April 5, 2016

First step in dairy lameness prevention is assessment: Zinpro

Zinpro Corporation is providing platinum sponsorship for the Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium, to be held on May 20-21 at the Ohio Union in Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, US.

Dr. Dana Tomlinson, a globally-renowned research nutritionist from Zinpro Corporation, will speak on May 20 about the leading risk factors for lameness, individual and herd.

"Lameness is an all-too-common cause for poor cow health and performance on dairy farms all over the world, including Ohio," Tomlinson said. "At Zinpro, we've developed a dairy lameness assessment and prevention programme called First Step® that helps improve animal well-being by decreasing lameness, which in turn improves sustainability and profitability on a dairy."

The First Step programme is especially helpful to dairy managers and those who care for cows to recognise and treat the lesions that most often cause lameness at their earliest stages.

"Through this programme, we've found that a dairy lameness assessment is the first step to taking other, very practical steps to prevent lameness on your farm," Tomlinson added. "These may include changes in hygiene, hoof trimming, housing, flooring, and trace mineral nutrition."

The Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium is being organised by the Dairy Cattle Welfare Council with the goal to bring together dairymen, veterinarians, consultants, universities and industry to develop best recommended practices in dairy cattle welfare, with the focus on animal well-being, management, husbandry, animal-people interaction, health and productivity.