Beef cattle
The following measures have been identified by AssureWel as being important to assess for beef cattle. The criteria to select these 'core' measures included consideration as to how practical they are to assess on-farm.
- Lameness
- Cleanliness
- Body Condition Score (adult cattle only)
- Hairloss, lesions and swellings
- Animals with respiratory signs
- Cattle needing further care
- Disbudding, dehorning and castration
- Mortality
Download the AssureWel assessment protocol and scoresheet.
How to use the outcome assessment: The protocol can be used to assess the level of welfare achieved for an individual animal, farming system or farm assurance scheme.
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- Producers - regular self-assessment of your herd can help monitor welfare and provide early indicators to identify problems. For more information and support on self-assessment see our Advisory Support pages or contact AssureWel.
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- Farm assurance schemes, producer groups and vets - formal assessment together with feedback and benchmarking can help to improve scheme assessment, farm management and general levels of cattle welfare. For more information and support contact AssureWel.
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Which systems can be assessed? The measures have been developed for all beef cattle systems.
How long does it take? The assessment takes around 25 minutes per farm for the sample sizes suggested so can be fitted into a normal herd inspection.
How many cows are assessed? Some measures require an assessment of the whole herd or collecting information from management records. For other measures a sample of 20 individual animals needs to be assessed. However assessing a larger number of cattle will increase the confidence of the sample and be more representative of the whole herd. Regular self-assessment of the individual animal measures is recommended for the whole herd.
Who can carry out an assessment? Anyone with relevant livestock experience can use the protocol. Training is required to ensure reliable and accurate results. Training is available through AssureWel, to find out more contact us.
How does the AssureWel assessment work with the other welfare assessment being completed on my herd? The AssureWel team has consulted with industry and worked in conjunction with other assurance schemes to determine core measures that are assessed in a standardised way across industry. Therefore the AssureWel assessment will complement any other assessments being completed.
How to improve performance:
- Use the measures to monitor change.
- Refer to our Advisory Support pages for guidance materials on good practice and improving performance on particular outcome measures.
- Support and training for producer groups, field staff, vets and companies is also available through AssureWel, to find out more contact us.