4371: Investigations on dairy welfare and performance on German organic farms
(2005) Investigations on dairy welfare and performance on German organic farms. Paper presented at Researching Sustainable Systems - International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture, Adelaide, Australia, September 21-23, 2005.
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Summary
An investigation was carried out on 74 organic dairy farms in Germany. Results were an average milk production of 5.960 kg, 223.000 somatic cell counts (SCC), 387 days calving interval, 23.5 % culling rate, 46 Euro annual veterinary costs per cow. Farmers were asked for disease incidences. Cows were scored for injuries and body condition. The results were combined with possible influencing factors (herd size, breed, region, farming association, housing system, housing factors, amounts of concentrates). The most frequent health problems were udder, fertility, and claw disorders. These subjective estimations of disease incidences by the farmers could be validated with herd recording data (SCC, calving interval, culling reasons). Overall rate of injuries was low. Body condition scoring revealed only few problems. Holstein-Friesians showed the highest milk production, but also more health problems and a higher culling rate. The straw yard systems seem to have advantages with regard to lameness, fertility, and injuries, but a higher risk for mastitis.
| Document Language: | English |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Organic dairy farming, milk production, welfare parameters, influencing factors |
| Subject Areas: | Animal husbandry > Production systems |
| Research affiliation: | International Conferences > ISOFAR conferences > Researching Sustainable Systems 2005 |
| Total budget (Euro): | 0 |
| Orgprints ID Number: | 4371 |
| Contact: | ISOFAR, |
| Deposited On: | 18 November 2006 |
| EPrint Type: | Conference paper |
| Published?: | Unpublished |
| Peer Review Status: | Not peer-reviewed |
| Additional Publishing Information: | The paper archived here is the final paper submitted by the authors to the conference Researching Sustainable Systems. The final and edited papers are available at the following publication: Köpke, Ulrich; Niggli, Urs; Neuhoff, Daniel; Cornish, Peter; Lockeretz, Willie und Willer, Helga, (Hrsg.) (2005) Researching Sustainable Systems. Proceedings of the First Scientific Conference of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR) Held in Cooperation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA), 21 - 23 September 2005, Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, South Australia. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, CH-Frick, and International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), c/o Institute of Organic Agriculture (IOL), DE-University of Bonn. http://orgprints.org/4013/ Distribution: Paper copies may be ordered from FiBL at a cost of 28 Euros plus mailing costs (see FiBL shop at http://www.fibl.org/shop); FiBL order number 1394. A PDF version of the proceedings is available free of charge for ISOFAR members via the member area of www.isofar.org. The final papers submitted by the authors are available at http://orgprints.org/view/projects/int-conf-isofar-2005.html. |
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