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Within any confined dairy or cattle operation, ectoparasites such as house, stable, face and horn flies pose a significant threat to overall cow health, comfort and performance, and the economic losses to the operator can be severe if not proactively and aggressively addressed.
The primary goals in reducing fly populations, specifically on dairy farms, are to increase cow comfort (thus maximizing milk production) and reduce the potential spread of disease pathogens.
Dr. Chris Connelly is a dairy veterinarian from Pennsylvania Furnace, Pennsylvania. He obtained an undergraduate degree in animal sciences from Penn State in 1999 and finished his doctorate at Virginia Tech in 2003.
Connelly currently works for Centre Herd Health Services, based in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, and serving mostly dairy clients in central Pennsylvania. He explains the five things he can't do without for his career.
Technology. Innovation. Modernization. Change. Are these “scary” words for you?
As dairy producers, I’m sure you hear and read about all the new and innovative technologies available to you that will help improve profits, safety and time. But how many of these changes will truly generate a return on your investment?
As we walk through dairy operations, we help producers determine what they need to do to profitably produce higher quantities of higher-quality milk. Sometimes our recommendation is focused on udder hygiene.
Leptospirosis is a disease that can impact the bottom line of every dairy producer, mainly through lost reproductive efficiency. Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease that affects mammals worldwide. The definition of a zoonosis is a disease that can be transmitted from animals to people.
Leptospires are gram-negative bacteria that can survive for considerable periods of time in moist soil or standing water. Warm, moist conditions are ideal for the spread of leptospirosis.
The world today seems to be moving at an increasingly rapid pace. Agriculture has seen more challenging times to remain profitable and sustainable. This pressure can affect our decisions when designing, building or modifying dairy facilities that can influence cow comfort.
Providing adequate cow comfort has a direct impact on milk production, health, reproduction, longevity and profitability. This article will focus on some of the key areas including stall design, bedding, overcrowding and flooring.
Managing lameness in the dairy herd will be the topic of workshops offered across Pennsylvania in March by Penn State Dairy Alliance.
The Lameness Management Workshop is designed for dairy producers and their dairy employees who want to reduce lameness in their herds. Participants will explore hoof anatomy and pathology to learn more about the metabolic and infectious diseases that cause lameness. Lameness prevention will focus on such factors as nutrition, heat stress, housing and cow comfort, as well as hygiene and foot baths. A hoof trimming demonstration will also be offered.
If you answered “yes,” you should feel good about being proactive about this condition, knowing you can do something about it.
If you answered “no” because you have actually tested for ketosis, you, too, can feel good about being proactive, but remember that testing should be an ongoing process.
But if you answered “don’t know” or “haven’t tested,” keep reading. This article explains what ketosis is, its effects and why a dairy should be testing for it.
Starting in 2011, the somatic cell count (SCC) in bulk tank milk (BTM) must be less than 400,000 cells per ml for milk or milk products exported to the European Union (EU). Most milk in California is marketed by cooperatives, and nearly all of them or their customers are exporting milk to the EU.
This means all dairies are ultimately affected. How difficult is it to achieve SCC less than 400,000, and are we up to the challenge?
“Common wisdom” says that bedding should be refreshed often to provide a clean environment, while a close reading of the research literature suggests that to be ill-advised from the point of view of pathogen regrowth (as well as being less economical).
Pathogens in organic bedding reach high levels within a day or two of being placed in stalls and rebedding provides fresh organic materials that serve as food for the organisms – thus, frequent rebedding may not make a difference.
Two farms that used DMS directly from the separator in deep beds assigned two pens of animals to this study. The cows in each pen were of approximately the same parity and stage of lactation and were kept in the same pen for four full weeks in July and January.
A key factor for good milking is the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is responsible for milk letdown, and without oxytocin, cows will not be milked out completely or rapidly. Oxytocin is released into the blood in response to various stimuli, and causes contraction of the udder’s muscle cells.
Milk is available for removal from the udder because of these contractions. The process of oxytocin release can start with stimulation of the teats, specifically the teat ends, as this is where most nerve receptors are located. The sound of the vacuum pump in the parlor, or even the act of walking to the parlor, can also be stimuli for oxytocin release. Milking procedures either contribute to or depend upon this release of oxytocin.
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