The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2016 - Issue 47 | Page 69

Dairy

Dairy farmers
need to
change focus
» DAIRY FARMERS FOCUS
more on the consequences
of immune suppression
around calving, rather than
addressing this leading cause of
problematic transition diseases,
nationwide survey results have
revealed.
A series of surveys
commissioned by Elanco Animal
Health found that 98% of UK
dairy vets and 72% of producers
rank mastitis as the leading
herd health concern for dairy
producers, with almost three
quarters of farmers correctly
identifying immune suppression
as a core cause of the disease.
Despite this awareness,
addressing immune
suppression is not high on the
list of priorities for farmers, with
immune suppression barely
making the top 10 list of their
most important herd health
concerns.
Around calving, all cows
undergo a dip in immunity, with
the function of essential immune
cells neutrophils reducing
by up to 40%, leaving herds
vulnerable to transition diseases
such as mastitis, metritis and
retained placenta.
While an overwhelming
majority of farmers (94%)
recognise the importance of
successfully managing the
period around calving for
herd health, the survey results
reveal that that they do not
always associate key transition
diseases with the correct
cause.
For example, while mastitis
is directly related to immune
suppression, ketosis, milk fever
and displaced abomasum are

not. However, the latter illnesses
were consistently cited among
survey respondents as leading
consequences of compromised
immunity.
Alistair Macrae, vet and
lecturer at the University of
Edinburgh, thinks a shift in
approach is needed:
“Most dairy producers are
aware that their cows are more
vulnerable around calving but
don’t focus onwhy this is the
case. At the moment, we spend
far too much time fixing ‘broken
cows’ rather than focusing on
prevention.
“There is a real opportunity
for farmers to address immune
suppression as a key cause of
their most problematic dairy
healthcare issues.”
The discrepancy between
awareness of consequences
of immune suppression and
cause may go some way to
explain why more than a third
of farmers have not initiated a
conversation about the topic
with their vet. This is despite
farmers being widely aware
of the risk of a compromised
immune system around the
time of calving as well as the
fact that there are active steps
they can take to manage the
problem.
“An important take-away
from these survey results is that
farmers need to start asking
their vet about how they can
address immune suppression
around calving and take some
practical steps,” said Francis
Cosgrave, Technical Vet (&
Dairy Farmer) at Elanco.
www.vital90days.co.uk

The new hot
topic –avoiding
heat stress?
» HEAT STRESS SYMPTOMS
can start to become apparent
when ambient temperatures rise
above 25°C, so it is vital farmers
stay alert to at risk cows to avoid
costly implications.
Helen Rogers, Rumenco
Technical Advisor, says: “Dry
matter intake has been estimated
to drop as much as 8-12% as
temperatures rise, affecting milk
production by up to 20%. It’s
estimated that 1kg of milk is lost
for every 0.5kg decrease in dry
matter intake.”
A drop in milk production
is often a clear sign of heat
stress, however, the first sign of
moderate heat stress can often
be rapid shallow breathing,
Helen explains. “Heat stress
is likely if respiratory rates are
greater than 80 breaths per
minute in 70% of the herd. Higher
producing dairy cows will be
more susceptible to heat stress
as a result of their higher dry
matter intake, resulting in more
metabolic heat generated.”
To avoid heat stress causing
issues, Helen advises: “Provide
shade to allow cows to rest in a
more comfortable environment.
For indoor herds, cooling
fans and sprinklers are also
effective.
“Water requirement increases
significantly as the environmental

temperature rises. As water is
the primary nutrient needed to
make milk, accounting for over
85% of the content, this can have
a significant knock-on impact to
milk production.
“It may also be beneficial to
make changes to the feeding
ration, for example including
higher quality forages that are
digested faster and so create
less heat.
“I suggest incorporating a
supplement such as XPLS into
cows’ diets, as research has
shown that it’s a rich nutrient
source for rumen microbes,
which helps improve ration
palatability and digestibility.
“Optimising the efficiency
and functionality of the rumen
microbes improves digestibility,
even with a lower dry matter
intake, which helps cows get
the most out of each bite. It’s
also proven to promote dry
matter intake, bolstering the
effect of heat stress. This helps