The battle with mastitis has always been an on-going, difficult challenge for the dairy producer. Research shows that in addition to the $150 economic loss per diagnosed case of mastitis from discarded milk, antibiotic treatment, decreased production and time spent managing treatment, mastitis also takes a toll on the dairy cow’s reproductive success. Several studies support the detrimental effects of mastitis, including research from the University of Tennessee. This study’s objective was to identify the presence and strength of the relationship between mastitis and reproduction within a 758-cow Jersey herd. Reproduction data was collected and analyzed over a 10-year period.

Larger dairy units and the introduction of automatic milking systems will increasingly emphasize the importance of reducing risks for lameness, since immobile animals will not fit into a system with low labor input. Despite much effort to reduce lameness worldwide, treatments of lameness do not seem to subside. Previously there was a general assumption that the cow’s feet environment was of primary concern for the outcome of lameness. Hygiene was the final message to prevent infectious claw diseases. At that time, herd problems with digital dermatitis (DD) exploded and were blamed as a cause for most lameness problems.

“Drug misuse on dairy cows prompts federal warning,” Star Tribune, Nov. 21, 2009 Newspaper headlines such as the above are becoming too common. The Star Tribune published an article in November 2009 recounting the reprimand of two local Minnesota dairy producers by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sending cows to slaughter with “dangerously high” violative drug residue levels in their system.

Johne’s disease remains a significant threat to the dairy industry worldwide, even though knowledge and tools are available to effectively relegate these bacteria back to their native environment – the soil. In the research laboratory, there are many obstacles to developing solutions for Johne’s. On the farm, however, there appear to be just three: anxiety, prioritization and inaction.

For more than 200 years, vaccines have saved millions of lives and prevented human diseases like polio, measles, mumps and many others. Most people don’t realize that dairy cows are responsible for this life-saving invention. In 1796, Sir Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids who developed cowpox lesions on their hands also were resistant to smallpox. To prove his theory, Jenner infected an orphan boy with the cowpox virus, and he too was fully protected from the deadly virus. This discovery led to the development of the smallpox vaccine.

The producer/veterinarian relationship is an important piece of the herd health puzzle. One way your veterinarian can contribute to your operation’s success is by putting together the pieces of an effective vaccination program to help prevent respiratory and reproductive diseases. With nearly 125 different respiratory and reproductive disease vaccines available, the ever-growing vaccine marketplace can make purchase decisions difficult. But your veterinarian can cut the confusion with a tailored vaccination program that takes into account your individual herd health history, production goals, management capabilities and performance measurements.

Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) affects cattle of all ages, in every herd size, worldwide and in every U.S. state. This aggressive enemy has infiltrated herds for 60 years. Testing can aid in defeating BVD, but eradicating the costly disease calls for dairymen to do their part in the fight as well. “It is possible to eradicate BVD from all dairy herds,” says Dr. Scott Smith, of The Dairy Authority (TDA) in Greeley, Colorado. “All it takes is compliance and cooperation.” Smith, who has practiced dairy medicine exclusively since 1999, is passionate about BVD control programs in cattle and oversees the IDEXX HerdChek BVDV Antigen ELISA Ear-Notch and Serum testing at TDA Lab.

Due to the global spread of digital dermatitis (hairy heel wart or strawberry heel) over the last 25 years, the prevention of lameness in dairy herds now ranks alongside fertility and mastitis as one of the top three farm management issues that have the most negative economic impact on a dairy. In the same time period, it has been widely accepted that once digital dermatitis is present on a given farm, it cannot be eradicated and so a regular footbathing regime must be implemented on-farm in order to control the background levels of causative organisms and to stop the spread of infection.

Who is responsible for the safety and quality of dairy products? Dairy producers? Processors? Retailers? Consumers? In fact, all of these parties – from farm to fork – share in this responsibility. What starts as a high-quality product on the farm can be ruined somewhere along this chain. However, a poor-quality, inferior raw product leaving the farm cannot be transformed into a safe and high-quality product for the consumer.

A long, hot summer will impact the health and performance of dairy herds. There are many different systems that can be used to effectively cool cows in the summer. So, instead of focusing on the how to keep your cows cool, I want to discuss some common areas to watch to make sure your cows don’t get overheated and where the impact of heat stress may show up in your herd.