Dairy Producer's Banquet is Thursday, Dec 5
 

This is a pretty exciting lineup. Dr. Bill Wavrin is our main speaker and will fill the morning. He is a dairyman, a veterinarian, a proclaimed capitalist, and humanitarian from how he sees his employees in his first talk "Organizing Milk Harvest - Producer Perspective on Infrastructure and HR." "What to Expect from Your Future Vet" is his second talk. He says, "Your vet is valuable with a sleeve or a scalpel, but more valuable when they lay them down." Dr. Wavrin and his brother have developed several dairies in the Pacific Northwest using their innovative philosophies. I came home from AABP 2023 thinking, our dairies need to hear this. It is not the party line you will hear from salespeople, but one that has been successful for them and could lauch your dairy into the future.
 

Dr Barb Peterson will keep you awake after lunch with "Bovine Influenza in the rear view mirror and practical biosecurity." She is the practitioner in West Texas that identified H5N1 as the cause of what was then a "mystery disease.' She started her career in West Texas, moved into a USDA slaughter plant, was our Vaccinova Tech service vet enhancing our Salmonella and Pinkeye vaccines, did some time with artificial intelligence and is now back in practice in West Texas. She has always lived on the edge of what is happening now and confronts opinions with knowledge.
 

Jason Hartschuh, OSU Dairy Extension Educator, will discuss "Identifying Mold and Mycotoxin Issues in Dairy Cattle". We seem to have more issues with these ornery toxins year after year and we need a plan to deal with them. Jason is also involved in his family dairy in North Central Ohio where cows are milked with robots and they keep an eye on where they need to be in the future.

Don't take two aspmn and call me in the morning AABP leadership has met with FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine for clarification on the extra-label use of aspirin. FDA has informed us that they have had media inquiries about aspirin use in dairy cattle. Aspirin is not an approved drug and has not gone through the drug approval process.FDA has informed AABP that using aspirin in dairy cattle for treatment of HPAI is illegal.

AABP recommends that veterinarians review treatment protocols with clients and inform dairy producers that use of aspirin is illegal per the FDA. Treatment protocols should always come from the prescribing veterinarian of record for all diseases where farm staff have been appropriately trained to treat the most common conditions identified on the operation.

USDA Rule Veterinarians are encouraged to review the USDA Animal Disease Traceability Rule (ADT) to ensure that clients are prepared to comply with the updated regulations which will be implemented on November 5, 2024. All official ear tags sold for or applied to cattle and bison must be readable both visually and electronically. The current ADT rule covers all sexually intact cattle and bison 18 months of age or older (which excludes most feeder cattle), all dairy cattle of any age, We have some USDA issued RFID tags that can be used for cattle movement.

 

 What are the feet telling you?

We all say we know about the importance of hoof care on our farms, but do we really know the impact of poor foot health? Are many of you doing this in house or having a trimmer come in? Do you have a schedule set up monthly, every other week, etc? Once the trimming is finished, it is important to set aside some time to evaluate the trimmer's records.
 

Dairy cows' hooves should be trimmed every four to six months to maintain their health and well­ being. Heifers hooves should be trimmed about 1-2 months prior to calving. Cows are normally trimmed once during early lactation (60-150 DIM) and then again before dry off. However, the frequency of trimming may vary depending on the cow's age, health, and living conditions. Older cows may need more frequent trimming. Cows with impaired mobility, foot rot, heel warts, hoof abscesses, or other health conditions need more frequent evaluation. Cows that spend time on softer surfaces may need more frequent trimming, while cows that spend time on harder surfaces may also need more frequent trimming to keep their feet comfortable. Producers need to be able to assess locomotion scores on their cows. Meaning, we have to watch cows walk!
 

Most trimmers will give you an account of what they worked on each day (this is also how many charge for their services). It is important to note if your trimmers are needing to use a lot of hoof blocks to treat sole abscesses or if they are wrapping many feet to treat digital dermatitis (hairy heel wart). Most trimmers will let you know if they are seeing changes in the hoof walls (maybe from pushing at the feed bunk) or improper nutrition. White line abscesses or foot rot may lead you to follow other paths to preserve hoof health.
 

Most studies suggest a loss of milk production of approximately 3 pounds of milk per cow per day or 900 pounds per lactation. But, losses due to foot rot or sole ulcers are the most severe causing upwards of ~2000 pounds per lactation. Digital dermatitis can cause very little milk production loss.
 

The effect of lameness on fertility losses can cause an increase in up to fifty extra days open depending on severity. Culling risk is increased up to 4 times higher in severely lame cows. Individual estimates of a single case of lameness can be as low as $100 in short, mild cases or up to $500 per case in the more severe cases. Other important factors are: cows that become lame tend to be the higher milking cows. Also, most farms do not keep herd based records on frequency of different hoof diseases so it is difficult to assess the main areas of concern in lameness.
 

Overall, lameness affects an average of 55% of cows in the herd. The economic impact varies so widely based on farm prevalent diseases and treatment modalities. All in all, we know how to help prevent foot problems in cows. So, keep up on foot baths, frequent trimming, and good flooring management. Make sure to train employees on animal handling because we know that sudden stops and turns, and excessive running can lead to damage of the hoof.
 

Dr. Nusbaum