HERD HEALTH

Digital dermatitis (DD) is a major cattle disease priority, and lameness is the top syndrome impacting cattle production and welfare, according to a recent Ruminant Health and Welfare grassroots survey.

Dairy farming sustainability is affected by many factors, with one of the biggest being high production efficiency. Maximizing your allowable high-quality milk shipments in a supply-managed system from the fewest number of healthy cows affects the farm’s economic sustainability.

If you’ve heard cow comfort talked about once, you’ve heard it 1,000 times: “If you take care of your cows, they will take care of you.”

Tip 1: More on a brisket locator

The brisket locator keeps the cow from moving forward while resting and helps position the cow in the stall and preserves forward lunge space. It also provides a bracing point for cows as they get up.

Tip 1: Improve the stall surface

When cows are not provided with a comfortable place to rest, they will not use or occupy the stalls well. Hock injuries are commonly observed in situations where cows are forced to lie on a hard surface or when insufficient bedding is provided.

“When we first started talking about cow comfort, about 20 years ago, we were talking about stalls … originally it was meant as a cow lying down in a comfortable place,” said Dr. Don Niles, co-owner and manager of Dairy Dreams LLC.