Make your herd among the most comfortable on the planet
The NOVUS C.O.W.S.® Program helps dairy producers analyze their herd’s daily activities and provides producers with the information to make better decisions. To create this one-of-a-kind program, NOVUS partnered with the University of British Columbia Animal Welfare Program to develop a nationwide benchmarking study.
Its goal? To evaluate dairy operations and provide ways to improve cow comfort and promote the well-being of the herd. This also helps contribute to sustainability in the dairy industry.
More comfortable cows today. Better production. More productive results. Long-term growth. That’s comfort for everyone.
Optimal cow comfort, welfare, housing, heat abatement strategies, nutritional feed additives, and overall care are essential for the health and well-being of dairy cows. And critical to achieve high productivity levels, as well as increase the productive lifespan of a cow.
A healthy and highly productive cow can dilute its maintenance cost and significantly reduce its carbon footprint per unit of milk output. Sustainability for the dairy industry depends on healthy animals living longer, achieving high levels of desirable outputs from fewer inputs (such as land, water, fertilizers, etc.), and promoting profitability and environmental stewardship.
The C.O.W.S.® Program evaluates individual dairy farms relative to benchmarks on several cow comfort measures (lying time measured with transponders, gait score, etc.), facility design and management measures. Additionally, the program provides feedback to the individual dairy with ratings on all variables. The aim is to optimize dairy cow well-being, comfort, and productive efficiency by providing a systematic approach to improve management focus and practice.
We ask nutritionists currently using NOVUS products to recommend dairy operations that could benefit from the C.O.W.S.® Program. The dairies are assessed by NOVUS technicians, and the quantitative and qualitative data from the assessment is analyzed and compiled into a customized report. The report is delivered to the dairy. NOVUS then provides the dairy management team with recommendations that fit into the farm’s existing management plans with the goal of increasing cow comfort and production output.
Only available in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
One of our processes is to analyze a cow’s gait to determine its level of comfort and care, and find what can be improved. We look at limps, head level, arch of back, and other factors to create a Locomotion Score. Aggregating this data of dozens of farms gives us insight into best practices.
Working together, we can elevate your ability to meet today’s demands and deliver high-quality protein to everyone. Let’s get growing.
