Educating Producers to Systematically Evaluate the Cows they are Culling

Abstract

Our research will assess the effectiveness of an effort to educate Ontario dairy producers to systematically evaluate the cows they plan to cull. Using a number of health and welfare-related criteria, our team aims to advance decision-making of producers regarding whether culled cows are fit for transport. Our goal is to educate dairy producers to eliminate the shipping of unfit cows, involve their veterinarians in the decision-making process, and to encourage development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for evaluating cull cows. 
 Currently, Ontario’s dairy industry lacks a systematic evaluation method to aid producers in the decision to remove and transport cows. Moreover, the dairy industry’s proAction initiative requires all farms to have a documented SOP regarding the shipping of cattle. Additionally the veterinary community is interested in being more involved in the SOP development and decision-making process on their client’s farms.
 This pilot research project will run from January to April 2017, inclusive. Twenty bovine veterinarians have been recruited to each enrol 10 of their dairy clients. Veterinarians will provide their clients with a Pre-survey, Cull Cow Evaluation Forms, an information package, and a Post-survey. The Pre-survey is intended to gage the knowledge of dairy producers regarding culling and shipping cattle and assess their current attitudes and practices. The producers will then be asked to complete an Evaluation Form for every cow they cull from the milking herd during the study period. A Post-survey will then be sent to the producers to assess if their attitudes and practices have changed.