Oct 14, 2011 - The importance of cow comfort

By Dr. Rehanni Khaseipoul, D.V.M.

Producers spend millions of dollars each year renovating or building new facilities to improve cow comfort. Previous research has shown that when stalls are uncomfortable cows tend to use them less and spend more time outside the stalls. Time spent standing on wet concrete increases the risk of lameness.

Lying behaviour in cows can be measured manually or using electronic data loggers which are placed on the back leg of the cow. The data collected in this measurement can be useful in evaluating the benefits of changes in barn design or management. One interesting finding was the wide range in amount of time individual cows spent lying down within each farm. This shows that it is important to pay more attention to individual cows, instead of just the 'average' cow.

June 22, 2011 - Solutions to improve farm profitability 

By Dr. Rehanni Khaseipoul, D.V.M.

Total Mixed Ration (TMR) is designed to maintain health and maximize production.  UBC research has shown that cows preferentially sort and consume the smaller grain particles and discriminate against the longer forage components.  This can result in improper nutrition (decreased production) as well as sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA).  One way to judge if this is happening at your farm is to use a forage particle separator to compare the feed that is offered with what is left at the end of the day and then adjust your feeding ratios accordingly.