Farm Blindness and How it Could be Affecting Your Dairy

Farm blindness is defined as a misperception by farmers that what they see every day on their own farm is normal, and similar to every other farm, particularly when it is not; a new normal (Mee, 2020). This term has been used in most farming systems for over 60 years, so this is not a new concept. It's natural to miss certain things when you see the same animals every day. Have you ever gone to visit another farm and instantly think how much better your cows look or how much cleaner your barn is? Visiting other dairy farms, leaving the farm for a couple of days, and inviting consultants or advisors to your farm on a regular basis can help limit farm blindness. Some commonly overlooked areas, how they could be affecting your farm, and management strategies to prevent them are below.

Lameness

Hoof and leg issues are major health and welfare concerns. Lameness is not one single disease; it is multifaceted. Lameness consists of any hoof or leg condition of infectious or non-infectious origin that negatively impacts cow mobility, posture, and gait (Garvey, 2022). Negative effects of lameness include up to a 20% decrease in milk production, decreased feed intake due to unwillingness to stand or move for food, poor fertility with lame cows taking up to 28 days more to become pregnant.  Lameness often leads to early culling. All these effects lead to increased expenses and decreased profit.

For example, one case of digital dermatitis (hairy heel warts) costs approximately $132.96 (Oliveira et al., 2017). Prevalence rates of lameness in dairy herds ranges from 17% to 35% globally (Garvey, 2022). In a 200-cow herd where 17% of the herd has digital dermatitis. That is a total of 34 cows with digital dermatitis, with each case costing approximately $132.96, totaling around $4,520.64 annually. Digital dermatitis is an infectious disease and is spread via the environment.  The treatment expenses and lost milk production associated with the disease add up quickly. More attention and resources spent preventing hoof and leg issues should be a focus.

Early identification and treatment of mildly lame cows is essential in promoting cows to recover and for potentially preventing disease spread. Strategies to be more proactive in preventing lameness include walking through the barn regularly to observe and record any cows that may have visible leg injuries, are not bearing weight on one leg (Image 1), are hesitant to move, or have a visible limp, shaking legs, etc. Utilize a foot bath regularly, trim hooves at least two times per year and as needed in between, and keep stalls, bedded packs, and alleys as clean and dry as possible.

Body Condition

To reach milk production potential, dairy cows will mobilize body fat, and when not managed appropriately, this can have a negative impact on their health, fertility, and survival. Assessment of body condition at key stages of production can help inform decisions regarding feed intake and productivity.

Throughout lactation, body condition score (BCS) will fluctuate according to the lactation curve. Cows that are under-conditioned or over-conditioned are not efficient cows. Cows with a BCS of 3.5 or greater have an increased risk of having a retained placenta and developing metritis and ketosis. Cows that are under-conditioned are less likely to show signs of estrus and have a decreased conception rate (Butler, 2005). In addition, both under- and over-conditioned cows can have decreased milk production; therefore, maintaining adequate body condition is necessary to maintain a productive and healthy animal.

Cows that freshen at a BCS of 3.0 to 3.5 produced more milk than those calving with a BCS less than 3.0 or greater than 3.5. Cows are expected to mobilize some fat stores at the beginning of lactation to support milk production, but no more than a 0.5 to 1.0 point in score is recommended. (Mongeon et al., 2020) To prevent a greater BCS loss, be sure that your fresh cows have an adequate amount of feed bunk and water space, a comfortable lying surface with clean, dry bedding, and work with a nutritionist to be sure fresh cows are receiving the appropriate balance of nutrients in their ration.

Mastitis

Mastitis is one of the top reasons that dairy cows leave the herd early. A study by Rollin et al. (2015) found that the greatest cost category for mastitis was the cost of premature culling at $182 per cow. On average, each clinical case (the cow is showing signs) of mastitis cost $325.76 for first lactation cows and $426.50 for second or greater lactation cows (Liang et al., 2017). Liang et al. (2017) reported that the cost of lost milk production was the largest portion of total costs. Tracking the cost of each case of mastitis on a farm is difficult because there are both direct and indirect costs that need to be considered. The direct costs include diagnostic costs, treatment costs, discarded milk, labor and veterinary costs, and death of the cow. The indirect costs are milk loss, culling risk, and effects on reproduction. Oftentimes, a case of mastitis costs more than estimated, especially since clinical mastitis can have long-term health effects that influence future milk production and future reproductive efficiency (Santos et al., 2004).

To reduce the incidence of mastitis, focus on keeping lying surfaces clean and dry, use proper pre-milking protocols, wear gloves whenever making contact with a teat, properly sanitize milking equipment, groom stalls multiple times a day, check vacuum levels on the milking system, use appropriate heat abatement, and use an adequate amount of bedding. If cows have a somatic cell count (SCC) above 200,000 cells/mL, use a California Mastitis Test (CMT) to check if any quarter is abnormal. If any quarter appears abnormal, an aseptic milk sample can be collected to culture on-farm and figure out what type of bacteria is causing the infection. On-farm milk culturing is a good way to figure out what mastitis-causing pathogens are present on your farm and can help you make more informed treatment decisions.

Heifers

Raising a dairy heifer from birth to first calving can cost from $1,500 to $4,000. That's a large expense for a heifer to potentially be culled before they even make that money back. Heifers are the future of the herd so just as much attention should be paid to them as to the lactating cows. Tracking growth by using scales, weight tapes, and hip height measuring sticks can help keep records of how your heifers are growing and how they are meeting the benchmarks that you set for your herd (Image 2). The huge range in the heifer cost of production is largely attributed to feed costs. Working with a nutritionist to formulate appropriate rations for heifers can help decrease cost and wasted feed.

Additionally, heifer housing is important to pay attention to. If housed in a barn, be sure the area is well-ventilated and has adequate feed and water space. The area should be clean and dry with a suitable amount of bedding in the resting space. Heifers can contract mastitis, too, so be sure to utilize an acceptable fly control method to reduce the transmission of contagious mastitis pathogens from cows to heifers.

Incorporating technology on your dairy can be beneficial to prevent farm blindness. Activity and rumination monitors can track records and send alerts that can be accessed from a computer or smartphone (Image 3). Some systems can even monitor body temperature and locate the cow in the barn. Activity monitoring systems are useful in keeping yearly records and can give you actual data to use when evaluating overall cow health.

To stay competitive and successful in the dairy industry, you must be open to change. Academics, dairy industry professionals, and farmers are working hard every day to conduct research and find improved and more efficient practices to improve animal performance, health, and welfare. Barn blindness can cause the abnormal to look normal. Stay proactive--join farmer discussion groups, tour other farms, and invite dairy consultants, nutritionists, and veterinarians to your farm to provide an honest evaluation. Identifying farm bottlenecks gives you the opportunity to work towards and achieve new goals to become more profitable and a better dairy manager.

Resources

Bulter, W.R. 2005. Nutrition, negative energy balance and fertility in the postpartum dairy cow. Cattle Pract. 13: 13-18.

Garvey, M. 2022. Lameness in Dairy Cow Herds: Disease Aetiology, Prevention, and Management. MDPI. Dairy. 3(1): 199-210. doi.org/10.3390/dairy3010016.

Liang, D, L.M. Arnold, C.J. Stowe, R.J. Harmon, J.M. Bewley. 2017. Estimating US dairy clinical disease costs with a stochastic simulation model. J Dairy Sci. 100: 1472-1486.

Mee, J.F. 2020. Denormalizing poor dairy youngstock management: dealing with "farm-blindness". J Anim Sci. 98 (1): S140-S149. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaa137

Mongeon, M., T. Wright, J. French. Body condition scoring of dairy cattle. 2020. ISSN 1198-712X. 

Oliveira, V.H.S., J. T. Sorensen, P. T. Thompsen. 2017. Associations between biosecurity practices and bovine digital dermatitis in Danish dairy herds. J. Dairy Sci. 100(10): 8398-8408. doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-12815.

Rollin, E, K.C. Dhuyvetter, M.W. Overton. 2015. The cost of clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation: An economic modeling tool. Prev Vet Med. 122(3): 257-264.

Santos, J.E., R.L.Cerri, M.A. Ballou, G.E. Higginbotham, J.H. Kirk. 2004. Effect of timing of first clinical mastitis occurrence on lactational and reproductive performance of Holstein dairy cows. Anim. Reprod. Sci. 80: 31-45.