The Development of a Comprehensive Evaluation Grid for Dairy Cow Welfare in Organic Farms

Evaluating animal welfare (AW) in dairy farming remains a complex challenge due to the numerous indicators involved. This study aims to develop a specific evaluation grid for dairy cows, incorporating measurement methods tailored to each indicator, to provide a reliable and reproducible assessment.

The study was conducted in three organic dairy farms in western France. A sample of 21 cows per farm was observed by two evaluators one day per week over a 10-week period. The selected indicators covered five categories, feeding, housing, health, behavior, and stress, in line with the five fundamental freedoms of animal welfare. A "high–medium–low" scale was applied to each indicator, and inter- and intra-observer reproducibility was assessed using the Kappa concordance coefficient.

The results show notable variability in the reproducibility of the indicators. Health indicators, such as skin lesions (Kappa = 0.82) and coughing (Kappa = 0.72), demonstrated high reproducibility, confirming their reliability for assessing AW. Conversely, indicators related to cleanliness, such as leg cleanliness, showed lower reproducibility (Kappa < 0.5), possibly due to the influence of environmental or behavioral factors. Similarly, behavioral indicators, such as responsiveness to human stimuli, presented moderate reproducibility, suggesting day-to-day fluctuations and highlighting the need to standardize observation conditions to improve precision. Positioning charts show that health indicators require minimal improvement, while those related to housing and behavior are of higher priority.

The proposed grid allows for prioritizing interventions on farms to enhance AW, although certain limitations remain. This study recommends additional outdoor observations to refine the assessment and address the limitations posed by indicators affected by indoor housing conditions.