Switzerland Animal Science Study Abroad

In the summer of 2017, I participated in an animal and agriculture study abroad program in Switzerland through my university. It was such an incredible experience; I was able to learn about so many different animals while exploring a beautiful country! I wrote everything down in a travel journal, so here are the notes from my trip (please keep in mind that I quickly jotted down these notes based on speakers I heard while I was a freshman in college, so the grammar is not perfect)

May 15: Agrovet-Strickhof Research

My teachers, fellow classmates, and I arrived at Switzerland at 8am. Our tour guides (Peter, Frank, and George) explained that Switzerland has veterinary schools in Bern and Zurich. Our first stop was ETH, which is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics university in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. We learned that they have different breeds of cows at ETH, including Brown Swiss and Holstein. They conduct various research and educational practices at this university. ETH has roughly 18,000 students pursuing masters degrees and PHD's.

At the cow barn, it is important that cows have individual feeding pens to develop credible research. They use an automated milking system. Cows have electronic identification numbers. Cheese milk producers receive 70 cents per liter and milk producers receive 50 cents per liter. They typically milk 2-3 times per day. The bar is designed to protect against storms from the west. Average Swiss farms have 25 cows. They perform many different experiments on forage selection, energy loss, feces analysis, fertility, etc. The cows stay in the tie-stalls for about 8 days for research purposes, then they go back to the barn in which they are more free to roam.

The horse stalls efficiently group and manage horses for research. They also have small, medium, and large respiration chambers and stalls for sheeps and goats. Most of the research is metabolic research.

May 16: University of Applied Sciences and Moosseedorf Dairy Farm

Agricultural and veterinary studies are separate in Switzerland, which is different because the veterinary science major is in the College of Agriculture at Penn State University. In Switzerland, agriculture majors do an apprenticeship for 3 years living on a farm and going to school once a week to become farmers. Farms can usually only be bought for over 2 million dollars. The vast majority of farm workers are family members, but this is decreasing. Farms on plains generally have higher income than mountain farms.

The number of farms in Switzerland is decreasing over time. It is a problem that the number of cows decreases every year. Farmers must comply with animal welfare rules and have at least 7% biodiversity area to receive direct payments. This system provides financial support for farmers, but it is complicated and requires strict control. I was surprised that 32% of Switzerland's land is forests, which is more than I expected. Price of milk has decreased over time, but you can earn a good amount of money by performing research studies with milking cows. Beef cows are worth more than milking cows.

The agriculture school at Bern University is very small with only 40 students at the masters level. Everybody in the school should be trilingual (English, German, French). Their most popular research topics include antibiotic resistance, energy efficiency, and sustainable nutrition. The average is about 26 piglets per litter in standard pig production. There is about an 11% mortality rate. They do not use traditional farrowing crates.

At the dairy farm in Mooseedorf, the farmer said that he has 120 milking cows, 130 sows, 8 farm workers, 73 hectors, and some forest. Compared to the US, farms in Switzerland are typically smaller and less professional. However, they have almost twice the average lactations (4 per cow) compared to the US (2.1 per cow). They feed their cows rations consisting of corn silage (40%), hay and grass. Cows can typically graze at the pasture 8am-11pm except when it is too hot in the afternoon. The farm has a milking machine similar to the those in the US. The farm also has a robot that adds feed when needed, which is very interesting technology that I had never seen before. It is electric and travels along a track to pick up feed then add it to each stall whenever necessary. It came from the Netherlands and was one of the first robots in Switzerland. There are only 15 of them in all of Switzerland.

Brown Swiss dairy cow

May 17: Agriscope, Vetsuisse, Goat Cheese Farm, Chocolate, Gruyere

At agroscope, we learned that they aim to produce good food and a healthy environment. The leader of the swine research group taught us about studying the impact of 2 levels of dietary protein and amino acid on pig's body composition. They use sows for experiments and to produce more piglets for research. They produce their own feed here in the mill. An issue in Europe is that they must import soy beans, so they want to find a way to reduce protein needs of growing finisher pigs. This is their objective because imported protein sources can be expensive and they want to reduce environmental pollution. Their technique includes a traditional serial slaughter technique. They must use anesthesia when castrating pigs and they perform this operation at about 7-14 days old.

They have their own slaughter house and they use a shredder to shred the carcass. They analyze blood, hair, bile, organs, and the carcass. They determine fat, amino acid, and mineral content of each. He showed us a machine they use to determine body composition of living animals. His findings could eventually lead to reduced protein diets being used in the field. The pigs are anaesthetized when being scanned.

We learned about ruminant feeding and production in Switzerland. They focus on intensive fattening of dairy cows. They dry hay for 1 day outside then ventilate it inside to preserve quality and avoid weather dependency. They don't use silage because the bacteria could cause gas production and negativity impact the quality of the cheese. They use microbial fermentation. They have 6 sub-samples that they take at particular time increments. Their herd is 80 cows and they use about 10 for research purposes. They must get permission from animal ethics committees to fistulate new cows. He showed us how they measure the pH of the rumen. They place high consideration on animal welfare. His research involves studying the impact of bioactive compounds on nitrogen-loss and ruminant fermentation. Their feeding systems can be used to analyze respiration.

We saw the molecular biology and PCR lab. They perform meat analysis and animal genetics research. It is a government institute, so they must analyze feeds for their plant composition and provide expertise to the government. They are working on GMO's and Switzerland has stricter regulations than the US. They also analyze medicinal plants. They perform molecular diagnostics for pigs and analyze samples of bacteria from feces or intestines. I noticed that their equipment is mostly in English. The lab is fairly small but very similar to labs in America. They use a US scale to analyze meat tenderness.

They have a veterinary school research lab at agroscope. They have 2 locations (Bern and Switzerland) with 1 combined faculty that makes up Vetsuisse. ETH is the oly federal university while the rest are state schools. I was surprised to learn they use more Holsteins than Brown Swiss for research.

Next we went to a goat cheese farm, where they explained how autumn is mating season, gestation lasts 5 months, and a goat is considered an adult at 3 years old. They have 3 billy goats to impregnate 100 females. They originally only produced "la tomme de chevre," which is traditional gruyere goat cheese, but they have since added "le capri," "le cehvre de la gruyere," and "la buchettet de la gruyere." I thought it was interesting how goat milk from her farm makes up 25% of the soap she showed us. She also explained how male kids are slaughtered at a young age. Their milking process was fascinating to me because it was so simple yet effective. Also, their collars on the goats are color coded by age. I loved all the cheese we tasted!

We went on a chocolate tour which was incredible! I learned that Nestle bought the Cailler chocolate company. I enjoyed learning about the chocolate making process, and I especially loved being able to taste it! At the end of the day, we stopped at the ancient city of Gruyere and saw a breathtaking view!

May 18: Cheese Production and Water Buffalo Farming

We learned some interesting facts about Switzerland, including that it has the lowest unemployment rate and lowest crime rates in Europe. We took a tour to learn about the cheese-making process. There was a giant stirring kettle and press. Foam forms from the separation process as it fills the mold. The process is highly computerized and automatic, although it still requires some workers. They clear out the foam from proteins so it does not damage the cheese-making process. They turn the milk sugar into milk acid, so that people who are lactose intolerant can eat their cheese. Carbon dioxide and higher temperatures are used to create holes in cheese. They age the cheese for 3-4 months. They only sell their cheese that turns out with ideal quality. The cheese sells for about 30 francs per kilo, so 1 wheel can cost up to 30,000.

Then we went to Ober Horn, a dairy farm. The family who owns the farms has 1 apprentice who stays at the farm for a year and goes to school once a week. He lives in mountain zone 1, so he gets more direct payment per hector than those who live at lower elevation. He has 25 hectors of farm land, 10 hectors of forest, 28 milking cows, and 45 fattening pigs. He has a high average kilograms of milk production (8,500 kg). He averages 4% fat and 3.3% protein. Excess milk is sometimes fed to cows. Free-living houses and hay storage areas are all connected which is typical. They receive hay, concentrates, milk, and water. In Switzerland, they must give their cows water in addition to milk. They keep the females to produce milk and sell the males for fattening. The calves stay healthy because they have a cover to protect from weather while also getting fresh air. Hay is the most expensive part of the feed. It takes 1 hour to milk the cows since they don't have an automatic milker and they milk twice a day.

We were able to see the milking parlor. It is smaller than the one we saw at the research center, but it has a similar design. A federal organization of the veterinary department sends another farmer to inspect the farm's animal welfare conditions twice a year. They must keep the farm clean and give the animals enough space to live to ensure the animals meet the requirements for health and happiness. The animals have tags and names because they are seen as being more important than just numbers, which is interesting because I have only seen cows labeled as numbers (no names) in US dairy research farms. The handling system is different compared to the US because they have fewer cows. Calves are dehorned at 3 weeks of age while they are under anaesthesia. We stopped for lunch and had an amazing view!

Then, we went to a water buffalo farm in the Lucern region. He chose buffalo because a mozzarella cheese factory needed him to provide buffalo milk. One water buffalo is expensive, costing roughly 7,000 francs. It is forbidden to dehorn them or tie them up and they must always have water available. Lactation lasts about 6 months. Pregnancy lasts about 10 months, which is surprisingly long. They weigh 700-900 pounds. Buffalo milk has higher fat, higher protein, and lower cholesterol than dairy cow milk. It tastes thicker and more similar to cream. The changing of seasons and the full moon makes them very difficult to handle. They bottle feed the water buffalo. They have numbers and names. He has an automatic milker, and it takes 1 hour to milk all 25 buffalo. They do not show when they are in heat so artificial insemination is difficult and rare.

May 19: Vetsuisse and Equine Medicine

In 1805, the first animal school was built in Bern. The vet school was founded in 1900 as part of the University of Bern, and it had a small faculty compared to US vet schools. When it merged with the Zurich vet school, it was named Vetsuisse. They have small animals, cattle, pigs, horses, anesthesia, neurology, radiology, research, and more clinics. Out of 280 applicants, they accept 70 students. Vet schools in the US typically receive many more applications. Vetsuisse has 20% male students but more male teachers than female teachers. The students are all from Switzerland. Over 80% of the students continue to get doctoral degrees after vet school, in which they study for an additional 2 years. Students pay 700 francs per semester to attend vet school, which is much less expensive than in the US. Most women who attend vet school in Switzerland stop practicing when they have kids to be stay-at-home moms.

We were able to see the vet school's farm animal clinics for ruminants and pigs. They take emergency cases 24/7. They go to farms every 2 weeks around Bern to learn about herd health management. They have strict import requirements to prevent spread of infectious diseases to farms. 8-10 students are always at the clinic; students work at the clinics their 4th and 5th years of vet school. They are considering adding a 6th year to have an extra clinical year. 40% of students pursue a career with small animals, 15% focus on horses, 30-40% choose farm animals, and the rest go into research and public health. They tie up the tails of large animals during physical exams and operations because tail-docking is forbidden, even though it is a common practice in the US.

Then, we went to the equine institute. At this facility, they work on medicine, rehabilitation, research, and reproduction. Reproduction (semen samples) must be strictly controlled. They work with genetic specialists and behavior consultants in the US. It was very interesting to see an ultrasound checking if a mare is pregnant. They can tell if the mare is pregnant 14-18 days after insemination. It can be a problem if she is pregnant with twins because that can cause health problems and broken bones.

Ultrasound

When mating, the females are in charge and they choose which stallion she will choose as a mate. Female will choose a stallion who is MHC dissimilar which leads to better pregnancy rates. We were able to watch artificial semen collection from a stallion.

May 20: Alpine Farming, Lauterbrunnen, Bison Farm

We went to Lauterbrunnen, which is a beautiful village with 72 waterfalls. Huts on the mountain are old goat stables that must transport goods by train or helicopter.

We went to an alpine farm that was 1,339 meters above sea level. His farm is in mountain zone 4, which is the highest zone. He has 9 milking cows that he uses for cheese production, and he owns a hut higher on the mountain where he can sleep and make cheese. He works on the farm year-round and makes 1.5 tons of cheese per summer. He works on the cheese-making process from 5am until 10pm. Farmers receiver payment for maintaining the scenic, green landscape.

Next, we went to a bison farm that has 9 hectors (20 acres) of land. This farmer has 15 bison and 7 horses. There are 30 bison breeders and about 300 bison in Switzerland. This farmer bought his bison from another breeder. A herd of 5 bison requires 600 square meters of land. It is unusual that bison only come into heat in August and September. They have very lean meat with only 3% fat.

We also went to Trummelbachfalle, hiked up a cave, and saw a waterfall inside of it. We went to an international street food festival at night, which was so much fun!

May 21: Fighting Cows and Wine Tasting

We went to a fighting cow farm in Vevey, which is the third largest canton out of the 26 cantons (regions) in Switzerland. This area is in the southwestern part of the country, and it borders France and Italy. At this farm, their top priority is milk production, their second goal is meat, and their third is use of their cows in cow fighting. There are 10 regional cow fights each year and 1 final cow fight. These fights have 180 cows split into 5 categories based on age and weight. Each category has a winner who is crowned the queen cow. Then, all queens fight in the final battle and the winner is the queen of the queens. This farmer had last year's queen of the queens. The winner receives a big cowbell and their calves are worth more money. This farmer has 80 cows and 50 hectors of land. Milk from these cows goes to a cheese-making factory for raclette cheese.

We went to Lake Geneva world heritage region for a wine tasting class. The wine was delicious, but the view was even more incredible!

Lake Geneva

May 22: Poultry Production, Pig Farm, and BioDairy

We went to the foundation for enhancement of Swiss poultry production. An animal welfare law prohibits animals in cages. They have 2 broiler buildings: 20 groups with 280 broilers and 4 groups with 400 broilers. Egg production uses 7,360 layers to produce 2,089,231 eggs. They are not trapped in cages; they have access to outdoors (free-range chickens). Animal welfare ordinances include day/night rhythm and adequate space. If animal welfare requirements are not met, the farm will be shut down and its animals will be taken away 5 weeks following the warning. They are fed 7 times a day, remain inside for the night, and have access to the outdoors in the sunlight. They get 16 hours of light and 8 hours of night.

Next, we went to a pig farm. This farm was large compared to most in Switzerland but small compared to most in the US. Every 2 weeks, they sell pigs that will no longer give birth to a butcher. They showed us the powder they use to dry the piglets immediately after their birth. They also inject iron when the piglet is born. The pigs have identification tags on their ears. They must anaesthetize pigs with gas to castrate them in Switzerland.

They only use antibiotics if the pigs are sick. They occasionally have to bottle feed the runt of the litter; at Penn State, they will sometimes put all runts on one mom. They have concrete floors with a sewage draining system. They have a fairly high mortality rate at 20%.

Biohazard safety precautions at the pig farm

Then, we went to a BioDairy farm which is an organic farm. Out of 53,000 Swiss farms, 6,000 are organic. Every year, more and more consumers choose organic products. This farm has grazing cows. The grass requires correct timing for optimal nutrients. They carry out seasonal calving so the entire herd calves within 2 weeks. Insemination season beings each April.

To keep feed intake high and ensure paddock has high quality of regrowth, the farmers put down dry, mowed grass. Grazing is a voluntary system, so cows consumer the highest quality of feed, but farmers are unable to control when or how much the cows eat. Grass management is crucial to herd health. Clover leaves have the most nutrients and old grasses have the least. Leafy plants are ideal. Rational grazing requires many paddocks, and the cows consume a large amount.

They cannot use fly control because they are organic. The only fertilizer used is manure. The cows are smaller which is better for grazing; they get smaller cows by crossbreeding with Jerseys. Milk production is less than normal farms but still fairly high. Antibiotics are allowed in organic herds in Switzerland under regulation; antibiotics are not allowed to be used on organic dairy cows at all in the US.

Grazing cows on organic dairy farm

May 23: Pig Breeding and Zurich

We went to the Swiss center for pig production. About 2.6 million pigs are slaughtered in Switzerland each year. Isofluran anaesthesia is used during castration, so the process costs more and takes more time than castration in the US, but the Swiss use anaesthesia for animal welfare purposes. Taildocking of piglets is prohibited in Switzerland (unlike in the US where it is used frequently) so Swiss farmers use straw to prevent tail-biting.

Suisag was founded in 1998. They have 94 workers and the annual revenue is 15 million Swiss francs. They work on breeding, artificial insemination, and health services. In Switzerland, 80% of matings are done by artificial insemination. They do not use farrowing cages. They have a 13% mortality rate, which is high for the US but average for Switzerland. The goal is to be below 10%. We listened to a presentation on meat-quality traits. Value is added for fat-quality, color, water-holding capacity, and tenderness. We wended the trip by exploring Zurich.

I had an amazing trip and I learned so much about so many different animals! I can't think my teachers and tour guides enough for making this incredible experience possible!