Streamlining support measures to control mastitis and lameness in dairy herds

The approaches devised and tested in this project are the result of the combined expertise of animal health specialists and vets from various French research and/or development organisations. The aim is to provide an innovative, streamlined and ‘standardised’ intervention approach for managing udder health or lameness within the herd. The intervention approach is structured in three successive stages: (1) preparation for the on-farm intervention, consisting of a preliminary review of the farm’s records; (2) the on-farm intervention, which aims to establish a diagnosis, identify the causes and propose an action plan, (3) the monitoring of the actions implemented. The farmer’s involvement is encouraged by a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed plan, carried out using the ‘Economics of Mastitis and Lameness Control Plans’ software. This software enables an economic assessment of the herd’s initial situation with regard to the disease under investigation, taking into account the cost of the proposed corrective measures and the expected gains from their implementation