Economic Review of Transition Cow Management John Fetrow VMD, MBA, DSc (hon) Emeritus Professor of Dairy Production Medicine College of Veterinary Medicine University of Minnesota This presentation is copyright 2017 by the author. Do not distribute in any way without permission.
Transition Period Traditionally has been considered to be from three weeks prior to calving to 3 weeks after calving. This is the most critical window of time, but It is becoming apparent that transition actually starts at dry-off and extends at least one month after calving. 90-day period that is critical for success Far-off dry cows and pre-partum heifers, Close-up and Fresh Periods Period of significant stress on all cows Sets the stage for health, future productivity and reproductive performance 90-Day Transition Far Dry Period Close-up Dry Period Calving Fresh/ Early Lactation -60-21 0 30 Slide courtesy of Dr. Mike Overton
Transition period significant hormonal, metabolic, immunologic, and physiologic transitions late pregnancy (fetal growth) parturition initiation of lactation most of the disease events in a cow s life may set the stage for diseases later on infertility, mastitis, lameness much of culling happens in transition period
Dairy Cows Experience Dramatic Metabolic Changes During Transition Key issues: Large increase in glucose demand by the uterus/fetus and then mammary gland Dramatic changes in hormone levels Large changes in feed intake Negative energy balance Negative protein balance Hypocalcemia Immunosuppression Slide courtesy of Dr. Mike Overton
Transition problems do not occur in isolation Dystocia Poor production Pneumonia Retained placenta Poor fertility Ketosis Fatty liver Nutrition Housing Comfort Vaccination Treatment Care Displaced abomasum Metritis Mastitis Lameness Culling
Impact of disease It is tempting to think of a disease as though it were like a traffic accident Everything was fine until the accident and then there are bad consequences: costs, continuing illness, death, disability, etc. Transition cow disease does not work that way Often, there is dysfunction in the cow well before the clinical case is recognized. Often, the causes of the disease are in place well before the actual clinical case is recognized. Management mistakes create the conditions that lead to the disease.
Transition problems Transition problems are part of a complex and interacting system, where many factors affect the risk and severity of disease. It is not useful to think that a particular disease occurs in isolation Preventing disease requires an understanding of the system and interventions that fix the system Good management can reduce the risk and impact of transition cow diseases
Decreasing DMI Around Calving Insufficient Vitamins, Trace Minerals, or Anti- Oxidants High DCAD or Low Mg diets Negative Energy + Protein Balance Increasing NEFA Immune Suppression Hypocalcemia Lost Muscle Tone Lameness Rumen acidosis Ketosis/ Fatty Liver Mastitis Retained Fetal Membranes and Metritis Milk Fever Displaced Abomasum Insufficient Dietary Effective Fiber Slide from Dr. Jesse Goff
Transition cow problems There are many contributing causes of transition cow problems, but many of the causes are mediated by three common pathways 1. Negative energy balance around calving And likely negative protein balance 2. Hypocalcemia Both clinical and more importantly subclinical 3. Immune suppression Partly due to the first two, but also mediated by hormonal changes, stress, management errors, and other nutritional deficiencies (selenium, vitamin E)
1. Negative energy balance Energy is needed for maintenance, fetal growth, lactogenesis and lactation, and immune functions Reduced dry matter intake around calving adds to the problem If physiologic systems that respond to negative energy balance have been down-regulated during the dry period, the cow may not be able to respond to the sudden increased need for energy at parturition and early lactation Result: ketosis, fatty liver, poor production, retained placenta, metritis, mastitis, other infectious diseases, delay in reproductive cycling, and increased risk of culling and death.
2. Hypocalcemia Very common problem in dairy cows at calving Sudden increased demand for calcium with colostrum and milk production Clinical disease may be fatal if not promptly treated Subclinical hypocalcemia may lead to immune suppression, retained placenta, metritis, and poor production and reproduction Associated with improper nutrition in dry cows and early lactation If physiologic systems that respond to negative calcium balance have been down-regulated during the dry period, the cow may not be able to respond to the sudden increased need for calcium at parturition and early lactation
3. Immune suppression Suppressed immunity increases the risk of several peri-partum diseases Less vigorous detachment of the placenta and increased retained placenta Metritis Mastitis Respiratory infections Lower energy intake reduces immune responses to challenges Hypocalcemia and hypomagnesemia impairs immune system function Higher cortisol levels in stressed cows suppresses immune responses
Feed intake for cow with and without metritis Cows that will get metritis are eating less before the diagnosis clinical metritis detected Huzzey, Veira, Weary, von Keyserlingk: Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 90 pp3220-3233; 2007
Feed intake for cow with and without metritis Cows that will get metritis were eating less feed before calving! clinical metritis detected Huzzey, Veira, Weary, von Keyserlingk: Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 90 pp3220-3233; 2007
Effects of Periparturient Diseases on Long Term Reproductive Performance Diseases AOR (95% CI) Yes MIC, d Disease Outcome Pregnant 305 DIM, % AOR (95% CI) No MIC, d Pregnant 305 DIM, % Stillbirth 1.6 (1.4, 1.8) 187.3 ± 5.2 52.3 Referent 152.6 ± 1.0 73.7 Ketosis 1.8 (1.4, 2.4) 191.7 ± 9.7 42.4 Referent 153.5 ± 1.0 73.3 Metritis 1.2 (1.2, 1.3) 168.5 ± 2.7 66.3 Referent 151.8 ± 1.1 73.8 Mastitis 1.3 (1.2, 1.3) 167.7 ± 1.7 68.7 Referent 147.0 ± 1.2 74.9 Slide courtesy of Dr. Ricardo Chebel
Pregnancy loss, % Impact of mastitis on abortion and pregnancy rates 35 No Mastitis Mastitis 30 25 28 to 35 d 30 to 45 d 100 90 80 Effect of mastitis P < 0.001 Median days to conception: 20 15 10 45 to 135 d Proportion nonpregnant, % 70 60 50 40 30 Control = 114 Mastitis = 134 5 20 10 0 Risco et al., 1999 Chebel et al., 2004 Moore et al., 2005 0 0 100 200 300 DIM Slide courtesy of Dr. Ricardo Chebel Santos et al. Anim. Reprod. Sci. (2004)
Effect of lameness early in lactation on reproductive efficiency Lame cows within 30 DIM had prolonged (34 vs. 29 d) anovular period (Garbarion et al., 2006) Lame cows within 70 DIM had longer interval to pregnancy (149 vs. 119 d) (Bicalho et al., 2007) Slide courtesy of Dr. Ricardo Chebel
Decreasing DMI Around Calving Insufficient Vitamins, Trace Minerals, or Anti- Oxidants High DCAD or Low Mg diets Negative Energy + Protein Balance Increasing NEFA Immune Suppression Hypocalcemia Lost Muscle Tone Lameness Rumen acidosis Ketosis/ Fatty Liver Mastitis Retained Fetal Membranes and Metritis Milk Fever Displaced Abomasum Insufficient Dietary Effective Fiber Slide from Dr. Jesse Goff
Three final pathways Negative energy balance (and protein) Hypocalcemia Immune suppression These can each be reduced with good management during the transition period
Economic analysis The purpose of an economic analysis is to inform the decision maker. Decisions are made for many reasons. economics is only one of the reasons For most dairy decisions, the economic analysis need only provide a close estimate of the order of magnitude of the economics. Models are tools; even imperfect models can provide useful information. For many purposes, a rough estimate is good enough for managerial decision making.
Types of economic impact values depend on market and price conditions Clinical disease Cost to find sick cows and treat them Lost milk production Death and culling Poor reproduction Impact of one disease on the development of other diseases Poor milk quality and lost quality payments
25 20 15 10 5 0 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 1 3 Milk production post partum for normal and sick cows 3 5 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 7 5 3 9 5 7 11 7 9 13 9 11 11 15 13 17 13 15 19 17 15 19 17 Healthy (22) Healthy (22) Sick (24) Sick (24) RP/MET (10) RP/MET (10) DA/KET (13) DA/KET (13) 19 days Much of the economic impact may be invisible : Much of the loss comes later with lower production, poor reproduction, and culling. H S R D Research by Dr. Richard Wallace and others, Univ. of Illinois Slide from Dr. Mike Hutjens U of I
Diseases may also reduce revenue by reducing the price / value of milk
Economics and clinical disease for a defined disease, estimates can be made about the cost of a single case treatment costs drugs, labor, milk discard, veterinary services lost milk production increased risk of culling or death impacts on reproductive performance impact on mastitis incidence the total cost for all cases can then be based on the incidence of the disease on the dairy if good records are kept
Cost of a case of metritis
Cost of clinical disease: mastitis: 250
Costs Associated with Metabolic Disorders (Figures include lost milk production, veterinary charges, extra labor in caring for cows, drugs, and discarded milk) Retained Placenta Displaced Abomasum Milk Fever Ketosis Die 1% 2% 8% 1% Culled 18% 10% 12% 5% Milk loss 450 lb 840 lb 1,100 lb 440 lb Milk dumped 300 lb Extra days open 19 d 6 d 5 d Ave $ per case $285 $340 $334 $145 in Euros: 220 260 260 110 Lameness = 300/case ($346), 30% of cows lame in 1 st 30 DIM are culled Guard, Hoard s Dairyman, 1996
Culling Transition problems significantly increase the risk that a cow will be culled. Goal: < 5 % of milking herd should leave the dairy before 60 days in milk. <3% should die before 60 days in milk.
When Cows Leave and Risk of Leaving the Herd MN DHIA data (10/96 10/01) 624,614 Cows Leaving From ~2,800 Herds % Cows Leaving That Left In the Period 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 0.24% 0.20% 0.16% 0.12% 0.08% 0.04% 0.00% Average Risk per D of Leaving In a Period 20 62 104 146 188 230 272 314 356 398 440 21- Day Period Ending Day Percent of Those Leaving Risk of Leaving Source: 2003, Godden, Stewart, Fetrow, et al Proceedings of the 4 State Nutrition Conference
Cost of death and culling
Goals for disease rates Goals should be set in consideration of the conditions on the individual dairy at the simplest level, the goal is better than now For many diseases, epidemiologic studies and looking at high achievement herd results can guide the determination of goals. It is important to have effective disease recording systems Diseases may not be reliably indentified or recorded on many dairies. Economically, improving disease status from bad to OK is more valuable than going from OK to great. work on areas where there are big problems or opportunities
Goals for disease rates
Economics and disease It is not particularly useful to calculate the total cost of disease on a dairy The dairy will not likely achieve no disease, so there will always be costs The more interesting question is: What is the cost of disease above a reasonable and achievable level of disease on this dairy? Avoidable loss Losses at actual levels compared to achievable goal incidence of clinical disease
Calculating the avoidable loss due to clinical disease on a dairy avoidable loss provides an estimate of the benefit of improving management and achieving the dairy s goals. It also provides an upper limit on how much can be spent to achieve the goal. the dairyman will not want to spend the whole potential gained value improved management may not actually achieve the full goal
Calculating the cost of diseases: loss above goals levels of disease This $100 loss to clinical disease above the herd s goal is $100 per cow for every cow in the herd, not $100 per sick cow. It is an important cost of doing business on the dairy.
Calculating the difference between a herd s current disease incidence and a reasonable and achievable goal. Remember: This only estimates the loss to excess disease. It does not include the likely larger impact on production from poor transition in cows that never become clinically sick.
Impact of the transition period For many dairies, improving transition management could significantly improve production, reduce culling and death, and reduce the incidence of disease. There are ways to estimate the economic potential of improvements. Managers must work constantly to find ways to improve the transition period.
Thank you very much!