Experts discussed challenges, trends and practical solutions for dairy and beef cattle breeding at the conference in St. Petersburg

VIC Group hosted the session "Dairy and Meat Livestock Breeding in the Era of Global Changes" during the Baltic Forum of Veterinary Medicine and Food Security. Industry experts discussed topical issues and shared their best practices in solving production problems at the event.

Evgeny Lyusin, Deputy Director of the Livestock Veterinary Department of the VIC Group, spoke about complex solutions to combat mastitis. The expert emphasized that the disease can be caused by more than 100 pathogens. The major factors of disease spreading include worn teat rubber on milking machines, poor udder hygiene, and hyperkeratosis. Studies conducted at Russian livestock enterprises show that three groups of pathogens are the main reasons for mastitis - streptococci, staphylococci and Enterobacteriaceae. Staphylococcus aureus is the most insidious and dangerous, as it is able to encapsulate itself. Then the veterinary drug can not "break through" into the infection epicenter and act on the pathogen. Therefore, the most effective approach to the staphylococcal mastitis management is the use of prolonged drugs in the dry period. Over the last decades, immediate launch syringes based on cloxacillin, the antibiotic most effective against this pathogen, have been used in the Russian Federation. However, in case of protracted disease and poor sanitary conditions, there is a risk of introducing environmental pathogens into the udder teat. In this case, the use of combined preparations based on cloxacillin and ampicillin is recommended.

Artyom Soshnin, veterinary surgeon of the VIC Group Livestock division, shared case studies on the hoof disease treatment. The expert claims that in order to reduce the occurrence and spread of non-contagious and contagious diseases (sole ulcers, white line ulcers, teloma, phlegmon, interdigital dermatitis and necrobacillosis), a systematic approach to infection prevention in the herd is necessary: hoof bath management, lameness counting, diet adjustment and hoof treatment. Artyom Soshnin also shared his experience of viral disease management at one of the Russian enterprises. The control group (1260 animals) used formalin and copper sulfate for treatment, while the experimental group (1360 animals) used a preparation based on glutaric aldehyde. Lameness decreased by 2% (from 76 to 50 animals) within 4 weeks in the experimental group and by 1% in the control group. The economic benefit amounted to about 1,000,000 rubles.

Vladimir Kumarin, Deputy Director of the VIC Group Livestock Department for Feeding, spoke about increasing the nutritional value of fodder while maintaining the current cost. He said that the basis of any cattle ration - self-produced feed - is essential to control: the higher the quality, the cheaper the ration. A key factor in controlling it is to increase feed digestibility. There are several ways to achieve it: by observing the terms of grass harvesting and using enzymes, which can be added both to the ready-made forage mixture and when harvesting forages as part of inoculants. However, the most reasonable solution is to ensure a high level of microflora digesting fiber in the rumen. Absence of oxygen and pH level, which should be 6.2-6.8, are the two most important factors for rumen microflora. This can be ensured by introducing specialized rumen yeasts. They contribute to the formation of optimal conditions in the rumen for fiber digestion, which leads to an increase in digestibility by 1 - 8%, the release of more nutrients, which the animal uses further for milk production. The use of yeast is economically feasible, because for every kilogram of dry matter consumed, an average of 50 grams more milk will be produced. Profitability is 1 to 3: 1 invested ruble grows to 3 rubles of profit due to productivity.

Natalia Ivanova, Head of Epsilon-Bio Diagnostic Center, talked about advanced methods of laboratory diagnostics that allow controlling and preventing the spread of viral and bacterial diseases at production facilities. She believes that veterinarians' decisions should be based on a comprehensive analysis of clinical, pathologoanatomical and laboratory tests. For example, combined diagnostics such as ELISA and PCR should be used to form an objective assessment of the epizootic situation at the farm. The relevance of bacteriologic studies today is highly appreciated when evaluating milk for mastitis. With their help it is possible not only to isolate microorganisms causing mastitis, but also to assess their sensitivity to antibacterial drugs, as well as pre- and post-milking agents. Diagnosis is thus an important aspect of the mastitis management.

Maria Alyavdina, veterinary consultant of the VIC Group livestock division, presented technological solutions to ensure high productivity during the neonatal period. She reported that gynecological diseases account for more than 35% of all diseases at agricultural enterprises. The main part falls on neonatal period: the majority of cows are culled about 60 days before the peak of lactation. In order to preserve and increase the herd these factors should be taken into account and the animals should be taken care of comprehensively and regularly: their management should be analyzed and improved, feed digestibility should be monitored, nutrition should be corrected if necessary, vitamin complexes should be introduced and attention should be paid to the hygiene of livestock buildings.

Anna Melnikova, Head of a branch office of the Livestock Distribution Development Division of VIC Group, spoke about state of the art methods of milk quality control. Under the Russian law, dairy products (in particular, raw milk) are tested for antibiotic content and, if found, the entire batch of milk is returned, which entails losses. Two primary methods of testing exist:

• High-performance liquid chromatography is an arbitration method, performed in accredited laboratories to determine the quantitative content of a substance in the product.
• Immunochromatographic analysis is a qualitative method, conducted with express tests.  The product is mobile, which makes it possible to do the tests "in the field", with the testing procedure taking 7 to 10 minutes.

Alexander Smirnov, Leading Specialist of the VIC Group Biosafety Division, analyzed trends in animal accounting and tagging that affect the budget and cost of production. The speaker explained that from September 1, 2023 the law on veterinary medicine came into force, which requires livestock enterprises and farms to tag all animals. Two types of tagging are available: visual, using tags, and electronic, using chips. Alexander Smirnov explained that electronic chipping is part of the industry's digitalization and provides the following:

• reducing labor costs - animal identification is fast and does not involve humans;
• forecasting animal productivity and monitoring animal health.

So far, electronic tagging is mainly practiced by large enterprises (starting from 800 animals), but it is also becoming relevant for medium and small farms.