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Effect of production system, alternative treatments and calf rearing system on udder health in organic dairy cows

Lookup NU author(s): Gillian Butler, Professor Carlo Leifert

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Abstract

In the last decade the main goals of organic dairying have been to attain acceptable levels of milk production, increase opportunities for animals to perform species own behaviour, resulting in improved animal welfare and animal health, and minimize the use of therapeutic interventions, including the reduction of the (preventive) use of antibiotics. Maintaining animal health without the use of therapeutic interventions is a major challenge for organic dairy farmers. In particular, udder health remains a major problem in both conventional and organic farming. In the QualityLowInputFood (QLIF) project udder health status and management were assessed in different production systems and European regions. These studies suggest that good udder health can be maintained in organic or low-input farming management systems. Novel strategies to control mastitis were evaluated and the potential of using internal teat sealers for the control of environment-associated pathogens was shown. Also oral application of a herd profile based single homeopathic remedy combined with homeopathic silica had a significant effect on cows with a relative low somatic cell count before drying-off. Suckling systems in calf rearing, as an integrated management approach. did not result in better udder health. None of the studies presented identified new variables affecting udder health. QLIF studies also demonstrated the importance of comparing udder health parameters in contrasting organic, low input and conventional production systems, since clear differences in antibiotic use against mastitis could be identified not only between organic and conventional systems, but also among dairy systems used in different EU-countries. Although alternative treatments used in organic systems could not be shown to be fully effective, results suggest that the use of individual or combined alternative strategies to improve udder health on organic or low-input farms warrants further investigation. Based on the results obtained it is recommended that future research should focus on identifying the reasons for variability in udder health between organic farms that use different management protocols to identify 'best current practice' when carrying out this research. (C) 2011 Royal Netherlands Society for Agricultural Sciences. Published by Elsevier By. All rights reserved.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Wagenaar JP, Klocke P, Butler G, Smolders G, Nielsen JH, Canever A, Leifert C

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences

Year: 2011

Volume: 58

Issue: 3-4

Pages: 157-162

Print publication date: 05/08/2011

ISSN (print): 1573-5214

ISSN (electronic): 2212-1307

Publisher: Elsevier BV

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2011.06.001

DOI: 10.1016/j.njas.2011.06.001


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
FP6-FOOD-CT-2003-506358European Community

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