Developing a model to promote caretaker confidence and communication in treatment decisions for dairy cattle through case studies.

The significant role of dairy caretakers in maintaining animal welfare on dairy farms emphasizes the necessity of appropriate training and education to ensure the implementation of practices that promote good animal welfare. This study explored the potential of case-based learning as a novel approach to training for dairy caretakers by investigating dairy caretakers' perspectives on case study discussions. Additionally, this study sought to understand thoughts and feelings of caretakers during case study discussions to help identify information that caretakers use to evaluate cases and make decisions. Two case studies were developed and presented to participants, and thematic analysis of case study discussion transcripts was performed. Pre- and post-training questionnaires for 21 caretakers (n = 21) were summarized. The study found that caretaker reactions to case studies were generally positive. Thematic analysis revealed that caretakers use previous knowledge to make treatment decisions for cattle, and valued discussion with coworkers. The results of this study suggest the need for further investigation into the use of case studies and other activities that provide opportunities for critical thinking as training opportunities on dairy farms.

A nationwide survey on producer and veterinarian perceptions of the painfulness of procedures and disease states in dairy and beef cattle.

Failure to adequately manage pain in cattle causes suffering and is thus a welfare concern for the livestock industry. The objectives of this study were to summarize caregiver perceptions of the painfulness of various procedures and disease conditions in cattle. This survey also assessed factors that impact the perception of painfulness and determined relationships between pain perception and mitigation in producers and veterinarians in the United States beef and dairy cattle industries. An online survey was distributed via organization listservs and social media groups representing beef and dairy veterinarians and producers. The survey included questions about respondent demographics and pain perception and frequency of pain mitigation use for a variety of common husbandry procedures and disease conditions in cattle less than 2 months, 2-12 months, and greater than 12 months of age. Descriptive statistics were generated, and ordinal logistic regressions were used to assess the relationship between perceived pain level, frequency of pain mitigation use, and respondent demographic factors (e.g., gender, age, and role). There was a relatively low percentage of respondents that identified there was "no pain" associated with the listed procedures and conditions. Across the majority of procedures and conditions and cattle age categories, men perceived procedures to be less painful than women (P < 0.05). Veterinarians and producer-veterinarians perceived procedures to be more painful than producers (P < 0.05) for the majority of procedures and conditions. There were some differences identified between respondent age groups in pain perception but the trends were not consistent across procedures and conditions. There was a significant positive linear trend, with greater perceived pain associated with greater likelihood of providing local and systemic analgesia for all procedures and conditions across all cattle age categories (P ≤ 0.02). Perception of pain is complex and multifactorial, and it influences the likelihood to treat pain in cattle. This research highlighted the importance of understanding how these factors may play a role in increasing the use of pain mitigation within the beef and dairy industries.

Frequency of disagreements between producers and veterinarians about pain management in cattle.

Pain management is a key element of ensuring animal welfare. Although the opinions of both producers and veterinarians affect decisions about the use of pain mitigation on cattle operations, little is known about how they communicate about this topic. Given the importance of a veterinary-client-patient relationship for developing pain mitigation protocols, understanding the communication between veterinarians and producers is key to the implementation of robust, industry-wide pain management protocols. The objectives of this survey were to understand how producers and veterinarians may respond to disagreements about pain mitigation and to determine where respondents obtain their knowledge about pain recognition and treatment. Results presented herein are part of a larger study previously described. An online survey was distributed to 6 cattle industry groups. Surveys that were >80% complete were included for analysis (n = 1,066). Approximately half of the respondents identified as producers (497, 46.6%) and half as veterinarians (569, 53.4%). The majority of producers believed that disagreements about the use of pain management in cattle never affected their relationship with their veterinarians (349, 70.2%). The veterinarian respondents indicated more disagreements, although the frequency was relatively low, with 43.9% (250) indicated having a disagreement less than once a year. Most producers and veterinarians indicated they were either "extremely unlikely" or "somewhat unlikely" to dissolve the relationship completely if disagreements about pain management arose (veterinarians: 398/569, 70%; producers: 294/497, 59.1%). Veterinarians and producers reported gaining their knowledge about pain recognition from a variety of sources including personal experience and continuing education opportunities. Disagreements about pain mitigation occurred infrequently; however, this could be due to few discussions about pain management in general. These results indicated that there is opportunity for veterinarians to engage with their producers in more discussions about pain management.

A preliminary exploration of the impact of experiential learning on animal science undergraduates' perceptions of humane stunning and slaughter.

It is essential to educate students about humane slaughter as it is a critical component of livestock production, particularly for animal science students who represent future stakeholders in agriculture. There is limited research about the effects of experiential learning on student comfort in participating in education regarding sensitive, yet important topics in the animal sciences. A survey was developed to investigate how a teaching module using an experiential learning activity to teach undergraduates about the slaughter process affected student perceptions of stunning and slaughter. Students enrolled in an animal science course, in which live animals and carcasses are evaluated, were surveyed before and after a teaching module. The module included a lecture about proper stunning and a laboratory activity in which the students had the opportunity to shoot a captive bolt stunner on both model and carcass heads. Respondents completed a pre-survey, attended the laboratory activity, and completed a post-survey; 29 survey responses were recorded. Most respondents were women (23, 79.3%) between the ages of 18 and 21 years (25, 86.2%) and in their first year of college (11, 37.9%). The majority of respondents (22, 75.9%) reported using the captive bolt stunner to stun the model heads during the laboratory activity. After participating in the module, all students strongly agreed that "stunning" is a critical component of livestock slaughter (29, 100%) and most agreed that "stunning is a humane process that ensures animal welfare during the slaughter process" (25, 86.2%). The majority of respondents strongly agreed that the "humane stunning simulation was beneficial to their learning about livestock slaughter" (21, 72.4%) and "improved their understanding of slaughter" (16, 55.2%). Almost all of the survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that "the model heads and captive bolt demonstration made them more comfortable with the slaughter process" (14, 48.3%; 14, 48.3%, respectively). This research suggests that experiential learning opportunities are potentially effective teaching strategies for educating undergraduates about the slaughter process. Future research should focus on practical ways to integrate new teaching methods into existing animal science curricula, as this will be critical for educating students on important topics in livestock production and increasing student comfort with sensitive material.

A Nationwide Survey of Animal Science Students' Perceptions of Animal Welfare across Different Animal Categories at Institutions in the United States.

Animal welfare is an increasingly important topic across multiple academic disciplines; however, few studies have investigated student perceptions of animal welfare outside of veterinary medicine. The objective of the study was to evaluate animal science students' perceptions of animal welfare to determine if perceptions differ across animal categories. An online survey was distributed to animal science programs at institutions across the United States. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed on 624 responses. Almost all respondents agreed welfare was important for all animal categories (≥97%). The survey asked respondents to rate the level of importance of 12 welfare parameters and there was evidence that the level of importance differed by animal category (p < 0.0001), e.g., fewer respondents indicated having positive interactions with humans was important for agricultural animals. In a subset of questions about agricultural animals, fewer respondents agreed that swine (325, 52.1%) and poultry (268, 43.0%) are raised with an appropriate level of welfare compared to dairy (425, 68.1%) and beef cattle (421, 67.5%). Four free-response questions asked respondents to report their general perceptions of welfare. Thematic analysis identified multiple themes, such as basic needs and human interaction, with most responses (75%) including two or more themes.

Assessing the effect of case-based teaching compared with lecture-based teaching on students' knowledge and perceptions in a senior undergraduate dairy cattle management course.

Animal science students need to apply the knowledge acquired during their degree program to real-life scenarios in future careers. Little to no research exists evaluating the effects of case-based (CB; material presented as a case study) and lecture-based (LB; material presented as a lecture) teaching in animal science in higher education. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of CB and LB teaching methods on student performance and to assess students' attitudes toward CB and LB teaching methods in a senior dairy cattle management course. A cross-over study design was conducted over two course modules (1 = "calf health" and 2 = "lameness") with a washout period of 2 wk. Students (n = 25) were randomly assigned to CB or to LB in module 1 and received the other method in module 2. Students completed a pre- and post-quiz in each module that consisted of 10 multiple-choice questions and 3 short-answer questions. Three separate linear mixed regression models were used to assess the effect of teaching method (CB or LB; predictor) on three different continuous outcomes for student performance: change (post-score - pre-score) in short-answer quiz scores, change in multiple-choice quiz scores, and the change in total quiz scores. Students completed an attitude assessment after each module that consisted of 8 Likert-scale statements and 2 free-response questions. Data were deidentified, and two researchers blinded to students' CB or LB status analyzed free responses to identify themes. A logistic regression, which controlled for module and included student as a repeated measure, was used to determine if the proportion of students who agreed (outcome: yes/no) with each Likert-scale statement was different between CB and LB. There was a tendency for CB teaching methods to improve change in multiple-choice quiz scores (P = 0.06). The change in total quiz scores and the change in short-answer quiz scores did not differ between CB and LB groups (P > 0.1). For the survey statements "I enjoyed the teaching method used in this module" and "I wish this teaching method was utilized in more of my classes," more students in LB agreed than in CB (P < 0.05). The themes preference, perceived benefits, and perceived drawbacks were mentioned in 80%, 44%, and 28% of CB comments, and in 84%, 40%, and 18% of LB comments, respectively, and suggest that students enjoy case studies but prefer to receive information via lecture first.

Preliminary Exploration of Weekly Peer Group Discussions as a Strategy for Coping with Feelings Associated with Euthanasia in Dairy Caretakers.

Dairy caretakers experience a variety of occupational risks including stress related to performing euthanasia and making euthanasia-related decisions for cattle in their care. Few supportive interventions exist to help caretakers cope with euthanasia-related stress. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of weekly peer discussion sessions as an intervention to reduce euthanasia-related stress and grief in dairy caretakers. This study utilized scores from a modified pet-based bereavement questionnaire to assess the change in bereavement of caretakers in response to euthanasia-related stress in a non-treatment group (who did not attend peer discussion sessions, n = 7) and a treatment group (who attended peer discussion sessions, n = 15). Key findings of this study were that discussion sessions did not have a direct impact on the study outcomes as measured using a pet bereavement scale, as there was no difference in the change in bereavement scores during the 8 week study period between the treatment and non-treatment groups. Thematic analysis of peer discussions revealed that compassion towards dairy cattle is a prominent factor in areas of decision making, protocols, and training. Further studies should continue to explore how performing euthanasia and making euthanasia-related decisions impacts caretakers and what supportive interventions can reduce stress and grief.

Perceptions of animal welfare and animal welfare curricula offered for undergraduate and graduate students in animal science departments in the United States.

While perceptions of animal welfare have been assessed in veterinary students and students internationally, there remains a gap in research concerning undergraduate and graduate student perspectives of animal welfare in animal science programs at colleges and universities across the United States. A survey was developed to assess current animal science student perspectives of the importance of animal welfare as part of their education, their knowledge of available educational opportunities, and resources they think should be included in animal welfare curricula. An online survey was distributed to a national listserv of university administrators of animal science programs in the United States. A total of 624 survey responses were statistically summarized. Most respondents were undergraduate students (78.0%, n = 487), between the ages of 18 and 24 (85.9%, n = 536), and female (86.1%, n = 537). Results indicated that despite most respondents not taking an animal welfare course previously (60.7%, n = 379), most students strongly agreed that the inclusion of an animal welfare course is an important part of the animal science curriculum (72.0%, n = 449), that animal welfare is an important component of their education (63.1%, n = 394), and that animal welfare courses would be helpful for their future careers (70.0%, n = 437). When asked what attributes would be most important in an animal welfare class, students identified many different types of information and resources. The majority of respondents answered that discussing current hot topics in animal welfare (76.1%, n = 475), ethical discussions (76.0%, n = 474), and practical, applied questions (75.3%, n = 470) were important course components. Suggestions for future research include investigating how animal science student perceptions change before and after taking an animal welfare course and exploring opportunities to expand formal welfare education in animal science departments. Inclusion of animal welfare into the curriculum is critical as many of the students currently enrolled in animal science departments will become the future stakeholders in animal-focused industries.

Personal exposure of dairy workers to dust, endotoxin, muramic acid, ergosterol, and ammonia on large-scale dairies in the high plains Western United States.

Dairy workers experience a high degree of bioaerosol exposure, composed of an array of biological and chemical constituents, which have been tied to adverse health effects. A better understanding of the variation in the magnitude and composition of exposures by task is needed to inform worker protection strategies. To characterize the levels and types of exposures, 115 dairy workers grouped into three task categories on nine farms in the high plains Western United States underwent personal monitoring for inhalable dust, endotoxin, 3-hydroxy fatty acids (3-OHFA), muramic acid, ergosterol, and ammonia through one work shift. Eighty-nine percent of dairy workers were exposed to endotoxin at concentrations exceeding the recommended exposure guidelines (adjusted for a long work shift). The proportion of workers with exposures exceeding recommended guidelines was lower for inhalable dust (12%), and ammonia (1%). Ergosterol exposures were only measurable on 28% of samples, primarily among medical workers and feed handlers. Milking parlor workers were exposed to significantly higher inhalable dust, endotoxin, 3-OHFA, ammonia, and muramic acid concentrations compared to workers performing other tasks. Development of large modern dairies has successfully made progress in reducing worker exposures and lung disease prevalence. However, exposure to endotoxin, dust, and ammonia continues to present a significant risk to worker health on North American dairies, especially for workers in milking parlors. This study was among the first to concurrently evaluate occupational exposure to assayable endotoxin (lipid A), 3-hydroxy fatty acids or 3-OHFA (a chemical measure of cell bound and noncell-bound endotoxins), muramic acid, ergosterol, and ammonia among workers on Western U.S. dairies. There remains a need for cost-effective, culturally acceptable intervention strategies integrated in OHS Risk Management and production systems to further optimize worker health and farm productivity.