Farm centric participatory approach to reduce production diseases · 2016. 3. 23. · Isabel Blanco-Penedo Animal Welfare, IRTA Farm centric participatory approach to reduce production

Isabel Blanco-Penedo

Animal Welfare, IRTAwww.impro-dairy.eu

Farm centric participatory approach

to reduce production diseases

Seminar

“Animal health in organic dairy farming in Poland“

15th of March 2016,

Radom



IMPRO topics

• Assessment of animal health / production diseases

• Farm centric participatory approach

• Improvement of monitoring and prevention

• Homeopathy and Phytotherapy

• Tool for cost-benefit calculations

• Motivations and attitudes: farmers, advisors and veterinarians

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200 herds in total

France: 55

Germany: 60

Spain: 28

Sweden: 57




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2013 2014 2015

First visit

•Researcher

•Get to know each other

•Collect information

Second visit

•Participatory approach

•Farmer, veterinarian, advisor

•Researcher as moderator

Questionnaire




Second visit:

•Farm walk

•Joint evaluation of the situation

•System analysis by an impact matrix

•Cost-assessment of production diseases

•Identify areas in need of improvement

•Discuss appropriate measures

•Agreement on an action plan

•Feedback session

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Second visit:

•Farm walk

•Joint evaluation of the situation

•System analysis by an impact matrix

•Cost-assessment of production diseases

•Identify areas in need of improvement

•Discuss appropriate measures

•Agreement on an action plan

•Feedback session

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Characteristics of IMPRO farms

• Time since conversion: under 1 to 29 years (median 7)

• Herds largest in Sweden (68.1 cows) and smallest in Spain (29.7)

Range: 7 – 377

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• 70% of farms had loose housing with cubicles

• Automatic milking systems:

– 10% of farms in Germany

– 49% of farms in Sweden

– None in Spain and France

• Breeds:

– Holstein: 48% of cows

– Red Dairy Cattle: 16%

– Simmental: 10%

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• Milk yield (energy-corrected):

– 6.588 kg in Germany

– 5.742 kg in Spain

– 6.378 kg in France

– 8.979 kg Sweden

• Range: 2.324 – 10.880 kg

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keeleyhire.co.uk



Animal Health / Production Diseases

• Diseases caused by several factors

• Associated with husbandry, feeding, performance, breeding, and management

• IMPRO focus: Production disease complexes

– Udder

– Metabolism

– Reproduction

– Lameness

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Production diseaseson IMPRO farms

Mastitis

high somatic cell count

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Lameness

3 scores Welfare Quality®

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Reproduction

prolonged calving interval

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Metabolism

risk of subacute ruminal

acidosis

(Milk fat < 3%

later than 30 DIM)

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Metabolism

risk of subclinical ketosis

(Fat - protein ratio > 1.5

until 100 DIM)

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Replacement rate

proportion of first calvings

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Second visit:

•farm walk

•joint evaluation of the situation

•system analysis by an impact matrix

•cost-assessment of production diseases

•identify areas in need of improvement

•discuss appropriate measures

•agreement on an action plan

•feedback session

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tim

eto

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ft.c

o.u

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System analysis by an impact matrix

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Animal health = a system property

• Intensive interactions betweenindividual factors

• New, unforseeable propertiesemerge from these interactions

Animal health is an emergent property of the farm organismor farm system resulting from the interactions between

individual factors.



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make system interaction visible




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Number Variable

1 Milk performance

2 Production diseases

3 Financial resources

4 Labour capacity

5 Feeding

6 Housing conditions

7 Reproduction management

8 Dry cow management

9 Calf and heifer management

10 Herd health monitoring

11 Hygiene

12 Treatments

13 Knowledge and skills



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200 “photos” of farm centric diagnosis

DE

SE

FR

ES

Feeding Production diseases

Labour capacity

Milk performance

Financial resources

Reproduction management

Dry cow management

Calf and heifer management

Hygien

eTreatments

Knowledge and

skills

Housing conditions

Herd health monitoring

FR: Treatments

ES - FRDE - SE

FR - SE

DE - ES

DE - FR

ES - SE

SE



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Second visit:

•farm walk

•joint evaluation of the situation

•system analysis by an impact matrix

•cost-assessment of production diseases

•identify areas in need of improvement

•discuss appropriate measures

•agreement on an action plan

•feedback session

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tim

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cra

ft.c

o.u

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Action plans

• In 8% of farms no actions wereidentified

• Others: 1 – 22 measures per farm (median 8)

• Least actions in France (2.5), most in Sweden (12)

• Some actions very general (‘improve feeding’), others very specific (‘use dry-cow therapy in case of positive California Mastitis Test’)

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Implementation

• Implemented measures:0 – 17

• 93.6% of farms implemented at least one measure

• Least in France (median 1), most in Sweden (median 7)

• Implementation rate:

– France: 82%

– Germany: 67%

– Sweden: 65%

– Spain: 18%

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oshaguard.com


Animal Welfare, IRTAwww.impro-dairy.eu J.E.Duval, EAAP2015 - Warsaw, Poland

ATTITUDE and MOTIVATION



Constraints

• Most not implemented actions related to construction

• Other limitations:

– time constraints

– doubts about the effect

– excessive costs

– absence of the initial problem

– implementation of alternative action(s)

– lack of expertise

– doubts about the appropriate-ness of the action

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clipartpanda.com



IMPLEMENTACION OF MEASURES

Country Model effects

Caracteristics/ indicator

DE ES FR SE

year ⨯

countryb Yearc

Average number of cows 5.4* 3.5 3.7 17.8*



• Animal health is not as good as we want it to be→ there is need for improvement!

• Production diseases are related to the management→ a change in management can prevent them!

• Reasons for production diseases are different in each farm→ look at the whole farm system!

• A participatory approach helps to identify suitable measures for yourindividual farm→ talk to your vet/advisor!

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Documents

Farm centric participatory approach to reduce production diseases · 2016. 3. 23. · Isabel Blanco-Penedo Animal Welfare, IRTA Farm centric participatory approach to reduce production