Synopsis
Do you want to support dairy farmers in adjusting their management regarding the transition period of dairy cows? The book Pathways to health and disease for dairy cows provides veterinarians and farm advisors background information and practical tools. This unique book combines theoretical information with practical tools, and draws crosslinks between six aspects of transition cow biology. The book comprises two parts: an introduction chapter and six study chapters.
The first chapter outlines new ideas about the role of management in dairy farming:
- External conditions, comprising environment and farm management, continuously influence the internal body management of the cow.
- External conditions either support physiology or induce pathophysiology and pathology, for which new definitions are introduced.
- Advisory work on dairy farms must be based on the management of external conditions and not on herd performance data.
The six study chapters focus on the transition period and provide the reader with updated contemporary knowledge on (patho)physiology and pathology, and how they connect with risk factors, preventive measures, and monitoring tools.
Veterinarians and farm advisors must make a professional U-turn to support dairy farmers in solving and preventing disturbances in health and production. This book must be regarded as a start for resetting our traditional view and approach to cow health and disease.
About the Author
Rik A.M. Hendriks, Ph.D. (1992), University of Utrecht, Veterinary Faculty, since January 1995 co-owner of the veterinary clinic Ell. Currently, he combines regular veterinary work with teaching final-year students from the veterinary faculties of Utrecht (Netherlands) and Ghent (Belgium), and holding workshops for farmers and veterinary practitioners via diRiktion.
Arie Brand, Ph.D. (1970), University of Utrecht, Veterinary Faculty, Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine, where he established the new department 'Herd health and production management'. Instead of approaching the improvement of dairy herd health by analyzing animal performance he developed the idea to analyze management and environmental conditions of the animals. After his retirement in 1995, Arie continued to give education to students and veterinary practitioners. He passed away in November 2022 at the respectable age of 91.
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