Pasture related characteristics and management strategies associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency
Udder health plays a central role in the dairy industry and poor udder health can entail both negative economic and animal welfare consequences as well as increased antimicrobial use. The somatic cell count (SCC, a commonly used measurement of udder health) has been observed to increase during th...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | H3 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231)
2022
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855573016147132416 |
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| author | Laufors, Emma |
| author_browse | Laufors, Emma |
| author_facet | Laufors, Emma |
| author_sort | Laufors, Emma |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | Udder health plays a central role in the dairy industry and poor udder health can entail both negative
economic and animal welfare consequences as well as increased antimicrobial use. The somatic cell
count (SCC, a commonly used measurement of udder health) has been observed to increase during
the summer season both in Sweden and in other countries. One contributing factor to this is believed
to be heat stress which, among other things, influences the immune function of dairy cattle and other
animals. With increasing temperatures and a higher vulnerability in high producing dairy cows there
is a need to try to prevent the heat stress during warmer periods and to keep up a good udder health.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of warmer periods on SCC and milking
frequency on farms with an automatic milking system (AMS) as well as explore the different pasture
characteristics and management strategies used on these farms. In addition, the effect of these
strategies in maintaining the SCC during warmer periods and grazing season is investigated.
The study is based on 26 phone interviews with farmers that has an automatic milking system
(AMS). The interview included questions about their pasture, feed, udder health, milking system
focusing on their experiences during the summer months. The selection of farms for the interviews
were based on data from 2017 to 2019 from the Swedish cattle database (SCD) and included farms
that have an increase in SCC in the summer and those that are less affected. The answers were
categorized into different groups and mainly analysed considering the mean proportional difference
in SCC between winter and summer from 2017-2019, mean summer SCC 2017-2019 and milking
interval 2021. They were analysed using the statistical tests Mann Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis.
A significant seasonal difference between winter and summer was found regarding both SCC and
milking frequency, while the SCC increased the milking interval decreased during the summer.
Limiting water to only the barn was not beneficial to maintain the same milking interval during
summer. The udder health on farms where cows had a low intake of roughage on pasture and no
access to shade on pasture was less impacted by the summer season, possibly due to these cows
spending more time inside the barn. Similarly, cows with limited access to pasture appeared to have
a higher milking interval compared to those with unlimited access to pasture.
It is hard to draw any conclusions from this study, other than on the included farms the SCC
increased, and the milking frequency decreased during the summer compared to the winter. By
studying the SCC and milking frequency of the participating farms some were successful in
maintaining them during summer. Which shows that it is possible to maintain the udder health
during the summer combined with an AMS and grazing. Further research is needed looking at
characteristics and management strategies both inside the barn and on pasture to completely
understand why there is a seasonal pattern with a higher SCC during summer. |
| format | H3 |
| id | RepoSLU18169 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231) |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231) |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU181692022-08-31T01:02:04Z Pasture related characteristics and management strategies associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency Betesegenskaper och skötselrutiner associerade med juverhälsa på gårdar med ett automatiskt mjölkningssystem : påverkan på celltal och mjölkningsfrekvens Laufors, Emma somatic cell count milking interval automatic milking system udder health heat stress pasture strategies preventative measures Udder health plays a central role in the dairy industry and poor udder health can entail both negative economic and animal welfare consequences as well as increased antimicrobial use. The somatic cell count (SCC, a commonly used measurement of udder health) has been observed to increase during the summer season both in Sweden and in other countries. One contributing factor to this is believed to be heat stress which, among other things, influences the immune function of dairy cattle and other animals. With increasing temperatures and a higher vulnerability in high producing dairy cows there is a need to try to prevent the heat stress during warmer periods and to keep up a good udder health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of warmer periods on SCC and milking frequency on farms with an automatic milking system (AMS) as well as explore the different pasture characteristics and management strategies used on these farms. In addition, the effect of these strategies in maintaining the SCC during warmer periods and grazing season is investigated. The study is based on 26 phone interviews with farmers that has an automatic milking system (AMS). The interview included questions about their pasture, feed, udder health, milking system focusing on their experiences during the summer months. The selection of farms for the interviews were based on data from 2017 to 2019 from the Swedish cattle database (SCD) and included farms that have an increase in SCC in the summer and those that are less affected. The answers were categorized into different groups and mainly analysed considering the mean proportional difference in SCC between winter and summer from 2017-2019, mean summer SCC 2017-2019 and milking interval 2021. They were analysed using the statistical tests Mann Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis. A significant seasonal difference between winter and summer was found regarding both SCC and milking frequency, while the SCC increased the milking interval decreased during the summer. Limiting water to only the barn was not beneficial to maintain the same milking interval during summer. The udder health on farms where cows had a low intake of roughage on pasture and no access to shade on pasture was less impacted by the summer season, possibly due to these cows spending more time inside the barn. Similarly, cows with limited access to pasture appeared to have a higher milking interval compared to those with unlimited access to pasture. It is hard to draw any conclusions from this study, other than on the included farms the SCC increased, and the milking frequency decreased during the summer compared to the winter. By studying the SCC and milking frequency of the participating farms some were successful in maintaining them during summer. Which shows that it is possible to maintain the udder health during the summer combined with an AMS and grazing. Further research is needed looking at characteristics and management strategies both inside the barn and on pasture to completely understand why there is a seasonal pattern with a higher SCC during summer. Mjölkkornas juverhälsa spelar en central roll inom mjölkindustrin och en försämrad juverhälsa ger en försämrad mjölkavkastning vilket ger negativa ekonomiska konsekvenser, men även risk för försämrad djurvälfärd och ökad antibiotikaanvändning. En höjning av mjölkens somatiska celltal (ett mått på juverhälsa som visar på juverinflammation) har i tidigare studier observerats under sommarmånaderna, både i Sverige och internationellt. En bidragande faktor till detta tros vara värmestress, som bland annat påverkar mjölkkornas immunförsvar. Med ökande temperaturer och en högre känslighet hos de högproducerande mjölkkorna finns det ett behov av att försöka förebygga värmestressen under varmare perioder för att upprätthålla celltalsnivån. Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka varmare perioder påverkan på celltal och mjölkningsfrekvens på gårdar med ett automatiskt mjölkningssystem (AMS). Syftet var även att utforska olika beteskännetecken och skötselstrategier på dessa gårdar och se hur dessa påverkar möjligheten att upprätthålla celltalsnivån under varmare perioder och betessäsongen. Studien är baserad på 26 telefonintervjuer med lantbrukare som har ett automatiskt mjölkningssystem (AMS). Intervjun inkluderade frågor om deras beten, foder, juverhälsa, mjölkningssystem med mera med fokus på lantbrukarnas erfarenheter och rutiner under sommarmånaderna. Mjölkgårdarna valdes ut baserat på data från 2017–2019 från Växas kodatabas och inkluderade gårdar som ökade i celltal från vinter till sommar och de som inte påverkades lika mycket. Svaren kategoriserades i olika grupper och analyserade med avseende på fram för allt medelvärdet av den proportionella differensen av vinter- och sommarcelltalet, medelvärdet av sommarcelltalet 2017– 2019 samt mjölkningsfrekvens 2021. För att undersöka om det fanns några samband mellan juverhälsomåtten och mjölkningsfrekvens och svaren i enkäten användes de statistiska testen MannWhitney test samt Kruskal-Wallis-test. En signifikant skillnad mellan vinter och sommar fanns med avseende på både celltal och mjölkningsfrekvens där celltalet ökade medan mjölkningsfrekvensen minskade under sommaren. Att begränsa vattentillgången för korna till enbart inomhus visade sig inte ha någon effekt på mjölkningsfrekvensen. Kor med fri tillgång till betet hade lägre mjölkningsfrekvens jämfört med de som hade begränsad tid. Juverhälsan på gårdar som hade ett lågt grovfoderintag på betet påverkades mindre på sommaren, vilket kan bero på att de korna eventuellt spenderade mindre tid på bete och mer inne i ladugården. Det är svårt att dra några slutsatser från studien, annat än att celltalet ökade och mjölkningsfrekvensen minskade på sommaren på de inkluderande gårdarna. Genom att studera celltalet och mjölkningsfrekvensen på de inkluderade gårdarna går det att se att vissa var framgångsrika att bibehålla de under sommaren. Vidare forskning behövs för att titta närmre på egenskaper och skötselrutiner både inne i ladugården och på betet för att helt förstå varför det finns ett säsongsbundet mönster med ett högre celltal på sommaren. SLU/Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231) 2022 H3 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/18169/ |
| spellingShingle | somatic cell count milking interval automatic milking system udder health heat stress pasture strategies preventative measures Laufors, Emma Pasture related characteristics and management strategies associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency |
| title | Pasture related characteristics and management strategies
associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency |
| title_full | Pasture related characteristics and management strategies
associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency |
| title_fullStr | Pasture related characteristics and management strategies
associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pasture related characteristics and management strategies
associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency |
| title_short | Pasture related characteristics and management strategies
associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency |
| title_sort | pasture related characteristics and management strategies
associated with udder health in farms with an automatic milking system : impact on somatic cell count and milking frequency |
| topic | somatic cell count milking interval automatic milking system udder health heat stress pasture strategies preventative measures |