Zero-grazing (keeping dairy cattle indoors year-round) is economically appealing but creates significant welfare challenges. Understanding these trade-offs is essential for welfare-conscious dairy sourcing.
Zero-grazing systems offer genuine management advantages — better nutrition monitoring, reduced weather-related health problems, and more efficient land use — but these are achieved at a significant welfare cost. Cattle in well-managed zero-grazing systems can have adequate welfare across most measures, but they consistently show higher rates of lameness, stereotypic behavior, and hock injury than pasture-access equivalents. Consumer willingness to pay a premium for pasture-raised dairy products is the primary economic driver for maintaining pasture access, making purchasing decisions directly relevant to this welfare question.