Communication in dairy herd management has a key role and influences farmer’s attitude and actions, improving the herd health and the milk quality; therefore, it is crucial also for public health, in a “from farm to fork” perspective. However, communication in veterinary practice is poorly considered in many countries including Italy, where veterinary schools do not offer any courses on communication. We design a study to investigate the Italian situation, considering farmers’ communication needs and problems. Moreover, we analyzed which parameters (milk yield, herd size, BTSCC) influence farmers’ perception of problems affecting dairy farm and communication, in order to define if these parameters are predictors of farmers’ response. The study was performed using a questionnaire specifically developed and focused on farmers’ information needs on diseases, information needs on herd management and animal welfare, desired information sources, usual information sources, ideal veterinarian’s skills, consultants’ skills and farmers’ satisfaction level. The consultants considered in the study were veterinarians, non-vet consultants (i.e. agronomist, nutritionist), feed industry and pharmaceutical industry sales representatives. Data were collected on a database and analyzed by a statistical software (SAS 9.4, SAS Institute, Cary, NC) applying NPAR1WAY procedure and statistical significance level was set at 0.05. We collected 190 questionnaires from 28 Italian provinces. Responders’ population characteristics and geographical distribution showed to be similar to the Italian dairy herds scenario Respondent herd size distribution was the following (lactating cows): <100 (57.89%), 101–200 (28.94%), >200 (13.17%). Respondents’ herd average milk yield showed the following distribution (kg/year): <7000 (9.46%), 7001–8000 (13.52%), 8001–9000 (17.56%), 9001–10,000 (32.43%), >10,000 (27.03%). Respondents’ herd average bulk tank milk SCC (cells/μl) distribution was the following: <200 (48.6%), 210-300 (33.33%), > 300 (18.66%). Results showed that Italian farmers were overall dissatisfied with their consultants. The satisfaction with veterinarian was 57.3%, with non-vet consultants it was 36.0%, with feed representatives 22.4% and with pharmaceutical representatives 8.6%. Herd veterinarian perceived skills were far from the desired ones and every difference among them was statistically significant. We also analyzed dairy farmers as target audience, investigating their needs and preferences for different topics as well as for different communication channels. Statistically significant differences among the interest expressed by farmers on diseases were observed as well as differences among the interest about management issues. Herd characteristics (size, milk yield and BTSCC) had several statistically significant influences on farmers interests and communication aspects. Results show that these parameters could be useful for consultants in developing tailored communication strategies. Result confirm a peculiarity of Italian dairy scenario, where vets are less involved and less listened by farmers on milk quality than in other countries. This represent a peculiar problem for animal health and food safety because it could led to an underestimation of hazards and risks related to milk production. A better veterinarian communication could help to overcome this problem.

Communication in dairy farms: improving health and quality in a “from farm to fork” perspective / M. Cipolla, A. Zecconi. ((Intervento presentato al 6. convegno IDF International Mastitis Conference tenutosi a Nantes nel 2016.

Communication in dairy farms: improving health and quality in a “from farm to fork” perspective

M. Cipolla
;
A. Zecconi
Ultimo
2016

Abstract

Communication in dairy herd management has a key role and influences farmer’s attitude and actions, improving the herd health and the milk quality; therefore, it is crucial also for public health, in a “from farm to fork” perspective. However, communication in veterinary practice is poorly considered in many countries including Italy, where veterinary schools do not offer any courses on communication. We design a study to investigate the Italian situation, considering farmers’ communication needs and problems. Moreover, we analyzed which parameters (milk yield, herd size, BTSCC) influence farmers’ perception of problems affecting dairy farm and communication, in order to define if these parameters are predictors of farmers’ response. The study was performed using a questionnaire specifically developed and focused on farmers’ information needs on diseases, information needs on herd management and animal welfare, desired information sources, usual information sources, ideal veterinarian’s skills, consultants’ skills and farmers’ satisfaction level. The consultants considered in the study were veterinarians, non-vet consultants (i.e. agronomist, nutritionist), feed industry and pharmaceutical industry sales representatives. Data were collected on a database and analyzed by a statistical software (SAS 9.4, SAS Institute, Cary, NC) applying NPAR1WAY procedure and statistical significance level was set at 0.05. We collected 190 questionnaires from 28 Italian provinces. Responders’ population characteristics and geographical distribution showed to be similar to the Italian dairy herds scenario Respondent herd size distribution was the following (lactating cows): <100 (57.89%), 101–200 (28.94%), >200 (13.17%). Respondents’ herd average milk yield showed the following distribution (kg/year): <7000 (9.46%), 7001–8000 (13.52%), 8001–9000 (17.56%), 9001–10,000 (32.43%), >10,000 (27.03%). Respondents’ herd average bulk tank milk SCC (cells/μl) distribution was the following: <200 (48.6%), 210-300 (33.33%), > 300 (18.66%). Results showed that Italian farmers were overall dissatisfied with their consultants. The satisfaction with veterinarian was 57.3%, with non-vet consultants it was 36.0%, with feed representatives 22.4% and with pharmaceutical representatives 8.6%. Herd veterinarian perceived skills were far from the desired ones and every difference among them was statistically significant. We also analyzed dairy farmers as target audience, investigating their needs and preferences for different topics as well as for different communication channels. Statistically significant differences among the interest expressed by farmers on diseases were observed as well as differences among the interest about management issues. Herd characteristics (size, milk yield and BTSCC) had several statistically significant influences on farmers interests and communication aspects. Results show that these parameters could be useful for consultants in developing tailored communication strategies. Result confirm a peculiarity of Italian dairy scenario, where vets are less involved and less listened by farmers on milk quality than in other countries. This represent a peculiar problem for animal health and food safety because it could led to an underestimation of hazards and risks related to milk production. A better veterinarian communication could help to overcome this problem.
9-set-2016
Communication; milk; dairy herd; farmer; consultant; veterinarian; One Health; From farm to fork; mastitis
Settore VET/05 - Malattie Infettive degli Animali Domestici
Settore VET/08 - Clinica Medica Veterinaria
IDF
Communication in dairy farms: improving health and quality in a “from farm to fork” perspective / M. Cipolla, A. Zecconi. ((Intervento presentato al 6. convegno IDF International Mastitis Conference tenutosi a Nantes nel 2016.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/439812
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