Roughage for calves - beef and milk
Level: Core
Providing calves with roughage from a young age promotes a healthy development of rumination and reduces the risk of illnesses caused by deficiencies. High-quality roughage is also positive from an environmental perspective. Contracting authorities that set criteria regarding roughage for calves contribute to good animal health and environmental benefits in farming.
Details
- Type:
- Technical specification
- ID:
- 11385
- Group:
- Milk and dairy from cows
Criterion text
Beef and/or milk products must be derived from production where calves have free access to roughage from no later than two weeks of age.
Verification
Upon request, the supplier shall be ready to present, for example, one of the following:
- Certification that meets the requirement, such as IP mjölk grundcertifiering [IP Milk base level certification], IP nöt grundcertifiering [IP Beef base level certification], QS standard, Dansk kalv or other certification showing that the requirement is met.
- Details of country of origin of beef ingredients and reference to applicable law in cases where national legislation establishes that the requirement is met, e.g., Origin: Sweden, chapter 3, section 3 of L 104, SJVFS (2017:24).
Proposed follow-up
Monitoring of compliance during the contract period can for example be done through sampling at one or several occasions of one or several products for which the criterion applies. The supplier can prove that the product(s) meet the requirement through, e.g,:
- Certification according to IP mjölk grundcertifiering [IP Milk base level certification], QS standard, Dansk kalv or other certification or production concept showing that the requirement is met.
- Labelling the origin of a product, e.g., 'Kött från sverige' [Meat from Sweden], 'Mjölk från Sverige' [Milk from Sweden] or 'Från Sverige' [From Sweden], with written documentation showing that the requirement has been met, e.g., an Importer's Declaration along with a self-assessment in accordance with Miljöhusesyn or audit records.
- Other written documentation showing that the requirement is met.
Contracting authorities may, in specific cases and when motivated, state in the contract terms that documentation is to be verified or reviewed by an independent third party. What does this mean? (only in Swedish)
Information about the criterion
Market avaliability may be limited for indidividual products.
Organic production assures that calves have free access to roughage during the whole breeding-period, see EU-organic product requirement ID: 11009
Environmental goals
Motive
Adult cattle get most of their energy intake from roughage. Providing roughage to calves from a young age promotes a healthy development of the rumen, triggers rumination and reduces the risk of calves developing illnesses caused by deficiencies.1
The roughage that animals eat during the indoor season is comprised of grass crops (varieties of grass and clover), which benefits farming in several ways. Grass crops are an important part of crop rotation, increase humus content and improve soil fertility. This, in turn, reduces the need for nutrients and pesticides in farming.
Versions history
The version date indicates when the sustainability criterion was created or last updated. Last reviewed dated tells when we last checked that the sustainability criterion still is relevant.
- Current ID
- 11385
- Version date
- 2020-03-25
2020-03-25: Origninal version. In line with 3 chap. 3 § SJVFS 2019:18.