male dairy calves to breed for beef. Others will breed their own animals. Beef calves stay with their mothers – when you see cows in fields with their calves they will be beef cows.
Winter housing and finishing can cause health issues because the cattle is usually kept on bare slatted flooring and conditions can be cramped and unhygienic. This can lead to increased aggression as the animals cannot carry out natural grazing behaviours, which may lead to behavours causing injuries and lameness.
In 2021, around 103,000 weanlings and adult cattle were exported to Europe (including the UK and Northern Ireland) and countries outside the EU with little in the way of animal welfare legislation.
Calf welfare can be an issue in both dairy and beef sectors as they are very vulnerable and prone to illnesses like pneumonia. In 2020 there were 50,393 on farm calf deaths, under 6 weeks of age, and around 30,000 calves were sent to slaughter. There are too many cattle in Ireland and it is imperative that the herd is reduced, rather than continuing to increase year on year as is the current trend. Many farmers have reduced their herd and actually found it more profitable and of course a lot less labour intensive. There should be more government supports for small farmers who are adopting a more holistic approach to raising animals. Regenerative farming is a growing movement where livestock and nature work together to enhance biodiversity and rebuild soils, creating carbon sinks rather than just expelling methane.
Sources:
https://sentientmedia.org/calf-life-opioids-export-and-abuse/; https://irishvetjournal.biomedcentral/Articles https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.645537/full; https://www.teagasc.ie/news–events/daily/dairy/teagasc-national-farm-survey-2020-dairy-enterprise-factsheet.php;