Herd health status and management practices on 16 Irish suckler beef farms

James O’Shaughnessy,Paul Crosson,Damien Barrett,Luke O’Grady,John F Mee,Bernadette Earley,Michael L Doherty

doi:10.1186/2046-0481-66-21

Abstract

BackgroundThere have been few studies published internationally which document herd health management practices in suckler beef herds and no published Irish studies. The study objective was to document herd health status and management practices on sixteen Irish suckler beef herds over a two year period (2009–2010). The farms used in the study were part of the Teagasc BETTER farm beef programme. The mean (s.d.) herd size, stocking rate and farm size was 68 cows (27.6), 2.0 LU/ha (0.3) and 64.3 (21.6) adjusted hectares, respectively. Two questionnaires were designed; 1) a farmer questionnaire to collect information on farm background and current herd health control practices and 2) a veterinary questionnaire to collect information on the extent of animal health advice given by veterinarians to their clients and identification of any on-farm herd health issues.ResultsDystocia, calf pneumonia, and calf diarrhoea, in that order, were identified as the primary herd health issues in these Irish suckler beef herds. In addition, substantial deficiencies in biosecurity practices were also identified on these farms.ConclusionsThe findings of this study may serve as the focus for future research in animal health management practices in Irish suckler beef herds.

Highlights

There have been few studies published internationally which document herd health management practices in suckler beef herds and no published Irish studies
Variable costs were higher for the BETTER farms, the higher level of output generated resulted in the average gross margin being greater than eProfit Monitor (+50%) or National Farm Survey (NFS) (+395%) farms
Fixed costs were similar on the BETTER farms to eProfit Monitor farms and somewhat greater than NFS farms

Summary

Introduction

There have been few studies published internationally which document herd health management practices in suckler beef herds and no published Irish studies. The study objective was to document herd health status and management practices on sixteen Irish suckler beef herds over a two year period (2009–2010). The effects of herd health problems on the profitability of suckler beef farms are manifested through animal mortality, ill-thrift, cost of treatment, cost of prevention and additional labour [1]. A key component of prevention of herd health problems on suckler beef farms is the identification of those management factors that can significantly impact herd health status. The objective of this study was to document herd health status and management practices on 16 Irish suckler beef farms over a two year period (2009–2010)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion