To spread or not to spread? That is the age-old question. One that I recently answered. I was a participant in the Progressive Dairy Operators Youth Workshop Series.

It is a six-day business course for dairy producers between 25 and 35 years old. The final day was filled with presentations by class members based on a specific topic covered in one of the previous lessons.

We all know the welfare of animals is a growing concern for the general public and certainly an interest to producers. I recently heard an interesting philosophy which helped me gain a better understanding of the origin of varying viewpoints of welfare and how today’s farmers might be able to address them.

For Canada’s agricultural producers, a profitable year of farming depends on successfully managing multiple, and often simultaneous, sources of risk such as weather, market prices and disease. Of all the risks faced by producers, the major one is price risk.

“Having a business strategy that includes managing price risk is essential,” says Gwen Paddock, RBC Royal Bank’s national manager, agriculture and agribusiness.

The first-ever Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium was hosted last month by the University of Guelph and The Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare in Guelph, Ontario. The event attracted 300 participants from around the world and served as a forum between dairy producers, researchers and allied industry.

Today’s dairy industry faces a number of challenges, a few of which can be addressed through animal welfare.

Jeffrey Rushen of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said in his keynote address that by acknowledging animal welfare standards, dairy producers will likely see continued acceptance by consumers and the public of dairy farming, as well as increased profitability as a result of reducing economic losses due to poor animal welfare.

Having dairy producers spearhead the development of animal welfare standards is good, he added; however, it does risk the potential of eliminating consumer concerns.

As the weather gets cooler, often with large temperature swings between night and day, calf feeding programs need to be adjusted.

Maintenance requirements must be met for growth and development; however, ensuring strong growth has been linked to improved performance (earlier breeding and increased milk yield).