BOTTOM LINE Thursday, April 16, 2020 SECTION E
Sharing ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.
Apply #WeanClean philosophy to calves THERESA OLLIVETT
Without a doubt weaning is a stressful time for young dairy calves. They undergo changes to their diet as well as changes in their housing and social interactions. They may also be exposed to a variety of processing interventions. If respiratory disease isn’t prevented, a large number of calves will subsequently experience chronic pneumonia, typically in a subclinical manner. That affects performance and becomes a welfare issue. Calf-care managers should care for young dairy calves with the goal of minimizing the incidence of pneumonia during the pre-weaning period and maximizing each calf’s response to treatment. By doing so we can limit the number of calves that will need to undergo weaning with abnormal and unhealthy lungs. The #WeanClean™ philosophy presupposes that calves with normal lungs – healthy and ultrasonographically clean – will maintain growth during weaning. They will be less likely to require antibiotics for clinical pneumonia after weaning. To maximize every calf’s potential to transition through weaning with clean and healthy lungs, managers need to focus on calf-management aspects that are critical for preventing pneumonia. Provide fresh air, avoid over-crowding and ensure early antibiotic treatment to prevent pneumonia as well as increase probability of a satisfactory response to treatment. Keep in mind there is a significant link between gut health and respiratory health. That means all the management strategies employed to sustain optimal gut health and reduce scours also help reduce pneumonia – and potentially how
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Dr. Theresa Ollivett, veterinarian, checks an ultrasound monitor while assessing the lungs of a calf. well each calf responds to treatment for respiratory disease. Several management strategies are critical. clean and dry maternity area clean and disinfected housing and feeding equipment clean and dry bedding that allows for nesting passive transfer of maternal antibodies excellent-quality nutrition including milk, grain and water limited contact with older calves and adults The best way to know if treatment and prevention practices
are adequate and that calves are weaning with healthy and clean lungs is by working with a veterinarian to implement the fourpoint lung-ultrasound strategy of #WeanClean. Determine how many have pneumonia at the start of weaning. The goal is less than 15 percent. At the start of treatment consider how many have severe pneumonia when first treated. The goal is less than 15 percent. At seven to 10 days after treatment consider how many still have pneumonia after the first
treatment. The goal is less than 15 percent. Do “12x7” scans. Starting at seven days of age, scan 12 calves at seven-day intervals to determine the greater-risk age group. The first three steps serve to indicate if and why too many calves are weaning with abnormal lungs. If too many calves are weaning with pneumonia it means they weren’t treated or they didn’t respond to treatment. If too many calves have severe pneumonia when they’re treated for the first time with an antibiotic it suggests managers aren’t
spending enough time observing for calves that are most likely to contract pneumonia. It could also mean managers aren’t recognizing early signs of clinical respiratory disease. When too many calves still have pneumonia after a first treatment, assessments should be made regarding drug application. Perhaps the correct antibiotic was given but administered too late. Or maybe the correct antibiotic was given at the wrong dosage, duration or frequency. It’s also possible the wrong type of antibiotic was used based on the pathogen causing the pneumonia. For instance mycoplasma bovis is not affected by penicillin or ceftiofur-type antibiotics due to its cellular structure. Mannheimia haemolytica, another common cause of bacterial pneumonia, occasionally appears in the form of resistant strains. The last step of the four-point #WeanClean strategy is the “12x7” scanning. It helps determine the calves most likely to contract pneumonia; that can differ from farm to farm. The information can be used to train calf managers to focus on the correct calves to improve their ability to detect and treat early. In addition the fourth step can be used to establish routine weekly scans of greater-risk calves to treat them before clinical signs develop. Pneumonia in young dairy calves is sneaky. Implementing a #WeanClean philosophy will help calf-care managers quantify lung health and build the necessary framework for troubleshooting problem areas in the herd. Dr. Theresa Ollivett, veterinarian, is an assistant professor at University of Wisconsin-School of Veterinary Medicine. Email theresa.ollivett@ wisc.edu to reach her.
Control hoof health with teamwork, monitoring, recordkeeping
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eamwork, monitoring and recordkeeping are all important pieces of maintaining good hoof health and preventing lameness on dairy farms. A dairy farmer should be working with his or her entire team, including nutritionist, hoof trimGERARD mer, veterinarian CRAMER and others. We all see lameness as an impediment to progress and sustainability for a dairy. Digital dermatitis is one of the most common issues causing
Protect water quality with efficiency
lameness. Fortunately it’s one of the easiest of all foot diseases to control. The keys are to focus on heifers, use footbaths frequently and to treat appropriately. It’s a lifelong infection. We want to prevent it as much as possible because an animal will have it for life. At that point our goal is not to cure, but to control it to a degree that we can manage and maintain the animal in the herd. Intervention and control strategies should begin with heifers. If there’s no digital dermatitis in heifers pre-calving, the majority of them will remain clear in the lactation following calving. But if a heifer has multiple cases
before calving, the likelihood of digital dermatitis is much more. In treating digital dermatitis, the primary goal is to reduce pain as soon as possible using the appropriate products responsibly at the smallest possible dose of antibacterials such as tetracycline. A number of products are available on the market. Review laboratory tests and discuss potential efficacy with a veterinarian before using any new products. Collecting data on incidence and severity of digital dermatitis as well as other hoof-health issues is another key factor in hoof health. The use of footbaths for
increased incidences of digital dermatitis will bring cases to a more-controlled level. Timing of footbaths depends on a farm’s goals, which products a producer uses and the hygiene on the dairy. Use a “dial-up” approach to run the footbath as frequently as needed to reach the level of digital dermatitis desired on a farm. After that look at ways to reduce costs with fewer or different products as appropriate. Footbaths should be at least 10 to 12 feet long with 24-inch-tall sides to control splashing. The goal with a longer footbath is to increase contact time for cows as they are walking through.
To prevent corkscrew hoofs and sole ulcers routine monitoring and maintenance hoof trimming is important, especially for animals at greater risk. The goal should be to systematically monitor the herd to catch and find lame cows every one to two weeks. There should be someone in charge at every dairy whose job it is to monitor cows for lameness and hoof-health problems. Dr. Gerard Cramer, veterinarian, is an associate professor at University of Minnesota-College of Veterinary Medicine. Email gcramer@umn.edu to reach him.
“... more routine use, better results.” — Matt Nealy
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eveloping a nitrogen-management plan can be a challenge for farmers. They must factor in the dynamic nature of the nitrogen cycle, variable weather conditions, and contradicting messages from public and private sectors about appropriate nitrogen rates. Farmers are facing increasing fertilizer costs and scrutiny to decrease nitrate leaching. So ABBY AUGARTEN it’s important to improve nitrogen-application strategies for increased efficiency and protection of water quality. There are many complexities associated with nitrogen cycling. Using an onfarm nitrogen-assessment tool such as “Nitrogen-Use Efficiency” allows producers to evaluate nitrogen use for their specific systems and soils. University of Wisconsin-Discovery Farms has been collaborating with
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Please see AUGARTEN, Page E2
NEALAND FARMS NEWVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA The Nealy family 400 cows: 92 lbs/cow/day 100,000 SCC “What I like best about Udder Comfort™ is really two things that are related: The removal of swelling and how it helps with cell counts. Since installing the Udder Comfort Spray Gun 2 years ago, we use it more routinely with fresh cows because it is easy and fast to grab the gun and spray it on. The spray gun is more efficient, using 30 to 50% less spray per application. With more routine use, we get even better results, consistently lower SCCs, now averaging 100,000, and savings at the same time,” says Matt Nealy.
Matt is the ‘cow guy.’ He and his father Steve, cousin Tommy and uncle Tom operate the third generation Nealand Farms, milking 400 cows near Newville, Pennsylvania. “Udder Comfort is something we don’t cut when times are tough. Getting the swelling out faster means better milkouts earlier and higher quality milk. In addition to doing every fresh cow for a week, we mark our high-count cows on DHIA and do them too. We tried the knock-offs, but they don’t work. Udder Comfort works.”
Quality Udders Make Quality Milk
Keep the milk in the system 1.888.773.7153 1.613.652.9086 uddercomfort.com Call to locate a distributor near you. For external application to the udder only, after milking, as an essential component of udder management. Always wash and dry teats thoroughly before milking.