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One of the most common questions dairy farmers ask is how to create an effective program to control digital dermatitis (DD), which is often followed up with the statement that despite their best efforts to run frequent footbaths, they still seem to struggle with too many cases of DD.
In recent years, dairy researchers have argued the social and economic benefits of a longer, healthier life for cows. Dairy producers, as well as consumers, are increasingly interested in understanding exactly how improvements to cow environments, health and decision-making tools can positively influence the lifetime productivity of cows.
Cold stress is recognized as a major challenge in managing dairy calves, and rightly so. However, a mature dairy cow can also respond negatively to prolonged cold weather, albeit more subtly.
A healthy dairy cow herd is paramount to the success of a productive dairy operation. To address and maintain strong herd health, a multitude of factors are to be considered.
Management practices and nutritional strategies during the transition period have a significant impact on the health and productivity of the dairy cow and, as a consequence, influence both the profitability and longevity of the herd.
There is a growing understanding that lame cows, once identified, should be treated as soon as possible. This can be difficult when producers rely on hoof trimmers, which may not be available on short notice.
As producers are looking to make improvements on their operations, cow cooling strategies have quickly become the main topic of discussion on most of my farm visits these days.
Reproduction is one of the most important aspects to any dairy operation. However, many dairy farms struggle to hit their herd’s reproductive goals. Reproductive performance and farm economic efficiency are related to uterine health status. Studies show that there is a strong association with postpartum endometritis and reduction in reproductive performance.
There is no doubt large-scale, sector-wide disease outbreaks can have significant economic consequences. Outbreaks can result in not only the loss of production from the disease itself but also the loss of infected animals in situations where it is beneficial or mandated to cull animals as a means of controlling the disease.
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