How confident are you in your ability to eyeball a cow’s bodyweight? What about your ability to notice a 200-pound difference between two animals? What about your employees’ ability to notice that same difference?

Antibiotic dosages are determined by individual cattle bodyweight.

Feed and labor. These are usually the two biggest items on dairy producers’ minds when they think about their cost of production. What they might not think about as often is the cost of replacement heifers. Between feed, labor, production, capital and overhead costs, herd owners have reported spending between $1,533 and $2,628 for each heifer raised.

Nearly 36 million hooves from 9 million dairy cows are making their imprint on U.S. dairy farms, according to recent USDA statistics. With that many cows in production, hoof health becomes an important factor for the dairy industry in maintaining overall dairy wellness. The Dairyland Initiative from the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Veterinary Medicine examines the impact housing environments have on dairy cow health and well-being. This includes the use of footbaths and their role on hoof health.

How often do you or your dairy employees stop treatment because a cow looks better? If your herd manager or person responsible for administering treatment doesn’t show up to work, do your health records provide enough information for someone to pick up where they left off?