Indicators for animal health on agroecological dairy farms

The agroecological transition, supported by European policies and strategies, can strengthen the sustainability and resilience of farming systems in the face of climate and socio-economic change challenges. This approach considers the farm as a key part of the ecosystem in which it is embedded. Thus, the farm contributes to regulate the health of the system, which is influenced by all the actors involved: environment, farm, productions. Making the most of these interactions and improving their level of health contributes to achieving the highest possible level of sustainability. The present research aims to identify a set of indicators to assess animal health on agroecological dairy farms, adopting a Global Health approach. 18 farms located in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Region (France) rearing dairy cows, goats, and sheep, were monitored over two years. Four rounds of on-site visits were conducted to carry out measurements on the animals (behaviour, nutritional and health status, milk parameters, parasitism). Two lists of animal health indicators were selected by combining statistical analysis on the collected data (Principal Component Analysis) with expert knowledge. For dairy cows, a list with 16 indicators related to animal health, housing, behaviour, feeding, production and reproduction was performed. For sheep and goats, another list with 16 indicators referring to animal health, housing, feeding and production was performed. These indicators were then evaluated on the 18 farms, to assess their level of health. On average, veterinary interventions were low (0.18/animal/year for cows and 0.07 for small ruminants), as was the incidence of lesions (8%), lameness (5%) and dirty animals (7%). However, small ruminants had higher levels of parasitism (Eimeria and Strongles) than dairy cows (Parampistome). Based on the results obtained, the selected indicators can contribute to the definition of agroecological practices within the farms and to the global assessment of their sustainability and resilience. Other farms located in similar territorial contexts (Italian Eastern Alps) will be involved in the network to validate the results.