Dealing with Drought

Dealing with Drought. By Heather Smith Thomas.On dry years it can be a challenge to have enough forage for the cow herd.  There are several strategies that ranchers might utilize, to make it through a serious drought.Destocking/CullingIf pasture and hay are in short supply and expensive, some producers cull...

Incorporating Today’s Modern Tools into Mastitis Detection and Management

Incorporating Today’s Modern Tools into Mastitis Detection and Management. By Jaclyn Krymowski. There are many interconnected layers to dairy cattle management. Any issue within a single layer could indirectly or directly affect another one leading to a detrimental cascade of events. Mastitis is one...

Hoof Cracks in Dairy Cattle

Hoof Cracks in Dairy Cattle. By Heather Smith Thomas. Hoof cracks are fairly common in cattle.  These are usually divided into two categories—vertical (sandcracks) and horizontal.  If the crack goes clear through the hoof horn into sensitive tissue, it causes pain and lameness.Dr. Jan Shearer...

Tips for Promoting Cow Comfort

Tips for Promoting Cow Comfort. Article provided by Central Life Sciences. The summer months have arrived, and for most producers, those hot summer temperatures have already made their presence felt. These raised temperatures are responsible for causing heat stress in cattle. Heat stress can result in a...

Lameness Prevention with Proper Hoof Care

Lameness Prevention with Proper Hoof Care. By Maura Keller. Technology and equipment surrounding hoof care have come a long way over the years. Years ago, producers used such simple tools as rope and chisel for hoof care. Today, various types of specialty equipment, cleaning products, and data management...

Heat Stress Abatement in Dairy Facilities

Heat Stress Abatement in Dairy Facilities. By Jennifer VAN OS and Theodore Halbach - University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Services.Hot weather can bring a long list of problems for dairy producers. When cows are heat stressed, they eat less, produce less milk, have reduced immune function and higher SCC, and...

Dairy Stockmanship – Low-Stress Handling

Dairy Stockmanship – Low-Stress Handling. By Heather Smith Thomas. Ideally, we want our cows to respond to what we ask them to do—walk calmly into the milking parlor, be easily milked, go readily through a gate without running off, load willingly into a truck, and so on.  All too often when...

Foot Scald, Foot Rot and White Line Disease

Foot Scald, Foot Rot and White Line Disease. By JK Shearer1 and PJ Plummer1,2,3.1 Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine2 Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine3 National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and EducationFoot rot and foot scald are...