Document type : Article published in La France agricole
Author: Alexandra Courty
Preview: The French charter for good livestock farming has had a makeover. The sections on the environment and animal welfare have been expanded, as part of the social responsibility programme of the interprofessional group for dairy farming (Cniel). All French dairy herds will be audited by 2025.
Created in 1999, the charter for good beef and dairy livestock practices is a living document. It has just been updated as part of the roll-out of the dairy interprofessional group (Cniel) France Terre de Lait's social responsibility programme.
The charter comprises seven chapters, each of which sets out the objective indicators for success and links to a designated ambition. The main revisions to the document concern the last two sections, on the environment and animal welfare. The earlier chapters (traceability, nutrition, health, milk quality and social sustainability) show few changes from the 2012 version.
New reference indicators for welfare
"Since 2020, the dairy sector has been evaluating the welfare of dairy herds using sixteen indicators," says the Cniel, in its press release published on 2 March 2022. This assessment, which includes fresh headings (building atmosphere, restraint, calf housing, etc.), is a mandatory part of the new charter. The welfare chapter will be audited using the BoviWell tool, with the aim of turning the charter into "the basis for the welfare assessment of herds".
For the environment, the 2022 version of the good practice charter focuses in particular on a sensible approach to the use of phytosanitary products and water and energy savings.
All farms to be audited from 2025
Following assessment, farmers and their technicians produce an individual progress plan to introduce changes to the management of the farm. All French dairy farms are to have implemented this new charter by 2025. The training of technicians is ongoing.
"Originally intended to be a voluntary approach, the charter also provided the grounds for contractual relationships between farmers and milk companies once milk quotas were abolished," stresses the Cniel. The time has come for it to be updated.
