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Bedding materials and management - their importance for the development of mastitis and infectious events in the organic dairy farming
Project
Project code: 2808OE196
Contract period: 01.09.2009
- 31.08.2011
Budget: 72,246 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
Mastitis is one of the most important production diseases in organic as well as in con-ventional farming. The required use of natural origin materials for bedding in organic dairy farms may increase the risk for mammary infections with environmental patho-gens. This project focus to follow the potential chain of infection bedding material – lying area – udder skin – teat canal – udder lumen to identify the critical points and to derive management recommendations for organic dairy farms. For this purpose 30 or-ganic dairy farms will be visited twice to collect samples of the bedding material prior to its use, swabs from the udder skin and the teat canal plus foremilk samples for cyto-bacteriological analyses. In addition the milk flow curves of the sampled animals will be gained using the LactoCorder-system to reveal the predisposition of the cows for loose teat sphincters. At least ten animals and two quarters per animal will be sampled on each farm visit. To consider the seasonal differences the farms will be visited once during the summer and the winter. Thus, data gained on the farms during the last two years can be used to complete the data set improving the reliability of the statistical analyses. In the end, recommendations shall be given to improve the hygienic conditions of the lying areas in organic dairy farms and as a consequence reduce the risk of environmental mastitis. This would not only decrease the costs caused by mastitis but also support one of the main goals of organic farming - the minimized use of antibiotics.
Section overview
Subjects
- Animal health
Framework programme
Federal Organic Farming Scheme and other forms of sustainable agriculture (BÖLN)
