Louise Horan

Project Title: Transition cow management and health in Irish dairy herds

Overview: The transition period is defined as 3 weeks before calving and 3 weeks after calving in which the dairy cow transitions from not lactating and pregnant to lactating and not pregnant. This period has been proven to be a key determinant of future performance of dairy cows and optimising management during this time is critical for the sustainability and productivity of Irish dairy farms.

Louise is studying the impact of dairy cow management and health during the transition period on subsequent performance on Irish commercial dairy farms. Louise’s study involves visiting commercial dairy farms to take blood samples, feed samples, examine management strategies and facilities and analyse the overall health of transition cows.

It is hoped that the results from this study will characterise Irish transition cow health and management while the epidemiological analyses of the data will create guidelines and tools for Irish agricultural sector stakeholders.

Louise is a recent graduate from Agricultural Science in SETU and completed a thesis in the area of animal health. Louise has been working on dairy farms part time for the last number of years to gain practical experience alongside her studies. During her undergraduate placement on the Dairygold research farm she experienced what the world of agricultural scientific research is like and decided to pursue a PhD. 

Programme Area: Livestock Systems Department

Supervisors: Dr Ainhoa Valldecabres, Dr. John Mee, and Dr Conor McAloon

Location: Teagasc Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork

Funding Source: Teagasc & UCD