Cow Health

No off-season: Managing stress in dairy’s metabolic athletes

dshock@novavet.com — Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

The modern dairy cow is a metabolic athlete. On a per-kilogram bodyweight basis, her daily energy turnover rivals that of a National Hockey League (NHL) athlete on game day. The difference is that she does this day-in, day-out, without recovery until dry-off.

IBR in cattle: A practical guide for cattle producers

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) is a fast-moving upper respiratory disease that can quietly drain profitability in beef and dairy herds. It spreads quickly through close contact and, like other herpes viruses, it doesn’t leave the herd once it arrives.

From dry-off to peak milk: Best practices that set transition cows up for success

matthew.boyle@zoetis.com — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Looking at optimizing the entire transition period may seem like a daunting task at first, but it gets easier when we break it down into three key time periods: 60 days pre-fresh, 30 days pre-fresh and 30 days post-fresh.

BRSV in cattle: What farmers need to know

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 00:00:00 -0500

BRSV is a common cause of respiratory illness in calves. It can have lasting and even deadly effects. Prevention is the only effective measure to control it.

Step in, scrub down: Enhancing dairy farm biosecurity with boot wash stations

rrobertshaw@canarm.ca — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 -0500

When placed strategically and used consistently, boot wash stations help protect vulnerable animals, reduce cross-contamination and promote a culture of care and responsibility.

Health events in dairy cattle: Prevent them all for optimal repro

axb779@psu.edu — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Health events are undesirable events in dairy farms and, in my opinion, are one of the biggest challenges the dairy industry has been facing. Although the incidence of some specific diseases – such as milk fever or clinical ketosis – has decreased in the last 20 years or so, the overall percentage of animals experiencing one or more diseases in the first 60 days after calving hasn’t changed.

Tapping into data to improve transition cow health and farm ROI

steven.pavelski@nedap.com — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 00:00:00 -0400

From pre-fresh to post-fresh, data from automated monitoring technology empowers dairies to act earlier, manage smarter and achieve stronger returns – one transition cow at a time.

Can dry cows see the future? How monitoring technology can predict fresh cow issues

tiago.tomazi@merck.com — Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Your cows may not have a crystal ball, but monitoring technology used during the dry period may provide valuable information that can be used to predict the risk of potential health disorders that could affect lactation performance post-calving. Considering dry cows often are “out of sight and out of mind,” monitoring technology can fill the gap by keeping tabs on them 24-7.

Making leukosis management easier than you think

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Bovine leukosis is a persistent and incurable disease affecting the health, productivity and profitability of dairies. It is caused by the bovine leukemia virus (BLV), which primarily infects lymphocytes, the immune cells responsible for antibody production and combatting viral disease. Read about a project to validate different BLV test options and strategies.

Negative DCAD diet still holds key to health and performance

ruby.wu@churchdwight.com — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Even though millions of cows and hundreds of research trials have demonstrated the positive benefits of feeding a negative DCAD diet, there are always those who look for new and better ways to accomplish the goal of reducing incidence of clinical and subclinical milk fever. While those interventions do exist, it is hard to beat the proven efficacy of feeding a negative DCAD diet.

Build immunity to control hemorrhagic bowel syndrome

Joel.Pankowski@churchdwight.com — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Hemorrhagic bowel syndrome (HBS) is a silent, confounding killer in dairy herds. It’s particularly stressful because the exact cause of HBS is unknown. There are few symptoms, it often impacts older high-producing cows, and it’s nearly always fatal. Often you don’t know a cow has HBS until it’s too late.

Managing metritis in dairy cows

sleblanc@uoguelph.ca — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Most dairy cows have potentially disease-causing bacteria in their reproductive tract in low abundance. Cows develop uterine infection and disease when the pathogens overgrow and become dominant. Cows need to have a rapid, robust and well-regulated inflammatory response in the uterus during and immediately after calving to detach the placenta, keep bacterial pathogens in check and start uterine repair.

When and how much muscle do cows lose and gain throughout lactation?

jboerma@purdue.edu — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Skeletal muscle plays a crucial role in dairy cows’ health and productivity, but it’s also a very dynamic tissue. It can be mobilized to support milk production during periods of negative energy balance, but recovery of lost muscle is much slower.

Addressing parlor challenges: A three-legged stool for success

matt_dodd@diamondv.com — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The parlor is a critical place on a dairy to have productivity and efficiency dialed in 365 days a year. When it comes to leveling up your parlor output, audits are a helpful tool in finding ways to fine-tune and uncover areas for improvement that drive milk harvest success – ultimately impacting the dairy’s bottom line.

A persistent culprit: Mycoplasma bovis

jason.anderson@vaxxinova.com — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Among the more problematic pathogens affecting cattle, Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) stands out for its involvement in chronic infections. The interaction between the outer makeup of the microorganism and the animal’s immune response contributes to its insidious nature, making treatment as well as prevention difficult.

Ruminating for better health

matheus@uoguelph.ca — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

One possible use of wearable sensor devices, such as collars, ear tags or leg bands, is to leverage the prepartum information generated by these devices for predictive assessments of future health and performance and for targeted management.

What is your herd's lifetime productivity?

marc-antoine_guesthier@cargill.com — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

By focusing on key factors that can influence your herd lifetime productivity and taking a holistic view of your farms, you can identify opportunities to maximize your herd efficiency and the long-term sustainability of your operation.

Which pregnancy test is right for your operation?

rachel.budd@metzgervet.com — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Most dairy farms follow a regular herd health schedule with a veterinarian, commonly using ultrasound every two weeks (or weekly, for the largest herds) to diagnose pregnant cows. However, with the introduction of more accessible, affordable and impactful options, it may be time to reconsider some common assumptions.

Getting cozy: Pair-housing calves as a potential solution to cold stress

jvanos@wisc.edu — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

A less-studied strategy to help calves cope with cold stress could be through having a companion. Pair or group housing of calves has become a popular topic of discussion over the past few decades. We conducted a study to measure if pair-housing calves in a dual hutch system could help reduce the effects of cold stress during winter. Read about the study's results.

IgY: A new tool for the calf health toolbox

rls30@cornell.edu — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Producers today have a new tool available to help keep calves healthy and minimize sickness events before weaning. That tool is IgY.

Is treating mastitis with antibiotics always necessary?

carina.cooper@vetoquinol.com — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

As dairy producers improve their management practices and the milk yield of their herds, mastitis will always be a threat to cows. Before jumping to antibiotic therapy, it is beneficial to provide an anti-inflammatory and pain relief.

Investigating causes of late-term abortions

angie.rowson@vaxxinova.com — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Learn common pathogenic and nonpathogenic causes of late-term abortions and how dairy producers, their herd veterinarian and veterinary diagnostic laboratories can work together to help find the cause of late-term abortions.

Research Review: IRCs in dairy science – what we’ve accomplished and what’s coming next

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

One of DFC's research investments is Industrial Research Chairs (IRCs), which coordinate multiple research projects under one initiative to find solutions for industry-wide priorities. DFC, along with the NSERC and multiple sector partners, helps to fund IRCs on high-priority issues for Canada’s dairy industry.

Sick calves: Where did I trip up?

ccarter@immucell.com — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

I graduated college thinking I had learned everything I would need to know to be successful in a career in animal science. My first job as a calf-raising manager on a large calf ranch showed me that was far from the truth. I’m not saying college didn’t prepare me. It’s that I never would have expected to fail as much as I did.

The role of phytochemicals during the transition period

animalnutrition@adm.com — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0400

If we consider how plants can help our heifers and cows conquer that daunting transition period, there may be more than simply forages, in terms of plants, to consider. Let us dig into the world of phytochemicals.

On-farm training to treat lame cows: Identifying lameness on the modern dairy farm

lerickson@zinpro.com — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0400

All lactating cows should be locomotion scored on a weekly basis. This is a great start in identifying cows that could benefit from a trip through the trimming chute. In addition to locomotion scoring, what other techniques can we implement on a daily basis that could help us catch the cows with an early onset of lameness?

Are ‘mid-lactation milk fevers' a misnomer?

nmichael@pdscows.com — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Producers are encouraged to work with their management team to identify risk factors that may lead to this mid-lactation down cow syndrome.

Rumen upsets: Do they have to be upsetting?

louderdvm@gmail.com — Thu, 30 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

If cows could just tell us when they get an upset tummy, maybe we could help them get through the episode without a hitch. Before we can discuss rumen dysfunction, we need to understand what normal rumen function looks like.

Vaccine-adverse reactions: How to minimize the lumps and bumps

richard.linhart@vaxxinova.com — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Vaccine products that are administered to cattle are foreign to the animal’s body. The goal is for the body to recognize these foreign organisms and develop an immune response for protection in the event of a future disease challenge.

Research Review: What does an average veterinary herd health management visit look like, and can it be optimized?

Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Discover how to use herd health visits as an opportunity to optimize health, welfare and production, leading to more informed, timely decisions to improve herd management over time.