A NON-NEGOTIABLE DETERMINANT OF FARM LONGEVITY

Resilience is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties.” As a high school student in a physics class, resilience was demonstrated with an elastic band to show the impact of tension on the elasticity (ability to return to its original shape after stretching it), plasticity (permanent distortion when it is stretched beyond the elastic limit), and break point (“the point of no return”) of that band. But in the real world, resilience goes beyond stretching an elastic band. It entails adapting, learning, re-strategizing where necessary, and growing in response to a stress event. Furthermore, being proactive and putting measures in place to mitigate against damages of future events.

Narrowing this down to the dairy industry, it relates to both the animal and the farmer. For the animal, resilience determines how it can recover from environmental, pathological, physical, or other stressors, and for the farmer, it shows their capability to rebound from the economic, psychological, and other effects as a result of such stressors.

The American Dairy Science Association Discover Conference that was held on May 5-8 in Itasca, Illinois, was centered on the theme: "Dairy Cow Resilience: Mitigating Stress Impacts to Welfare, Health, and Production." It was a rich discussion on how resilience can be attained holistically, and below are some of my takeaways:

It is never too early to start: building resilience in our animals should start as early as possible, from conception, through the dry period, to parturition, and calf management. Studies have shown how the management and health of the dam affects the survivability of the calf. More critically, the management of the newborn calf goes a long way to determine its survival, longevity, and other production outcomes. Recommendations include abating heat stress during the prenatal period, adhering to the 5Qs of colostrum management (Quality, Quantity, sQueaky clean, Quickness, and Quantify), encouraging adequate milk and starter feed intake, hygienic housing, and proper disease/health management. By starting early, potential issues are minimized, and the calves are well equipped to become highly productive cows that can withstand foreseen or unforeseen challenges.

Paying attention to financial risks: four important questions that should be answered are- What are the financial risks that the farm is bound to face? How likely are they to occur? How much damage are they going to have on the farm’s financial position if they happen? How can the farm tackle them when they happen? Doing this will help the farm’s decision makers to allocate sufficient resources to handle any perceived threats. A comprehensive evaluation of the financial standing of a farm can be quite technical, so, I think having a finance professional to review the farm’s financial records periodically can facilitate this.

Consider the farmers too: the ripple effect of adverse agricultural incidents on farmers’ mental (and even physical) health and wellbeing should not be underestimated. More avenues should be created for farmers to get help to navigate such distressing situations. The Canadian Center for Agricultural Wellbeing (website: https://ccaw.ca/) is a good model that can be used in other locations/communities to provide support that is tailored to the unique needs of farmers.

The recurring issue of labor: this relates to both external labor and farm succession. This may be a quite sensitive topic knowing that there are several factors connected to it like immigration policies, personal choices, and so on, however, planning in advance can forestall a farm labor shortage situation in the future.

The role of genetics: genetics is an important tool in developing resilience through the selection of desirable traits like disease resistance, disease tolerance, and thermotolerance, and continuous progress in genomic advancement.

With the current trends and future projections of climate change, national and global macro-economic outlook, labor availability, dynamic consumer behaviors, etc., resilience should be given more attention by all players in the dairy industry to address these considerations and ensure the stability and sustainability of the industry.

We may not be able to quantify resilience as a concept on its own, but indicators like animal health and production, farmers’ wellbeing, farm finance, etc., can serve as pointers to the overall resilience of the farm.

— Gift Omoruyi

gomoruyi@whminer.com