Preparing for a National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program evaluation can be beneficial in many ways, like getting records and protocols up-to-date and tracking the prevalence of lameness in the herd.

Quality milk starts with quality bedding. Bedding is a point of exposure for vulnerable teat ends and a reservoir of growth for the bacteria that cause intramammary infections and subsequent spike in somatic cells.

Glenview Dairy in Odessa, New York, is finding success in a new facility constructed with the cow in mind. As Daryl Martin, the dairy’s general manager, simply states, “We do it for the cows.”

There is “tremendous marginal value in getting cows to eat more,” Albert De Vries, department of animal sciences, University of Florida, said during the 2017 Cornell Cow Comfort Conference, hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension North Country Regional Ag Team.

Dr. Gordie Jones, an independent dairy performance consultant and partner in Central Sands Dairy in Wisconsin, is a recognized expert in freestall facility design. Ironically, he began his career as a fierce supporter of tiestall facilities, believing freestalls were detrimental to cow comfort and health.

Looking for ways to add efficiency to the farm? Winter can be a great time to review the ventilation in your barn and make improvements.

“I will contend that we now know more than ever what causes lameness, and while we still have more to learn, we know enough currently to solve the global lameness problem in our dairy industry,” Dr. Nigel B. Cook of the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Veterinary Medicine says.

Lameness is a highly visible and important animal welfare issue, and nutrition should be part of the focus of managing it, says Mike Hutjens, professor emeritus of animal sciences at the University of Illinois.

Dairy cows spend about half of their lives standing or walking. Anything that affects a cow’s ability to walk comfortably will have a negative impact on milk production. Cows with sore feet don’t appreciate standing for excessive lengths of time waiting to be milked and are quickly limited in their ability to get to the feedbunk and waterers.

Time and time again, research shows there are multiple different risk factors that result in a cow getting lame. From cow housing and bedding to manure management, nutrition, cow hygiene and trimming schedule, there are a lot of factors to consider.