TransformDairyNet: Advancing Cow-Calf Contact in European Dairy --- FIELD: SUBTITLE EXISTING VALUE: (Blank) SUMMARY: Project 10113326, launched on 1st June 2024, marks the beginning of TransformDairyNet, a Horizon Europe initiative coordinated by University College Dublin, Ireland. This groundbreaking European project aims to transform the dairy sector by advancing Cow-Calf Contact (CCC) systems. It brings together farmers, researchers, NGOs, and industry experts to promote sustainable dairy practices that prioritise animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and economic viability. Comprising 26 partners from 14 countries, the project will mobilise 11 National Innovation Practice Hubs and establish a European Knowledge and Innovation Network. This network will include dairy farmers, veterinarians, advisors, supply chain actors, farmer organisations, researchers, and policymakers, all collaborating to enhance and scale up CCC dairy production. The initiative responds to growing ethical concerns around the routine separation of calves from their mothers shortly after birth, which negatively impacts the welfare of both mother and calf. TransformDairyNet supports the adoption of systems allowing calves to remain with their mothers or foster cows for extended periods, fostering natural behaviours, improving health, and enhancing welfare. Professor Siobhán Mullan, Project Coordinator at UCD, stated that cow-calf separation is a major animal welfare and ethical issue for European citizens, and the project aims to enable more dairy cows and calves to stay together across Europe, ensuring a dairy sector fit for the future. The project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or REA. Neither the European Union nor REA can be held responsible for them. FILE CONTENT END -----

The TransformDairyNet (TDN) project promotes extended cow-calf contact in sustainable dairy farming across Europe.