Short communication: Veterinary health management in Azorean bovine dairy farms
Abstract
Aim of study: To describe veterinary services and farm management practices in cattle dairy farms in São Miguel Island in the Azores and to identify weak points for improvement.
Area of study: São Miguel Island, Azores (Portugal).
Material and methods: A questionnaire survey was sent to all veterinarians who work in São Miguel Island. It asked about veterinary activity and perceptions of veterinarians working on dairy farms. The van der Waerden test was used to compare the degree of implementation of measures in farms between cooperative veterinarians and private veterinarians.
Main results: The overall questionnaire response rate was 67% (20/30). The percentage of veterinarians dedicated to bovine medicine as the main service was 55.6%. Overall, between 40% and 60% of veterinarians implemented a variety of Veterinary Herd Health Medicine (VHHM) programs such as mastitis control, breeding assessment and postpartum management, and the average implementation score of these VHHM, on a 1 to 5 scale, was 2.8 (95% confidence interval: 2.0-3.5). However, other VHHM programs such as biosecurity or hygiene procedures were implemented at a lower rate, ranging between 20% and 30%, and this needs to be improved.
Research highlights: Veterinary practicioners in São Miguel Island, Azores still focus their activity more on individual bovine medicine than in VHHM programs; besides, there is room for improvement in the implementation of some of these programs, such as reproduction, hoof health, nutrition, hygiene and biosecurity. This may be a similar situation to that of other regions in the world with a similar production structure.
Downloads
References
Barkema HW, von Keyserlingk MAG, Kastelic JP, Lam TJGM, Luby C, Roy JP et al., 2015. Invited review: Changes in the dairy industry affecting dairy cattle health and welfare. J. Dairy Sci. 98: 7426-7445. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2015-9377
Cannas da Silva J, Noordhuizen JPTM, Vagneur M, Bexiga R, Gelfert CC, Baumgartner W, 2006. Veterinary dairy herd health management in Europe: Constraints and perspectives. Vet Q 28: 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/01652176.2006.9695203
Cardoso FC, Kalscheur KF, Drackley JK, 2020. Symposium review: Nutrition strategies for improved health, production, and fertility during the transition period. J Dairy Sci 103: 5684-5693. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-17271
Carmo LP, Nielsen LR, Alban L, da Costa PM, Schüpbach-Regula G, Magouras I, 2018. Veterinary expert opinion on potential drivers and opportunities for changing antimicrobial usage practices in livestock in Denmark, Portugal, and Switzerland. Front Vet Sci 5: 29. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00029
Derks M, van Werven T, Hogeveen H, Kremer WDJ, 2013. Veterinary herd health management programs on dairy farms in the Netherlands: Use, execution, and relations to farmer characteristics. J Dairy Sci 96: 1623-1637. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-6106
Fruscalso V, Olmos G, Hötzel MJ, 2020. Dairy calves' mortality survey and associated management practices in smallholding, pasture-based herds in southern Brazil. Prev Vet Med 175: 104835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104835
Gerber M, Dürr S, Bodmer M, 2020. [Survey among livestock veterinarians from the Canton of Fribourg investigating the topics of herd-health management, counselling and the use of antimicrobial drugs]. Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd 162: 23-36. https://doi.org/10.17236/sat00240
Gertzell E, Magnusson U, Ikwap K, Dione M, Lindström L, Eliasson-Selling L, Jacobson M, 2021. Animal health beyond the single disease approach - A role for veterinary herd health management in low-income countries? Res Vet Sci 136: 453-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2021.03.021
Medeiros I, Fernandez-Novo A, Astiz S, Simões J, 2021. Production and health management from grazing to confinement systems of largest dairy bovine farms in Azores: A farmers' perspective. Animals 11: 3394. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123394
Moya S, Tirado F, Espluga J, Ciaravino G, Armengol R, Diéguez J et al., 2020. Dairy farmers' decision-making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors. Transbound Emerg Dis 67: 698-710. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13387
O'Shaughnessy J, Mee JF, Doherty ML, Crosson P, Barrett D, O'Grady L, Earley B, 2013. Herd health status and management practices on 16 Irish suckler beef farms. Ir Vet J 66: 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-0481-66-21
Svensson C, Alvåsen K, Eldh AC, Frössling J, Lomander H, 2018. Veterinary herd health management-Experience among farmers and farm managers in Swedish dairy production. Prev Vet Med 155: 45-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2018.04.012
van der Leek ML, 2015. Beyond traditional dairy veterinary services: 'It's not just about the cows!'. J S Afr Vet Assoc 86: e1-e10. https://doi.org/10.4102/jsava.v86i1.1221
Weyl-Feinstein S, Lavon Y, Yaffa Kan N, Weiss-Bakal M, Shmueli A, Ben-Dov D et al., 2021. Welfare issues on Israeli dairy farms: attitudes and awareness of farm workers and veterinary practitioners. Animals 11: 294. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020294
Copyright (c) 2022 INIA-CSIC
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.