Since the mid-1800s, farmers have been housing livestock. What began as a part-time solution for cold winters, stormy days, or injured animals has evolved into the main or only area in which cows spend their adult lives. With this change, farmers, academic researchers, and industry innovators have shaped the farm landscape, literally. Over the last 100 years, changes have been made for productivity, health, milk quality, reproduction, animal well-being, and farm profitability. We review a snapshot of those changes and look ahead to the future of lactating dairy cattle housing. All housing systems are moving toward improved cow comfort. Stalls in tiestall and freestall systems are now designed to accommodate cows based on body size and, in some cases, stage of lactation. Farmers may choose to build a compost bedded or traditional bedded-pack barn to maximize cattle rest or accommodate various breeds or sizes of cows. Looking to the future, external pressure and public perception may push farmers to consider other alternatives to total confinement. Future housing plans may include access to pasture or exercise lots, allowing cows to express their preferences for being outside or inside. Housing that allows natural expression of behavior while maintaining cow cleanliness and health may improve the lives of cows and farmers.

a b s t r a c tThe objective of this study was to describe relationships among compost bedded pack barn (CBP) measurements (moisture, internal temperature, nutrient content, and bedding bacterial counts), ambient weather conditions, and udder health. Data was collected every 2-weeks (n¼ 25 visits) from 8 Kentucky dairy farms with CBP from May 2013 to May 2014. A single observer scored 50 cows per farm for hygiene and collected compost internal temperature, moisture, and compost samples from 9 evenly distributed areas in each barn. Weighted average somatic cell count (SCC), high SCC prevalence (HSP), and reported clinical mastitis incidence (RCMI) were collected from herd records and milking personnel.Compost internal temperature increased with increasing maximum barn temperature (BT). Compost moisture content decreased with increasing BT. Herd hygiene score decreased with increasing BT and increased with increasing compost moisture content. Herd SCC and HSP both increased with increasing BT but were unaffected by compost measurements. As compost internal temperature increased, staphylococci, streptococci, and bacilli species growth in the pack area decreased and coliform species growth increased. Low CBP moisture and high CBP temperature reduced bacteria levels. Cow hygiene and udder health indicators had a stronger relationship with BT than with CBP internal temperature and moisture.

Keywords:Sand bedded freestall barn Compost bedded pack barn Mastitis Lameness a b s t r a c tThe objective of this study was to assess differences between compost bedded pack (CBP) and sand freestall barns (SFB) for mastitis indicators (herd clinical mastitis, SCC, high SCC prevalence (% of herd Z200,000 cells/mL SCC), and BTSCC), and locomotion, hygiene, and hock scores. This study was conducted on commercial Kentucky dairy farms using CBP (n¼ 8) or SFB (n¼7) as the primary lactating cow housing facility from May 2013 to May 2014. To indicate good management practices, eligible herds had to maintain a yearly mean SCC o 300,000 the year before enrollment in the study. Milk samples were collected from quarters that presented clinical signs of mastitis as identified by milking personnel. Each herd was visited biweekly (n¼26 visits) over the study period. Each visit included evaluating 50 cows per herd for hygiene, locomotion, and hock scores. Somatic cell count (SCC) and high SCC prevalence (percentage of animals in each herd with a test day SCC Z 200,000 cells/mL) were collected from Dairy Herd Information Association (DHI, Raleigh, NC). Bulk tank SCC from each pick up was gathered from each dairy's milk purchaser. Bulk tank SCC from each pick up for all Kentucky herds on DHI regardless of SCC or housing type from January 2013-2014 was requested from the Kentucky Milk Quality Safety Branch to determine differences among all bedding types without selecting for herds enrolled in DHI. Overall, no differences between 8 CBP and 7 SFB selected based on SCC existed for herd locomotion, hygiene, or hock health. No differences were observed for the main effects of housing, maximum temperature humidity index, or hygiene score on SCC, high SCC prevalence, clinical mastitis incidence, or bulk tank SCC for 8 CBP and 7 SFB Kentucky herds. Similarly, for Kentucky DHI herds, bulk tank SCC was not different among herds using CBP, freestall barns, and tie-stall barns. Herds using CBP alongside freestall barns had the lowest bulk tank SCC in Kentucky. These results indicate that, when managed properly, CBP can provide a housing environment comparable to SFB. Freestalls, tie-stalls, and compost bedded pack barns for all herds on DHI had similar bulk tank SCC.

1) the cow alert was perceived to be true and the cow was visually checked, (2) the cow alert was perceived to be true, but the cow was not visually checked, and (3) the cow alert behavior change was doubted by the producer and the cow was not visually checked. Further subdivisions were also provided to explain the choice for an overall category. Over the year, 24,012 cow alerts were generated (eating time, n = 9,543; lying time, n = 9,777; activity, n = 1,590; or a combination of behaviors, n = 3,102). Only 8% of the alerts were doubted by the producer. Although 55% of alerts were perceived to be true, producers visually assessed cows based on only 21% of the alerts with a large variation between farms (2 to 45% of the alerts visually assessed). Producers were more likely to completely ignore alerts over time. Producers were more likely to perceive cow alerts to be true and visually check cows when ≤20 alerts occurred per day, cows were fresh or in early lactation, alerts occurred during the work week, or when cow alerts were for eating time, activity, or a combination of multiple behaviors. Behavioral disease alerts must be improved and correspond to an actionable change for producers to use them. Incorporating herd management software, creating and managing alerts by lactation stage, and focusing on behaviors producers already find useful could improve future alert utilization.

The objective of this study was to observe relationships among somatic cell count (SCC) and bacteria counts in milk, on teat ends of lactating cows, and in compost samples from the aerated layer of the compost bedded pack. Twenty-nine lactating cows were used in this study. Clinically mastitis cows were not selected for the trial. The correlation between total bacteria count (TBC) and Streptococcus spp. of teat end and hygiene score was (r = 0.49) and (0.44, P = 0.01), respectively. In addition, there was a positive correlation (0.40, P = 0.03) between TBC on teat ends and somatic cell score. When analysing bacterial populations on teat ends and in milk, there was a positive correlation (0.39, P = 0.03) between Escherichia coli at the teat end and coliform counts in milk and also a positive correlation (0.38, P = 0.04) between coliform counts at the teat end and milk. Furthermore, Streptococcus spp. counts on teat end were positively correlated (0.38, P = 0.04) with TBC in milk. Although correlations were observed between hygiene score and SCC with bacterial population, all correlations were moderate. Therefore, hygiene score was not an efficient tool to estimate bacterial populations on teat end and milk.