Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: We reached organic and conventional farmers, farm animal veterinarians, industry professionals such as nutritionists and organic certifiers, stakeholders attending professional meetings and extension agents and scientists in universities and agricultural firms. Consumers also were reached through our internet presence. Changes/Problems: This project was largely completed as designed and we had no major changes to the study design nor to the outreach efforts. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided for the successful graduate training of 1 PhD student and 2 Master's students. All of the students completed their degrees successfully. The results have also contributed to professional devellopment of many veterinarians who have attended a number of state and national veterinary meetings where the data has been presented in either lecture or workshop format. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? All 300 farms received final reports that detailed the results of the project and they also received copies of the factsheets that have been produced for this project (available at: http://milkquality.wisc.edu/organic-dairies/project-c-o-w/ ). The factsheet titles are: 1. Assessment of Herd Health and Management on Organic Dairy Farms; 2. Where are the Veterinarians on Organic Farms?; 3. No Veterinarian? Could Mean Higher Somatic Cell Counts for Your Organic Dairy Herd; 4. Occurrence and Treatment of Mastitis on Organic Dairy Farms; 5. The Risks of Disease Perception on Organic and Small Conventional Dairy Farms. Each farmer also received an evaluation form for the overall project and these evaluations have been summarized and being used to improve future projects. The evaluations will also be used in an article in the popular dairy press about how to best reach the organic dairy industry. Results of this study have been presented twice during this reporting peirod to industry professionals during a 3 hour shortcourse offered at the National Mastitis Council annual meeting in 2013 and 2014. The data was presented to organic dairy farmers and industry stakeholders in workshop format at the MOSES Organic Conference in LaCrosse, WI. Numerous presentations of preliminary and final data have been presented at at least 4 state and national veterinary meetings and at a number of producer meetings organized within each participating state. An advisory group of organic dairy industry stakeholders has met to review the data and provide input of how to best impact end users. The scientific audience of veterinarians and dairy professionals has been reached by the publication 6 manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific journals (including J Dairy Science and Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. One additional paper is currently accepted for publication in BMC Veterinary Research and 2 additional papers are pending acceptance in Journal of Dairy Science. Data from each of the accepted papers has been used in the preparation of extension materials (see previous section). Additional outreach has occured through a popular websites (http://milkquality.wisc.edu/organic-dairies/project-c-o-w/) that includes an interactive section for benchmarking performance data of organic herds. We have also reached a number of stakeholders with Youtube videos that have been viewed by >14,000 viewed. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We have successfully accomplished all of those goals. This study was designed as a prospective, cross-sectional multistate study that enrolled both organic (ORG; n = 192) and similarly sized conventional (CON) farms that utilized both grazing (CON-GR; n = 36) and confinement systems (CON-NG; n = 64). Farms were enrolled between April 2009 and April 2011 from dairy herds located in New York, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Each farm was visited once by one of 3 trained study personnel who administered a 45 page animal health questionnaire that included questions about: case definition of selected diseases; methods and frequency of disease detection, treatments used for defined case scenarios, usage of veterinarians, and methods used to evaluate results of treatments. Data on the incidence, severity and economic consequences of selected diseases was collected during a period of 120 days. Bulk milk samples and individual cow milk samples from each farm were submitted for microbiological and molecular analysis. Key results of specific analyses that have been completed are as follows: Differences in Dairy Animal Management among ORG, CON-GR and CON-NG: About 30% of herds in each of the 3 participating states participated, indicating that the sampled herds were representative of targeted herds in the regions. Annual milk production per cow for ORG herds was about 25% and 37% less than production of CON-GR and CON-NG herds, respectively. The distribution of breeds, animal housing and hours spent outside varied based on management type. The average lactation of animals on ORG and CON-GR farms was 2.6 lactations, which was slightly greater than CON-NG farms (2.3 lactations). A greater percentage of first lactation heifers were found on CON-NG and CON-GR farms than ORG farms. Facilities used by adult animals were not different among the management systems. Cattle on CON farms were fed approximately twice as much grain as cattle on ORG farms, and had greater milk production. Little difference was found for the average reported somatic cell count (SCC) and standard plate count (SPC), suggesting that milk quality did not vary based on management system. While some disease prevention measures were commonly utilized on ORG farms, (such as keeping a closed herd and having a written record of treatments administered to the animals), the use of outside support and vaccinations were found to be less prevalent on organic farms than CON-GR or CON-NG farms. Use of Veterinarians: Regardless of management type, intensive practices such as use of a nutritionist, use of vaccinations, use of pregnancy checks, having Holstein as the predominant breed, and exclusive use of artificial insemination for breeding cows were closely associated with frequent usage of veterinarians. Intensity of management was more closely associated with frequency of veterinary usage as compared to association with organic status. This outcomes suggests that veterinarians should consider other management practices (rather than organic management) when identifying herds most likely to utilize their services. Economic factors create a large barrier to utilization of routine veterinary services on small farms. The cost of routinely scheduled per unit of milk produced was much greater on small farms as compared to large farms, which is a likely reason why small farms (regardless of management system) are less likely to have routinely scheduled visits. More dialogue between veterinarians and small dairy farm owners is needed to identify mutually beneficial preventive programs for animal health management. Risk factors for Selected Diseases: Contagious mastitis pathogens were found more frequently in bulk tank milk obtained from ORG dairy farms. Approximately 30% of all farmers (regardless of management system) could not provide a definition of subclinical mastitis. An increased rate of clinical mastitis was associated with use of CON management, more sensitive detection (removal and observation of foremilk during milking), presence of contagious pathogens in the bulk tank culture, proactive detection of mastitis in postpartum cows, and use of stall barn housing. The application of pre-dip teat sanitizers was associated with reduced rate of clinical mastitis. An increased rate of ketosis was associated having a more sensitive definition of ketosis (anorexia), using stall barn housing, and feeding a greater amount of concentrates. An increased rate of pneumonia was associated with herds that did not use grazing, herds that were of small or medium size (rather than large herd), and presence of Jersey cattle as the predominant breed. Overall, disease definitions and perceptions were similar among the management systems and regardless of management system, the disease definitions that farmers used influenced the rate of detection of clinical mastitis, ketosis and pneumonia. Continued educational programming is needed to ensure that farmers of all management systems understand how to detect and prevent the occurrence of mastitis, and other common diseases of dairy cattle. During the farm visit, study personnel observed and scored individual cows for lameness and hock lesions. The prevalence of lameness as scored by study personnel was only weakly correlated with the rate of lameness that the farmers reported. Researchers frequently observed lame cows on farms where the farmers perceived that lameness was not occurring. An increased rate of lameness events (recorded by farmers) was associated with several management factors such as an increased prevalence of hock lesions, use of ORG management, small herd size, and presence of a breed other than Holstein or Jersey. An increased prevalence of cows observed as lame by study personnel was associated with as an increased prevalence of hock lesions, use of CONNG management, and routine utilization of a footbath. Herd Level Risk factors for positive tests of bulk milk for Johne’s disease (MAP): Bulk milk samples were taken from each farm for Mycopbacteria avium paratuberuclosis enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and other testing, (including somatic cell count and E. coli culture). Statistical models were constructed with MAP ELISA score as the outcome variable and the herd characteristics as independent variables. Herds could have high bulk milk ELISA due to either a high prevalence of MAP infected cows or by having a few infected cows that produce large quantities of antibodies. The concentration of antibodies against MAP in bulk milk varied seasonally. Farms which had livestock enter the herd in the 12 months prior to the study, had lower ELISA than closed farms, which had no entering livestock. Conventional herds that contained more thin cows were more likely to have lower MAP ELISA than CON herds that contained fewer thin cows. Body condition score of cattle was not associated with the ELISA values for bulk milk of ORG farms. New York herds had higher ELISA values, compared to Oregon and Wisconsin herds. This likely reflects a difference in MAP prevalence between regions. Overall, bulk milk ELISA values were associated with regions, contact with other farms and season, but were not associated with management system.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Stiglbauer, K.E., K. M. Cicconi, R. Richert, Y.H. Schukken, P.L. Ruegg and M. Gamroth. 2013. Assessment of herd management on organic and conventional dairy farms in the United States. J Dairy Sci 96:1290-1300.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Richert, R.M., K. M. Cicconi, M. J. Gamroth, Y.H. Schukken, K. E. Stiglbauer, and P. L. Ruegg. 2013. Management factors associated with veterinary usage by organic and conventional dairy farms. J Am Vet Med Assoc 242:1732-1743.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Cicconi-Hogan, K. M., M. Gamroth, R. M. Richert, P.L. Ruegg, K.E. Stiglbauer, and Y.H. Schukken. 2013. Associations of risk factors with somatic cell count in bulk tank milk on organic and conventional dairy farms in the United States. J Dairy Sci 96:3689-3702.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Richert, R.M., K. M. Cicconi, M. J. Gamroth, Y.H. Schukken, K. E. Stiglbauer, and P. L. Ruegg. 2013. Risk factors for clinical mastitis, ketosis, and pneumonia on organic and small conventional farms. J Dairy Sci. 96:4269-4285.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Richert, R.M., K. M. Cicconi-Hogan, Y.H. Schukken, M. J. Gamroth, K. E. Stiglbauer, and P. L. Ruegg. 2013. Perceptions and risk factors for lameness on organic and small conventional farms. 96:5018-5026.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Cicconi-Hogan, K. M., M. Gamroth, R. M. Richert, P.L. Ruegg, K.E. Stiglbauer, and Y.H. Schukken. 2013. Risk factors associated with bulk tank standard plate count, bulk tank coliform count and the presence of Staphylococcus aureus in the bulk tank on dairy farms in the United States. J Dairy Sci 969:7578-7590.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cazer, C.L., R.M. Mitchel, K. M. Cicconi-Hogan, M. Gamroth, R.M. Richert, P.L. Ruegg, and Y. H. Schukken. Associations between Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis antibodies in bulk tank milk, season of sampling and protocols for managing infected cows. BMC Veterinary Research
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cicconi-Hogan, K. M., N. Belomestnykh, R.M. Gamroth, P.L. Ruegg, L. Tikofsky, and Y.H. Schukken. Short Communication: Prevalence of methicillin resistance in coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bulk milk from organic and conventional dairy herds in New York, Oregon and Wisconsin. Revision submitted J Dairy Sci November 2013.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bergman, M. A., R.M. Richert, K. M. Cicconi, M. J. Gamroth, Y.H. Schukken, K. E. Stiglbauer, and P. L. Ruegg. 2013. Comparison of selected animal observations and management practices used to assess welfare of calves and adult dairy cows on organic and small conventional dairy farms. submitted J Dairy Sci. Nov, 25, 2013
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Treatments Used on Organic Dairy Farms
Pamela L. Ruegg, DVM, MPVM, Roxann Richert, DVM, University of WI, Dept. of Dairy Science, Madison WI 53705, Ynte Schukken, DVM, Phd, Kellie Cicconi-Hogan, PhD, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, Mike Gamroth MS,, Katie Stiglbauer, MS Oregon State University, Corvallis OR, Proc. Central Vet Conf. Kansas City, MO, Aug 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
USE OF VETERINARIANS BY ORGANIC AND SMALL CONVENTIONAL DAIRY FARMERS
Pamela L. Ruegg1, DVM, MPVM, and Roxann Weix Richert,1DVM, MS, Ynte Schukken2, DVM, Phd, Mike Gamroth3, MS, Kellie Cicconi2, Katie Stiglbauer3
University of WI, Dept. of Dairy Science1, Cornell University, Ithaca NY,2 Oregon State University, Corvallis ORG, Proc. Central Vet Conf. Kansas City, MO, Aug 2013.
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Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: A number of outreach activities occurred during the reporting period. All 300 farms received extensive reports that detailed the results of the animal observations, bulk milk testing and results of individual milk samples. The reports included individual results and comparisons to peer groups. Results of this study have also been presented annually in research sessions at the National Mastitis Council, and in workshop format at the MOSES Organic Conference. Numerous presentations of preliminary data have been presented at state and national veterinary meetings and at producer meetings organized within each state. An advisory group has met to review the data and provide input of how to best impact end users. A series of factsheets presenting results of the recently analyzed data are currently being prepared and will be distributed to key stakeholders and extension services. Multiple presentations on research conclusions of this project were presented at conferences of veterinarians, dairy scientists, farmers, and other professional groups. Key presentations were as follows: November 2011 - 4 presentations at the North Carolina Veterinary Conference (Ruegg) January 2012 - 1 presentation to veterinarians in Denmark (Ruegg); 1 presentation at the National Mastitis Council Meeting in Tampa, FL (Richert) February 2012 - 2 presentations at the Ohio Veterinary Conference in Columbus (Ruegg); Presentation of 2 posters and a 2 hour workshop at the MOSES Organic Conference in La crosse, WI (Ruegg, Richert,Bergman & Lennart) April 2012 - presentation to Dairy Science Dept. (Richert) Additional presentations by project collaborators were given in Oregon and New York. Evaluation tools for benchmarking were produced and posted on the UW Milk Quality Website; The questionnaire and preliminary results of some of the analyses are available for review on the project website: http://milkquality.wisc.edu/organic . A YouTube video that describes treatment options for dairy animal care has been created and viewed by >300 people. The project website also contains an area that allows producers to input current data for benchmarking against self selected peer-groups. http://milkquality.wisc.edu/milking-management/evaluation-tools/. More extension materials will be released as the scientific papers are accepted by peer reviewed publications. PARTICIPANTS: P.L. Ruegg (PI), M. Gamroth (co-PI), Y.H.Schukken (co-PI), K.M. Cicconi (graduate student,) R.M. Richert (graduate student), K.E. Stiglbauer (graduate student), N.Lennart (outreach specialist). TARGET AUDIENCES: Organic dairy farmers and consultants, small scale conventional dairy farmers and consultants, veterinarians, nutrition professionals, extension personnel, researchers, academics. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Outcomes of this project indicate that dairy animal well-being is not compromised by use of organic management practices. The small to medium sized organic dairy herds enrolled in this study produced less milk, but used similar definitions and disease detection strategies as compared to similarly sized conventional dairy herds. Organic dairy producers identified fewer production related diseases in their cattle as compared to similarly sized conventional herds located in the same regions. In general, although approved treatments are limited for organic dairy producers, mortality rates and culling of cattle on organic dairy herds are similar to similarly sized conventional dairy herds and there is no evidence that milk quality or animal health is adversely impacted by the use of organic management. While the occurrence of many diseases is relatively infrequent, organic dairy producers could use more resources to prevent and effectively deal with several animal diseases that are caused by bacterial infections (such as pneumonia and subclinical mastitis). Within the guidelines of the NOP, management practices used by organic dairy producers range from very extensive to fairly intensive and use of veterinarians by organic dairy producers is associated with adoption of more intensive management strategies. For most diseases risk factors for development of disease were similar for ORG and CON farmers. There is a need to increase communication between dairy veterinarians and the organic dairy farming community.
Publications
- Richert, R.M., K. M. Cicconi, M. J. Gamroth, Y.H. Schukken, K. E. Stiglbauer, and P. L. Ruegg. The Role of the Veterinarian on Organic and Conventional Dairy Farms. accepted J Am Vet Med Assoc. 24 May 2012.
- Stiglbauer, K.E., K. M. Cicconi, R. Richert, Y.H. Schukken, P.L. Ruegg and M. Gamroth. Assessment of herd management on organic and conventional dairy farms in the United States. accepted J Dairy Science 8 Oct 2012.
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Visits to 292 farms were completed and the database was finalized. All laboratory work was completed. Analysis of preliminary data has been completed and presented at the NMC meeting, the Mastitis Research Workers conference and at a state veterinary meeting. A descriptive analysis of the participating herds has been completed. The greatest demographic differences are based on breed characteristics, feeding programs and production. Analysis of differences between organic and conventional herds relative to perception of disease, treatments of ill animals, use of veterinarians, and milk quality characteristics is ongoing and will be completed in 2012. A part-time outreach specialist has been hired and a website has been launched to begin dissemination of outcomes. An internet based video series has been launched with the first video focusing on Animal Health Requirements on Organic Dairy Herds. Stakeholders have been consulted to help with dissemination of results and assessment plans are being developed. PARTICIPANTS: Pamela Ruegg (PI); Roxann Weix Richert, (research assistant); Mike Gamroth (co-PI), Ynte Schukken (co-PI), Kellie Cicconi (research assistant); Katie Stiglbauer (research assistant); Carol Hulland (researcher); Nicole Lennart (outreach specialist); Meghan Brockmeyer (research assistant) TARGET AUDIENCES: Farmers, veterinarians, organic certifying agencies, dairy processors. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Final analyis of the dataset must be completed before outcomes can be determined.
Publications
- Ruegg, P.L., R. Richert, Y. Schukken, M. Gamroth, K. Cicconi, and K. Stiglbauer. 2011. Perceptions of Disease by Organic dairy producers preliminary results of a multistate study. Proc. 16th Annual NC Veterinary Conference. Raleigh Nov 4-6, NC.
- Ruegg, P.L., R. Richert, Y. Schukken, M. Gamroth, K. Cicconi, and K. Stiglbauer. 2011. Treatment of Disease by Organic dairy producers preliminary results of a multistate study. Proc. 16th Annual NC Veterinary Conference. Raleigh Nov 4-6, NC.
- Ruegg, P.L., R. Richert, Y. Schukken, M. Gamroth, K. Cicconi, and K. Stiglbauer. 2011. Use of Veterinarians on Organic Dairy Farms preliminary results of a multistate study. Proc. 16th Annual NC Veterinary Conference. Raleigh Nov 4-6, NC.
- Weix, R. M., P.L. Ruegg, M. J. Gamroth, Y. H. Schukken, K.M> Cicconi, and K. E. Stiglbauer. 2011. Preliminary analysis of bulk tank milk collected on organic and conventional dairy herds in Wisconsin. Pp 17-18 in Proc. 3rd Intl. Symp. Mast. And Milk Quality. Sept., 22-24, 2011. St. Louis, MO
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Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The overall objectives of this project are to assess dairy cattle health and well-being on farms that use organic management systems and develop and disseminate recommendations for cost-effective, preventive health management programs for dairy cattle on organic farms. The project is being be conducted on 300 commercial dairy farms in the following sites: Wisconsin (n = 100 Organic and 50 Conventional farms); New York (n = 75 Organic and 25 conventional farms); and Oregon (n = 25 organic and 25 conventional farms). All collaborating states have successfully executed annual subcontracts and have successfully enrolled the specified graduate students and maintained appropriate support staff. As specified in the original proposal, the project is being supported by 2 PhD students (1 at Cornell and 1 at Wisconsin) and 1 master's degree student (Oregon). During the period of data collection trained study personnel in each state are collecting retrospective and demographic data during a single scheduled farm visit. Prospective data is collected and submitted by farmers during the 60 days following the farm visit. Herd visits began in April 2009 and have been scheduled so that approximately equal numbers of herd visits occur within each season of the year for both ORG and CON herds. Each farm visit takes approximately 1 day. During a farm visit, the questionnaire is administered by study personnel to the individual identified as the primary animal health manager on each dairy. The questionnaire includes questions about: case definition of selected diseases; methods and frequency of disease detection, treatments used for defined case scenarios, and methods used to evaluate results of treatments. Retrospective animal health data for the previous 60 days before the farm visit is also collected during the farm visit. After the farm visit is completed, each producer is instructed how to collect an aseptic milk sample from cases of clinical and subclinical mastitis that occur in the 60 days following the visit. Additional disease data is collected for each of the following diseases that occur in adult cows: Respiratory disease, metabolic disease, foot disorders and reproductive disorders. Data (symptoms, clinical diagnosis, usage of veterinarian, methods & cost of treatment, duration of treatment, mortality and culling within 60 days of diagnosis) are collected on selected diseases that occur in calves: pneumonia, diarrhea, other non-specified disorders. As defined by the original proposal, a number of indicators of overall herd health are being collected by retrieval of farm records and selected observations that occur during each farm visit. Bulk milk samples are collected and used to screen herds for Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella DT104 and Shiga toxin producing E.coli. Herd visits began in April 2009 and we estimate that all visits will be completed by March 1, 2011. More than 100 bulk tank milk samples have been processed by Cornell QMPS. To date, few (<5%) bulk milk samples have indicated the presence of pathogens with the potential to cause human disease. PARTICIPANTS: Project Director: Pamela Ruegg, DVM, MPVM, Dip. ABVP (Dairy Practice), Dept. of Dairy Science, 1675 Observatory Dr., Madison, WI 53706, plruegg@wisc.edu. CoPDs: Ynte Schukken, DVM, PhD, Quality Milk Production Services, Cornell University, 22 Thornwood Drive, yhs2@cornell.edu ; Mike Gamroth, M.S., Animal Sciences, 112 Withycombe Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331; Carol Hulland - researcher, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Graduate Students: Roxann Weix (UW, Madison), Kelli Ciconi (Cornell), Katie Sigelbauer (Oregon State) TARGET AUDIENCES: Organic and conventional farmers and their support personnel. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Within 2 weeks of the farm visit to collect data, all herds receive a comprehensive report describing the results of the observations and scoring that has been conducted on their herds. Farmers also receive approximately 3 more reports describing results of tests performed on their bulk milk and results of individual cow milk samples submitted for mastitis analysis. While the primary extension activities are scheduled to occur in the 3rd and 4th year of the project, several extension activities have already occurred. In Wisconsin, the PI (PLR) and PhD student have given 4 presentations about the project to extension audiences within Wisconsin (organic and conventional dairy producers) and described some preliminary observations about the project. Summarized data about project results for organic herds was presented at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse WI and was well received.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The overall objective of this 48 month project is to assess dairy cattle health and well-being on farms that use organic management systems and develop and disseminate recommendations for cost-effective, preventive health management programs for dairy cattle on organic farms. Specific aims are: (1) Identify and address unique methods used by organic dairy farmers to define, detect, monitor the severity, treat, and judge the efficacy of disease treatment interventions. (2) Compare disease prevalence, severity, economic consequences, and management-related risk factors among organic dairy farms with the aim of identifying management factors that influence animal well-being and farm profitability. (3) Use indicators of herd health & milk quality identified in participating organic and conventional dairy farms to create benchmarks that can be used to help farmers recognize and diagnose problems and optimize animal well-being and farm profitability. (4) Provide participating farmers with diagnostic animal health and milk quality data on their farms, coupled with comparisons to benchmarking data for other conventional and organic herds participating in the study. (5) Use data and analytical results to develop & disseminate information and extension recommendations for preventive health management of organic dairy cattle, consistent with maximizing milk quality and net farm income. To date, all study personnel at all 3 collaborating universities have been hired, all farm visit tools and assessments have been developed, farm recruitment efforts have been successful and farm visits are underway as scheduled. PARTICIPANTS: Participating individuals include: Pamela Ruegg, University of Wisconsin - Madison (PD); Linda Tikofsky, Cornell University (co-PI); Ynte Schukken, Cornell University (co-PI); Mike Gamroth, Oregon State University (co-PI); Carol Hulland, University of Wisconsin - Madison (research specialist); Roxann Weix, University of Wisconsin-Madison (research assistant); Kellie Cicconi, Cornell University (research assistant); Katie Stiglbauer, Oregon State University (research assistant) TARGET AUDIENCES: Organic and conventional dairy producers and the professionals that work with them. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: None
Impacts
The project plan includes farm visits to a total of 200 organic and 100 conventional dairy farms disbursed across the following states: Oregon (n = 25 ORG & 25 CON); New York (n = 75 ORG & 25 CON) and Wisconsin (n = 100 ORG & 50 CON). All states have contacted organic and conventional farms and have initial enrollments that exceed expectations. Farm visits have been completed on >60 herds and the prospective data collection period has been completed for >30 herds. Farm visits are on schedule and are on going. Farmers have received visit reports that include a confidential assessment of observations performed on their farms and the results of diagnostic tests performed on biological samples collected during their visits. Monthly conference calls among study personnel are ongoing.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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