A pilot project for the "Establishment of two consultation farms for optimal claw health management in dairy cattle farming in the state of Brandenburg"

Optimised claw health management makes a significant contribution to improving animal health and reducing disease-related losses. The aim of the pilot project was to establish a farm-specific and animal-individualised system for prophylactic claw health management. To this end, a system analysis was initially carried out on two dairy farms in Brandenburg, Agrargenossenschaft Werenzhain eG and Milchgut Bahnitz GmbH, by specialists from the Clinic for Clovenhoofed Animals at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Leipzig University / the Claw Competence Centre Saxony. Based on these results, a farm-specific programme was developed for the identification and treatment of diseased animals, as well as for the training of employees and service providers. In addition to hoof care, diagnostic and treatment principles were optimised during monthly visits to the herd. Animal health and performance indicators were recorded and used as features of a process-accompanying regulation of claw health management.

At the start of the project, the work areas for hoof treatment were optimised for both the animals and the employees on both farms in addition to the technical support. The aim was to create the conditions to be able to handle both individual animals and groups of animals for herd or animal health management measures. A particular focus was placed on the animals' adapted drive and animal-friendly treatment using modern, innovative hoof trimming crushes and ergonomically optimised working conditions.

The pilot project was carried out as part of the animal welfare plan of the state of Brandenburg by the Interessenvereinigung Klauengesundheit Deutschland IKD e.V., the Clinic for Claw Animals of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Leipzig and the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection. The Landeskontrollverband Berlin-Brandenburg e.V., the animal welfare advisory service and the animal welfare officer of the state of Brandenburg were involved in initiating the programme.

Since 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection has been working on the establishment of agricultural, animal husbandry consultation farms. These enable farmers, advisors and other interested parties and stakeholders working in agriculture to familiarise themselves with animal-friendly husbandry methods and operating procedures. The aim is to create opportunities for knowledge transfer and information exchange. In addition, the farms are to serve as best-practice examples for the implementation of the requirements of the accident prevention regulation "Animal Husbandry" (VSG 4.1) of the Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG) for the area of animal treatment. In the future, Agrargenossenschaft Werenzhain eG and Milchgut Bahnitz GmbH will offer an insight into hoof health management and will be available as contacts for interested specialists.

In the following video, the two consultation farms from Brandenburg are presented with their optimised hoof health management.