Continuing education for professional hoof trimming is more than just reading articles and sitting in meetings. Finding opportunities where your practices and habits are put to the test to sharpen your skill set is the type of practice that separates exceptional professional hoof trimmers from experienced ones. 

Digital dermatitis (DD) remains one of the most persistent and costly challenges on dairies. Effective prevention requires proper hoof immersion, consistent chemical concentration and repeatable exposure.

Progressive Dairy connected with Demetrio Bautista Ortiz, a hoof care consultant with Save Cows Network, to discuss on-farm training, employee engagement and creating a support network for improved hoof health on U.S. dairy farms.

Lameness continues to be one of the most persistent challenges in modern dairy herds. Herd manager Skylar Gericke, overseeing both Triple G Dairy and LegenDairy – owned by the Gingg family in Buckeye, Arizona – has firsthand experience.

As dairies have grown, the game has changed for operation managers as well. Issues like lameness are no longer an afterthought because we have learned a dairy cow’s hoof health is directly tied to her performance and the dairy’s profitability. 

Following the most recent Kinder Ground’s Hoof Care Academy (KHCA) in Minnesota, the host dairy farm’s professional hoof trimmer and veterinarian spoke of the importance of collaboration to manage hoof health on a dairy. Here are the big takeaways.