NDSU
Extension Service
North Dakota State University
Vol. 14, No. 4, December 2004
I
EDITORIAL
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
CALVES AND HEIFERS
HERD HEALTH
SOMATIC CELL COUNTS OF MILK FROM DAIRY HERD IMPROVEMENT HERDS IN THE U.S.
REPRODUCTION
BUSINESS
MISCELLANEOUS
Seasons Greetings,
Thanks to technology, we have almost instant access to unlimited information. So much so that in our society today, we are bombarded with more than 5,000 messages every day. Much of it is in the form of advertising — ads that tell us we don't measure up or suggest many inadequacies. Advent is a time of preparation, inviting us to slow down and recognize our many blessings. For me, the recent recognition at the Dairy Convention was an unexpected blessing and very humbling. It is nice to know that even though I haven't accomplished many of my goals for the North Dakota dairy industry, the effort is appreciated.
So as you prepare for the Christmas season, I hope you find peace, health, happiness and the ability to give all you are able to give.
Happy Holidays
J.W. Schroeder , Extension Specialist - Dairy
Department of Animal and Range Sciences
Wintertime is our traditional meeting season. Among the many demands for your time, here are a couple of programs you should plan to attend.
• Dairy Cow College
Heifers are a herd's greatest opportunity to
increase herd size, improve the herd genetics and enhance
farm returns. To accomplish these goals, managing
the heifer enterprise for health, nutrition and marketing
is necessary. This year's educational program will
feature topics on:
- Anatomy of the growing calf
- Stages of heifer development
- Grouping strategies
- Maximizing milk potential
- Opportunity feeds for the dairy
- Calf contracts
Gary Lindberg, former assistant professor of dairy science at Iowa State University, now a partner with Nutrition Professionals, will join me in a five-day tour Jan. 31 to Feb. 4 in Linton, Dickinson, New Salem, Minot and Valley City. Watch for our detailed publicity coming next month.
• Central Plains Dairy Expo and Professional
Dairy Heifer Growers Association
For anyone interested in using replacement heifers,
the next Professional Dairy Heifer Growers
Association education meeting is set for March 30 to April 1,
in conjunction with the Central Plains Dairy Expo
in Sioux Falls, S.D. Both events are worth your
consideration. Central Plains Expo has grown
enormously in only a few years of existence.
It includes a trade show of more than 150 vendors.
While March is a ways off, planning needs to begin soon. While the agenda or programs and tours still are being developed, you can get in on a good deal for lodging and transportation. As part of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture's continuing support of heifer development, Bobbi Talmadge is calling for advanced registration. She has 20 rooms reserved at an adjoining motel and a couple of vans for travel available to you on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you want a room, or want to combine travel, call Bobbi at (701) 328-4159 BEFORE FEB. 15, 2005 — the sooner the better. She will have to let the rooms go after that date. More details on these popular events will be available soon.
The advantages of weaning dairy heifers early often are touted — less cost for milk replacer and less labor to tend to individual animals. So what's the downside to getting calves on dry feed at 4 weeks of age? More than a few.
Most calves that are weaned are put into groups. Generally, calves at 4 to 5 weeks of age have not had the time or exposure to develop immunity to the many pathogens they will be exposed to as they group up. Even early vaccination programs don't have enough time to prepare them properly for the upcoming stresses.
Digestive enzymes necessary to properly digest vegetable proteins do not develop completely until around 60 days of age. Many of the pounds of dry feed pass through the calf without her extracting the benefit she would have gotten a little later. This is by far the biggest challenge. Chickens peck the ground at 1 day old. Calves nurse their mothers.
Low-weight calves are more susceptible to cold and temperature fluctuations than those that are a little bigger. Drafts and poor ventilation have more negative effects on these light calves. Expect more respiratory problems and time and money spent on treatment. The bottom line is you can practice early weaning and make it work; just don't expect to make it work unless your housing, nutrition and biosecurity are nearly perfect.
With heifer calves bringing $300 to $500 each, a grower needs to evaluate the hidden costs inherent in early weaning, such as reduced gains per day, higher death losses and future production losses from more lung damage. Often these costs are far higher than another two to four weeks of milk replacer.
Source: Don Gardner, DVM, PDHGA Heard in the Hutch
One of the many educational sessions offered at this year's World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., included a presentation on "Saving Cows with Sociobiology!" Nigel Cook, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, showed the following on how the environment in which our cows live affects their health and productivity:
We have developed a system to analyze stall use from the perspective of the dairy cow getting into, lying down, resting, standing up and leaving the stall. We look at four main components:
1. Surface cushion and traction
2. A defined adequate resting area
3. Room to lunge and bob the head
4. Space below and behind the neck rail
Barns with sand stall surfaces appear to have cleaner cows and fewer lame cows, making this the optimal surface for stall designs.
Our interests in lameness have led us to a greater level of understanding of the interaction between the cow and the stall. It would appear that lame cows struggle to rise and lie down in mattress stalls, leading to prolonged periods of standing in the stall. Lame cows in sand stalls show no such change in behavior and maintain normal daily activity patterns because of the sand's properties, which provide traction as well as cushion. This period of standing up, when the cow would rather be lying down, potentially is damaging to the structure of the hoof and amounts to more than 4h/d longer standing in moderately lame cows. These cows must spend less time in the alley, less time feeding and 2h/d less time lying down.
Whether improved mattress stall designs achieve the goal of allowing lame cows to maintain normal stall use behavior remains to be seen. In the meantime, we can take the following action:
1. Remove moderately and severely lame cows from mattress-free stalls once they are recognized and hold them on a comfortable, well-managed straw-bedded pack until they are treated and have recovered.
2. Reduce the trigger factors for lameness so that cows don't become lame in the first place.
a. Use a good hoof trimmer and trim twice a year.
b. Transition heifers into the free stall barn smoothly.
c. Use an effective foot bath regime to control heel warts.
d. Avoid the risk factors for subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA).
While most workers have concentrated on dietary components, we have looked at feeding behavior risks for SARA. We know that when cows become hungry, they subsequently overeat, consuming a larger-than-normal meal, which releases a vast amount of VFA in the rumen that the cow is unable to buffer. Therefore, we must ensure that the supply of food is consistent and predictable. In particular, we know that when bunk space is limited, subordinate cows do not get to eat at the bunk for an hour after feed delivery. After milking, bunk utilization is different in three-row pens, compared with two-row pens. The bunk remains fuller for a longer period. At this time, twice as many agonistic interactions occur between cows — pushing each other out of the way at the bunk in three-row pens, compared with two-row pens — putting cows at risk of hoof injury and SARA.
Exposing cows to short-stay/high-throughput groups around calving time places them in a continual state of social upheaval. The effect on change in DMI can impact the rates of ketosis, DA and herd removal within 60DIM.
For more information on how the environment in which we keep our dairy cows affects health and
productivity, visit our Web site at
www.vetmed.wisc.edu/dms/fapm/index.html.
Source: N.B. Cook, MRCVS,
Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Vet. Medicine
Snow flurries and wind, cracked fingers and concerns about winter teat problems prompt the old question: to dip or not to dip? If so, with what? What else can we do to stop winter teat problems? Let's start with why you dip.
The purpose of teat dipping is to provide a germicide that will kill mastitis germs and apply skin conditioners that keep teat skin and ends healthy. These both are essential to minimize mastitis risks. In winter, we want these same things, but we want to make sure that when we dip, we don't compromise one for another (frozen teats, more germs on teats). So initially, (not just winter) you need a dip that has a proven germicide and excellent skin conditioning. We need to start and be here all the time. But now it's winter! Well, here are the choices:
• Use the same good germicide and skin conditioning dip you've been using.
- Most days, it's not cold enough to freeze the drop on the teat end, so tally ho!
- In certain situations (cold wind chills and/or direct exposure post-milking), dab or wick the drop off the end with a cloth towel. This takes very little time and effort. DO NOT DRY THE TEAT as that removes the dip/skin conditioners from the teat. Dabbing has been proven to work!
- Never add extra conditioners to dip! That changes the formulation!
• What about barrier dips?
- Don't use them in very cold weather and exposure situations since they take 20 or more minutes to dry, thus increasing risks for teat-end problems.
• What about the winter formulation dips? High emollients and/or powder dips?
- They are designed to be used only during cold weather and high-risk situations where teats will freeze or dehydrate quickly (like your fingers cracking).
- High-emollient dips (usually less than 70 percent skin conditioners) minimize initial post-milking freezing risk resulting from slow evaporation. Make sure germicide is proven; teats stay wetter and oily longer, so risks may increase with prolonged cold exposure or dirty conditions (sticky teats).
- Powder-based dips function to keep teats dry (no liquid). New formulations have germicide and skin conditioners. Stalls, etc., must be clean/dry to avoid wicking on teats.
• What about salves?
- They aren't the best choice! Risks are high unless germicide and skin conditioning are proven!
- Most germicides can be overcome by contamination.
- Greasy hands, greasy teats and greasy equipment are a mess and a great way to spread things.
- They can coat or trap infections; the greasy feel can attract things (dirt, etc.)
- Research shows minimal or no effect (some detrimental) when more fluid salves are used.
- If you decide to use salves, use sparingly (only on the risky area — teat end).
• What about quitting dipping and doing nothing else?
- It's a poor choice, or not even a choice, and a high risk!
- Teats still are wet after milking; teat skin conditioners are milked off; the risks of dehydration and cracking increase; plus, there are no contagious mastitis germicides.
So there are the choices! During winter months, it's a sure thing that teat-end problems will occur and the best way to deal with them is to manage the risks. Weigh the options above and pick the one that you can manage the best. Couple this with other management strategies, such as minimizing direct wind exposure post-milking, cleaning dry stalls to prevent chilling and organism growth, and proper milking procedures that minimize other teat stressors.
Source: Leo Timms ISU Ext. Review, Dec. 2003, Vol, 14
With all of our technology, mastitis continues to be the industry's No. 1 problem. Certainly, antibiotics and treatment protocols have improved, especially in our approach to infection mastitis. Environmental mastitis has been more of a challenge.
If you see an increase in a mastitis problem, here are some indicators the problem is from the environment:
• High levels of environmental bacteria on bulk tank cultures
• Excessive numbers of dry cows that have mastitis during the early dry period
• Excessive number (greater than 15 percent to 20 percent) of clinical mastitis cases in early lactation
• Primarily environmental pathogens isolated from individual cow cultures
• Increased bulk SCC with low levels of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae or mycoplasma
• Cows that have fluctuating SCC during the lactation period
Source: 2004 NMC Regional Meeting Proceedings, pg. 34 (Bey)
| Year | Cows per Herd |
Avg. Dairy Milk Yield |
Avg.| SCC |
| (No.) | (Lbs) | (1,000s) | |
| 1995 | 50.0 | 65.3 | 304 |
| 1996 | 55.5 | 64.7 | 308 |
| 1997 | 57.4 | 66.4 | 314 |
| 1998 | 60.8 | 66.8 | 318 |
| 1999 | 67.0 | 68.2 | 311 |
| 2000 | 73.3 | 69.1 | 316 |
| 2001 | 79.1 | 69.0 | 322 |
| 2002 | 77.5 | 69.5 | 320 |
| 2003 | 80.5 | 69.6 | 319 |
Herd Test Days with Greater than:
———————
%
———————
Year
7,500
600,000
500,000
450,000
1995
4.1
9.3
16.0
27.2
1996
4.1
9.2
16.1
27.8
1997
4.2
9.5
16.6
28.8
1998
4.5
10.1
17.8
30.3
1999
4.3
9.7
17.1
29.8
2000
4.1
9.4
16.8
29.5
2001
4.9
10.6
18.2
31.1
2002
5.6
11.0
18.1
30.0
2003
5.6
11.2
18.4
30.4
Source: USDA Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory Research Report SCC5 (2-04)
Note: Approximately 52 percent of cows in the United States are enrolled in DHI testing.
Of those, about 90 percent participate in mastitis screening (SCC).
Michigan State University Department of Animal Science researchers are investigating how breeding time affects the sex of dairy cattle offspring. In a synchronized breeding program that triggers ovulation, cows are being artificially inseminated at varying intervals around the anticipated time of ovulation to determine if inseminating earlier will generate more female calves.
Final numbers will not be available until spring 2005, reported Richard Pursley, the project's lead investigator. However, it appears that earlier breeding (further from ovulation) produces more female calves.
In the research trial, prostaglandin and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) were used to stimulate cows to ovulate. Generally, cows are bred 16 hours after they receive a GnRH injection. In the study, however, cows were bred when they were given the last GnRH injection — about 28 hours before ovulation. Along with producing a higher proportion of heifer calves (as it appears so far), this practice saves a step by inseminating at the same time cows receive the last injection.
What is driving the requirement for individual animal identification?
It is recognition that naturally occurring or introduced disease threats could have a catastrophic impact on animal production and all of agriculture, the food system and the U.S. economy. Industry groups have cooperated with the National Animal Industry Association (NAIA) to develop a working plan to implement a standardized system for assigning unique, individual identification numbers to all cattle used in food production. A national database will be developed to track animal movement through the food chain and as a trace-back system in the event of a disease incident with potential for catastrophic impact.
Who is responsible for implementation?
A working plan was developed from deliberations of the National Animal ID Task Force that the NAIA convened. The U.S. Animal Health Association approved the plan in October 2002. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the USDA is coordinating the plan's implementation and subsequent development.
When will it be required?
The plan has two phases to be implemented. In the first phase, APHIS required all animal production and processing sites to have unique "premise" identification by July 2004. This includes farms, slaughter plants, feedlots, sale barns and exhibition facilities. The second phase will require that each cow have a unique, 12-digit identification number assigned to it, preferably at birth, before the animal can move in commerce. That means cows will have to be identified before they leave the farm for any purpose. Phase 2 is expected to be implemented in 2006.
What will be required for premises ID?
Though the plans are not developed fully, this likely will involve geographic location recorded with the types of animals housed there. Each site will be linked in a national database with contact information for the owner and manager of the animal production at that site. Recording of premises ID will be coordinated through local USDA offices.
What will be required for animal ID?
Initially, cattle will be required to have duplicate physical tags that include the unique number that they have been assigned. The tags likely will be similar to those ear tags used already for management purposes. The second tag also can be an electronic radio frequency ID that has the unique number embedded in it. Future developments in the technology may include intraruminal or subcutaneous implants that would last the life of the animal.
Where will I get the tags?
The working plan anticipates the need for a number of private industry tag suppliers. The tags will be manufactured in accordance and with oversight by APHIS, but there will be competitors in the market.
Will the system integrate with breed registrations?
Possibly. Many breed organizations are using a modification of the plan for identification of cattle already. However, those systems use a 10-digit identifier rather than the 12-digit number proposed in the national plan. Therefore, coordination will be needed among registries and the ID registry to integrate the two systems.
Where can I get more information?
As information becomes available, it is posed at the NAIA Web site ( www.animalagriculture.org ) , the APHIS Web site ( www.aphis.usda.gov ) and the University of Illinois Food Security Initiative Web site (www.foodsecurity.uiuc.edu ).
Source: Goeffrey E. Dahl, 2004 Illinois Dairy Report
• It's nice to note that a study finds kids who eat more dairy products may have lower body fat.
• McDonald's and dairy check-off announce a market test of a single-serve milk jug with Happy Meals in three markets.
• And an internationally acclaimed pastry chef has used cheese, yes cheese, in ice cream.
• Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
• Wrinkles don't hurt.
• Families are like fudge; mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
• Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
• Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
Author unknown
Dairy Connection -- Vol. 14, No. 4, December 2004
NDSU Extension Service, North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Duane Hauck, Director, Fargo, North Dakota. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. We offer our programs and facilities to all persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, Vietnam era veterans status, or sexual orientation; and are an equal opportunity employer. This publication will be made available in alternative formats for people with disabilities upon request, 701/231-7881.