A qualitative study of Ontario dairy farmer attitudes and perceptions toward implementing recommended milking practices.

Recommended milking practices (RMP) are protective against mastitis. However, many producers do not adopt, or only partially adopt, these measures. This study aimed to explore the attitudes and perceptions of Ontario dairy farmers toward barriers to implementation of RMP and to investigate what motivates behavior change in relation to milking hygiene. Four focus groups with Ontario dairy producers were conducted, and verbatim transcripts were analyzed thematically. The main barriers to adoption of RMP were identified and categorized into 2 groups: intrinsic barriers and physical barriers. Intrinsic barriers included personal habits and convenience, not perceiving udder health as a priority on their farm, and lack of information. Physical barriers included employee training and compliance, convenience of implementing RMP, and time, money, and labor barriers. Producers used their bulk tank somatic cell count (SCC) as a measure of perceived severity of udder health problems on farm. Those with lower SCC were less likely to prioritize udder health compared with peers experiencing elevations in SCC. Lack of udder health problems translated for some producers into non-adoption of certain RMP, as they felt these practices were not needed unless a problem arose. Others felt motivated to implement more practices and work toward better udder health if such efforts translated into rewards for better-quality milk. Some producers perceived RMP as not meaningful or useful, seemingly due to a lack of education about the reasons behind RMP implementation. Understanding the importance of these practices is one key to implementing them. To overcome some of the intrinsic barriers, increased efforts in knowledge translation are needed, including efforts in retraining current practices, as well as in establishing best practices.

Dairy farmers' expectations and receptivity regarding animal welfare advice: A focus group study.

Discussion and incorporation of best practices for animal welfare have been increasing in research, and in commercial operations, including through welfare assessment initiatives. The aim of this study was to explore dairy farmers' perceptions about being approached and receiving advice about animal welfare (i.e., lameness, hock injuries, and disbudding practices). It is useful for dairy consultants, researchers, or animal welfare assessment programs to gain an in-depth understanding of farmers' expectations when broaching the subject of animal welfare issues to facilitate communication about what can be perceived as a sensitive topic. We collected qualitative data using a focus group methodology. Five focus groups of farmers (n = 36 in total), took place in Ontario, Canada. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Participant age ranged from 21 to 80 yr (median = 47). Represented herd size ranged from 25 to 550 milking cows (median = 75). Farm type included free stall (n = 14) and tie stall (n = 22). Rigor was incorporated by using systematic thematic analysis: transcripts were coded line by line, and codes were categorized and then expanded and collapsed into themes, which were further refined to reflect farmer perceptions in a thematic map. Thematic analysis of the focus group discussions suggested 6 major themes related to farmers' receptivity to and expectations of animal welfare advice. Themes 1 to 4 provided insights into what farmers expected from those who were broaching topics: (1) an established relationship with the farmer; (2) expertise in dairy care/welfare; (3) prevention of "barn blindness"; and (4) provision of animal care services before and after welfare issues are broached. Theme 5 helped determine how welfare topics should be broached: the communication approach. Theme 6 identified who farmers feel should broach animal welfare topics on farm. Focus group discussions also provided insights into potential disconnects between farmer and veterinary expectations about animal welfare issues during herd health visits. Those who have established relationships with farmers are better received and are expected to broach welfare issues, especially if they are perceived to be an expert in animal care and welfare, and if they communicate the issue tactfully and work with the farmer to establish a plan of action.

Adoption and consistency of application of premilking preparation in Ontario dairy herds.

Milking management practices that affect udder health have been widely studied, leading to a variety of evidence-based recommendations. Lack of adoption or inconsistency in milking practices can interfere with efforts to prevent mastitis in the herd. The study objective was to assess the variation in adoption and application consistency of important milk harvest practices between and within farms over time. During the summer of 2013, 50 herds in southern Ontario were visited twice within a month, at milking time, and a single person observed and time-recorded premilking preparation procedures. A generalized mixed model was used to partition the variance for predisinfectant contact time and preparation lag time (time between the first contact with the teats and cluster attachment), and determine the proportion of variation attributable to farms, milkers, visits, and characteristics of a cow milking. Using logistic regression, models were built to assess factors affecting adequate contact time and adequate preparation lag time, respectively. Farm, the person(s) milking, and visit number were used as random effects in both instances. In both models, farm-to-farm differences and variations between cows during a specific milking accounted for the largest part of the variability seen in both contact time (47 and 44%, respectively) and preparation lag time (40 and 36%, respectively). For both outcomes, milkers were consistent in their routines over the 2 visits (only 9 and 3.1% of total variance for contact and preparation lag time, respectively). Parlors were more likely to meet the recommended contact time than tie-stalls; increased number of milkers at milking time and having contact times under 30 s had negative effects on meeting recommended preparation lag time. The majority of farms in the study complied with the recommendations for adequate milking practices; however, most did not follow a consistent timed protocol. There are several potential sources of variation in the milking routine on a dairy farm. To improve milk quality and udder health, it is important to identify whether best management practices are being implemented on each farm. Producers appeared to be consistent in the application of milking procedures across time, regardless of whether or not they were correct. Hence, with corrective education and training, improvements in these practices could be experienced and maintained to promote better udder health.

The Canadian National Dairy Study 2015-Adoption of milking practices in Canadian dairy herds.

Several studies have investigated which management practices have the greatest effect on udder health, but little information is available on how broadly the recommended milking practices are adopted across Canada. The National Dairy Study 2015 was designed to gather dairy cattle health and management data on dairy farms across Canada. The objectives of the present study were to describe the current proportions of adoption of milking practices on Canadian dairy farms, and identify factors associated with their use on farms. A bilingual questionnaire measuring use of various practices, including an udder health-specific section, was developed and sent to all Canadian dairy farms. The questions in the udder health section of the questionnaire were adapted from a bilingual questionnaire previously validated and containing questions regarding general milking hygiene and routine, and on-farm mastitis management. Chi-squared tests were used to investigate simple associations between adoption of practices and various explanatory variables including region, milking system, herd size, and bulk tank somatic cell count. In total, 1,373 dairy producers completed the survey. The regional distribution of the participants was representative of the Canadian dairy farm population, and milk quality was, on average, similar to nonparticipants. Overall, Canadian dairy producers followed the recommendations for milking procedures, but some were more extensively used than others. Fore-stripping, cleaning teats, wiping teats dry, using single-cow towels, and use of postmilking teat disinfectant were widely adopted. Use of gloves and glove hygiene, use of a premilking teat disinfectant, and use of automatic takeoffs were not as extensively implemented. Adoption percentages for several practices, including use of gloves, use of a premilking teat disinfectant, teat drying methods, and use of automatic takeoffs were significantly associated with milking system, herd size, and region. It would be helpful to explore the reasons why producers choose to adopt or ignore recommended milking practices as most are easy to include in the routine and are fairly inexpensive.