Use of Veterinarians on Organic and Conventional Dairy Farms

Contributor: Roxann Richert

A Wisconsin native, Roxann attended Southeast Missouri State University as an undergrad and followed her studies eastward to Ithaca, New York where she received her DVM at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Currently, Roxann is a research assistant for the Impact of Organic Management on Dairy Animal Health and Well-being project with Dr. Ruegg. In her research, Roxann visits small organic and conventional dairy farms to investigate the use of veterinarians on farms, farmers’ perceptions of disease, management factors that are associated with the risk of disease, and the treatment and outcomes of disease.

Use of Veterinarians on Organic and Conventional Dairy Farms

The relationship between the veterinarian and the dairy farmer may vary greatly among farmers, and several reports from Europe suggest that this relationship may differ between organic (ORG) and conventional (CON) farms. The objective of this research was to characterize the role of the veterinarian on ORG and similarly-sized CON dairy farms in the US.

There were 200 ORG and 100 CON herds visited across NY, OR, and WI. For each farm, information was collected on management practices, and information was collected on sick cows and veterinary visits that occurred in a 120-day period. Conventional herds were divided into grazers and non-grazers, with the definition of grazing based on the grazing requirement for organic certification.

Use of veterinarians was most closely associated with intensity of management. Herds that had more intensive management, such as using pregnancy checks, vaccinations, and a nutritionist were more likely to have a high rate of recorded veterinary visits and a high rate of routinely scheduled veterinary visits, and were more likely to call a veterinarian to examine an off-feed cow. Use of veterinarians was also associated with farm type, with ORG farms less likely to have at least one sick cow examined by a veterinarian during the 120-day data collection period as compared to conventional grazers and non-grazers. Farmers that had routinely scheduled herd visits were also more likely to have at least one sick cow examined by a veterinarian.