The implementation of management activities depends on both the attitude of the people performing the work and their understanding of why the work should be performed. In the context of animal husbandry, the implementation of such practices is crucial for the functionality of biosecurity. Therefore, it is important to know how farmers perceive biosecurity as a whole. An anonymous online survey was conducted among German farmers. In addition to general data about their farm, information about their existing concept of biosecurity, as well as about the assessment of possible introduction routes for animal diseases into the farm with regard to their likelihood, was gathered. Furthermore, information on measures to protect their farm against disease introduction were retrieved. Analysis showed that in general, farmers were aware of the importance of biosecurity and consequently had concepts of biosecurity on their farms. However, awareness about dangerous introduction routes for animal diseases into a farm was associated with a lack of knowledge of how to improve the measures in these areas. The role of the veterinarian in the context of biosecurity was highlighted and further problematic areas were indicated. Overall, the high level of commitment from farmers indicated a good implementation of daily practices.

Bovine udder health is an important factor for animal wellbeing and the dairy farm economy. Thus, researchers aim to understand factors causing mastitis. The gold standard for diagnosing mastitis in cows is the conventional culturing of milk samples. However, during the last few years, the use of molecular methods has increased. These methods, especially sequencing, provide a deeper insight into the diversity of the bacterial community. Yet, inconsistent results regarding the mammary microbiome have been published. This study aimed to evaluate the udder health of eight dairy cows at seven days postpartum with the standard methods in veterinary practice. Additionally, swabs from the teat canal and milk samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The sensitive low-biomass milk samples displayed only a few contaminations even though they were sampled in a field environment. In healthy udders, no bacterial communities were detected by the bacterial culture nor the 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The results from the standard examination of the cows, the cell count, and the bacteriological examination were comparable with the results from 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing when cows displayed subclinical or latent mastitis. Besides the pathogen detected in bacterial culturing, a second bacterial strain with low but significant abundance was detected by sequencing, which might aid in the understanding of mastitis incidence. In general, molecular biological approaches might lead to promising insights into pathological events in the udder and might help to understand the pathomechanism and infection source via epidemiological analyses.

The study investigates the economics of sensor-assisted dairy health management and indicates a certain economic potential in the use of a commercial rumen bolus capable of tracking activity and core body temperature. The economic evaluation was performed applying a stochastic model with the net return (NR) of investment of the sensor system as the target variable. The calculated NR considers the gross margin (GM) for both sensor-assisted and visual health monitoring, time savings through sensor-assisted monitoring, additional time spent addressing false positive messages from the sensor system, labor costs, and all costs associated with the investment in the sensor system. The analysis relies on a data set acquired from a dairy research and demonstration farm on which 65 dairy cows were equipped with the sensor system. A comparison of health-related messages issued by the rumen bolus with disease diagnoses shows that the sensor system issued a message in 7 of 11 cases of retained placenta (sensitivity = 64%), in 19 of 31 cases of clinical hypocalcemia (sensitivity = 61%), in 30 of 70 cases of mastitis (sensitivity = 43%), in 6 of 24 cases of metritis (sensitivity = 25%), and in 2 of 42 cases of diseases of the locomotor system (sensitivity = 5%) in a defined observation period, in many cases several days before the visual diagnosis. SimHerd (A/S Viborg, Denmark) was applied to determine the GM as a function of incidence, somatic cell count, risk of a mild case of disease, and days of milk withdrawal. In a workshop, veterinarians (n = 9) used the data set to assess the impact of using the sensor system on these parameters. The empirical distributions given by the veterinarians' individual assessments were used to model the parameters considered in the calculation of the "sensor-assisted" GM. For the modeled Holstein herds with a milk yield of 9,000 kg, simulation results show that average NR of investment ranges from +€23 to +€119 per cow per year for a herd of poor health, from -€12 to +€84 per cow per year for a herd of average health, and from -€33 to +€63 per cow per year for a herd of good health, depending on the scenario. The assumptions made regarding changes in labor had a strong influence on the calculated NR of investment. For a full economic evaluation of the sensor system, other functions (estrus detection, calving detection) and functional extensions (e.g., monitoring rumination) have to be considered.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influencing factors of successfully rescuing year-round housed cattle in case of a barn fire. Empirical research indicates the reluctance of cattle to leave their familiar barn. Subsequent retreat back to the perceived safety inside, which stands in contrast to the unknown and thus adversary elements outside, for example, the fire brigade, is to be expected. We examined the evacuation of 69 dairy cattle, split into three groups, to an adjacent pasture by night and inspected the animals’ acceptance of two differently designed escape routes and the effect of preceding training. Along with the time needed for evacuating all animals, we measured faecal cortisol metabolites and daily milk yield to assess stress in the animals. Our preliminary assumption was that cattle trained for pasture would have a decisive advantage over untrained cattle. However, adapting the exits to the sensory physiology of the cattle resulted in an extensive impact on the animals’ readiness to leave the familiar housing, as the evacuation of the cattle non-habituated to the exit was comparatively quick and successful. We consider this study instructional for fire brigades and farmers, encouraging them to develop a customised concept for rescuing their cattle in case of an emergency.

The interest in rearing dairy calves within cow-calf contact (CCC) systems, allowing full (all calves) and partial (some calves) contact, is increasing, driven by growing societal criticism of the early separation of cow and calf after birth. This empirical study aimed to examine the differences between existing early-separation systems (ESS), dairy cow-calf contact systems for some calves (CCS), and dairy cow-calf contact systems for all calves (CCA). An online survey of farmers in Germany was conducted to describe the status quo, identify future challenges, and highlight research gaps. First, a comprehensive questionnaire with 22 open and 26 closed questions was developed. All participants answered partly the same questions (12 open and 15 closed), but specific questions varied according to the rearing system. Only fully completed questionnaires were included in the statistical analysis. After the descriptive analysis, a generalized linear model was applied to examine differences among the 3 rearing systems (ESS vs. CCS vs. CCA). Additionally, Spearman rank correlations were calculated within CCS and CCA. Feeding practices differed between the rearing systems. On 78.6% of farms with CCA and 62.5% of farms with CCS, calves received colostrum directly from the udder, whereas this was the case on only 3.12% of farms with ESS. In CCS and CCA, monitoring the reported intake of colostrum or whole milk by calves was identified as a major transition challenge. Farmers (CCA and CCS) ensured that suckling calves had sufficient milk primarily by regulating the amount of milk retained in the udder. In ESS, participants observed that object-sucking of calves occurred more frequently than in CCA (11.7% ± 1.59% vs. 0.95% ± 0.53% of calves). The participating farms stated greater occurrence rates of health and management issues in CCA compared with ESS, including problems with milk ejection (11.8% ± 3.99% vs. 3.25% ± 0.64% of cows). Farmers (CCA) also observed that cows exhibited increased vocalizations and more frequent movement after separation from the calves. Similarly, participants reported that calves also showed more vocalizations and decreased performance following separation after a longer contact period between cow and calf. Perceptions of transition challenges varied depending on prior assumptions (ESS) or hands-on experience in CCC systems (CCS and CCA). These responses highlight the need for further research to develop practical solutions for the main reported challenges, to ensure a smooth transition without negative effects on cow and calf health and welfare.