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Dairy farmers don’t think twice about fine-tuning rations or investing in a milking system performance review if changes to these systems offer a way to improve milk production and quality. Shouldn’t the same consideration be given to heat abatement strategies?
After all, heat stress robs dairy farmers of $900 million every year in reduced fertility, lost milk production and other health challenges.
Lameness is one of the leading reasons for milk loss on any dairy.
It is also a hot animal welfare topic, according to Dr. Gerard Cramer, who is a bovine hoof care consultant, educator and researcher from Ontario, Canada. Cramer recently discussed his hoof health program via webcast.
This year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would soon be modifying extra-label use of cephalosporin drugs in cattle.
Effective April 5, 2012, veterinarians can continue to prescribe extra-label use of any cephalosporin as long as it is the same dosage, used through the same route of administration and in the same species as its FDA-approved label. The new order does not affect FDA’s approved indications for ceftiofur.
When was the last time you reviewed your dairy’s protocols for pharmaceutical use? If it’s been a while, now is the time to make sure your product use is in line with these new guidelines and is helping you avoid any residue violations.
There are enough teat dips and different teat dip formulations on the market to make your head spin (and kudos to whomever can pronounce the names of all the ingredients listed on a teat dip label).
All the different active ingredients, skin conditioners and varying percentages of both can make choosing the right teat dip for your farm a daunting task.
Scientists at the USDA have found that a commercial vaccine is effective against leptospirosis in cattle.
A widespread zoonotic disease, leptospirosis is transmitted naturally from domestic and wild animals to humans. The contagious disease, which is caused by Leptospira bacteria, is spread through contact with food, water or soil contaminated with urine from infected animals. It can affect all farm animals, rodents and wildlife.
Left abomasal displacement (LDA) is a common and economically important disease in high-yielding dairy cows. Since the first description of LDA in 1950, many techniques for surgical correction of this disorder have been developed.
At Giessen University in Germany, the standard procedure to correct LDAs is the minimally invasive repositioning of the displaced abomasum according to the Janowitz method, first described in 1998.
Cattlemen and veterinarians primarily use commercially licensed vaccines to immunize livestock against common diseases. These commercial products are manufactured in USDA-licensed facilities, have been shown to be relatively safe when used as directed and have demonstrated some level of efficacy in controlled studies.
Once a bacteria or virus is isolated, modified and approved for use in a licensed vaccine, the vaccine may occasionally be updated with more recent strains from the field. Often vaccines continue to use the original isolates for several years without being updated.
After more than 28 years working as a hoof trimmer in the dairy industry and, like many others, seeing the many changes within the dairy industry, a simple question must be asked: “Why is lameness increasing as an issue?”
The answer is the modern dairy industry still has not recognized the requirements for the hoof to function “normally.”
Grooming has considerable biological importance to cows. The most obvious importance is in reduction of the number of parasites and organisms on the cow’s coat.
However, there is more to grooming than just the obvious.
Grooming is actually a social activity for cows. It allows cows to bond with their herdmates and reduces the impact of the boss cow/submissive cow hierarchy within the herd.
Antibiotic residues in milk and meat will continue to be a hot topic of discussion in 2012.
Dairy producers who have not done so already should review their residue avoidance programs to ensure compliance.
The use of antibiotic test kits by dairy farms is an important part of a comprehensive residue avoidance program.
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