News cattle farming
'High calf mortality is a major problem in the Netherlands'
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has conducted an investigation into calf mortality in the Netherlands. This shows, among other things, that an average of 1 in 8 calves dies within 2 weeks.
The NVWA states, among other things, that the calf mortality on 1.200 farms is (very) high; this concerns both cattle farmers and dairy farmers. The research also shows that on the designated farms 1 in 5 calves die within 2 weeks. This is often a result of overdue care or the habitat of the calves.
When we look at the averages in the Netherlands, it appears that 1 in 8 calves dies within 2 weeks. The NVWA says that 5.547 companies (out of 16.793 companies) score below average. The values for the other companies exceed this, although the NVWA does say that this does not immediately mean that the situation is good.
'Farmer has too little time'
Frank van Eerdenburg, lecturer in veterinary medicine at the University of Utrecht, reports at RTL News that the Netherlands scores poorly compared to other countries. "Research shows that 1 dairy farmer should be able to handle 80 cows, but today there are also farms with 120 or 130 cows. Then the priority is not with the calves, and things go wrong. As far as I'm concerned, it is a huge problem. "
Tim Roetman
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