Dairy farm-workers’ knowledge of factors responsible for culling and mortality in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

Milk serves as a significant source of protein for many families and aids in combating food insecurity. However, the demand for milk and milk-related products far exceeds the supply. The objective of the study was to evaluate dairy farm-workers’ knowledge of factors responsible for culling and mortality of dairy cows in the Eastern Cape Province. Data was collected from 106 dairy farm-workers using a questionnaire. Any correctly answered question by the majority amounted to a point and a zero for incorrectly answered questions. Correct answering by the majority to more than half the questions of a subsection amounted to a pass. A less than 50% pass rate was considered a poor level of knowledge, 51–69% pass rate was considered an average level of knowledge, and anything higher than that was considered a good level of knowledge. Most farm-workers (66.0%) relied on their colleagues for dairy health information. Most dairy farm-workers (49.1%) indicated that lameness, milk fever (56.6%), and mastitis (47.2%) do not lead to culling and mortality of dairy cows. A majority (83%) of farm-workers agreed that reproduction problems, poor milk yield (77.3%), and age (81.1%) are the main reasons for culling dairy cows. The participants had varying perceptions and limited knowledge (28.3%) about the major contributing factors of culling and mortality. The lack of training courses and minimal use of other sources of information such as the internet might contribute to this poor knowledge and perceptions.

Dairy farmers’ knowledge about milk-borne zoonosis in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

“…The dairy industry continues to be a male-dominated space in South Africa. The predominance of males (61.9%) in this study is similar to the 60% of males reported in a recent study in the same Eastern Cape province but in a different region (Diniso and Jaja, 2021 ). However, a knowledge, attitudes, and practices study on milk-borne zoonosis conducted in Ethiopia reported a low 35.7% male representation (Mandefero and Yeshibelay, 2018 ).…”

“…In this study, most participants were aged between 26 and 35 years, which is not significantly different from the 21-30 years reported in previous studies (Diniso and Jaja, 2021 ). This age is regarded as fit and healthy for several dairy farm activities.…”

“…(Godfroid et al , 2013 ; Tebug et al ., 2014 ; Caine et al , 2017 ). In South Africa, vaccination against brucellosis is not obligatory, and consuming raw milk is a common practice, thus increasing the risks of infection (Cloete et al , 2019 ; Diniso and Jaja, 2021 ). Such aspects require immediate intervention and cooperation between the government and research institutions to minimize the threat posed to public health.…”

Culling and mortality of dairy cows: why it happens and how it can be mitigated

“…1 In South Africa, there has been a steady growth of 4.8% in 2018 and 3.0% in 2017. 2 This growth rate succeeds the 2.2% world milk production growth rate experienced in 2015, however there was a slight 0.1% drop in growth rate in 2016. 1 There is an expected production of 1077 million tonnes of milk by 2050.…”

“…4 In Ethiopia, the population is estimated to exceed 140 million by 2025 thus putting pressure on an already struggling food production industry including the dairy industry. 2 In fact, in previous years, overall demand for milk and milk-related products in Ethiopia far exceeded the supply as such per capita consumption of milk has been lower than 20 litres compared to the global 100 litres. Apart from milk yield concerns, in most developing African countries with escalating population growth, there is an on-going challenge of producing high quality milk i.e., low somatic cell count and high butterfat and other minerals content.…”