Herd Health

Whether moving weaned calves into a new group or bringing springing heifers into the transition barn, many dairy producers have come to accept that a pen move will likely result in temporarily decreased feed intake, reduced gains or production, and the potential for a few sick or “off” animals.

Advances in genetics, nutrition and management have led to larger increases in milk production per cow over the past 40 years. These production increases have also led to growing heat stress problems for lactating and close-up cows in warm weather.

In his fifth edition of Dairy Cattle and Milk Production published in 1939, Dr. Clarence Eckles reported that the “ratio between the human population and the number of cows in the United States had remained essentially the same since 1850.” At that time, there were 36 million dairy cows in the U.S. producing an average of 8,700 pounds of milk per lactation.

Talking about cow comfort involves listening to and understanding numerous opinions on this issue. Nevertheless, what is real cow comfort? How can it be judged? In addition, maybe even more importantly, how can it contribute to profitable dairy farming?

Nuisance flies are a vector of disease and an irritant to cattle and workers on a dairy operation. Because of the confined nature of a dairy, it is important to use an integrated pest management (IPM) program for effectively controlling fly populations.

Bedding choice directly influences cow comfort, but the decision on which material to put underneath cows must consider several other factors, such as cost, availability, ease of handling, udder health, pathogen growth and more.