This month’s VAS DC305 tip is on how somatic cell count can affect production. Everyone is conscious of what their bulk tank somatic cell count is because in many cases, it affects the milk check received. But somatic cell counts also affect the level of production that an animal will have, which also affects the milk check but not in an as-obvious way.

We wax poetic about dairy farming – it’s among the most iconic images of life in North America. But let’s not kid ourselves: it is a business. Complex. Unlike other businesses, it’s a 24-hour-a-day exercise in precision and intelligence. Technology solutions have become commonplace to help identify and control those variables, but the “intelligence” from these solutions is often not able to drive a corresponding reaction until hours or days later. And the person collecting the data often has to interpret the data on their own by comparing numerous different spreadsheets.

Lameness can be the most costly disease on dairies, even more so than mastitis. This is due to the high incidence of lameness on dairies. It is not uncommon to find 30 percent yearly incidence or higher on dairies, yet lameness is one of the least entered and tracked diseases.

This month’s VAS DC305 tip of the month is on transition. How well animals transition will greatly affect how they will do in their next lactation.

This month’s VAS DC305 tip of the month is on heat stress. We are entering into that time of year where heat abatement is extremely important. Cows that suffer from heat stress will produce less milk, conceive less often, stand longer and become lame, eat less, have smaller calves and are more susceptible to diseases.

This month’s VAS DC305 tip of the month is on replacement management. On many dairies, improvement in replacement management offers significant opportunity for economic gains.

This month’s VAS DC305 tip of the month is on reproduction. Reproduction is one of the most important areas on a dairy and can decide the level of success a dairy has. It not only provides the replacements and next generation of superior genetics, but also affects the cash flow on the dairy.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) introduces Dairy AdvanCE, a new online, one-stop professional development shop for the dairy industry.

This month’s VAS DC305 tip is on transition. How well animals transition will greatly affect how they will do in their next lactation. Poor transition will not only affect the production of the animal for the next lactation, but will also affect reproduction, somatic cell count and lifetime in the herd. All are very important and lead to lost income.

This month’s VAS DC305 tip is on clinical mastitis. Clinical mastitis is a very costly disease. Although poor milk procedures, dirty environments and faulty equipment can predispose cows, most mastitis is caused by an infectious agent. Treatment of mastitis (MAST event in DC305) caused by certain bacteria is not improved by antibiotic therapy, so not treating those cows will decrease antibiotic use, decrease hospital days and decrease milk withheld from sale.