Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T03:56:29.242Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Management factors affecting udder health and effects of a one year extension program in organic dairy herds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2009

S. Ivemeyer ,
M. Walkenhorst ,
F. Heil ,
C. Notz ,
A. Maeschli ,
G. Butler  and
P. Klocke
S. Ivemeyer*
Affiliation:
Animal Health Division, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
M. Walkenhorst
Affiliation:
Animal Health Division, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
F. Heil
Affiliation:
Animal Health Division, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
C. Notz
Affiliation:
Animal Health Division, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
A. Maeschli
Affiliation:
Animal Health Division, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
G. Butler
Affiliation:
Nafferton Ecological Farming Group, Newcastle University, Stocksfield, NE43 7XD, UK
P. Klocke
Affiliation:
Animal Health Division, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
*
†E-mail: silvia.ivemeyer@fibl.org
Get access

Abstract

The first part of this study was a cross-sectional analysis of the impact of 29 management factors on udder health in organic dairy farms in Switzerland. All 77 farms joined the extension program ‘pro-Q’. As a measure of udder health the theoretical bulk milk somatic cell count (TBMSCC) calculated by the monthly cow composite somatic cell count over a time period of 1 year was chosen. The basic udder health of the farms was determined by TBMSCC during the year prior to the start of the project (mean for all farms = 176 460 cells/ml). In the multivariable analysis, the five factors ‘swiss brown breed’, ‘alpine summer pasturing’, ‘calf feeding with milk from mastitis diseased cows’, ‘hard bedding’ and ‘no post-milking’ remained as significant risk factors on udder health. In the second part of the study, the development of management factors and the udder health situation affected by an extension program after 1 year was investigated. A partial improvement of the management factors on the farms but no overall improvement on udder health and no association between management changes and udder health changes were found. Improvement of udder health was more likely in farms with higher basic TBMSCC than in those farms with less udder health problems at the beginning of the project.

Keywords

managementudder healthextension effect
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 3 , Issue 11 , November 2009 , pp. 1596 - 1604
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barkema, HW, Schukken, YH, Lam, TJ, Beiboer, ML, Benedictus, G, Brand, A 1998. Management practices associated with low, medium, and high somatic cell counts in bulk milk. Journal of Dairy Science 81, 1917–1927.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barnouin, J, Bord, S, Bazin, S, Chassagne, M 2005. Dairy management practices associated with incidence rate of clinical mastitis in low somatic cell score herds in France. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 3700–3709.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barnouin, J, Chassagne, M, Bazin, S, Boichard, D 2004. Management practices from questionnaire surveys in herds with very low somatic cell score through a national mastitis program in France. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 3989–3999.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bartlett, PC, Miller, GY, Lance, SE, Heider, LE 1992. Managerial determinants of intramammary coliform and environmental streptococci infections in Ohio dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Science 75, 1241–1252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barto, PB, Bush, LJ, Adams, GD 1982. Feeding milk containing Staphylococcus aureus to calves. Journal of Dairy Science 65, 271–274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Breen, JE, Green, MJ, Bradley, AJ 2009. Quarter and cow risk factors associated with occurrence of clinical mastitis in dairy cows in the United Kingdom. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 2551–2561.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Busato, A, Trachsel, P, Schällibaum, M, Blum, JW 2000. Udder health and risk factors for subclinical mastitis in organic dairy farms in Switzerland. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 44, 205–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cermak, J 1988. Cow comfort and lameness – design of cubicles. Bovine Practitioner 23, 79–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chassagne, M, Barnouin, J, Le Guenic, M 2005. Expert assessment study of milking and hygiene practices characterizing very low somatic cell score herds in France. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 1909–1916.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cook, NB, Bennett, TB, Nordlund, KV 2005. Monitoring indices of cow comfort in free-stall-housed dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 3876–3885.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
EC 1999. Council Regulation (EC) No. 1804/99 supplementing Regulation 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs to include livestock production. Official Journal of European Communities 42, 1–28.Google Scholar
Fall, N, Emanuelson, U, Martinsson, K, Jonsson, S 2008. Udder health at a Swedish research farm with both organic and conventional dairy cow management. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 83, 186–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAT 2005. Abmessungen an Aufstallungssystemen. Agroscope, Tänikon, CH, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Fehlings, K, Deneke, J 2000. Mastitisproblematik in Betrieben mit ökologischer Rinderhaltung. Tierärztliche Praxis G 28, 104–109.Google Scholar
Goodger, WJ 1996. Monitoring udder health: a scoring system to identify factors contributing to herd’s mastitis problem. In Herd health and production management in dairy practice (ed. A Brand, JP Noordhuizen and YH Schukken), pp. 385–408. Wageningen Pers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Green, MJ, Leach, KA, Breen, JE, Green, LE, Bradley, AJ 2007. National intervention study of mastitis control in dairy herds in England and Wales. The Veterinary Record 160, 287–293.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haltia, L, Honkanen-Buzalski, T, Spiridonova, I, Olkonen, A, Myllys, V 2006. A study of bovine mastitis, milking procedures and management practices on 25 Estonian dairy herds. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 48, 22–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamann, J, Fehlings, K 2002. Leitlinien zur Bekämpfung der Mastitis des Rindes als Bestandsproblem. Sachverständigenausschuss ‘Subklinische Mastitis’ der Deutschen Veterinärmedizinischen Gesellschaft, Giessen, DE, Germany.Google Scholar
Hamilton, C, Emanuelson, U, Forslund, K, Hansson, I, Ekman, T 2006. Mastitis and related management factors in certified organic dairy herds in Sweden. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 48, 11–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hertzberg, H, Walkenhorst, M, Klocke, P 2003. Tiergesundheit im biologischen Landbau: Neue Richtlinien und Perspektiven für die Nutztierpraxis. Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 145, 519–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ivemeyer, S, Maeschli, M, Walkenhorst, M, Klocke, P, Heil, F, Oser, S, Notz, C 2008. Effects of a two-year dairy herd health management programme on udder health, use of antibiotics and longevity. Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 150, 499–505.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ivemeyer, S, Raillard, D, Heil, F, Klocke, P 2007. Database system for herd health management of dairy herds especially for udder health. Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 149, 449–456.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koster, G, Tenhagen, BA, Heuwieser, W 2006. Factors associated with high milk test day somatic cell counts in large dairy herds in Brandenburg. I: Housing conditions. Journal of Veterinary Medicine 53, 134–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamarche, A, Martin, B, Hauwuy, A, Coulon, JB, Poutrel, B 2000. Evolution of milk somatic cell count of cows grazing an alpine pasture according to the infection of udder by pathogens. Annales de Zootechnie 49, 45–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langford, FM, Rutherford, KMD, Jack, MJ, Sherwood, L, Lawrence, AB, Haskell, MJ 2008. A comparison of management practices, farmer-perceived disease incidence and winter housing on organic and non-organic dairy farms in the UK. The Journal of Dairy Research 76, 6–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nyman, AK, Ekman, T, Emanuelson, U, Gustafsson, AH, Holtenius, K, Waller, KP, Sandgren, CH 2007. Risk factors associated with the incidence of veterinary-treated clinical mastitis in Swedish dairy herds with a high milk yield and a low prevalence of subclinical mastitis. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 78, 142–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Reilly, KM, Green, MJ, Peeler, EJ, Fitzpatrick, JL, Green, LE 2006. Investigation of risk factors for clinical mastitis in British dairy herds with bulk milk somatic cell counts less than 150 000 cells/ml. The Veterinary Record 158, 649–653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Østeras, O, Lund, A 1988. Epidemiological analyses of the associations between bovine udder health and milking machine and milking management. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 6, 91–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peeler, EJ, Green, MJ, Fitzpatrick, JL, Morgan, KL, Green, LE 2000. Risk factors associated with clinical mastitis in low somatic cell count British dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Science 83, 2464–2472.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberson, JR, Fox, LK, Hancock, DD, Gay, CC, Besser, TE 1994. Coagulase-positive Staphylococcus intramammary infections in primiparous dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 77, 958–969.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberson, JR, Fox, LK, Hancock, DD, Gay, JM, Besser, TE 1998. Sources of intramammary infections from Staphylococcus aureus in dairy heifers at first parturition. Journal of Dairy Science 81, 687–693.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roesch, M, Doherr, MG, Blum, JW 2006. Management, feeding, production, reproduction and udder health on organic and conventional Swiss dairy farms. Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 148, 387–395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Svensson, C, Nyman, AK, Persson Waller, K, Emanuelson, U 2006. Effects of housing, management, and health of dairy heifers on first-lactation udder health in southwest Sweden. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 1990–1999.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaarst, M, Bennedsgaard, TW, Klaas, I, Nissen, TB, Thamsborg, SM, Ostergaard, S 2006. Development and daily management of an explicit strategy of nonuse of antimicrobial drugs in twelve Danish organic dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 1842–1853.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walkenhorst, M, Spranger, J, Klocke, P, Schaeren, W 2005. Risk factors contributing udder health depression during alpine summer pasturing in Swiss dairy herds. In Mastitis in dairy production (ed. H Hogeveen), pp. 642–648. Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.CrossRefGoogle Scholar