Entwicklung und Erprobung eines Hygienemonitoringprogramms für Milchviehbetriebe

- Development and testing of a herd hygiene monitoring program for dairy farms - A high level of animal health forms the basis for safe animal-derived food. While there have been established several legal rules and evaluation systems regarding the hygienic static of poultry and pig husbandry, they are still missing for dairy farms. The aims of the study were the development and test of an objective evaluation system for dairy farms under field conditions, which allows with the help of index numbers the comparison between different dairy farms, identifies risk factors and gives recommendations for improvements. The hygienic status of 10 dairy farms (ranging from 380 to 1400 dairy cows) was analyzed and evaluated by ‘hygiene index numbers’. These index numbers were raised during on-farm audits and they are divided into 11 examination sections. Additionally several microbiological samples regarding the milking hygiene, the feed hygiene and youngstock area hygiene were collected and analyzed. The hygiene analysis is subdivided into 11 focus areas: 1. Biosecurity 2. Cleaning and disinfection 3. Feed an drinking water hygiene 4. Carcass disposal, waste disposal, disinfestation 5. Building and procedural hygiene 6. Stall climate 7. Transport hygiene 8. Quarantine and isolation of sick animals 9. Birth hygiene 10. Milking hygiene 11. Administration, planning and organization Each of these focus areas is divided into subsections. The basis of the hygiene analysis are single criteria which are evaluated systematically by the auditor. All evaluated single criteria of each subsection are computed to a ‘section hygiene index number’. The hygiene status for the whole examined dairy farm is expressed in the ‘hygiene index number’, which is calculated from the 11 ‘section hygiene index numbers’. After the development of the hygiene analysis 10 dairy farms were examined, in order to determine their present hygienic status. During later meetings with the production managers the individual results were presented to them and the possibilities for improvement were discussed. In a second examination the farms were analyzed once more in order to determine whether they could realize the appointed improvements. Although the recommended measures challenged them, the farms achieved a better ‘hygiene index number’ during the second examination. The microbiological samples could prove additional risk factors. With the hygiene analysis the 10 different dairy farms could be objectively evaluated and differentiated. Individual risk factors and possibilities for improvement could be pointed out for each farm. Due to its structure the extent of the hygiene analysis can be adapted. It can now be used to evaluate the hygienic status of a larger number of dairy farms.