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Why New Zealand Grass-Fed Dairy can be a Better Choice for Animal Wellbeing
Discover the benefits of grass-fed dairying from veterinary expert Michael Shallcrass.
12 Mar 2025
7 min
Michael is passionate about animal welfare in the dairy industry and this interview focuses on why he believes that New Zealand grass-fed dairying can be a better choice for animal health and wellbeing.
Q. What does animal wellbeing mean to consumers?
Increasingly, consumers are putting emphasis on where their food comes from. If that food is associated with animals, consumers are wanting assurance that those animals are well cared for.
52% of consumers in a survey from early 2025 indicated that animal welfare claims are important when buying dairy products.¹
Research conducted by Kantar for Fonterra, also showed that consumers see a direct link between the care given to animals and delivering a safe and nutritious product². In fact, there were almost 8,000 global Food and Beverage products launched in 2023 with animal welfare claims3.
When it comes to animal wellbeing, New Zealand grass-fed dairying has a lot to offer. AgResearch, a New Zealand Government Research Institute, has published a white paper entitled ‘Pasture-fed livestock production and products: Science behind the narrative’, which shows the benefits to cows of a pasture-based diet when compared to cows in housed animal systems. Researchers considered animal health and wellbeing, including the environment they are raised in and their ability to express their natural behaviours.
Q. What impact does New Zealand's pasture-based system have on animal health and welfare?
New Zealand enjoys a temperate climate, plentiful rainfall, and abundant sunshine. Most of New Zealand has at least 2,000 hours of sunshine annually. Because of this, our cows have access to pasture year-round.
Fonterra cows spend over 350 days a year outside grazing on pasture, that's more than anywhere else in the world*.
They spend most of their time outside being able to exhibit their natural behaviours, socialising with the herd, breathing fresh air and roaming their paddocks which are part of New Zealand’s vast dairy landscape.
Q. How is animal welfare legally regulated in New Zealand?
New Zealand has robust legislation in the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and its supporting Codes and Regulations, which state the minimum standards that must be adhered to on farm, along with recommended best practices relating to animal care.
These animal health instruments are set, updated and regulated by the New Zealand Government, and enforced by the Ministry for Primary Industries and New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals.
Being outside on pasture in the open air can have positive health and wellbeing benefits for our cows for the following reasons:
Pasture based dairy farming lets cows exhibit their natural behaviours, and who to socially interact within the herd. Fonterra New Zealand's average stocking rat, is 2.79 cows/ha. Depending on the time of year and grass growth rates this means each cow will generally have between 35m2 and 179m2 of space at any given time.
New Zealand has a natural biosecurity advantage; as remote islands in the South Pacific, we are free from many pests and diseases that affect dairy farming in other parts of the world.
Our farmers are not permitted to use growth hormones (rBST) to increase milk production. In fact, the New Zealand Government completely prohibits the use of animal growth hormones in dairy farming. And we only use antibiotics when our cows need them, for the treatment of known infections and under veterinary advice.
Grass is a natural food source for cows, supporting good rumen function and overall health. New Zealand cows spend most of their time outside grazing on pasture on a variety of grass and forage crops.
Pasture provides both natural nutrition and a soft surface for cows to rest and roam. They are exposed to lower levels of environmental bacteria and are under less physiological stress, making them less susceptible to disease.
Our cows typically have low somatic cell counts, a key indicator that they are living healthy and productive lives.
The wellbeing of our cows is of utmost importance to our farmers. Our farmers are required to uphold high standards of animal welfare and meet our New Zealand regulations.
These requirements are set out in Fonterra Farmers’ Terms of Supply, and in our Group Animal Welfare and Biosecurity Policy.
Q. What does animal health & wellbeing mean for Fonterra?
Cows are the heart of every Fonterra dairy farm, and their wellbeing means everything to our farmers. Cows spend most of their time outdoors, grazing on lush green grass, making the most of natural sunlight and fresh air with plenty of space to walk and lie down.
Our Cared for Cows Standard represents our approach to wellbeing so that our cows are valued and treated with respect throughout their lives. New Zealand cows have high reproductive performance and live longer, productive lives.
Fonterra is a member of Dairy Partners – which aims to make the New Zealand dairy sector world leading in animal care. We also share our knowledge of best practice with other countries and assess the wellbeing of animals as part of our on-going quality assessments in all markets.
Q. Does Fonterra align to the World Health Organisation's 'Five Freedoms'?
Yes, as part of our Group Animal Welfare Policy, Fonterra farmers are required to meet the five freedoms. The internationally recognised Five Freedoms are reflected in the minimum standards of The Code of Welfare: Dairy Cattle (2019). We are also working to continuously improve animal wellbeing outcomes through promotion of positive experiences as described by the Five Domains.
The Five Domains recognise that both positive and negative experiences in each of the four physical domains (nutrition, environment, health, behaviour) contribute to the overall mental state of an animal (the fifth domain).
We strive to provide positive experiences for our cows in all four physical domains. We want our cows to be:
- Well-fed (Nutrition)
- Comfortable (Environment)
- Healthy (Health)
- Content (Behaviour)
Q. How does Fonterra aim to make sure that these high standards around animal health and wellbeing are upheld by their farmers?
Our ‘Cared for Cows’ Standard sets out the requirements for Fonterra’s management of animal health and wellbeing on our farms. The standard includes as a minimum:
- A system for recording and measuring farm level data provided by our farmers, including but not limited to, incidence of lameness, mortality, clinical mastitis, herd data, replacement rates, bulk somatic cell count and milk production data.
- Validation of farm data by a third-party auditor.
- A risk assessment framework to identify farms with the potential for animal health and welfare issues. This is reviewed annually to ensure the framework remains relevant.
- Clear triggers within the framework and a timely process for further investigation.
- A complaint follow-up process where issues identified by anyone internal or external to Fonterra, are addressed with urgency.
- If there are ever any Animal Health and Welfare issues identified on farm through any method of identification, we have a clear process for ensuring that the animals receive immediate attention.
Q. Why did Fonterra look to create their own standard?
Our strong animal welfare standards in New Zealand reflect global best practice. While external animal welfare standards and certifications exist, not all are relevant to New Zealand’s pasture-based farming system. Our farming system means cows have access to outdoor pasture all year. Many welfare standards used overseas are designed for housed cattle and utilise assessment criteria which are not as applicable or appropriate to assess our cows’ wellbeing.
Q. How do you verify the data on farm?
All Fonterra farmers are third party audited against the Fonterra Farm Dairy, Dairy Material Collection, Storage and Transportation Risk Management Programme (RMP) 302 protocol.
This checks that all Food Safety activities on farm meet the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) requirements in New Zealand, as well as Fonterra standards that support eligibility of dairy material being sold to overseas markets.
Q. Is the ‘Cared for Cows’ standard third-party certified?
Our New Zealand milk is third-party certified against our ’Cared for Cows’ Standard annually by AsureQuality, an independent Conformity Assessment Body (CAB). AsureQuality is accredited by the Joint Accreditation System for Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) to certify against this standard.
Expert
Michael Shallcrass
Senior Veterinary Manager Fonterra
Michael is the Senior Veterinary Manager within Fonterra’s On-Farm Excellence Animals team. This team focuses on managing animal health and welfare on Fonterra farms, and identifying and encouraging the adoption of good farming practices. Michael oversees Fonterra’s Mastitis Support Programme, with a network of veterinarians around the country who have received additional training in milk quality investigations. Before joining Fonterra, Michael was in clinical practice for twelve years, with a strong focus on mastitis management and bull fertility.
References
- [1] FMCG Gurus - Meat & Plant-Based Protein Survey - February 2025
- [2] Kantar, 2020, qualitative consumer research in nine key markets
- [3] Mintel GNPD
- [4] Committed to low carbon dairying | NZMP.com
*Of the top 15 dairy exporting countries (based on annual dairy product export volumes in 2023 and including New Zealand), only Ireland operates a similar pasture-based model to New Zealand. Data in the study, O'Brien et al. 2018, shows that Irish dairy cows have access to pasture, on average, 255 days per year. The Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) 2023 statistics show an average of 240 days on pasture. Fonterra’s annual data shows that on average, in New Zealand, our farmers' cows spend more than 350 days grazing outside on pasture.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the opinion of the author, not those of Fonterra, and Fonterra is not responsible for any decisions taken in reliance on the same.
