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Health and performance of dairy cows in ecological farming interdisciplinary point of view - an (intervention) study on metabolic disorders and diseases in the udder due to inclusion of forage production, feeding management and husbandry
Project
Project code: 2807OE021
Contract period: 16.07.2007
- 30.11.2011
Budget: 48,056 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
This project focuses on the development of prevention-oriented health management strategies for metabolic disorders and udder health in organic dairy farms and to validate this approach through an interdisciplinary on-farm intervention study. Metabolic and udder health in organic dairy cows before and after partition as well as the influence of feed, nutrition and husbandry conditions are at the core of this project. A national field survey of 100 organic dairy farms will be used to assess the risk of metabolic disorders and udder disease The study considers production systems and plant composition of feed from grassland and ley farming; composition of feed rations, feed quality, housing conditions and milk quality to show how individual farm risk estimates relate to the metabolic and udder situation. The results will help optimize management and plan treatments. The study relies on a small team of scientists and consultants who interact with the farms. They will conceive methods to survey animal-based parameters of udder and metabolic health as well as of reproductive and claw health. Regular monitoring and comparisons will assure reliability of on-farm data collection. The selected farms, including selected ones from the German Federal Organic Farming Scheme (FOFS), represent different production systems at different locations throughout Germany. The farms are both a source of data and an opportunity to transfer the results. A second part of the study focuses on three organic experimental stations with a total of 225 dairy cows. Basic questions on feed management, udder health and metabolic disorders as well as on extensive farming will be considered. The experimental approaches will also be used to supplement the field results. Another focus of the study is to create sustainable communication structures to enable the transfer of knowledge among scientists, consultants and farmers.
Section overview
Subjects
- Animal health
- Organic Farming
Framework programme
Federal Organic Farming Scheme and other forms of sustainable agriculture (BÖLN)
