Herd Health

Four dairy veterinarians answered this question: Of herd health challenges that you face with clients, which are the most difficult to address?

With so many cattle vaccines available – nearly 125 different vaccines are currently on the market – there is a considerable amount of information, and misinformation, out there. To help clear up some misconceptions, Vic Cortese, DVM, PhD, DABVP and Pfizer Animal Health, bust nine common vaccine myths.

As we head into winter, safeguarding teat condition becomes an important issue. Because colder, windier, and in some areas, rainier weather, all contribute to teat condition problems, maintaining teat condition becomes a year-round effort.

This article was #20 in PDmag's Top 25 most-well read articles in 2010.

Summary: The Dairy Research Center at Oregon State University served as the first U.S. farm to test out a new telemetric monitoring system. The system included a leg pedometer that measured steps and lying down time, two types of in-line probes that measured milk production, and a scale that weighed each cow after every milking.

Because this article was so popular, we asked the Oregeon State University researchers a follow-up question:

On average, a person uses 18 gallons of water to take a shower. The average shower length is about 9 minutes with an average temperature of 107.5°F. That’s a lot of hot water for taking a shower. Now throw in laundry, washing dishes, etc., and you can see why a family needs a good hot water heater. It also makes sense that a larger family requires a water heater with more capacity. Right? As a dairy producer, do you know how much water you’re using in the parlor and milk house and at what temperatures?

Six dairy industry experts answer questions about the causes and ramifications of dairy lameness.