Farmer awareness of cow longevity and implications for decision-making at farm level

Bergeå, Hanna; Roth, A.; Emanuelson, Ulf; Agenäs, Sigrid

doi:10.1080/09064702.2016.1196726

Cited by 8 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The value placed on having high milk productivity emerged repeatedly in our interviews, but cow longevity was never mentioned. A previous study has found that, when asked, Swedish dairy farmers connected the increased productivity directly with the reduced longevity of modern cows (Bergeå et al, 2016). Reflecting the wider naturalization in the agriculture sector of maximizing production (Haggerty et al, 2009), very few publications on animal health consider this aspect when discussing measures to improve animal health and reduce the need for antibiotic treatment, possibly because of the overall normalization of farm upscaling and intensification that has occurred over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reflecting the wider naturalization in the agriculture sector of maximizing production (Haggerty et al, 2009), very few publications on animal health consider this aspect when discussing measures to improve animal health and reduce the need for antibiotic treatment, possibly because of the overall normalization of farm upscaling and intensification that has occurred over time. Three exceptions mention that high productivity has led to increased disease incidence (Derks et al, 2012), including that some farmers and veterinarians are concerned about this (Bergeå et al, 2016;Shortall et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dairy farmers' perspectives on antibiotic use: A qualitative study

Fischer

Sjöström

Stiernström

et al. 2019

Journal of Dairy Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An important step in limiting the development of antibiotic resistance is reducing use of antibiotics in animal husbandry. Much research in this area has focused on individual farmer behavior, aiming to better align actual use with medical recommendations. However, farmers' practices and reasoning around their antibiotic use do not reflect solely that farmer as an individual. Rather, practices and worldviews are guided by context (e.g., veterinary advice, peer pressure, regulation, and interactions with farm animals). Studies that jointly embrace farmer agency and the wider structures for this agency, however, remain scarce. This paper draws on theories of behavior as socially constructed, and in particular on the concept of the "good farmer," to interpret findings from a study of 7 Swedish dairy farms. The results show that all farmers have close daily contact with their animals, have strong emotional ties, and place emphasis on the importance of being able to judge animal health status by eye. Half of the farms use an automatic milking system, and for these farmers automation means better monitoring of animal health without losing contact with the cows. The local veterinarian is considered a positive and important authority whose advice is valued. Despite comparatively strict antibiotic use regulations in Sweden, the farmers do not report lack of access to antibiotics when needed. However, they report feeling disadvantaged in international trade and poorly treated by the Swedish government, which allows imports of cheaper meat and dairy products produced under less strict regulations. The farmers are well informed about how to prevent and treat common diseases. In cases where they do not follow recommendations, we found that economic and labor constraints are the reason rather than lack of knowledge. We concluded that structural limitations faced by farmers, rather than lack of information, impose constraints to further limiting antibiotic use in Sweden. Overall stricter and more uniform global regulations on antibiotic use in animal farming could be an effective measure for reducing antibiotic use.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dairy farmers' perspectives on antibiotic use: A qualitative study

Fischer

Sjöström

Stiernström

et al. 2019

Journal of Dairy Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Longevity statistics available for Sweden were somewhat intermittent, resulting in considerable gaps. However, based on the data available, longevity in Sweden appears to have remained relatively stable over Schuster et al: INVITED REVIEW: LONGEVITY IN DAIRY COWS the past several decades (Bergeå et al, 2016;Alvåsen et al, 2018;Swedish Dairy Association, 2019). Longevity reported in Sweden has remained between 60.0 mo and 60.5 mo since 1998 (Swedish Dairy Association, 2019) despite extensive efforts to improve longevity nationally (Bergeå et al, 2016).…”

Section: Differences In Longevity Among Countries Reporting Trends Avmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invited review: Academic and applied approach to evaluating longevity in dairy cows

Schuster

Barkema

Vries

et al. 2020

Journal of Dairy Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Farmers interested in animal breeding might also have a more “active” culling strategy and hence end up with a shorter average lifespan in the herd. In face-to-face interviews with Swedish dairy farmers, Bergeå et al [ 31 ] discovered a management-related phenomenon where farmers interested in genetic selection and breeding improvements are more likely to accept that heifers “push out” older cows. This was mainly a consequence of farmers breeding too many heifers combined with a greater interest in genetic improvements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The longevity-related decisions taken by dairy farmers are however complex to understand, and longevity is not usually visible in farm-management data. Even though the average herd longevity is highly dependent on the decisions taken by the individual farmer, farmers themselves have expressed a low level of consciousness of the power they have to influence the longevity in their herd [ 31 ]. These kinds of qualitative factors are difficult to capture in a questionnaire of the type used in this study, but they might have a significant influence on the longevity of dairy herds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farm characteristics and management routines related to cow longevity: a survey among Swedish dairy farmers

Alvåsen

Dohoo

Roth³

et al. 2018

Acta Vet Scand

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundLongevity is an important trait for increasing the profitability of dairy production. Long cow longevity is also essential to reduce the environmental impact of milk production, and to maintain positive consumer attitude. Genetic selection for increased longevity has been effective, but the phenotypic trend of longevity in Swedish dairy cows has not been improved. The objective of this study was to identify herd characteristics and management routines that are associated with the average cow longevity in a herd. To obtain this information, a questionnaire was developed and sent out to 661 Swedish dairy farmers.ResultsThe response rate was 35%. Seventeen of the 62 characteristics investigated had either a univariable association with the outcome (days from birth to culling) at P < 0.15, or were identified as confounders in the causal diagram and were therefore considered as candidates for the multivariable analysis. Multiple imputation was used to fill in the missing data from the questionnaires, and this increased the number of usable observations in the multivariable modeling from 156 to 228. Only a few of the investigated herd characteristics and management routines were associated with average cow longevity. The results demonstrated that using herd health advisory services shortened the average longevity, while using breeding advisory services prolonged the average longevity in the herd. Furthermore, having a greater interest in animal breeding (i.e. genetic selection) decreased the longevity, and calling the veterinarian when discovering an unhealthy cow increased the average longevity. Higher age of the farmer was also associated with longer average herd longevity.ConclusionsThe herd average cow longevity was only associated with some of the farm characteristics and management routines studied. The results demonstrate that the use of advisory services and farmers’ attitudes could be targeted for increasing the herd longevity. Further, the results indicate that other e.g. qualitative factors influencing farmers’ decisions play an important role.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13028-018-0390-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Farmer awareness of cow longevity and implications for decision-making at farm level

Cited by 8 publications

References 22 publications

Dairy farmers' perspectives on antibiotic use: A qualitative study

Dairy farmers' perspectives on antibiotic use: A qualitative study

Invited review: Academic and applied approach to evaluating longevity in dairy cows

Farm characteristics and management routines related to cow longevity: a survey among Swedish dairy farmers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About