The aim was to identify risk factors associated with Coxiella burnetii antibody positivity in bulk tank milk (BTM) samples from 100 randomly selected Danish dairy cattle herds. Antibody levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay. Before testing the herds, the farm managers were interviewed about hired labour, biosecurity, housing and herd health during the 12 months prior to ...

In the US, a major step forward in control of Johne’s disease (JD) was the development and implementation of the JD Herd Risk Assessment and Herd Management Plan. Along with a major educational effort, many herds have joined the US JD Herd Control Program, though many others remain outside of control programs. The focus of this report is to address the issue of control and eradication of Johne’...

Within a dairy herd, total milk production is determined by the proportion of cows producing milk at any given time and the level of milk production of the individual cows within the herd. Improving reproductive efficiency helps to maintain the maximal number of cows producing milk at optimal levels. Reproductive efficiency in dairy cattle currently is suboptimal primarily due to four factors: ...

Our objective was to determine the seroprevalence of Hypoderma spp. and to develop a spatial model describing the risk surface of warble-fly infection in Belgian cattle herds (adjusting for herd size, herd type, local temperature, rainfall, relative air humidity and land-cover). This survey was carried out in 390 selected herds of all types (dairy, mixed and beef) from December 1997 to March 19...

The National Johne’s Demonstration Herd Project (NJDDHP) in the United States was initiated to evaluate the long-term feasibility and effectiveness of management-related practices designed to control Johne’s disease on dairy and beef cattle operations. The NJDDHP began in 2003 and includes 62 dairy herds and 20 beef herds in 17 states. All herds began with culture-confirmed Mycobacterium avium ...

Calving complications have an incidence on the economic profitability of dairy herds. In the Walloon Region of Belgium, calving ease data recording is being done on voluntary basis since 2000. This allows now the implementation of a genetic evaluation of Holstein dairy cattle addressing the need of dairy breeders to select bulls in order to reduce frequency of calving problems. Calving ease sco...

BACKGROUND Bovine herpesvirus type-1 (BHV-1) is an important pathogen of cattle that presents with a variety of clinical signs, including the upper respiratory tract infection infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR). A seroepidemiological study of BHV-1 antibodies was conducted in England from 2002 - 2004: 29,782 blood samples were taken from 15,736 cattle from 114 herds which were visited on u...

Dairy herd size is expected to increase in many European countries, given the recent policy changes within the European Union. Managing more cows may have implications for herd performance in the post-quota era. The objective of this study was to characterise spring-calving herds according to size and rate of expansion, and to determine trends in breeding policy, reproduction and production per...

As the dairy cow uses body energy reserves in early lactation, body condition scoring has become an integral part of dairy herd management. Several methods based on visual and tactile evaluation have been developed. Problems caused by the subjectivity of these techniques have been reported. Alternative approaches to predict energy reserves or energy balance in dairy cattle include metabolic pro...

Despite cattle herds can harbor Coxiella burnetii, risk factors for C. burnetii presence in dairy cattle herds are largely unknown. Therefore, C. burnetii herd prevalence and risk factors for bulk tank milk (BTM) positivity were investigated. In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was filled out by the farmer and BTM from 301 farms was tested by ELISA for presence of C. burnetii antibod...