Investing in Agriculture: Dairy Cow Comfort

Find out more about how dairy cows can benefit from improved conditions in this short video.

Video transcript

[Positive, upbeat music with guitar starts.]

[On a white background, three images appear inside triangular shapes; a small herd of dairy cattle, a bowl of cereal with raspberries and blueberries on top and a close shot of a milking devise on a cow.]

Text on screen: Investing in Agriculture. Dairy Cow Comfort.

Male Narrator: To understand the importance of research into cow comfort, you need to understand a day in the life of a dairy cow.

[Cut to a diamond shape with an image of dairy cows in a barn.]

She eats.

[Adding to the previous shot is another diamond shape with a shot of the side of a dairy cow’s head.]

She chews cud.

[Adding to the previous shots is another diamond shape with a shot of a cow looking directly at you.]

Gets lots of sleep.

[Another diamond shape is added to the group, this one with a close shot of the milking apparatus attached to the cow’s udder.]

Visits the milking parlour.

[Another diamond shape is added with another image of the head of a dairy cow.]

Spends time with her herd...

[A last diamond shape added to group with an image of a dairy cow looking at you.]

…and she wants to be comfortable.

[These images are wiped off the screen to reveal a herd of dairy cattle in a beautiful field.]

Comfortable cows produce more, high-quality milk, and they live longer, healthier lives.

[A close shot of a dairy cow looking at you is wiped on top of the previous image.]

Canadian dairy farmers have agreed on a code of practice…

[An image of the table of contents from Canada’s Code of Practice for Dairy Cattle slides onto screen.]

…to ensure a minimum standard of care for dairy cattle. Here’s what a cow needs.

[The screen wipes to white and different images of dairy cattle appear with each line of text as the narrator reads it.]

Good nutrition, comfortable bedding, room to move, regular veterinary care and a safe environment that prevents injury and disease.

Text on screen: Good nutrition, Comfortable bedding, Room to move, Veterinary care, Safe environment

[An image of dairy cattle in a barn wipes onto screen.]

Text on screen: To help dairy farmers we invested in research

To help dairy farmers, we invested in research…

[A different image of a dairy cow is added to the last image.]

…to learn how to make cows healthier, happier, and more productive. The initiative was a great example…

[An image of a large and small carton of milk with a glass of milk beside them is wiped onto the screen. Written on the top of the larger milk carton are the names of Canadian Milk producers and on the side of the same carton is the word “Collaboration”. Beside these cartons are the logos of 4 Canadian Universities.

Logos on Screen: The University of British Colombia, the University of Calgary, the University of Guelph, l’université Laval.

… of collaboration between four universities...

[The four logos disappear and two other logos appear.]

Logos on screen: Dairy Farmers of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

...private industry and government research centres.

[Wiped onto the screen with the milk cartons is an image of a small boy in pajamas drinking milk and a dairy cow looking at you.]

The findings were confirmed through a survey of 210 Canadian dairy farmers.

[Five images of dairy cattle inside triangle shapes come onto the screen one at a time.]

The result is a really informative online Animal Comfort Tool to help farmers assess how well they are meeting the Code of Practice for Dairy Cattle.

Text on screen: Checklists, Visual guides, Measures, Expert tips, Webinar series

It contains checklists, visual guides, measures and expert-level tips. And the tool was developed alongside a series of informative animal welfare webinars.

[The triangles are wiped off the screen and a shot of four dairy cows in a field wipes on.]

Text on screen: Cow comfort

Cow comfort matters

[Two images wipe onto screen, one is a small herd of dairy cattle eating grass in a field, the other is a spoon scooping ice cream with fruit topping.]

Text on screen: Healthy animals

It means healthy animals.

[Image of cattle is replaced by an image of a small boy drinking a glass of milk.]

Text on screen: High quality dairy products

It means high quality dairy products.

[Image of spoon scooping ice cream slides to bottom corner of screen revealing more of the image.]

Text on screen: Pride in our dairy industry

And it means pride in our dairy industry

[Dissolve to a circle shape with an image of dairy cattle in a field. A black outline of a large triangle is layered on top and to the right side of it.]

Text on screen: Learn more about agricultural programs and research in Canada. www.agr.gc.ca

[Dissolve to triangle shape with young girl holding a glass of milk. A smaller black outline of a triangle is layered on top and to the left side of it.]

Text on screen: For Cow Comfort Webinars, visit www.dairyknowledge.ca

[Cut to the animated Canada wordmark]

Text on screen: (c) Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (2017)

[Positive, upbeat music with guitar fades out.]

[Fade to black.]