Effect of Farm Management Practices on Morbidity and Antibiotic Usage on Calf Rearing Farms.

Antimicrobial resistance has been recognized as one of the top health threats to human society. Abundant use of antibiotics in both humans and animals has led to ever-increasing antibiotic resistance in bacteria. In food production, decreasing morbidity in beef herds would be an effective way to reduce the use of antibiotics.

Effect of farm and animal-level factors on youngstock mortality and growth on calf rearing farms.

Both calf mortality and daily weight gain have a crucial impact on profitability of calf rearing farms. In addition, high calf mortality rates represent an animal welfare problem. Mortality rates on calf rearing farms have been reported in several studies in different countries, but scant data regarding daily weight gain of the calves are available.

Comparison of Finnish meat inspection records and average daily gain for cattle herds differing in Mycoplasma bovis test-status.

Detecting Mycoplasma bovis on cattle farms represents a challenge in the absence of an outbreak or cases of M. bovis mastitis, yet identification of an infection is essential to control the spread of the disease successfully. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine whether meat inspection records can aid identification of cattle farms supporting M.

Associations between group sizes, serum protein levels, calf morbidity and growth in dairy-beef calves in a Finnish calf rearing unit.

Efficient dairy-beef production relies on good quality of purchased calves, defined by breed, health, and growth characteristics. Several management factors, such as commingling of calves and large group size, predispose calves to diseases. Acute phase proteins are sensitive detectors of calf diseases.