Editor’s note: The following commentary is in response to the article “Use an index to help you rethink lameness prevention,” written by Vic Daniel and published in the March 21, 2012 issue of Progressive Dairyman. Click here to read more about this topic. In the 1980s Karen Mortensen, a Danish researcher, introduced the concept of lameness being a “multifactorial problem.” That theme, I suggest, is the same as the recently published article by Vic Daniel, which was thought-provoking and timely. Stress Daniel’s article reminds us that lameness does not have just one cause, but is initiated by a number of different interrelated factors.

A May 8 webinar offered dairy producers advice and reminders about preventing lameness. The hour-and-a-half presentation featured Penn State Extension Veterinarian Ernest Hovingh and Extension Dairy Team member Dan McFarland, an engineer, and explored the relationship between flooring, footing and lameness. “It’s not quite as simple as saying there’s one individual thing that determines whether or not a cow becomes lame,” Hovingh says. “It’s almost always an interaction between a number of different factors.”

Not all manure is conveyed equally, so to speak, because not all manure is subjected to the same environmental conditions after being “deposited” on the alley floor. One of those conditions is bedding, especially where sand bedding is concerned.

Over the last few decades, ration balancing tools and product development technologies have improved exponentially. We also have a greater understanding of the cow’s biology and dietary needs.

It wasn’t what I expected him to say. About 16 years ago, I was working for a community newspaper and interviewing a couple that had been married for 75 years. I can no longer remember their names, but they changed the way I approached life on a family-owned dairy farm.

We are in full swing of an election year. The networks buzz with opinions, half-truths and rumors. Informed and uninformed reporters weave their opinions, first-hand experience of colleagues and snippets of gossip into their angle and call it the truth.

When my cousin Jade was born with pretty red locks to brunette parents, the first question asked was regarding the color of the milkman’s hair. It’s not an uncommon joke by any means, nor is it exclusive to farmers.