Farmers’ Choice of Medical Treatment of Mastitis in Danish Dairy Herds Based on Qualitative Research Interviews

Vaarst, Mette; Paarup-Laursen, B.; Houe, Hans; Fossing, C.; Andersen, Hans Jørgen

doi:10.3168/jds.s0022-0302(02)74159-3

Cited by 115 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…However, the prevalence of blind quarters seemed similar both in the conventional herds, the other organic herds, as well as in the project herds before the project started, despite a significantly lower incidence rate of mastitis treatments in the project herds in 2003 and 2004. The attitude to blinding quarters as a strategy for eliminating problems of chronic mastitis has changed over the last decade (Vaarst et al, 2001(Vaarst et al, , 2002(Vaarst et al, , 2006. Previously, farmers related the presence of cows with blind quarters in the herds to 'poor udder health management'.…”

Section: Blinding Quarters As a Strategy For Reducing Sccmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared with most other diseases, udder infections are often diagnosed as subclinical or mild clinical cases, which may even vary in severity from day to day. The mild character of many udder infections places the farmers in a situation where the decision to use antimicrobials is more a decision of choosing to improve milk production and decrease the bulk tank SCC than to treat a sick and suffering animal (Vaarst et al, 2002). Furthermore, most farmers have much knowledge about different strategies to control udder infections besides treating individual animals.…”

Section: Differences Between Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reducing use of antimicrobials — Experiences from an intervention study in organic dairy herds in Denmark

2010

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With the aim of phasing out the use of antimicrobials 23 Danish organic dairy producers from the same organic dairy company participated in Stable School farmer groups from February 2004 to March 2005 in order to go through a common learning and development process towards their common goal. Data on production and herd health were evaluated from two years before to three years after the start of the Stable Schools. For comparison, data was collected from the remaining 35 herds delivering to the same dairy company, 118 organic dairy herds delivering to other dairies and 115 conventional herds. On average, the project herds were smaller with lower production and had half the incidence rate of mastitis treatment than the organic herds from other dairies before the start of the project. The incidence rate of mastitis treatments was reduced considerably from 20 treatments per 100 cow years to 10 treatments per 100 cow years after the project period. Somatic cell count (SCC) and scores for acute and chronic intramammary infections did not change significantly during the study period, and milk production increased at the same rate as in the other herd groups. The incidence rate of mastitis treatments or the reduction of the incidence rate could be related to the herd SCC or the prevalence of blind quarters. The incidence rates of locomotive disorders and reproductive disorders were lower in the project herds compared with herds from other dairies before the project start, and the differences increased during the project period though the reduction of the incidence rates in the project herds was not statistically significant. It is concluded that the farmers participating in the Stable Schools managed to reduce the use of antimicrobials in their herds also after the project period without apparent negative effects on production and udder and herd health.

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Section: Blinding Quarters As a Strategy For Reducing Sccmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Differences Between Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing use of antimicrobials — Experiences from an intervention study in organic dairy herds in Denmark

2010

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“…Organic farmers' surveys show that veterinarians are more involved in treating individual clinical cases than in disease prevention at herd level (Vaarst et al, 2002(Vaarst et al, , 2006. Organic farms are generally associated with less frequent veterinary visits and use less outside support (e.g.…”

Section: Health Management In Small-scale Farmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion on the assessment of dairy cow welfare in small‐scale farming systems

2015

EFS2

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This opinion reviews information on small-scale dairy cow farming systems in Europe, including the impact of production diseases on welfare of cows, and proposes a methodology for welfare assessment in those systems. To address specific expectations of consumers that food be produced locally or regionally or maintaining acceptable animal welfare conditions, in addition to herd size, criteria to define farms as "non-conventional" were proposed. Several sources were investigated for identifying criteria for the description and categorisation of small-scale farms, including dairy umbrella organisations and literature. In addition to herd size (up to 75 cows), proposed criteria related to small-scale farming comprise the workforce source, input level, indigenous breed use and production type certification. To cover the large diversity of farming systems across Europe, it was proposed that farms meeting at least two of these criteria be considered non-conventional. To adapt the welfare assessment to small-scale farms, the same risk factors and welfare consequences, as measured by corresponding animalbased measures identified in previous opinions for intensive farming systems were considered to be also relevant for small-scale systems. In addition, factors related to resources provided on pasture (e.g. shelter), management of pasture (e.g. mixing herds) and management of the cows (e.g. use of local breeds) were considered more likely to be present in small-scale systems. An on-farm survey was run to collect data for welfare assessment from 124 European farms. The distribution of risk factors and animal-based measures varied across the full range in study farms and showed similar patterns in farms with different grazing systems (from no time to full year on pasture). The animal-based measures identified for intensive farming are well suited for application in smallscale dairy farms. Production disease impact on the individual animal's welfare state does not depend on herd size or farming system.

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“…The veterinarians' perception of the herd health management system could influence the basic clinical recordings. Recordings of disease treatments are also influenced by herd-specific conditions (Vaarst et al, 2002), which will make comparability across herds very poor. Krogh and Enevoldsen (2012b) have described a concept to detect this type of measurement error.…”

Section: Benchmarkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of Data for Health Performance Measurement in the Industrialized Dairy Herd

Josephine¹

2012

American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences

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One part of dairy herd management is to handle disease occurrence by means of health promotion, disease prevention, timely medical treatments, or eradication of disease. Supporting this part of herd management is an essential task for the cattle veterinarian. The study objective was to identify principles and tools for analysis of herd health data in industrialized dairy herds. The analysis takes into account the additional complexity caused by changes in behavior among herd managers and herd personnel due to, for instance, legislative changes to promote animal welfare or food safety. Methods from herd management science were combined with contextspecific information about social mechanisms. The results were synthesized into a concrete 7-step plan of action, as follows: (1) As the foundation, use continuously process behavior charts primarily based on animallevel data. (2) Assure strict definition of the measurements considering purpose, collector and meaning in terms of biology and management. (3) Interpret the patterns in the process behavior charts and search for and remove causes of exceptional variation in a dialogue with the herd manager. (4) Search for options to reduce routine variation. Multivariable or multivariate statistical models can give additional information because of their ability to reveal hidden sources of variation. (5) Set targets at the tactical and strategic levels while accounting for costs and benefits with appropriate methods suggested in the study. Issues related to nonfinancial effects are addressed. (6) Adjust measurement and intervention theory. The previous five steps should initiate an iterative process in which the intervention is evaluated and updated based on the results achieved thus far. (7) Develop a framework in the veterinary practice unit to support the health performance measurement process. The activities in step 7 will almost certainly require expert statistical assistance.

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Farmers’ Choice of Medical Treatment of Mastitis in Danish Dairy Herds Based on Qualitative Research Interviews

Cited by 115 publications

References 11 publications

Reducing use of antimicrobials — Experiences from an intervention study in organic dairy herds in Denmark

Reducing use of antimicrobials — Experiences from an intervention study in organic dairy herds in Denmark

Scientific Opinion on the assessment of dairy cow welfare in small‐scale farming systems

Management of Data for Health Performance Measurement in the Industrialized Dairy Herd

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