An Australian researcher is one of three scientists to receive a major grant through Bayer's new Care4Cattle program.
The three recipients were announced during Bayer's Future Farming Dialogue being held in Germany and the Netherlands this week.
Dr Dominique van der Saag was selected for her research into novel ways in which calves can self-administer pain relief after husbandry practices such as de-horning or castration.
Together with her team of five scientists, Dr van der Saag uses medicated lick blocks to provide a constant level of pain relief in a way that limits the handling of the cattle, therefore improving welfare outcomes.
“Whilst studying my bachelor in animal and veterinary bioscience at the University of Sydney, my interest in livestock and animal well-being really grew,” she said.
“I began to see how improvement of livestock welfare through the use of pain relief was extremely important.
"The repeated handling and treatment of animals can be detrimental to their well-being so self-administration of analgesia, through for example, medicated lick blocks, has the potential for extended pain relief at the same time as reducing the stress these animals may feel.”
Dr van der Saag said that in many countries, it was not mandatory to use anesthesia or analgesia for painful procedures performed on cattle.
“However, there has been a shift in recent years, with producers wanting to take on pain relief practices so long as they are feasible to implement,” she said.
“This is the first step towards something that could be much bigger. Currently there are no practical options for long-lasting analgesia in livestock, which is necessary not only for surgical husbandry procedures but many painful conditions."
“If we can show it has the potential to be effective, this could be a strategy to improve cattle well-being. We would really like to see this grow into something bigger.
“For me, cattle well-being is very important and something that I think most people really value. Addressing animal welfare issues is not only important for cattle well-being but also the sustainability of dairy and beef industries.”
The Care4Cattle initiative was launched by Bayer in March this year and attracted more than 100 entries across 37 nations. Each of the three winning projects will receive grants worth 30,000 EUR or just under A$50,000.
The initiative aims to recognise and support forward thinking livestock professionals who have created new ways to advance beef and dairy cattle well-being.
The second recipient of the funding prize was Professor Mateus Paranhos da Costa who has studies the effects of different weaning methods on beef calves.
Based in Brazil, Prof Paranhos da Costa's project will monitor the weight gain of calves under different weaning methods to determin the impact on overall well-being.
Ultimatly the team aims to be able to recommend appropriate weaning approaches for the benefit of the animals.
"The weaning method commonly used on beef cattle farms in Brazil has a negative impact on the well-being and producitivity of cows and calves," she said.
"With this project we aim to study the short and long-term effects of alternative weaning methods on cow-calf well-being and post weaning performance."
The final winning submission was from Reuben Newsome from The Cattle Lameness Academy in the United Kingdom.
That team plans to use the funding to create a modular training platform using videos, where they can help support farmers in dealing with the rising threat of lameness.
The tool will aim to empower farmers and help them detect problems around lameness early, and equip them with the necessary know-how and practical support in order to address it.
“The future of lameness in cattle is very worrying and it has to change, for the benefit of cattle well-being and farm productivity,” Mr Newsome said.
“We hope to provide farmers with the knowledge and expertise to address and overcome the challenge of lameness, therefore maintaining their place in sustainable agriculture.”
