Farm assurance and herd health Flashcards
What is the difference between herd health planning and farm assurance?
Herd health planning is an active involvement
Farm assurance - herd health plan, this is a passive statement
what is the primary objective of a health and production management plan?
maintenance of animal and production at the most efficient level that provides economic returns for the animal owner
What is the impact on welfare of a herd health plan?
Increased. Increased welfare –> increased production, fertility etc.
Who is responsible for implementing DEFRA’s health and welfare strategy?
Local vets
What do you need for an effective herd health program?
Forward thinking/progressive farmer
Enthusiastic and competent vet
Good data information systems - record keeping
Reports/meetings with the producer - where we are at and where we want to be - teamwork!
How do we reduce the need for firebrigade work?
Preventative medicine
Advisory work
Disease monitoring
What data is available from MNR?
Bulk SCC
Milk quality data
Individual cow SCC
Individual cow milk yield, fat protein
Recorded once a month in standardised way, can compare your farm to others
Why might the data you get from the milk buyer be different to the data from NMD?
Different lab, milk buyer does test on fresh milk
What is the target rate for mastitis?
Less than 30 cases per 100 cows per year
What is the current UK average prevalence of mastitis?
40%
What is the aimed for incidence of lameness in UK dairy farms?
What is the current UK average prevalence of lameness in dairy cows?
35%
Why are lame cows a bad thing?
Welfare and economic - produce less milk
What is the assured food standards? (red tractor)
Umbrella that covers most of the farm assurance schemes e.g. assured dairy farms, assured British meat etc
What assurance schemes are above the red tractor scheme?
RSPCA Freedom Foods - higher welfare
Organic e.g. soil association
What do farm assurance schemes assure?
Quality of the product Safety of the product Husbandry on farm Welfare Environmental issues?
What is the general feeding space required per cow?
60cm
When should farmers do BCS?
0 and 60 days after calving
100 days before and at drying off
How often should records of health and welfare be monitored and by who?
Annually, by the vet
NB not the same as herd health planning which you look at every few weeks to drive improvement
A livestock health plan should be…
Farm specific
Accessible to all staff
Updated when changes occur
What things should farmers keep records of in terms of health and performance?
Lameness, Mastitis, Mortality records (including reason for) Culling records and reasons for cull Medicine records Abattoir feedback
What measures should farms be taking to improve/maintain biosecurity?
Biosecurity policy
Dog worming policy
Disinfectant
Livestock movements
What are the three parts of the herd health plan and review?
a) herd health plan
b) monitor the issues that occur on the farm
c) annual herd health and performance review
Read through hand out…
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