Dairy farming is a global industry!

Disease and economics of the transition period

John Fetrow VMD, MBA Professor of Dairy Production Medicine

College of Veterinary Medicine University of Minnesota

There are many colleagues who have contributed to this presentation Dr. Mike Overton Dr. Jesse Goff

Dr. Sandra Godden Dr. Ricardo Chebel Dr. Mike Hutjens

Dr. James Drakely This presentation is copyright 2015 by the authors. 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) – production of colostrum – 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 – Potentially large changes in feed intake – Hypocalcemia – Immunosuppression

• Key adaptations: – Peripheral tissues decrease their use of glucose and spare it for use

by the pregnant uterus and mammary gland – Increased gluconeogenesis by the liver – Increased mobilization of body fat and protein

Slide courtesy of Dr. Mike Overton

Incidence of major health problems in US dairy herds from USDA-National Animal Health Monitoring Surveys

% Cattle Affected

Year of Survey 1995 2001 2007

Mastitis 13.4 14.7 16.5

Lameness 10.5 11.6 14.0

Retained Placenta 7.8 7.8 7.8

Milk Fever 5.9 5.2 4.9

Displaced Abomasum 2.8 3.5 3.5

Dairy cows commonly have a lot of problems in the transition period.

Post-calving Disorders in 61 High Producing Holstein Herds

(24,442 lb.)

Jordan et al., JDS, 1993

Slide courtesy of Dr. Sandra Godden

Retained placenta 9.0 % Milk fever 7.2 % Displaced abomasum 3.3 % Down cows 1.1 %

Days in milk at disease event 10,000 cow dairy

Metritis Average DIM: 6 days *for metritis < 21 DIM

Days in milk at disease event 10,000 cow dairy

Displaced Abomasum Average DIM: 17 days *For DA at less than 80 DIM

Days in milk at disease event 10,000 cow dairy

Mastitis Average DIM: 36 days

+/- 31 days *for first case of mastitis at less than 100 DIM

Lame events in a 10,000 cow dairy

Dystocia

Displaced abomasum

Poor production

Culling

Ketosis Fatty liver

Metritis Retained placenta

Mastitis Poor

fertility Lameness

Pneumonia

Transition problems do not occur in isolation

Nutrition Housing Comfort

Vaccination Treatment

Care

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

Mastitis

Retained Fetal Membranes and Metritis

Ketosis/ Fatty Liver

Milk Fever

Displaced Abomasum

Lameness

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

Insufficient Dietary Effective Fiber

Rumen acidosis

Slide from Dr. Jesse Goff

Transition cow problems • There are many contributing causes of transition cow

problems, but most of the problems are caused 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,

colostrum production, 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.

Glucose Demand vs. Supply

Glucose and amino acids are energy source requirements for the fetus. Glucose is required by mammary gland to produce colostrum and milk.

Whole-body glucose demand vs. total splanchnic output in cows fed a high grain diet for ad libitum intake during the dry period.

Overton TR.. 2000. http://vaca.agro.uncor.edu/~pleche/material/Material%20II/A%20archivos%20internet/Alimentacion/transicion.pdf Accessed 1/19/13.

Slide courtesy of Dr. Mike Overton

What is Happening to Feed Intake?

7

9

11

13

15

17

19

21

23

-21 -18 -15 -12 -9 -6 -3 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21

Day relative to calving

DMI (k

g/d)

50

150

250

350

450

550

650

NEFA

, mEq

/L

DMINEFA

Overton TR.. 2000. http://vaca.agro.uncor.edu/~pleche/material/Material%20II/A%20archivos%20internet/Alimentacion/transicion.pdf Accessed 1/19/13.

Slide courtesy of Dr. Mike Overton

0

5

10

15

20

25

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19

Slide from Dr. Mike Hutjens U of I

Healthy (22)Sick (24)

( )

RP/MET (10)DA/KET (13)

Feed intake post partum for normal and sick cows Cows that will be diagnosed as sick later are already eating less feed.

Feed intake for cow with and without metritis Cows that have metritis eat less when they are sick

Huzzey, Veira, Weary, von Keyserlingk: Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 90 pp3220-3233; 2007

clinical metritis detected

Feed intake for cow with and without metritis Cows that will get metritis were eating less feed before calving!

Huzzey, Veira, Weary, von Keyserlingk: Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 90 pp3220-3233; 2007

clinical metritis detected

2. Hypocalcemia • Very common problem in dairy cows at

calving • Associated with improper nutrition in dry

cows and early lactation • Clinical disease may be fatal if not

promptly treated • Subclinical hypocalcemia may lead to

immune suppression, retained placenta, metritis, and poor production and reproduction

Hypocalcemia at calving

• Every cow will have some degree of lower blood calcium at calving.

• Subclinical hypocalcemia or clinical milk fever can result from:

• Low dry matter intakes

• Sluggish calcium regulation and response

• 10 to 50% of cows have low blood calcium (less than 7.5 mg/100 ml) up to 10 days following calving

Slide courtesy of Dr. Sandra Godden

Early-Mid Dry Period

Extracellular Calcium Pool (8-10 g)

Plasma Calcium Pool (2.5-3.0 g)

Calcitonin +

Bone Deposition Diet - Dry: 50 g/d Intestine

Urinary Loss (0.25-1.0 g/d)

Fecal Loss (6-10 g/d)

Fetal Bone (2-10 g/d)

Calcitonin +

Passive Absorption

Slide courtesy of Dr. Sandra Godden

Calcitonin is driving calcium into bones.

Periparturient Period

Extracellular Calcium Pool (8-10 g)

Plasma Calcium Pool (2.5-3.0 g)

PTH ++

Bone Resorption Diet - Dry: 50 g/d - Lactating: >100 g/d

Intestine

1,25-(OH)2 vit. D +

Colostrum/Milk (20-80 g/d)

Urinary Loss (0.25-1.0 g/d)

Fecal Loss (6-10 g/d)

Fetal Bone (2-10 g/d)

PTH -

Slide courtesy of Dr. Sandra Godden

Parathyroid hormone must take calcium from bones.

Cows with hypocalcemia eat less: more negative energy balance

Slide courtesy of Dr. Sandra Godden

Cows with milk fever have higher cortisol levels: stress hormone; immune suppression

Slide courtesy of Dr. Sandra Godden

Factors that influence an animal’s ability to adapt to hypocalcemia:

• Calcium Intake: – Suppressed dry matter intake leads to lower Ca intake.

• Acid-base Status:

– Metabolic alkalosis impairs physiologic activity of parathyroid hormone (PTH) by changing the shape of the PTH receptor in tissues:

• Alters tissue responsiveness to PTH • Impairs 1,25-(OH)2 vitamin D synthesis, bone resorption

– Dry cow diets high in Potassium and Sodium (cations) put cow in relative state of metabolic alkalosis.

Slide courtesy of Dr. Sandra Godden

VCNA-FA July 2000 Goff Page 322

PTH Binding to Tissue Receptors

Poor PTH-receptor binding with metabolic alkalosis. This makes it difficult for the cow to respond to hypocalcemia.

Slide courtesy of Dr. Jesse Goff and Dr. Sandra Godden

A. pH=7.35 Normal Mg

Cyclic AMP

PTH

Receptor

C. pH=7.35 Hypomagnesemia

PTH

Receptor

B. pH=7.45 Normal Mg

Receptor

PTH

Adenyl cyclase complex

Adenyl cyclase complex

Adenyl cyclase complex

Mg++

Cyclic AMP Cyclic AMP

Mg++ ??

Slide courtesy of Dr. Jesse Goff and Dr. Sandra Godden

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

Immune suppression: other factors

• Low selenium levels • Low vitamin E levels • Other stressors: mostly causes of reduced

feed intake – Uncomfortable – Cold or hot – Crowded – Dirty – Competition (cows and heifers) – Lack of water – Limited feed, bunk space – Moldy feeds

Mastitis

Retained Fetal Membranes and Metritis

Ketosis/ Fatty Liver

Milk Fever

Displaced Abomasum

Lameness

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

Insufficient Dietary Effective Fiber

Rumen acidosis

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

Transition and economics

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.

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.

Types of economic impact values depend on market and price conditions

• Clinical disease – Cost to find sick cows and treat them

• Poor milk quality and lost quality payments • Lost milk production • Death and culling • Poor reproduction • Impact of one disease on the development

of other diseases

Some examples

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 if good records are kept

Cost of a case of metritis

Costs Associated with Metabolic Disorders

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

Guard, Hoard’s Dairyman, 1996

(Figures include lost milk production, veterinary charges, extra labor in caring for cows, drugs, and discarded milk)

Lameness = $346/case, 30% of cows lame in 1st 30 DIM are culled

Cost of clinical disease: mastitis

Loss due to mastitis over desired goal

0102030405060708090

100

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19

Milk production post partum for normal and sick cows

Healthy (22)Sick (24)

( )

RP/MET (10)DA/KET (13)

Slide from Dr. Mike Hutjens U of I

Much of the economic impact may be “invisible”: Much of the loss comes later with lower production, poor reproduction, and culling.

Research by Dr. Richard Wallace and others, Univ. of Illinois

days

Profit loss it transition problems reduce milk production across the lactation

Culling

Goal: • < 5 % of milking herd

should leave the dairy before 60 days in milk.

• <3% should die before 60 days in milk.

Transition problems significantly increase the risk that a cow will be culled.

When Cows Leave and Risk of Leaving the Herd MN DHIA data (10/96 – 10/01)

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

20 62 104

146

188

230

272

314

356

398

440

21- Day Period Ending Day

% C

ows

Leav

ing

That

Lef

t In

the

Perio

d

0.00%

0.04%

0.08%

0.12%

0.16%

0.20%

0.24%

Aver

age

Risk

per

D o

f Lea

ving

In a

Pe

riod

Percent of Those Leaving Risk of Leaving

624,614 Cows Leaving From ~2,800 Herds

Source: 2002, S. Stewart, Univ. of Minnesota

Cost of death and culling

Effects of Periparturient Diseases on Long Term Reproductive Performance

Diseases

Disease Outcome Yes No

AOR (95% CI) MIC, d

Pregnant 305 DIM,

%

AOR (95% CI) 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

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

00 100 200 300

Prop

ortio

n no

npre

gnan

t, %

Impact of mastitis on abortion and pregnancy rates

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Risco et al.,1999

Chebel et al.,2004

Moore et al.,2005

Preg

nanc

y loss

, %

No Mastitis Mastitis

28 to 35 d

30 to 45 d

45 to 135 d

DIM

Median days to conception:

Control = 114

Mastitis = 134

Santos et al. Anim. Reprod. Sci. (2004)

Effect of mastitis – P < 0.001

Slide courtesy of Dr. Ricardo Chebel

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

Goals for disease rates • Goals should be set in conversation with the dairyman

– 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 desired levels of

the disease

Calculating the “avoidable loss” due to 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. – usually will not want to spend the whole

potential gained value • you want some profit

– improved management may not actually achieve the full goal

Calculating the cost of diseases: loss above goals levels of disease

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 for your attention.