Everyone is aware that cows with mastitis give less milk, but we usually only consider the milk loss of clinical cows and tend to overlook the losses due to subclinical cases.

Part of a nutritionist’s job is to give recommendations for the target level of refusals needed for maximum profitability. A typical goal is 2 to 5 percent, but this varies a lot from farm to farm, with a few farms even having a goal of zero refusals.

Every dairy producer wonders how much they dare overcrowd the freestall barn. When asked that question, I usually respond that they can go 15 percent over for a two-row pen and 5 percent over for a three-row pen. However, I do realize that’s likely the wrong answer for almost everyone.