Dairy cows just don’t have a choice. Due to their biology, they are unable to meet their energy needs during the transition from dry cow to fresh cow. Their body’s demand for glucose (energy) increases approximately 2.5 times from pre-calving to post-calving, with the greatest deficiency occurring one to two weeks after calving.

This article was #1 in PDmag's Top 5 most-well read New Technology articles in 2010. Summary: The Greenfreestall, a division of Tags4All Global Inc., has created a freestall structure that is adjustable, movable and, most importantly, comfortable for cows. The sides of the design are made of composite flex piping and allow for increased flexibility. In addition, the structure adjusts in the following ways: • the height of the plastic tubes • the height of the neck bracket • the length of the neck bracket • the width of the bed Because this article was so popular, we asked John Moses of Greenfreestalls some follow-up questions:

This is the second article discussing transition cow management. In the first article (January 1, 2010), I discussed the importance of tracking the many complex cow issues associated with parturition. In this article, I will discuss a few approaches to manage cows during the transition period to minimize the long-lasting effects of ‘parturition complex’ on cow performance. With milk prices better than last year and cow inventories generally low, now is an excellent time to maximize production per cow by managing the transition period.

The period three weeks before calving through three weeks after calving is, without doubt, the most critical and stressful six weeks in the lactation cycle of the dairy cow. Navigating the potential pitfalls of this transition period will take you 90 percent of the way toward a successful and, hopefully, profitable lactation. Preparation and drying-off Transitioning your dairy cow, however, doesn’t just mean planning her move from the dry cow pen into the lactation string. It involves more long-term planning, which you should begin in the last third of her lactation.

Once is an occurrence, twice could be a fluke, three times is a trend. This was my thought as I headed to a 2,000-cow Jersey dairy for the third time in a week to perform surgery on a cow with a left-displaced abomasum (LDA). I had just recently acquired this herd as a client and had not had the opportunity to acquaint myself with the details of the operation, but this problem was quickly frustrating me.

I remember back in the 1980s when the first TMR mixer boxes started showing up. Boy, those were something. No more pushing and dragging bales of hay around by hand – dump them into a big box with your front-end loader, add your commodities and presto, it’s all mixed up and sitting in the manger in the perfect proportion ready for Madam Milk Cow. It just about made the pitchfork obsolete.

With current economic trends in the dairy industry, the producer needs to ensure efficiency in all aspects of milk production. Controlling diseases, such as mastitis, and reproductive performance are both key areas that contribute to overall profitability. Using nutrition to increase a cow’s defense against infections and improve reproduction has recently been an important area of research.

Calving is not a disease, so why is freshening a significant health risk on some dairy farms? I use the following five keys to unlock bottlenecks in transition cow programs in my practice. 1) Facilities and cow comfort 2) Feeding 3) Vaccination protocols 4) Milk quality 5) Disease prevention and monitoring