Herd Health Management on Dairy Farm: An Overview

Abstract

Herd health management is a method to optimize health, welfare and production in a population of dairy cows, through the systematic analysis of relevant data and through regular objective observations of the cows and their environment Industrialization of animal farming and increasing international market competition has led to selective breeding of high producing cows and consequence of this development, however, was higher susceptibility to disease. As a result of this, attention shifted from curing single animals to prevention of disease on herd level. Bio-security is a program used to prevent the introduction pathogens from external sources on farms, as well as the spread of such diseases once they have entered the farm. The monitoring is an essential part of programs to achieve and maintain a good udder health on dairy farms in the long term. It is necessary for routine evaluations of the herd health and performance status, the continuous verification of the effectiveness of actions taken to improve the herd status and, the early identification of emerging problems. Bovine teat condition score can be used to assess the effects of milking management, milking equipment or environment on teat tissue and the risk of new intramammary infections. Timely claw trimming can improve cow mobility (locomotion) and prevent lameness. Developing science-based recommendations for different aspects of the monitoring of the udder health on dairy farms, improving management practices and biosecurity are very important. Keywords: Bio-security, Dairy farms, Herd DOI : 10.7176/JBAH/9-1-09