SCIP – Sound Cow Innovation Programme

Introduction

Lameness is a painful condition, which compromises cow welfare, reduces longevity, and reduces fertility and milk production. The negative impact of lameness on production efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions is also recognised. In addition, the treatment of many cases of lameness with antimicrobials is a potential contributor to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

A recent Irish study found an average of10.9% of cows lame per herd with a lameness prevalence of 15 – 32% recorded for the worst performing 20% of herds. Annually, lameness is estimated to cost Irish farmers €129.4 million.

In response, members of the Hoof HealthCheck Technical Working Group came together as an Operational Group (OG) and were successful in obtaining DAFM funding under the European Innovation Partnership programme for the Sound Cow Innovation Programme (SCIP).

Building on national and international research and experience, and harnessing the strengths of the organisations and members of the OG, SCIP is working closely with a cohort of dairy farmers to demonstrate a co-ordinated, innovative, and local approach to managing dairy cow lameness and promoting an excellent standard of animal welfare in Ireland.

Approach

SCIP is taking a step-by-step approach to managing dairy cow lameness. Key elements of this include:

  1. A stakeholder-driven to ensure that key deliverables are relevant, valuable and usable to the target end-users.
  2. The regular performance, and recording, of mobility scoring (MS), with follow-up visits by hoof trimmers and vets.
  3. The regular performance and review of a lameness risk assessment and management plan (LAMP).
  4. Maximisation of digital recording, data integration and interpretation and increasing the reliability of genetic evaluations.
  5. If SCIP is demonstrated to be successful, its wider adoption as a national initiative will be explored.

Aims and objectives

  1. To develop and pilot a holistic lameness monitoring and control programme for dairy herds, adopting a multi-disciplinary, local, farmer-centric approach.
  2. During the lifetime of the programme, through dissemination activities, to promote the wider adoption by farmers and service providers of the resources developed for mobility scoring, risk assessment and uptake of digital solutions for data recording and use by farmers, hoof trimmers and vets.
  3. To assess the costs and benefits of the programme and its impact on the economic, social and environmental sustainability of participating herds with a view to developing it as an industry standard.
  4. To establish the necessary data collection systems and pathways to facilitate the assessment of the genetic component of lameness and using the data generated to progress toward incorporation of this into relevant breeding indices.

Technical Working Group

The following organisations/individuals are part of the TWG which is delivering the programme.

  1. Michelle McGrath – Animal Health Ireland
  2. Dr Muireann Conneely (Chair) – Teagasc
  3. Eoghan Byrne – Farm Relief Services
  4. Ger Cusack – Comeragh Veterinary Clinic
  5. Ned Dunphy – Farm Relief Services / Irish Cattle Hoof Trimmers Association
  6. Patrick Gowing – Teagasc
  7. James Maher – Teagasc
  8. Padraig O’Sullivan – Irish Cattle Breeding Federation
  9. Stephanie Ronan – Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
  10. Associate Professor Eoin Ryan – University College Dublin School of Veterinary Medicine
  11. Joris Somers – Tirlan

Lameness Videos