Confidence: Verified.

National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle, 2023 edition. Effective April 1, 2024.

NFACC codes are not statutory but are referenced in OFFSAP / CFIA / provincial welfare audits as the standard. Operators who fail to meet a Code Requirement face welfare-audit exposure even though the Code is not itself enforced as regulation.

Outcome-based shift

The 2023 Dairy Code intentionally moves to outcome-based requirements. No numeric calf-ambient-temperature requirement exists in the current Code. This is a deliberate framing change — operators must produce welfare outcomes, not hit specific numeric thresholds.

Quantitative anchors that do exist

• Air-space minimums: 6 m³ per calf to 6 weeks; 10 m³ per calf to 12 weeks.

Verbatim Requirement

"Calves must have a bed that provides comfort, insulation, warmth, dryness and traction. Bare concrete is not acceptable as a resting surface."

Verbatim Recommended Practice

"Avoid situating calf pens in areas of the barn that tend to be cooler."

Propane-relevance

Calf-barn supplemental heat is welfare-relevant but not regulatorily prescribed. Operator discretion within outcome standards. Calf-barn heating consumption ranges and tank sizing in op-dairy-parlour-propane-load-profile.

Sources

National Farm Animal Care Council, Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle, 2023 (effective April 1, 2024).