Early identification prevents lameness and saves money
Early identification and prompt treatment of lesions or injuries to cows feet is the most effective way to avoid more costly treatment, says DairyCo extension officer Jo Speed.
Speaking in advance of her seminar in the Farm Health Planning area at the Dairy Event and Livestock Show, Jo says that regular mobility scoring is the key to getting on top of problems before they impact on the purse.
Too often mobility problems only become obvious once the cow is very visibly struggling to walk, says Jo, but by this time a cow will be scoring a 3 on the DairyCo mobility scoring system so will have serious foot health problems.
Though more farmers are mobility scoring it is still not a part of routine checking on many farms, says Jo. But with regular scoring, ideally once a month, farmers can quickly identify those cows scoring a 2 that may benefit from treatment. In many instances these cows will recover more promptly than those not trimmed until they are visibly lame.
Early treatment will also help to prevent any infection or disease spreading, stresses Jo.
Jo Speed will be speaking alongside Nick Bell of Bristol University Healthy Feet Project at seminar sessions to be held in the Farm Health Planning area of the Dairy Event and Livestock Show. There will be two sessions per day, one at 12:40pm and another at 4:00pm.
For more information on mobility scoring visit: www.dairyco.org.uk.
DairyCos aim is to promote world class knowledge to British dairy farmers so they can profit from a sustainable future.
To achieve this DairyCo aims to:
Ensure farmers have access to world class information needed to improve competitiveness, GHG reduction and productivity Ensure farmers have access to direct and indirect support to help them improve their profitability through better business management Ensure that dairy farming is reducing its impact on the environment Ensure farmers understand the benefits of breeding and use the related toolsDairyCo is funded entirely by milk producers, via a statutory levy on all milk sold off-farm, at the rate of 0.06p per litre. This provides an annual income of around 6.5m.
DairyCo is a division of the statutory levy board, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).