Do you know the princesses of dairy farms? AVA update together for vets and farmers

Calves are the future of every dairy farm. For this and many other reasons, the Agricultural and Veterinary Academy (AVA) recently offered a specialist conference on health, feeding and husbandry for veterinarians, farmers and consultants to update themselves on the latest scientific and legislative developments together with calf specialists from a wide range of sectors and areas.
"Farmers, vets and production consultants must do everything they can to ensure that healthy offspring later become productive dairy cows, which should and must ultimately be productive and economical for the farm, naturally with regard to animal welfare and animal welfare aspects," says the director and founder of the Agricultural and Veterinary Academy (AVA) from Steinfurt in Münsterland, Ernst-Günther Hellwig, himself a specialist vet and agricultural scientist.

Calves have their own individual microbiome right from the start, which is influenced by (positive and negative) germs from the environment, the mother cow, colostrum, etc. Antibiotics in particular disrupt the "physiological microbiome" and have an unexpectedly negative effect even on the entire later life of the cow. Even the slightest health disorder in calf age has a negative impact on the cow's performance as a dairy cow later on. The increasing resistance situation in the "One Health concept" of antibiotic use in sick animals was discussed in particular. The "prudent use" of antibiotics, i.e. the absolutely targeted and lowest possible use of medicines, must always be at the forefront, but without neglecting animal health and thus animal welfare. Veterinary medicine and agriculture must therefore work hand in hand to offer the calves, the "princesses of the farm", the best possible rearing conditions in terms of health and husbandry.
The whole 'calf issue' has changed a lot, as new findings and experiences are constantly being incorporated into calf health and care concepts. There are also a large number of updated regulations and laws to consider, which naturally have a major influence on current and medium-term health, feeding and husbandry requirements. The Animal Welfare Livestock Farming Ordinance (TierSchNutztV) alone requires a complete rethink of many traditional forms of husbandry.
The special feature of the two-day AVA calf seminar in Steinfurt, Münsterland, with 14 recognized training points according to ATF, was the joint discussion between veterinarians, farmers, feeding experts and production consultants from the dairy production sector, who discussed the calf issue from a wide variety of perspectives with the specialist speakers based on the latest agricultural and veterinary science.
The speakers, Prof. Dr. med. vet. Martin Kaske from the University of Zurich and Dr. agr. Hans-Jürgen Kunz from Kiel, who both have an international reputation and are known as the so-called "calf dream team duo", provided a complete update on the overall topic of calves, which the calf specialists present discussed intensively with the two speakers and with each other.
For the "calf production supervisors" attending the AVA seminar - whether veterinarians or farmers - the two-day calf seminar was a high-level training course that would have been a must for every "calf man/woman" in order to update themselves TOGETHER on the latest developments in calf and feeder health ("prudent use" of antibiotics), calf feeding, calf husbandry and the corresponding changes in legal requirements and regulations. The evaluations carried out by the participants after the AVA seminar were consistently extremely positive and were evaluated with an overall grade of 1.2, which delighted both the AVA as the organizer and the two speakers.
In order to offer other calf specialists the opportunity of such a special training course, the Agricultural and Veterinary Academy (AVA) will offer a new training course on calf health, calf feeding and calf husbandry on October 29 and 30, 2024, in the Ulm area (BW), with the two calf specialists, Prof. Kaske and Dr. Kunz, as speakers. You can find out more and register for the repeat calf course and other events for vets and farmers on the AVA website at www.ava1.de

Keywords:
Agrar- und Veterinär-Akademie, AVA, calf health, Prof. Dr. Martin Kaske, Dr. Hans-Jürgen Kunz, Ernst-Günther Hellwig, veterinary medicine, calf health, calf husbandry, calf feeding, animal welfare, Animal Welfare Farming Ordinance, TierSchNutztV, One Health, antibiotics,

Agrar- und Veterinär-Akademie (AVA) EG Hellwig
Birkenweg 7
48565 Steinfurt
Germany

https://www.ava1.de/

Agrar- und Veterinär- Akademie (AVA)
Herr Ernst-G. Hellwig
02551 7878

info@ava1.de

The AVA is a training association with the aim of training and further education and the distribution of information for the agricultural and veterinary sector. At the same time, the AVA is a forum for farmers and veterinarians that focuses on the challenges of producing healthy food in the coming decades.
The aim of the Agricultural and Veterinary Academy is to discuss the problems of modern, sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry. Together we want to find ways to work in an animal-friendly, practical and consumer-oriented manner. AVA training courses help save on medicines! Ernst-Günther Hellwig, founder and director of the AVA, Steinfurt, Burgsteinfurt
Ernst-Günther Hellwig
Agricultural and Veterinary Academy (AVA) EG Hellwig
Birkenweg 7 - D 48565 Steinfurt-Burgsteinfurt
phone: +49-(0)2551- 7878 fax: +49-(0)2551-83 43 00
info@ava1.de www.ava1.de

This release was published on openPR.