It has been long recognized that lameness in dairy cattle is important. It is usually recognized as coming in third to infertility and mastitis as a reason for culling.

Just as proven teat dips help control contagious mastitis, an effective footbath program can help control and prevent (not treat) the spread of infectious claw lesions on the dairy.

Salmonella spp. infection occurs when a susceptible animal ingests the bacteria. Dairy cattle ingest feed or water that has been contaminated with feces from animals shedding the organism.

Billboards posted around the country by a national restaurant chain boldly proclaim: “Get antibiotics from your doctor, not your beef.” The words are emotional, and the rhetoric is not likely to go away any time soon.

Paying attention to body condition score, feed intake and energy metabolism can help minimize the risk of your transition cows developing fatty liver. Even moderate cases of this condition can result in decreased milk production and poor reproductive performance.

We’ve become accustomed to the fact that if cows aren’t comfortable in their environment, milk production, reproductive performance and overall herd health will suffer.

In reality, each country or even regions of countries have very different dairy industries. The emphasis on mastitis prevention and control vary greatly as does the economic value of the milk products. Public health concerns also vary as does the interest in milk quality. Therefore, principle-based mastitis prevention should be applied to accommodate for these geographic and regional differences rather than specific recommendations.

Mastitis is the No. 1 disease with economic impacts to dairy producers. In fact, there are more than 30 microorganisms known to cause mastitis and seemingly just as many teat dip products. So how do you choose the best product for your dairy operation? The best approach is to choose a teat dip that:

Salmonella and Clostridial bacteria can be the cause of serious gastrointestinal diseases of cows and calves. While both types of bacteria can target the intestinal tract, cause death by the systemic effects of toxins and show up clinically as bloody diarrhea, they are very different in many other respects.

Late lactation is an important, yet often overlooked part of the lactation cycle. It’s easy to let cows coast to the finish line, getting fat and lazy along the way.