Other Management Articles
- Building A Herd of High-Producing, Healthy Cows with Low Involuntary Culling
- Culling Heifers: When and Why and the Impact on Herd Economics
- Economics Matter in Culling Decisions
- What is an ideal BCS at calving?
- Facts about Somatic Cell Counts
- First Layer of Defense Against Mastitis
- The When and Why of Milking Procedures
- Are Mastitis Vaccines a “Cure All”?
- Growing Heifers to Be Your Best Cows
- A Look in the Mirror
- Fertility Potential: The Bull + The Cow + The Inseminator + The Environment
Growing up on a dairy, we were committed to taking the best care of our cows, while working to maximize production from them. As dairy stewards, we focus on animal welfare and economics. We strive to reach good standards in those areas, but we should be reaching for great standards!
Those who work with cattle recognize that calving can be a difficult time for both the cow and the calf. We know that the 90 days of transition (30 days before calving and 60 days after calving) are the most precarious in a cow’s life. How well she transitions has a direct impact on her production and longevity. As we work towards breeding healthier, longer-life cows, we must also focus our efforts on improving transition period management. The best genetics in the world cannot overcome poor management.
Recently, there has been a movement claiming that the losses associated with the transition period can be mitigated by extending a cow’s lactation, and thus limiting her number of calvings. But is this the right answer? I believe this is the wrong answer because this does not address the reason there is risk. The reason for the risk during a cow’s transition is the person in the mirror.
So far, the results of our efforts as an industry are not very pleasing. Stillborn rates in U.S. Holsteins are around 7% within 24 hours of birth. Canada has similar results, while Europe’s numbers vary from 6-10%. Stillbirths put the cow at a much higher risk of culling in any stage of lactation, with issues like lower milk production and later breeding. These issues negatively affect the cow and the success of the operation. The US beef herd has a stillborn rate (measured 48 hours after calving) of less than 3%. Most of these calves are born with no supervision at all, truly a survival of the fittest. Yet, they are doing better than our entire dairy industry. Why is this, we wonder?
A look in the mirror shows us the source of these differences. As managers, we must examine what we can do better, and what protocols we can establish, to make a positive difference in our herd’s health and well-being. Even though each situation is unique, there are common challenges and solutions that can apply across most dairy operations.
All dairy producers know that the risk of metabolic problems, like ketosis and milk fever, are associated with calving. Can we control these metabolic issues? Of course, we can! It may not always be easy, but farming never has been!
With careful ration balancing we can create rations that result in minimal milk fever issues to work alongside intervention plans that target high risk cows. Calcium binders, ration acidifiers, limited forage potassium and oral supplementation of calcium post calving can bring these issues almost to zero.
Ketosis and fatty liver are large problems for our older cows. These issues are strongly related to over-conditioning and long dry periods. We can control these with proper breeding protocols and dry cow diets.
The biggest cause of over-conditioning is delayed conception! We see this occurring by accident with late breeding cows. We can control body condition by changing the diet of late lactation cows. However, all dairy producers recognize that when we drop energy to those cows, we also drop milk production. Therefore, planning delayed conception as a strategy is not good for the cow’s health or income for the farm.
Following nature’s cycle is a welfare goal. If we look at the beef herd, they aim to calve a cow on an annual basis. This produces the best results for the cow, calf and income. It is the same in dairies. We see the greatest returns based on milk value, less the feed intake, in early lactation. As we move past 200 days in milk, milk produced compared to feed cost become very close - or even reversed. Our goal should be two lactations in two years – and to keep that pace up!
Again, a look in the mirror not only finds the issue but also highlights the solution...
The answer to improving animal health is not to delay reproduction, and possibly create more problems, but look in the mirror and challenge what you see. As individuals and as an industry, we need to create and manage herds for the best animal welfare and build a lifestyle from these good decisions.
Our target is not the unsupervised beef herd but to match what is possible for both animal welfare and improving the sustainability of our business. We should be reaching for great standards. Our target should be fewer than 1% stillborn. Start with measuring where you are and identify how you can take steps toward this goal.
The Genetic Connection
To maximize the potential for long productive life of our cows and our herds, select genetics that excel for Productive Life and health traits.