2. Who am I
Farm boy (dairy farm, 45 cows)
Animal science at Wageningen Univesity
● Epidemiology (simulation model of management around
cystic ovaries)
● Economics (long term effect of herd health management
programs)
PhD at Vet Medicine (AI programs to diagnose mastitis)
Working in field of animal health management
In between Wageningen University and Faculty of Vet. Med.
● @henkhogeveen
● animal-health-management.blogspot.com
3. In the old days ....
Things were different (better?)
Authority
Fixed prices
Hardly any competition
You did what you liked
4. Currently
Competition
● Between vets
● From others
Well educated farmers
No fixed prices
Agricultural prices under
under pressure (free markets)
5. Result ….
Farmers management is more and more aimed at
optimization of health, not maximisation of health
Vets function on equal level: discussion instead directive
One additional argument: money
So, vets need to know about economics of disease and
economics of management
6. Outline
Production economics
Cost factors of production diseases
Production diseases
● Mastitis
● Claw health
● Metabolic disorders
Final remarks
7. Farm production
Milk output (Q)
Farm with fixed land and
buildings (constraints):
Output is a function of
input
Resource input (R)
8. Effect of disease
-More resources for same production
-Less production with same resources
-optimal level of production changes as well
Milk output (Q)
I
Resource input (R)
9. What’s the point?
Production function differ from farm to farm, dependent
on:
● Management skills
● Farm seize
● Intensity
● …..
And ….
● Effects of disease differ from farm to farm
● Effects of disease differ based on prices
10. Outline
Production economics
Cost factors of production diseases
Production diseases
● Mastitis
● Claw health
● Metabolic disorders
Final remarks
11. Economic effects of diseases
Economic effects = losses + expenditures
Losses (decrease in production)
● Decreased production level
● Discarded milk
● Changes in milk price (milk quality)
● Culling
Expenditures (additional resources)
● Drugs
● Veterinarian
● Labour
● Preventive measures
12. Introduction Optimization of expenditures
Losses
and losses
Expenditures
13. Disease treatments
Treatment of clinical cases is an expenditure
● Used to optimize total losses
● Studies on optimal treatment are made
e.g. Steeneveld et al., 2011; 2007, Swinkels et al., 2005a; 2005b
But in prevention, treatment is seen as part of costs of a
case (failure)
Therefore we optimize Failure costs vs Preventive
measures
14. How to study economics of prevention?
Start with costs of disease (failure costs)
● Losses
● Associated expenditures (treatments etc)
● Quite some information is known
Calculate costs of prevention
● Investments
● Expdenditures
● Labour (value?)
● Relative straightforward work
Estimate economic improvement
● Difference between old and new situation
● Difficult !!!
15. Introduction Benefits exceed costs
Failure
costs
Old situation
Benefits
New situation
Costs
Preventive measures
16. Introduction Costs exceed benefits
Failure
costs
Old situation
Benefits New situation
Costs
Preventive measures
17. Outline
Production economics
Cost factors of production diseases
Production diseases
● Mastitis
● Claw health
● Metabolic disorders
Final remarks
Based on work of:
Huijps et al., 2008, 2010
Hogeveen et al., 2010
van Soest et al., 2011
26. Cost-effectiveness of preventive measures
-18 management measures (Huijps et al., 2010)
-Quantify effect
-436 scientific papers (1996-2006)
-43 relevant and useful
- Expert sessions
-Effect 100 % contagious
-Effect 100 % environmental
-Efffect on BMSCC
-Efffect on clinical mastitis
27. Additional Reduced
expenditures losses Net benefit
Milk cows with clinical mastitis last 37 16 -21
Milk cows with subclinical mastitis last 104 20 -84
Use of separate cloths during udder preparation 26 9 -17
Wash dirty udders during udder preparation 3 9 6
Prestripping 34 9 -25
Use of milkers’ gloves during milking 1 9 8
Post milking teat disinfection 31 31 -0
Back-flushing clusters after milking a cow with clinical
mastitis 1 11 10
Back-flushing clusters after milking a cow with subclinical
mastitis 123 15 -108
Replace teat cup liners in time 13 11 -2
Use of a treatment protocol 7 15 8
Application of blanket dry cow therapy 9 36 27
Keep cows standing after milking 2 12 10
Feed additional dry cow minerals 13 13 0
Prevent overcrowding 23 13 -10
Clean boxes 54 15 -39
Clean yards 51 8 -43
Optimize feed ration
28. Outline
Production economics
Cost factors of production diseases
Production diseases
● Mastitis
● Claw health
● Metabolic disorders
Final remarks
Based on work of:
Bruijnis et al., 2010; 2012
Verhoef, 2012
30. Different foot disorders
Sole haemorrhages
and
White line disease
Interdigital
dermatitis/
heel horn erosion
Interdigital hyperplasia
Digital dermatitis
Sole ulcer (corns, tyloma)
(Mortellaro’s disease)
Interdigital phlegmon
31. Simulation model
No foot disorder,
healthy (H)
PSH PHS PHC PCH
Subclinical foot PSC Clinical foot
disorder disorder
(S) (C)
PCU
L
Culled
(Cul)
34. Economic effects
Total costs (default input, The Netherlands)
Per farm (65 cows) : €3,474 per year (€2,282 to €4,965)
Per cow : €53 per cow/year
Costs of subclinical foot disorders: 32%
Average clinical foot disorder: €67/case
Average subclinical foot disorder: €13/case
Digital dermatitis gave highest costs
(high incidence, high clinical prevalence)
35. Cost components
Visit of veterinarian
Treatment
Visit of foot trimmer
Discarded milk
Labour of the dairy
farmer
Milk production losses
Prolonged calving
interval
Culling
36. Differences between farms (€/cow/year)
Parameter Average min – max
Losses of decreased milk production 20 10.3 – 24.3
Clinical 14 8.0 – 19.1
Subclinical 6 2.3 – 12.4
Losses of discarded milk 0.3 0 – 1.7
Losses of prolonged calving interval 7 3.7 – 9.6
Clinical 5 2.7 – 6.3
Subclinical 3 1.0 – 4.0
Losses of advanced culled cows 8 0 – 27.8
Cost of treatment 9 1.0 – 18.2
Total costs 45 23.1– 60.4
37. Differences between farms (€/cow/year)
Parameter Average min – max
Losses of decreased milk production 20 10.3 – 24.3
Clinical 14 8.0 – 19.1
Subclinical 6 2.3 – 12.4
Losses of discarded milk 0.3 0 – 1.7
Losses of prolonged calving interval 7 3.7 – 9.6
Clinical 5 2.7 – 6.3
Subclinical 3 1.0 – 4.0
Losses of advanced culled cows 8 0 – 27.8
Cost of treatment 9 1.0 – 18.2
Total costs 45 23.1– 60.4
38. Preventive measures
Measures:
● Additional foot trimming
● Feeding management
● Feed supplements
● Floor hygiene (scraper, robot, manual)
● Foot bath
● Improved lying surface of cubicles (straw,
mattrass)
● Rubber flooring
● Reduce overstocking
Effects based on scientific literature (if available) and
expertise
41. Outline
Production economics
Cost factors of production diseases
Production diseases
● Mastitis
● Claw health
● Metabolic disorders
Final remarks
Based on work of:
Woolderink et al., 2002
42. Background of study
Stochastic model
Herd level (65 dairy cows)
Input based on literature
43. Cost of ketosis
Average: € 1778 per farm/year
Variation: € 1588 – 3506
78 16
6
120 Clinical: € 361 per case
Subclinical: € 73 per case
807
Milk production
Culling
751 Mastitis
Treatmet
LDA
Calving interval
44. Metabolic disorders
No other estimates in scientific literature
Other estimates are made
● Consultants
● Doubtful
45. Outline
Production economics
Cost factors of production diseases
Production diseases
● Mastitis
● Claw health
● Metabolic disorders
Final remarks
46. Only three production diseases
What about
● Young stock raising
● Culling policy
● Reproductive management
● ……….
47. Under estimation of costs by farmers
200
180
160
140
Real costs (€/cow)
120
100
80
60
46 under
40 Mastitis
estimators!!!!!
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Expected costs (€ per cow)
48. Youngstock raising (€ per heifer)
Our calculated costs: € 1.540 (Mohd Nor et al., 2012
Farmers estimates:
Total costs: € 1.559 (800 – 2.862)
Without labour € 1.121 (532 – 1.764)
Without labour and housing: € 879 (319 – 1.477)
Accuracy of farmers' estimation
€ 1.500,00
Difference between estimation
€ 1.000,00
and real costs (euros)
€ 500,00
€ 0,00
-€ 500,00
-€ 1.000,00
-€ 1.500,00
-€ 2.000,00
49. Herd health programs
Herd health & management programs are aimed at
improving herd situations
Knowledge of economics is then essential
Improvement of disease situation improves value of herd
health programs (see work of Derks et al., 2012)
50. There is more than economics
Attitude explains mastitis situation (Jansen et al., 2009)
Campaigns do have an influence (Jansen et al., 2010)
Cost factors are not regarded as being equal (Huijps et al, 2009)
Sometimes farmers behave irrational (Huijps et al., 2010)
51. Economics to support decisions
Production diseases costs much money
● Most expensive cattle disease present
● Costs are often failure costs
● Total costs (including prevention) are much higher
● Differences and underestimation between farmers -> farm
specific calculations
More than only money to motivate farmers
Decision support is weighing costs of prevention vs reduction of
failure costs
● That is up to you, veterinarians!!!
● Tool on www.bec.wur.nl -> research -> decision support tools