HERD HEALTH

In the world of dairy nutrition, new recommendations are continually being made. An important area of focus in which new advances are being made is dry cow nutrition, especially the close-up dry cow period, as it is a crucial time.

Maternity is a classically overlooked and poorly understood area of the farm. This high-impact area affects both cow and calf – and therefore is a potential source of variation.

Feeding a negative DCAD diet works. Science and on-farm application have proven time and again that feeding negative DCAD diets to pre-fresh cows prevents milk fever and helps minimize other common postpartum problems.

Promoting a surface on which cows want to lie down is about more than just comfort. The bedding material a dairy chooses plays a critical role in preventing mastitis, reducing injury, regulating temperature and fitting into the overall management system.

Great strides have been made recently in improving the fertility of dairy cows, with significant focus on genomics and improvements in sync programs.

There are now stricter regulations of antibiotics commonly used in the animal-feeding industry. Livestock and poultry producers alike have been accused of overfeeding various antibiotics, largely for growth promotion purposes (i.e., for increased feed efficiency and profitability).