While antimicrobials are essential and effective tools for use in humans and animals, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global concern which puts at risk the prevention and treatments of bacterial infections. Increasingly, consumers are concerned about the transmission of resistant bacteria from animals and food that is derived from those animals.

Dr. Michaela Kristula, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, began her presentation on mastitis management by telling dairy farmers that they are the most important factor in controlling mastitis in their dairy herds. High-quality milk is within your reach, she said, if you simply establish a protocol for managing mastitis and make sure it is routinely and consistently followed.

Heifer mastitis is a disease that threatens production and udder health in the first and subsequent lactations. An integrated strategy to prevent and control heifer mastitis should include goal setting, assessment of the current farm systems, application of appropriate farm-specific interventions and monitoring of outcomes.

Dairy producers and their advisers spend a great deal of time and effort to develop protocols that standardize the routine actions needed to care for dairy cows. By their definition, these standard operating procedures, or SOPs, should virtually eliminate variation in performance of daily dairy activities, regardless of who completes them.

The way a cow walks is an indicator of the comfort offered by her environment, which is why locomotion scoring is included in the National Dairy FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) program’s evaluations.

The dairy industry continues to change as the number of farms are decreasing and the number of cows per farm are increasing. Introducing new animals to a herd can increase the risk for a bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) persistently infected (PI) animal to enter the herd and negatively impact reproduction, health and performance.

The world inhabited by rumen microbes, though hidden from view, is fascinating. Dark and devoid of oxygen, the rumen may seem inhospitable to life. In reality, it is quite the opposite: Hundreds of trillions of microbes can be found in a single, 20-gallon rumen of an average cow (Figure 1). By comparison, only 100 billion people have ever lived on earth.

Dairy producers know that animal health is a critical component of their herd’s productivity and profitability. At the herd level, disease problems must be assessed not only for their severity in affected animals, but also for frequency of occurrence, costs of treatment, influence on production, relationship to culling and influence on death losses.

Foot-and-mouth disease, salmonellosis, E. coli – these are but a few of the zoonotic pathogens that have frightened consumers and plagued livestock producers in recent years. As threats ebb and surge, local, state, national and international government agencies conduct research and continuously refine their regulations to mitigate disease spread. Standard testing procedures are in place to ensure early detection and elimination. However, what happens when testing supplies run out?

The 12th International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis (ICP) was held June 22-27, 2014, in Parma, Italy. It was also a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the International Association for Paratuberculosis (IAP), the sponsoring organization. The ICP brings together veterinary and human medical researchers, educators and livestock industry representatives to share current work on paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease).