The Cutting Edge - Article 27 - Youth and adult public views of dairy calf housing options

Operators To OWNERS

Youth and adult public views of dairy calf housing options

Big 3 Infographic at otovets.com/cuttingedge

Link: https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(20)30496-3/fulltext

Big Take Away #1: It would be remiss of us as agricultural industry reps to ignore the power of public perception. BUT we DO NOT need to view it as wholly negative!

These new societal platforms present us with a unique way to get the word out as well as LEARN and adapt much sooner than previously possible.

Big Take Away #2: Those who disagreed with individual housing did not like the lack of socialization, space for the calves, and the “unnatural” feel of the system.

This is something that will need to be addressed with future systems; whether that is adding true or perceived space for calves, improving socialization via pairing or grouping and/or more natural options such as outdoor access or “herd” lifestyles.

Big Take Away #3: In the youth survey population, those that used social media did not display a statistically significant propensity toward one specific housing option WHERE AS adults who did access social media had a propensity away from individual housing.

This could be due to the youth not being exposed to animal welfare campaigns against animal agriculture. Suggesting that with a more active approach this could be utilized to educate them in a positive manor

Ultimate Message: Preparing for consumer shifts in the coming decades their impact our clients and therefore the services can be difficult. BUT if we keep abreast of current consumer trends we can stay ahead in the game. Additionally, concentrating on current areas of concern when educating the public and specifically youth, could have lasting positive implications for the dairy industry.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore youth and adult public views of different calf housing options and reasons underlying preference or acceptance.

Location: University of Minnesota

Methods: Participants 5 to 17 yr of age (n = 463) and 18 yr or older (n = 1,310) completed an in-person survey at the Minnesota State Fair (St. Paul, MN) in summer 2018. The survey was administered via Qualtrics survey software (Qualtrics, Provo, UT) using iPads (Apple, Cupertino, CA) and, in addition to collecting demographics, presented 3 images of calf housing options (individual, pair, or group) and asked participants to select their preferred option and indicate their reasoning for selection (youth), or acceptance for each option and reasoning for selection (adult). The PROC SURVEYFREQ of SAS (9.4; SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) was used for descriptive analysis. Rao-Scott chi-square tests (PROC SURVEYFREQ, SAS 9.4) were used to investigate relationships between demographics and housing preference or acceptance.