HERD HEALTH

Hoof lesion recording is imperative for effectively managing a dairy farm. Managers must make decisions based on cow history every day, including breeding, treatment and culling decisions.

Digital dermatitis, also referred to as “hairy heel warts,” produces painful lesions that can lead to lameness in cows, ultimately resulting in decreased milk production and lowered reproductive performance.

Dairy barns are meant to be comfortable and safe housing for cattle. But other animals tend to make a barn their home as well. These uninvited visitors pose a serious threat.

One of the most common questions dairy farmers ask is how to create an effective program to control digital dermatitis (DD), which is often followed up with the statement that despite their best efforts to run frequent footbaths, they still seem to struggle with too many cases of DD.

When it comes to perfecting the pre-fresh diet for transition cows, it’s all about getting the recipe right. But recipes are more than just the nutritional ingredients.

Body condition scoring (BCS) is a simple and powerful technique that, by evaluating the thickness of subcutaneous fat and therefore its mobilization, evaluates animals’ energy balance, which is highly associated with health and performance.