Perspective: Prolonged cow-calf contact-A dilemma or simply another step in the evolution of the dairy industry?

The contentious issue of cow-calf separation at birth is incongruent with many views on acceptable farming practices, and carries the risk of eroding public trust in the dairy industry if it is not addressed. The available evidence provides little support for the practice, but research on best practices for maintaining cow-calf contact in a way that enhances animal welfare while preserving farm profitability is nascent. In this article, the authors address the research questions that require answers to better inform producers and facilitate their decision-making and prepare the dairy industry to take another evolutionary step forward.

Effect of different air speeds at cow resting height in freestalls on heat stress responses and resting behavior in lactating cows in Wisconsin.

Heat abatement (e.g., soakers, fans) effectively reduces the negative physiological and production effects of heat stress, but no previous studies have documented effective interventions for the reduced lying times observed in response to hot weather. Although likely adaptive for heat dissipation, the reduction in motivated lying behavior may be an animal welfare concern. We evaluated the effect of air speed from fans with variable frequency drives on the heat stress responses of cows in a naturally ventilated freestall barn. Eight groups of lactating Holsteins (16 cows/group) were exposed to 3 treatments in a replicated crossover design: control (fans off, 0.4 ± 0.2 m/s, measured 0.5 m above the stall surface to represent cow resting height) versus 60% (1.7 ± 0.5 m/s; ≥1 m/s in all stalls) and 100% (2.4 ± 0.8 m/s) fan power. Each treatment was applied for 3 d of acclimation and 4 d of data collection. The effects of treatment on daily maximum vaginal temperature (VT) and lying time (LT; both measured with data loggers), respiration rate (RR; recorded from video), unshaved scapular skin temperature (ST), milk yield (MY), and dry matter intake (DMI) were analyzed using linear mixed models. All models included the fixed effect of treatment and a repeated term for treatment day within group of cows, with group as the subject. The models for LT, VT, and RR also included a fixed effect for same-day temperature-humidity index (THI; recorded in the pens with data loggers) and the THI × treatment interaction. The models for DMI and MY, using data from the latter 3 d of each treatment period, also included a fixed effect for the previous day's THI and the -1 d THI × treatment interaction. Lying time differed among treatments (100% vs. 60% fan power vs. control: 14.2 vs. 13.9 vs. 13.2 h/d, respectively, SEM = 0.15 h/d), but both fan treatments prevented the reduction in LT observed in the control treatment as THI increased. Relative to the control, both fan treatments effectively reduced ST, RR, and VT and increased DMI and MY. In the control, average values were elevated for both RR (68.7 ± 1.5 breaths/min, mean ± SEM, greater than a common benchmark of 60 breaths/min) and VT (39.3 ± 0.05°C) but remained in the normal range in both fan treatments (54.2 vs. 50.7 breaths/min in the 60% vs. 100% fan power treatments; 39.0°C in both fan treatments). Both fan treatments resulted in greater overall MY (42.6 vs. 43.0 ± 0.4 kg/d in the 60% vs. 100% fan power treatments) relative to the control (41.0 kg/d) and similarly avoided the reduction in MY when -1 d THI increased. Compared with natural ventilation alone, fans delivering air speeds of at least 1 m/s at cow resting height were effective not only for reducing thermoregulatory responses, but also for maintaining lying time, DMI, and MY in heat stress conditions. This is the first study to demonstrate an intervention to improve animal welfare by maintaining lying times during periods of heat stress.

Milking time behavior of dairy cows in a free-flow automated milking system.

The objective of this preliminary observational study was to determine milking time behavior of cows in a free-flow automated (robotic) milking system (AMS) and identify potential factors that influenced the time waiting to be milked. Milking time behavior of 40 cows from 1 pen on a commercial dairy farm with a free-flow AMS was evaluated using video analysis over 2 d. For each study cow, data were assessed for waiting time to access the milking robot, the use of the fetch pen, robot refusals, and their lying behavior. On average, cows visited the robot to wait to be milked 6 times per day, for 15 min per visit, for a total daily waiting time of 88 min per cow (range 5 to 322 min). Daily waiting time was longer for primiparous cows and decreased with increasing days in milk, but this effect interacted with parity. Daily waiting time and number of visits to the robot were associated with voluntary use of the fetch pen. Furthermore, cows with long daily waiting times had shorter daily lying times compared with cows with short daily waiting times (9.5 vs. 11.1 h/d). It is possible that factors related to the design and layout of the AMS entry and fetch pen had an effect on waiting behavior. We inferred that adoption of grouping strategies intended to reduce competitive behavior, especially toward primiparous cows, could improve milking time behavior in a free-flow AMS. This preliminary observational data from a single herd highlights the need to confirm the findings across multiple AMS herds, both with free-flow and guided-flow systems.

Designing Facilities for the Adult Dairy Cow During the Nonlactation and Early Lactation Period.

Improvements during transition, following a blueprint that allows for all cows to eat from the feedbunk simultaneously and have access to a comfortable soft bed, avoiding regrouping stress 2 to 7 days before calving. Approaches to prefresh cow housing have incorporated dedicated pens for cows and heifers, sequential fill approaches in larger herds and all-in-all-out pens to maintain social stability throughout the prefresh or dry period. This blueprint has improved postpartum health and early lactation milk performance.

Optimizing Resting Behavior in Lactating Dairy Cows Through Freestall Design.

This article provides information necessary to assist in creation of freestall facilities in which cows thrive through designs that optimize the resting behavior of dairy cattle and provide a safe, comfortable, clean, and dry place to lie down with easy access to feed and water. Comfortable stalls require a deep-bedded surface, affording cows the cushion they need to lie down for 12 hours per day and the traction necessary to facilitate rising and lying movements. Stalls should be sized to accommodate cows using them and prevent obstructions to lunge and bob areas and impediments to normal rising and lying movements.

A Review of the Design and Management of Footbaths for Dairy Cattle.

This article summarizes current footbath practices, questions the mechanism by which footbaths function, and reviews the available scientific literature testing footbaths in the field. Copper sulfate appears the most efficacious agent to include in a footbath program, but disposal concerns should limit the frequency of its use. Other agents such as formaldehyde have some merit when used with care. Use of water alone in a flush bath appears to have minimal impact. Footbaths should be used as infrequently as possible to achieve lameness prevention goals for the herd.

Observations on the design and use of footbaths for the control of infectious hoof disease in dairy cattle.

A survey of 65 freestall-housed dairy herds in five different countries, with an average of 1023 milking cows, found that footbaths were used 1-4 times per day for 1-7 days per week, with between 80 and 3000 cows passing through the bath between chemical changes. The most common agents used were copper sulfate (41/65) and formalin (22/65). Twenty-seven herds (42%) used more than one chemical. The median footbath measured 2.03 m long by 0.81m wide, and was filled to a depth of 0.11 m with a volume of 189 L (range 80-1417 L). An observational behavioral study was conducted using a custom-designed footbath to test four different bath dimensions, with two different step-in heights. The number of immersions per rear foot was counted for each footbath design for each cow passing through the bath on two consecutive days. While a higher step-in height significantly increased the number of foot immersions, the effect was small compared to the effect of length. The probability of each rear foot receiving at least two immersions reached 95% at a bath length of 3.0m, and a significant increase in the frequency of three and four immersions per foot was observed between 3.0 and 3.7 m. In order to optimize the number of foot immersions per cow pass, while limiting the footbath volume, this study recommends a bath 3.0-3.7 m long, 0.5-0.6m wide, with a 28 cm step-in height.

The influence of the environment on dairy cow behavior, claw health and herd lameness dynamics.

Free stall housing increases the exposure of dairy cows' claws to concrete walk-ways and to manure between periods of rest, and generally shows the highest rate of lameness compared with other dairy management systems. However, there is great variation within a system, and the rate of new cases of lameness can be reduced to very low levels provided time spent resting per day is maximized through good stall design, access to stalls through stocking density control and comfortable transition cow facilities, limiting the time spent milking, provision of adequate heat abatement, and good leg hygiene. Sand bedded stalls are useful as they also permit lame cows to maintain adequate daily rest. Rubberized alley flooring surfaces benefit the cow by reducing claw wear and trauma compared to concrete, making them ideal for parlor holding areas and long transfer lanes and walk ways. However, caution is required when using rubber floors in pens with uncomfortable stalls due to apparent adverse effects on cow time budgets, which may in turn have a detrimental effect on lameness.

A coordinated teaching program for future dairy practitioners at the university of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Veterinary Medicine.

The University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine (UW-SVM) has implemented a variety of strategies to optimize teaching in dairy herd medicine. These include the provision of opportunities for dairy cow handling and management using a dairy teaching herd for veterinary students throughout the four-year curriculum, exposure for all students in their final year to a substantial first-opinion dairy case load using a private practice-based ambulatory clinic rotation, and, finally, the teaching of dairy herd health management and problem solving in a group of four final-year elective production medicine clinical rotations. On average, since 1986, 32.6% of each graduating class attended at least one elective production medicine rotation, with a range from 19.0% to 43.4%. For those University of Wisconsin students who could be traced, 65% were still actively involved in some aspect of dairy practice, representing a range of between seven and 17 students per year since the start of the program. The advantages and disadvantages of operating a "regional center of excellence" for training students from out-of-state institutions are discussed.

Behavioral needs of the transition cow and considerations for special needs facility design.

Improved building designs come from a better understanding of the behavioral needs of the dairy cow. The costs to provide for these needs in the facility must be offset by improved milk production, health, and longevity. Research is still required to more fully understand the health implications of many building design considerations and their impact on disease. Perhaps the most important end result of an improved environment for the transition cow, however, is an improvement in animal well-being. Better buildings that accommodate the behavioral needs of cows present "win-win" situations where dairy cattle thrive and work is more enjoyable. This results in an improved image for the industry, greater consumer confidence in the quality and safety of the final food product, and a prosperous dairy industry.

Using herd records to monitor transition cow survival, productivity, and health.

There is no single monitor that can fully characterize the success of a transition cow management program in a herd. Rather we must rely on a group of key monitors. Table 5 outlines the key indices and targets that we use in herd investigations. By using these monitors, effective transition cow programs can be differentiated from problematic ones, and many of the problems can be resolved for the good of the herd owners, dairy laborers, and most of all, the cows. Development of more sophisticated monitors and software with stronger epidemiologic structure will allow for better analysis of programs in the future.

Prevalence of lameness among dairy cattle in Wisconsin as a function of housing type and stall surface.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of lameness as a function of season (summer vs winter), housing type (free stalls vs tie stalls), and stall surface (sand vs any other surface) among lactating dairy cows in Wisconsin. DESIGN: Epidemiologic survey. ANIMALS: 3,621 lactating dairy cows in 30 herds. PROCEDURE: Herds were visited once during the summer and once during the winter, and a locomotion score ranging from 1 (no gait abnormality) to 4 (severe lameness) was assigned to all lactating cows. Cows with a score of 3 or 4 were considered to be clinically lame. RESULTS: Mean +/- SD herd lameness prevalence was 21.1 +/- 10.5% during the summer and 23.9 +/- 10.7% during the winter; these values were significantly different. During the winter, mean prevalence of lameness in free-stall herds with non-sand stall surfaces (33.7%) was significantly higher than prevalences in free-stall herds with sand stall surfaces (21.2%), tie-stall herds with non-sand stall surfaces (21.7%), and tie-stall herds with sand stall surfaces (12.1%). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that the prevalence of lameness among dairy cattle in Wisconsin is higher than previously thought and that lameness prevalence is associated with season, housing type, and stall surface.