Sustainable operational development takes into account various management levels within the system boundary. All levels serve the internal optimization of the company, but also draw a picture towards the consumer. These aspects were brought together by the eco-efficiency research group at HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein together with colleagues from the life cycle assessment working group from the Swiss Agroscope in the farm management tool FarmLife.

Goal of the project

The aim of the project was to develop suitable parameters and methods for assessing the animal welfare potential of husbandry systems using cattle farming as an example and to integrate them into the FarmLife farm management tool. To this end, existing national and international assessment systems were analyzed, two expert meetings and practical tests were carried out and the FarmLife Welfare Index (FWI) system was developed based on extensive assessment models.

FarmLife Welfare Index

The FarmLife Welfare Index is divided into three sub-areas: “Human conditions”, “Animal care and management” and “Animal welfare”. The evaluation of 18 indicator groups consisting of 43 individual indicators is included in these three sub-areas. The assessment takes place online via the common technical platform www.farmlife.at . With a high degree of practicality in use, this assessment system focuses on the animal, but at the same time the assessment result should also allow conclusions to be drawn about the influencing factors and provide the farmer with recommendations for improving any husbandry or management deficiencies.

Download accompanying manual

to collect the FarmLife Welfare Index