Dry cow treatment

[Guest guest]

I will offer some thoughts on the postings regarding dry cow treatment.

First a few facts to consider:

1) Randy Dingwell of Atlantic Veterinary College documented that 23.4% of teats are not sealed even 6 weeks after drying off.

2) Several published studies in the Irish Veterinary Journal by Teagasc researchers documented teat and teat canal stress/damage (termed teat sinus injury) caused by conventional milking machines.

3) Research published in the Journal of Dairy Science documented the fact that the bismuth in Orbseal causes black spot defect in cheese.

4) Numerous articles in various trade journals in recent months have noted a growing movement and concern for the broad use of antibiotics in the ag industry.

I suggest that the industry take a step back and ask a few questions before simply forging ahead with chemicals and pharmaceuticals to solve the symptoms of a much larger problem. Mastitis has been the number one problem in the dairy industry for decades. From a practical matter there has been little advancement in resolving this issue. There will be those who will take exception to this statement but first consider some other basic facts. The US cull rate has approximately doubled in the past 40 years based on USDA data, basically the mastitis and milking performance problems are being culled away. The solid interest and demand for sexed semen aligns well with this fact. Take a look at any herd DHI data or herd dispersal ad and make note of the number of first and second calf heifers, typically at least 70% of the herd. The national SCC award to the Univ. of Michigan noted a cull rate of over 45%, a costly means of achieving a low SCC. The US government recognizes the concern with their funding of the NE1009 project, http://nimss.umd.edu/homepages/home.cfm?trackID=1294. Any search of the Journal of Dairy Science (JDS) or the internet will reveal hundreds of new publications documenting mastitis research and the prevalence on dairy farms. The JDS study 91:1366-1377 discloses the fact that the Incidence Rate of Clinical Mastitis is 23 out of 100 cows in the 106 herds from 10 Canadian Provinces sampled, clearly mastitis is alive and well in spite of the focus on mastitis in the past few decades.

The use of product that contaminate the milk should be given a second thought. The fact that bismuth causes a known contamination problem in cheese should be of concern to dairy farmers interested in promoting a quality and healthy product. A similar concern should be noted with the injection of a dry treat in every quarter of every cow. Would it not be better to identify the cause for the failure of teat canals to close rather than incurring the expense of dry treat and the use of antibiotics?

It would seem reasonable to give more thought to the issues raised above and for each dairy farmer to take stock of his own herd. Count the number of cows with slow milking quarters and uneven udders and ask why. Add up the total cost of consumables (teat dips, dry treat, hormones, antibiotics, teat sealants etc) in a year and ask if what is driving the need for those products and why those problems exist in your herd. Count the number of first and second calf heifers and ask yourself why they are such a large percentage of your herd and why so many young cows are being slaughtered.

If your desire is to be truly organic then ask yourself why producing milk isn't limited to a cow, some forage, water and milking cows a couple of times a day. Take the time to visit with a few consumers at the local grocery store dairy case who are purchasing organic dairy products what they think of the issues noted above.

I can provide anyone interested with copies of any data and studies noted above. I have recently been updating my website to include much of this. I have included below the Dingwell summary that was in a trade journal a couple of years ago.

The bottom line is that in the challenging economic times dairy farmers need to carefully go over the contributors to their financial bottom line. The best way of improving the bottom line is to reduce expenditures/losses that can be controlled. The mastitis and cow cull problem are a solid source of opportunity to improve the bottom line. The only remaining question is what will you do to ensure your success?

Regards,

Bill Gehm

Partner, LR Gehm LLC

9502 NYS Rt. 79

Lisle, NY 13797

www.CoPulsation.com

Some teats need sealing assist

New research shows nearly one in 4 teats fail to close during the dry period. That leaves a lot of udders exposed to new infectionsNature equips dairy cows with their own defense against bacteria during the dry period. It’s known as the keratin plug, a waxy substance that forms a barrier in the teat canal during the first week or so of the dry period. Bacteria can't get through or around it. Trouble is, it doesn't always form.A new research study indicates that 23.4% of teats are not sealed at 6 weeks after drying off, and some never form a keratin plug during the dry period.That means a cow’s natural defense can become a key factor in her vulnerability to new intramammary infections (IMI) during the dry period. When the keratin plug does not form, she's at risk of developing new infections.“Timely formation of the teat-canal keratin plug during the dry period has been shown to be one of the most important factors affecting susceptibility to new intramammary infections,” says researcher Randy Dingwell of the Atlantic Veterinary College. “We were quite astounded by the high percentage of cows not forming their own keratin plugs."The study by Dingwell, along with colleagues at other universities in the U.S. and Canada, tracked cows in 5 research herds to document teat closure. Three hundred cows were examined weekly for 6-week dry periods. The research confirmed that open quarters make dairy cows more susceptible to new IMI. Cows with one open quarter were 1.8 times more susceptible to new infection. Cows with 2 or more quarters open were 4 times more likely to develop infection.“We also discovered that a significant number of cows with open teats were higher producers, which makes for an even more costly problem should these cows become infected,” explains Dingwell.Other factors influencing the rate of infection in dry cows included teat shape and integrity, and bacterial levels at the teat end. Cows need protection that lasts throughout the dry period, not just for the first few weeks.Traditional dry cow antibiotic therapy treats existing mastitis infections and prevent development of new ones in the early dry period. But protection does not persist at therapeutic levels beyond the first 2 to 3 weeks. The udder again becomes vulnerable in the mid to late dry period when environmental pathogens are a threat.To "seal" teats for the full dry period, Pfizer Animal Health recently introduced a new product to the Canadian market. An inert, sterile, non-antibiotic paste called OrbeSeal, it's infused into each quarter at dry-off and stripped out easily at calving.“This simple, safe, science-based product is the next step in dry cow management,” claims Randy Graham, manager of dairy veterinary services for Pfizer Canada. “Open teat ends are 'highways' to infectious mastitis bacteria. OrbeSeal is designed to provide protection throughout the entire dry period when cows are most vulnerable to mastitis pathogens.”Despite all the work done to prevent and control mastitis over many years, it remains the most costly disease of dairy cows. The National Mastitis Council estimates an average loss of US$184 per cow per year in reduced milk quality and quantity.