In the wake of published studies speaking to efficacy of intramammary treatments for gram-negative clinical mastitis, namely a five-day ceftiofur treatment option, experts weigh in on the pros and cons, specifically, of the five-day treatment plan.

I meet very few people that enjoy change and more that actually resist it. Not sure why that is, as in my years of being a veterinarian, I have had minimal impact on the changes that continue to impact the dairy industry.

The following information was presented at the National Mastitis Council Annual Meeting in January 2013. Click here to visit NMC online.

To assert that dairy farming is a rapidly changing business in today’s world is an understatement. Not only is technology driving change on the farm at a never-before-seen pace, it is driving change with cooperatives, processors, retailers and consumers alike.

None of us can afford to do business in the same manner we did in the past. This particularly applies to animal agriculture.

The milk quality premium has long been the standard in the U.S. dairy system. Producers are rewarded for producing milk with lower somatic cell counts with dollars that are over and above the flat price per hundredweight (cwt). This system has been around for a long time for good reason: It works.

When making the decision to use a modified-live vaccine (MLV) or a killed vaccine specifically for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), it’s important to balance risk with achieving the greatest benefit from a vaccination protocol.

If dairy veterinarians still viewed their primary role as treating individual sick animals, many in the profession would be obsolete.

The 60-cow stanchion barn no longer dominates the culture of the dairy industry, and producers have evolved to a new era of dairying.

Progressive research, innovative technologies and planned marketing opportunities have helped producers grow with the industry.