The Research on Pain Control in the Dairy Industry | Dr. Hans Coetzee by ACER Consulting | Understand. Inform. Influence.

Hi everyone, welcome to a new short podcast series we’re calling, Dairy Digest - the Science and Practice Behind Dairy Cattle Health and Welfare. This series is brought to you by Alberta Milk and a series of industry partners, who are keen on helping showcase dairy farming stories, industry updates, and the latest science, advice and perspectives on different health and welfare topics relevant to Canadian dairy farmers.

My name is Steven Roche and I’ll be the host of this series. I’m an epidemiologist and own an agricultural research consulting company called ACER Consulting. I have a passion for working with dairy producers and their advisors to improve dairy cattle health and welfare.

You’ll find our first series of episodes features perspectives from farmers, veterinarians, and researchers on two key topics: calf health (managing diarrhea specifically), and pain management. Our goal is to provide farmers and their advisors with useful information that can be applied back home on the farm.

Our next discussion takes place with Dr. Hans Coetzee, a veterinarian and PhD in microbiology. He is a professor and Head of the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at Kansas State University. His professional interests include the development of pain assessment techniques and practical analgesic drug regimens for use in food animals. I sat down with him to discuss the science behind pain management, as well as some of his perspective on the past, present, and future of pain management in dairy.