PROJECT NAME:
Tracking and Treatment of Foot Disease in Dairy Cows
PROJECT LEADERS:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kürşad YİĞİTARSLAN, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail KIRBAŞ
PROJECT TOPIC:
In modern animal husbandry, technology is utilized to reduce costs and control situations that can cause economic damage to ensure profitability. Research is conducted to reduce production and disease costs. Among the primary issues that businesses combat, foot diseases, especially common in dairy cows, rank high. Foot diseases cause significant economic damage by reducing animal welfare, having high treatment costs, causing substantial milk loss, reducing calf yield, and leading to early separation of the animal from the herd. The symptom of foot diseases in animals is lameness. Lameness treatment is costly. Due to the use of antibiotics in treatment, the milk obtained during the treatment period is discarded. Lameness causes disruptions in the animals' estrus period. Therefore, regular calf acquisition is not possible. If treatment is delayed, the animal may need to be sent for slaughter. Due to these reasons, businesses suffer serious economic losses, and profitability decreases.
When examining the damages of lameness, it is seen that it causes serious economic losses. Another situation to be examined in combating diseases is the frequency of occurrence. When examined in terms of frequency of occurrence, lameness is among the top three diseases. Additionally, it is understood from research and field studies that some foot diseases carry the risk of being contagious. The most effective and easiest way to combat lameness is early diagnosis of the disease and effective treatment.
Pure ozonoid therapy has been suggested as an effective treatment method for lameness. Within the scope of the project, successful results were obtained by applying the treatment method to lame animals in field studies. Pure ozonoid therapy does not cause milk loss as it does not require the use of antibiotics. This aspect of the treatment prevents economic losses.
An Artificial Intelligence Supported Lameness Scoring System has been developed to detect lameness. Movement measurements are taken and analyzed with two devices attached to the hind legs of dairy cows that do not disturb the animal.
Within the scope of the project; a mobile measurement device was developed for the early detection of lameness, the first indicator of foot diseases causing economic losses in animals, and foot diseases were treated without the use of antibiotics by applying pure ozonoid therapy to cows detected with lameness. With the mobile measurement device developed within the scope of the project, both early detection of lameness and shortening of the treatment period were achieved, and the recovery rate in treatment was increased. It was understood from field studies that with the Artificial Intelligence Supported Lameness Scoring System developed within the scope of this project, lameness can be detected in the early stages of the disease, and a success rate of 85% was achieved.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE:
In this context, our goals in the project are;
Aim 1: Minimizing potential economic losses in businesses through early diagnosis and effective treatment of foot diseases.
Aim 2: Creating a healthy breeding environment by increasing animal welfare with artificial intelligence-supported mobile solutions and pure ozonoid therapy.
Aim 3: Preventing milk loss and increasing the quality of animal products by reducing the use of antibiotics thanks to pure ozonoid therapy.
Aim 4: Preventing lame animals from going to slaughter with early diagnosis and effective treatment, creating a sustainable animal breeding model.
Aim 5: Accelerating the treatment process by detecting lameness in the early stages of the disease with the Artificial Intelligence Supported Lameness Scoring System.
Aim 6: Shortening the treatment period and increasing the recovery rate by ensuring early diagnosis of lameness with the developed mobile measurement device.
Aim 7: Creating a more sustainable model by raising standards in the sector through the integration of innovative technologies into the animal breeding sector.
In conclusion, the main objective of the project is to increase animal welfare and minimize economic losses in businesses by effectively controlling and treating foot diseases.
REGIONAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE PROJECT:
Dairy farming in Turkey is an important component of the agricultural sector and is widely practiced in different regions of the country. Dairy farming is carried out both in large-scale industrial farms and small-scale family businesses. The dairy production and dairy farming sector in the country is an important sector for providing income to farmers, ensuring food security, and supporting economic development. The economy of Burdur province is largely based on agriculture and animal husbandry, and approximately two-thirds of the population works in these sectors. The economy consists of 40% livestock activities based on milk production and supporting plant production. Burdur has over 200,000 cattle, 98% of which are of cultural breed, and ranks 10th in Turkey with daily milk production exceeding 1000 tons.
Foot diseases seen in cattle are quite common and negatively affect animal welfare, causing significant economic losses in the national and regional dairy industry. Therefore, the tracking and treatment of foot diseases in cattle are of great importance.
Early diagnosis and effective treatment of foot diseases can increase the economic profitability of livestock businesses in the region. The mobile measurement device and artificial intelligence-supported system offered by this project allow farmers to detect foot diseases at an early stage and intervene quickly, shortening treatment processes. This minimizes milk and animal losses and reduces the costs of businesses.
At the same time, the project strengthens the local livestock sector by supporting farmers and breeders to manage their work more efficiently. The Artificial Intelligence Supported Lameness Scoring System promotes the integration of modern technology into livestock businesses. Thus, livestock businesses in the region can gain a competitive advantage and create a more sustainable structure.
Pure ozonoid therapy does not require the use of antibiotics in the treatment of foot diseases. This prevents the milk obtained during the treatment process from being discarded and contributes to reducing antibiotic resistance. Thus, livestock businesses in the region both protect animal health and contribute to environmental sustainability.
The developed mobile measurement device and artificial intelligence-supported system provide the integration of technological innovation into local livestock businesses. This allows farmers to focus more effectively and efficiently on animal health while also strengthening the technological infrastructure of the region.
The project ensures the sustainability of healthy and productive animals by increasing animal welfare. Early diagnosis and effective treatment of foot diseases increase the quality of life of animals and support the long-term success of businesses.
SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE PROJECT:
This project offers a solution for the early diagnosis and effective treatment of foot diseases, which is one of the significant problems encountered in modern animal husbandry. This solution aims to both increase animal welfare by reducing the pain and discomfort caused by foot diseases such as lameness and contribute to the food supply and economic stability of society by increasing the economic sustainability of businesses.
Foot diseases seen in cattle not only negatively affect animal welfare but also cause significant economic losses in the dairy industry. When examining diseases seen in animals in general, it has been determined that foot diseases rank third after infertility and mastitis. The biggest indicator of foot diseases is lameness.
Lameness is one of the leading problems in the dairy industry. Lameness has many economic damages such as reduced milk production, treatment costs, discarded milk due to antibiotic use during treatment, reduced body carcass weight, early separation from the herd, and death. It is estimated that lameness causes an average milk loss of 360 kg per animal in a lactation period, excluding the milk discarded during the treatment period. Additionally, since lameness causes weight loss in the animal, the reduction in carcass meat weight in slaughter animals reflects as a loss to the producer. The decrease in reproductive efficiency, reduced milk production, and increased culling rate due to lameness in farms are low-performance factors.
The lifespan of the animal directly affects profitability in the dairy industry. Profitability from an animal begins when it reaches the fourth lactation period. Therefore, breeders try to acquire animals that do not have mastitis and lameness diseases and provide sufficient quality milk. Breeders expect to obtain calves from the animal for at least six lactation periods. Besides, no income is obtained from the animal until the first birth. The separation of the animal due to lameness causes serious economic losses. Even if lameness is treated, economic losses such as welfare losses in the animal and delays in the estrus period are experienced. Lameness ranks high among the causes of economic loss and also ranks high in terms of frequency of occurrence.
With the diagnostic and treatment methods developed in the project;
• Assisting veterinarians in detecting foot diseases in animals,
• Reducing animal losses with early diagnosis,
• Reducing economic losses and increasing animal welfare with early treatment,
• Recording the movements of animals and providing a source for different studies by being interpreted by experts in veterinary science,
• Contributing to the national economy in technical terms and encouraging the production of domestic devices can be achieved.
• This project can contribute to the food supply security and economic continuity of society by increasing economic sustainability and making businesses more profitable.
• Reducing the use of antibiotics can reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance emerging during the milk production process. Additionally, not discarding milk thanks to this treatment method can reduce environmental impacts.
• The project sets an important example for the use of technology in the field of animal health with the Artificial Intelligence Supported Lameness Scoring System. This can contribute to increasing the use of technology in the agricultural sector and the adoption of innovative solutions in this field by society.
• The project promotes education and information sharing for those working in the field of animal husbandry and other stakeholders. This can increase the level of knowledge in the sector. At the same time, it encourages innovation in the agricultural sector and can create employment in the sector by offering solutions based on new technologies.