I have a good producing cow that showed lameness this morning. What would be the best time-frame to check her out?

This is a great question! The first thought that came to mind was that one word sticks out: ‘good’. A cow is only ‘good’ if you can keep her on all four feet and walking. Otherwise, before you know it, she moves from ‘good’ to ‘average’ and eventually to ‘cull’. I would like to answer your question by asking: “Would you wait to treat a cow with mastitis if you noticed it one morning?” Probably not! The quicker you determine the cause of lameness and deal with it, the better the chances of successful treatment.