In mysteries, the culprit sneaks in. There’s no sign that the safe was broken into – until the money is missing.

Given the high prevalence of subclinical hypocalcemia (SCH) and the high losses associated with this disease, the focus must be on prevention. There are two main approaches to prevention of SCH – dietary manipulation pre-calving and strategic oral calcium supplementation post-calving.

What have we learned in the last five years? In this first of a two-part series, the authors detail the challenge of subclinical hypocalcemia.

TRENDING TOPIC ARTICLE: HERD HEALTH This article was featured as one of our most popular herd health articles. to jump to the article below. University of Wisconsin’s Garret Oetzel and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.’s Brian Miller drilled down on the causes and effects of hypocalcemia. Many readers were likely surprised to learn that when combing clinical and subclinical cases, incidents of hypocalcemia in a 2,000-cow herd can cost a producer more than $60,000 a year. Oetzel is still providing information about the disease. Click here to read a recap of his presentation at the Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference in June, where he said nutritional management is the key to prevention.