Tiergesundheitspläne und Tiergesundheitsindikatoren aus Sicht ökologisch wirtschaftender MilchviehhalterInnen - erste Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie in Deutschland

Summary

In a pilot study on the implementation of herd health plans in organic dairy farms in Germany, 43 organic milk producers were interviewed about their opinion about this management tool to improve animal health. Preliminary results show that the farmers have nearly the same target values for indicators of animal health like experts and advisors. By contrast, on-farm data collection reveals discrepancies between these goals and the actual situation. Thus a systematic procedure by using herd health plans and a straightforward implementation of measures could improve animal health. However, it is important for the farmers to adjust the herd health plan and the advised measures individually.