Udder Health in Organic Dairy Herds in the US with a Strategy of Non-use of Antimicrobial Drugs - Evaluated on the basis of systematic clinical examinations, test day results, bulk tank milk samples, treatment protocols and interviews

Abstract

Mastitis is often considered the most common production disease in organic and conventional dairy herds and most antibiotic treatnments in cattle are due to mastitis. Moreover, mastitis is of great importance for animal welfare. One of the main goals in organic livestock farmin is the promotion of health and welfare. Use of antimicrobial drugs to treat sick animals are considered to be in controversy with th organic aims of a production based on naturalness and the risk of antimicrobial resistance has been a major concern in recent years. However, one concern related to a non-antibiotic treatment strategy is the risk of reduced animal health and welfare. A discription of eighteen US organic dairy herds and an assessment of udder healt in these herds was conducted using the results from of a systematic clinical examination of 802 cows udders, treatment protocols filled in by the farmer during a two-month period, test day results from a twelve-month period, bulk tank milk samples and interviews with the farmers