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3.4. The Farm: It’s a Bug’s World

Course video 20 of 48

This week we will introduce the concept of the farm and each production system as an ecosystem in which animals and microbes live in mutualistic relationships, and explain the beneficial impact of ecologically managing the microbes alongside the animals to enhance host defense, animal health, and production efficiency.

Learn about the impact of infectious disease on sustainable animal-based food production by understanding the science of growth, immunity, and infection and by learning the problem-solving skills needed to advance animal health and food production through optimal management practices. There is a growing global need in agricultural production for a workforce that is capable of integrating knowledge of animal health and production with an understanding of consumer preferences in the context of economic reality, business efficiency, and ethical constraint. However, current evidence suggests that there is a growing shortage of people with the knowledge and problem-solving skills required to match the rapid advances being made in animal health, science, and food production. The results of this shortage are wide-ranging and could lead to challenges in food security and agricultural economic competitiveness in some countries. In this course we will explore the effect of infectious disease on sustainable animal-based food production. The content and learning outcomes of this new course will be designed to be relevant across different food production sectors (i.e., beef, dairy, poultry, and pigs). While the instructors will provide the participants with a strong scientific base for understanding the impact of infectious disease in animal-based food production, the emphasis of the material will be on practical problem-solving and will be directed towards equipping participants with a platform for developing the skills needed to contribute to sustainable food production.

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Disease Control, Animal, Nutrition, Animal Behavior

教學方

Dr. Jim Lowe, DVM, MS, Dip ABVP (Food Animal)
Associate Professor
Dr. Brian Aldridge, BVSc, MS, PhD, Dip ACVIM (Large Animal), MRCVS
Clinical Professor

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So Brian Aldridge from the University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine.

We've been talking about how the microbial populations in the body were established.

So we talked a lot about that perinatal period,

that period around calving, or around birth.

And we've understood that the in utero environment, the environment in the uterus

is essentially sterile, so the new born animal would

have no microbes on its skin, in its respiratory tract, in its mouth,

or its intestine if it didn't acquire it from it's environment.

We looked at how the birth process was important in that.

In how as the calf emerged, it picked up microbial populations

from the mother's reproductive tract, from the birth canal and from the vagina.

And then in the calving area, we saw how the calf and the cow would lick the calf.

And how the calf was spent quite a lot of time on the ground.

And how it would acquire some of the microbes from the immediate environment

into which it was born.

We then thought about how the calf would get

its microbial populations from its first milk from its colostrum.

And managementally how we handle that colostrum is really important in making

sure that the correct microbes in quantity and

quality are required by the newborn animal.

Now this animal has been born,

has received its colostrum has been in that both environment for a few hours.

And now, it's been transported to this large unit

where it will spend the next eight weeks of its life.

Now in this unit, there's probably 5,000 to 8,000 calves around us, but

this calf is isolated from the other animals even in this row, which contains

several hundred calf pens by this unit in which it will live.

And this outside unit, and this outside fence,

which really stops it from having direct contact with other calves.

So you can imagine a calf in isolation like this will have a different microbial

population that's one that put directly into a large group of calves.

But this is a good welfare environment because if the calf comes out,

it can see many other calves.

As you can hear, it can hear many other calves.

So it doesn't have the stress of separation and

isolation, even though there is some physical isolation,

which will in some way help us manage its microbial environment.

So this calf just came on a trailer, so

the trailer itself would be a source of some microbes.

As you can it was handled well, handled carefully,

handled gently, and placed in here.

But this now becomes its new ecosystem, this becomes where it

acquires new microbes, you can see here, the bedding used here is sand.

It's fresh sand, hasn't been used for anything else.

Now the previous calves that were in here have no direct or

indirect contact with this calf, because none of the manure from the previous

calves is left here, none of the saliva that the previous calves had is left here.

These units have been cleaned,

they've been hoofed, they've been sterilized, so none of those previous

microbes are minimal amount of microbes will reach this calf.

That's true of pathogens and ones that will give them disease.

And why is that important?

This calf is exquisitely sensitive to pathogens,

to the bad microbes, the disease causing microbes.

So this kind of system allows us to control the microbes that can become

established in this calf's body.

But the calf now as it adapts to this environment,

at the moment you can see the calf is just been transported and

is will be waiting to rest, hasn't been fed yet.

But this direct environment, and the feed that it receives through milk,

through grain and concentrate, through water,

will control what microbes become established in its body.

So we've looked at ideal calving environments where the calf is exposed to

an environment of the right temperature, the right humidity, and also of the right

hygiene and so it's dry and there's not excessive exposure to feces.

If we just show you a calf just for a moment,

where that might not be an ideal situation and where a calf is likely to develop

a different microbiome because they've been calve into a different environment.

So if you look at this calf here, this calf is covered in still the wet fluids,

and knows the carving fluids.

But also there's a lot of manure of cow feces on this calf as well.

You can see the calf is shivering.

And is using some of it's nutrients and some of it's energy resources

to maintain it's body temperature as well by the shivering process.

Now shivering is good, so

that's good to see the calf that's having a thermoregulatory response.

But the microbiome of this calf will be very, very different than a calf that's

born into a dry, and environment with low fecal exposure.

As we think about the microbial ecology on any of our farm premises and

our production systems,

those microbes are really important as we know in establishing the normal commensal

populations of the different organs systems in the animal, the microbiome.

But also in the circulation of pathogens around a premises or

between animals on a premises.

Now when we think about that microbiome and the pathogens, we have to think about

the ecosystem of the microbes in that farm, and one important aspect

of that is that actually the feces of the animals that are already in place.

The feces become a huge source of microbes to all of the other animals.

So really, animals on a premises are exchanging microbes

by being exposed to each other's feces.

So how do you control that?

Manegementally, it's a very, very important part of an efficient and

sustainable production system.

And you could think of any means,

any different ways of dealing with that manure load.

We want a normal, clean, hygienic environment, not no manure exposure.

Because that microbiome is also stimulating the immune system.

We want a low level of exposure, but

we don't want the immune system to be overwhelmed.

And we don't want too many pathogens.

And we don't want an unbalanced microbiome.

So taking care of the manure is very,

very important from a microbiological standpoint.

So you can think about a situation with a small herd or a small flock but

you might just be using a bucket and a shovel and you're just collecting

those feces and removing them from the animal environment at a regular interval.

But in a farm like these where there are thousands and thousands of cows, how do

you cope with the hundreds of thousands of gallons of manure produced each day.

This is one way in which this enterprise copes with that and

that's by using which is in essence a vacuum cleaner.

This is one of many that go around the farm and

clear the manure from the cow passages three times a day.

And you'll see from looking at the housing that the manure exposure is tightly

controlled because of this vacuuming up.

It's removed, it's put into this tank and

it's taken to a manure processing facility.

So, the cows, you'll see, the results of that are very, very clean.

They're not exposed to excessive amounts of manure and the microbes in that manure.

Again, probably giving them a very balanced microbiome,

and reducing their exposure to potential pathogens.

But for your system, you have to find the right system to control the microbe

exposure so that the microbiome is healthy and the pathogen exposure is minimal.

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