Key words
Objectives
To gain insight in the importance of scientifically based management of the complete cattle production activities for a zoo technical, economical, ecological and ethological optimization.
Hereby the student has to acquire clear insight in the possibilities of such a management, and also he/she has to be aware of the limitations of the current possibilities due to the (still) limited knowledge of the tremendous complexity of this biological process.
Prerequisites
Profound knowledge of the physiology of cattle
Topics
Evolution in and importance of the cattle production on local as well as on international level.
The integral management of a cattle production company is a very complex business due to the number of factors involved and the interactions between them. Some of these factors are discussed in detail in order to the optimize of the returns and t0 control of the influencing parameters:
- For specialized dairy farms:
- The used race: survey of the most important cattle races and their qualities; evolution and internationalization and practical consequences of this evolution
- The cattle production policy and the organization the cattle selection and improvement
- Augmentation of the milk production capacity, selection and removal, productive lifetime of the animals, reproduction problems, mastitis, problems with legs and hooves, metabolism diseases (milk fever, ketosis, fat cow syndrome, abomasum displacement, acidosis and grass tetany), parasite diseases (ectoparasites, lungworms, gastro-intestinal worms, distomatose), manageability parameters, milk quality
- Management parameters for the rearing of heifers: mortality, eceability parameters, milk quality
- Management parameters fs (diarrhea, infection of the respiration system), prevention of calf diseases
- For specialized beef farms: production of white meat and red meat
Teaching Methods
- lectures - case studies - exercises - others
- individual presentations
Materials used
- teacher's course
- others
Study guidance
The student can always make an appointment.
Assessment
- Scoring system:
oral examination - assignments
Study costs
± 37 Euro
Lecturer(s)
Dirk FREMAUT
Karel D'HOOGHE
Language
Dutch
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