Improvement of udder health following implementation of herd health plans in organic dairy farms: results of a pilot study in Germany

S. March; J. Brinkmann; C. Winckler

Improvement of udder health following implementation of herd health plans in organic dairy farms: results of a pilot study in Germany

In: Udder health and communication

Authors:

S. March

S. March ¹Georg-August-University of Goettingen, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Sciences, Location Vechta; Driverstr. 22; 49377 Vechta; current address: Institute of Organic Farming, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries; Trenthorst 32; 23847 Westerau, Germany; solveig.march@vti.bund.de

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J. Brinkmann

J. Brinkmann ¹Georg-August-University of Goettingen, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Sciences, Location Vechta; Driverstr. 22; 49377 Vechta; current address: Institute of Organic Farming, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries; Trenthorst 32; 23847 Westerau, Germany; solveig.march@vti.bund.de

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, and

C. Winckler

C. Winckler ²University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences; Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems; Gregor-Mendel-Str. 33; 1180 Vienna, Austria

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 91–99

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086867424_009

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The present study aimed at assessing the effects of herd health plans (HHP) on animal health in 27 organic dairy farms over a period of up to three years; 13 other farms served as control farms. Farms were visited between 2006 and 2010 and herd health planning consisted of farmindividual intervention measures which were based on baseline recordings of health indicators and a weak-point analysis of the housing environment and the herd management. Mixed models for repeated measures were used to analyse the effect of the group (intervention vs. control group) and the year, as well as their interaction. Udder health significantly improved on 14 farms which implemented measures from their HHP promptly, compared to control farms (n=26). In intervention farms, the decrease in treatment incidence of clinical mastitis was more pronounced than in the control group (35.2 -> 16.1% vs. 22.8 -> 19.4%; interaction g*y: P=0.01) and also the somatic cell score (SCS) tended to improve (3.71 -> 3.42 vs. 3.25 -> 3.26). The percentage of cows in a herd with an somatic cell count higher than 100,000 cells/ml milk, as indicator for the incidence of subclinical mastitis, significantly improved in the intervention farms (P=0.042). When the difference from the baseline status in 2006 was analysed (with baseline situation as a covariate), there was a significant intervention effect on the change in SCS (Δ-LSMEANS; intervention: -0.200 vs. control: +0.016; P=0.023) and in the incidence of subclinical mastitis (Δ-LSMEANS; intervention: -4.43 vs. control: +0.98, P=0.032). Average herd age and average milk yield remained unchanged during the study. In conclusion, the results demonstrate beneficial effects of farm-individual herd health plans on several indicators of udder health.

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Udder health and communication

E-Book ISBN:: 9789086867424

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 30 Oct 2011

Subjects
- Life Sciences
  - General
  - Animal & Veterinary

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Improvement of udder health following implementation of herd health plans in organic dairy farms: results of a pilot study in Germany

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Udder health and communication

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