Abstract
BackgroundIn the past years, it became apparent that health status and performance differ considerably within dairy farms in Northern Germany. In order to obtain clues with respect to possible causes of these differences, a case-control study was performed. Case farms, which showed signs of health and performance problems, and control farms, which had none of these signs, were compared. Risk factors from different areas such as health management, housing, hygiene and nutrition were investigated as these are known to be highly influential. The aim of this study was to identify major factors within these areas that have the strongest association with health and performance problems of dairy herds in Northern Germany.ResultsIn the final model, a lower energy density in the roughage fraction of the diet, more pens with dirty lying areas and a low ratio of cows per watering spaces were associated with a higher risk for herd health problems. Moreover, case farms were affected by infections with intestinal parasites, lungworms, liver flukes and Johne’s Disease numerically more often than control farms. Case farms more often had pens with raised cubicles compared to the deep bedded stalls or straw yards found in control farms. In general, the hygiene of the floors and beddings was worse in case farms. Concerning nutrition, the microbiological and sensory quality of the provided silages was often insufficient, even in control farms. Less roughage was provided to early lactating cows and the feed was pushed to the feeding fence less frequently in case farms than in control farms.ConclusionsThe results show that milk yield and health status were associated with various factors from different areas stressing the importance of all aspects of management for good animal health and performance. Moreover, this study confirmed well-known risk factors for health problems and performance losses. These should better be taken heed of in herd health management.
Highlights
In the past years, it became apparent that health status and performance differ considerably within dairy farms in Northern Germany
Case farms were defined to fulfil at least 3 of the following five criteria: reduced milk yield (> 15% for at least three months compared to the milk yield of the year before), increased mortality (> 5% of the herd during the last year), increased culling rate (> 35% of the herd during the last year or an increase of > 10% compared to the year before), increased number of downer cows (> 10% of the herd during the last year) and farmersor veterinariansimpression of herd health problems
In the current study, associations between well-known risk factors from various areas of farm management and health and performance problems were observed in dairy herds in the northwest of Germany and promising intervention measures were deduced
Summary
It became apparent that health status and performance differ considerably within dairy farms in Northern Germany. Risk factors from different areas such as health management, housing, hygiene and nutrition were investigated as these are known to be highly influential. The aim of this study was to identify major factors within these areas that have the strongest association with health and performance problems of dairy herds in Northern Germany. From 2010 to 2016, the number of farms dropped by approximately 23%, while the number of cows stayed nearly the same [1]. This rapid change confronted the farmers with new tasks, such as human resources management. The higher milk yield challenges the farmers with higher demands concerning housing and feeding
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