Sjöström, Karin
(2018).
Health and herd health planning in organic dairy herds.
Diss. (sammanfattning/summary)
Uppsala :
Sveriges lantbruksuniv.,
Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880
; 2018:39
ISBN 978-91-7760-218-7
eISBN 978-91-7760-219-4
[Doctoral thesis]
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PDF
824kB |
Abstract
The status in European organic dairy production does not in all aspects, meet organic principles with regards to the aims of good animal welfare and health, and consumers’ expectations, and therefore needs to be improved. The aims of this thesis were to; assess the status of animal health in organic dairy herds; assess the structural characteristics, and their relation to implementation, of animal health plans; and to investigate a structured participatory and farm-centric approach.
In total, 218 farms in Germany, Spain, France and Sweden were included in the study. All farms were visited, and general characteristics were collected through an on-farm protocol. Common procedures for calculations were made to arrive at comparable herd level indicators. A sample of the lactating cows on each farm was scored for lameness. Data for the analysis of farm structures (192 farms), contained a battery of farm and farmer descriptors from which typologies were derived. Three farm clusters were identified and rates of implementation of health improvement actions were explored. Actions, as part of a health plan, were identified during a structured participatory approach, with farmer, veterinarian and advisor, by use of an impact matrix analysis, on 122 farms in France, Germany and Sweden.
The prevalence of animal health indicators varied widely between farms and countries. The odds of lameness were five to six times higher in France and Germany, and slightly higher in Spain, than in Sweden. This may be particularly true in large herds with cows of the Holstein breed and zero-grazing herds. Farms in the different clusters implemented different strategies towards animal health planning. The degree of implementation of the actions was good. At follow-up (by data), no direct associations were seen between change in animal health indicators and the structured participatory approach.
The great difference in prevalence of production diseases implies that there is room for improvements. The need to enhance the quality and availability of data is reinforced by the fact that there is no unified recording in European organic dairy herds. The results may be used as a background for tailored advisory service strategies, i.e. different types (clusters) of organic dairy farms needs different type of advisory approach to reach improvements (adapted to the specific farm situation).
Authors/Creators: | Sjöström, Karin | ||||||||||
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Title: | Health and herd health planning in organic dairy herds | ||||||||||
Alternative abstract: |
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Series Name/Journal: | Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae | ||||||||||
Year of publishing : | 2018 | ||||||||||
Depositing date: | 20 August 2018 | ||||||||||
Number: | 2018:39 | ||||||||||
Number of Pages: | 66 | ||||||||||
Papers/manuscripts: |
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Place of Publication: | Uppsala | ||||||||||
Publisher: | Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | ||||||||||
Associated Programs and Other Stakeholders: | SLU - Research Areas for the Future > Future Agriculture (until Jan 2017) SLU - Research Areas for the Future > Future Animal Health and Welfare (until Jan 2017) | ||||||||||
ISBN for printed version: | 978-91-7760-218-7 | ||||||||||
ISBN for electronic version: | 978-91-7760-219-4 | ||||||||||
ISSN: | 1652-6880 | ||||||||||
Language: | English | ||||||||||
Publication Type: | Doctoral thesis | ||||||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||||||
Agris subject categories.: | L Animal production > L01 Animal husbandry L Animal production > L70 Veterinary science and hygiene - General aspects L Animal production > L73 Animal diseases | ||||||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 3 Medical and Health Sciences > 303 Health Sciences > Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Agricultural Science (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 402 Animal and Dairy Science > Animal and Dairy Science. (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 403 Veterinary Science > Other Veterinary Science (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 405 Other Agricultural Sciences > Other Agricultural Sciences not elsewhere specified | ||||||||||
Agrovoc terms: | dairy cattle, dairy herds, animal health, milk production, animal diseases, disorders, disease prevention, organic farming, analysis | ||||||||||
Keywords: | prevalence, characteristics, participatory approach, production diseases | ||||||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-4969 | ||||||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-4969 | ||||||||||
ID Code: | 15593 | ||||||||||
Faculty: | VH - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science | ||||||||||
Department: | (VH) > Dept. of Clinical Sciences | ||||||||||
External funders: | EU FP7 | ||||||||||
Deposited By: | Karin Sjöström | ||||||||||
Deposited On: | 21 Aug 2018 11:40 | ||||||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2020 14:17 | ||||||||||
Project info: | |||||||||||
Name: | Impact matrix analysis and cost-benefit calculations to improve management practices regarding health status in organic dairy farming | ||||||||||
Acronym: | IMPRO | ||||||||||
ID: | Unknown | ||||||||||
Programme: | FP7 |
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