Economics of mastitis and lameness control plans

 
Controlling the health of dairy herds has repercussions on farmers' income and work organisation, animal welfare, but also on product quality and image. Advice as it is currently given, especially for the control of certain multifactorial diseases, does not always give the expected results. This is due, among other things, to the difficulty farmers have in perceiving the economic impact of a lack of control and the cost/benefit ratio of a new control plan. In this context, an approach based on a software tool concerning mastitis and lameness, intended for stakeholders, was developed and evaluated in partnership between researchers and stakeholders. The approach defined is based successively on:
- assessment of the initial situation of the farm, in terms of prevalence and severity of the disease, which the software tool allows to convert into an economic impact (sum of treatment and prevention costs, and estimated loss of income),
- formulation, after analysis and diagnosis, of a corrective action plan with a prognosis as to the expected evolution of the prevalence and severity of the disease under the effect of these actions, which the software tool makes it possible to convert into economic terms in order to evaluate its profitability (return on investment).
casdar santé software has been developed for use on the advisor's computer, and includes a reference database of the costs of treatments and preventive measures, which reinforces its operational character for the actors.

Want to know more? download the documentation: Mastitis and Lameness

Want to use it? download the software

The prerequisite is that Microsoft Access must be installed on your computer. If not, you can download the free version (runtime) by following this link.

In addition, a lighter version of the Casdar Santé tool to estimate the financial impact of mastitis is available for online use. This version can be accessed by following this link.

Contact persons:
Institut de l'Elevage:
- Philippe Roussel, Phone: +33 2 49 71 06 39

ONIRIS / UMR BIOEPAR:
- Nathalie Bareille, Unit director, Phone +33 2 40 68 76 49
- Philippe Gontier, IT correspondent, Phone +33 2 40 68 76 48