Management interventions in dairy herds: Exploring within herd uncertainty using an integrated Bayesian model | Veterinary Research, a journal on Animal Infection

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Table I.

Summary of relevant parameters in the multilevel logistic regression model, with clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation as the response for cows at pasture during the dry period [8].

Model terms	Variance	Odds ratio	95% Credibility interval
Model terms	Variance	Odds ratio	2.5%	97.5%
Intercept = −0.84
Intervention covariates included
Select one dry cow treatment for whole herd		Reference
Select different dry cow treatments for individual cows		0.74	0.55	0.97
Pasture grazing policy other than “rest 4 graze 2”¹		Reference
Pasture grazing policy is “rest 4 graze 2”¹		0.32	0.11	0.90
Between farm-year	0.09		0.02	0.21
Between farm	0.22		0.09	0.41
Between (Farm * Parity 1)	0.43		0.40	0.82
Other significant cow level covariates included in the model were: parity of cow, and the presence of raised somatic cell counts within 90 days before the time of drying off.
Other significant farm covariates included in the model were: whether a California Milk test was used to test milk of cows after calving, what type of fly control measures were applied and whether or not vaccination of the herd was undertaken with a Leptospirosis Vaccine.

“Rest 4 graze 2” – a pasture rotation method such that dry cows graze the pasture for a maximum of 2 weeks followed by stock not grazing the pasture for a minimum of 4 weeks.