< Factory Farming in New Zealand

Scientific Research Related to Cubicle & Stall Farming

Links to published scientific papers & reports. See also: Related facts

Title of Paper/Study

Results

Animal Welfare
Genetic Analysis of Locomotion and Associated Conformation Traits of Holstein-Friesian Dairy Cows Managed in Different Housing Systems
O. M. Onyiro1 and S. Brotherstone
School of Biological Sciences, Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh
"...the results indicate that cows on pasture had fewer locomotive disorders than cows in other types of housing."
Hoof disorders, locomotion ability and lying times of cubicle-housed compared to pasture-based dairy cows
Teagasc, Moorepark Dairy Production Research Centre, Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland
School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Ireland
"...PASTURE cows had less severe hoof disorders, better locomotion ability and reduced likelihood of clinical lameness compared to similar cows in a HOUSED system"
Scientific opinion on welfare of dairy cows in relation to behaviour, fear and pain based on a risk assessment with special reference to the impact of housing, feeding, management and genetic selection
European Food Safety Authority
"The risk estimates for behavioural problems, fear and pain associated with housing were highest for tie-stalls and lowest for cows at pasture"
Behaviour of dairy cows kept in extensive (loose housing/pasture) or intensive (tie stall) environments II. Lying and lying-down behaviour
C.C. Krohn and L. Munksgaarda
National Institute of Animal Science, Department of Research in Cattle and Sheep Research Centre Foulum, Denmark
"...the results suggest that the act of lying down in the stalls was aversive to the cows and that the lying area and/or the tie-stall system increased the risk of injuries to tethered cows."
The Welfare of Cattle in Dairy Production (PDF)
Farm Sanctuary Report
This meta-study shows that an increased focus on intensive milk production in the USA has led to a mass decline in the welfare of cattle used in dairy operations.
Environmental Impact
Greener Pastures: How grass-fed beef and milk contribute to healthy eating.
Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA, 2006.
"...raising cattle on well-managed pastures will provide significant environmental and other benefits [over stall-based and other types of farming]"
Risk Assessment Evaluation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
United States Environmental protection Agency
"One animal facility with a large population of animals can easily equal a small city in terms of waste production.... The age-old practice of land application is used, but the volumes of manure that must be disposed in this way frequently exceed the assimilative capacity of land within economic transport distances. This may result in the release of excess manure to watershed environments during the catastrophic breach of holding facilities or more commonly, during the intermittent runoff of excess manure applied to already saturated land."
Eating the planet? How we can feed the world without trashing it. (PDF)
Report commissioned by Friends of the Earth and Compassion in World Farming.
"...it is possible to feed the world using solely humane (freerange) farm animal production systems. Humane animal production can feed the world without massive land use change. It has considerable benefits for animal welfare but could also provide environmental benefits such as promoting biodiversity and reducing environmental pollution (CIWF, 2009)."

Note:

  • There are different types of dairy housing; e.g. tie-stalls (where the cow is restrained), cubicle/free stalls (which may permit some freedom of movement) and herd homes (which are much better).
  • Many studies only compare tie-stalling to cubicle stalls. These aren't relevant to us as we are trying to compare cubicle to pasture-based farming.