Hoof Health | Progressive Dairy

Designing concrete floors for dairy facilities to reduce lameness incidences

Factors contributing to a flooring surface with good traction include concrete floor surface, bedding type used, manure removal system and facility layout. Here is how to provide a proper and secure walking surface for cows to use for a long time.

March 17, 2023

David W. Kammel and Karl Burgi

Lameness can affect anywhere between 8% to 55% of dairy cows worldwide. The contributing causes of lameness are poor cow comfort, long standing time, heat stress, poor stockmanship and poor flooring.

Developing genetic, management tools to improve hoof health

Research from the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding and the University of Minnesota is identifying and recording hoof health traits on farms to establish a data pipeline that can result in U.S. genetic evaluations and improved herd management tools.

January 9, 2023

Kristen Parker Gaddis and Javier Burchard

The U.S. has high-quality data pipelines for the flow of production, fertility and health records, but there is not currently a pipeline of hoof health information. As an essential first step, CDCB, the University of Minnesota (UMN) and several collaborators are working to consistently identify and record hoof health traits.

Do not tolerate lame cows on the dairy

Lameness can be a key indicator of animal welfare on farms, and processors are paying attention. Producers are encouraged to work with their on-farm team to create a sustainable hoof health plan.

September 12, 2022

Jenn Coyne

At any given time, 25% of dairy cows in the U.S. are lame, and more than that experience lameness at some point throughout their lactation, according to Dr. Jennifer Walker, DVM.

SUMMARY

J1 students may be an option for employment

A hoof trimmer shares his experience bringing on a foreign intern for a year-long appointment.

August 18, 2022

Edwin (Skip) Blake

Hoof structural integrity, formation and the importance of hard alpha-keratin

May 7, 2022

Kayla Pecora

Nothing good can be built on a faulty foundation. On a cow, that foundation is its hooves. Therefore, it’s time to look at what the foundation is comprised of and how the foundation is built. We are still talking cows and hooves, though, right?

How one dairy herd recovered from a hairy wart problem

April 19, 2022

Aaron LaVoy

The last few years have been trying for everyone in the dairy industry, and dairy farmers are no exception to that. As a hoof trimmer of 18 years, I have been on hundreds of dairy farms worldwide and continue to be amazed by the levels of digital dermatitis (DD) I still see when visiting farms.

Footbath design: Is yours getting the job done?

February 25, 2022

Chip Hendrickson

Footbath protocols are vital to ensuring hoof health in your herd. Over the years, dairy producers across the globe have adapted their operations to have footbaths on the farm to help ward off infectious hoof disease such as digital dermatitis.