A recent economic analysis estimated each clinically lame cow costs the dairy producer approximately $300. Costs associated with lameness include decreased milk production, reduced fertility and increased culling risk, treatment costs and labor requirements. Surveys indicate incidence of lameness on dairies varies between four and 55 cases per 100 cows per year and is dependent upon farm, location and time of year. Clearly, lameness is a costly disease and reducing its incidence will have a very favorable impact on dairy profitability.

Over the past few years, dry cow management has been re-examined with respect to nutrition housing and health. This [article] focuses on new ideas in lighting for dry cows and altering the length of the dry period as methods to improve overall productivity and health during the transition and subsequent lactation.

The Bible is an unending river of goodness and wisdom. When I was a child it was a library of compelling stories my parents and my Sunday school teachers used to coach me about the perils and evil persuasions of life. David and Goliath became my fight against the challenges of life.

How does a good cowman make the decision when to call the veterinarian? Most certainly do not call for professional help at the first sign of trouble. In their defense, I have observed that new, inexperienced DVMs in a dog and cat practice usually know more about the patient on the exam table than the owner. And the owner acknowledges it.

The largest agricultural exposition in the world will soon expand to include an additional 100,000 square feet of dairy exhibits. World Ag Expo’s leadership will move forward with the construction after the 2007 show ends and will debut the new project at the 2008 Expo.

More than 1,000 farmers, nutritionists, feed mill managers, students and journalists attended a lecture tour in January that focused on the effects of ethanol production on the animal feeding industry.

The ability of dairy cows to convert feedstuffs into products for human consumption is generally referred to as feed efficiency and is expressed as pounds of milk produced per pound of dry matter (DM) consumed. This expression represents a gross measure of feed efficiency and does not account for nutrients partitioned to reproduction, growth and tissue deposition. Thus, interpretation of the value obtained should consider stage of lactation, age and stage of gestation for the herd in question.

During the past few years, there has been a noticeable increase in publication of applied cow behavior research. Presently, many of the most active research groups in dairy cattle behavior are located in Europe and Canada. We need more dedicated research effort in the United States on applied behavior, and greater collaborative efforts, with a goal of developing decision support tools that assist the producer and consultant in making profitable decisions by accurately modeling behavioral responses to facilities and management and associated changes in cow and herd performance.

Editor’s note: The following material is sourced from writings by Dr. Nigel Cook. An extended version of this information is called “Footbath alternatives” and is available at www.vetmed.wisc.edu/dms/fapm/fapmtools/lameness.htm Footbaths are used as a tool to assist in control of infectious diseases of the claw and interdigital area of the foot. Foot rot and hairy heel warts are the main infectious diseases of the foot, and each respond only partially to footbath use. Both diseases are directly related to the level of environmental hygiene. Footbaths are generally viewed as helpful when disease is present at a low (less than 10 percent) level. When more animals are affected with disease, such as hairy heel wart, other methods must be employed for treatment.

Operating a dairy milking center involves managing a number of issues so a satisfactory end result is accomplished. It involves labor management, work routine organization, mastitis control, cow physiology, Grade A milk production regulations and agricultural economics. The involved parties may have different views of objectives and satisfactory results, so that has to be discussed and agreed upon. Once determined, the overall effort of running the milking operation must be aimed at meeting those objectives. The objectives need to be communicated to all involved from shift managers to milkers so everyone knows the procedures and goals.