Producers are encouraged to work with their management team to identify risk factors that may lead to this mid-lactation down cow syndrome.

Vaccine products that are administered to cattle are foreign to the animal’s body. The goal is for the body to recognize these foreign organisms and develop an immune response for protection in the event of a future disease challenge.

Discover how to use herd health visits as an opportunity to optimize health, welfare and production, leading to more informed, timely decisions to improve herd management over time.

Correctly differentiating mastitis from teat sealant residue is important to minimize unnecessary interventions and to make sure we’re using antibiotics judiciously on farms. 

When an antibiotic is administered, susceptible bacteria may be eliminated, allowing resistant bacteria to thrive, and become dominant. This can make the antibiotic ineffective for future treatments and can therefore increase the risk of infections persisting in the afflicted animal and spreading to other animals in the herd, or to humans. 

A vet shares her experiences creating and implementing an autogenous vaccine for pinkeye, along with tips for treatment and prevention.

Approximately 50% of dairy cows, the pinnacle of metabolic athletes within the species, will experience a production-associated disease (e.g., mastitis, metritis, ketosis, displaced abomasum) in every lactation. Even in the best facilities with the best management, mastitis is an inherent risk that can’t be eliminated, so our aim is to reduce it.

A mysterious disease that pops up suddenly, spreads quickly and strikes with devastating consequences is pretty much every dairy farmer’s worst nightmare. For one ill-fated central Alberta dairy, this nightmare became a grim reality.

Studies show the decrease in fertility can be strongly associated with transition cow health. Utilizing a Double Ovsynch program could increase fertility even in cows with health events during transition.