No abstract

Concerns and perceptions about antibiotic residues in milk prompted the dairy industry to develop a voluntary program to support rational antibiotic use on dairy farms. One deficiency of this program is the inability of producers to identify easily the weaknesses in antibiotic management in order to develop control plans. To overcome this deficiency, an educational approach was designed. The program centered on an on-farm risk assessment tool used by the producer and an industry educator to determine the current risk for residue violation. The risk assessment tool was tested by 25 field personnel working with northeastern milk receivers and 250 producers in seven states. The participants in the study identified a lack of adequate treatment records as being the highest risk factor for antibiotic residues, followed by deficiencies in understanding how to use antibiotics and poor relationships between veterinarians and their clients. When field representatives utilized the risk assessment tool, for most producers, risk of antibiotic residue decreased by approximately 19%. In particular, more farms kept written records or more complete records. Finally, producers with reported histories of antibiotic residues were less likely to implement management changes to reduce the risk of antibiotic residue.

The transition period is one of the most challenging times for dairy cattle. Previous research suggests that treatment of postpartum cows with anti-inflammatory drugs may decrease pain and inflammation, enhancing cow welfare and performance during this challenging period. However, these strategies involve numerous time-consuming interventions, which require extra labor and do not fit modern farm logistics. The objective of this experiment was to assess the effects of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) every 24 h for 2 d after calving on (1) daily milk yield, daily milk conductivity, and daily rumination during the first 60 days in milk (DIM), and 305-d mature-equivalent milk, milk fat, and milk protein yields, (2) body condition score, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and haptoglobin, and (3) incidence of clinical diseases during the first 60 DIM. Dairy cows (n = 246) from a dairy farm located in Pennsylvania were enrolled in this experiment. Cows were blocked by parity and assigned randomly to 1 of 2 treatments: (1) ASA (n = 121), in which cows received 2 treatments with ASA (200 mg/kg; 4 boluses), the first within 12 h after parturition and the second 24 h later; or (2) untreated (UNT; n = 125), in which cows remained untreated. Blood samples were collected at 30 ± 6 h, 7 ± 3 d, and 14 ± 3 d after calving to measure BHB and haptoglobin concentrations. Body condition score was assessed at enrollment, 7 ± 3 DIM, 14 ± 3 DIM, and 50 ± 10 DIM. Furthermore, incidences of diseases, daily rumination, daily milk yield, and daily milk conductivity during the first 60 DIM and 305-d matureequivalent milk, milk fat, and milk protein yields were collected from on-farm computer records. The data were analyzed using mixed multiple linear and logis-tic regression models as a randomized complete block design. Multiparous cows treated with ASA produced 1.64 kg/d more milk compared with multiparous cows that remained untreated (ASA = 41.66 ± 0.88 kg/d; UNT = 40.02 ± 0.81 kg/d) during the first 60 DIM. There was no difference in daily milk conductivity and rumination between treatments. Cows treated with ASA had lower concentration of BHB (ASA = 1.16 ± 0.64 mmol/L; UNT = 1.23 ± 0.80 mmol/L) during the first 14 ± 3 DIM and had higher body condition score within the first 50 ± 10 DIM compared with cows that remained UNT. There were no differences in circulating concentrations of haptoglobin between treatments. These results support previous findings showing that the use of anti-inflammatory drugs after calving may increase milk production and affect the metabolic status of dairy cows.

The postpartum period is a challenging time for dairy cows, as they experience physiological challenges, such as systemic and metabolic inflammation, which increase the risk of diseases and poor subsequent production and fertility. The main objective was to assess the effects of oral administration of acetylsalicylic acid after calving on uterine diseases and reproductive performance of postpartum dairy cows. Cows treated with acetylsalicylic acid had lower incidence of clinical metritis and endometritis and improved reproductive performance. Results from this study suggest that a treatment with acetylsalicylic acid after calving may improve health and fertility in dairy cattle. Highlights• Treated cows had lower incidence of uterine diseases • Treated cows tended to have a lower abortion rate at first service • Treated cows that aborted at first service tended to conceive 35 days sooner

The study reported here assessed the farm safety and health training needs of beginning farmers in Pennsylvania to help educators develop training workshops and materials to meet those needs. Results of the online survey indicate that participants highly value farm safety, consider themselves to have mostly minimal to moderate skills relative to the safe operation of farms, and are willing to attend safety training workshops. The results of the study provide direction to Extension educators in designing farm safety and health training for this growing constituent group.