Johne’s disease is a persistent and debilitating bacterial disease that affects the intestines of ruminant animals. The common routes of infection are via ingestion of colostrum or milk contaminated by infected cows. For this reason, Johne’s prevention strategies revolve around calf management and herd testing.

Infection can also occur when feed contaminated with manure containing the MAP pathogen is eaten, particularly by youngstock. For this reason, manure application to forages is a potential source of infection.

Herdsmen and other workers often need to do “veterinary things.” They may treat sick cows, give hormone injections or treat mastitis.

One thing you can do to limit costs and maximize milk production is to carefully examine your current mastitis protocols. From my experience, in the average herd, the mastitis incidence rate runs about 20 percent.

You never know how much a leaky furnace will cost you until a very large utility bill arrives in the mailbox. Even though fixing the furnace would take an investment, the return of efficiency would be worth the cost in the long term.

The measure of somatic cell count (SCC) is critical in determining udder health. According to the National Mastitis Council, a herd with a bulk tank SCC of 200,000 cells/mL or greater is considered to be producing “abnormal” milk.

Hoof health and lameness in dairy cows and heifers continues to be a challenge for our industry.

When it comes to dairy management, hoof care often gets set aside on many operations – especially when cash flow begins to slow.

We are all consumers of the wonderful dairy products we help produce, thus improving milk quality on the farm makes a difference to you as a consumer and as a producer because quality affects the profitability of your dairy.

The abomasum normally lies on the floor of the abdomen, but can become filled with gas and rise to the top of the abdomen when it is said to be ‘displaced’.