PrOPara - Tackling the parasitological challenges in organic ruminant farming practices

• Unité de recherche: OFAG
• Numéro de projet: 07.12_9
• Titre du projet anglais: PrOPara - Tackling the parasitological challenges in organic ruminant farming practices

Mots-clé (Allemand)

Endoparasiten,Wiederkäuer, biologische Landwirtschaft, alternative Parasitenbekämpfung

Mots-clé (Anglais)

endoparasites, ruminants, organic farming, alternative parasite control

Mots-clé (Français)

endoparasites, ruminants, agriculture biologique, contrôle de parasites alternatif

Description succincte (Anglais)

Parasitism is a major challenge to the health and welfare of organic livestock. This project we will evaluate available means to monitor and control endoparasites through a series of farm-based parasitological and socio-economical studies under organic conditions. The overall objective of this project is to generate information and tools that can be readily used by organic farmers to improve animal health and welfare, and thus to facilitate the implementation of alternative approaches to control parasitism. Participating countries are Denmark, France, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands und the UK.

Main activities

• assessing existing knowledge from research, development and benchmarking studies on parasite control, with on-farm trials
• associating novel data on disease prevalence with risk factors and control measures
• develop, refine and evaluate user friendly decision support tools
• performing cost-benefit analysis on control measures available for organic ruminants
• developing and deliver technical innovation to facilitate deployment of sustainable parasite control strategies

Objectifs du projet (Anglais)

The consortium will engage with stakeholders beyond the academic community, farmers and advisors at a first stage and standard-setting organisations, EC and national decision-makers at a later stage, to promote awareness and knowledge and to further explore the wider societal implications of the research work. One of the desired outcomes will be a reduction in the use of commercial drugs for helminthosis control, which will have a positive impact on the environment and slow down the development of anthelmintic resistance. Project innovations will also improve sustainability of organic ruminant production, which has positive implications in improving farming income, and as a consequence human welfare and cultural development of rural communities. To ensure a significant impact on this, a specific work package dedicated to cost-benefit and farmers’ acceptance analysis has been included to identify approaches that will facilitate the wide deployment of integrated strategies by organic ruminant farmers.

Publications / Résultats (Anglais)

• The factors that affect the risk of infection with liver fluke (Fasciola) were evaluated in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Lithuania. The analysis revealed similar risk factors in the various EU countries including grazing on wet areas or having access to surface water, co-grazing of animals in different production groups. The methods used to diagnose fluke in the different countries inlcuded ELISA, coprodiagnostics and liver condemnation data. In Denmark, in a study that included 70% of all organic dairy herds in the country, liver fluke prevalence was estimated at 48%. In Germany an additional analysis was performed to identify risk factors specific for organic dairy herds (via comparing them with conventional herds), which did not reveal any risk factors specific for organic farms; despite that organic herds had significant higher prevalence of liver fluke compared to conventional ones indicating that the extended grazing periods in organic herds may be associated with higher prevalence in these herds. In Lithuania, prevalence of small liver fluke (Paramphistomum) was 47%. Only 10% of sheep farms were infected with Fasciola. In the NL, blood antibody analysis revealed that liver fluke prevalence was between 9-32% in the different age groups in the 26 farms that were visited.
• Evaluation of alternatives to gastrointestinal nematodes control took place in the UK, France, and Sweden. In the UK on-farm trials were performed, where alternative strategies of gastrointestinal parasite control were tested by organic sheep farmers. Soya supplementation reduced parasite counts in lactating ewes, whereas the use of weight loss as a proxy for the level of parasitism (TST) did not appear to be associated with the levels of parasitism. In France, we evaluated the relationship between farmer’s perception on the level of parasitism and scientific criteria in goat farms. This procedure took place in both experimental and commercial farms and under mixed parasite challenge. The main results indicated that goat farmers have their own specific criteria that they follow to identify animals that require drenching (such as loss of milk production, bad hair appearance and body condition), but did include some criteria proposed by the scientists. In Sweden a grazing trial which aimed to determine the resilience (ability of the animal to maintain productivity under parasitic challenge) of dairy breeds subjected to gastrointestinal parasites has been performed. The results from this grazing trial supported the view that the impact of GIN parasitism appeared to be more severe in the crossbred cattle compared to pure dairy first season grazers. The evaluation of the use of automated animal weight recordings as a proxy for the level of parasitism in cattle showed that it was not possible to obtain reliable recordings under these grazing conditions
• The analysis of the questionnaires on the status quo of helminth control practices in organic ruminant farms by FiBL, CH provided a comprehensive overview of GIN-control of organic ruminant farms across Europe. The survey allowed a better understanding of barriers to adoption of innovations. The modelling and farmer feedback in workshops showed that control of GIN needs to be farm specific, to suit the individual characteristics of both the farm but also the beliefs of the farmer.
• The electronic application that would enable the farmers to evaluate the risk of liver fluke on their animals and drench based on that was developed and tested on farm. The app was considered user friendly. Questions about content and knowledge transfer through the app resulted in high to moderate approval regarding newly acquired knowledge about the parasite, its intermediate host, and possible control strategies. Most of the farmers said that by gaining insights from using the app, they were changing their management in order to control liver fluke in their animals. For all app-using farmers the range of topics turned out to be meaningful, in order to be able to grasp and comprehend the whole parasitic problem. Some farmers would have liked some more information for instance on complementary therapeutics for the treatment of liver fluke.