Table 5.

Other reasons reported by farmers for not achieving each welfare level for each positive welfare opportunity.

	Other Reasons Given
Comfort by physical environment, welfare +	Problems with slurry management; constraints due to TB and increased stocking density; concerns about mastitis risk; does not fit block calving system; health and welfare concerns.
Comfort by physical environment, welfare ++	Disease risk including mastitis; E. coli infection risk; poor cleanliness; teat damage; time and monetary costs of cleaning out regularly; do not agree with the concept; health welfare benefits of cows in cubicles outweigh loose housing, supported by quantifiable health key performance indicators (KPIs), e.g., mastitis.
Comfort by physical environment, welfare +++	Issue with vehicle access; rubber mats will become slippery outside; dubious of conclusion in research literature that rubber matting at feed face has measurable benefit.
Interest by pasture choices, welfare +	Issue with ease of access; issue with management due to robotic milking system; not profitable.
Interest by pasture choices, welfare ++	Production concern; practicality of providing shade; weather, ground condition and grass availability concerns; high yielders better managed inside.
Interest by pasture choices, welfare +++	Increased poaching around trees and hedges; decreased cleanliness and increased flies, increased infection risk; impractical and uneconomic; not best for health, welfare or production.
Pleasure by play and positive social interactions, welfare +	Disease risk
Pleasure by play and positive social interactions, welfare ++	Insufficient space; unrealistic for herd size.
Pleasure by play and positive social interactions, welfare +++	Insufficient space; impractical.
Pleasure maintenance cow-calf bond Welfare +	Health issues for dam and calf; safety issues; increased disease including Johne’s disease and mastitis; mastitis milk fed to new born calf likely to result in death; increased stress; risk of mis mothering; impractical due to rate of calving/calving interval; more difficult to teat train; need to get cow into milking routine of robot quickly; increased stress and distress and decreased welfare of cow and calf at separation following bond formation rather than bond never forming.
Pleasure maintenance cow-calf bond Welfare ++	Impractical; uneconomic; increased labour needed; negative welfare for cow and calf; increased disease risk; do not agree with opportunity.
Pleasure maintenance cow-calf bond Welfare +++	Impractical; much reduced milk production; would be more acceptable if use multiple suckled nurse cows; 2 months is not natural weaning; nonsense for dairy herd.