Dairy farms around the world are making similar advances in terms of animal health and welfare but they are moving forward at different degrees, says a University of Calgary researcher.
Herman Barkema, a researcher of dairy animal disease at the faculty of veterinary medicine led a review of the current state of the sector. It was published in the Journal of Dairy Science.
The study found economic pressures, technological innovations, demographic shifts, consumer expectations, and an evolving regulatory framework are forcing changes in the global dairy industry.
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There are fewer farms in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but cow herds are growing larger.
More training is needed on these larger operations so farmers and their employees can better manage animal welfare, disease and cow productivity.
Most countries have abandoned quota systems so farmers have to respond to fluctuating milk prices.
Lower milk prices reduce profitability and herd sizes may increase to maintain cash flow that could result in overstocking.
This might affect cows’ health and welfare. Farmers may also cut back on what they consider non-essential expenses like herd monitoring programs or veterinary service.
However better cow comfort and animal welfare are growing in importance as more pressure is exerted on farmers by those outside the dairy sector.
“Thirty years ago, nobody was looking over the shoulder of the dairy industry,” said Barkema.
Now corporations like WalMart and large processing companies are making greater demands. In some cases activists have influenced them.
“The challenge facing the dairy industry is to balance those decisions and practices that may provide short-term economic gains but may also be associated with long-term risks regarding sustainability. How these pressures will translate into practice, and the speed at which they are voluntarily incorporated (or enforced), is difficult to predict,” said the review.
Many farmers, scientists and veterinarians claim that high milk production from healthy cows is evidence of good animal welfare.
The public may not see it that way because consumers believe cows should be out on pasture and lead “natural lives.”
The review found health, disease control and the use of treatments like antibiotics varies.
In Barkema’s opinion, North America is behind the progress made in northern Europe.
Scandinavian farmers have mandatory client-veterinary relationships and diagnostic tests are used more often. Antibiotics are by prescription only.
Northern European countries are officially free of leptospirosis, bovine leukosis and tuberculosis. Control programs are in place for Johne’s disease, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), salmonellosis and neosporosis.
“North America is running behind quite a bit, particularly the United States,” said Barkema.
“Northern Europe is really running ahead with disease control programs, but that is also a consequence of having had disease outbreaks. If you had a foot and mouth disease outbreak, you want to practice biosecurity because you don’t want that to ever happen again,” he said in an interview.
The controversy over antibiotic use is common throughout the world.
The Ontario Medical Association released a 10 point plan to reduce the use of antibiotics and control antimicrobial resistance. Six of the points targeted animal agriculture saying overuse of drugs for livestock is contributing to resistance problems in human health.
“This happens all over the world.”
Organic farms are growing in number around the world. They have different approaches and need to assess if these are effective for treating health issues. Cattle that need antibiotics are pulled from the herd.
Barkema said more research is needed to test organic practices.
“I want to see the data and I want to see the results of a proper experiment to see if it benefits the cow.”
A followup to this paper is already underway.
