Project objectives
The longevity of French dairy cows has decreased significantly over the past 30 years, reaching an average age at culling of 5.8 years (according to Institut de l’Elevage and France Conseil Elevage, 2021. The situation penalizes the global efficiency of dairy cattle farms, especially their economic and environnemental performance, and affects their perception by society. Longevity is the result of two essential factors: replacement (entries) and culling (exits). Therefore, the ALONGE project aims to rethink the management strategies of replacement and culling, in order to better meet the challenges faced by dairy farms in agro-ecological transition. One of these challenges is to breed only the number of animals necessary for replacement, while limiting the number of culled animals, without penalizing production. This better management of herd demographics will allow, for equivalent production, a reduction in the number of animals present on the farm, thus contributing to a reduction in inputs (less need for feed resources) and a reduction in environmental impacts, through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Far from proposing a unique and uniform solution, ALONGE is a possible solution to the diversity of French dairy systems and to the specific situation of each farm. Identifying why cows are culled prematurely, this project will promote virtuous management for the health of the animals. ALONGE thus promotes four of the five agro-ecological principles for innovative livestock systems put forward by Dumont et al. (2013): (i) integrated animal health management, (ii) reduction of inputs required for production, (iii) reduction of pollution, and (iv) strengthening the resilience of livestock systemsthe. The ALONGE project aims to:- To create innovative and operational indicators in order to feed the decision-making tools in terms of replacement and culling management of the herd,
- To create a national observatory of longevity to have an updated overview of the evolution of culling and replacement,
- To create a diagnostic method to characterize farms in terms of animal longevity, to identify critical points and possible levers of action,
- To develop a tool to help manage the demography of the herd, to help the breeder choose the cows to be culled and to define his replacement strategy,
- To sensitize and train farmers and advisors to the challenges of herd demography management.
Implication of the research unit
The unit, through Charlotte Dezetter and Charles Banliat, is involved in actions 2, 3 and for 4 of the project.- Action 2: Creation of technical, economic and environmental references on the career of French dairy cows. Charlotte Dezetter (URSE) and Yannick Le Cozler (INRAE UMR PEGASE) are leading the task “Effect of heifer rearing management on the longevity of dairy cows” whose objective is to study the effects of different weights and ages at calving of replacement heifers on longevity.
- Action 3: Creation of a reference system, methods and tools to improve the longevity of dairy cows.
- Action 4: Decision-making process and feasibility tests of methods and tools with end users.
Expected results and valorization
The expected results of this project are:- A better understanding of the reasons for longevity in dairy farming,
- The creation of technical, economic and sanitary indicators to describe and characterize the longevity of dairy cows in France,
- An observatory to monitor the longevity of dairy cows on a national scale,
- The identification of the factors of variations in longevity, at the animal level and at the farm level in different contexts of dairy farming systems,
- An operational method of diagnosis in farm allowing to characterize the longevity of the herd, to identify the points to be improved and to direct towards the existing resources, intended for advisers and farmers,
- A tool to help manage herd demographics for advisors and farmers.
