NODES - SPOKE 6 Project FORMIDABILÆ - D3.3 Animal welfare and milk quality, feed efficiency and environmental sustainability

The activities consisted of two studies, the first explored the potential of using milk analysis data from functional herd testing to estimate animal welfare levels in dairy farms. Welfare was assessed using the SDIB model, which integrates over 100 indicators across three clusters: environment, feeding, and animals. Data from 50 Italian Holstein farms were analyzed and grouped into quartiles based on SDIB scores. A significant correlation was found between welfare level and average daily milk yield (both raw and energy-corrected), with higher yields in farms with better welfare. Other parameters (SCC, fat/protein ratio) showed trends but lacked statistical significance, likely due to outliers. Milk yield appears to be a promising indicator for identifying low-welfare farms, though further analysis is needed to refine predictive models. The second study evaluated three dairy cow diets with different protein sources and RDP/RUP balances, keeping energy levels constant. Despite similar milk yield and intake across treatments, the SOL diet led to excess urea, suggesting inefficient nitrogen use. The BY diet, lower in crude protein but richer in RUP, maintained production while improving nitrogen efficiency. Overall, aligning protein degradability with available energy is essential for optimizing feed efficiency and environmental sustainability. This document is a deliverable of the project FORMIDABILÆ ("Forage system to make resilient Maize, Dairy and Biogas supply chains for a Lasting Agricultural Ecosystem"), which promotes approaches aimed at improving the smart, resilient, circular and diversified farm to ensure food security and social economic sustainability of dairy food chains with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in this sector. This document is part of the project NODES which has received funding from the MUR – Missione 4, Componente 2, Investimento 1.5 – Creazione e rafforzamento di “Ecosistemi dell’innovazione”, costruzione di “leader territoriali di R&S'' – del PNRR funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU with grant agreement no. ECS00000036