The Research Column

Lameness is the clinical condition of impaired locomotion and is caused by a range of foot and leg problems, the most common of which are hoof lesions caused by infectious agents or internal and external forces. It is a leading animal welfare concern in the dairy industry and also has substantive economic consequences, as productivity is decreased through reduced reproduction, milk production and increased culling. Various management practices for preventing lameness and treating lame cows have been developed. Despite this, lameness persists as an industry problem.

Ninety-nine farms were visited during the grazing period, and 85 farms were revisited during the housing period. At each visit, all lactating cows were scored for lameness (0 = good mobility, 1 = imperfect mobility, 2 = impaired mobility, 3 = severely impaired mobility), and potential herd-level risk factors were recorded through questionnaires and infrastructure measurements. Routine cow-level management data were also collected.

Discipline: body condition score; Keywords: body reserve status, fat, hormonal changes, pregnancy, metabolic disorders.

Research in this context was reviewed by J.R.Roche and coworkers in a paper published in the Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 92, pages 5769 to 5801. The title of the paper is: Body condition score and its association with dairy cow productivity, health, and welfare.

Discipline: mastitis; Keywords: dry cow therapy, Staphylococcus aureus, antibiotics, re-infection,teat sealant.

 In a large study this question was addressed in two papers: in the first paper the preventive effect of various dry cow measures on new infections were investigated and in the second paper the cure of existing infections. These studies are unique in the sense that a highly powerful statistical method, called meta-analysis, was used which enable scientists to pool research data from various studies conducted in different circumstances and synthesize a highly reliable result which for all practical purposes can be considered correct to implement. The titles of the respective papers published by T. Halasa and co-workers in the Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 92 of 2009, page 3134 to 3149 and page 3150 to 3157 are: Meta-analysis of dry cow management for dairy cattle. Part 1. Protection against new intramammary infections and Part 2. Cure of existing intramammary infections.

Discipline: lactation management; Keywords: reproduction, model, MDP, daily information, economic implications.

Discipline: dairy & health; Keywords: Calcium, nutraceuticals, osteoporosis, colon cancer, CLA

Discipline: antibiotics; Keywords: gram positive bacteria, altered fermentation, propionate, Streptomyces cinnamonensis, health concerns.

Discipline: economics; Keywords: pasture systems, TMR systems, net margin, cost of production, milk yield per cow,  labour cost, feed costs.

Discipline: dairy & health; Key words: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, probiotic yogurt, metabolic factors.

Discipline: dairy & health; Key words: gouda-type cheese, glucose tolerance, dairy food intake, cognitive function, cow’s milk oestrogen, cancer.