Information and herd health management practices in Texas dairies

Abstract

The dissemination of information by extension agents on dairy management practices used to control mastitis, and the reception and use of that information by producers were investigated. Producers were surveyed to determine current practices used. The relationship between milk yield, somatic cell count, management practices, and producer and production characteristics was estimated. Subjective probabilities were elicited from 'experts', extension agents, and producers concerning the impact and cost of various management practices. Subjective marginal value products and marginal input costs were computed and compared for the respondent groups. Stochastic dominance was used to rank the relative importance of the practices as perceived by the respondents.