Welfare of dairy cattle in summer and winter – a comparison of organic and conventional herds in a farm network in Germany

Dairy cow welfare in 19 organic and 15 conventional farms in distinct soil climate regions of Germany was examined using the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for dairy cattle (WQ®). In comparison to other studies, this one is outstanding in that (a) the WQ® protocol was carried out twice per farm (in the winter period 2014/2015 and in the following summer period) and that (b) some parameters were measured directly on pasture, if pasture access was provided on the farm during the summer period. At the level of WQ® principles, significantly lower scores (Mann-Whitney U test, P