Assessment of Herd, Calf, and Colostrum Management Practices on Austrian Dairy Farms Using a Scoring System

SIMPLE SUMMARY: As calves are born with a naïve immune system, they depend on the transfer of immunoglobulins via colostrum. If calves do not receive a sufficient supply of high-quality colostrum (>50 g/L of immunoglobulins; 100–300 g Immunoglobulins in total) within the first hours after birth, they are likely to suffer from Failure of Transfer of Passive Immunity. The objective of the present study was to evaluate herd, calf, and colostrum management on Austrian dairy farms, focusing on challenges and possibilities for improvement. A scoring system was implemented to compare and classify management practices. Farms in foothills/flatland regions of Austria, conventional producing farms, and full-time operated farms overall received a higher and therefore better score rating than farms in alpine regions of Austria, organic producing farms, and part-time operated farms. ABSTRACT: The objectives of the study were to describe colostrum management on Austrian dairy farms and to explore differences between regions (alpine/flatlands), organic and conventional producing farms, and full-time or part-time operated farms. An online survey (24 questions) on general farm characteristics and herd and calf management was sent to 16,246 farmers. In total, 2328 farmers (response rate 14.3%) answered the questionnaire. To allow an objective comparison, a scoring system was implemented. Farm size is, on average, smaller in the alpine regions than in the foothills/flatlands regions of Austria. Small farms were more often organic-producing farms (81.6%) and operated part-time (93.8%). In foothills/flatland regions, 70.0% of farms have a separate calving area, and in the alpine regions, it is solely 42.8%. Colostrum testing is still mostly done by visual appraisal (63.7%); only a few farmers use a colostrometer (8.8%), brix-refractometer (18.3%), or ColostroCheck(®) (9.2%, a cone-shaped device to rate the flow velocity of colostrum). The results of the present study using the scoring system showed differences in herd and calf management practices in all sectors. In the future, the findings and especially the scoring system can support Austrian dairy farmers or veterinarians to better assess areas of improvement on farms in order to prevent calves from suffering from Failure of Transfer of Passive Immunity.