THE WIND OF CHANGE: ANIMAL WELFARE AND DAIRY FARMING

In the second column of the "Integral Sustainability" series, learn how the BEA Score, an innovative tool from the startup ESGpec, is helping producers adapt to new sustainability and environmental responsibility requirements.

Just as Biquini Cavadão's hit song "Vento Ventania" evokes the quest to overcome challenges and the renewal brought by the wind—"take me to the edges of the sky"—dairy farms are being driven by the winds of transformation, guided by new consumer demands for more responsible and sustainable practices. The wind, both in music and in the agricultural sector, symbolizes this movement of change and adaptation, highlighting the importance of innovation to overcome obstacles and move toward a more promising future.

In the second column of the "Integral Sustainability" series, a partnership between Revista Leite Integral and ESGpec, we present the results of the BEA Score, a gamified tool developed by the startup to assess animal welfare on dairy farms. This solution is part of a suite of tools focused on the ESG agenda, allowing producers to review their operations, adjust production practices, and direct these winds of change toward a more balanced, integrated, and biodiverse future. The assessment, conducted by RURALE—a company specialized in qualifying, professionalizing, and training dairy farms through consulting and training—covered 100 farms across three Brazilian states between April and September 2024.

Farm profile

The survey was conducted by 10 RURALE technicians, trained to ensure process standardization, covering 100 farms (40 in Minas Gerais, 35 in Rio Grande do Sul, and 25 in Goiás). Regarding facilities for lactating cows, 84 farms reported having only one type of facility, while 16 cited the use of more than one system. The predominant infrastructure was the feeding lane for grazing cows, present on 48% of farms, followed by dirt paddocks (23%), compost barns (16%), and systems such as free stall, rotational grazing, and others, which represented 13% of properties.

The herds' racial profile indicated a predominance of Holstein cows, present on 52 farms, followed by Girolando cows on 41 properties. Jersey cows were present on six farms and Gir cows on one. The average recorded production was 20.1 kg of milk per cow/day, with an average stock of 68 lactating cows per farm.

What is the BEA Score?

The BEA Score is a gamification methodology developed by ESGpec to assess animal welfare, assigning a farm a score that can reach a total of 10 points. With this score, the producer obtains a practical and comprehensive overview of the herd's condition, reflecting the commitment to the social dimension in implementing the ESG agenda in the dairy sector. The BEA Score allows for a holistic assessment, observing the herd's overall situation and enabling monitoring of progress over time.

The importance of conducting this assessment goes beyond immediate diagnosis. By adopting the BEA Score, producers gain a deeper understanding of their own farms, identifying areas for improvement and preparing to meet growing consumer demands for sustainable and responsible practices. The assessment process, offered free of charge through the Regenerative Awakening project, is an opportunity for producers to enhance their knowledge and an effective way to direct the technical support they receive.

When completing the BEA Score, many producers reported that the process proved to be a true learning experience. The tool provides real-time technical support materials, including articles, videos, and images that clarify the points evaluated. This enriches the process and helps correct practices that might otherwise go unnoticed in daily farm management.

THE BEA SCORE ALLOWS A HOLISTIC EVALUATION, OBSERVING THE OVERALL HERD SCENARIO AND ALLOWING MONITORING OF EVOLUTION OVER TIME

Each phase of the BEA Score corresponds to one of the five domains of animal welfare, ensuring a comprehensive assessment:

1. Nutrition: assesses continuous access to clean water and a balanced diet, so that the animals are free from hunger and thirst;

2. Environment: focuses on the freedom of animals to move and rest, ensuring they have adequate shelter from the elements;

3. Health: assesses the absence of disease, injury and pain, promoting the physical and mental health of animals;

4. Behavior: checks whether animals can express natural behaviors and interact socially;

5. Mental state: focuses on emotional well-being, ensuring that animals are free from fear and stress.

These domains are crucial for identifying areas that need improvement through a comprehensive analysis of farm conditions.

Results

The overall average score for the farms was 6.9 points, and 12 farms had BEA Scores above 8 points. The average for this group with the highest score was 8.4 points, with a predominance of Holstein herds (Graph 1). This extract included farms from the three states evaluated, with an average production of 27.6 kg/cow/day and an average of 87 lactating cows.

Among the five domains, considering the 100 properties, the "health" domain stood out as the one most in need of attention, with an average score of 58% of the total possible. In contrast, the "nutrition" and "environment" domains achieved the best averages, 73% and 79%, respectively. The "behavior" and "mental state" domains had intermediate results, both reaching 67%. This shows that, although the assessments indicate well-fed animals kept in appropriate environments, there are significant challenges to be addressed, especially in the area of animal health, such as disease prevention and improved management (Graph 2).

Continue following the Integral Sustainability series, as future editions will provide a detailed analysis of the responses to the 12 questions in the "health" domain, offering in-depth insights into opportunities for improvement and highlighting practices that can improve animal health and welfare on farms.

Animal Productivity and Welfare

Farms with the highest average production (extracting more than 25 kg of milk per cow/day) achieved an average BEA Score of 7.5. In contrast, farms with production below 15 kg/cow/day recorded an average of 6.4 points, a difference of 18%. These data suggest an association between consistent investment in animal welfare and productivity, reinforcing the positive impact of practices that promote both animal health and production efficiency (Table 1).

Production System and Welfare

When analyzing the types of infrastructure used for lactating cows, the BEA Score results vary depending on the system adopted on each farm. Farms using a feeding alley for grazing cows, adopted on 42 properties, achieved an average score of 6.9 points. The 17 farms using a dirt paddock averaged 6.6 points, while those adopting combinations of two or more systems, present on 16 properties, achieved an average of 6.8 points. On the 15 farms with compost barns, the BEA Score was 7.4 points. Additionally, seven farms adopting systems such as free stall, cross ventilation, or others achieved an average score of 6.7, while the three farms with rotational grazing achieved an average of 7.2 points (Table 2).

Regarding calf rearing systems, farms using individual houses (16 herds) had an average BEA Score of 7.4. In contrast, collective rearing systems with hand-sucking and natural-sucking had averages of 6.2 and 5.7, respectively, with a total of 20 herds evaluated. These results suggest that different rearing systems may be related to challenges that impact overall animal welfare, which, in turn, can influence farm production performance (Table 3).

Opportunities for Improvement and a Sustainable Future

The BEA Score results indicate that the "animal health" domain is a critical issue. Observing the responses to each question in this domain, it is clear that health planning is crucial to improving overall welfare on these farms. Preventive practices, good health management practices, and disease control are essential factors. By integrating these improvements with sustainability initiatives, farms can evolve toward a more balanced production model, benefiting animals, people, and the environment.

Conclusion

Farms seeking efficiency must pay attention to animal welfare, and the BEA Score is a key ally in this process. The average score of 6.9 obtained by the farms evaluated reflects the need for improvement, especially in the area of "animal health."

With a greater focus on management and the incorporation of technological innovations, these farms have the potential to reach new levels of sustainability, becoming examples of best practices in the livestock sector.

Furthermore, as consumers demand greater transparency and accountability in production chains, farms that place animal welfare at the center of their operations will be better prepared to meet these demands. A history of crises and inadequate practices related to animal welfare, which have already had negative impacts on the sector, reinforces the importance of initiatives like the BEA Score. These tools are essential for mitigating reputational risks and ensuring the maintenance and strengthening of consumer trust.

Structured animal welfare assessment goes beyond the individual benefits of each farm. With the growing adoption of assessment processes, such as the BEA Score, it becomes possible to establish goals that offer both an internal perspective—monitoring the farm's performance over time—and an external perspective— benchmarking , comparing its performance with other properties. This facilitates the identification of opportunities for improvement and adaptation.

This process will provide valuable knowledge for the sector and, further, will enable producers to adapt more efficiently to the growing demands for sustainable and responsible practices. Such efforts will directly benefit animals, increase the competitiveness of farms in the global market, and strengthen the sustainability of the entire production chain.

With the growing adoption of assessment processes, such as the BEA Score, it becomes possible to set goals that offer both an internal perspective — monitoring the farm's performance over time — and an external perspective — benchmarking, comparing its performance with other properties.

BRUNA SILPER

Veterinarian, specialist in livestock farming

precision and sustainable solutions, PhD in Science

Animal and milk producer in MG.

HELOISE DUARTE

Veterinarian, specialist in Management

Agroindustrial and meat producer in MG.

LUIZ GUSTAVO PEREIRA

Veterinarian, professor and researcher, Doctor

in Animal Science, specialist in nutrition and

regenerative systems.

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About ESGpec

ESGpec is a startup founded with the purpose of integrating technology and sustainability into agribusiness, offering tools that help producers measure and improve their environmental performance. With a portfolio that includes solutions like the BEA Score, the company's mission is to promote regenerative practices that contribute to a more balanced and responsible production system.

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