Veterinary herd health management–Experience among farmers and farm managers in Swedish dairy production

Svensson, C.; Alvåsen, Karin; Eldh, Ann Catrine; Frössling, Jenny; Lomander, Hanna

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2018.04.012

Cited by 36 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…As for the veterinarian's profiles, the HDA veterinarians were identified as those that are mainly responsible for biosecurity, being consistent with their role played; however, there are still farms that scarcely implement biosecurity measures. This could be due to the existence of obstacles in their relationship, as was described in Sweden (Svensson, Alvåsena, Eldh, Frössling, & Lomander, ). According to these researchers, although the health management veterinarians are important and have a similar professional profile to those of the Spanish HDA veterinarians, farmers do not always carry out their suggestions because of difficulties in their relationships.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

Moya

Serrano

Espluga

et al. 2019

Transbound Emerg Dis

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Biosecurity measures are a set of management procedures that prevent the risk of introducing and spreading infectious diseases to a farm, although these measures are rarely implemented in dairy farms. There are some studies that have identified that the decision to implement biosecurity measures can be influenced by several psychosocial factors (attitudes and behaviours). Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the psychosocial factors (and their interactions) influencing the implementation of biosecurity measures in dairy farms in Spain, through the views of dairy farmers and veterinarians from Catalonia (northeast Spain) and Galicia (northwest Spain). Face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews were performed with 16 dairy farmers (nine from Catalonia and seven from Galicia) and 16 veterinarians (eight from Catalonia and eight from Galicia). Grounded theory analysis was performed on the transcripts, following the subtopics of: information sources, individual factors of the farmer, social dynamics, official veterinary services and other factors. The study identified the importance of veterinarians as a source of information, including their communication skills, the individual experiences of farmers, traditions of the farms and availability of time and space in the dairy farmer's decisions making. Further, it suggests the need to deepen the knowledge of the farm workers and the obligatory biosecurity measures. This research represents a starting point to develop future strategies to improve the implementation of biosecurity measures in dairy farms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

Moya

Serrano

Espluga

et al. 2019

Transbound Emerg Dis

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show abstract

“…In this regard, financial reasons often make the farmer hesitate to call the vet for help, even in countries with a high standard of living. Furthermore, some farmers find local veterinarians as insufficiently competent in herd health management, with low knowledge about effective measures, as described by Svensson et al (2018). Moreover, family farmers manage their herd the way they learned from their ancestors and often have difficulty in adopting new knowledge and technologies.…”

Section: Factors Influencing Calf Management On Small Farmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management practices that influence the welfare of calves on small family farms

Relic

Starič

Ježek

2020

Journal of Dairy Research

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In this Research Reflection we review management practices in small family farms with less than 100 cows. Small farms represent the majority of farms in the EU and the world, and they are of great importance for the economy of a country. On cattle farms, the welfare of calves is of primary importance for the profitability of the herd, and poor management is one of the main factors influencing calf health and survival. Data on the risk factors for calf welfare issues in small-scale farms are limited. For this purpose, the literature data from six world countries were presented and compared, including Serbia and Slovenia where a survey related to the issue was carried out within the COST Action FA1308, DairyCare. Some practices within the following areas in calf management were considered: calving management, care for new-born calves, use of painful procedures, colostrum management, cow–calf separation, calf feeding, weaning, calf housing, and general monitoring. In each of the countries, the health and welfare of calves are threatened by some omissions in rearing practices and the major are related to the new-born calf management, the feeding and watering management, and the application of hygienic measures. Many farmers are well aware of the importance of proper calf rearing; others would need more incentive to improve calf management. Each country should pay attention to the education of farmers about the most common deficiencies in calf management.

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“…Also, preventive herd health services offered by veterinarians or other advisors in Sweden are not fully recognized among the dairy farmers. In a qualitative study about preventive herd health management, Swedish dairy farmers had difficulties in defining the concept of preventive herd health and in telling what roles the veterinarian could fill in this regard [ 27 ]. One key barrier for using veterinarians more proactively in herd health management that has been mentioned by farmers is that veterinarians are associated only with their curative role in acute illness [ 28 , 29 ].…”

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

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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.

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Veterinary herd health management–Experience among farmers and farm managers in Swedish dairy production

Cited by 36 publications

References 31 publications

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

Management practices that influence the welfare of calves on small family farms

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

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