**11. The role of animal science**

Due to the lack of sustainable success in reducing production diseases, or at least the lack of evidence of a general improvement in animal health and welfare in dairy farming, the various disciplines of animal science are challenged to reflect on the possible reasons and on their own role in the overall process.

#### **11.1 Predominant focus on performance**

Increasing the milk performance of dairy cows is still the predominant goal in dairy production, primarily driven by economic considerations and supported by various disciplines of agricultural and animal science. Particularly the discipline of animal breeding continues to embrace this strategy, even though scientists make efforts to integrate functional traits in the breeding programs, so far with no truly convincing success. The traditional approach of animal breeding indirectly evokes the impression that it is the animals and/or the genome rather than the living conditions which are the real weak points in the system and, consequently, it is the former rather than the latter which needs to be further improved. It is obvious that a unilateral focus is not appropriate for dealing with problems that emerge from the interactions between various components within the organism, and between the organism and its respective living conditions. Dealing with the issue of animal health and welfare in dairy production cannot just be left to the predominant paradigms and interests of single disciplines. Instead, there is a need to first gain an overview and to identify the predominant weak points in the farm-specific context. A unilateral objective of increasing milk performance, together with a one-sided disciplinary focus are probably at the heart of the ignorance surrounding the negative side effects which accompany the production processes. On the other hand, what is being ignored cannot be solved.

In light of the farm-specific challenges, particularly the large inter and intraindividual variation of the gap between nutrient demand and supply, the scientific discipline of animal nutrition is not yet able to offer adequate tools to balance energy and nutrient input/output figures on an individual base. When the supply level is tailored to suit one virtual cow whose average values of nutrient and energy requirements act as the reference for a whole feeding group, then the variability in the requirements between the individual cows of a feeding group is widely disregarded. This also applies to the requirements an individual animal needs for regulation (allostatic load) and immune defense activities in relation to the supply of energy and nutrients, particularly glucose. The additional requirements are hard to predict and are thus blind spots in the discipline of animal nutrition. However, they cannot be disregarded any longer when the reduction of the prevalence of production diseases on the farm level is on the agenda.

While some scientific disciplines are engaged in furthering increased performance in animal production through, for example, breeding or feeding methods, other disciplines, e.g. veterinary science are trying to deal with the negative side effects of the intensification processes, also with no truly convincing success. The different disciplines seldom work together to find common strategies to deal with contradictory goals and the uncertainty regarding their effects. Instead, there is an enormous temptation for animal scientists to gain a scientific reputation by becoming a specialist who focuses on single areas at the risk of losing sight of the whole picture. This focusing by the numerous experts on their respective topics has led to a dissociation of the generalist approach. The re-integration of the subcomponents into a well-functioning whole requires an enforced interdisciplinary effort to focus on the performance of the whole system rather than on the separate optimization of individual components. It goes without saying that this is easier said than done.

**71**

*Nutrition and Health-Management in Dairy Production DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89447*

In the future, it will not be sufficient for dairy production only to produce a high amount of milk in a cost-effective way. Milk production has to be carried out also in an animal and environmentally friendly manner, therewith considering the values of common goods. Realizing a comparable low prevalence of productions diseases is equivalent with the animal protection service of a farm system [76], which can be offered as a quality service on the food market. This approach allows the alignment of animal protection and production services of the farm system, appearing as a new production goal. The balance between animal protection and production services result from the entirety of processes which take place within a farm system. To succeed in this effort requires more than relying on a general scientific knowledge

The traditional tools of improvements when dealing with complex issues are: problem analysis, defining a short-term and/or long-term goal, developing promising strategies, implementation of most appropriate measures, and finally adequate control and monitoring of success. This roughly sketched approach parallels with the deductive approach of veterinarians when examining, diagnosing and treating single diseased animals except that its focus is not on the recovery of individual animals alone but extends to the recovery of individual farms. Certainly, such an approach requires continuous acquisition of information on the nutritional status of the individual animals, the capacities of the living conditions and, last but not least, the resulting outcomes of the interactions between individual animals and their respective living conditions in terms of clinical and subclinical diseases. These indicate that animals are currently not able to cope. The percentage of dairy cows not being able to cope should be the key criterion for all subsequent activities.

Different kinds of internal regulations are required on the farm level. Animal science is asked to provide orientation and to develop 'action knowledge' to create strategies for management to sustainably allocate the relevant resources within the farm system, particularly considering the trade-offs in resource flows through various sub-systems. To formulate concise working hypotheses regarding the most effective and cost-efficient means that are at the farmer's disposal and to organize an appropriate allocation of resources within farm-specific contexts requires the determination of target figures in relation to the envisaged prevalence of Pds. At the same time, the impacts of tools and means intended to reduce Pds have to be context assessed to establish whether they work effectively and whether they provide a positive cost–benefit ratio. Many technical tools and measures to reduce production diseases have been proven in scientific studies but nearly solely under standardized conditions. The results of these studies are at the farmer's disposal via mediation by advisory services and thus belong to the category of 'disposal knowledge' [77]. However, trying to find general solutions for the mitigation of negative side effects, e.g. in offering general recommendations in the field of breeding [39], technical developments or precision farming [78], might be blamed for oversimplification. By predominantly focusing on the development of 'disposal knowledge' in relation to single traits, animal science fails to grasp the complexity of the challenges at hand. This inductive approach distracts the focus from the problems occurring in the here and now and related to the farm-specific context. Simultaneously, it makes farmers believe that this might make the need to implement fundamental changes within the production processes seem unnecessary. 'Disposal knowledge' can claim to be valid only for the specific conditions under

base, but needs a systemic, functional and result-oriented approach.

**11.3 Providing orientation and 'action knowledge'**

**11.2 Reorientation**

#### **11.2 Reorientation**

*Livestock Health and Farming*

**11. The role of animal science**

**11.1 Predominant focus on performance**

Due to the lack of sustainable success in reducing production diseases, or at least the lack of evidence of a general improvement in animal health and welfare in dairy farming, the various disciplines of animal science are challenged to reflect on the

Increasing the milk performance of dairy cows is still the predominant goal in dairy production, primarily driven by economic considerations and supported by various disciplines of agricultural and animal science. Particularly the discipline of animal breeding continues to embrace this strategy, even though scientists make efforts to integrate functional traits in the breeding programs, so far with no truly convincing success. The traditional approach of animal breeding indirectly evokes the impression that it is the animals and/or the genome rather than the living conditions which are the real weak points in the system and, consequently, it is the former rather than the latter which needs to be further improved. It is obvious that a unilateral focus is not appropriate for dealing with problems that emerge from the interactions between various components within the organism, and between the organism and its respective living conditions. Dealing with the issue of animal health and welfare in dairy production cannot just be left to the predominant paradigms and interests of single disciplines. Instead, there is a need to first gain an overview and to identify the predominant weak points in the farm-specific context. A unilateral objective of increasing milk performance, together with a one-sided disciplinary focus are probably at the heart of the ignorance surrounding the negative side effects which accompany the production

possible reasons and on their own role in the overall process.

processes. On the other hand, what is being ignored cannot be solved.

tion diseases on the farm level is on the agenda.

In light of the farm-specific challenges, particularly the large inter and intraindividual variation of the gap between nutrient demand and supply, the scientific discipline of animal nutrition is not yet able to offer adequate tools to balance energy and nutrient input/output figures on an individual base. When the supply level is tailored to suit one virtual cow whose average values of nutrient and energy requirements act as the reference for a whole feeding group, then the variability in the requirements between the individual cows of a feeding group is widely disregarded. This also applies to the requirements an individual animal needs for regulation (allostatic load) and immune defense activities in relation to the supply of energy and nutrients, particularly glucose. The additional requirements are hard to predict and are thus blind spots in the discipline of animal nutrition. However, they cannot be disregarded any longer when the reduction of the prevalence of produc-

While some scientific disciplines are engaged in furthering increased performance in animal production through, for example, breeding or feeding methods, other disciplines, e.g. veterinary science are trying to deal with the negative side effects of the intensification processes, also with no truly convincing success. The different disciplines seldom work together to find common strategies to deal with contradictory goals and the uncertainty regarding their effects. Instead, there is an enormous temptation for animal scientists to gain a scientific reputation by becoming a specialist who focuses on single areas at the risk of losing sight of the whole picture. This focusing by the numerous experts on their respective topics has led to a dissociation of the generalist approach. The re-integration of the subcomponents into a well-functioning whole requires an enforced interdisciplinary effort to focus on the performance of the whole system rather than on the separate optimization of individual components. It goes without saying that this is easier said than done.

**70**

In the future, it will not be sufficient for dairy production only to produce a high amount of milk in a cost-effective way. Milk production has to be carried out also in an animal and environmentally friendly manner, therewith considering the values of common goods. Realizing a comparable low prevalence of productions diseases is equivalent with the animal protection service of a farm system [76], which can be offered as a quality service on the food market. This approach allows the alignment of animal protection and production services of the farm system, appearing as a new production goal. The balance between animal protection and production services result from the entirety of processes which take place within a farm system. To succeed in this effort requires more than relying on a general scientific knowledge base, but needs a systemic, functional and result-oriented approach.

The traditional tools of improvements when dealing with complex issues are: problem analysis, defining a short-term and/or long-term goal, developing promising strategies, implementation of most appropriate measures, and finally adequate control and monitoring of success. This roughly sketched approach parallels with the deductive approach of veterinarians when examining, diagnosing and treating single diseased animals except that its focus is not on the recovery of individual animals alone but extends to the recovery of individual farms. Certainly, such an approach requires continuous acquisition of information on the nutritional status of the individual animals, the capacities of the living conditions and, last but not least, the resulting outcomes of the interactions between individual animals and their respective living conditions in terms of clinical and subclinical diseases. These indicate that animals are currently not able to cope. The percentage of dairy cows not being able to cope should be the key criterion for all subsequent activities.

### **11.3 Providing orientation and 'action knowledge'**

Different kinds of internal regulations are required on the farm level. Animal science is asked to provide orientation and to develop 'action knowledge' to create strategies for management to sustainably allocate the relevant resources within the farm system, particularly considering the trade-offs in resource flows through various sub-systems. To formulate concise working hypotheses regarding the most effective and cost-efficient means that are at the farmer's disposal and to organize an appropriate allocation of resources within farm-specific contexts requires the determination of target figures in relation to the envisaged prevalence of Pds.

At the same time, the impacts of tools and means intended to reduce Pds have to be context assessed to establish whether they work effectively and whether they provide a positive cost–benefit ratio. Many technical tools and measures to reduce production diseases have been proven in scientific studies but nearly solely under standardized conditions. The results of these studies are at the farmer's disposal via mediation by advisory services and thus belong to the category of 'disposal knowledge' [77]. However, trying to find general solutions for the mitigation of negative side effects, e.g. in offering general recommendations in the field of breeding [39], technical developments or precision farming [78], might be blamed for oversimplification. By predominantly focusing on the development of 'disposal knowledge' in relation to single traits, animal science fails to grasp the complexity of the challenges at hand. This inductive approach distracts the focus from the problems occurring in the here and now and related to the farm-specific context. Simultaneously, it makes farmers believe that this might make the need to implement fundamental changes within the production processes seem unnecessary. 'Disposal knowledge' can claim to be valid only for the specific conditions under

which it has been proven. When implemented in a specific farm context, it functions only as a working hypothesis for 'action knowledge'. The impacts that might occur in the use of generally recommended means and tools require external validation to assess whether they are able to contribute to the envisaged end and to deliver what they promise. This includes proving their suitability in contributing to alleviating the conflict between productivity and animal health on individual farms. Without external validation, general tools to reduce production diseases seem to be an end in themselves rather than a means to an end.

The extent of the outlined complexities explains why it is so difficult to improve the unsatisfactory situation regarding animal health and welfare in dairy farming. Too many partly diverging interests of different stakeholder groups, including the interests of animal scientists, are involved. However, if general enlightenment belongs to the crucial tasks of scientists, as they themselves maintain, this stakeholder group is under a particular obligation to consider animal health and welfare as belonging to the common good and are therefore obligated to contribute to improvements therein. However, as long as animal scientists claim to be able to offer simple solutions based on a reductionist approach without providing convincing evidence, they could be considered as part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
