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Abstract

Calls for antimicrobial use (AMU) reduction in farms are growing. It is yet challenging for farmers to reduce AMU without reducing their economic performances. This paper proposes an original bio-economic framework for AMU management in French dairy farms. This framework combines a recursive economic optimization model with a biologic model that describes the effects of health management strategies on the dynamic of a dairy herd. An appealing feature of the newly developed model is that it allows testing win-win strategies in terms of health management: maximising risk-adjusted revenue while minimising AMU and workload. It can also be used to test incentives to encourage farmers to adopt virtuous strategies and practices. In the present paper, the bio-economic model is applied mainly to mastitis management, which represents the first reason for AMU in dairy production. The results identified selective dry-off strategy (dry-off with AM for at risk cows only) rather than the conventional systematic dry-off strategy (AM on all cows at dry-off) as being effective to lower AMU while maintaining famer’s income.

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