Veterinary diagnostics on farm - a review

Abstract

Good management, antibiotic resistance awareness, and biosecurity are increasingly important in dairy farming. One of the biggest challenges for a livestock veterinarian, however, is to educate and convince farmers to change management instead of using drugs to mask mistakes in their management. The confidence of the farmers and the willingness to adjust their management practices may increase if the veterinarian is able to demonstrate the possibilities for improvement on farm. Improvement of farm management can be achieved by the use of on-farm diagnostic tests. On-farm diagnostic tests make early detection of diseases possible and reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics. Examples of on-farm tests are the ATP meter for monitoring of drinking water quality, the California mastitis test for detection of subclinical mastitis and the ruminal pH test for investigation of feed management. The use of these tests may change the attitude of the dairy cattle farmer from curative thinking towards more preventive thinking.