Metritis is a common and costly disease that affects dairy cows during the early postpartum period. Researchers at the University of British Columbia’s Dairy Center have completed a number of studies investigating the relationships between health and behavior (behaviour) of cows during the transition period and have found that both feeding behavior (behaviour) and dry matter intake (DMI) can be used in the early detection of disease.

As a full-time trimmer since September 1973, I believed the popular theory in the school of trimming in which we did not block nor wrap – but rather we trimmed so we did not have to block or wrap. I did not get serious about either blocking or wrapping until the second Hoof Trimmers’ Conference in Batavia, New York, in 1997. By then I’d been trimming for 24 years. It was also my introduction to hoof anatomy and hoof mechanics. I bought a kit from Hoof-it and went back to trimming without blocking or wrapping. My greatest problem, besides knowing how to wrap or block, was knowing when to wrap or block.

As a follow-up to his popular article, "Individual cow care to lower lameness in your herd," we asked author Jamie Sullivan the following question: Q. Have lameness incidents continued to decline or have they remained about the same? What's the next step in hoof health beyond a focus on individual cow care? In this herd and my other clients' herds that have adopted the “individual cow care and 150-day trim protocol," we have seen continued improvement in hoof health. Does that mean we don’t have some months where there is an increase in lameness? No.

Dairy cows are often grouped according to age, days in milk, feed requirements and health status. To create these groupings, cows are often moved to new groups four or more times per lactation. At each regrouping, cows are mixed with unfamiliar herdmates, resulting in changes in group composition and dynamics.

Dairy co-ops throughout the country have, or will soon have, communicated to dairy producers how a recently announced USDA agreement with the E.U. for individual farm testing of somatic cell counts (SCC) will impact them in upcoming months. In Nov. 2011, the USDA notified the industry of a new E.U. health certification program required for all dairy products and dairy ingredients being exported to E.U. nations. In short, the key element of the new program is individual farm testing of SCCs and calculation of a farm’s three-month rolling geometric mean, which must be less than 400,000 SCCs per mL to certify for export to the E.U.

Dairymen can still legally sell Grade A milk in the U.S. if their herd’s average somatic cell count (SCC) is greater than 400,000 after August 1, but their options may be more limited without some effort. In November, the USDA announced it had agreed with the E.U. to begin certifying U.S. dairy farms that produce milk used for products or ingredients exported to the E.U. that have an on-farm average SCC of 400,000 or less. Many co-ops say they will ask their farms to comply with the agreement’s lower SCC standards, rather than segregate milk supplies. Most will start communicating this month the changes their members will see in order to be in compliance.

Recent world events in the Middle East and outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD) in South Korea suggest we should continue to update ourselves about possible threats to our food system. For livestock producers, this means looking at biosecurity and emergency plans for all foreign animal diseases (FADs) including FMD, a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals. Foot-and-mouth disease affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats, deer and other ruminants. Livestock owners fear FMD because it spreads rapidly and results in severe economic losses, shutting down exports and loss of consumer confidence.

As winter brings Arctic air to many areas, dairy producers should be prepared for conditions that can affect young stock and lactating cows. South Dakota Cooperative Extension Dairy Specialist Alvaro Garcia says producers should protect young calves from inclement weather and air drafts and should provide clean, dry bedding. “If using milk replacer, choose those that contain 20 percent fat, as they provide additional energy,” Garcia says.