The costs of production diseases

Henk Hogeveen

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 managementIn between Wageningen University and Faculty of Vet. Med.

●@henkhogeveen

●animal-health-management.blogspot.com

In the old days ....

Things were different (better?)

Authority

Fixed prices

Hardly any competition

You did what you liked

Currently

Competition

●Between vets

●From others

Well educated farmers

No fixed prices

Agricultural prices underunder pressure (free markets)

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

Outline

Production economics

Cost factors of production diseases

Production diseases

●Mastitis

●Claw health

●Metabolic disorders

Final remarks

Resource input (R)

Milk

out

put

(Q)

Farm production

Farm with fixed land and buildings (constraints):

Output is a function of input

Resource input (R)

Milk

outp

ut

(Q)

Effect of disease

-More resources for same production

- Less production with same resources

- optimal level of production changes as well

I

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

Outline

Production economics

Cost factors of production diseases

Production diseases

●Mastitis

●Claw health

●Metabolic disorders

Final remarks

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

IntroductionLosses

Expenditures

Optimization of expendituresand losses

Disease treatments

Treatment of clinical cases is an expenditure

●Used to optimize total losses

●Studies on optimal treatment are madee.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

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 !!!

IntroductionFailure

costs

Preventive measures

Old situation

New situation

Benefits

Costs

Benefits exceed costs

IntroductionFailure

costs

Preventive measures

Old situation

New situationBenefits

Costs

Costs exceed benefits

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, 2010Hogeveen et al., 2010van Soest et al., 2011

Recent literature (€)

Bar

2008

Halasa

2009

Hagnestam-Nielsen

2009

Huijps

2008

Level Cow Cow Cow-year Cow

Milk production losses - 11 78 36

Labour - 11 - 4

Treatment - 14 - 15

Culling - 46 - 22

Death - 0 - 0

Veterinarian - 2 - 1

Milk quality - 0 - 0

Materials - 0 - 0

Diagnostics - 0 - 0

Total 61 84 97 78

Research

Default cost calculations

●Based on literature and expertise

●Clinical mastitis: Yearly incidence

●Subclinical mastitis: Bulk milk somatic cell count

●Conservative estimations

Data collection

●64 dairy farms

●Data entry at “open farm days”

●Assistance from researcher

Theory vs practise (€/cow/year)

DefaultMean Low High

Production losses subclinical 16 36 6.8 72.4

Production losses clinical 23 10 2.5 22

Veterinarian (€/cow/year) 0.3 0.6 0 2.5

Drugs 6 10.6 3.5 26.7

Discarded milk 9 7.9 2.5 17.9

Culling 22 17.9 0 46

Penalties 0 0.30 0 2.4

Labour 4 3.8 0 15

Total economic losses 81 78 31.4 153.8

Farm specific

Theory vs practise (€/cow/year)

DefaultMean Low High

Production losses subclinical 16 36 6.8 72.4

Production losses clinical 23 10 2.5 22

Veterinarian (€/cow/year) 0.3 0.6 0 2.5

Drugs 6 10.6 3.5 26.7

Discarded milk 9 7.9 2.5 17.9

Culling 22 17.9 0 46

Penalties 0 0.30 0 2.4

Labour 4 3.8 0 15

Total economic losses 81 78 31.4 153.8

Farm specific

Total costs of mastitis

Failure costs + expenditures preventive measures

Questionaire dataset of 189 farms (Santman-Berends et al., 2011)

●General questions

●Livestock management

●Lactating cows

●Milking process

●Feed

Pathogens and clinical mastitis on 120 farms

MPR data

Calculations of failure costs clinical mastitis, subclinical mastitis

Preventive measures

Cleaning cubicles

Cleaning lanes

Drying off

Pre-stripping

Clean dirty udders

Milker gloves

Clean cluster after clinical case

Milk high SCC cow last

Post milking teat disinfection

Fixing cows after milking

Total costs mastitis (€/cow)

Average

5% percentile

95% percentile

Clinical mastitis 62 16 151

Subclinical mastitis 14 9 21

Failure costs mastitis 76 26 164

Prevention costs 88 43 131

Costs of masitits 164 99 281

Failure costs vs preventive costs

- 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

Cost-effectiveness of preventive measures

Additional

expenditures

Reduced

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 24 13 -11

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; 2012Verhoef, 2012

A healthy claw

Different foot disorders

Sole haemorrhages and White line disease

Interdigital dermatitis/

heel horn erosion

Sole ulcerInterdigital hyperplasia

(corns, tyloma)

Digital dermatitis (Mortellaro’s disease) Interdigital phlegmon

Simulation model

PCUL

PSC

PCHPHCPHSPSH

No foot disorder, healthy (H)

Clinical foot disorder

(C)

Subclinical foot disorder

(S)

Culled(Cul)

Modelling assumptions

Assumptions (Dutch circumstances):

●cubicle housing

●concrete floor

●pasturing

●two foot trimming interventions/year

7 different foot disorders

Add consequences to simulation model

PCUL

PSC

PCHPHCPHSPSH

No foot disorder, healthy (H)

Clinical foot disorder

(C)

Subclinical foot disorder

(S)

Economic consequences:- Milk production losses- Prolonged calving

interval- Labor dairy farmer- Costs foot trimmer- Costs veterinarian- Treatment- Discarded milk

- Welfare impact: - Estimated pain

Economic consequences: - Milk production

losses- Prolonged calving

interval- Welfare impact:

- Estimated pain

Economic consequence:- RPO-value

Culled(Cul)

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)

Cost components

Milk production losses

Prolonged calving interval

Labour of the dairy farmer

Discarded milk

TreatmentVisit of veterinarian

Visit of foot trimmer

Culling

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

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

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

Costs and benefits

Costs Benefits1 Net costs

Intervention measure (€/cow/yr) (€/cow/yr) (€/cow/yr)

Additional foot trimming 7 8 -1

Feeding management 34 5 29

Feeding supplement 20 3 17

Floor hygiene, manure scraper 25 12 14

Floor hygiene, manure robot 39 12 27

Floor hygiene, manual 56 12 45

Foot bath 34 3 31

Lying surface, bedding 19 19 -1

Lying surface, mattress 13 19 -7

Rubber flooring 28 11 17

Stocking density 16 17 0

Net costs vs welfare

Rubfl

Stdens

Lymat

Lybed

Hygscr

Hygrob

Hygman

Fbath

Ftrim

Feedman

Feedsup

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

-10 0 10 20 30 40 50

Net costs (€)

Wel

fare

ben

efit

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

Background of study

Stochastic model

Herd level (65 dairy cows)

Input based on literature

Cost of ketosis

807

751

12078 166

Milk production

Culling

Mastitis

Treatmet

LDA

Calving interval

Average: € 1778 per farm/year

Variation: € 1588 – 3506

Clinical: € 361 per case

Subclinical: € 73 per case

Metabolic disorders

No other estimates in scientific literature

Other estimates are made

●Consultants

●Doubtful

Outline

Production economics

Cost factors of production diseases

Production diseases

●Mastitis

●Claw health

●Metabolic disorders

Final remarks

Only three production diseases

What about

●Young stock raising

●Culling policy

●Reproductive management

●……….

Under estimation of costs by farmers

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Expected costs (€ per cow)

Rea

l co

sts

(€/c

ow

)

46 under estimators!!!!!Mastitis

Youngstock raising (€ per heifer)Our calculated costs: € 1.540 (Mohd Nor et al., 2012Farmers 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

-€ 2.000,00

-€ 1.500,00

-€ 1.000,00

-€ 500,00

€ 0,00

€ 500,00

€ 1.000,00

€ 1.500,00

Dif

fere

nce

bet

wee

n e

stim

atio

n

and

rea

l co

sts

(eu

ros)

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)

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)

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

Thank you for your attention