Mandatory dairy cattle insurance is to take effect from Jan. 1 next year, with the government subsidizing half of the insurance premium, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

The Regulations Governing Mandatory Insurance and Premium Subsidy of Dairy Cattle Death Insurance were established based on the Agricultural Insurance Act (農業保險法) to bolster operational risk diversification for dairy farmers, the ministry said.

The dairy cattle insurance coverage rate nationwide increased to 82.6 percent last year, it said.

With the insurance enforced next year, data on dairy and beef cattle would be integrated into a database to observe the livestock industry more precisely, it said.

As the government would subsidize half of the insurance premium, farmers would bear NT$925 for each dairy cow, the ministry said.

Farmers whose insured cattle is culled can receive NT$30,000 in compensation for the first cow and an additional compensation of up to NT$17,000 each for others, it said, urging dairy farmers to promptly apply for the insurance via local farmers’ associations.

Separately, the ministry’s Taiwan Livestock Research Institute has developed several techniques to help dairy farmers enhance cattle health, increase milk production and reduce required workforce.

Given increasing temperatures due to climate change, dairy cattle tend to have poor appetite and less milk yield, caused by heat stress, the ministry said.

Sprinkling water has been a common approach to lower temperatures, but it can dampen cowsheds and increase the risk of mastitis, it said.

Therefore, the institute developed an infrared thermography inspection technique that can help diagnose mastitis, the ministry said.

The ministry said it had introduced exported milking robots and feces cleaning robot vacuums to the domestic market, and also developed a feces cleaning machine.

Source - https://www.taipeitimes.com