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

Heleen Prinsen*, Huifang Deng, Dick Heederik, Jaap A Wagenaar, David C Speksnijder, Wietske Dohmen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1422756
Number of pages8
JournalFrontiers in Veterinary Science
Volume11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2024 Prinsen, Deng, Heederik, Wagenaar, Speksnijder and Dohmen.

Funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by Netherlands Organization for Research and Development ZonMW (contract no. 541001011), LTO Noord Projecten (contract no. 18.35), Stuurgroep Landbouw Innovatie Brabant (contract no. 18-23, 20-15, 21-16), and Producenten Organisatie Varkenshouderij (POV). DAS:The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found at: https://doi.org/10.24416/UU01-RF2V6X.r The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by Netherlands Organization for Research and Development ZonMW (contract no. 541001011), LTO Noord Projecten (contract no. 18.35), Stuurgroep Landbouw Innovatie Brabant (contract no. 18-23, 20-15, 21-16), and Producenten Organisatie Varkenshouderij (POV).

FundersFunder number
Netherlands Organization for Research and Development ZonMW541001011
LTO Noord Projecten18.35
Stuurgroep Landbouw Innovatie Brabant18-23, 20-15

    Keywords

    • antimicrobial use
    • biosecurity
    • coaching
    • intervention
    • management team
    • pig farms
    • vaccination

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