Article summary: A major October 2025 scoping review mapped 25 years of pasture-based dairy welfare research and highlighted what’s been studied most, and what’s been missed. Pasture access is consistently linked with strong welfare positives, but it comes with real challenges around climate exposure, feed variability, pathogens, and track-related lameness risk. The most practical path forward is management-led: shade and shelter, track design and maintenance, calf rearing choices made intentionally, and simple monitoring routines that catch issues early.
Pasture-based dairying is often described as “better for welfare”. The science mostly supports that… with an important caveat: welfare is an outcome, not a label.
A large systematic scoping review (published online 10 October 2025) pulled together 678 peer-reviewed studies from 2000–2024 on welfare outcomes in pastoral dairy systems. It’s one of the clearest snapshots we have of what researchers have focused on, what’s improved, and what still needs practical attention on farm.
This post turns that research into plain-English takeaways, without the culture-war framing. If you’re grazing cows, the goal is simple: keep the welfare upsides of pasture, while deliberately managing the parts that are still hard.
What the October 2025 review actually found (in plain English)
The review mapped welfare research across the “Five Domains” (nutrition, health, environment, behaviour, and mental state) and tracked how research priorities have shifted over time.
A few headlines worth knowing:
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Research volume is rising: publications increased from about 19 per year (2000–2019) to about 60 per year (2020–2024).
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Most studies focus on lactating cows: about 74% of studies were cow-focused, with fewer on calves and youngstock.
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Health dominates the research conversation: the health domain was most represented across calves, youngstock, and cows, while mental state was addressed in less than 1% of research.
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The “hot topics” are changing:
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Calf research has shifted from colostrum/passive immunity to extended suckling and cow–calf contact systems in recent years.
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Youngstock research continues to strongly feature parasite control.
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Cow welfare research still covers pasture access and lameness, but emerging tech (virtual fencing, automated health monitoring) is now a major theme.
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The review’s big “so what” is useful for farmers: we know a lot about certain health outcomes, but we’ve studied far less about how cows feel (comfort, frustration, motivation, positive experiences) and how early-life choices shape resilience later.
Where pasture systems tend to shine (and why that matters)
Across the broader evidence base, pasture access is repeatedly associated with welfare positives in three practical ways:
1) Natural behaviours become easier to express
Grazing allows cows to do what they’re highly motivated to do: eat, move, explore, and lie down in a more open environment.
A well-cited review comparing pasture-based and continuously housed systems found pasture access benefits behaviour, including grazing, improved lying/resting, and lower aggression, and that cows often prefer pasture, especially at night.
2) Movement is built into the system
Walking and grazing can support leg health and general fitness, provided the “walking surface” part of the system is designed properly (more on that below).
3) The welfare wins can be protected without fancy gear
Many of the biggest welfare gains come from basics: clean water access, good residuals, good footing, and early intervention when something starts to slip.
What’s still hard in pasture-based systems (and how it shows up)
Pasture changes the risk profile. Different hazards, different controls.
Weather exposure and climate variability
The scoping review explicitly flags the need to address climate-related challenges while preserving the welfare benefits of pasture access.
On farm, this shows up as:
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Heat load days where cows trade off lying time to seek shade and water
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Wet periods where standing time rises, tracks and yards break up, and udders get dirtier
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Cold wind and rain events that reduce comfort, especially for calves and smaller animals
Variable feed supply and “hidden hunger”
Pasture growth is not a constant. When allocation, quality, or utilisation slips, welfare issues can appear gradually:
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Loss of body condition (especially around calving and early lactation)
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More competition at break edges or supplements
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More time walking, less time lying
Body condition score (BCS) is widely used as a practical indicator of energy balance, and systematic scoring is recommended to identify cows missing targets.
Pathogens: mastitis pressure and parasites
In pastoral systems, pathogens are often linked to environment:
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Muddy gateways, dirty udders, and wet cows increase mastitis risk
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Youngstock can face ongoing parasite challenges (and the review shows parasite control remains a key youngstock theme).
Somatic cell count (SCC) remains one of the most useful signals:
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DairyNZ notes bulk milk SCC is an indirect estimate of subclinical mastitis level in the herd, and sharp rises can indicate missed clinical cases.
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DairyNZ also notes individual cow SCC is a best-practice method for identifying subclinical mastitis (alongside culture).
Lameness risk on tracks and laneways
Pasture systems often require more walking. That can be fine, or it can become the weak link.
A review on lameness in pasture-based dairy systems highlights major risk factors tied to trauma, including long walking distances and lack of track maintenance.
Tracks don’t have to be perfect. They do need to be:
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Stable under traffic
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Drained
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Free of sharp loose stone
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Maintained before potholes become cow-scale injuries
DairyNZ’s track-building guidance stresses good foundations, compaction, drainage, and a suitable surface layer, plus budgeting for maintenance.
Calf rearing choices: more options, more trade-offs
The scoping review shows calf welfare research has shifted, with extended suckling and cow–calf contact now a dominant topic in recent literature.
That doesn’t mean there’s one “right” system. It does mean:
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More farmers and researchers are testing how calf development, health, and behaviour respond to different rearing approaches
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Decisions should be intentional, resourced, and monitored (rather than defaulted)
Practical improvements that move the needle (no drama, just outcomes)
Below are management levers that consistently help, because they reduce known pasture-system hazards.
1) Shade, shelter, and water: treat them as welfare infrastructure
Under heat load, cows will seek shade, often at the expense of lying time, and they increase water intake and reduce feed intake.
Practical actions:
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Shade where cows actually are (not just “somewhere on the farm”)
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Trees, shade cloth, or purpose-built structures in high-use paddocks
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Water capacity and placement so timid cows are not excluded
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Change routines on heat-risk days
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Earlier milking, shorter walking, and avoiding yarding in peak heat where possible
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Use a heat alert trigger
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THI is commonly used as a guide; thresholds vary by herd and production level, but “watch closely” often starts around the high-60s to low-70s THI range.
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2) Wet weather plans: reduce standing time and dirt load
Key idea: protect lying time and keep udders cleaner.
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Stand-off options, sacrifice areas, and drainage work pay welfare dividends
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Target the “hot spots”: gateways, troughs, yard exits, track pinch points
3) Tracks and laneways: small maintenance, big welfare payoff
DairyNZ’s basics for robust tracks include removing topsoil, a solid base, mechanical compaction, camber/crowning, drainage, and a maintenance programme.
Simple maintenance checklist:
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Fill potholes early (before hoof bruising starts)
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Keep drains open and edges stable
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Remove loose sharp stone
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Widen or smooth “pressure points” (tight corners, steep entries, dairy approach)
4) Feed planning that prevents welfare drift
Welfare problems often start as a feed problem that becomes a health problem.
Focus areas:
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Consistent pre- and post-grazing targets (reduces swings in intake)
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Buffer feeding that is predictable (avoid big “feast/famine” patterns)
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Rotation decisions that match growth reality (not growth hope)
This is where pasture measurement and forecasting, including weather-driven growth expectations, can become a welfare tool rather than just a feed tool.
5) Monitoring: make welfare visible before it becomes expensive
The review notes automated health monitoring and other emerging technologies are now a major research focus.
You don’t need fancy sensors to benefit from the same idea: measure, record, respond.
Welfare metrics that matter (keep this as a simple dashboard)
Body condition trends (energy balance)
What to watch:
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Herd-level drift and the “tail” of cows falling behind
Why it matters:
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BCS is a widely used indicator of energy balance, and systematic scoring helps identify cows missing targets.
Practical habit:
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Score at consistent seasonal checkpoints and act on trend, not anecdotes
Lameness incidence and mobility
What to watch:
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New cases and repeat offenders
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Where they go lame (often points to tracks, yards, or wet gateways)
Why it matters:
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Long walking distances and poor track maintenance are recognised risk factors in grazing herds.
Practical habit:
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Regular mobility scoring while cows move calmly, plus prompt treatment pathways
Mastitis signals (clinical + subclinical)
What to watch:
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Bulk milk SCC trend and spikes
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Individual cow SCC to find subclinical cases
Why it matters:
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High bulk milk SCC indicates higher subclinical mastitis levels, and sharp rises can signal missed clinical cases.
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Individual cow SCC is a leading method for identifying subclinical mastitis.
Practical habit:
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Treat SCC like a welfare indicator, not just a payment/penalty number
Heat stress indicators (early, not late)
What to watch:
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Cows crowding shade or troughs, reduced grazing, more standing
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Panting and elevated respiration
Useful guide:
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Respiration rate above ~60 breaths/min is commonly treated as an indicator of heat stress in lactating dairy cows.
Practical habit:
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Use weather forecasts, THI alerts, and observation to act earlier, not harder
Region callouts: same welfare principles, different constraints
New Zealand and Ireland (high pasture utilisation, seasonal patterns)
Often strong on:
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Pasture access, herd flow, and routine-based management
Often hardest:
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Wet conditions, track wear, and shoulder-season hygiene pressure
High leverage:
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Drainage, laneway maintenance, and wet-weather stand-off planning
Australia (bigger heat swings, variable rainfall)
Often strong on:
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Practical infrastructure and contingency planning
Often hardest:
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Heat load, water logistics, and pasture variability across seasons
High leverage:
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Shade placement, water capacity, heat-day routines, and early heat triggers
Parts of LATAM (very diverse environments and systems)
Often strong on:
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Innovation and adaptation to local constraints
Often hardest (in some climates):
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Longer heat seasons, humidity pressure, parasites, and wet-season footing issues
High leverage:
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Local parasite planning, shade/water strategy, and track/yard surfaces that survive wet periods
(These are patterns, not stereotypes. Farm context matters more than country.)
What’s the big takeaway?
The October 2025 scoping review reinforces a practical message: pasture-based systems have real welfare advantages, but the next leap forward is about managing climate exposure, walking surfaces, feed variability, and early-life decisions, while improving how we measure the cow’s lived experience (not just health events).
If you want one action for the coming month, make it this:
Pick one welfare metric you can measure weekly, one risk you can reduce with infrastructure or routine, and track the change.
- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2025-10-30