Since taking the parlor to the cow is impossible in most modern dairy systems, keeping cows healthy and able to walk without pain is paramount to getting milk in the tank. Matt and Karl Hendel changed their focus from maximum milk production to herd health and have found ways to keep lameness rare, veterinarian costs down and still have high milk production.

Management
“Getting the most milk out of your cows is the key to making money as a dairyman, but if your cows are always lame or have a difficult time walking to the parlor, they won’t reach their full potential in the milking string,” says Matt Hendel, part-owner and producer in Houston County, Minnesota.

Keeping cows walking naturally is not a new concept, but achieving it with regularity is something freestall dairies often struggle with.

“One thing that is a little unique for a herd our size is we have our own hoof trimming chute,” says Matt, whose dairy is milking 390 cows.

“When our hoof trimmer built a new chute we bought his old one, that way our hoof trimmer can use it just here. We can also use the chute to take a look at cows that may have a problem between visits. The trimmer comes every two weeks regardless, but we trim cows on an as-needed basis.

“I always keep a close eye on the cows. Check the cows to see which ones need to be trimmed. Some cows may need to be trimmed three times a year and some even need to be trimmed four times a year, but not too many. We just try to get them corrected. We think maintenance trimming is the best way to go.”

Matt suggests that producers evaluate the job done by their trimmers. If your trimmer is causing problems by going too fast, you might need a different trimmer. He may be costing you more money than you are saving.

“One trimmer does 20 to 30 cows at each visit,” Matt says. “Another trimmer who has a newer chute can do 50 cows in a day, no problem. You might wonder why I keep using the older guy, and it’s because he comes when we need him. He does a super job on the feet, and he never makes the cows lame; that’s worth a lot. Trimmers who are trying to get 50 to 70 cows done in a day are going to make mistakes.”

Matt also watches the way cows walk as they leave the chute. He has noticed the chute design has a large part in how comfortable and effective the trimmer is. When the leg is bent awkwardly, it may cause unnecessary stress.

“This newer chute has a mechanical arm that lifts the leg out and then up and then over; it’s a more natural motion. There are other chutes on the market, but they just pull the leg straight out and don’t go through this extra motion. It’s really not that the trimmer is being rough with the animals, but the hoof is lifted so quick in an unnatural way that their legs are just really sore when they get out. The newer chute has quite an ingenious design.”

The Hendels’ heifers are raised in freestalls, which gets them used to that system before they ever produce any milk. Environmental regulations concerning runoff rules ousted the use of open lots. Before the heifers are bred and brought to the dairy, they are trimmed to encourage better tracking and to keep their legs in better shape.

The Hendels use teamwork to spot the signs of walking problems. From owner to cow pusher, everyone takes responsibility for herd health.

“Everyone knows how important it is that the cows stay healthy,” Matt says about their five full-time employees and a handful of part-time workers. “We have two people watching heats and watching for lameness, we watch the computer printouts for how cows are milking, and if their milk weights go down, we know to check her for problems. The cow pusher can be critical in watching for problems. We are a little heavy on the labor, but that is where the registered income kicks in to offset that, and our cull rates are low, around 19 percent.”

The Hendels try to keep their cows comfortable when they are on their feet. The cows average less than an hour in the holding area before milking, and lime is put down between milking to reduce slipping. In the parlor the cows stand on mats while being milked. The bedding is sand, and it’s raked and cleaned often, so the cows never have to lie in a large hole or one filled with manure.

Warts are controlled with a copper solution, which yields only one wart in three or four months. They are trying new products, a zinc-based solution, to reduce the amount of copper potentially getting in the water. They haven’t had problems yet but are proactive in finding management practices that will be best in the long run.

Nutrition
Karl Hendel, who manages the nutrition and feed areas of the dairy, has found that feeding a higher fiber diet that isn’t as hot will increase consumption and actually helps keep the animals’ feet strong. Even though the high-fiber diet caused a slump in production for first-lactation animals, the second- and third-lactation animals jumped to an 88-pound average. The entire herd averages 28,000 pounds a year on 2x milking.

“We used to run a hotter ration for our heifers a few years ago, but we have had better results with these,” says Karl, who decided to put more straw in the heifer rations for added fiber. “The higher fiber reduces acidosis, and acidosis kills feet, so we are getting better feet and much less acidosis. That helps keep them on feed if they aren’t running on the edge all the time. You don’t want too hot a ration.”

Of the ingredients they use in their ration, Karl has focused on increasing acid-detergent fiber (ADF), zinc and starch. Their nutritionist, Dan Bergin, says zinc and Biotin will keep the hoof harder and more resistant to disease. The fiber is healthier for cows. Hotter rations which are prevalent on dairies today will produce a softer hoof.

In their high-group total mixed ration (TMR), they run 21.5 percent ADF, 24.37 percent starch and 110.68 part per million (ppm) of zinc.

Karl says their cows love the diet. The Hendels are able to keep their cows on a consistent diet and intake even during the summer. Only when the area is hit with a hot spell that lasts longer than two weeks will intake start to fall. They have added a little calcium propinate to the diet to help with palitability.

“Running more fiber has helped the rate of passage, so the cows are using more of what they eat and we don’t have to feed them as much,” says Karl, who manages the farm’s 740 acres of corn silage and haylage. “With feed costs being so high, that is a great benefit.”

Breeding
The Hendels took over the dairy in 1991, owning 33 Brown Swiss cows. Later they added Holsteins, which make up the majority of their herd. The dairy was originally started in 1922 by their grandfather and the genetics in their Brown Swiss are direct descendants of their grandfather’s herd. Over the past 17 years, Matt and Karl used genetic advancements to improve their own herd’s feet and legs.

“We look at some of the leg issues, structure and the way we are breeding the cows,” says Matt, who serves on the genetic advancement committee with the Holstein Association. “Some of the leg composites tend to favor a straighter leg. [Dairymen] have been compounding that by focusing on the higher foot and leg composite bulls the last 15 to 20 years. My observation, and some of the geneticists agree with me, is that we are getting too straight a leg on some of these animals. I am trying not to look at the foot and leg composites, but look at the individual leg traits.”

Matt is not interested in mating sickle bulls to his herd, though. He looks at the rear-legs rear view and a more complete structure than one extreme.

“As I bought cattle when we first started the herd, because we had a double-parallel parlor, I always watched the rear-legs rear view a lot,” says Matt, who still milks five days a week. “I could always tell when one hock was different because they were always a ‘bugger’ to milk and they wore out faster. The type of cows we bought and the bulls we use have had a big impact on our foot and leg issues.”

Finding the right bulls for your herd is more than just picking good feet and legs, Matt says. Matt and Karl also watch for low SCC bulls in order to keep their herd healthy.

“We also don’t use very many high SCC bulls,” Matt says. “That is one trait that really transmits well. You don’t notice it too much in the 2-year-olds, but that second lactation really tells the tale, especially with our emphasis on herd health. I also look at udder quality. Silkier udders will last longer and have less problems.”

“[Animals sired with high SCC bulls] weed themselves out of our herd real quickly,” added Karl. “I think we are on top of it, but there is always room for improvement.”

This attention to detail has netted more than $100,000 in premium income because their SCC numbers are well below 100,000.

“Our SCC counts probably averaged 80,000 last year,” Karl says. “That says something about having a healthy, well-balanced ration. It all ties together in the end, I guess.” PD