Focus

Avoiding drops in dry matter intake in prefresh heifers is crucial in reducing risk of metabolic diseases around calving.
Focus

Impact of nutrition and feeding management on risk of mastitis in dairy heifers

Mastitis risk in dairy cows and heifers is multifactorial and changes with time and interaction with causal factors. This complexity can make it hard to troubleshoot and help farms maintain a low level of mastitis. As a consultant it is difficult to be aware of daily changes and duration of those changes occurring on client dairies.

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Administration of dry cow antibiotic
Focus

An update on evidence-based selective dry cow therapy protocols

Dry cow antibiotic therapy (DCT) is the administration of long acting intramammary antibiotics at the time of dry-off. This practice gained widespread implementation in the 1960s as part of the ‘five point plan’ in the UK and numerous clinical trials have demonstrated its efficacy in promoting udder health through the control of intramammary infections (IMI) during the dry period (Halasa et al., 2009a; Halasa et al., 2009b).

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• Milking cluster: Rinsing of the milking cluster, ideally after every cow, helps avoiding spread of infection between cows during milking.
Focus

Current knowledge and application of biosecurity in cattle

Biosecurity is defined as the combination of all measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of introduction and spread of disease agents between animals. As such, the implementation of biosecurity is an important tool to accomplish disease prevention on cattle farms. It contributes to animal and public health and welfare, but it can also improve economic results and lower antimicrobial use and resistance.

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