A coaching approach to strengthen farm management teams to reduce antimicrobial use in Dutch high usage pig farms: a 2 year intervention study

The use of antimicrobials in the pig sector in the Netherlands has been reduced by more than 70% over the last decade. However, there is still a considerable number of pig farms that have not been able to lower their antimicrobial usage (AMU) to a sufficiently low level, comparable to the majority of the other pig farms. Therefore, an intervention study was initiated to lower on-farm antimicrobial use in which 45 pig farms with high AMU were recruited. These farms were coached over a period of 2 years whereby different management interventions were introduced. During the 2-year study period a... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Heleen Prinsen
Huifang Deng
Dick Heederik
Jaap A. Wagenaar
David C. Speksnijder
Wietske Dohmen
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2024
Reihe/Periodikum: Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Vol 11 (2024)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Frontiers Media S.A.
Schlagwörter: coaching / antimicrobial use / intervention / biosecurity / vaccination / pig farms / Veterinary medicine / SF600-1100
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28986003
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1422756

The use of antimicrobials in the pig sector in the Netherlands has been reduced by more than 70% over the last decade. However, there is still a considerable number of pig farms that have not been able to lower their antimicrobial usage (AMU) to a sufficiently low level, comparable to the majority of the other pig farms. Therefore, an intervention study was initiated to lower on-farm antimicrobial use in which 45 pig farms with high AMU were recruited. These farms were coached over a period of 2 years whereby different management interventions were introduced. During the 2-year study period a significant reduction of 13 and 17% in total AMU was seen in weaned piglets and fattening pigs respectively. The introduction of coaching as well as multiple management interventions were (univariably) associated with the decrease in AMU. After mutual adjustment of coaching and individual interventions, the association between coaching and AMU became substantially weaker, indicating that coaching and interventions were interrelated and specific interventions explained the reduction in AMU. In conclusion, a coaching effect was observed in this study, with an effect on AMU through specific interventions. More insights are needed regarding the role and effects of coaching on the influence on the management team comprising the farmer, veterinarian and (feed) advisor, and interventions implemented.