Dr. Grooms, president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, defined what vaccines do for our cattle and the industry, the types of vaccines and how to properly store and administer vaccinations in a webinar he led Jan. 13 titled “Basic Vaccinology: Why Vaccines Work or Don’t Work.”

As hoof trimmers, we rely on the cooperation of dairymen to make our routine visits effective and efficient, and there are a few simple things you can do to make this possible. I have often thought the reason professional hoof trimmers have a niche occupation is because it is a difficult job. While this might be partially true, I believe I speak for myself and my hoof-trimming contemporaries when I say it is a combination of several unique challenges that make it a love-hate occupation.

It was not long ago that I had a farm visit where I found a substantial lameness issue. The producer was at his wit’s end. He had tried it all, and nothing seemed to be a solution. This had been going on for a number of years, and there seemed to be no end in sight. I could hardly imagine the cost and loss figures for this herd: early culling or death, milk loss, endless footbath solutions and wasted time.

In every dairy producer’s ideal world, the norm would be a whole herd of cows that efficiently produces high volumes of milk during several lactations with no transition problems, metabolic diseases, udder health issues or conformation faults leading to an early cull from the herd. In other words, the ideal is a whole herd of “four-event” cows, whose only recorded events throughout a lactation are freshening, a single breeding, pregnancy diagnosis and dry-off.

What do you see? This is a very simple phrase, but it is very difficult for many people to really “see” when they walk through a parlor, barn or a complete dairy facility. It takes effort to train yourself to look past the obvious, to see things that can have a direct impact on milk production and milk quality.

The cost of treating a case of clinical mastitis averages $100 in many dairies and exceeds $200 in some. The use of antibiotics for treating mastitis is responsible for the majority of this cost – not because of the cost of the antibiotics but mainly because of discarded milk.

Idaho veterinarian Mark Kirkpatrick recently encouraged producers who are using regular DHIA testing to harness the power of the data they are collecting to improve their dairy operations, especially to improve disease monitoring and evaluation of the impacts on milk production. Kirkpatrick, a managing technical service veterinarian for Zoetis, spoke in December at Idaho DHIA’s annual meeting in Twin Falls, Idaho.

A new technology is helping to identify what viruses or bacteria are causing early bovine respiratory disease (BRD) – thanks to a timelier, more accurate and less-invasive diagnostic test. Deep nasal pharyngeal swab collections, combined with updated molecular diagnostics in the form of real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction technology, is one of the newest diagnostic advances in dairy animal health.

A postmortem examination is a unique experience because it utilizes the full spectrum of all five senses in order to decipher a case. Upon entering the postmortem room, I hone in on the clues that stimulate my senses.