11/11/2021: 

The lifespan of cattle at Dutch dairy farms has been increasing since 2018. The average cow was 5 years and 8 months old in 2018, while this age had risen to more than 6 years by the end of 2020. The data analysis of the animal health monitor for cattle shows a number of changes in animal health indices which may be linked to the increasing lifespan of a cow. An in-depth analysis therefore looked more closely at the association between the lifespan of a cow and animal health. This analysis classified all dairy farms into one of six groups based on the lifespan of a cow: a constantly high or constantly low lifespan, and increasing or decreasing lifespan, a stable or a varying lifespan (Figure 1). The average lifespan of a cow was more than 7 years at farms with a constantly high lifespan, and 5 years at farms with a low lifespan Read the whole article in Monitoring Animal Health of October 2021

Other subjects in Monitoring Animal Health 

• Suspicion of Parafilariosis in two imported heifers from southern Germany 
• Acute mortality of nine animals at a dairy farm, with detection of botulism
• Blue-green algae
• Animal Health Regulation
• Animal health of cattle in the Netherlands, second quarter 2021