Old Newsletters

Mastitis continues to be one of the biggest challenges to dairy production. While the ultimate goal is to produce a high quality product for human consumption, dealing with the whole herd mastitis issue can sometimes become overwhelming. When that happens, it's best to take an established approach to the problem, figure out the cause and attack it using proven methods that have a scientific basis.

It always helps to know exactly what you're fighting when it comes to mastitis or any other disease. Mastitis causing organisms are grouped into environmental and contagious categories and each is handled differently. The only way to know for sure what you're up against is to do culturing. Bulk tank cultures are the best initial screening tool because it gives us a quantitative look at what pathogens are present. Once bulk tank culture results are done we can make an educated decision about how to control the problem.

Contagious organisms (Strep ag and Staph aureus) were the primary problem 20+ years ago but today it is the environmentals (E coli, CN Staph and Environmental Streps) that tend to be more frequently the problem. Some environmentals such as E. coli, are quite opportunistic and the cow's immune system successfully eliminates them after a brief period. Other environmentals such as the environmental streps have become more "host adapted" and may present as mild clinical cases that erroneously appear to resolve when the case has actually returned to a "subclinical" state. Both of these scenarios make it very difficult for the producer to discern success of mastitis treatment.

Obviously, making better treatment decisions involves analyzing outcomes to treatment. The difficulty lies in knowing what really happened after treatment. If the cow's immune system successfully fought it off, as in most cases of E. coli mastitis, or if the milk returns to a normal appearance but the infection has simply reverted to the subclinical state, we may be putting credit for the treatment success where it doesn't belong.

There is, however, scientific evidence that we can make use of to help us make better treatment decisions. We know for sure that older cows have a greater risk of both clinical and subclinical mastitis than younger cattle and that the older cattle have poorer responses to treatment. Also, cows with a history of previous cases of clinical mastitis are less likely to respond to therapy. In fact, cows treated for the first time in the lactation were 7 times more likely to result in a bacteriological cure and 11 times less likely to have a recurrence as compared to cows that had experienced previous cases in that lactation.

One of the biggest factors in treatment success is what pathogen we're actually treating. While some types of infection will spontaneously cure, therapeutic cure rates for several pathogens (yeasts, pseudomonas, mycoplasma, serratia, etc) are essentially zero, regardless of treatment. Environmental streps typically respond well to intramammary therapy and have a very low spontaneous cure rate and have a high rate of recurrence when antibiotics are not used. Staph aureus infections tend to be chronic and are not considered cost effective to treat. Typically with Staph aureus cure rates are less than 35% and when clinical signs disappear the infection has simply returned to the subclinical state.

Duration of therapy can be a significant factor in treatment outcome. Some organisms tend to be more invasive than others. Duration of treatment for the more invasive organisms such as Staph aureus should be 5 to 8 days. However, this extended treatment results in greater treatment costs, more discarded milk losses and does not help in those cases caused by the less invasive organisms such as CN staph and E. coli. Again, knowing what we're treating makes a big difference in how we attack each case.

Treatment with systemic antibiotics in addition to intramammary treatment is frequently a question that producers struggle with. In general, if the cow is clinically sick (running a temp, off feed and looks depressed) systemic antibiotics (given either IV or IM) are going to result in fewer cases leaving the herd either because of death or culling.

Finally, the question of homeopathic treatments and their efficacy is frequently asked. Do these herbal or botanical preparations help at all? Unfortunately there are almost no scientific studies to help answer that question. Of the studies that have been done, the effect of homeopathic treatments for mastitis has not proven to demonstrate any efficacy.

Avoiding Violative Antibiotic Residues in Milk and Meat

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) conducts random tests to ensure beef products entering the food supply do not contain antibiotic levels that violate FDA standards. This testing protocol has been updated continuously since its inception in 1967.

If an animal tests positive for antibiotic residues, the carcass and offal are held, pending an additional test to confirm the residue. If the second tests confirm the violation, the carcass is destroyed and the producer is not paid for the animal. The violation is reported to the USDA/FSIS and the producer's name and the name of the packing plant or livestock market receiving the animal is placed on the FSIS Residue Violation Information System list for a 12-month period.

The law requires that the animal's owner be notified of the violation. That owner will also be notified that cattle originating from that farm will be subject to enhanced inspection and testing. The plant requires that the producer receives Beef Quality Assurance or Dairy Beef Quality Assurance training and obtains a certificate signed by a veterinarian or authorized trainer before cattle will be accepted from the farm. Once the producer has received training, cattle will be accepted from the farm. However, cattle from that farm will be placed under greater scrutiny for one year. While second violations are rare, the consequence is refusal by the plant to accept any cattle from that producer.

The best way to stay off the FSIS list is to follow check-off-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Guidelines for Responsible Use of Antibiotics which clearly state how these products should be used.

The guidelines specifically outline the appropriate use of antibiotics:
  • Prevent disease through management by emphasizing animal care, biosecurity,
    hygiene and health maintenance.
  • Establish a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) for any use of a
    prescription drug.
  • Identify health problems early and accurately.
  • Use antibiotics correctly.
  • Select antibiotics only if you suspect an infection.
  • Avoid using antibiotics that are important in human medicine.
  • Use a narrow spectrum of antimicrobials whenever possible.
  • Read the label and follow the withdrawal times.
  • Treat the fewest number of animals possible.

Keep accurate records. A good record keeping system includes the following:
  • Identify all animals treated.
  • Record drug used.
  • Put down dates treated. If more than once, record first and last dates of
     treatment.
  • Record dosage (amount) used.
  • Always review treatment records before shipping an animal to ensure proper
     meat and milk withdrawal have been met.
  • FDA recommends that all treatment records should be kept a minimum of three
     years.
  • Antibiotic use should always be limited to prevent or control disease and should
     not be used if the principal intent is to improve performance.

For more information on BQA visit www.bqa.org. The Minnesota Beef Council (MBC) has produced several brochures and posters on Responsible Antibiotic Use in English and Spanish. Contact the MBC at (952) 854-6980 or ron@mnbeef.org.

Make prevention a priority. New tests will be even more sophisticated. Responsible dairy producers know that healthy animals are the foundation of safe food. Disease prevention to keep cows well is the key to their success. Use as few antibiotics as possible to protect public health, and be good stewards of the environment.

*From: Ronald Eustice, Executive Director of the Minnesota Beef Council. Hoard's Dairyman, January 10, 2011, p.11.

Dairy's Brave New Exporting World

In late 2008 and early 2009 the global recession restricted credit which forced importers of dairy products to stop buying. Through the early part of 2009 export tonnage dropped 35% which is the equivalent of nearly 3 billion pounds of production on an annual basis. For the year, U.S. export volumes dropped to 9.3% of total production and value dropped 39%. As a result the U.S. All-Milk price crashed from $18.80/cwt. in 2008 to $12.81/cwt. in 2009.

The European Union experienced a similar pressure on dairy prices in 2009, though its intervention policy required European governments to purchase large quantities of surplus dairy products. As a consequence, the EU had a huge financial incentive to limit imports. During the summer of 2009, EU auditors came to the United States to inspect dairy plants and ensure that U.S. manufacturers were complying with the requirements for export certificates.

They found that U.S. manufacturers were complying with the spirit of the regulation, but not the exact letter. U.S. manufacturers were meeting the 400,000 cells/ml somatic cell count requirement (based on a three-month rolling geometric mean) with commingled milk by tanker load or storage silo. But the manufacturers were not requiring individual farms to meet the 400,000 cells/ml requirement.

In 1997 the EU had lowered its regulatory cell count limit to 400,000 cells/ml for commingled milk. In 2004 the EU changed the regulation, requiring individual farms to meet the 400,000 cells/ml limit based on a three-month rolling geometric mean. USDA was given the new regulation, but U.S. officials did not pick up on the seemingly subtle language change. USDA continued to issue export certificates based on the 400,000 cells/ml limit for commingled milk.

So, in December 2009, EU officials notified USDA that U.S. plants were not in compliance with the export certificate requirement. On January 20, 2010 USDA issued a "notice of intent" that plants would have to meet the new requirement on February 1, 2010. Some Midwest processors, however, have 30% of their patrons exceeding 400,000 cells/ml at least sometime during the year. One large national cooperative has 5% of its Midwest patrons exceeding 400,000 cells/ml each month for the previous 12 months.

Most processors obviously could not meet the February 1 deadline. USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration negotiated an October 1, 2010 deadline and, this past summer, extended it to December 1, 2010. Even that deadline is soft, since EU officials have indicated they will not enforce the regulation until USDA and FDA can issue rules that spell out the exact testing requirement.

Some dairy producers and their organizations have argued that the United States should fight the regulation and/or retreat from global export markets. But with some 10% of U.S. milk solids now being exported, that would require the contraction of the U.S. dairy herd by nearly 1 million cows.

Last year, the Innovative Center for U.S. Dairy commissioned a study by Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, to examine global market demand for dairy products. The study was funded by the 32 companies within the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the National Milk Producers Federation.

By 2013, the Bain Report suggests, there will be a "latent demand gap" of 7 billion pounds of milk worldwide. In other words, as economies around the world recover, demand will resume its long-term trend of growing faster than milk supply. As the report's authors see it, the U.S. dairy industry has a range of options: It could become an insular industry, much like Canada's. It could go the New Zealand route, which is almost exclusively export-focused. Or it could maintain the status quo.

If the United States doesn't change, it likely will give up potential export markets to emerging dairy powers such as the Ukraine and Brazil, both of which will become far more competitive as they develop their dairy infrastructure. Moreover, the right kind of change could allow U.S. companies to displace some U.S. imports, currently valued at $2.3 billion. "If U.S. suppliers improve capabilities to displace 70% of imported milk protein concentrates, 50% of imported casein and 10% of imported cheese, it will deliver about $600 million back to the U.S. industry," the report concludes.

U.S. dairy producers may have little interest in worrying about dairy export opportunities three, five and ten years down the road. But the decisions made over the next year will be critical. In fact, what's decided in the 2012 farm bill will go a long way toward setting the tone for the future of U.S. dairy.

The U.S. approach to national animal identification and control of diseases such as bovine tuberculosis, Johne's and even mastitis will affect how the country can compete for and maintain export markets. In dairy, the clearest example is the EU's 400,000cells/ml export certification requirement. But the Chinese have also put the U.S. on notice that they are reconsidering their export certification of U.S. dairy products because of disease issues.

If the Bain Report is to be believed, it begs these questions:
•Can the U.S. afford to continue to be reactive on somatic cell counts, animal identification, disease-tracking, and chronic bovine diseases?
•Isn't the better approach to be proactive, anticipating these issues and growing export markets?

18th Annual Dairy Client
Appreciation Dinner Meeting

Once again this year we will be hosting our Annual Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting. This year we are very fortunate to have Sue Hart, Northwest Regional Sales Manager with AgSource Cooperative Services present a discussion on dairy records and record keeping and how utilizing records can increase profitability. Many of you know Sue as she has been in the area with DHI for many years. Sue always has helpful information with regards to dairy production and management.

NEWS FLASH!!! This year our meeting will be held at The Fill Inn Restaurant in downtown Chippewa Falls. The meeting will begin at 11:30am on Wednesday, December 8th. Please give us a call at 723-3655 and let us know how many people from your operation will be able to join us. It should be an interesting and entertaining afternoon and we look forward to seeing you there.

In the last two newsletters we talked about the major diseases that affect calves (septicemia, diarrhea and pneumonia) and also the risk factors that contribute to calf disease and how to minimize them. In this final segment we want to look at identifying the source of infections, early identification of sick calves and supportive care we can give to help them survive.

Persistence of the agents that cause diarrhea, septicemia and pneumonia in the environment is the major reason for outbreaks of calf problems on the dairy. Usually the source is manure contamination for diarrheal and septicemic diseases and aerosol contamination for the respiratory diseases. Occasionally water, feeding utensils, rodents, birds, pets or people can be the source of infection for calves. Problems that occur within 5 days of birth usually have their source as the dam or the calving environment. After 7 days of age, problems develop form a source in the calf environment. If the source of infection can be identified, it can be diluted or by-passed using one of the following strategies:

The take home message is to identify the source and then use one of these strategies to minimize the calves’ exposure to that source.

Successful treatment protocols for all disease depend on early identification of sick calves. The following criteria can be used to trigger a treatment intervention:

Supportive care is more valuable than antibiotics. Sick calves must be able to stay clean and dry. Keep the calf in her own housing area but put fresh bedding down. Administration of warmed fluids is an effective way to raise body temperature. Make sure fresh water is available at least twice daily. Offer milk/ milk replacer at the usual dilution and temperature but reduce volume (to one quart for example) and feed more frequently (4 times a day if necessary). What liquid feed is not consumed, administer by an esophageal feeder that has been cleaned, disinfected and rinsed between calves. Oral fluids are an effective way to correct dehydration provided the calf is strong enough to stand and has no abdominal distention. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and banamine can keep calves eating. Use antibiotics only when they are known to be effective for the problem that has been identified.

In conclusion, the five C’s provide an effective formula for managing the young dairy calf:

While the agents that cause disease are always there and can be extremely important in a disease outbreak, a comfortable, clean calf with good colostrum management, consistent feeding and management practices and plenty of calories in the diet can be disease-free even if they become infected.

Risk Factors for Calf Disease*

While the immune system of a calf is functional at birth, it is less responsive than in an adult cow and is easily overwhelmed by the bacteria, viruses or parasites in the environment. Prolonged exposure, or an increased level of exposure occurs when susceptible dairy calves remain in the calving area, have continued contact with adult cattle, are in contact with affected calves, commingle with sick cows, or are housed in facilities that are under-bedded, warm, damp, humid, or poorly ventilated. Noxious gases, dusts and molds in the air put calves at significant risk for developing pneumonia. Cold housing can reduce the risk of infection, provided calves can be dry and draft-free. Calf to calf contact, crowding, or continuous use of facilities prolongs the survival rate and increases the number of pathogens in the environment of the calf, even with cold housing.

Inadequate colostrum intake or absorption puts calves at significant risk of infectionsepticemia, enteritis (diarrhea) or pneumonia. Dairy calves should be hand fed 3 quarts (Jerseys, Guernseys, Ayrshires) or 4 quarts (Holsteins, Brown Swiss) of colostrum. The entire volume should be from the first milking of a single cow. Colostrum can be delivered in one or two feedings prior to the calf reaching 12 hours of age. The entire volume can be delivered safely and effectively in a single feeding. Calves can suckle, be fed by esophageal feeder or receive colostrum by a combination of the two methods.

Colostrum should be collected from appropriately prepared cows within six hours of freshening. Collection and storage containers should be sanitized between sequential uses. For effective cooling, colostrum should be placed in 2 or 4-quart containers that can be clearly labeled with the cow identification and date of collection. Fresh or refrigerated colostrum provides the best combination of antibodies (immunoglobulins), immune cells, other important immune factors (lactoferrin, lysozyme, compliment), vitamins and minerals important to the immune system of the calf. The availability of frozen colostrum allows the producer to discard colostrum from cows with mastitis, bloody milk, diarrhea, or Johnes disease and supplement the colostrum from a first calf heifer, purchased animals or incompletely transitioned cows. Refrigerated colostrum should be used within one week and frozen colostrum within one year of collection.

Inadequate caloric intake puts calves at risk for disease. For dairy calves, inappropriate volume, concentration, fat or protein content, mixing or feeding temperature of milk or milk replacer can compromise the immunity of the calf. Failure to provide fresh water and a palatable calf starter that is supplemented with a coccidiostat and presented in a clean feeder will enhance the susceptibility to disease. Consistent feeding practices- timing, presentation, temperature and quality of feeds, personnel and management practices enhance the non-specific immunity of the calf. Make sure that there are adequate feeding utensils to be able to clean and disinfect between uses on sick calves. A dedicated utensil for sick calf use is ideal. This means that there are enough esophageal feeders to dedicate one to each sick calf for that feeding or that day.

Contain risk by reducing calf stress. Stress is imposed when calves are asked to adapt to change. Feed changes- colostrum to whole milk to milk replacer, dilute milk replacer to concentrated milk replacer, milk withdrawal and reintroduction all create stress. Each time there is a housing change- maternity pen, warming area, calf hutch, group pen, or transport to a different location- the calf is more susceptible to disease. Depending on timing, amount and type, vaccinations or medications can impose significant health risk to young calves.

The following guidelines can significantly help reduce calf disease risk factors:

Feed a single, large volume feeding of colostrum as soon as possible after birth. At the second feeding, begin feeding the milk replacer or milk that will be the mainstay of the calf’s pre-weaning diet. Feed the liquid feed at a consistent time, temperature and concentration throughout the pre-weaning period. Make adjustments in volume or number of feedings for cold temperatures or illness. Provide calf starter and fresh water within the first week of life. Move the dairy calf from the calving area and place it in its permanent preweaning home as soon as possible after birth. Avoid crowding and competition, particularly before, during and immediately after weaning.

Important Notice Regarding Our 18th Annual Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting! Because Schrek’s Place is now closed, this year our dairy dinner will be held at The Fill Inn Station in downtown Chippewa Falls. The date is set for Wednesday, December 8th. More details to follow!

Calf Health Issues*

There is often a very fine line between healthy calves and calves that struggle with health issues. The organisms that cause calf disease are everywhere. Therefore, all calves will be exposed to these disease-causing organisms. If we minimize risk factors such as environmental and nutritional stress, exposed calves may become infected, but not diseased and sick. The three most important diseases that calves encounter are septicemia, diarrhea and pneumonia.

When a calf has septicemia, it has disease producing organisms or their toxins in the blood. Septicemia in calves is usually the result of a bacterial infection that occurs while the calf is in the uterus, during, at or immediately after birth. The route of infection can be the blood of a sick dam, an infected placenta, the calf’s umbilical stump, mouth, nose (inhalation) or wound. Septicemia is the most severe medical problem that a calf can develop because the blood-borne infection disseminates and damages many different organs. The bacteria that cause septicemia in calves, many of which are characterized as gram-negative bacteria like E.coli and Salmonella, are difficult and expensive to treat and survival rate is low. Early signs of septicemia may be subtle but affected calves are usually depressed, weak, reluctant to stand and suckle poorly within 5 days of birth. Swollen joints, diarrhea, pneumonia, meningitis, cloudy eyes and/or a large tender navel may develop. Fever is not a consistent finding in septicemia calves; many have normal or subnormal temperatures. Most septicemia calves have a history of inadequate colostrum intake.

Diarrhea in calves can be caused by bacteria, viruses and/or parasites. In most cases the calf is infected by more than one agent. Despite the fact that causative agents differ, the resulting enteritis is remarkably consistent in terms of the presenting clinical picture. Calves with diarrhea consistently have some degree of dehydration. The dehydration can be life threatening, particularly in young calves. Blood glucose levels are low and hypoglycemic coma can develop in calves that are in cold housing and have milk or milk replacer withheld for more than one feeding. Electrolyte abnormalities involving potassium, bicarbonate and sodium are frequently found but these resolve rapidly when fluids are given to correct the dehydration and calves have access to water. For this reason, treatment of calves with diarrhea is primarily supportive. The most important aspects are early recognition and aggressive fluid therapy.

Calves that develop pneumonia prior to weaning frequently share the same risk factors as those that develop diarrhea…… failure or incomplete transfer of immunity from colostrum, prolonged exposure to adult cattle, and/or the ventilation limitations of warm housing. As with diarrhea, frequently more than one agent is identified in an outbreak. Antibiotic therapy is necessary but frequently yields disappointing results. Because of the significant impact that dairy calf pneumonia has on growth and future productivity, early identification and treatment is important but resolution of significant risk factors is imperative.

Global Warming Doubts
There are those who firmly believe there's global warming and that it is caused by human activity. Others believe the change is part of the warming and cooling cycles that have been going on since time began. Then, there are those who are unconvinced about any climate change.

The position of this latter group has been bolstered by recent findings. Most scientists agree that there has been a "flattening" of global temperatures since about 2000. Much is said about carbon dioxide and methane being released to the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases trap solar energy that bounces off the earth's surface. It is the trapping of that solar heat that is believed to result in global warming. But the greenhouse gas that is in greatest abundance is water vapor. There is continual evaporation from the earth's water surfaces and that is where the water vapor comes from.

An article published recently in the journal Science offers a possible explanation as to why there's been little climate change over the past ten years. There has been about a ten percent decline in the concentration of water vapor in the stratosphere. Two different teams of researchers believe that it is changes in ocean currents, alterations in solar activity, or both that might be at work. Changes in ocean currents and alterations in solar activity are nothing new. This seems to cast further doubt on whether any climate change is caused by human activity. Is it in fact, the result of the kinds of global changes that have been going on for thousands of years?

We can understand why there would be conflicting data and perspectives on climate change. The problem is that farms, businesses, industries and entire national economies are being put under greater pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and have their prosperity suffer accordingly...all because of some very controversial global climate change assumptions.

Foot Bath Reminder
Copper sulfate has always been the "gold standard" for footbaths in this area. It works pretty well on heel warts, heel cracks and foot rot. Occasionally other chemicals are used, such as zinc sulfate, tetracycline and lincocin. Cost is always a deciding factor when selecting which bath to utilize as these other products tend to be even more expensive than copper sulfate. The current recommendation is to use a 3% solution of copper sulfate which amounts to 10 pounds in 40 gallons of water. At today's price of $64.50 for a 50 lb bag, that 40 gallon bath will cost you $13.00.

Another alternative is to use formaldehyde. Formaldehyde works very well on hairy heel warts and foot rot. It is, however, a respiratory and contact irritant and should be handled with extreme care. Wear a protective breathing mask, protective eye wear and gloves if you decide to use formaldehyde in your footbath. Formaldehyde is eventually inactivated in soil, water and air, so it is actually more environmentally friendly than copper sulfate. Two gallons in 40 gallons of water will result in a 2% solution which is strong enough to kill most anything growing on a cow's foot. Most footbaths need to be changed after every 250 cow passages. This really depends on how clean the feet are as they enter the bath. A pre-wash bath with straight water can help any footbath solution stay clean and effective for more animals.

Water Consumption by Dairy Cattle
Water is the cheapest nutrient we feed our cattle, but it is also the most important. We want to be sure that it is not a limiting factor in milk production. Because milk is 88% water, it is critical that we monitor both availability and quality, as both have a direct impact on water intake. Below are a few "fun facts to know and tell" about water and how to make sure that an adequate volume of good quality water is always available to our animals.

* Cows drink for about 10 to 12 minutes a day consuming 3 to 5 gallons per minute

* In freestall barns, provide 2 feet of linear drinking space for every 15 to 20 cows. Because drinking is a "social event", research suggests 15% of the cows should be able to drink at one time.

* Shallow waterers, 3 to 8 inches deep, are preferable to deeper waterers because they are easier to keep clean and water turnover is higher.

Dairy calf respiratory disease accounts for 22.5% of unweaned heifer mortality and 46.5% of weaned heifer mortality. Calf respiratory disease can obviously devastate a heifer replacement crop, but good management can go a long way in minimizing the disease process.

Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is actually a disease complex caused by a number of factors. The pathogens (disease-causing organisms) are both viral and bacterial. The key viruses include Bovine Herpes Virus-1 (BHV-1, which is also called IBR for Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis), Parainfluenza Virus (PI3) and Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV). The bacterial agents commonly involved are Mannheimia hemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Mycoplasma spp. Transmission of all of these organisms tends to take place in one of three ways: 1) direct nose to nose transmission via nasal secretions, 2) short distance aerosol through coughing the "germs" into the air and 3) accumulation of organisms on fomites, which are any physical things that the organisms can sit on and be transmitted from one calf to another. Typical examples of fomites are calf nipples, bottles, and buckets, or even calf feeder's hands, clothing and boots.

The calf's respiratory tract has an amazing mechanism for removing pathogens that make their way into the airways. The trachea (windpipe) is lined with cells that do two important things: they produce a thick, sticky mucus and they have microscopic brushes on their surface that work to sweep germs up and out of the windpipe. When a healthy calf breathes in any of these viruses or bacteria, they get stuck on the mucus and the brushes gradually sweep the germs up toward the throat where they can be swallowed or coughed out.

The primary reason calves come down with respiratory infection is because this system is overwhelmed and they can't get rid of the pathogens before they have a chance to cause disease. The most important risk factor is the environment in which the calf lives. Good ventilation not only minimizes the number of organisms the calf is forced to breathe, it also minimizes air pollutants like dust, fungal toxins and ammonia. These pollutants all damage the cells that line the respiratory tract and therefore allow the viruses and bacteria to proliferate. Clean, dry bedding with minimal dust (dry dusty sawdust is BAD!) is absolutely essential. Keeping calves grouped by size is also important as younger calves have less immunity and should not be exposed to older calves that will tend to spread respiratory infections.

Treatment of BRD has always been based on the use of antibiotics. There are many very good antibiotics now available that we did not have even 10 years ago. When we think about the fact that viruses are almost always involved in the disease complex, we should only expect so much of the antibiotics. In most cases, we use the antibiotics to fight the bacterial component and we hope the calf's immune system is strong enough to fight off the viruses.

Prevention is a much more successful option. Fighting disease is simply a numbers game. If there are more good guys than bad guys, the good guys win and vice versa. The good guys are the calf's immune system defenses like those cells that line the trachea and the antibodies the calf gets from colostrums or the antibodies it produces after a vaccination. If we maximize the number of good guys by doing things like feeding 4 quarts of good quality colostrum in the first 4 hours of life, incorporating a good vaccination protocol and keeping calves on a high plane of nutrition, we have a fighting chance. At the same time we have to minimize the number of bad guys by providing good ventilation, clean dry dust-free bedding and minimizing exposure to older heifers and cows.

The old saying is that you can never vaccinate your way out of a problem. Vaccines are only a small part of the whole program that helps minimize disease. If you have any questions about respiratory vaccines, which ones to use and when to use them to help get maximum protection, please give us a call.

How we keep our herds protected with vaccines against disease has made dramatic changes over the past twenty years. There was a day when the whole herd would typically get a killed combination pneumonia vaccine in the fall and a 5-way Lepto shot in the spring. That would pretty much cover it for the herd... calves and heifers usually were left completely out of the picture. In a sense, the goal was to prevent herd outbreaks of "shipping fever" in the winter months and lepto abortion during the summer when pastured cattle had more exposure to deer and standing water. With the development of new vaccines and the improvement of old ones, our thinking has changed. Modified live vaccines provide more broad spectrum and more long-lasting protection than the old "killed" vaccines. Bova-Shield, (a modified-live vaccine) can now be safely given to pregnant animals as long as they were properly vaccinated prior to becoming pregnant*. New vaccines like J5 and ScourGuard protect against E. coli mastitis and calf scours, respectively, and their effectiveness is dependent upon when, during the course of the lactation cycle, a cow receives the vaccine. The following is an example vaccination protocol. No one program meets the needs of every herd. However, you might use this protocol as a framework around which you can build your own program.

Time Given	Product Used
2 Weeks Prior to Dry Off	BovaShield * and SRP Salmonella
At Dry Off (50 day dry period)	J5 and Scourguard
3 Weeks Prior to Calving	J5 and Scourguard
At Calving	Vitamin E and B, some get IV calcium
Day 15 to 21	Pour Eprinex and J5 booster
Day 36 to 42	Lut1 and BovaShield
Day 50 to 56	Lut2
Day 64 to 70	CIDR In and GnRH
Day 71 to 77	CIDR Out and Lut
Day 73 to 79	Breed those showing heat and give GnRH
Day 74 to 80	Breed all those that did NOT show and give GnRH
Day 120 to 126	J5
Day 180	Those found open: CIDR + BovaShield

Heifer Vaccination Protocol

Time Given	Product Used
At birth	First Defense, Vit E/Sel
3 Weeks of Age	JohnesVaccination
6 Weeks of Age	Dehorning and BovaShield
10 Weeks of Age	BovaShield booster
12 Months of Age	Eprinex and BovaShield
Breed at 13-15 mos. / 50" tall / 850 lbs)
42 Days Prior to Due Date	J5, SRP Salmonella
21 Days Prior to Due Date (move to Pre-fresh)	J5, SRP Salmonella
Post-fresh protocol same as for cows as listed above.

Purchased Heifer Vaccination Protocol

Time Given	Product Used
At arrival	Triangle 9 HS (A KILLED VACCINE)
1 Week Post Arrival	J5, SRP Salmonella
4 Weeks Post Arrival	J5, SRP Salmonella

FOR BIOSECURITY PURPOSES: Ear notching all newly purchased heifers for BVD-PI. This should be done soon after arrival. Also, ALL PURCHASED cows or heifers should be cultured for Mycoplasma and Staph aureus at freshening.

*Modified Live Vaccines should only be given to pregnant animals if they received a proper initial vaccination. A proper initial vaccination means that as an unbred heifer she received a dose of modified live vaccine that was followed with a booster given three to six weeks later AND that she was vaccinated at least once annually after that. In this sample protocol, the modified live vaccine listed is BovaShield. There are a number of similar products, some containing Hardjo bovis and some containing 5-way Lepto. The choice should be based on individual needs and preference.

With dairy economics the way they are, we really want to minimize our losses on every front. That theory holds true for the newborn calves as well. Despite some improvement in the reported calf mortality rate between 48 hours of age and weaning in the last five years, perinatal deaths, defined as those occurring within the first 48 hours of life, is a problem of increasing magnitude. Part of the problem lies in the fact that on many farms today, the employees put in charge of watching close-up cows for calving may not be properly trained and may not know when to intervene in the calving process.

The key is knowing when to assist and when to wait, and that is not always easy to know. Labor is academically divided into three stages. Stage One is considered that period of time when an animal is showing the earliest signs of labor such as going off by herself, having her tail up and having a clear mucus discharge. Stage Two begins when the water bag becomes visible. Stage Three begins when the calf itself appears. Stage One can last for up to six hours in a normal labor. Once an animal is seen in this early stage, she should be watched carefully. If she does not progress to Stage Two in six hours, she should be examined vaginally to ascertain that the calf is coming in a normal presentation.

Once a cow enters Stage Two, we should intervene if any of the following conditions exist:

If the cow has quit trying for over a 15 to 20 minute period of time after a period of progress.

If the cow or calf is showing signs of fatigue and stress such as a swollen tongue of the calf or severe bleeding from the rectum of the cow.

If it appears that the delivery is abnormal, for example, a backwards calf, only one leg, etc.

It is very difficult to teach employees good judgment when it comes to knowing when to assist and when to wait. Remember, the birthing process takes time, especially in heifers, and patience is needed. We have to realize how important the mechanics of the delivery are to the survival of the calf. The feedback and stimulation from a strong delivery by the cow gives the calf stimulation to breathe, clear itself of its bodily fluid and adjust to post-uterine life. It is really important to emphasize that time spent in good labor, with strong contractions and slow but steady progression through the birth canal are the calf's best stimuli to live. Don't assist a cow that is progressing in labor just because she is taking too long.

It seems like it was just Labor Day weekend and now, before you know it Christmas will be here. That stretch from September 1 to December 25 goes faster every year!

Our 17th Annual Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting is slated for Wednesday, December 9th at 11:30am at Shrek's Place (as always) in Tilden. This has been one of the most difficult years in recent history for dairy producers. With that in mind, we have decided to present a program discussing agricultural economics.

Katie Sternweis will be presenting a program entitled "Navigating Tough Times". Katie plans to discuss this past year in relation to the agricultural and global economy. She will cover changes in the marketplace and determine what producers and bankers can do to "navigate through these tough times".

Katie grew up on a small registered Holstein dairy farm near Marshfield. She graduated from the UW-Madison with a Bachelor's Degree in Ag Business Management. She has been with M&I Bank for seven years. She is currently involved with the Chippewa Falls June Dairy Days dinner and the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. She is a board member for the Chippewa County Holstein Breeders and also organizes monthly meetings during the winter for young farmers in the Chippewa Valley.

Joining Katie will be Marv Schmidt and Paul Salm. Both Marv and Paul are Vice Presidents at the M&I Bank in Chippewa Falls and both are actively involved with agricultural finances. Together, they have over 40 years of lending experience with M&I Bank.

This will be a very interesting program… a chance to look at how we got into this whole economic mess and what things look like for the near and distant future. Please call the clinic (723-3655) and let us know how many folks from your operation will be able to attend. We have to call Shrek's on Friday, December 4th with an estimate of how many will attend.

We wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas, a joyous holiday season and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Most of the time when we think about the cost of mastitis, we think in terms of lost milk while treating and drug costs. Unfortunately, the hidden costs are much greater than that. Knowing the true cost means figuring out total production losses for the lactation, lost opportunities for milk quality premiums, treatment costs associated with acute cases and culling and death costs.

The Dairy Production Group at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Madison has developed a worksheet (see back) that helps calculate the real costs of mastitis. It is not difficult to work up, but we can go through an example herd with you. Later, you can plug your own numbers in the form on the back of this newsletter and come up with your own actual costs.

The first category considers Production Losses due to Subclinical Mastitis. Let's say you have 40 first lactation heifers with a Linear Score of 2.7 and 60 older cows (2+ lactation) with a Linear Score of 3.0. From the formula on the back, your losses would be 40 x (2.7-2.0) x 200=5,600 lbs, plus 60 x (3.0-2.5) x 400 = 12,000 lbs for a total of 17,600 lbs. At $12.20/cwt, that is $2,147.00.

To determine cost of lost Milk Quality Premiums, you need RHA, # of cows, your average quality premium earned last year and your dairy's maximum SCC premium. Let's say your RHA is 24,000, on 100 cows, your quality premium averaged $0.50 and the dairy's maximum premium is $0.80 for a count under 150,000. Your Premium Opportunity would be 24,000 x 100 x (0.8 – 0.5)/100 = $7,200.00.

Losses from Acute Cases can be calculated if you have the number of cases you treated last year. The target number of cases per year is 20% of the herd and the default value for the cost of a single clinical case is $90.00. You can use another number as long as you consider drug and production costs. Say you treated 36 cases last year. Your cost would be (36 – 20) x $90.00 = $1440.00.

Finally, to determine Culling Costs your need to know your culling numbers. Say you didn't sell any animals for dairy, but sold 25 cows as culls and averaged $550.00 per cull and you had 5 cows die on the farm. Also, let's say replacements averaged $1700.00 each for the year. Your culls and dead cows were worth: 25 x $550 divided by 25 + 5 to total $458.00 per animal culled or died. Each culling then would cost $1700 - $458 = $1242. If 6 of those 25 culls were because of mastitis, then your annual turnover rate for mastitis is 6/100 = .06. Then culling cost would be: 100 x (.06 - .05) x $1242 = $1242.

Your Total Cost of Mastitis would then be the sum of the above which is $2,147.00 +$7,200 + $1,440 + $1,242 for a total of $12,029. If you'd like us to go through any of these numbers with you, or if you'd like us to help calculate your own herd's numbers, please give us a call.

While consumers overall continue to have confidence in the safety of the United States milk supply, the level and depth of consumer confidence are changing, prompted by developments concerning overall food safety, as well as those involving milk itself.

Consumer trust in the overall food system has eroded. A survey conducted in July 2008 by the Center for Food Integrity, indicates that only 28% of consumers strongly agree that they are confident in the safety of the food they eat… a significant decline from a year earlier. Only 17% strongly agree that the government food safety agencies are doing a good job of ensuring the safety of the food we eat; only 51% strongly agree that they trust food produced in the United States more that food produced elsewhere. The vast majority of consumers interviewed believe that the food safety system in the United States has eroded over the past several decades… only 14% strongly agree that "today's food supply is safer that it was when I was growing up".

Part of the erosion of trust relates to the plethora of news coverage of reported breakdowns in the U.S. food safety system pertaining to spinach, lettuce, jalapeno peppers and ground beef, among other commodities. This attitudinal environment toward food safety in general affects attitudes toward the safety of milk and dairy products as well.

In general, consumers historically have had a very positive impression of milk safety in the United States. Recent research by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) indicates that on a ten-point scale, consumers on average gave a mean rating of 7.6 related to their overall feelings about milk. Underlying this rating is a general acceptance that American dairy products are among the safest in the world and that milk and dairy foods go through extensive and rigorous safety and quality tests before reaching the grocery store. In focus groups, consumers have reported that one of the reasons why they have maintained positive feelings about milk is because they have indicated confidence in the reliability of pasteurization and have not heard much negative news coverage about the safety of U.S.-produced dairy foods.

DMI has initiated a campaign called "Telling Your Story" to help producers communicate to consumers about on-farm practices on dairy farms, as related to environmental care, animal care and milk quality and safety. Consumers respond best to communications that "tell a story", rather than simply recite facts and data. In general, consumers are wary about receiving too much information; they simply want enough to address their concerns that milk and dairy products remain safe for their family to consume.

DMI has developed a website, www.dairyfarmingtoday.org to help tell the dairy industry's story of milk quality and safety to consumers. We urge all those in the dairy industry to familiarize themselves with this site, link to it where possible, and promote it to consumers who have questions about modern dairy farming practices.

It has been over two years since we last printed a list of FDA-Approved Drugs for use in dairy cattle. Some of the drugs that we had are no longer available and some new ones have come on the market. The following is a list from FARAD (Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank). If you ever have a question regarding the proper use of, or milk or meat withholding times for any drugs you are using on dairy animals, please give us a call. You can also call FARAD at 1-888-873-2723.

+ Banamine should be given IV (intravenously) ONLY. Using it by any other route can result in significant tissue damage and illegal drug residues.

These calf pneumonia "tidbits" were included in a newsletter a few years ago. Even with the nice weather we have had this summer we continue to see a fair amount of calf pneumonia. Keeping their environment as clean and dry as possible and maintaining good ventilation is the best way to minimize calfhood respiratory problems. But keep the following in mind:

We're always looking for ways to improve the success of our breeding programs. New protocols that will increase conception rates are continuously coming out of the ivory towers. Sometimes we give these new protocols a try and they don't seem to help at all. Other times, new ideas seem to work and really help our breeding programs take a step forward.

The most important part of making any management change is to be able to measure accurately how things are working now and then how things work after the change has had time to affect results. If we can't accurately measure what we're doing, in all likelihood, we're really only guessing about what kind of success we're having.

When we look at reproduction there are a number of "standard" measuring sticks that we tend to use. Average days open, 21-day cycle pregnancy rate, first cycle pregnancy rate, % pregnant after 3 cycles, SPC are all familiar "yard sticks" for the breeding program. The important thing is to have a couple parameters that you are comfortable with and keep a close eye on them. Then, if you make a management change, watch the numbers and monitor the success or lack-thereof, of your new program.

One relatively new wrinkle in the breeding programs recommended by the folks at Madison is the "Double Ov-Synch Pre-Synch Program". It sounds like a mouthful and to describe it sounds even more complicated, but when you put it down on the calendar, it really isn't too hard. Most people like to set it up so that the first round of shots are given on Fridays… that way the actual Ov-Synch part of the program lands on Mondays and then breedings are done on Thursdays. This pre-synch program can be used to replace the old pre-synch program where prostaglandins (Lutalyse) were given at two week intervals prior to starting the Ov-Synch. Researchers are seeing about an eight per cent improvement in conception rates with this program over the traditional pre-synch program. Your results may vary (where have you heard that one before?), but it does show some real promise and might be something you might want to try if you aren't getting your cows bred as quickly as you would like.

Check out the calendar below to see how you might set it up. If you start cows on it when they are 50 Days in Milk, then their first breeding date will be at 77 Days in Milk. PGF stands for prostaglandins (Lutalyse). Ideally the final GnRH shot is given at about 56 hours after the prostaglandin, so in this case if all shots are given in the morning, that GnRH is given Wednesday afternoon and the breeding is done the following morning.

Dr. Milo WIltbank showed an 8% improvement (49.7% vs. 41.7%) in conception rate over the traditional pre-synch program. Theriogenology, Vol. 70, Issue 2, Pages 208-215.

We are happy to announce that in July, Dr. Kirsten Jagow will be joining us at the Chippewa Veterinary Clinic. Kirsten is a 2009 graduate of the University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine where she took courses and rotations to prepare her for a career in mixed animal practice. She was born and raised in Eau Claire, the second of three children. Her parents and brothers still live in Eau Claire. She is a 2001 graduate of North High School and a 2005 graduate of UW-River Falls with a degree in Animal Science.

Kirsten has many hobbies, but is happiest when she is enjoying the great outdoors. Her hobbies include downhill skiing, hiking, swimming, horseback riding, landscaping and reading.

During school, Kirsten had many opportunities to visit the Chippewa Veterinary Clinic, where her love of mixed animal medicine grew. She is really looking forward to becoming part of the team.

In looking back, the last time we did a newsletter on Crypto was in November 1994. Although not a whole lot has changed in the past 15 years with regards to Crypto, it might not be a bad idea to review what it is and how to deal with it.

Crypto is an enteric parasite and falls in the group referred to as coccidia. Although it causes calf problems similar to what we think of when we see coccidiosis, there are a number of important differences that make crypto a tough bug to have to deal with. It can be transmitted by the direct fecal-oral route or through ingestion of contaminated grain, milk or milk replacer or water. The primary environmental source of crypto for calfhood infection remains unidentified, but prompt removal of dairy calves from the cow and placement in a clean and sterilized calf hutch has resulted in low infection rates in calves.

Typically we associate crypto with diarrhea in calves. While asymptomatic and mild, self-limiting infections are common in immunocompetent calves, there are reported instances in which crypto has lead to severe diarrhea and subsequent death despite aggressive supportive care. Treatment for clinical crypto is limited to supportive care. Preventive measures on the dairy farm include general good management practices for raising healthy calves, such as adequate housing, disinfection of hutches between calves, handling sick calves last during feeding regimes, disinfecting feeding utensils between feedings, etc. Five percent ammonia is one of the best disinfectants to use to kill crypto, but it needs 20 minutes of contact time to be completely effective.

We still do not have cost-effective, licensed antiprotozoal drugs for livestock infections, therefore there is no silver bullet that can be used to treat a calf with crypto. Colostral immunity was not shown to be protective for experimentally challenged calves, but may help reduce infections caused by other pathogens and therefore lessen the clinical severity of calfhood cryptosporidiosis.

Until we have effective vaccines and effective antibiotics to both prevent and treat crypto, good management practices will remain the cornerstone of an effective disease control program. Dr. Jim Harp, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, Iowa, offers several recommendations for preventing the spread of crypto on dairies: 1) provide a clean, dry area for cows to calve, 2) feed clean colostrums using a bottle and nipple that has been cleaned thoroughly with hot water and detergent, 3) provide clean dry pens for calves and allow the pens to dry thoroughly between calves and 4) feed and care for sick calves last since you can easily spread the parasite from sick to healthy calves on your clothes or feeding utensils.

At the end of this month, Dr. Gary Gienapp will begin his well-deserved retirement from veterinary practice. We will all miss having Gary around at the clinic, but he and Carol have retirement plans that don't necessarily include treating milk fevers, pulling calves, treating vomiting dogs or unplugging constipated cats.

Just a few weeks ago we celebrated Gary's 40 year anniversary at the Chippewa Veterinary Clinic. That in itself is a pretty amazing accomplishment. Gary was one of the youngest in his class to graduate from veterinary school. He spent a couple years in Wisconsin Rapids before joining Dr. Don Dachel here in Chippewa Falls in 1969.

Over the years, Gary has been the one primarily responsible for new and innovative changes at the clinic. Dr. Dachel would sometimes roll his eyes and shake his head when Gary went off to a vet meeting knowing full well that it was likely that Gary would come back with some new gadget that the practice just had to have.

Most of Gary's new gadgets ended up becoming an integral part of the practice and helped us to provide top notch veterinary care to our patients. Heck, if it weren't for Gary, we'd probably still be thinking that one of these days the clinic is going to have to up and buy a computer.

Gary's vet work has meant a lot to many folks in the Chippewa area. But even more than that, the hours and hours of community service that both he and Carol have given back to the community is something few of us can live up to. Whether it is the Mentor Program, the Lions Club or the countless other organizations he helps out with, Gary always seems to find time to lend a helping hand. I'm pretty sure he'll be like a number of retired folks I've met... they get so darn busy after retiring they can't believe they ever had time for work!

So at this time, we'd all like to say thanks to Gary for everything he has done for us at the clinic, for the farm community, for the owners of countless pets and for the Chippewa community as a whole. Enjoy a well-deserved retirement!

Important Notice Concerning Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate

In order for us to continue to be able to sell you medications that are sales tax exempt, we must have the enclosed Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate filled out, signed and returned to be kept on file at the Chippewa Vet Clinic. This regulation has been in effect for a number of years and we need to have these forms in our possession at the clinic in case of an audit by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

Please take a brief moment now to fill out the form and return it to the clinic with your payment on account. Please:

We appreciate your getting this form back to us and we look forward to being able to continue to provide you with livestock medications tax free.

Gena-Mune 30 is a relatively new product that contains lasalocid (Bovatec) at a level that is effective in controlling coccidiosis in calves. It also contains a probiotic which helps maintain healthy digestion which may help in reducing the incidence of other digestive diseases in young calves such as cryptosporidia, E. coli and Salmonella. Typically, it is fed to all calves for the first 30 days of life as a supplement in their milk or milk replacer. The manufacturer is running a promotional whereby if you call us at the clinic and request a 10 lb. pail, they will send it directly to you, free of charge. A 10 lb. pail will treat 22 calves for 30 days. If you would like to receive a free trial bucket, just call the clinic and we will contact the company.

Coccidiosis is an infection by a microscopic parasite that invades and destroys the lining of the intestinal tract. The result is usually a bloody diarrhea seen especially in young stock that causes debility, emaciation and predisposition to other diseases. Infection takes place when a calf ingests anything that has been contaminated with manure containing coccidia. The parasites then migrate into the lining of the intestine and multiply. In so doing, the cells that normally function to absorb water and nutrients into the calf are destroyed and replaced by scar tissue. The coccidia then pass out in the manure as resistant cysts. After undergoing growth changes these cysts exist for long periods of time on pasture grass and bedding, waiting to be ingested by other animals.

In dairy animals, we routinely see coccidiosis in calves that are one month to one year of age. A typical calf with coccidiosis has bloody diarrhea, is gaunt, has a poor appetite and generally looks in very poor condition. Diagnosis of coccidiosis can easily be made by microscopic examination of the manure. The best way to prevent coccidiosis is to keep the calf from ever ingesting anything contaminated with the parasite. Clean, individual calf hutches provide excellent housing. Group pens of calves should be kept as clean and dry as possible. Young calves should not be housed in the same pens with older heifers that may have been exposed to coccidia.

Treatment is usually very effective, especially if started early. Drugs are given orally that kill the parasite and prevent further damage to the cells lining the intestine. If the disease is allowed to progress to the point where the calf is run down, dehydrated and anemic, significant permanent changes have taken place that cannot be reversed. The calf will never be able to absorb nutrients to its fullest potential and therefore won't grow or produce to capacity. Prevention, as always, is much cheaper and more effective than treatment.

Many of you may be familiar with the black and white ultrasound images that hospitals have been using for over a decade to help diagnose health problems or to let parents know what color to paint the nursery. The technology that is common in hospitals can also be utilized on dairy farms as part of the reproductive management program to increase health and reproductive efficiency of dairy operations. The technology of ultrasound brings a visual image in addition to the "felt" image of palpation alone. This picture enables us to examine the fetus and ovaries and "see" more information. We are excited to offer this service for the benefit of our producers. Some of the benefits of ultrasounding include:

Detecting open cows earlier: Open cows can be diagnosed as early as 28 days. Implementing a re-sync program can shorten the rebreeding date to 37-45 days from the initial breeding. Using conservative estimates of open cow cost of $2-3 per day, potential savings for herds on various herd check schedules are illustrated in the table below.

	$2 cost per extra day open	$3 cost per extra day open
Weekly	$14 per open cow	$21 per open cow
Bi weekly	$28 per open cow	$42 per open cow
Monthly (30 days)	$60 per open cow	$90 per open cow

Diagnosing twins: Studies suggest that each set of twins can cost the dairy $100-250. Management of cows carrying twins by drying up earlier, introducing into steam up ration sooner, and monitoring closely at parturition will lower losses associated with twins.

Fetal Sexing: Fetal sexing can be done at rechecks (60-80 days). Knowing gender can affect management decisions of culling of marginal cows, it will also aid in marketing decisions of bred cows.

Cycling activity: Accurate diagnosis of ovarian structures can be used for specific hormone intervention (using a CIDR on an anovulatory (static) cow that wouldn't respond well to an Ov-Sync protocol)

Early embryonic death: Some of the pregnancies that "don't feel right" can be identified as non-viable earlier resulting in re-breeding sooner. In normal lactating dairy herds there is about 8-10% death loss between 28 days and calving. The early pregnancy diagnosis with ultrasound makes this number appear larger because of the pregnancies that were lost prior to palpating. We recommend rechecking all cows at >45 days for pregnancy confirmation, if done at 60-80 DCC fetal sexing could also be done.

Identifying endometritis: Visualizing the uterus health is more accurate than palpating alone. Pyometras and infection can be readily diagnosed and cows can be cleaned up before breeding.

We are seeing an increased number of cases of Salmonella dublin on the dairies in this area. Salmonella is a tough bug to deal with because it is "host adapted" for cattle and therefore, can develop easily into the carrier state whereby cattle may not get sick, but they shed the organism for years. Dr. Simon Peek, our speaker in December, says the number of cases of salmonella is definitely on the rise in this country.

There are a number of important risk factors that make salmonella more likely to be a problem in your herd. Large herds are definitely more susceptible because biosecurity is a bigger challenge. We also know that cows around the time of calving are immuno suppressed and therefore more susceptible to infections. Also, sick, lame and older cattle are more likely to be shedding salmonella than younger healthy, sound cattle. Obviously then, having lame and sick cattle in the calving pens is a good way of transmitting the infection to the more susceptible cows that are there having their calves. Other important risk factors include purchasing cattle from dealers rather than source herds, wild birds having access to feed storage areas, using flush water systems and allowing commodity storage areas, particularly those that drain poorly, to become wet.

Salmonella is typically thought of as a "diarrhea" disease, however, it can take on many different forms. Late term abortion is a common result of a salmonella infection. Because it is present in the environment of so many dairies, it is inevitable that cattle will be exposed and even though they may not be clinically sick, the infection may be a sufficient drain on them to decrease production, fertility and resistance to other diseases.

Currently, the best way to identify a salmonella problem is by fecal culture, however even this test is not particularly sensitive and many infected animals can be missed. For this reason, making management changes to reduce potential exposure is essential. "Not comingling cattle of different ages and arranging housing so that there is no contact between sick cows and fresh or transition cows, and the absolute minimum time possible for contact between newborn calves and adults are important components of this" says Dr. Peek.

Salmonella in calves is typically a diarrhea problem, but it can enter the bloodstream, produce a septicemia and cause multiple organ failure. Salmonella also causes pneumonia, particularly in group-housed weaned calves. Saliva and stomach contents contain enough organisms to spread infection so utensils like calf feeder bags, bottles and calf pails need to be disinfected and allowed to dry between uses.

The new salmonella vaccines help, but they are no substitute for good management. Remember, a vaccine will reduce the severity of the infection and decrease the mortality rate, but vaccines rarely eliminate the problem.

Also remember that salmonella is a zoonotic disease…. one that can travel from animals to humans. It is always a good idea to use protective measures against the spread of disease, even if you're not sure that you're dealing with salmonella. Wear gloves when feeding calves and wash your hands frequently. Avoid eating or drinking while working with calves (and cows for that matter) and avoid drinking raw milk.

Over the past few years we have been hearing more and more about Food Animal Welfare. Our first reaction may have been to assume that all this talk was initiated by a bunch of tree-huggers who want to save every living creature and propose regulations that will put people involved with food animals out of business. Groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) whose intentions may be sound initially, often develop such extremist ideas and agendas that they become "the enemy" of those of us involved in animal agriculture.

The truth is, however, that we can all benefit by rethinking about food animal welfare. We are approaching a time when consumers have a much more vocal say in how agricultural management is conducted at the farm level. No matter how you feel about animal welfare in general, the time is coming when certain standards for on-farm animal welfare will be passed down to us… most likely from the consumer to the producer by means of the dairies that process our product.

Currently there are written guidelines that we as veterinarians and dairy producers are expected to follow concerning food animal welfare. If we think about these guidelines and what they are in fact trying to accomplish, they really are not that extreme. They simply try to minimize pain and suffering by the animals of whom we are in charge.

    These guiding principles deal directly with 1) the handling of disabled cattle, both ambulatory and non-ambulatory, 2) euthanasia, 3) lameness and 4) pain management. The underlying theme of all these guidelines is to, within reason and whenever possible, prevent pain and suffering and prevent further injury by having a plan in place for handling these animals. These guidelines include statements like:
    -Any animal with a moderate lameness or worse should receive timely treatment.
    -It is unacceptable to maintain animals with chronically severe lameness when the underlying cause is incurable, the prognosis for resolution of pathology is poor or pain abatement is impossible. Such animals should be salvaged as soon as possible once one of the fore mentioned situations exist.
    -Concerning non-ambulatory (down) cows the guidelines state: Non-ambulatory animals must not be dragged mechanically with direct attachment to body parts while alive to avoid direct damage to the animal.
    -When a euthanasia decision is made, implementation should be made in a timely manner. Leaving terminally ill animals in significant pain, waiting for the rendering service to arrive, is unacceptable.

I know that we all really want to minimize the pain and suffering that our animals have to experience. If we didn't care about the health and well-being of animals, we wouldn't be in this business in the first place. If we all try to incorporate guidelines, like those listed above, into our management practices now, we will be less likely to see these suggested guidelines turn into government regulations in the future.

We had another very successful dinner meeting this year, with exactly 100 folks in attendance. Dr. Simon Peek from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Madison shared a very enjoyable and interesting program focusing on calf health issues. His primary focus was on prevention of diarrheal and respiratory diseases. Many of the points were ones we had all seen or heard before, but we can all benefit from the review. His discussion of the “Respiratory Scoring” system was particularly interesting and is something that we can all do a better job at. The main point was that by the time we recognize that these calves have a respiratory problem, there is already significant damage done and the disease has probably got at least a 4 or 5 day head start on us.

Because treatment success is so much more effective when started early on in the course of disease, we really need to be catching these developing problems sooner. Using the scoring system that they have developed may seem cumbersome at first, but once it becomes habit, it won't take nearly as much time and it will certainly improve your likelihood of treatment success. Dr. Peek recommended these scorings be done a couple times a week. Obviously, depending on the situation, you may want to do it either more or less frequently. Also, keeping good records of what you're using for treatment and what results you are getting will help improve future treatment success.

We are including his scoring chart and the picture guideline to help you get started. If you would like a color copy of the calf pictures, which obviously makes it easier to see what you're dealing with, just give us a call and we'll print one up for you. Or if you prefer you can always go to their website, listed below, and view the color pictures on your computer. If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call. Their website that gets you right to the chart is: here.

We would also like to thank, once again, the following sponsors who helped by making contributions to our Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting:

MWI, Pfizer Animal Health, Midwest Veterinary Supply, Fort Dodge Animal Health, VetPharm Inc., Meriel.

If you call the numbers listed on the White Ear Tag on the cover of the catalog, you will get a “local” person up at Clear Lake, Wisconsin. If you get a message that one of those operators is busy and you push “1” to reach another operator, you may be bumped to a NON-local person. It might be easiest to hang up and dial one of the other numbers from the list on the ear tag….. that way you will stay “local”.

Once again this year we will be hosting our Annual Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting. This year we are very fortunate to have Dr. Simon Peek presenting a program on dairy calf and heifer health issues. Dr. Peek is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Large Animal Internal Medicine, Theriogenology and Infectious Diseases at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Madison, Wisconsin. He received his veterinary degree in 1990 at the University of Bristol, UK and in 1998 he received his PhD at Cornell University. His principle areas of interest include diseases of economic importance to the modern dairy industry, particularly those affecting the gastro-intestinal tract. Dr. Peek is involved in infectious disease investigations involving both adult cow and calfhood problems on dairy farms in Wisconsin.

Dr. Peek is the coordinator for the large animal theriogenology laboratory course and is actively involved in the clinical instruction of senior veterinary students in both large animal internal medicine and food animal production medicine. Dr. Peek lectures on infectious causes of reproductive failure, ruminant gastroenterology, and infectious diseases.

The meeting will be held at Shrek's (formerly The Country Villa) in Tilden and will begin at 11:30am on Wednesday, December 10th. It should be an interesting and entertaining afternoon and we look forward to seeing you there.

Please give us a call at 723-3655 by Monday, December 8th, and let us know how many people from your operation will be able to join us.

The precise timing of when you inseminate a cow that has been set up by an Ov-Synch program is critically important to the success of the breeding. When using Ov-Synch, GnRH is given to start the protocol, regardless of whether or not a Pre-Synch program was used beforehand. One week following the GnRH injection, prostaglandin (Lutalyse) is given. The timing of what happens following the prostaglandin shot varies from farm to farm. Some people watch for signs of heat and breed accordingly. Some people give another shot of GnRH 48 hours after the prostaglandin and breed right then. Some wait 72 hours post prostaglandin and give GnRH and breed at that time.

After tracking literally thousands of breedings, the highest conception rate is obtained when the GnRH is given 56 hours after the prostaglandin shot and then the AI breeding is done 16 hours later at 72 hours post prostaglandin. Assuming the set up GnRH and prostaglandin shots are done on Monday mornings, this can best be accomplished by giving the GnRH on Wednesday afternoon and breeding the next morning (Thursday morning AI). We should see at least a 20% improvement in our success rate by keeping our timing as close to this protocol as possible.

For comparative purposes, the dairy industry defines a stillborn calf as one that was either born dead or died prior to 48 hours of age. The stillborn rate nationally is 7 to 10%. The expected stillbirth rate for first calf heifers is 11 to 15% where second and greater lactation stillbirth rate averages 5 to 7%. Dr. Sheila McGuirk of the University of Wisconsin says an achievable goal is a herd stillbirth rate of less than 8%. The key to attaining this is striving to keep the first lactation stillbirth rate at less than 10%.

There are many factors that determine stillbirth rate, but the two most important ones are dystocias and calving assistance. In 2007, almost one in five calves born (17.2%) needed assistance during delivery. Dystocia is defined as delayed or difficult parturition. So how do we minimize assisted births and dystocias in order to decrease our stillbirth rate?

Once a cow enters Stage Two, we should intervene if any of the following conditions exist:

Dr. McGuirk says that metabolic problems, stressful pen changes, poor comfort, cleanliness and overcrowded close-up groups may signal labor to start prematurely. "Short gestation lengths may be an indication of these types of problems. These events detract from a good delivery, and the rates of stillbirths are likely to go up."

The other factors involved in stillbirth rates are calving season, percentage of first-lactation animals in the herd, gestation length (<270 days and >293 days-carrying calf) and high body condition scores. Monitoring heifer growth and health very closely plays a key role in having heifers freshen with good stature and in good body condition. Pneumonia in particular can result in slow growth and poor reproductive performance. Body condition score ranks high as a risk factor for increased stillbirth rates. A reasonable goal is to have fewer than 5% of calving cows >3.5 body condition score, with an average BCS of 3.0.

One other important consideration is that calves experiencing assisted deliveries and dystocias have a significantly lower likelihood of surviving to 30 days of age than do calves born without assistance. All calves that go through an assisted delivery should be labeled as "compromised calves" and should be watched closely and receive extra TLC. Warming these calves immediately after birth is very important to their survival. Providing warm, high-quality colostrum immediately also helps increase the survival rate. Since these compromised calves tend to absorb immunoglobulins more slowly, but over a longer period of time, it is also a good idea to provide these calves with at least one extra feeding of colostrum.

We can't expect to eliminate dystocias and assisted births, but by knowing when to intervene and when to wait, and by paying particular attention to the health needs of these compromised critters, we should be able to help decrease our overall stillbirth rates.

As hard as it may be to believe, this is the 300th edition of the Chippewa Veterinary Clinic Dairy Herd Newsletter. Ironically, the very first newsletter we did was on (yep, you guessed it) mastitis. I guess we haven't got things all figured out quite yet! Hopefully, though, we've all learned a little something along the way.

In a number of newsletters we have emphasized the importance of doing Bulk Tank Cultures (BTC) to keep tabs on the organisms that are causing mastitis and high SCC's in your herd. Mastitis-causing pathogens are collectively categorized as the “contagious” organisms and the “environmental” organisms. The environmental pathogens thrive on high temperatures, high humidity, organic bedding materials and they simply love overcrowded, poorly ventilated facilities. These bugs are the primary pathogens responsible for clinical mastitis and elevated bulk tank SCC in well-managed herds that have successfully controlled the contagious pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae.

There are many environmentals, but the primary ones we worry about are the environmental streps (Strep uberis and Strep dysgalactia) and the gram negatives (E.coli and Klebsiella). Infections caused by the environmental pathogens are generally of short duration by comparison to the contagious pathogens and are more likely to result in clinical (visable) mastitis. Only about 20% of environmental strep intra-mammary infections (IMI) will exceed 100 days duration, although chronic infections that are unresponsive to antibiotic therapy do occur. Forty to 50% of environmental IMI will be associated with clinical mastitis. Environmental strep mastitis is generally moderate and is only very rarely severe. Coliform infections, on the other hand, are frequently very short in duration with over half the IMI lasting less than 10 days. Eighty to 90% of coliform intra-mammary infections will result in clinical signs. These symptoms tend to be moderate to much more severe than those seen with the environmental streps.(1)

The major reservoir of environmental pathogens include manure, dirt, mud, pools of standing water, feed stuffs and bedding materials. Both environmental streps and coliforms survive and grow in the organic bedding materials commonly used in dairy herds. Straw bedding has been shown to support very large populations of Strep uberis, while sawdust, shavings and recycled manure solids generally elevate exposure to E.coli and Klebsiella. Populations of both environmental streps and coliforms are almost always lower in inorganic bedding such as sand or crushed limestone.

Reducing teat-end exposure to environmental pathogens requires attention to all aspects of the environment. Four different environments on the dairy farm generally influence teat-end exposure to these pathogens: 1) dry cow and close-up heifer housing, 2) the calving area, 3) lactating cows' environment and 4) the milking parlor or milking time hygiene. Clean, dry conditions should be emphasized in all areas of the dairy cows' environment. Bacteria require food, moisture and proper temperature to survive and multiply. Eliminating moisture may be one of the more productive ways to reduce the number of pathogens and cases of environmental mastitis.

All organic bedding materials support large populations of these pathogens. In general, wood products such as sawdust and shavings are associated with coliform numbers in excess of 1 million per gram of bedding. That number is a little mind-boggling. Because there are 454 grams in a pound, each pound of bedding can easily harbor close to 500 million E.coli organisms. With these numbers, it's amazing that cows aren't fighting E.coli mastitis every day!

Improper milking time hygiene and machine function can contribute to the environmental mastitis problem. The key is to milk clean, dry teats and udders with a properly functioning milking machine. Pre-dipping has been shown to reduce new environmental mastitis infections during lactation by as much as 50% in some herds. Post-milking teat dipping with germicidal products will not control environmental pathogens and barrier dips seem to be of limited value.

Dry cow therapy helps, but primarily by reducing the rate of new IMI by the environmental streps during the early dry period. Coliform infections during the early and late dry period can be reduced with the use of teat sealants like Orbeseal.

The bottom line is, the only way to get a good handle on your mastitis problem is to start with a bulk tank culture. Once we know what we're up against, we can do a better job of fixing the problem.

A study was done recently to evaluate the ability of Dinoprost Tromethamine (Lutalyse) to cause luteal regression (removing the CL) when given through different routes. In the study approximately 500 cows were given Lutalyse in one of three different locations: 1) (IM) intramuscularly in the deep thigh muscles of the back leg, 2) Sub Q (under the skin of the neck) or 3) Sub Q, under the skin in the “hollow” between the tail and the pin bone (the ischio-rectal fossa).

In this experiment the route of administration of the Lutalyse had no effect on the proportion of cows experiencing luteal regression or on the decline in progesterone concentrations. In other words, giving Lutalyse worked just as well when it was given under the skin alongside the tail, as it did when given deep in the muscle. This contradicts what had been shown earlier, when deep intramuscular injections were reported to bring about better CL regression and, therefore, better heats. Based on this information, Lutalyse will be just as effective when given in the “hollow” beside the tail, which is helpful to know since there is less chance for carcass damage and less chance for “shot-giver” damage when you use this route. (Theriogenology Vol. 67, No. 3, pp. 590-597)

Another study was done recently to compare pregnancy rates in cattle using fixed-time AI at 54 and 66 hours after Ov-Synch with CIDR's. In this study over 800 cows at two farm locations were set up using Ov-Synch with CIDR's. All cows were given 2cc of GnRH and were implanted with a CIDR intravaginally. Seven days later the CIDR's were removed and all cows received 5cc of Lutalyse. All of the cows were then randomly assigned to either a group to be bred at 54 hours, or a group to be bred at 66 hours. The cows at one of the two farm locations were also observed for heat and all cows showing visible signs of heat were bred according to those signs. All cows were given another 2cc of GnRH at the time of artificial insemination.

In this study, the pregnancy rates were significantly greater for the cows that showed heat than those that did not (76% vs. 56% respectively). Pregnancy rates for those cows that did not show any heat were significantly higher for the group that was bred at 66 hours post Lutalyse than the group that was bred at 54 hours post Lutalyse (67% vs. 61% respectively). The moral of the story: it still pays to watch for heats after setting up Timed AI Programs, but if you don't see visible signs of heat, try to breed around 66 hours post Lutalyse injection.

When faced with yet another new case of mastitis, we often get frustrated and grab for anything that we think might work. Rarely do we actually know exactly what organism we're up against at the time of a new flare up. We'd love to have that information at our fingertips telling us 1) what "bug" we're dealing with and 2) what antibiotic is most likely going to kill it. Due to the fact that cultures and sensitivities take at least 48 to 72 hours, we don't have that luxury. In most cases, we have to treat based on our best guess as to which drug will most likely cure the infection.

Mastitis causing organisms are different today than they were even 20 years ago. We used to worry a lot about Strep ag and Staph aureus. While these organisms are still out there, the predominant bugs, especially in larger herds, are E. coli and Strep uberis (environmental pathogens). In fact, in a recent trial, approximately 75% of all cultured mastitis samples fell under the category of 1) E. coli, 2) Strep uberis or 3) No growth. The question then becomes what drug works best on both E. coli and Strep uberis? Below there's a chart from the University of Minnesota Lab for Udder Health. It lists mastitis causing organisms on the left and across the top are different drugs that were tested to determine the susceptibility of the organisms to those drugs. If you look at which drug worked best for both organisms, the best by far was ceftiofur (Spectramast). It was found to work on 95% of E. coli's and 95% of the Strep uberis's isolated. The next best drug was streptomycin which is only available in dry tubes (Quartermaster).

The next concern is always economics. Even though they are "once a day" tubes, Spectramast tubes are about the most expensive you can buy. But are they really all that expensive? The National Mastitis Council studied the economics associated with mastitis and determined that there is economic loss from an event of mastitis in the following six areas: 1) reduced milk production, 2) discarded milk, 3) early cow replacement costs, 4) extra labor, 5) drugs and 6) veterinary services. Where is the greatest cost? For every dollar lost to mastitis, sixty six cents is lost in overall reduced milk production after the episode of mastitis. In fact, 94% of the total economic loss due to each case of mastitis comes from lost production, discarded milk and early cow replacement. Only 6% of the money lost on mastitis comes from the extra labor, the drug costs and the veterinary service costs. The bottom line is that the cost of the tubes you use, regardless of which tubes you use, is by far the least expensive cost associated with mastitis.

In a recent study at the University of Tennessee, researchers looked at cure rates using Spectramast (ceftiofur) tubes for a 2 day, a 5 day and an 8 day treatment protocol. The cure rate for the 2 day treatment was 43%, the cure rate for the 5 day treatment 88% and the cure rate for the 8 day treatment was 100%. Given the fact that the treatment cost is really the “cheapest” part of the mastitis episode, it seems to make sense to 1) treat these events with the drug that is most likely going to cure the infection and 2) treat long enough (at least 5 days in a row) to insure an effective cure.

For a number of years now, we have made use of a “Drop Ship” arrangement with VetPharm, Inc. Many of you have used our catalogue to purchase medicines, vaccines and supplies at a considerable savings over what we have to charge for items dispensed out of the trucks. Because the minimum order to take advantage of free shipping was $350.00, many of you decided not to utilize the program.

We have recently made a move to work with MWI Veterinary Supply. We made the switch for a number of reasons, but foremost was better prices and better service to you the customer. MWI Veterinary Supply orders are delivered to your farm the next day for all orders called in before 3:00pm. There is no charge for delivery on any order over $150.00. We feel that MWI's prices are very competitive and that these savings will help everyone who chooses to participate.

If you would like a catalogue, please call us and we'll get one out to you. We encourage you to browse through it and compare prices to other providers. Because your orders go directly to MWI (by means of a phone call, fax or mail) we will not have to inventory these items at the clinic in large quantities. This allows us to pass these savings on to you. We would also like to stress that purchasing your prescription (non-over-the-counter) drugs through us is in full legal compliance with the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance due to our appropriate veterinary-client-patient relationship. In order to be eligible for this discounted catalogue service, clients must maintain a current account and have a good credit history at the Chippewa Veterinary Clinic.

This is an important reminder that the slaughter withhold time on Banamine (flunixin meglumine) is based on the administration of the drug intravenously. Banamine is NOT approved for intramuscular use, and if it is given intramuscularly, the withhold times are much longer than when the drug is given IV. Recently the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by means of its Center for Veterinary Medicine has issued statements reminding veterinarians that Banamine must only be used Intravenously, and that Wisconsin, in particular, is on the FDA's radar screen. They will be checking for flunixin meglumine in milk and meat samples.

We strongly urge users of Banamine to administer it only by the intravenous route and follow established milk and meat withhold times to avoid any drug residue issues. Milk must be discarded for 72 hours after IV administration and the slaughter withhold time for IV use is 10 days.

Some of you may be aware that 7% Tincture of Iodine that we use for dipping newborn calf navels is now a DEA controlled substance due to its use in the production of methamphetamines. "Tamed" Iodine is typically 2% and doesn't have the drying effectiveness of the 7% Tincture. The good news is that chlorhexidine (Nolvasan) has been shown to be equally effective for prevention of infection migrating up the umbilical cord.

There are three important factors in preventing navel infections in calves: 1) The cleaner the environment, the less likely a calf will develop infection. There's just no substitute for a clean dry calving area. 2) Dipping the navel once or twice a day for the first 3 to 5 days of life has been shown to be much more effective than dipping just once at birth. It's really not that difficult to do when you're feeding the calf anyway. 3) Actually tying off the cord with string also helps prevent infection. The cord is really a wide open pipe to the inside of the calf, and physically closing it off makes a significant difference in infection rates.

Once an infection has made its way through the umbilical cord and into the calf, it can cause all kinds of problems. Joint, lung and liver infections are not uncommon. Even infections in the central nervous system like meningitis can come about from an initial migration of bacteria up the umbilical cord. Thus, it's well worth your time and effort to do all you can to eliminate these infections from ever getting "a foot in the door".

Water is the cheapest nutrient we feed our cattle, but it is also the most important. We want to be sure that it is not a limiting factor in milk production. Because milk is 88% water, it is critical that we monitor both availability and quality, as both have a direct impact on water intake. Below are a few "fun facts to know and tell" about water and how to make sure that an adequate volume of good quality water is always available to our animals.

* Cows drink for about 10 to 12 minutes a day consuming 3 to 5 gallons per minute

* In freestall barns, provide 2 feet of linear drinking space for every 15 to 20 cows. Because drinking is a "social event", research suggests 15% of the cows should be able to drink at one time.

* Shallow waterers, 3 to 8 inches deep, are preferable to deeper waterers because they are easier to keep clean and water turnover is higher.

Daily milk production (lbs)	Water intake at 45F (gals)	Water intake at 85F (gals)
20	17	24
40	21	28
60	24	32
80	28	35
100	32	39
120	36	43

Type of dairy animal	Water usage (gal/head/day
Calves (1 to 1.5 gals/100lbs	6 to 10
Heifers	10 to 15
Dry cows	20 to 30
Lactating cows	25 to 50

Water quality impacts both the health and the productivity of dairy cattle. Testing your water once a year is a good idea to assure that no potential health concerns exist.

Thus far, we have received 23 of the 100 Newsletter Surveys that were sent out. I was hoping to get at least 20, so we're doing ok, but we would be happy to take any more that you may have filled out and not yet returned. The $120 per hour incentive will be good through May 31st, so please get your survey back to us before then. The majority of the returns were favorable, so we'll continue to try to produce Newsletters that are worth reading. Thanks for your feedback!

In a recent article in the April 2008 issue of Dairy Herd Management, it was pointed out that 35 to 50% of cows between 35 and 60 days in milk have subclinical endometritis. Subclinical means it sneaks in under the radar…. it can't be detected… but it's there and it's affecting cows' fertility. These cows have normal discharge and will feel normal if palpated, but there is infection in the uterine wall and cows with subclinical endometritis end up being tougher to get settled (they have 40 more Days Open than non-affected cows). By 300 Days In Milk, 32% of cows with subclinical endometritis are still not yet confirmed pregnant as compared to 9% of cows without subclinical endometritis.

So how do we prevent 35 to 50% of our fresh cows from developing this disease? It really just goes back to the basics of good animal husbandry. First, we have to have our fresh cows as healthy as possible at the time of calving. This means a transition diet that will maximize the ability of the cow's immune system to fight off disease. Adequate Vitamin E and selenium for three weeks prior to calving is essential, as is having cows calve in the proper body condition.

Having a clean environment in which to calve is an incredibly important point that is so often overlooked. During the calving process, cows and heifers are literally “wide open” to infection …. if she calves on clean dry bedding, the chance of endometritis is drastically reduced. It is also critical that people assisting with calvings know what they are doing. Overly aggressive assistance can be way worse than no help at all. There is a great website on bovine reproduction that can be easily accessed at http://www.drostproject.vetmed.ufl.edu/bovine/index.html This is a visual guide to bovine reproduction and may be a helpful review for anyone who helps with calvings. Unfortunately it is only in English, but it is a very good source of information.

Finally, closely monitoring your fresh cows is absolutely essential. Close observation of attitude, appetite and posture will tell you a lot about how fresh cows are feeling. Do NOT rely solely on taking temperatures. Taking temperatures is only one very small part of the job of the person monitoring fresh cows. Cows can often have raging toxic metritis and not spike a fever. Treating endometritis is difficult and highly controversial. The old stand-by of using tetracycline boluses may not work as well as we once thought. Warm water flushes with mild antiseptics like chlorhexidine (Nolvasan) is very effective but labor intensive. Prostaglandin injections at 14 to 30 DIM is always a good approach to helping uterine involution and minimizing endometritis.

Chippewa Veterinary Clinic
Dairy Herd Newsletter
April 1, 2008

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Chippewa Veterinary Clinic
Dairy Herd Newsletter
March 1, 2008

New DHIA Udder Health Management Summary

For those of you utilizing DHIA, you may have seen the new Udder Health Summary pages. When you first look at the colored charts and graphs, it looks pretty confusing. When you go through it step by step, however, I think you'll find that it can be a much more useful tool in helping you assess your herd's overall udder health. It is also easier to make individual cow decisions related to mastitis and milk quality.

The original goal of the new Udder Health Management Summary (UHMS) was to create a new set of reports that maximize the use of monthly Somatic Cell Count (SCC) data. Too many times we pay for this information and we don't use it. The new UHMS describes the month to month changes in SCC and creates individual cow reports to facilitate individual cow decisions. It also utilizes data that was missing in previous reports due to CAR (Condition Affecting Record) coding.

The first page of the report shows a large chart labeled "Risk Group Analysis" (see below). By studying this chart you will be able to answer the question, "Why did my SCC change this month?". This entire chart is based on the premise that you believe that a SCC >200,000 indicates infection in the udder (mastitis). As long as you believe that (and you should), you can see that the chart breaks your herd prevalence of mastitis into three main risk groups: 1) FRESH cows and heifers 5 to 40 days in milk (DIM) with a SCC >200,000 at First Test, 2) Lactating animals >40 DIM with SCC >200,000 at current test that were <200,000 at the previous test (these are the NEW infections) and 3) Lactating animals that were >200,000 at previous test and are >200,000 at current test (these are the CHRONIC infections).

By looking at where your mastitis cows fall into one of these three categories, you get a better understanding of where the problem lies and therefore, a better understanding of how to fix it.

The cow lists make it easier to make decisions about individual animals within the herd. List A gives all the chronic cows… those with the last two tests >200,000. These are the cows that make up the pink area in the above graph. List B is the Dry Period Failure to Cure List. This list identifies cows that dried off at >200,000 (at last test in the previous lactation) and also freshened with a SCC >200,000 on their first test of the current lactation. This list helps you evaluate your dry cow program and determine if any changes need to be made in their environment or treatment.

List C is your Dry Cow List. List D is the Fresh Cow Infection List… those cows 5 to 40 DIM with first test >200,000. Cows from the D List make up the "Fresh Cows with Mastitis" shown in dark blue on the Risk Group Analysis Chart on page 1.

List E is the Lactating Cow New Infection List for cows >40 DIM. This group of cows makes up your New Infections and is shown in light blue on the Risk Group Analysis Chart on page 1.

List F provides you with the Response to New Infection List which tells you what happened to last month's first time new infections. This is particularly helpful because it lets you know exactly how well your treatment protocol is working.

List G gives the CAR code (Condition Affecting Record) cows and the Milk Withheld Indicator. With the new system, CAR coded cows are included in data analysis which ends up giving you more accurate and reliable information upon which to base your udder health decisions.

The colored graphs further help you get a clearer picture of trends in your herd's milk quality. They allow you to assess which lactation groups are having problems and when during the course of the lactation the problems tend to develop. All this information can be used to make better decisions concerning udder health.

Finally, there are benchmarks that give you an idea of how you are doing in comparison to the best (80th percentile) and the worst (20th percentile) herds in the industry. This helps you have an idea of where you stand and what reasonable goals might be achieved.

If you'd like to go through any of your DHIA Udder Health Summary information with one of us, please give a call. We'd be glad to try to help sort through all the new charts and graphs and help make your Udder Health decision making a little easier.

Chippewa Veterinary Clinic
Dairy Herd Newsletter
February 1, 2008

Transition Cow Health

Everyone knows that the most stressful time in a cow's life is the first two weeks after calving. Once she's through this period and she's eating well, chances are she's on her way to a productive lactation. We're always looking for ways to get cows off to better starts. We balance pre-fresh rations, we monitor post-fresh cows daily and we drench and pill and inject until we're blue in the face. Despite our best efforts, we still have cycles where we see way more fresh cow health challenges than we want to.

While there is no silver bullet, no one single answer that will assure minimal fresh cow health issues, it sure looks like adequate bunk space for the pre-fresh cows is about as close to the silver bullet as we've seen in a long time. Dr. Ken Nordland and Dr. Gary Oetzel at the University of Wisconsin have shown that in a pre-fresh pen with 24 inch headlocks, you get a 1.6 pound drop in daily milk yield during the upcoming lactation for every 10% increase in headlock occupancy above 80%. In other words, if your pre-fresh pen with 24" headlocks is stocked at 150% (9 cows for every 6 locks) you would expect to see an 11 pound milk loss per cow per day in the “lower ranked” or more timid cows that will shy away from the bunk. That means a 3,300 lb loss for a 305-day lactation.

The good news is that we don't have to go ripping out 24" headlocks and trying to retro-fit everything. The magic number seems to be 30" of bunk space per cow.... regardless of how many headlocks are in place. In order to determine how many cows you can have in the pen, just divide the total available bunk space by 30" (2.5 feet). If your pre-fresh pen has 100' of bunk space, then 100' divided by 2.5' per cow says you can only house 40 cows in that pen without causing decreased feed intake and health problems. That 100' contains 50 twenty-four inch headlocks, but that many cows in the pen will cause problems.

Ideally, your post-fresh cows will be housed such that they get 30" of bunk space as well. Once they are up and running and they leave the post-fresh group, 24" seems to work out fine. It's not hard to see why things work out well in small herds of cows in tie stall and stanchion barns where each cow has about 48" of bunk space. We are able to hand feed these pre and post-fresh animals and watch their intakes and outputs closely.

Another suggestion from Nordland and Oetzel is to avoid pen moves 3 to 9 days before calving. Dry Matter Intake declines for about three days after a pen move and transition cows seem to be the ones most affected. Their data shows that cows moved during this critical window are twice as likely to get a DA and three times as likely to be removed from the herd in early lactation. Once again, oh for the good old days when we didn't have to worry about pen moves and bunk space. For those dairymen working with small herds in tie stall or stanchion barns, it's nice to know that there are still a lot of good sound reasons for continuing to do so. Who knows, the way things cycle, some day the “experts” may be recommending we go back to 60 cow tie-stall barns.

Chippewa Veterinary Clinic
Dairy Herd Newsletter
January 1, 2008

New Repro Ideas

For those of you who attended the Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting on December 5th, you may recall Dr. Van Dyke discussing the various modifications to both the Ov-Synch and the Pre-Synch Programs. The basis of all of the modifications has been to try to improve the overall success (ie. Pregnancy rate) of our breeding programs.

As Dr. Van Dyke mentioned, the best conception rate is obtained when Ov-Synch is initiated on the 5th through the 12th day of the cow's cycle, even if she didn't show any outward signs of heat. All the APre-Synch® programs are aimed at getting cows set up so that they are at that stage of the cycle when we start them on Ov-Synch. The early trials showed that by giving prostaglandin (Lutalyse) at 26 and again at 12 days prior to the start of Ov-Synch, we accomplished that goal. Because that meant an Ainconvenient® 12 day interval between the second prostaglandin and the start of Ov-Synch, we assumed that we could make life easier by changing it to two 14 day intervals. (Lutalyse on day 28 and 14 prior to Ov-Synch). As it turns out, this did have a negative effect on pregnancy rates. The 14 day/12 day Pre-Synch yielded better results than the 14 day/14 day program.

The most recent Pre-Synch Program requires a shorter window of time and utilizes a single injection of Lutalyse followed in 48 hours by a single injection of GnRH. Ov-Synch is then started 6 days later. This does mean that if you like to start your Ov-Synch cows on Tuesdays, you need to pre-synch them the week before on Monday (Lutalyse) and Wednesday (GnRH). It gets confusing, but it does result in a Pre-Synch program that takes only 8 days instead of 26 days.

Another interesting point of discussion is the timing of breeding and GnRH injection. Initially, the timed AI was done at 72 hours after the Lutalyse injection and GnRH was given about 12 to 16 hours prior to breeding. The difficulty came in catching the cows twice to give the shot and to get her inseminated. We tried doing both at 72 hours and then found that we had better success by moving both up closer to the 60 hour mark. Today, most people are setting up Ov-Synch so that GnRH is given on day 1, Lutalyse is given on day 8, and then the GnRH injection and the AI breeding are done together at about 60 hours after the Lutalyse injection. If your Ov-Synch is started with shots given on Tuesday mornings, then your AI's will be done on Thursday afternoons.

CIDR implants continue to prove to be beneficial, especially in non-cycling and cystic cows. In most cases the CIDR implant is simply added to the Ov-Synch program so that GnRH is given when the CIDR goes in. Lutalyse can be given 6 days later and the CIDR pulled 24 hours after the Lutalyse injection, followed by timed AI 48 hours after CIDR removal. An injection of GnRH at the time of service assures proper timing of ovulation.

If you have any questions about any of these breeding protocols, or how you might be able to improve your reproductive success, please give us a call.

Chippewa Veterinary Clinic
Dairy Herd Newsletter
December 1, 2007

15th Annual Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting

Did you ever wonder why that cow that got a shot of Lutalyse eight days ago is now in a good standing heat? Ever been frustrated by the fact that you went through all the trouble and expense to give the GnRH and Lutalyse shots to set up cows with Ov-Synch and then had a lousy herd check where only two cows were found pregnant? Dairy reproduction is a challenge, but like any challenge, the better we understand what's going on, the more likely we will achieve the success we're working towards. December 5th will be a great opportunity for all of us to hear from a reproduction specialist, so that we can learn more about what goes on reproductively in our cows and why sometimes things work and sometimes they don't.

Dr. Tom Van Dyke will be presenting a program entitled “It's About Time” and will discuss the various modifications to the original Ov-Synch program and why we use them. Dr. Van Dyke joined Merial's Veterinary Professional Services after 30 years of farm animal veterinary practice in and around Washington County, Virginia. Within his veterinary practice he specialized in herd health and production medicine. Coinciding with his veterinary business, he also owned two dairy operations and a beef cow-calf herd.

With Merial he continues his quest to help farmers achieve success through healthier and more productive livestock. From his nationwide travels with Merial, Dr. Van Dyke continues to observe and assimilate successful farming practices all over the country. He also still practices part time back home when the schedule allows.

Once again this year we will be hosting the Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting at Shrek's (Formerly The Country Villa) in Tilden. The meeting will start at 11:30am, again on Wednesday, December 5th. Please give us a call at 723-3655 and let us know how many from your operation will be able to attend. We look forward to another interesting and educational program!

Lameness and foot problems continue to be a major health concern especially with all the recent rain-induced, mud-filled yards. Footbaths are becoming more and more popular as a relatively cheap and convenient way to prevent foot diseases in dairy cows.

Copper sulfate has always been the “gold standard” for footbaths in this area. It works pretty well on heel warts, heel cracks and foot rot. Occasionally other chemicals are used, such as zinc sulfate, tetracycline and lincocin. Cost is always a deciding factor when selecting which bath to utilize as these other products tend to be even more expensive than copper sulfate. The current recommendation is to use a 3% solution of copper sulfate which amounts to 10 pounds in 40 gallons of water. At today's price of $60.00 for a 50 lb bag, that 40 gallon bath will cost you $12.00.

A 37% Formaldehyde solution can be purchased in 55 gallon drums from Wausau Chemical (telephone # 715-842-2285) for $280.15 plus tax. They deliver free of charge to the Chippewa Valley area every other week. At this price, it costs about $10.70 per 40 gallon footbath as compared to the $12.00 cost for a 40 gallon copper sulfate bath.

If you are having a lot of foot health problems, you might want to start out by running all the cows through the bath every day, Monday through Friday, for one to two weeks. This can be followed by using the bath on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a week and then dropping down to a maintenance schedule of running the bath twice weekly. In most cases, you will notice a dramatic improvement in foot health in less than two weeks.

Once again, we will be hosting our annual dairy client appreciation dinner meeting at Shrek's (formerly The Country Villa) in Tilden. The date is set for Wednesday, December 5th, so mark your calendars. More details will appear in next month's newsletter.

It has been over ten years since we last printed a list of FDA-Approved Drugs for use in dairy cattle. Some of the drugs that we had back then are no longer available and some new ones have come on the market. The following is a list of FARAD (Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank). If you ever have a question regarding the proper use of, or milk or meat withholding times for any drugs you are using on dairy animals, please give us a call. You can also call FARAD at 1-888-873-2723.

We have thought all along that any stress at or around freshening will make things difficult later on when we try to get cows pregnant. The developing follicles take 60 to 90 days to mature and stress at the onset of growth can render follicles sterile. In a recent research study reported in the Journal of Dairy Science, 796 Holstein cows were monitored post calving for ketosis using serum BHBA levels, classifying them as non-ketotic, subclinically ketotic (having ketosis but not showing symptoms) or clinically ketotic (having ketosis and showing symptoms of ketosis). These same animals were followed to track their reproductive performance on first services.

When all the data was tabulated, it turned out that an animal that is subclinically ketotic in the first or second week of the lactation has a probability of getting pregnant on first service that is 20% lower than those animals not becoming subclinically ketotic. Cows that were found to be clinically ketotic in either the first or second week post calving were 50% less likely to settle on their first service. This just puts concrete numbers on something we suspected all along.... minimizing post calving stress, decreased DMI, and ketosis will help cows get headed toward a better lactation and a better chance of breeding back.

If you are looking for the very latest and most complete information on Johnes Disease, one of the best places to go is the Johnes Education Initiative's website which is www.johnesdisease.org.

There is information here about everything from the disease itself and the economic impact it has on the dairy industry, to the individual state programs that are set up to control the disease.

Uncertainty about the level of federal funding for Johnes programs resulted in initial cuts in state cooperative agreements. This impacted state Johnes program plans and activities in early 2007. When Congress finalized the budget, much of the funding was restored. This is a positive for the current program year, however, details are still being worked out with individual state programs. If you have questions regarding the Wisconsin Johnes Control Program and possible funding available for herd risk assessments, testing, and vaccinating, give us a call.

For those of you that vaccinate your whole herd in the Spring and Fall with the killed combination vaccines, September is an ideal time to get the job done. Having the vaccination done at least two weeks before the stress of changing weather conditions will maximize the protection you get out of whatever vaccine you use.

If you are looking for the very latest and most complete information on Johnes Disease, one of the best places to go is the Johnes Education Initiative's website which is www.johnesdisease.org

There is information here about everything from the disease itself and the economic impact it has on the dairy industry, to the individual state programs that are set up to control the disease.

They say that if you don't set goals for yourself, you never get ahead. In the dairy business, we all have general goals for our operations: we'd like to be more profitable, we'd like a little more time off, we'd like to be able to make improvements on our farms that will make things go more smoothly and keep the cows healthier. Many times we have to work towards specific, short-term benchmarks in order to be able to achieve these more generalized long-term goals.

Below are a number of dairy operation benchmarks that were taken from real working farms right here in the mid-west. They aren't numbers dreamed up at an academic institution..... they are actual averages of the 50 top producing Holstein herds here in the upper mid-west. While nobody is going to point a finger and tell you that this is what you should be doing, it is nice to see what is being done by other producers in our area. By using some of these numbers as guidelines, you might find an area of your operation that is providing you with opportunities for improvement. If your numbers are in the neighborhood of those listed, pat yourself on the back... you're doing a good job!

Turnover Rate is the number of cows removed from the herd (sold or died) in the last year divided by the average number of cows in the herd last year. An overall Turnover Rate of 30% is good, but to best gauge fresh cow health, it is helpful to look at Early Lactation Turnover Rate. The goal is to have less than 6% leave in the first 60 Days in Milk. Also, the percent of heifers culled or lost at less than 4 months of age should be 4% or less.

Traditionally, heifers have been the cleanest group of animals in the milking herd, when it comes to mastitis. Over the last ten years, though, the incidence of mastitis in first lactation heifers has increased by over 50%. Of those animals infected, 30% of them show Staph. aureus as the major pathogen causing infection.

In the past, research has shown a link between the use of waste milk and increased mastitis in young stock. With the rising use of milk replacers we expected to see a decrease in mastitis in these animals. When this didn't happen, researchers started looking for other modes of transmission of bacteria. Recent research shows that the horn fly is a major vector of the Staph. aureus organism in livestock. Heifers can be bitten on the udder as early as one month of age and carry the Staph. aureus organism through to calving.

Prevention is the key to limiting the spread of these contagious bacteria in your herd. Fly control is the number one way to do this. Fly tags alone are not sufficient. There is data to show an increasing level of resistance of flies to both the organophosphate and pyrethrum tags. Additionally, tags do little to prevent flies from attacking udders.

Pour-on insecticides offer the best solution to this problem and in addition to reducing the fly population, they provide prevention against worms and eradication of lice. Multiple summer applications of a pour-on beginning in April is the key to reducing mastitis in heifers. This is the time that flies are just beginning to be active , though you will not see large numbers of them.

All heifers, including wet calves need to be treated. Treatment needs to be repeated in June and August in order to provide maximum results. Rotation of pour-on insecticides needs to be done every other year to reduce fly resistance.

If you are currently having a problem with mastitis in your first lactation animals, cultures need to be done to isolate the causative organism. Research done by Dr. Steve Nickerson from Virginia Tech has shown that you can achieve cure rates exceeding 90% for Staph. aureus if you treat heifers with a lactating cow product 6 to 8 weeks prior to calving. There was no difference in cure rates between the various products used. Cure rates for these animals if treated during lactation are 50% or less.

Staph. aureus is a major mastitis pathogen in the dairy industry. It is highly contagious, difficult or impossible to cure and causes great economic losses due to lost milk and increased somatic cell counts. Prevention of this disease in first lactation animals is the best way to control its spread and reduce its economic impact.

We are very happy to announce that we have a new veterinarian joining us in June. Dr. Kristy Landhoff grew up on a dairy farm near Athens, Wisconsin and has recently graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Madison. She is looking forward to joining a mixed-animal practice, and has a special interest in dairy cattle work. Soon, she and her husband Carl (also form the Athens area) will be moving to Chippewa Falls and we'd like to extend them both a warm welcome.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Dairy Focus 2007 meeting held in the Dells. Dr. Dave Ellefson presented some interesting new information on calves and vaccination protocols for keeping them healthy. While there were a number important points that he brought up, I'll jot down a few of the things that you may or may not have heard about.

The metabolic problems of fresh cows that we face on a daily basis has a major impact on the cow's immune system and its ability to function properly. Interestingly, the changes in the immune system are taking place at least one to two weeks prior to calving. Dr. Jesse Goff says that metabolic diseases of the dairy cow are strongly associated with decreased fertility and have a tremendous effect on the immune system.

We have known for a long time that milk fever (hypocalcemia) causes significant stress on fresh cows and often results in secondary problems such as mastitis, metritis and DA's. What we didn't know until recently was that the low blood calcium directly affects the immune system. Dr. Goff's research has shown that the immune system's first line of defense, the neutrophil (one of a number of specific types of White Blood Cells) can't kill bacteria nearly as well in a low calcium environment as it can when calcium levels are normal. In addition, milk fever cows are experiencing a major “stress” which causes the release of their own cortisol...a highly immunosuppressant chemical.

The immune system is also directly affected by the level of blood sugar (glucose) in the dairy cow. The neutrophil needs glucose to do its job killing invading bacteria. When a cow is ketotic, she is breaking down body fat to help maintain the level of blood glucose. When the liver can't keep up with the breakdown of body fat, ketones flood into the bloodstream. The immune system can't utilize ketones and therefore, it too is starving for glucose and cannot fight infection as it could when glucose was readily available.

Finally, antioxidants such as vitamin E and selenium are important for the immune system to be able to perform properly. Research has shown that injecting 3,000 U of Vitamin E one week prior to expected calving date can cut the incidence of RP's in half. In herds that are on a transition diet that is providing 2,000 U of Vitamin E/day, you may not see such a dramatic improvement. It is important to note that in the past we have often recommended giving the injection of Vitamin E at the time of calving. Research shows that you will get a much better response if you can move that injection to a week prior to expected calving date.

Obviously, a sound, well-balanced transition ration is important. Keeping intakes up during those few days just prior to and after calving is one of the most critical components of the entire transition management program. It is becoming clear that the actual change from pre-fresh to post-fresh diet isn't as critical as the need to keep intakes at a maximum during that transition. Lots of high quality hay and dry grain seem to be more palatable during this time than fermented silages. Simply providing plenty of clean water to cows during the transition period has also been shown to improve immune system function.

The bottom line is that a healthy immune system means less mastitis, less metritis and subsequently better reproductive success as we try to get these animals bred back three months after calving. Anything we can do to assist the cow's immune function will end up paying dividends later on when we're working with fertility challenges.

It's hard to imagine that we should be talking about heat stress in early April, but last year the heat hit in May right around Memorial Day weekend and milk production took a real hit. Heat stress in cows can occur once the Temperature-Humidity Index reaches 72 which takes place when the temperature is 75 degrees F and the relative humidity is 65% or higher. Any increase in temperature or humidity above these numbers just adds to the overall stress dairy cattle are dealing with.

Decreased milk production was originally thought to be simply due to decreased intakes during hot weather. As it turns out, decreased intakes only account for about half of the drop in production. As a cow undergoes heat stress, she naturally utilizes more blood glucose than fat for normal body tissue functions. This is because burning glucose generates less metabolic heat. It is sort of a self-protection mechanism to minimize body heat production. When this happens there is less blood glucose available to the mammary gland and therefore less milk is produced. Lower intakes and lower blood glucose available means milk production takes a hit.

Nutritionally, there are a number of dietary changes that can be made to minimize the effects of heat stress. Feeding an ionophore like monensin will help increase the production of propionate in the rumen. Propionate is converted by the liver into glucose which results in more being available to the mammary gland. Actually, BST also helps to channel more glucose to the udder, thus helping to increase milk production.

Obviously, the best alternative is to keep cows as cool as possible so they don't shift blood glucose away from milk production in the first place. Providing plenty of water and feeding during the cooler times of the day will also help maintain feed intakes. Feeding highly palatable, highly digestible fiber is also very important. More metabolic heat is generated by the digestion of fiber than concentrates, but feeding highly digestible fiber is a good compromise and avoids the likelihood of acidosis associated with increased concentrate feeding.

Feeding sodium bicarbonate or potassium carbonate also helps. Heat stressed cows breathe faster and blow off more carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is used to create bicarbonate which is a buffer. Less bicarbonate available increases the likelihood of acidosis. The nice thing about adding potassium carbonate is that it not only provides the carbonate buffer, it also provides more potassium, which dairy cows need more of during hot weather.

Finally, feeding probiotics (yeast culture additives) also helps during hot weather by stabilizing rumen digestion and helping the rumen to utilize nutrients more efficiently.

It would be nice to think that the coldest days of winter are behind us. That may be true, but unfortunately, March is always the hardest month of the year on dairy cattle. The cold, raw, changing weather is much more stressful on them than the steady cold, dry days in January and February. Cattle's immune systems seem to be at their weakest in March after having gone through the cold winter months. Stored feeds are likely to be of lower quality now than when first put up, especially when considering vitamin content. All these factors contribute to a month when we always see a dramatic increase in health problems.

Respiratory problems are especially common in young stock where warm days make for wet bedding and inadequate ventilation can allow moisture and bacteria to build up to levels that overwhelm heifers' immune systems' defenses. Increased incidence of mastitis is also frequently seen because of the stresses brought on by changes in the environment. Keeping stalls clean and dry to minimize environmental mastitis needs to have a high priority during the changing season. Post-dipping to prevent the spread of contagious mastitis is also extremely important.

We often get asked about post-dipping in cold weather. Frozen and/or chapped teat ends are much more likely to allow mastitis-causing bacteria to enter the quarter. The usual recommendation is to continue with the good germicidal, skin-conditioning teat dip you use year round. Unless it is bitterly cold with wind chills below minus 20, staying with the dip the cows are used to is probably your best bet. When it does get real cold as it did over the past few weeks, it often helps to dab or wick the drop of dip off the teat end with a cloth towel. This takes very little time and has proven to help prevent freezing or chapping of teat ends. Do not wipe the teat dry as this will remove too much of the dip.

Using barrier dips is not recommended in the very cold weather as these usually take up to 20 minutes to dry and can contribute to teat end chapping. The “winter formulation” dips containing emollients or powders do work well as long as they contain an effective germicide. These dips are usually very expensive and should only be used during extremely cold conditions.

Some folks use salves on teat ends once they are chapped. This can help soften the “hyperkeratosis” at the sphincter and help with the healing process. The across the board use of salves instead of dips is not recommended because they tend to attract dirt, bedding and manure. Even if the salve contains a germicide, if enough debris is adhered to the salved teat end, infection into the gland is likely.

A final option during cold weather is to discontinue post-dipping altogether. This is really not an option. The likelihood of un-dipped teats developing either contagious or environmental mastitis is very high. The effects of not dipping may not show up immediately, but over the months ahead, increases in both clinical and sub-clinical mastitis are almost guaranteed.

In June of 2003, we did a newsletter on a new twist on an old disease: the discovery of Lepto hardjo-bovis and its effect on conception rates, early embryonic deaths and abortions. At that time we tested a number of herds for Lepto hardjo-bovis and found none to be positive in our practice area. Since that time there has been an ongoing marketing presence of the Lepto hardjo-bovis vaccines. Currently, two companies are producing vaccines: Pfizer makes Spirovac (L. hardjo-bovis only) and Novartis makes Vira Shield which is a killed combination vaccine containing BVD, IBR, PI3, BRSV, as well as the old Lepto serotypes and the new hardjo-bovis serotype.

Some herds have tried using the hardjo-bovis vaccines with the hope of improving conception rates, and decreasing early embryonic deaths and abortions. Although the results are not being statistically or scientifically monitored, the general consensus from some dairy producers has been that it may be helping with the herd's reproductive success.

If you decide to give vaccinating for Lepto hardjo-bovis a try, remember that, like with any vaccine, when you give the initial dose, it must be boostered in three to four weeks in order to achieve protective levels of antibodies. A yearly booster is then necessary to continue protection. It will take a minimum of six to eight weeks form the time of the initial vaccination until any significant protection is acquired. Therefore, it would be unlikely to see any change in reproductive performance for at least three to six months from the initiation of the vaccination program. It is always important to be able to measure the results of any management changes made on a dairy. Good record keeping of pregnancy rates, and the incidence of early embryonic deaths and abortions, both before and after starting the Lepto hardjo-bovis vaccination program is essential to determine if the new practice is paying a return on your investment.

A trial was recently done on a 2600 cow dairy in New York that was confirmed to have Lepto hardjo-bovis positive animals. Researchers enrolled 1200 of the herd's cows in the study. Half were used as controls (given no vaccine) and half were vaccinated with a Lepto hardjo-bovis vaccine and then given a booster 28 days later. Reproductive data was collected and analyzed. First-service conception rates were 27% for the unvaccinated group and 36% for the vaccinates. The time for 50% of the animals to become pregnant was 105 days in the control group and 90 days in the vaccinates. Pregnancy rates were calculated to be 19% for the controls and 21% for the vaccinated animals. There were 56 abortions in the control group and 58 abortions in the vaccinated group. The overall conclusion was that in an infected herd, vaccinating with Lepto hardjo-bovis can result in significant improvement in reproductive performance without changing the visible proportion of abortions.

The Division of Animal Health has changed how dairy producers will be reimbursed for Johne's disease management costs. The new reimbursement program has two steps: 1) you must first APPLY for eligibility for reimbursement and then 2) you have to submit your invoices from us for reimbursement. In a nutshell, if you want to get paid back for any Johne's work, including the annual risk assessment, blood testing AND vaccinating, you must fill out an application on or before February 28, 2007. The state will then notify you of the dollar amount you will be eligible for during 2007. Then as you have Johne's work done throughout the year, you will need to submit a copy of our invoices to the Division of Animal Health and they will send a check directly to you. It may seem a little confusing, but this is the way it is going to be for now, so if you want to get money back for Johne's vaccinating, blood testing or risk assessments, this is the only way you'll get it. More details are listed below:

Step 1: Applying for eligibility. Deadline is February 28, 2007. To be eligible for 2007 reimbursement costs: the producer must have an active Johne's disease Risk Assessment and Heard Management Plan (RAMP) performed on their herd between January 1, 2006 and February 28, 2007.

Herd owners must submit the Johne's disease Management Costs Reimbursement-Eligibility Request Form (we have them at the clinic) on or before February 28, 2007.

Step 2: Submitting Invoices and Tax ID information (W-9 Form). Deadline for submission of invoices and W-9 form is February 1, 2008. Reimbursement will be up to 100% of the eligible RAMP renewal costs (not to exceed $100) and reimbursement will be up to 75% of other eligible Johne's disease management costs listed, per invoice.

Completed Tax ID (W-9) form, if not already on file, needs to be submitted with itemized veterinary clinic invoices. Reimbursements will be paid directly to the producer as invoices are submitted for eligible expenses incurred until the herd's allocation has been depleted or the funding period expires.

If you have any question, please call us at the clinic. The most important things to remember are that if you want any reimbursement, you must have had your Johne's Risk Assessment renewed sometime between January 1, 2006 and February 28, 2007, and you need to call us for an application form that you fill out and send in by February 28, 2007.

Once again this year we have a great program lined up for our Annual Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting. Dr. Scott Jones of the Regional Animal Health Laboratory in Barron will be with us. Dr. Jones is a 1978 graduate of the veterinary college at Michigan State University. He joined the lab in Barron in 1984. We rely heavily on Dr. Jones and his co-worker, Dr. Mark Carlson for help with mastitis cultures, blood testing, fecal analysis and calf autopsies. Over the years they have been instrumental in helping us make definitive diagnoses so that treatment and prevention can be effectively initiated. His topic will be: “Calfhood Diseases” with a special emphasis on Salmonella and Clostridial challenges.

The program will begin at 11:30am on December 6th and will be held, as always, at what is now called “Shrek's” (formerly The Mason Jar and before that The Country Villa in Tilden). Mark your calendar! Please call the clinic at 723-3655 and let us know how many from your operation will be able to attend.

Milk Production and the Success of Treating Ovarian Cysts:
It's Not What You Think

A study was done recently and written up in the September 2006 issue of Theriogenology (Vol.66, No.5, pp.1243-1248) to determine the relationship between milk production on the day of diagnosis of ovarian cysts and the response to treatment with the Ov-Synch protocol. The results may surprise you..

In the study which was done on 260 cows with ovarian cysts, researchers measured: 1)milk production, 2) parity, 3) DIM and 4) body condition score at the time the cysts were diagnosed. The animals were then treated with GnRH, followed by PGF2a (Lutalyse) on day 7, another GnRH on day 9 and were timed inseminated 16 to 20 hours later. Pregnancy diagnosis was made by rectal exam between 42 and 49 days post insemination. Using the median value for milk production on the day of diagnosis, cows were classified as high producers (above the median) and low producers (below the median). After analyzing the data, it was determined that there was no correlation between either DIM or body condition score with the success of treatment. However, it was found that first calf heifers had a statistically better chance of getting pregnant following treatment than second or greater lactation animals. Most interesting was the finding that the high producing animals had a much better pregnancy rate than the low producers when treated for cysts with Ov-Synch. In fact the pregnancy rate for the low producers was 6% as compared to 16% for the high producers.

Draxxin
Although Draxxin has been on the market for over a year, it is a relatively new drug that has been proving very effective for use against Bovine Respiratory Disease. Draxxin is an antibiotic that is similar in form to Micotil, however, it does not carry the human health risk found with Micotil. Draxxin is expensive per cc, but when you actually figure out cost of treatment based on dosage (1.1cc per 100 lbs. body weight as compared to 1.5cc with Micotil and 3cc with Nuflor) it is not as bad as it first appears. When you factor in duration of treatment (Draxxin lasts 8 days as compared to 2 days with both Micotil and Nuflor) the cost for 8 days of treatment is actually cheaper with Draxxin. Slaughter withhold time is 18 days with Draxxin as compared to 28 days for both Micotil and Nuflor. Draxxin can be used only in non-lactating heifers under 20 months of age. Because Micotil can be fatal if injected into humans, we feel that Draxxin is a reliable, cost-effective and safe alternative when treating pneumonia in calves and heifers.

EPIC Calf Scour Formula
This new powdered supplement that can be added to milk, milk replacer or electrolytes has been working well to give sick calves that extra boost to help them recover from scours, regardless of the cause. The formula contains immunoglobulins and immune co-factors that help boost a calf's immune system. It also contains a probiotic to help re-innoculate the gut with “good bugs”. A buffering agent serves to neutralize the GI tract, inhibiting bacterial growth and an activated charcoal helps bind bacterial toxins before they are absorbed into the calf's bloodstream. Finally, it contains electrolytes, an energy source and glutamine which is an essential amino acid needed for healing the damaged intestinal wall.

So far, we have been impressed with how this formula has been helping to get scouring calves up and running faster than those given just antibiotics and electrolytes. The cost is $1.00 per treatment which should be given twice daily for 2 to 3 days. It comes in a bucket containing 50 doses.

Our 14th Annual Dairy Client appreciation Dinner Meeting has been set for Wednesday, December 6 at 11:30 am. We will be at the same place as always... at the Villa in Tilden.... only the name has been changed.... the food is still excellent!

The family of Clostridial organisms causes a multitude of diseases in cattle. Some of these diseases, such as Tetanus, Blackleg and Malignant Edema, are seen only sporadically. Others, caused by Clostridium perfringens, are seen quite frequently in calves in this area.

Clostridial organisms are considered normal flora in the G.I. tracts of cattle and only become a problem with dietary stress, changes in management, parasitism, or other unusual circumstances that allow favorable growth and toxin production. Once this occurs, calves can often die so quickly that they don't even show signs of illness.... they may die before developing diarrhea, depression, abdominal pain and bloating. Because the toxins produced by these organisms are so potent, treatment is usually unsuccessful. Prevention is a much more effective means of control.

Since Clostridial organisms are always out there, waiting for a chance to “get a foot in the door”, we need to be aware of the risk factors that make it easier for Clostridia to multiply and cause disease. The most important ones are:

Therefore, good hygiene and sanitation practices along with strict attention to consistent feeding practices will go a long way in preventing Clostridial disease. Oral medications should be used only when necessary to treat specific disease processes and not without a standardized protocol based on a proven diagnosis of the disease being treated.

Vaccination can be very effective, but keep in mind that young calves do not develop protective levels of immunity for at least 2 to 4 weeks after vaccination. Boosters need to be given 3 to 6 weeks after the initial vaccination. Dry cow vaccination (at dry off and again 3 weeks later) coupled with adequate colostrum feeding (four quarts in the first four hours) is the best way to prevent Clostridial diseases in very young calves.

This summer season we have had an increase in tick related diseases as well as several new strains of leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease which means that it can be spread to humans.

First of all ticks usually are a seasonal problem, but this remains variable due to local weather conditions and changing environmental habitats. In the Chippewa Valley the peak activity level for ticks is in the spring and fall seasons, but we have seen some ticks on animals all summer. Ticks produce disease by consumption of blood, injection of salivary proteins and transmission of infectious agents. The two diseases spread by ticks in our area are lyme disease and erlichiosis. Lyme disease is the more common of the two and causes fever and joint pain primarily, but we are seeing more cases that have affected the kidneys. Sometimes there is just a minor infection and other times it may cause a kidney crisis. Erlichiosis also will cause a fever and will usually affect the blood cells. This may cause bleeding from the skin, rectum or kidneys. Chronic stages may have signs that cause arthritis and will affect the liver.

Leptospirosis (Lepto) is a disease that is passed from the infected species through the urine of horses, dogs, raccoons, skunks, and opossums. This transmission will occur in rural and urban areas where infected wild animal hosts frequent. Dogs will become infected by eating infected tissues or drinking contaminated water. The clinical signs of the disease in dogs are fever, muscle pain, and kidney & liver pain. Lepto can be an acute infection or chronic carrier infection lasting a lifetime. Our vaccine has protected dogs from the 2 types that have always been present. Now there are 2 new strains causing disease and we recommend vaccinating with the 4 way lepto vaccine. If your dog is exposed to any of the areas these animals are present we recommend vaccinating with the new lepto vaccine.

For Erlichiosis and Lyme disease the first recommendation is to prevent the ticks from attaching to the skin by applying Frontline or Advantix monthly. All dogs should be vaccinated for Lyme disease, but there is no vaccine for Erlichiosis. Both diseases can be treated with antibiotics after they are diagnosed positive.

We are looking for a part-time receptionist to work noon to five, Mondays through Fridays and every fourth Saturday morning. Good computer and receptionist skills are required. If anyone is interested, please send a resume to Dr. Mayberry at the clinic's address.

With this summer's drought, we have been asked more frequently about the possibility of nitrate poisoning. Plants tend to accumulate more nitrates when they are stressed, especially if that stress occurs when the plants are young. Extremely dry, or cool and wet growing conditions may prevent plants from converting nitrate to true protein, thus causing an accumulation of nitrate. This is particularly true in corn silage, sorghum, sudangrass and sorghum-sudan crosses. Heavy or excessive nitrogen fertilization may aggravate the problem, especially if phosphorus and potassium needs are not met. Some weeds, including pigweed and lambsquarters, may accumulate nitrates.

Nitrate levels generally decrease somewhat during ensiling, as dangerous nitrogen oxide gas is formed. However, nitrate levels may increase in hay if it undergoes heating and molding in the bale. Under normal conditions hays and haylages may contain higher levels of nitrate than corn silage.

Nitrate toxicity may result when animals suddenly consume large amounts of forage containing 2 to 3% or more nitrate ion on a dry matter basis. Even forages with lower levels may adversely affect reproduction or become toxic if animals are nutritionally stressed or metabolically abnormal and suddenly eat a large amount of such forage. Cattle may develop blue mucus membranes from lack of oxygen in the blood. Labored or difficult breathing may be observed. Animals may go down and die very suddenly.

Subacute or chronic nitrate poisoning may result in more of the usual reproductive problems, including abortions. Milk production and appetite generally are not affected. Reproductive problems may be prevented if feeds are gradually introduced and the nitrate level in the total ration dry matter is kept below 0.4%. Because of differences in rate of dry matter intake, grazed forage is about 50% less toxic than stored forages.

If in doubt about the possibility of a forage containing potentially toxic levels of nitrates, have the forage tested. In most cases, even high nitrate forages can be worked into a ration without causing health problems in your herd.

What can we do to minimize copper build-up in our soils and still effectively prevent hairy heel warts? There are a number of recommendations:

During the hot, humid days of summer, we all see a drop in dry matter intakes and consequently a drop in milk production. Minimizing intake decreases will help maintain healthy rumen digestion and minimize the chance of developing a herd problem with acidosis.

When the microbes in the rumen ferment feeds they produce acids. These acids are buffered primarily by the bicarbonate in the saliva that is produced when cows chew long forage fiber. Cows tend to reduce forage intakes when it's hot and consequently they produce less buffer. If acid builds up in the rumen, the rumen bacteria don't grow as well. Those bacteria that ferment fiber are particularly affected by changes in acid levels in the rumen. Dry matter intake declines, fiber digestibility is reduced, rumen microbial protein production is limited and then milk production suffers.

Cows actually become acidotic when too much acid is being absorbed from the rumen. Acidic blood cannot carry as much oxygen as normal blood. The cow's feet, being at the farthest points of the cow's body, receive the least oxygen. This causes the cow's feet to swell. Pressure between the hoof wall and bone inside results in pain, hemorrhages and ulcers associated with laminitis.

High-producing cows experience subclinical acidosis... they milk reasonably well and they don't appear to be lame, but their blood is more acidic than it should be. Just like the rumen microbes, the cells of the cow's body don't work as well in an acidic environment. Acids alter enzyme activity and the structure of certain molecules in the body. Metabolic acidosis is more likely to occur when a cow is heat stressed because potassium is lost via the sweat. Loss of potassium increases blood acidity.

Researchers have raised milk production by increasing the dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) to 30 to 35 meq/100 grams dry matter in the rations of milking cows. This helps to reduce blood acidity. This usually requires that dietary potassium be raised to 1.6 to 1.8 percent, using potassium carbonate to supply some of the potassium. Added dietary buffer usually is raised to 0.75 pound per cow per day. Chloride levels should be controlled (0.3 to 0.35%). Maintain a potassium:magnesium ratio of 4:1. In one study on a commercial dairy in Florida, DCAD was raised from 19 to 25 meq/100 grams dry matter and milk production rose from 86.5 to 89.5 pounds.

Keeping cows cool and comfortable, providing plenty of fresh water at all times (water intake goes up over 50% in hot weather) and making small adjustments in the ration will all help avoid the summer slump in production and fat test, and help to avoid an acidosis problem that can have long-term consequences.

Two weeks ago a new drug, EXCEDE, received approval by the FDA for use in lactating dairy cattle. Its approval has brought about some important changes of which we all need to be aware.

First of all, Excede contains the exact same antibiotic (ceftiofur) that is found in both Naxcel and Excenel. Each of these three drugs contains ceftiofur in different chemical forms with different carriers. Naxcel was first on the market, but required mixing and refrigeration. Later, Excenel was introduced which eliminated the need to mix the powder and liquid. Now Excede is available which has its own unique advantages. One injection of Excede gives an effective blood level of ceftiofur for seven full days. Excede must, however, be given in a unique injection site: it must be given under the skin in the fat pad at the base of the ear. The recommended technique for giving the injection is to 1) tie the cow’s head off to one side with a halter, 2) pull the ear closest to you forward towards her nose and 3) inject in the soft fatty area at the base of the ear in front of where your halter rope is positioned. Use a 16g by 1" needle and aim the needle toward the opposite eye. The dose is 1.5cc per 100 lbs. body weight or 22cc for a 1500 lb. cow to be given just one time for an effective blood level that lasts 7 days.

Once you’ve tried this method of injection you’ll see that it is not difficult, although it does require that you catch the head with a halter and tie it off safely to one side.

There is another very important change that has come about because of the approval of Excede. Pre-slaughter withdrawal times on all ceftiofur products have changed. Because Excede provides an effective blood level of ceftiofur for seven days, it is obviously absorbed very slowly from the injection site. When the USDA tests the kidneys during antibiotic residue surveillance at the slaughter house, it is not possible to determine which ceftiofur product (Naxcel, Excenel or Excede) was administered to the animal, since the active ingredient is the same. Because Excede lingers in the injection site much longer than either Naxcel or Excenel, the acceptable kidney tolerance level had to be decreased (from 8.0 to 0.4 ppm) to assure that no residue would be left in the injection site once the kidney test was below the tolerance level. What this means is that now there is a pre-slaughter withdrawal increase on all the other ceftiofur products. Effective immediately, Naxcel has a pre-slaughter withdrawal period of 4 days. Excenel has a pre-slaughter withdrawal period of 3 days. Excede’s pre-slaughter withdrawal period is 13 days. Please take notice of these new slaughter withdrawal times as they are already being enforced.

Also please note that there is still a zero hour milk withhold on all ceftiofur products. Milk does not have to be discarded at all when Naxcel, Excenel or Excede are administered. If you have any questions about this new product or about the changes in pre-slaughter withdrawal times, please call us at 723-3655, or you can always call the Pfizer Product Support Group at 1-800-366-5288.

One would think that after all these years of dealing with Bovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD) that we would at least have it under control, if not eradicated. The virus was first isolated over 50 years ago and there are countless vaccines available on the market. However the latest numbers are telling us that we are far from controlling this disease. In the U.S. alone, reproductive costs are estimated at between $376 million and $1.5 billion annually. Costs to feedlot sales are figured at $360 million. These numbers are only referring to “low” virulence strains.... those that cause disease, but less often death. The “high” virulence strains with high mortality rates are even more costly.

So why haven't we got a better handle on the control of this disease? The reason for the most part has to do with two unique characteristics of the BVD virus. First, there really isn't just one BVD virus... there are two main “genotypes” that you have heard about.... Type 1 and Type 2. However, within these two main subgroups there are literally thousands of variations. As BVD replicates, it has the capability to change slightly. With time, these minor changes accumulate and the structure of the virus diverges to something very different from the original. The reason this is important is because the virus in the vaccines we use to help animals produce antibodies against disease, may be quite different from a “new” strain of BVD that has developed. If the virus is different enough that the immune system doesn't even recognize it as BVD, then our vaccination won't give us enough protection to prevent disease.

The second reason that we haven't been able to eradicate BVD is because of Persistently Infected (PI) animals. If a cow becomes infected with the BVD virus during the first trimester of pregnancy a number of things might happen, none of which are good. The infection may cause early embryonic death, abortions, fetal mummification or the birth of deformed calves. Worse yet, the fetus may become infected with the virus before its immune system is functional and therefore, allow the virus to live and reproduce in every tissue in it's body. These calves are the “Typhoid Mary's” of the bovine world.... they are usually “poor-doers” but unfortunately they can live and even make it into the milking herd. These PI animals are literally spewing millions of BVD viruses into their environment every day, exposing the entire herd to infection. A herd with a PI animal simply cannot be vaccinated enough to produce adequate immunity to ward off this type of viral onslaught.

The three main measures of BVD control are testing (especially to find PI animals), isolating and vaccinating. There are a number of surveillance testing procedures that can be done that include pooling samples to minimize cost. Blood samples or ear notch samples can be used to find PI animals. Testing new animals as soon as they are brought into the herd (including bulls) and isolating them as well as possible is an important part of eliminating the possibility of bringing in a PI animal. PI testing can also be done on bulk tank milk and is sensitive enough to detect a single PI animal out of bulk tank milk from up to 400 cows. Obviously, the catch in this case is that in running the PI test on bulk tank milk you are only testing the milking animals. It will not eliminate the possibility of there being a PI bull, or PI heifers that are yet to calve.

Vaccinating helps maintain good protection in a herd where there are no PI's present. The current recommendation is to vaccinate all animals with a modified-live vaccine at 5 months of age and then again three to four weeks later. These heifers should be boostered one month prior to breeding and then again at one month prior to calving. All milking animals should be vaccinated again with a modified-live product at 30 days in milk and again at dry off. Animals having a difficult time getting bred back and that are found to be open at 180 days in milk (or more) should receive a booster again at the time she is diagnosed “not pregnant”.

This vaccination schedule is a guideline or a skeleton around which you can tailor your own protocol. Every dairy operation is a little different and you may want to modify things depending on your herd's situation and logistics. The bottom line is that everyone should feel confident that there are no PI animals in their herd. If that is the case, then a sound vaccination program will be effective in minimizing the economic losses associated with BVD.

Unfortunately, this newsletter was originally written back in March of 2001.....back when gas was at about $1.85 a gallon and we thought if it ever hit $2.00 a gallon we'd all quit driving our cars. Here we are, five years later facing poor milk prices once again.... only this time we're doing it with $3.00 a gallon gasoline staring us in the face....somehow, it just doesn't seem right. The points that were brought up by Dr. Hutchens back in March of 2001 still hold true today... hopefully there may be a few ideas that may help during the next few months of low milk prices.

At a recent meeting, Dr. Michael Hutjens presented a program on ways to help squeeze out a profit at $11.00 milk. Obviously, we would all like to see a better milk price, but, unfortunately, we have no (or very little) control over that. What we can do is look for ways that will help our bottom line. Reviewing all aspects of our operations that impact profit and production is important. The following is a list of eleven points that might be areas where you could improve profit margins.

1. Control feed costs. For every 25 cents savings in feed cost per one hundred pounds of milk produced, an additional $50 more income per cow per year can be expected (with a 20,000 rolling herd average). Be careful!! If milk yield drops more than two pounds while saving 25 cents, a loss will occur.

2. Increase milk components. For each increase of 0.1 percentage point in milk protein test, add nine cents per cow per day or $27 per cow per year (60 pounds of milk per cow). For each 0.2 percentage point increase in milk fat test, add 15 cents per cow per day or $45 per cow per year (at 60 pounds of milk).

3. Increase peak milk yield. One pound of higher peak milk can result in 200 pounds more milk in the lactation. This added milk can increase income $18 annually per cow. Feed costs were charged for the added nutrients (six cents per pound of dry matter).

4. Lower somatic cell count. Decreasing herd average one linear somatic cell count can increase profits $86 per cow per year based on higher milk yield. Added income can be achieved if additional quality premiums are received.

5. Lower age at first calving. Decreasing the average age of heifers at calving by one month reduces added forage costs by $30 per heifer (26 pounds of forage dry matter per day at four cents per pound of forage dry matter).

6. Optimize the size of heifers at first calving. Add 600 pounds more milk for each 100 pounds of stature (true growth) up to 1250 pounds for large breed heifers after calving (do not include the weight of the unborn calf, fluids or membranes).

7. Lower culling rates. Reducing cow culling rates by one percent point can add $900 of income in a 100 cow herd. This value was based on a replacement heifer worth $1300 and cull cows sold for beef valued at $400. If you can increase cow longevity and sell surplus heifers, it is money in your pocket short term (loss of genetically superior animals).

8. Decrease average days in milk. Minnesota workers indicate reducing herd average days in milk by one day can increase herd production by $8 per cow per year.

9. Sire identification. Improving sire identification in the herd by one percent can increase herd production by 80 cents per cow per year based on Minnesota guidelines.

10. Sire selection. Using genetically superior sire index by one unit of PTA$ or Net Merit dollars is worth one dollar per cow per year using Minnesota data.

11. Implementing BST. At today's milk price ($11.00 per cwt) a potential 35 cent increase per treated cow per day can be achieved based on 10 pounds milk increase and added costs of 75 cents per day (including the cost of BST, added feed and labor).

Evaluating these guidelines in an 80 cow herd averaging 20,000 pounds of milk (large breed herd) results in the economic values listed below. Obviously, you won't be able to capitalize on every point. However, opportunities may exist in your herd.

POTENTIAL additional income using the guidelines in a herd of 80 cows with a 20,000 rolling herd average:

Feed cost saving (25 cents per day) $4000
High milk fat test (0.2 points) $3600
Drop one linear SCC score $6880
Two pounds increase in peak milk $1460
Lower average age of calving by one month (30 heifers) $ 900
Increase heifer size by 100 pounds (30 heifers) $1620
Reduce culling rate by 5 percentage points (4 heifers sold) $3600
Lower average days in milk by 5 days $3200
Raise sire identification by 5 percent (from 75 to 80%) $ 320
Sire selection intensity increase 5 units of NM$ $ 400
Using BST (200 days per cow) $5600

The table below comes from work done by Nigel Cook and Rebecca Mentick at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine and was printed in the 2006 National Mastitis Proceedings. It gives a very interesting picture of where we are when it comes to trying to control mastitis in our Wisconsin herds. A few definitions will help make more sense of the numbers in each column.

Mean: the mean is the “middle” or mid-point number. It is a little different than saying “average”. When it says that the “mean” herd size was 653, it is saying that half of the herds were bigger than this and half of the herds were smaller.

% Herd Affected: per cent of the cows in the herd suffering at least one case of mastitis for one year.

Quarter Cases per 100 cows: number of quarter cases with at least 7 days between cases per number of cows in the herd.

Cow Cases per 100 cows: number of cow cases with one or more quarters affected with at least 7 days between cases per number of cows in the herd.

Treatment Failure Rate: proportion of the quarters retreated after a 7 day interval.

The table shows that of the 32 herds whose records were tabulated, the mid-point (mean) SCC was 296,000, which is about average for the entire State of Wisconsin . For every 100 cows, 32.2 suffered at least one clinical case of mastitis during the year. For every 100 cows, 64.4 quarters had a flare up of clinical mastitis during the course of the year. For every 100 cows, 48.7 cows had at least one quarter flare up with clinical mastitis during the year. Treatment failure rate shows that of all the cases treated, 16.3 % will end up being re-treated after a seven day interval. However, treatment failure varied from 1.4 to 40.9 %..... sounds like things were working well on one place and not much better than 50% on the other.

Two other interesting pieces of information came out of this study. First, there was no relationship between the herd Bulk Tank Somatic Cell Count (BTSCC) and the clinical case rate.... a fact that would surprise most of us. Secondly, there was no significant relationship between clinical case rate and herd size... mastitis obviously hits cows in small as well as large herds.

I think this table just serves to remind us of how important mastitis control is, and how, despite our best efforts, we all continue to struggle with the problem. Below is a list of goals relating to clinical mastitis. Numbers on your farm may vary, but this at least gives you a starting point when trying to determine how bad or how good your mastitis control program is working.

Mastitis in fresh heifers can result in a dramatic decrease in lifetime milk production. It can, however, be effectively prevented, therefore increasing her productivity and profitability.

Heifers are at risk of being exposed to mastitis-causing pathogens from early on in life. Individual calf hutches, clean dry bedding and good fly control all significantly decrease exposure at an early age. The highest risk period for heifers to be exposed is after puberty, when the mammary gland starts to develop and produce secretions which can support bacterial growth. The bad news is that these infections, picked up even before breeding, can persist for long periods of time, causing increased somatic cell counts, impairing mammary development and decreasing life-time milk production.

Treating heifers for mastitis before they calve can be a very cost effective cure, if you are experiencing clinical mastitis in your recently fresh heifers. In the past, the recommendation has been to treat heifers with commercial dry tubes 6 to 8 weeks prior to calving. This has proven to be very difficult and almost never done. Recently, the use of lactating tubes at 14 days prior to calving has been shown to be equally effective and much more likely to get done. Heifers can be treated when they are brought into the barn for vaccinations or lead feeding prior to calving.

The advantage of treating 2 weeks before due date is that only one treatment with one commercial lactating tube per quarter is very effective in eliminating mastitis at or after calving. It is absolutely essential to do a thorough job disinfecting the teat end before infusing the antibiotic into the quarters, since there will be no milking out of these treated quarters for two weeks. All commercial lactating cow tubes seem to work equally well in clearing heifer mastitis when treating prior to calving. Remember to test every fresh animal's milk for antibiotic residues after the sixth milking.

The National Mastitis Council is a not-for-profit professional organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality. The NMC promotes research and provides information to the dairy industry relative to udder health, milking management and milk quality. You can find a ton of great information about mastitis and milk quality at www.nmconline.org . It's all free for the reading and all of the information is based on independent research... the NMC has nothing to sell. Check it out!

Last month, Mike Hutjens, Extension Dairy Specialist from the University of Illinois gave an interesting presentation at an AgStar-sponsored meeting in Menomonie. His primary point was “how do we know if what we're doing on the dairy is working the way it's supposed to be working?”. If we try something new like a new feed additive or a new breeding program, how do we know if we are really helping our bottom line? Sometimes changes result in obvious increases in milk production that are fairly easy to measure, but more often than not, the effect of the changes we make may be difficult to quantify. There are some measuring sticks, however, that have been established that help us look at where we are as compared to other dairies across the country. These “yardsticks” aren't necessarily the “gold standard”, but they do give us an idea of what an attainable goal might be and where we may want to look for ways to improve our operation.

In last month's newsletter, we listed the “Metabolic Disorder” goals talked about by Dr. Goff at our meeting in December. They are:

Another measuring stick is “the number of cows culled before they reach 60 Days in Milk”. Ideally, we should be culling less than 8% of the entire herd when they are less than 60 DIM. Cull rates above 8% indicate a high rate of fresh cow problems that are hurting the dairy's profitability.

We also know that there is a direct correlation between dry matter intake at the time of calving and dry matter intake 30 days after freshening. The better cows are eating at and around calving, the better they will be eating a month later and that is what ultimately determines milk production. Ideally, we want mature cows to be consuming 30 pounds of pre-fresh ration (dry matter) a day and close-up heifers should be eating 25 pounds of dry matter. This number drops dramatically right around calving, but the goal is, obviously, to keep them eating as much as possible. A full rumen improves efficiency of fermentation, and prevents milk fever, displaced abomasums and ketosis.

Reproductive measuring sticks can help us evaluate just how well our breeding program is working. Pregnancy Rate is the measurement most dairies look at when trying to evaluate how well we're getting cows bred back. Remember that Pregnancy Rate is equal to Heat Detection Rate times Conception Rate. The national average for Pregnancy Rate on dairies in this country is 13 to 15%. Another helpful benchmark is First Cycle Pregnancy Rate. This looks at how well we are getting cows bred at first service. First Cycle Pregnancy Rates of 30% are very good. The key in all cases is to know how to measure the results of what we're doing, so that we can really evaluate how things are going and what effect new changes in management have on our bottom line.

At the Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting we had December 7th, Dr. Jesse Goff presented a lot of good information about preventing fresh cow problems. I have a complete copy of his presentation for any of you who would like one.... just give me a call and I’ll get you one. The most important points are summarized below and contain recommendations that you might want to share with your nutritionist, to confirm that your rations are where you want them to be.

Dr. Goff stressed the importance of hypocalcemia (low blood calcium) which is the subclinical form of “milk fever”. Over 50% of fresh cows go through a period of low blood calcium right after they freshen, despite it never reaching the point of clinical milk fever. This hypocalcemia does cause problems, however, and mastitis, ketosis, RP’s and DA’s have been directly linked to low blood calcium.

Preventing hypocalcemia in fresh cows can be accomplished by balancing the pre-fresh rations to meet the following mineral levels. These levels should be fed for three weeks prior to calving:

Knowing the number of cows culled before they reach 60 Days In Milk is another good way of measuring fresh cow health in your herd. A reasonable goal is to have less than 8 percent of freshenings leave the herd before they reach 60 DIM. Numbers greater than 8 % indicate an opportunity to improve fresh cow management and increase your herd’s profitability.

Vaccination Protocols

With the development of new vaccines and the improvement of old ones, our thinking has changed . Modified live vaccines provide more broad spectrum and more long-lasting protection than the old “killed” vaccines. Bovi-Shield, (a modified-live vaccine) can now be safely given to pregnant animals as long as they were vaccinated prior to becoming pregnant. New vaccines like J5 and ScourGuard protect against E. coli mastitis and calf scours, respectively, and their effectiveness is dependent upon when, during the course of the lactation cycle, a cow receives the vaccine.

Thus vaccination protocols have evolved away from the seasonal “whole herd” approach and are now geared toward weekly or bi-weekly vaccinating of individuals or small groups based on stage of lactation. A typical lactation protocol may begin with a J5 booster at 7 to 14 days in milk. At 30 days in milk, a “clean-out” Lutalyse and a dose of Bovi-Shield is given. The reason behind the 30 day Bovi-Shield is to protect the upcoming pregnancy against abortion due especially to BVD or IBR.

At two weeks prior to dry off, a second Bovi-Shield is given. The purpose of this dose is really to boost maternal antibodies in the colostrum to give the upcoming calf better protection once he/she is born. At dry off J5 and ScourGuard are often given. This dose of J5 initiates the buildup of antibodies against E. coli mastitis which typically occurs in the first sixty days of the lactation. The ScourGuard begins the buildup of colostral antibodies that will protect the newborn calf.

A mid-dry period booster with both the J5 and the ScourGuard is recommended to achieve maximum protection. This dose is the most difficult to get into cows simply because of where they are typically housed during the dry period. It is important, however, because it has been shown that maximum protection is achieved by giving ScourGuard at six and three weeks prior to calving... variations on the timing of these shots will still work, but anything earlier or later than this will result in something less than maximum protection. A key point to remember is that none of these vaccinations directly provide the newborn calf with any immune protection.... all of the protection to the calf comes through the colostrum only! Calves need to get 4 quarts of colostrum within the first 2 hours of life!

This vaccination protocol is summarized on the back. If you have any questions, give us a call.

Springing heifers should receive the same vaccinations the cows get at dry off and mid-dry period. Ideally, these vaccinations are given at 6 and 3 weeks prior to expected date of calving. NOTE: pregnant heifers can only receive the BovaShield if they were vaccinated (with Bovi-Shield) prior to becoming pregnant.

We had a record turnout for Mike Perry at our 12^th Annual Dairy Meeting. We served 125 folks and judging by the laughter and the number of books he sold afterwards, Mike was very well received. Everyone won a door prize again this year, thanks to all the generous donations by our sponsors.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Rumensin for use in lactating dairy cattle. Rumensin is the only FDA-approved feed ingredient for lactating and dry cows that increases milk production efficiency by economically delivering more milk per pound of feed while maintaining the natural wholesomeness of milk.

Rumensin improves the milk production efficiency of lactating dairy cattle, resulting in more milk per pound of feed. Trial results approved by the FDA showed that cows fed Rumensin were

2 to 4 percent more efficient. Cows in early lactation produced more milk on the same feed, and cows in mid to late lactation produced the same milk on less feed, all for just pennies per day.

Rumensin is included in the diet and given during all stages of lactation and the dry period. It is included in minute amounts (300 mg/day) , similar to quantities of ingredients like vitamins and minerals. On October 28, 2004 the US FDA approved Rumensin for lactating dairy cattle after thoroughly reviewing the data to ensure that it meets the stringent efficacy, human food safety, animal safety and environmental safety standards.

The following four management practices really make a difference when working toward better milk quality and lower Somatic Cell Counts (SCC):

These four practices are what we see making a big difference between herds with high SCC's and herds with low SCC's. Other things like milker training, written protocols and single-use teat towels certainly play a role in lowering SCC's, but the big four listed above are really the key areas to concentrate on when attacking a milk quality problem. Once you start implementing the above four practices, you will see a definite drop in SCC and also a decrease in the number of clinical cases of mastitis.

Our 12^th Annual Client Appreciation Dinner Meeting will be held at The Country Villa in downtown Tilden and the date is set for 11:30am, Wednesday, December 8^th. This year we thought we would break from tradition slightly.... no lectures on calf scours or mastitis.... no discussion of the newest drugs on the market or the latest developments in Mad Cow Disease. This year it's pure entertainment. We are really fortunate to have Mike Perry, of New Auburn, coming to share some of his stories with us. Mike, as you probably remember, has written a number of books, most notably: Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time. Mike is well known in the area and most recently spoke at Farm Technology Days. His program is one you won't want to miss. Please call the clinic by December 6^th to let us know how many from your operation will be able to attend.

A decade ago, U.S. animal health authorities thought they may be close to winning the battle against bovine tuberculosis (TB). During the last few years, however, the old nemesis has made a comeback in some parts of the country.

TB-infected herds have been detected in four states. To guard against reintroduction, other states have rules requiring out-of-state animals to be tested prior to entry, particularly since the resurgence of TB in Texas, California, New Mexico and Michigan. Prevalence is still low, but the risk is there, says Robert Meyer, National TB epidemiologist for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The take-home message for producers is to avoid complacency. Know what federal and state TB testing, if any, is required prior to intrastate or interstate movement of cattle, and know the source of any cattle brought into your herd.

In the August newsletter we talked about pregnancy rates and how we can use them to evaluate how well we're doing with our reproduction management. To review: pregnancy rate (PR) is the number of cows that become pregnant in a given time frame (usually 21 days) out of the total number that are eligible to become pregnant in that given period of time. It is calculated by multiplying your heat detection rate by your conception rate in a 21 day period. If you catch 50% of your eligible cows in heat and half of the ones you breed end up settling, your pregnancy rate is 50% x 50% = 25%. That doesn't sound too difficult to achieve, but believe it or not, the average pregnancy rate for DHI herds is 14%. Herds in the top 10% average a PR of 20% and the very best herds only average 24%. Obviously, working hard at getting cows bred back in a timely manner is a good goal for all of us.

We wish for you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

As has been the case for the past 12 years, when October arrives we begin working on the details of the Dairy Client Appreciation Dinner. The meeting will again be at The Country Villa in downtown Tilden and the date is set for Wednesday, December 8^th. This year we thought we would break from tradition slightly.... no lectures on calf scours or mastitis.... no discussion of the newest drugs on the market or the latest developments in Mad Cow Disease. This year it's pure entertainment. We are really fortunate to have Mike Perry, of New Auburn, coming to share some of his stories with us. Mike, as you probably remember, has written a number of books, most notably: Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time. Mike is well known in the area and most recently spoke at Farm Technology Days. His program is one you won't want to miss.

We have recently discovered a new product that you might be interested in having in your medicine cabinet. Bovikalc boluses are calcium boluses that are given to prevent milk fever. They work exactly like the oral calcium drenches. The advantage to these boluses is that there is no chance of cows aspirating the calcium liquid into their lungs which can result in severe aspiration pneumonia. The disadvantage is that these boluses are patented in Denmark and they are larger than will fit in a normal balling gun. Fortunately, the guns that are used to administer these boluses are relatively cheap ($7.50). We have been using these boluses on a trial basis for a couple months now and have found them to be very helpful, especially in preventing relapses of milk fever. The cost per bolus is very similar to the cost of a bottle of the oral calcium drench. The dose is just one bolus at freshening and another 12 hours later, if signs indicate the possibility of low blood calcium.

We have always said that the best way to take care of mastitis is to know exactly what “bugs” you are up against and therefore, which antibiotics will most likely result in a cure. Fort Dodge Animal Health, a company that makes many of the mastitis tubes that are commonly used, such as Cefa-Lak, and Dry-Clox, is trying to get a better handle on just which organisms are most common in this region and which antibiotics are most effective against those organisms. Fort Dodge has a program whereby they will help defray the costs of doing milk cultures for herds in this area. The only stipulation is that they need a minimum of four samples quarterly for one year (minimum of 16 samples). If mastitis problems continue to plague your herd (and there aren't many herds that don't struggle with this problem) this might be a way for you to get some culturing done that would end up costing you very little. If you are interested, just give us a call.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Midwest Dairy Veterinarian Symposium in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It was a very worthwhile meeting with a strong emphasis on managing the transition period from dry cow to lactating cow and how to minimize the problems we often see in fresh cows and heifers. There were many good “take home messages” that I jotted down. Some may have very little application for your operation, however, many of the points listed below are practical tips that might be worth reviewing.

- How much Dry Matter cows and heifers are eating on the day BEFORE calving directly correlates to how much they will be eating at 21 DIM, thus the care of every animal during the two weeks surrounding her calving date is critical.

- When adding up all the costs, including medications, milk loss, secondary DA's and death loss, the cost of a single case of metritis is $325- $350. When using Excenel for metritis, you really need the 2cc/100 lbs. body weight to get effective blood levels. In heifers, 3 days of Excenel is enough, whereas in cows you may need to go 4 to 5 days.

- There is a lot more immunosuppression using dexamethasone than using Predef.

- Routine drenching of all fresh animals is not necessarily warranted unless there's a real problem with the transition management. Just drench the fat fresh cows with prop glycol. A transition pen should not be stocked over 85-90% (cows/stall). Bunk space is also critical for these “wide” cows.

- There is a direct correlation between periparturient disease and how long it takes to get that animal bred back. This effect is even more pronounced in heifers.

- For cleaning out a uterus, 2 injections of prostaglandins does more good than any type of infusion.

- One important number to be aware of is the percent of total culls that leave the herd in the first 60 days of lactation. Typically, it is about 30%.

- There is no advantage to giving Naxcel IV... adequate blood levels are reached almost immediately via IM or Sub Q.

- For BRD (respiratory disease) only, (not metritis) Excenel given every other day maintains an effective blood level. There is never an advantage to giving Naxcel or Excenel more than once a day.

- A 120% stocking rate in lactating cow pens is ok and will not result in an increase in number of stall evictions (by boss cows) or alley layers. Overstocking the prefresh pen will adversely affect the springing heifers, but not the adult cows.

- When trying to maximize DMI, having fresh feed available immediately after milking is much more important than the number of times the feed is pushed up during the day.

- Eight day treatment using Pirsue will result in an 83% cure rate of Staph aureus and a 95% cure rate of all subclinical mastitis. It will get 100% of environmental streps. A 5 day treatment protocol is no better than the 2 day protocol.

- 42 to 57% of heifers in late gestation have IMI (intramammary infection), most of which is coag negative staph. One time treatment of these heifers is much more effective at 14 days prior to calving than at the day of calving. Can do it at the same time they're getting their feet trimmed, while in a chute. Any lactating treatment (commercial tubes) will be effective.

- Recommended J5 vaccination protocol is at dry off, mid-dry period, two weeks post calving and at 120- 150 DIM. Cows' immune systems for bacterial immunity is poor and lasts only about 4 months.

- For young calves, to prevent Salmonella, Pasteurella, and E. coli vaccinate with 3cc of J5

Sub Q at 3 and 10 days of age. Calves must be in good body condition and have had adequate colostral transfer (TP>5.5) for this to work.

- Frequent milking in early lactation. If you're going to do it, start as early as possible and do it for 21 days. It doesn't have to be exactly every four hours if 4x, just before and after the other milkings (2x), but they must be at least 2 hours apart. In small herds this is a good opportunity to do a physical exam of these fresh animals. Results in more milk production throughout the entire lactation partially because you are actually increasing the number of epithelial cells in the gland, but also because the increased DMI stimulated early in the lactation tends to carry over throughout the entire lactation.

- Shortened dry periods cause no increase in metabolic problems in the subsequent lactation and will yield increased total milk. Heifers need 60 days, but going to 40 days has no detrimental effects on mature cows.

If you want to get a handle on disease control on your farm, get a handle on mastitis control and get calves off to a healthier start, all these important issues can be improved upon by starting with top maternity pen management. Here's why:

1) Disease control. Dirty maternity pens will promote the spread of disease infections such as metritis (uterine infection) and calf scours. The cow's reproductive tract is most susceptible to infection during and after calving. A clean maternity pen is necessary to minimize uterine contamination and exposure of the udder to mastitis organisms. If at all possible, maternity pens should not be located near sick cow pens in order to minimize the spread of disease. Newborn calves are at the highest risk of being exposed to disease because resistance to disease organisms is very low or nonexistent in newborns. Johne's is a bacterial disease that is spread from infected cows to young calves via manure contamination.

2) Mastitis control. About 60 to 70% of coliform mastitis cases actually start at the beginning of the previous dry period or at calving time. Therefore, it makes sense that one way to help reduce mastitis infection in the dairy herd is to start with good maternity pen management. Cows get mastitis because organisms invade the teat end. The degree of contamination and wetness of bedding influence the number of bacteria in bedding and thus at the teat end. Bacteria thrive in warm, dark, moist and dirty areas. Eliminate these conditions and you greatly reduce exposure of teat ends to bacteria and to mastitis infection.

3) Healthy start for newborn calves. A clean maternity area is the first environment that the calf should be exposed to when born. Any pathogens in the area have the potential to infect the calf when it is most vulnerable to infection. Even though a pen may appear to be “clean”, this area can rapidly become highly infectious. Each cow which enters the maternity pen contributes bacteria and infectious agents and the more frequently this area can be cleaned between births the better.

These three major issues point out the necessity for intense maternity pen management. It is extremely important for the dairy farm to have a written protocol or written procedures that everyone follows, consistently, day after day, week after week.

Here are some points to consider for maternity pen management on your farm:

An ideal maternity pen should measure 12 x 12 or 10 x 14 ft. A four inch layer of sand on top of concrete provides good footing for cows. Cover the sand with a deep layer of long straw. Dirt floors covered with straw also provide improved footing. Ideally, each pen should have water, feed , a self-locking stanchion for restraint and a gate to help funnel a reluctant cow into the headlock.

Clean, sanitize and re-bed maternity pens after each calving. Use long stemmed bedding instead of sawdust, if possible.

Rest calving pens for 1 to 2 months when metritis or calf infections are widespread, and use an alternative area for calving.

The maternity area should be located where regular attention and observation are possible, but not near areas where cow, equipment, or human traffic will expose newborns to unnecessary disease threats.

Ideally, a minimum of one pen per 25 cows is needed. Only one animal should use a pen at one time.

Cows entering the maternity pen should be relatively clean, not soiled with mud and manure.

Manure contamination from equipment and boots should be avoided. Boots should be washed before entering the calving area.

Using a clean, dry, grassy paddock or pasture in good weather is a very good alternative to using the maternity pen.

The bottom line to maternity pen management is cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness. Take the knee test.... if you kneel down in the pen and your knees come up wet or dirty, the pen needs some attention. Appropriate management to provide clean bedding and basic sanitary procedures will provide a major payback to your investment of time and effort as you run your dairy operation each and every day.

Please call (715) 723-3655 or e-mail with any questions
or requests regarding large animal veterinary care. We'll be happy to assist you in any
way we can.

In the August 2002 newsletter we talked about the new Easy-Breed CIDR's that had just become available as a tool for reproductive management in dairy heifers. About a year ago, the use of CIDR's in lactating adult dairy cattle was approved. Now the numbers are starting to come in that show how well these implant devises really work.

Most everyone is familiar with the term “21 day Pregnancy Rate”. Just to review: it is the number of cows that get pregnant in any given 21 day period, divided by the total number of cows that could possibly get pregnant in that same time period. Pregnancy Rate (PR) is simply the Heat Detection Rate (HDR) multiplied by the Conception Rate (CR). If you catch heats on 50% of the eligible cows and 50% of those that get inseminated end up getting pregnant, then your PR = HDR x CR, or 50% x 50% = 25%. You would assume that a 25% PR would be fairly easy to achieve, however, the national average is 15%. If you exclusively use a timed breeding program (any one of several “synch” programs) you raise your HDR to 100%. Thus, with a 25% CR using a “synch” timed breeding program, your PR is 100% x 25% = 25%.

The results now coming in on CIDR's is very impressive. These results are based on thousands of animals in all sorts of settings (both in university and private herds). Today's data shows that by using the Ov-Synch program you can expect a PR of 38%. By adding CIDR's to your Ov-Synch program the expected PR increases to 64%.

Cost should always be a factor when trying to determine which program is most profitable. Actually, the numbers will surprise you. CIDR's cost about $9 to $10 depending on where you buy them and how many you buy. Using average prices for GnRH and prostaglandins it is easy to figure out the cost per cow of using the Ov-Synch or Ov-Synch with CIDR programs. However, a more accurate figure is cost per pregnancy, which is really what we are after. By factoring in the increased success obtained by incorporating the CIDR's, the cost per pregnancy comes out to be only $2.40 more than the cost per pregnancy using Ov-Synch alone.

Another interesting factor is cost per Day Open (after 100 Days in Milk). With today's prices it is actually costing you $4.70 per day for every day a cow is open after her 100^th day in milk. If, by using a CIDR/ Ov-Synch program, you are able to get a cow pregnant 10 days earlier than you would by breeding on standing heat alone, you save yourself $47.00 (assuming she is at least 100 DIM). If you could improve your entire herd's Pregnancy Rate from 15% to 64%, you would decrease your herd's Days Open by 58 days. That translates into an increased profit per cow of $252.60. The bottom line is that an effective and efficient reproductive program will ultimately increase your profitability.

Traditionally, heifers have been the cleanest group of animals in the milking herd. Over the last ten years, though, the incidence of mastitis in first lactation heifers has increased by over 50%. Of those animals infected, 30% of them show Staph. aureus as the major pathogen causing infection.

If you are currently having a problem with mastitis in your first lactation animals, cultures need to be done to isolate the causative organism. Research done by Dr. Steve Nickerson from Virginia Tech has shown that you can achieve cure rates exceeding 90% for Staph. aureus if you treat heifers with a dry cow product 6 to 8 weeks prior to calving. There was no difference in cure rates between dry cow products used. Cure rates for these animals if treated during lactation are 50% or less.

Making Better Treatment Decisions For Clinical Mastitis