Fly control is one of the top issues facing dairy farmers. Summer brings warmer weather, longer days, pasture growth and grazing – things that we all look forward to during the long, cold and dark time of winter. The explosion of life in spring also brings with it the perennial and unwelcome problem of flies. Flies cause both irritation and serious economic losses to dairy farmers by spreading disease, feeding on animals (causing blood loss) and greatly decreasing productivity in grazing cattle by triggering them to crowd together and stop feeding. Pinkeye, mastitis and other diseases such as bovine leukosis are spread among cattle by the actions of flies feeding on them.

The fresh cows on any dairy are the most profitable cows in the herd as they reach their peak milk production. But this is often the time in which they are experiencing the most stress due to the hormonal changes associated with calving and the excessive demands of milk production. Proper nutrition both pre-calving and post-calving will aid in the prevention of overstressing the immune system. A healthy immune system will help in preventing mastitis. Mastitis is considered to be the most costly disease affecting the dairy industry. One study concluded that 1/3 of all dairy cows will experience mastitis in at least one quarter. Lost milk production was estimated to be over 800 pounds of milk during a lactation.

At the first sign of a new case of mastitis, the last thing the herdsman wants is to be left waiting for a call from the milk quality lab to tell them if treatment is worth the expense. You’ve been taught that prompt attention to the health status of your cows always pays off. Meanwhile, the case of mastitis is getting worse and you’re not sure what treatment route to follow. The call, e-mail or mailed letter you’re waiting for will tell you the results of the mastitic milk sample you sent over a week ago. So, do you treat or do you wait? Or is there a more serious issue on your hands?

Times are changing and treating just to clear up visible mastitis is no longer an acceptable goal. Reaching a complete cure, not just a clinical fix, is critical for producers to meet that demand: improved milk quality, a healthier bottom line and productive cows at maximum performance. In this roundtable, three veterinarians share their focus on quality milk management and their approach to partner with clients to do more than just clear up abnormal milk. Their passion is on eradicating the pathogen for each mastitis case by using an extended mastitis therapy protocol to achieve a bacteriological cure.

There has been a good deal of confusing information concerning the causative agent in bovine pinkeye over the past few years. Quality veterinary medical diagnostic laboratories around the country have reported the isolation of Branhamella ovis or Moraxella ovis from clinical cases of pinkeye patients. M. ovis is a spherical-shaped (coccoid) organism as opposed to the typical short “rod-shaped” Moraxella bovis.

Sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is described as a digestive disorder where the pH of the ruminal contents is between 5.5 and 5.8. Historical estimates indicate it costs the dairy industry in North America between $500 million and $1 billion per year. A decrease in rumen pH from the normal range of 6.0 to 6.4 may be attributed to many factors. Some potential causes include: • Quick diet changes from a lower to a higher concentrate ration • Overmixing the TMR • High DCAD diets • Diet sorting and errors in nutrient content of feeds.

Hospital pens are supposed to help cows recover, not contribute to additional health problems and longer downtime. Unfortunately, a 2,000-cow Pennsylvania dairy operation we recently visited had an alarming number of repeat visitors and prolonged recovery times in their hospital pen. This dairy normally averages about 50 cows in the hospital barn. During our visit, that number approached almost 200 cows, and a majority of them had mastitis.

Subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is a common problem for many North American dairy herds, affecting 20 to 30 percent of cows in high-producing dairy herds. Field studies have indicated that fresh and high-producing cows affected by SARA produce on average 5 to 6 lbs per day less than their unaffected herdmates. This can be a tough ailment to overcome as dairy producers and nutritionists are trying to balance high concentrate feeding to meet the high energy demands of these cows.