Researchers continue to study various effects of postpartum clinical disease to dairy production. The transition period will make or break a lactation and quite possibly the entire productive life of a cow. Considering the performance of a dairy cow over several years and lactations makes disease incidents during her production lifetime important considerations.
A recent study concluded that clinical disease diagnosed and treated during the first 21 days in milk has long-term effects on lactation performance, reproduction and culling of dairy cows. These contribute to detrimental consequences of health problems on sustainability of dairy herds.
Source: Journal of Dairy Science, September 20, 2019. Link.
Also see: 10 must-dos for transition cows, Dairy Herd Management, July 2017. Link.
INSIGHTS: Postpartum disease management is a good topic for discussions with dairy producers during farm calls or VFD visits. Using articles to start conversations helps emphasize areas where producers can benefit from more focused attention to individual cows.