Press release Veterinary advice has proven its economic added value for farms and animal-based measuring systems

The economic added value of an animal-based measuring system can be increased by taking the economic value into account during the technical development phase. Veterinary advice can also have a positive influence. This type of animal health model where farmers pay for coaching is still difficult in Flanders. This is the conclusion of Cristina Rojo-Gimeno (ILVO-UGhent) in her PhD on the role of data and advice.

Recently, Cristina Rojo Gimeno defended her doctoral thesis “Economic and institutional perspectives on the role of data, information, and advice in the animal health advisory system.” Promoters are Prof; Dr. Jeroen Dewulf from Ghent University and Dr. Erwin Wauters from ILVO.

The economic added value of data and advice in the context of animal health was investigated through models and a longitudinal field study in two cases: the reduction of antibiotic use in pig farming and the use of biomarkers for subclinical rumen acidification in dairy cows. The veterinarians and livestock farmers reported during interviews on the possibilities for, and their willingness to, adapt the traditional business model to a model where they pay for professional advice.