Healthy cows are climate-friendly cows

There are already a number of complex and, to some extent, still very theoretical approaches aimed at
reducing the impact that our dairy cows have on climate change. Animal health, which is probably the biggest determining factor, is something that farmers themselves have control over. After all, only healthy cows are efficient and, therefore, climate-friendly.

Less output with the same input

Sick cows aren’t just suffering – they’re having a detrimental impact on the climate too. Why? During the milk production process as a whole, greenhouse gases are both offset (e.g. by carbon sinks in feed production) and produced (through animal excretions). If cows are sick, any balance that is struck between offsetting and
production of these greenhouse gases is lost. While the feed, water and energy inputs required to meet the livestock’s needs remain constant, there simply isn’t enough high-quality milk produced at the ‘udder’ end.

Claw health affects efficiency

"The claws carry the milk": it’s common knowledge that healthy claws arguably have the biggest impact on
animal health. But, often, farmers only take action when their livestock are clearly limping, by which point the downward spiral (where affected cows are eating less, suffering from metabolic imbalance and producing less milk) has already begun. Painless walking isn’t the only prerequisite to make animal husbandry in the barn as efficient as possible; cows should experience the joy of movement too.

Soft walking areas ‘lubricate’ the ‘dairy cow system’

Walking areas inside the barn combine those all-important functional areas that are vital for maintaining cows’ health (eating, lying, ...). The animals must be mobile to make full use of them. Hard floors are
unsuitable for cow mobility because the animals are soft soil walkers. So soft rubber flooring in the walking areas is the basis for a functioning dairy cow. Not only do they relieve the pressure on claws and give cows stability; they also reduce the risk of injuries and thereby provide protection to maintain claw health.

Download KRAIBURG focus as PDF file:

Healthy cows are climate-friendly cows