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1.
A questionnaire-based survey on veterinary herd health and production management services was conducted on 194 specialist dairy veterinarians and 466 dairy farmers. The farmers were randomly selected from greater than 6,000 farmer clients of the surveyed veterinarians. This paper reports these survey findings and the findings of an earlier survey conducted among the veterinarians. The survey included questions on the attributes of the service itself, the practitioners delivering the service, reasons for participation and the expected future of herd health and production management services. Reasons farmers participated in herd health and production management programmes included; access to routine screening of their herd; increasing profits; and receiving regular veterinary advice or solutions to remedy existing problems. Advantages of participation named included: good management support; higher profits; structural solutions to problems; and being better informed. Differences between farming styles were observed, pointing to the different needs and goals of farming styles. Farmers cited high costs and the time investment required as major disadvantages. The proportion of farmers citing these reasons was lower than expected by the veterinarians. In the future, preventive healthcare will be the main reason of farmers to participate. Farmers who are not using the service can potentially be encouraged to engage the services after gaining increased insight into the herd health and management service structure, the planning of activities, the cost-benefit of the service, veterinary surgeons being more co-operative with other farm advisors and veterinarians being more willing to pay attention to quality issues on the dairy farm.  相似文献   

2.
Veterinarians working with dairy cows are suggested to refocus their efforts from being task-oriented providers of single-cow therapy and develop themselves into advice-oriented herd health management advisors. The practising cattle veterinarian's ability to translate knowledge into on-farm application requires a profound understanding of the dairy farm as an integrated system. Consequently, educating and motivating farmers are key issues. To achieve such insight the veterinarian needs to work with several scientific disciplines, especially epidemiology and (behavioural) economics. This trans-disciplinary approach offers new methodological possibilities and challenges to students of dairy herd health management. Advisors working with dairy herd health management may sometimes experience that farmers do not follow their advice. Potentially, this could lead to the interpretation that such farmers are behaving irrationally. However, farmers who are confronted with advice suggesting a change of behaviour are placed in a state of cognitive dissonance. To solve such dissonance they may either comply with the advice or reduce the dissonance by convincing themselves that the suggested change in management is impossible to implement. Consequently, herd health management advisors must understand the fundamental and instrumental relationships between individual farmers' values, behaviour and perception of risk, to stimulate and qualify the farmer's decision-making in a way that will increase the farmer's satisfaction and subjective well-being. Traditionally, studies on herd health economics have focussed on financial methods to measure the value of technical outcomes from suggested changes in management, following the basic assumption that farmers strive to maximise profit. Farmers, however, may be motivated by very different activities, e.g. animal health and welfare or other farmers' recognition, making it impossible to provide 'one-size-fts-all' consultancy because the best decision depends heavily on the internal logic and context-bound reality on each dairy farm. Relevant information may be available, but to be implemented at farm level it has to be communicated effectively. This requires a trustworthy communicator. Consequently, veterinarians are recommended to receive training in communication; keywords in this process are dialogue and reflection. An educational framework based on science and the authors' experience is presented. The aim is to guide practising cattle veterinarians into a personal learning process considered necessary for them to be recognised by farmers as trustworthy dairy herd health advisors.  相似文献   

3.
The ultimate objective of a herd health and management program must be optimal farm net profit. Maximal profit can be expected by carrying out a program based on a whole farm approach. A simple and well-ordered registration system is one of the most important aspects for the success of a program. Experiences with the different registration systems of the program are discussed. In the future it is desirable to process the registered data by computer. The farmer should know the possibilities of the program in advance and must be motivated to carry out advice. When giving advice veterinarians have to take into account the specific circumstances on each farm and the objectives of the farmer. The veterinarian also has to be well-informed about the factors which influence the farm net profit and to this end cooperation with other experts is necessary. In this trial close cooperation between the veterinarian and agricultural adviser were seen as a very positive feature of the program. The program must be carried out at regular times in a fixed sequence, which covers complete herd health and farm management. The frequency of farm visits depends on the problems, farm size and the season. On average one visit per month will be sufficient for farms up to 100 dairy cows. Cooperation between farmer and veterinarian is one of the essential aspects. Frequent evaluation is very stimulating. The benefits of a herd health and management program were found to be substantial in this trial. Therefore the costs of the program can be considered by the farmer to be a sound investment.  相似文献   

4.
Summary

A herd health and management program was carried out from May 1974 to May 1977 on thirty Dutch dairy farms which did not have specific herd or management problems. The number of cows per farm varied between 40 and 160. There was a control group of thirty‐one comparable farms. The farms were visited every six weeks by the veterinarian of the Animal Health Service Institute, the local agricultural adviser of the NAAS and the local veterinarian.

The aim of the program was a whole farm approach. The program had a mainly advisory character and it was up to the farmer to follow the advice given, which was based on the theoretically optimal solution but adjusted to the farm situation. The basis of the administration of herd health was the Herd Fertility Chart. Farm inspection was by detailed observation. The program was primarily practical, and could be carried out by a well‐trained local veterinarian.

The data of the first (preparatory) year were compared with the results of the following two years.

The improvement in income feedcosts margin on the program farms exceeded that on control farms by Dfl. 176 per cow (therefore Dfl. 460 per ha. and Dfl. 12,535 per man). Factor Analysis showed that the herd health and management program influenced especially data concerning fertility. However this did not affect the income feedcosts margin per cow. The program also had an important influence on culling due to health problems and on feedcosts per cow, both of which considerably affected the income feedcosts margin per man. The results obtained may be considered to be minimal and might be higher on farms with herd health and management problems. The expenses involved in a program similar to that described, would appear to be a good choice of investment for farmers.  相似文献   

5.
The prevalence, incidence and clinical signs of listeriosis in dairy cattle in England were investigated by means of a postal questionnaire survey of 1500 dairy farmers. The response rate was 64.1 per cent. Overall the farm prevalence of listeriosis was 11.7 per cent, 9.3 per cent for milking cows, 5.0 per cent for replacement heifers and 1.4 per cent for dairy calves. The within-herd incidence rate per thousand animal-years was 51.4 for all cases, 39.7 for milking cows, 86.6 for replacement heifers and 73.7 for dairy calves. Most cases of clinical listeriosis were reported between December and May, and the most common signs were silage eye, followed by nervous signs. The results of the questionnaire were validated internally by re-estimating the farm prevalence by including only those cases diagnosed by a veterinarian or veterinary investigation centre; the prevalence did not change significantly. The proportion of cases which were culled or died of encephalitic listeriosis was compared with the proportion diagnosed during statutory BSE reporting. The fact that the two proportions were similar provided external validation for the results of the questionnaire.  相似文献   

6.
Because of lower margins and market liberalisation veterinarians and farmers are increasingly negotiating rates. Therefore, the margins of veterinarians are under pressure. In addition, the sales if drugs, performance of operations or giving of advice are more and more separated. These developments give veterinarians uncertainty about the profitability of their activities for dairy farmers. Not much is known about margins on veterinary activities on dairy farms. Moreover, it is interesting to see how much margins of the bovine practitioner differ between veterinary practises and dairy farms. In this study, invoices for bovine activities of 14 veterinary practises were combined with milk production registration data of the dairy farms of these practices. This way, the gross margin per bovine practitioner could be studied for the different veterinary practise. Moreover the relation between gross margin and specification of the veterinary practise could be studied. Finally, the gross margin per dairy farm and the factors that influenced this gross margin were studied. The most important result was the observation that the gross margin per bovine practitioner was dependent on the number of dairy farms per practitioner, the margin on drugs and the region of the veterinary practise. The size of the veterinary practise, the share of the dairy farming within the practise and the source of the gross margin (drugs, time or operations) did not influence the gross margin. Variables that explained the gross margin per dairy farm were, amongst others, the number of dairy cows, the milk production level of the farms and participation in PIR-DAP (a system to support the veterinarians herd health and management program). There is no relation of gross margin per dairy farm and the veterinary practise or region.  相似文献   

7.
Incidence of lameness in dairy cows   总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2  
A survey of the number of treatments for lameness in 21,000 dairy cows from 185 herds in the University of Edinburgh/Dalgety Spillers dairy herd health and productivity service in England and Wales showed an average incidence of cases of 25 per cent. Veterinary surgeons treated 6.3 per cent and farmers 18.7 per cent and 1.4 per cent of cows were culled because of lameness. Monthly and regional variations were recorded. An assessment of the economic effects suggested that the average annual cost in a 100 cow herd was 1175 pounds with an overall cost to British farmers of more than 35 million pounds. The economic importance is such that research into specific factors affecting foot health should be carried out. Meanwhile, a broad approach to prevention and control of lameness on farms is recommended under the general headings of management/environment, nutrition and breeding.  相似文献   

8.
A herd health and management program was carried out from May 1974 to May 1977 on thirty Dutch dairy farms which did not have specific herd or management problems. The number of cows per farm varied between 40 and 160. There was a control group of thirty-one comparable farms. The farms were visited every six weeks by the veterinarian of the Animal Health Service Institute, the local agricultural adviser of the NAAS and the local veterinarian. The aim of the program was a whole farm approach. The program had a mainly advisory character and it was up to the farmer to follow the advice given, which was based on the theoretically optimal solution but adjusted to the farm situation. The basis of the administration of herd health was the Herd Fertility Chart. Farm inspection was by detailed observation. The program was primarily practical, and could be carried out by a well-trained local veterinarian. The data of the first (preparatory) year were compared with the results of the following two years. The improvement in income feedcosts margin on the program farms exceeded that on control farms by Dfl. 176 per cow (therefore Dfl. 460 per ha. and Dfl. 12,535 per man). Factor Analysis showed that the herd health and management program influenced especially data concerning fertility. However this did not affect the income feedcosts margin per cow. The program also had an important influence on culling due to health problems and on feedcosts per cow, both of which considerably affected the income feedcosts margin per man.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)  相似文献   

9.
Between December 2002 and December 2003, the herd health planning activities on 61 dairy farms in the uk were compared with several measures of lameness and mastitis. Lameness had been reported as a problem in 53 of the herds directly by the farm and in the other eight by the nominating local veterinary practice; 54 of the farms also reported having a mastitis problem. Fifty-three (87 per cent) of the farms had some form of written herd health plan, of which 21 (40 per cent) had been in place for 12 months or less. All the farms were recording mastitis in some way, although 38 (62 per cent) of the farmers did not review these records and only four retained the results of a comprehensive record review. Farms defined as having a high incidence of mastitis were more likely to be reviewing their health records, but farms defined as having a high prevalence of lameness in a sentinel group of early lactation heifers were less likely to be reviewing their health records.  相似文献   

10.
The nature of veterinary work in dairy health management in Europe has changed over the past years and will change even more dramatically in the near future. The consumers and the media show increasing concern about animal welfare, safety of products of animal origin and traceability of animal products. Farmers in Europe have to produce under strict, often expensive and laborious regulations, while still commercially competing with farmers outside the EU and not subject to the same rules. Veterinarians should adapt their knowledge and skills to the new challenges and developments of the dairy sector. Dairy farmers nowadays ask for support in areas that go beyond clinical activities: environmental protection, welfare, nutrition, grassland management, economics and business management. Bovine practitioners should be able to advise in many different areas and subjects--that is the challenge to our profession. Veterinary education with regards to cattle health management should start with individual animal clinical work, which constitutes the basis of herd health advisory programmes. The bovine practitioner should then look beyond that and regard the herd as the unit. Each diseased cow or group of cows should be detected early enough to avoid financial losses or such losses should be prevented altogether by detecting and managing risk factors contributing to disease occurrence. Herd health and production management programmes represent the first level to optimise dairy farm performance. Expansions to that should further be considered, comprising both animal health and welfare issues, as well as food safety and public health issues. The latter could be addressed by quality risk management programmes following the HACCP-principles. Cattle veterinarians should follow recent developments and invest in new skills and knowledge in order to maintain their usefulness to the modern dairy farmer. Finally we are convinced that the cattle practitioner should evolve into this direction, otherwise the veterinarian as we know him will miss the train in the next years.  相似文献   

11.
12.
The requirements of the veterinarian's work are changing by reason of an increasing intensity of dairy industry. The model of an information system for monitoring and managing dairy herd health and management system is described. General and special requirements are illustrated. The program requires urgent development for the use of veterinarians and herd owners, including the provision of a data communication link to a veterinary-agricultural information system. The system should integrate the veterinarians into the animal production in order to improve herd health and to secure the veterinarian's role in, and facilitate the development of novel scientific approaches to, dairy herd health and management.  相似文献   

13.
Twenty Years of Experience with Dairy Herd Health in Ontario   总被引:2,自引:2,他引:0       下载免费PDF全文
This article expresses observations on planned herd health for dairy cattle, based on experience gained in the Ambulatory Clinic practice of the Ontario Veterinary College. The author and his colleagues, especially Dr. R.A. Curtis, have initiated and delivered a preventive medicine approach to veterinary practice in the teaching program and teaching practice for the past 20 years. In addition, herd health presentations have been made to veterinary associations in every province in Canada and to many breed associations and producer organizations. The Canadian food animal veterinarian and his clients have been informed at meetings and by the media of the need, objectives, methods and benefits of dairy herd health and many veterinary practices now offer programs to their clients. Herd health has become a household word in Canada's dairy practices and dairy farms.

A formal herd health program is an important step to achieving total health management; but maximum returns on investment can only be realized after three or four generations of cattle have been reared on the program.

In conclusion, herd health practice has been a very satisfying aspect of veterinary medicine and a profitable and valued service for our clients. Maintenance of health involves the application of all knowledge and procedures which veterinarians have to offer.

  相似文献   

14.
A questionnaire-based study was conducted among 466 dairy farmers in the Netherlands. The study investigated the experiences and opinions of dairy farmers about veterinary herd health and production management programmes. The dairy farmers were selected at random, and thus some took part in such programmes whereas others did not. The questionnaire comprised general questions about the farm operation and specific questions about the herd health programme and the practice conducting it, as well as perceived advantages and disadvantages of the veterinary programme. Farmers who did not participate in such programmes were questioned about their reasons for not participating. Both groups were questioned about future perspectives and opportunities. The costs of the programme appeared to be a drawback for participation but not as much as perceived by the practices. According to farmers, programmes focus too much on curative aspects and too little on analysis or prevention, where the needs are. Farm areas not included in the programme are so far not yet covered by other institutions, contrary to the expectations of the veterinarians. In the future, the farmers would be willing to take part in similar or expanded programmes, provided that certain conditions, such as product definition, structure, planning, costs, are properly met.  相似文献   

15.
The success of a large-scale eradication programme against sarcoptic mange was evaluated in piglet producing herds belonging to the health class LSO 2000. These farms are monitored to be free from sarcoptic mange, swine enzootic pneumoniae, swine dysentery and progressive atrophic rhinitis. The local veterinarians were instructed to eradicate sarcoptic mange from the herds by 2 ivermectin injections 14 days apart or 3 treatments with phoxim pour-on 6 days apart before the farms were able to join the health class. The study consisted of a questionnaire administered to the farmers, farm visits and follow-ups associated with the regular control of the health class. A questionnaire was sent to all of the 379 accepted farrowing farms. Altogether 323 farmers had initiated an eradication programme at least 7 months before the questionnaire was distributed and 96% of them believed that the mange eradication programme had been successful. In most of the successful herds (90%), the local veterinarian had treated the animals by the recommended methods, and the majority of the farmers (88%) had cleaned and sprayed the pens with insecticides on the days of treatment. Three out of the 7 unsuccessful farms had employed methods other than those recommended. Twenty-five herds were randomly selected for an intensified control. The rubbing index was < or = 0.1 in all herds visited, indicating freedom from mange. Sows or gilts, 15-20 animals per farm, were skin scraped and no Sarcoptes scabiei was found. The same animals were blood sampled and serum antibodies to S. scabiei were measured by an indirect ELISA. All except 1 farm had low optical density (OD) values in most of the samples. The owner of that farm had become uncertain about the mange status of the herd and had recently retreated all animals with acaricides. The number of complaints about mange in the finishing units buying health class feeder pigs was low. The study demonstrates that it is possible to run an eradication programme against sarcoptic mange, in which a large number of farmers together with their veterinarians participate. It is possible to eradicate mange not only at the herd but also at the population level. The ELISA test employed proved to be a possible tool to monitor the efficacy of mange-eradication programmes.  相似文献   

16.
A survey of clinical and subclinical mastitis was carried out on 97 dairy farms in England and Wales, selected at random from members of a national milk recording scheme. The farmers were asked to collect aseptic milk samples from five consecutive cases of clinical mastitis and from five quarters with high somatic cell counts using a defined protocol, and they completed a questionnaire that included information on the cows sampled, the herd and the history of mastitis in the herd. The samples were collected throughout the year. The mean incidence of clinical mastitis was 47 cases per 100 cows per year (estimated from historic farm records) and 71 cases per 100 cows per year (estimated from the samples collected). Streptococcus uberis and Escherichia coli were isolated in pure culture from 23.5 per cent and 19.8 per cent, respectively, of the clinical samples; 26.5 per cent of the clinical samples produced no growth. The most common isolates from the samples with high cell counts were coagulase-negative staphylococci (15 per cent), S uberis (14 per cent) and Corynebacterium species (10 per cent). Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-positive staphylococci together accounted for 10 per cent of the samples with high somatic cell counts; 39 per cent produced no bacterial growth.  相似文献   

17.
In 1988 the collection of data on fertility and milk production was initiated by the veterinary practice in Oosterwolde in the context of a veterinary herd health programme. An automated management and production control programme, VAMPP, was used for this purpose. Although it is not possible to give the precise effect of veterinary herd health programmes on technical farm results, because a control group is lacking, it is possible to discern trends in data collected over 10 years. The field data, show that the first insemination pregnancy rate decreased by 10.1%, from 55.5% to 45.4% (p = 0.002). The number of cows showing first heat decreased by 1.3% (p = 0.46) between 0-15 days post partum, 2.6% (p = 0.41) between 15-30 days post partum, by 4.9% (p = 0.07) between 30-50 days post partum and by 11.4% (p = 0.008) between 50-70 days post partum. In the same period, the milk production increased from 7558 kg 4% fat corrected milk in 305 days to 8744 kg (p = 0.0004). These data may be useful for veterinarians working in veterinary herd health on dairy farms. Furthermore, the described trends and especially the discussed differences between farms may be a stimulus for both farmers and veterinarians to continue with herd health programmes.  相似文献   

18.
A retrospective cohort study of 116 British pig farms was undertaken to investigate the epidemiological risk factors associated with herd breakdowns with postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). Farmers reported the PMWS status of their herd (case definition 1) and, where applicable, when the disease was first suspected and what they observed; they described a prolonged increase in mortality in six to 16-week-old pigs that was not attributable to any disease known to be on their farm. There was over 90 per cent agreement on the farmers' PMWS status between the farmers and their veterinarians. Approximately 70 per cent of the breakdowns were confirmed at the laboratory (case definition 2) except during the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2001 when it was reduced to 30 per cent. Porcine circovirus type 2 antigen was detected in pigs examined postmortem (case definition 3) in approximately 90 per cent of the farms with increased mortality. The breakdowns occurred initially in the south of England and spread west and north, as well as locally in a radial pattern from the affected farms, and there was strong statistical evidence that there was non-random space-time clustering. The risk of herd breakdowns with PMWS was not constant; therefore, for each case definition, three survival models were developed with outcome variable time to breakdown of between January 2000 and January 2001, February 2001 to September 2001 (during FMD) or October 2001 to December 2003. Exposures with a bivariable significance of P<0.20 were tested in three multivariable Cox proportional hazard models. From January 2000 to January 2001 the risk of a herd breakdown with PMWS for definitions 1, 2 and 3 was greater for farms with 600 or more breeding sows, and for definitions 1 and 3 there was an increased risk associated with the purchase of replacement gilts rather than using homebred replacements. For definitions 1 and 3 the farms where the nearest pig farm had no breeding pigs were at greater risk of a breakdown than those where the nearest farm had breeding stock, as were the farms where visitors were not requested to avoid pigs for more than three days before visiting the farm during the FMD outbreak. From October 2001, the associated risks were identical for all three case definitions; farms were at greater risk when they had 600 or more breeding sows, if visitors had not avoided contact with pigs for more than three days before visiting the farm, and when there was a farm with PMWS less than five miles away. The affected farms were more likely to have disease associated with porcine parvovirus, porcine reproduction and respiratory syndrome virus, erysipelas, Escherichia coli and salmonella. These exposures were positively associated with large herds and the farm being close to other pig farms, but did not remain in the final models for breakdown with PMWS, indicating that such farms may be at greater risk of many infectious diseases.  相似文献   

19.
In fall 2004, a survey of a representative sample of 1185 Swiss suckler beef farmers was carried out by questionnaire (return rate 51.9%). 32.7% of the respondents castrated their calves without the help of a veterinarian, 37.8% mandated a veterinarian to carry out the castrations and 29.4% did not castrate their bull calves at all. On average, 8 calves were castrated per farm and year at an average age of 7 days when the castration was carried out by a farmer or 34 days when the castration was carried out by a veterinarian. Almost all farmers castrated their calves with the rubber ring, and a majority considered no other method as feasible. 73.9% of the veterinarians used the Burdizzo technique, 14.9% applied rubber rings, and 11.2% performed a surgical procedure. 22.6% of the farmers and 85.4% of the veterinarians used sedation; local anaesthesia was performed in 32.1% of the castrations carried out by farmers and in 84.5% of the castrations carried out by veterinarians. 65.7% of the farmers were concerned by the change of the Swiss Animal Protection Ordinance (2001), when pain relief became mandatory. 47.6% of these farmers changed their castration routine: 53.1% now mandated a veterinarian, 33.0% used sedation or local anaesthesia and 8.9% abandoned castration of their calves. 59.8% of the farmers intended to participate in a future course for laymen, to study and train the technique of local anaesthesia for castration. Castration of their calves is for many suckler beef farmers an inevitable husbandry procedure. The political goal, that all calves shall be castrated with local anaesthesia can only be reached when livestock owners are informed about the distress caused by the castration and convinced of the benefit of the local anaesthesia.Veterinarians are important information carriers in this process. The implementation also produces work, be it the more complex castration procedure or the education of the farmers who want to carry out the local anaesthesia themselves.  相似文献   

20.
Two lungworm outbreaks in dairy herds were investigated in order to estimate the resulting economic costs. On the two farms, with 110 and 95 cows, total costs were estimated at ?59 and ?67 per cow, respectively. Overall, milk production reduced by 15 to 20 per cent during the outbreaks. Five cows died on one farm, while on the other farm seven cows died as a result of the lungworm outbreak. On one farm, 51.7 per cent of the total costs was due to reduced milk production and 33.1 per cent was due to disposal of dead animals. On the other farm, it was 36.3 and 50.9 per cent, respectively. The remaining 13 to 15 per cent of the total costs were due to extra inseminations, laboratory diagnosis and treatments. The history and development of the outbreaks are described. One lesson from these outbreaks is that recognising that potentially lungworm-na?ve animals are to be introduced into the adult herd allows for timely measures (for example, vaccination) to prevent a lungworm outbreak.  相似文献   

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