The Bovine Vet Podcast

7 Reasons Your Deworming Program Isn’t Working

Tue, 12 May 2026 18:09:13 GMT

For many producers, deworming has become a routine part of herd management. Cattle are processed, products are administered and the expectation is that parasite control is handled for another season.

But across the industry, cattle continue to underperform despite regular treatment. In many cases, the issue is not a single product failure, but a combination of resistance pressure, hidden production losses and management habits that gradually reduce the effectiveness of parasite control programs over time.

On the most recent episode of “ The Bovine Vet Podcast ,” Megan Bollin, a technical services veterinarian with Norbrook, and Nancy Jackson, a field veterinarian for the Mississippi Board of Animal Health, outlined several reasons why deworming programs may not be delivering the results producers expect.

1. Subclinical Parasites May Be Hurting Performance Before You Notice

Parasites do not need to cause obvious disease to affect productivity. In many cases, the biggest losses are occurring quietly through reduced digestion, feed efficiency and weight gain.

“Those parasites are going in and doing damage to the lining of the abomasum, and so what normally should be a lower pH is actually becoming more neutral. That impacts protein digestion, nutrient absorption and even appetite. It reduces voluntary feed intake, and then that cascades into average daily gain, feed efficiency, milk production and reproductive performance,” Bollin explains.

Because those effects develop gradually, they are often difficult to recognize without measurement.

“They’re those silent robbers that are there. We can’t really see them, and that’s why it’s called a subclinical impact, but they’re doing major damage,” Bollin says.

Jackson notes some calves may visibly underperform, but many losses remain subtle enough that producers underestimate the impact.

“You can see it in some cases, calves just standing there, not grazing, not performing, but a lot of times producers don’t realize what they’ve lost because they’re not measuring it,” Jackson says.

2. Resistance Is Already Present on Many Operations

Reduced dewormer efficacy is no longer considered a future concern. Parasite susceptibility can now vary significantly between farms, even within the same geographic region.

“Even from one side of the county to the other, recommendations might be very different depending on pasture type, parasite exposure and treatment history,” Bollin says.

That variability makes it increasingly difficult to assume a protocol that works well on one operation will perform the same way elsewhere.

At the same time, few replacement products are expected in the near future.

“We’ve routinely given the same things over and over, and we don’t have any new molecules on the horizon,” Bollin explains.

As resistance pressure increases, reduced efficacy in existing products can have growing consequences for cattle performance and long-term parasite control.

3. You May Be Underdosing More Often Than You Think

One of the most common management issues contributing to reduced efficacy is underdosing. As cattle size has increased over time, dose estimates have not always kept pace.

“Our producers still think they have a 1,000-lb. cow, but cows have been getting bigger for years. So, we’ve probably been underdosing cattle, especially those larger animals and bulls.” Jackson warns.

Underdosing exposes parasites to a drug without fully eliminating them, increasing the likelihood that surviving worms contributes to future resistance problems.

4. Some Dewormers Are Being Used Like Fly Control Products

Convenience can also create problems when products are used outside their intended purpose.

According to Jackson, some producers are administering pour-on dewormers at partial doses primarily for fly control rather than at labeled doses intended to control internal parasites. Repeated exposure to subtherapeutic drug levels creates ideal conditions for resistant parasites to survive and spread.

5. Poor Record-Keeping Makes Resistance Harder to Detect

Inconsistent product tracking can make parasite control decisions much more difficult over time. Without knowing which active ingredients or drug classes have been used previously, producers may unknowingly rely on the same class repeatedly or struggle to evaluate whether a protocol is still effective.

“I’ll ask what they used, and they’ll say, ‘It was the blue one’ or ‘I got it off the shelf at the co-op.’ But we need to know the active ingredient to make good decisions,” Jackson says.

That lack of detail can make it harder to identify emerging resistance patterns before they become more significant problems.

6. Application Problems Can Look Like Resistance

Not every apparent treatment failure is true resistance. In some cases, the problem lies in how the product was administered.

“There are a lot of things that have to go right with a pour-on for it to work. If the animal is dirty, that product isn’t going to get absorbed. If it rains, it can dilute it. Oral products can be spit out. There are a lot of factors that can look like resistance but aren’t,” Bollin explains.

Without recognizing those factors, producers may incorrectly conclude that resistance is solely to blame.

7. Parasite Problems Don’t Stay on One Farm

The effects of ineffective parasite control can extend well beyond a single operation. As calves move through the production chain, resistant parasite populations can move with them, affecting downstream performance and management decisions.

“When those calves leave your place, you’re passing that parasite load on to someone else. If it’s resistant, it affects the feedlot and performance down the line,” Jackson warns.

That interconnectedness means small failures repeated across multiple operations can gradually reshape parasite pressure across the industry.

Why Parasite Problems Keep Building

Many deworming programs do not fail because of one dramatic mistake. Instead, they lose effectiveness gradually through repeated small issues: underdosing, inconsistent application, misuse of products and resistance pressure that goes unnoticed until performance has already been affected.

Routine treatment schedules alone are no longer guaranteeing consistent outcomes, particularly when the surrounding management practices remain inconsistent. This means parasite control is becoming less about whether cattle are treated and more about how those treatments are being used and how the results are being monitored over time.

To hear more from Bollin and Jackson on how deworming strategies may be falling short, and how strategies are evolving, listen to the full conversation on the latest episode of “The Bovine Vet Podcast.”

The New Rules of Parasite Control

Thu, 07 May 2026 19:35:27 GMT

For decades, parasite control in cattle has followed a familiar script: Treat the whole herd in the spring, treat again in the fall and trust that the job is done. It’s simple, efficient and deeply ingrained in how many operations function.

But that approach is starting to shift.

On the most recent episode of “ The Bovine Vet Podcast ,” Megan Bollin, a technical services veterinarian with Norbrook, and Nancy Jackson, a field veterinarian for the Mississippi Board of Animal Health, describe an industry moving away from routine, whole-herd deworming and toward a more strategic, data-driven approach.

At the center of that shift is a fundamental change in thinking. As Bollin explains, the goal is no longer the complete elimination of parasites but rather smarter management of them.

“Historically, we’ve had the mindset of just getting rid of all the parasites, right? One-hundred percent — we want them all gone. But we’ve got to consider that 90% of the life cycle is in the pasture. So we’ve got to learn to live with these parasites,” Bollin says.

Why Routine Deworming Falls Short

Routine deworming became standard for a reason. It aligned with when cattle were already being handled, minimized labor and offered a straightforward protocol producers could repeat year after year. The problem is that convenience doesn’t always align with biology. Treating cattle when they are easiest to handle may not coincide with the most effective point in the parasite life cycle, which ultimately limits the return on treatment.

“It may be a convenient time when we have them caught, and I know it takes a lot of labor and planning and resources to get those animals through the chute and treat them, but it may not be the most economically beneficial time to treat them if we’re not applying that product at the correct time in the life cycle,” Bollin says.

Because most of the parasite life cycle occurs on pasture rather than in the animal, poorly timed treatments can miss the window where they would have the greatest impact. The result is a system that feels consistent but may not be working as efficiently as intended.

Replacing Guesswork With Diagnostics

As parasite control becomes more strategic, diagnostics are moving from optional to essential. Instead of relying on assumptions or visible signs, producers are increasingly being encouraged to measure parasite burden directly.

Fecal egg count testing provides a snapshot of parasite burden by quantifying the number of parasite eggs present in a manure sample, giving a measurable baseline rather than relying on assumption. Building on that, the fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) evaluates how well a dewormer is working by comparing egg counts before and after treatment — typically 10 to 14 days later — to determine the percentage reduction. A reduction of around 95% is generally considered indicative of effective treatment, while lower reductions may signal reduced efficacy or emerging resistance.

Together, these tools allow parasite control decisions to be based on data, helping tailor treatment strategies to the specific conditions of each herd rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.

“If you’re doing just a straight fecal egg count, it needs to be quantitative. A qualitative test — just saying whether parasites are there or not — is not helpful, because you’re always going to have parasites,” Bollin advises.

Those baseline measurements allow for informed decisions about whether treatment is needed and how well products are performing. Follow-up testing is just as important, helping confirm whether a dewormer is still effective.

Rather than relying on routine schedules, this approach acknowledges that treatment decisions vary from one operation to the next.

“There’s no magic number that says you need to treat at this high of an egg count,” Bollin says. “It’s going to depend on your geography, your herd and your operation.”

That variability is something producers already manage in other aspects of their operation. As Jackson notes, parasite control should be approached with the same level of flexibility.

“Every farm is unique — when they calve, when they wean — so it’s hard to make a cookie-cutter template,” Jackson says.

In many cases, the need for measurement comes down to what isn’t immediately visible. Subclinical parasite burdens can quietly reduce performance without obvious warning signs, making data even more valuable.

Refugia: A Counterintuitive but Critical Strategy

Rather than treating every animal, every time, the concept of refugia encourages leaving a portion of the parasite population unexposed to dewormers. Bollin explains that this approach helps preserve drug effectiveness by maintaining a population of parasites that remain susceptible, rather than selecting only for those that survive treatment.

“Refugia is leaving a percentage of the parasites unexposed to a dewormer. The idea is that resistance is a heritable trait, so we’re trying to dilute those resistance genes and maintain a population of parasites that are still susceptible to the products we have available,” Bollin says.

While it may seem counterintuitive, this strategy reflects a broader shift away from trying to eliminate parasites entirely and toward managing them in a way that sustains long-term control.

Implementing refugia doesn’t mean abandoning treatment. Instead, it means focusing on the animals that benefit most.

“We know that calves are going to be more susceptible, so ideally we want to treat those animals. But those mature cows — if they’re in good condition and have good nutrition — their immune system should be able to suppress those parasites,” Bollin says.

This kind of targeted approach allows producers to use dewormers more effectively while also supporting broader parasite management goals.

Combining Classes to Improve Efficacy

While refugia focuses on preserving a population of susceptible parasites, another strategy aims to improve how effectively treated parasites are eliminated. Combination deworming, or the concurrent administration of anthelmintics from different drug classes, is increasingly being used to improve efficacy in the face of variable parasite susceptibility.

Because these classes act through distinct mechanisms — such as macrocyclic lactones targeting parasite neuromuscular function and benzimidazoles disrupting microtubule formation — using them together can increase overall parasite kill and reduce the proportion of resistant survivors. The benefit becomes clear when considering how efficacy compounds across treatments.

“If you have 100 worms and you go in with a product that has 80% efficacy, you’re left with 20. Then you come in with a second dewormer, also at 80% efficacy, and it kills 80% of those 20. So you go from 80% efficacy up to 96% by using two products with different mechanisms of action,” Bollin explains.

This additive effect can help achieve the reduction typically associated with effective control, particularly on operations where single products no longer meet that threshold. Used alongside approaches like refugia and diagnostic-guided treatment, combination therapy becomes part of a broader strategy aimed at maintaining both short-term efficacy and long-term sustainability.

A More Strategic Future

Taken together, these changes represent a shift away from routine and toward precision parasite management. Instead of relying on fixed schedules, producers are being encouraged to align treatments with parasite biology, use diagnostics to guide decisions and adjust protocols over time.

That shift requires a willingness to rethink long-standing habits. As Jackson points out, progress often starts with being open to change: “We’ve always done it a certain way, but there’s always room to learn and adjust how we’re managing these parasites.”

It also depends on continued collaboration and learning across the industry. Parasite control is not a one-time decision but rather an ongoing process that evolves with new information.

“It’s continual education for both the producer and the veterinarian to understand the life cycle and apply that information to the herd,” Jackson says.

Ultimately, the goal is to move beyond routine and toward more intentional decision-making.

“I think very simply, it’s about not doing it on guesswork like we have been for decades; it’s about using the science and the tools that we have available and being more strategic about how and when we treat,” Bollin says.

Parasites are not going away, but the way they are managed is evolving. Producers who adapt to these new rules will be better positioned to protect both animal performance and the tools they rely on to sustain it.

To hear more from Bollin and Jackson on how deworming strategies are evolving, including where current protocols are falling short, listen to the full conversation on the latest episode of “The Bovine Vet Podcast.”

10 Practical Tips for Milk Fever Prevention and Treatment

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:55:18 GMT

Milk fever is still one of the most costly transition cow problems. While down cows get the attention, it’s often the subclinical cases quietly eroding performance that matter most.

To help producers navigate these challenges, we’ve gathered insights from a panel of experts featured on “ The Bovine Vet Podcast ”:

Heather Chandler, a practicing field veterinarian.
Burim Ametaj, an immunometabolism researcher at the University of Alberta.
Megan Connelly, a transition cow specialist with Protekta.

Identify the Invisible

1. Monitor the herd, not just the emergencies

Subclinical hypocalcemia is often invisible, yet it drives secondary diseases and lost milk.

“Blood calcium is an easy thing to look at if we want to be proactive,” Connelly says.

The Action: Pull blood samples from 10 to 12 fresh cows (0-72 hours post-calving) and track the percentage of the group falling below normal calcium thresholds.

2. Watch the cow, not just the spreadsheet

Data is vital, but the eye of a trained herdsman is irreplaceable. Connelly notes many subclinical cases simply show up as cows that “don’t come in and thrive.”

The Action: Train your team to flag cows with reduced intake, lower rumination or generally “off” behavior. Performance dips often precede clinical disease.

Choose and Lock in a Strategy

3. Pick one strategy and execute it flawlessly

Consistency beats complexity every time. Whether you choose a negative DCAD diet or a Zeolite program, the success of the program depends on execution rather than the choice itself.

The Action: If using DCAD, monitor urine pH religiously. If using Zeolite, focus on the feeding rate and dietary phosphorus levels.

4. Respect the 21-day close-up window

A transition diet only works if the cow actually eats it for the required duration. Chandler emphasizes both DCAD and Zeolite programs need to be fed 20 to 25 days before calving.

The Action: Separate close-up cows into their own group 21 days before their due date and ensure they have daily access to the specific transition ration.

Immediate Calving Intervention

5. Time your calcium boluses for maximum impact

Calcium demand spikes the moment the calf hits the ground. Timing is everything.

“You can even give boluses before she calves,” Chandler suggests.

The Action: For high-risk cows, provide one bolus at the onset of labor (or immediately at calving) and a second bolus 12 to 24 hours later.

6. Treat down cows as true emergencies

A cow that cannot stand is a race against time.

“The pure weight of a down cow leads to muscle necrosis quickly,” Chandler warns.

The Action: Respond immediately. While waiting for the vet, roll the cow side-to-side to maintain circulation and ensure she is on deep, supportive bedding. When administering IV calcium, do it slowly and monitor the heart rate.

7. Address the full mineral picture

If a cow isn’t responding to calcium, it may not be a simple case of milk fever. Chandler notes low phosphorus or magnesium are often at play.

The Action: If a cow’s response to treatment is poor, work with your vet to supplement phosphorus or magnesium and review your overall mineral protocols.

Long-Term Stability

8. Prioritize rumen health to support calcium

Rumen stress and inflammation can directly disrupt a cow’s ability to regulate calcium. Ametaj points out many transition cows exist in a chronic inflammatory state.

The Action: Protect the rumen by avoiding sudden starch increases. Push up feed frequently to prevent sorting and ensure the ration contains adequate effective fiber.

9. Avoid over-acidification

While DCAD is effective, more is not always better. Over-acidifying the diet can lead to a drop in dry matter intake, creating a new set of problems.

The Action: Regularly check urine pH. For Holsteins, aim for a target of 5.5 to 6.5. If you see intake drop, reassess the diet immediately.

10. Commit to a monthly program review

“Collaboration is the key to success,” Connelly says. A program that worked six months ago may need a tune-up today.

The Action: Meet monthly with your veterinarian and nutritionist to review fresh cow disease data, milk fever cases and blood calcium trends. Small, data-driven adjustments prevent major wrecks.

Watch the latest episode of The Bovine Vet Podcast focusing on milk fever here:

Zeolite Strategies Reshape Milk Fever Management on Dairy Farms

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:13:40 GMT

Milk fever remains one of the most well-known metabolic diseases in dairy cattle, yet it is far from solved. While clinical cases still occur on most farms, the larger — and often more costly — challenge lies beneath the surface: subclinical hypocalcemia.

That’s why transition cow management continues to be a critical focus for veterinarians and producers alike.

“If you have transition cow issues, you’re going to have metabolic issues. Cows aren’t going to come in and perform the way you think they should. You’re going to have repro issues. You’re going to see a whole host of effects,” Meghan Connelly says, research and technical director at Protekta and guest on the most recent episode of “The Bovine Vet Podcast” .

Against that backdrop, a growing number of nutritionists and veterinarians are turning to zeolite-based pre-fresh diets, a relatively new approach that is reshaping how the industry manages calcium metabolism during the transition period.

The Hidden Burden of Hypocalcemia in Dairy Cows

On most dairies, clinical milk fever rates fall between 1% and 5%, depending on herd management and nutrition strategies. Subclinical hypocalcemia, however, is far more prevalent, affecting an estimated 25% to 45% of cows in many herds.

Unlike clinical cases, subclinical hypocalcemia is difficult to detect — but no less important.

“Subclinical is where we can’t see it, but it’s happening. The cow has low blood calcium, but we can’t tell that she’s low. But that still has consequences for the cow. There’s all these different systems and calcium is such a critical mineral for all those systems. So many different diseases that are influenced by calcium status,” Connelly says.

Instead of obvious signs, these cows often present as subtle inefficiencies that compound over time. Reduced rumination, lower feed intake and increased rates of retained placenta, metritis and mastitis are all commonly linked to inadequate calcium status. These hidden cases can quietly erode both performance and profitability.

DCAD Diets: The Traditional Approach to Milk Fever Prevention

For decades, the primary strategy for preventing milk fever has been the negative DCAD (dietary cation-anion difference) diet, which works by inducing a mild metabolic acidosis that improves the cow’s responsiveness to parathyroid hormone (PTH).

“We feed different feed supplements that contain anions in order to drop urine pH. When urine pH drops, the system is primed for PTH to work and mobilize bone and help support calcium homeostasis when the cow calves,” Connelly says.

This approach is well validated and remains a cornerstone of transition cow nutrition. However, it comes with practical constraints that can limit its use, particularly in larger or more complex feeding systems.

Where DCAD can create friction:

Requires consistent access to low-potassium forages
Can reduce dry matter intake due to metabolic acidification
Depends on monitoring tools such as urine pH
Often still requires post-calving calcium supplementation

As operations scale and feed variability increases, these limitations have driven interest in alternative strategies that can deliver similar or improved outcomes with fewer constraints.

(Meghan Connelly)

How Zeolite Works: A New Strategy for Hypocalcemia Management

Zeolite offers a fundamentally different approach to milk fever prevention, one that targets phosphorus rather than acid-base balance.

“When we feed a zeolite diet pre-fresh, we bind dietary phosphorus. The cow goes, ‘Oh, I better go get more phosphorus.’ The main storage for phosphorus is in the bone. When she mobilizes bone, she brings double the amount of calcium with it,” Connelly says, referencing the P:Ca ratio in bone.

By binding dietary phosphorus in the gastrointestinal tract, zeolite creates a mild, controlled drop in blood phosphorus. The cow responds by mobilizing bone reserves to restore balance. Because bone contains both phosphorus and calcium in a fixed ratio, this process results in a simultaneous release of calcium into circulation.

Unlike DCAD diets, which rely on parathyroid hormone sensitivity, zeolite operates through a separate pathway involving fibroblast growth factor-23, a hormone produced in bone cells that acts on the kidneys to regulate phosphate levels, and vitamin D metabolism. The outcome — improved calcium availability at calving — is similar, but the biological mechanism is distinct.

Why Zeolite Adoption Is Increasing on Dairy Farms

Although zeolite has only been available in the U.S. since 2017, adoption has accelerated rapidly, according to Connelly. Much of that momentum is driven by a combination of visible on-farm results and meaningful management advantages.

Producers implementing zeolite programs often report improved calcium status through the first 48 to 72 hours after calving, along with fewer clinical milk fever cases.

“If you go from having 30 down cows a month to four, that’s a pretty big change,” Connelly says, referencing the improvement she has seen on farms changing to zeolite.

Beyond clinical outcomes, zeolite introduces greater flexibility into ration formulation. Because it does not depend on lowering dietary potassium, producers can incorporate a wider range of forages — including haylage, rye and sorghum — that would typically be restricted in DCAD programs. This allows better use of homegrown feeds and can reduce reliance on purchased inputs.

Zeolite programs are also associated with reduced dependence on calcium supplementation after calving. With cows already mobilizing calcium effectively, the need for boluses and intravenous treatments often declines, lowering both labor and treatment costs.

Management simplicity is another advantage. Zeolite eliminates the need for urine pH monitoring and reduces the number of adjustments required in close-up groups. In addition, because it does not induce metabolic acidosis, it avoids the intake suppression sometimes observed with DCAD diets, helping support dry matter intake during a critical window.

Where Zeolite May Not Be the Best Fit

Despite its advantages, zeolite is not universally applicable. Its effectiveness depends heavily on overall diet composition, particularly phosphorus levels.

Situations where DCAD may still be the better fit:

Diets high in phosphorus (e.g., distillers grains, canola meal)
Operations with well-optimized DCAD programs already in place
Systems where tight ration control supports consistent acidification

In high-phosphorus diets, zeolite may become saturated, allowing the absorption of the remaining free phosphorus, reducing its effectiveness and making DCAD the more reliable strategy.

A Technology Still Evolving and the Veterinarian’s Role

Compared to DCAD, which has decades of supporting research, zeolite remains a relatively new tool. Since its introduction in 2017, both research and field experience have rapidly expanded understanding of how best to implement it.

“We didn’t necessarily know everything about it when it came out. I like to say that we continue to learn in real time with this strategy,” Connelly says.

Advances in feeding guidelines, monitoring approaches and troubleshooting frameworks have already improved consistency across farms, and further refinement is expected as adoption continues.

As that evolution continues, veterinarians are playing an increasingly central role. Transition cow programs are becoming more nuanced, and selecting the right strategy requires more than simply choosing between DCAD and zeolite. It involves identifying herd-level challenges, interpreting blood calcium data and aligning protocols with nutrition and management realities on each operation.

Close collaboration between veterinarians, nutritionists and producers remains essential. No single approach fits every farm, and the most successful programs are those tailored to available feed resources, labor capacity and herd goals.

Zeolite is not a replacement for DCAD, it is an expansion of the milk fever management toolbox.

It represents a shift from priming calcium regulation through acidification to directly driving mineral mobilization through phosphorus control. For many dairies, that shift is delivering higher blood calcium, fewer clinical cases and simpler management during one of the most critical periods in the production cycle.

As the industry continues to refine its use, zeolite is quickly moving from a novel concept to a practical, field-proven strategy in transition cow nutrition.

To hear more from Connelly on using zeolite for the management of transition cows to avoid hypocalcemia, listen to the full conversation on the latest episode of “The Bovine Vet Podcast.”

Rethinking Milk Fever in Dairy Cows: How the Immune System Impacts Calcium Levels

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:50:26 GMT

Milk fever has long been framed as a calcium problem. But what if that framing is too narrow and part of the reason prevention strategies don’t always deliver consistent results?

Work from Burim Ametaj , Professor at the University of Alberta and recent guest on “The Bovine Vet Podcast” , is helping reframe hypocalcemia through what he terms the calci-inflammatory network — a model that links calcium dynamics directly to immune function during the transition period.

A Common Problem, Often Hidden

Milk fever remains one of the most widespread metabolic disorders in dairy cattle, but much of its impact is hidden in subclinical cases.

“Milk fever is widespread, but now we have this subclinical part of milk fever that is not visible. You need to get a blood sample to measure calcium to determine, based on the concentration of calcium in blood, whether the cow is going through subclinical milk fever or clinical milk fever,” Ametaj says.

These subclinical cases lack obvious signs, yet they are consistently linked to reduced intake, impaired immune function and increased risk of diseases such as mastitis , metritis and ketosis.

Despite decades of focus on calcium supplementation and DCAD strategies, hypocalcemia remains prevalent. This has prompted a closer look at the underlying biology.

(Farm Journal)

Total Versus Ionized Calcium: A Critical Distinction

A key refinement in this emerging framework is the distinction between total calcium and ionized calcium. While total calcium is commonly measured, much of it is bound to proteins like albumin or other molecules. Only a fraction exists as ionized calcium — the biologically active form required for muscle contraction, nerve signaling and immune cell function.

This distinction has important implications for treatment. While calcium borogluconate is a known treatment for hypocalcemia in cattle, Ametaj suggests it may not be ideal for ionized calcium availability.

“What happens?” asks Ametaj about blood ionized calcium levels when an animal receives calcium borogluconate. “It is decreased, in fact. In 1985 , there was a scientist who injected sheep with calcium borogluconate. He reported that ionized calcium decreased.”

Calcium therapy can improve clinical signs, particularly in recumbent cows, but it may not consistently restore the functional calcium pool. This helps explain why some cows respond only temporarily or relapse after treatment.

A Shift in Thinking: Hypocalcemia as Part of Immunity

Ametaj’s work proposes a fundamental shift in how hypocalcemia is interpreted — not simply as a failure of calcium supply, but as part of a broader physiological response.

“Hypocalcemia is important, because it’s not a deficiency, but part of immunity,” Ametaj says. “That’s where the entire new concept starts.”

In this model, calcium dynamics are closely tied to immune activity, particularly during the stress of calving and early lactation.

This model builds on another important shift: transition cows are not immunosuppressed, but are actively responding to inflammatory signals.

“Usually, the dogma is that the cows around calving are immunosuppressed, but in fact, they are mounting an immune response, especially the innate immunity is very active and acute phase response,” Ametaj explains.

Inflammatory markers begin to rise weeks before calving and peak around parturition. Cytokines such as TNF-alpha, interleukin-1 and interleukin-6, along with acute phase proteins, are consistently elevated during this period. Rather than a failure of immunity, this suggests the cow is managing a significant inflammatory load at the same time she is adapting metabolically to lactation.

In the framework of the calci-inflammatory network, bacterial endotoxins from conditions like mastitis or acidosis trigger an inflammatory response that suppresses parathyroid hormone secretion. This cascade ultimately inhibits calcium absorption and bone resorption, leading to hypocalcemia, commonly known as milk fever in cattle.

(Farm Journal)

Endotoxin: A Likely Trigger

One of the proposed drivers of this inflammation is endotoxin, or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), originating from the gastrointestinal tract.

Transition diets high in fermentable carbohydrates can lower rumen pH, disrupt epithelial integrity and increase endotoxin release and absorption. As rumen conditions become more acidic, Gram-negative bacteria break down and release LPS into the rumen environment.

“When you feed different amounts of grain, you increase the amount of endotoxin in the rumen fluid by 18- to 20-fold,” Ametaj says, noting these shifts were also seen in the blood along with changes in cytokines and acute phase proteins.

Once endotoxin enters circulation, it contributes to systemic inflammation, linking nutritional management directly to immune activation. The immune system responds rapidly to endotoxin exposure by activating macrophages and triggering signaling pathways designed to neutralize and remove the threat.

“If macrophages are activated, they release pro-inflammatory cytokines: tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1, interleukin-6. Why do they do that? Because they invite more cells, immune cells, to come there to remove endotoxin,” Ametaj explains.

This response is essential, but also metabolically demanding. Nutrients and minerals are redirected to support immune function, and physiology shifts to prioritize survival over production.

Calcium as an Active Player in Immunity

Within this framework, calcium is not simply a nutrient to maintain but an active participant in immune function.

One key role is in endotoxin handling. Lipopolysaccharide carries a strong negative charge, allowing calcium to bind and promote aggregation. This clustering makes endotoxin easier for immune cells to recognize and remove.

“Endotoxin is very negatively charged. And calcium binds to molecules of endotoxin and brings them together and creates aggregates,” Ametaj explains.

Endotoxin can also bind to lipoproteins in circulation and be transported to the liver, where it is neutralized and excreted in bile. This process is rapid and tightly regulated, linking inflammatory load to liver function and lipid metabolism.

Together, these pathways suggest calcium is being actively used and redistributed during immune responses, not simply depleted.

Current Strategies

Current approaches to milk fever focus on increasing calcium availability, either through supplementation or dietary strategies, such as DCAD. These tools remain valuable, but they operate within a more complex biological system than previously appreciated.

“By triggering metabolic acidosis, you also trigger elimination of calcium from the blood through urine outside. Why? Because calcium and other cationic ions bind these acids, and they are eliminated,” Ametaj says.

DCAD programs improve calcium mobilization, but they also shift systemic mineral balance. Similarly, calcium therapy can resolve clinical signs without addressing the underlying drivers of inflammation. This may help explain why these strategies work well in some situations but inconsistently in others.

What This Means for Veterinarians and Producers

This evolving perspective does not replace current practices, but it does broaden the approach to prevention.

In addition to managing calcium, attention may need to shift toward upstream factors that influence both inflammation and mineral balance, including:

Maintaining rumen stability and avoiding sharp drops in pH
Managing starch levels and fermentation rates
Supporting gut barrier integrity
Reducing systemic inflammatory load

These areas may offer opportunities to improve consistency in transition cow outcomes.

The immune–calcium network offers a more integrated way to understand milk fever — one that connects metabolism, inflammation and mineral dynamics.

Rather than asking only how to raise calcium status, a more useful question may be: Why is calcium low in the first place?

Answering that question may be key to improving transition cow health and to making existing prevention strategies work more consistently.

To hear more from Ametaj on the immune-calcium network and the management of transition cows to avoid hypocalcemia, listen to the full conversation on the latest episode of “The Bovine Vet Podcast.”

Precision Genomics: The Veterinarian’s Role in Commercial Herd Rebuilding

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 18:38:02 GMT

With the U.S. beef herd at historic lows , rebuilding is no longer just about numbers. It is about keeping the right females. Today, every retained replacement heifer represents years of genetic influence, input costs and production risk. For the bovine practitioner, this is an opportunity to move beyond traditional “chute-side technician” roles and become a strategic data consultant. Selection is no longer just about phenotype; it is about mitigating biological and economic risks.

The following strategies for precision genomics are pulled from a deep-dive discussion with Dr. Kent Andersen and Dr. Tom Short on The Bovine Vet Podcast . By pairing clinical experience with genomic tools, practitioners can better navigate the current rebuilding phase.

Moving Beyond Visual Appraisal

Visual selection remains a cornerstone of cattle management. Structural soundness, disposition and obvious developmental concerns cannot be ignored. However, phenotype alone does not tell the whole story of an animal’s future productivity.

The Trap of Size: Selecting the largest heifers often inadvertently selects for higher maintenance requirements and increased feed intake.

“Traditionally, commercial cow-calf producers have selected their replacement heifers based on visual appraisal — and perhaps, the ones that are born earliest and just have the look of making a good cow,” says Andersen, director of global beef genetic technical services for Zoetis Animal Health. “Unfortunately, when you select based on looks and size, sometimes you’re picking the biggest ones. So, you’re picking the heifers that may turn out to be the bigger cows that have higher maintenance requirements.”

The Genomic Advantage: Genetic predictions provide insight into metabolic efficiency, fertility, and longevity before a single dollar is spent on development.

“There’s a lot of traits in the unseen world, such as cow fertility, intake, feed conversion, bovine respiratory disease health, that you really can’t gauge by just looking at them,” Andersen says. “The new tools allow the producer to pick heifers that are less risky of dropping out early and maybe not being very profitable.”

Clinical Genomics: Disease Risk and Wellness

One of the more significant recent advancements is the ability to generate genomic predictions related to disease risk, particularly bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Developing those metrics required assembling large populations of cattle with detailed health records and corresponding genotypes. Understanding the value of those predictions requires a clear understanding of heritability.

Heritability vs. Management: Genetics do not replace vaccinations, but they lower the baseline risk. Selecting for higher “Wellness” scores builds a more resilient herd that responds better to clinical protocols.

“Heritability is kind of a term a lot of people don’t understand in a way, but it’s basically just the amount of variation in a trait that we see that’s due to additive genetics, meaning that we can measure it, select for it and improve it,” says Short, associate director in outcomes research with Zoetis Animal Health.

The Data Gap: Historically, commercial heifers lacked the Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) available to seedstock. Genomic testing (e.g., Inherit Select) bridges this gap, providing EPD-level accuracy on unproven females.

“With this technology, we’re getting genetic predictions in commercial cattle that, if you think about it historically, have had very little, if any, information recorded on them,” Short says. “All the data recording and genetic selection and prediction and everything has really occurred at the seedstock level.”

By combining DNA information with national cattle evaluation systems, commercial heifers can now receive EPDs across a range of economically important traits, from fertility and growth to structural and health-related measures.

Managing Genetic Antagonisms

Selecting for a single trait, such as extreme growth, often comes at a cost to others, such as calving ease or fertility.

“Selecting to increase one trait may actually decrease another, but in an undesirable direction,” Short explains. “That’s where you have to weigh the two traits in an index appropriately, knowing that there’s antagonisms there.”

Economic Indices: Use weighted indices to manage these trade-offs. These tools balance production and maternal performance to ensure overall operation profitability rather than chasing outlier data points.

Precision Culling: Identifying “bottom-tier” genetics early allows producers to divert resources toward high-potential females, optimizing the client’s input costs and long-term sustainability.

The DVM as the “Trusted Adviser”

The veterinarian is often the most influential voice in a producer’s decision-making process, making them the ideal conduit for genomic integration.

“In our interactions with commercial cow-calf producers, it’s almost always the veterinarian that is the most trusted adviser,” Andersen says. “The veterinarian is helping them with their herd health program, so we think it’s a natural fit for the bovine practitioner to also assist with getting DNA collected and using the results.”

Short echoes that sentiment. “Most cow-calf herds that have a valid client-patient relationship with their veterinarian trust them as a resource, and especially when it comes to things like health and genetics, which are more technical aspects of what they have to do in their everyday jobs,” he says.

Workflow Integration: DNA collection via ear punch is easily integrated into routine pregnancy diagnosis, vaccination, or breeding soundness exams.

Consultative Value: By interpreting genomic results, veterinarians can guide mating strategies and marketing decisions—such as selling “value-added” replacements—strengthening the Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR).

The Economic Reality of Genomic Testing

Early adopters in the commercial space are capturing disproportionate value in a tight market.

“Early adopters are the ones that get the biggest reward,“ Short says. “Not only am I going to select the very best heifers I test for my own replacements, I’ve got a next group here that are pretty good. I’m going to sell them as value-added replacements to my neighbors.”

Genomic testing, often costing between $15 and $40 per head, can lead to significantly higher lifetime returns by ensuring only the most efficient, fertile, and healthy females enter the breeding herd. While visual appraisal and experience are still important, pairing intuition with genomic insight defines the next generation of decision-making.

Summary for the Practitioner

“I think the sail has been set to evolve from real group herd-based to more individual animal-based in our selections, in our matings, in our management protocols, in our days on feed and harvest time protocols,” Andersen concludes. “The individual animal information, I think, paves the way for that.”

As the industry shifts toward individual animal management, genomic data is the next essential “diagnostic tool.” It allows the practitioner to move from managing groups to optimizing individuals, ultimately building a more profitable operation for the client.

To hear more from Andersen and Short on how genomics is redefining the commercial cow-calf industry, including more information on Inherit Select and the newly introduced BRD selection indices, listen to the full conversation on the latest episode of The Bovine Vet Podcast .

Before it Begins: The Next Major Shift in Mastitis Management

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 21:33:12 GMT

The next major shift in mastitis management will not come from faster treatment or better cure rates but from detecting mastitis risk earlier — before symptoms become clinically apparent, before somatic cell counts rise and before irreversible damage to the mammary tissue occurs. This is encompassed by a shift from confirmation to prediction and from reaction to prevention.

Mastitis Detection is Shifting from Reactive to Predictive

When asked what his ideal mastitis detection situation would be, Dr. Justin Hess of Clinton Veterinary Services was quick to bring up prevention first. While it would be nice to have an automated system flagging mastitic cows at infection onset, he believes the real future is stopping it before it begins.

“Cure is a lot harder than prevention. It’s always easier to keep a cow from getting mastitis than to fix it later,” Hess says. “[Even if] a system is better at detecting mastitis, you’re always going to be behind the 8-ball in the first place, where the goal is to prevent it altogether.”

Traditional mastitis detection has been largely retrospective. Abnormal milk, elevated conductivity, increased somatic cell count or visible inflammation signal disease is already established. The emerging goal of mastitis detection systems is to identify subtle deviations — such as minute changes in rest time, rumination or quarter-level yields — early enough to intervene before disease fully develops.

(Amanda Story, Rose Memories Photography LLC)

Can Technology Identify the Bacteria Causing Mastitis?

Alongside earlier detection, there is growing interest in providing more information about what type of mastitis may be developing. Current animal health detection systems are strong at identifying abnormality, but weak at characterization. Looking at the future of automatic health monitoring systems, Dr. Alon Arazi, chief veterinarian at Afimilk, sees two areas of opportunity.

“I think the two main things that will probably change in the future are, one, we are lagging in the ability to detect subclinical mastitis. The other thing is to not just diagnose mastitis, but also to give some information about the cause,” Arazi says.

One of the things he is hoping they will soon be able to do is determine the type of bacteria causing mastitis.

“I believe that soon we will be able to give some information on if it’s Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria and then help the farmer make a decision about treatment,” Arazi says.

With this information, more targeted antibiotics could be chosen without having to wait for milk culture results. This supports antimicrobial stewardship, allowing farmers to potentially avoid unnecessary antibiotic use in cases that may self-resolve or require a different course of action.

The Power of the Data-Driven Team

The preventive impact of these systems extends beyond individual cows; it changes how the farm staff and consultants interact.

“The system is working on the cow level as well as the group level and the herd level. We try to look at all aspects of the farm,” Arazi says.

When looking through a broader scope, early deviations may indicate upstream management issues — such as bedding consistency or parlor hygiene — that elevate mastitis risk across multiple animals simultaneously. In that sense, future detection systems are as much about identifying system-level vulnerability as they are about flagging individual cows.

This is where the team-based aspect becomes critical. Once an operation has established the characteristic norms of their herd, the data becomes a shared language between the producer, the parlor staff and the veterinarian.

“Once you have the data, you can analyze it looking backward. Not just what is happening now, but what was the situation in the past? How did things progress? It can help you understand where you should put your money,” Arazi says.

As mastitis detection becomes more predictive and informative, the role of veterinarians evolves rather than diminishes. Interpretation, prioritization and integration remain essential. Technology may identify risk, but the team — the farmer and the vet — determines the response by balancing biology, economics, welfare and practicality. The future of mastitis detection is not automation replacing expertise, but better information supporting a unified team in earlier, smarter intervention.

Ultimately, success will be measured not by how quickly mastitis is treated, but by how often it is prevented from occurring at all.

Having spent their careers at the intersection of veterinary medicine and dairy technology, Hess and Arazi share a common passion for evolving how we look at herd health. On the first episode of “ The Bovine Vet Podcast ”, they join host Andrea Bedford to discuss why mastitis is much more than a simple infection.

10 Cattle Health Advancements That Could Fit into Your Daily Practice

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 01:33:16 GMT

Walking the trade show floor at CattleCon 2026 , the pace of change was hard to ignore. New diagnostics, therapeutics and management tools lined the aisles, each promising sharper decision-making and stronger herd performance. For veterinarians, the challenge is not access to innovation. It is determining which tools will meaningfully improve outcomes and which are incremental updates wrapped in compelling marketing.

Several clear themes surfaced across product categories. Stress mitigation has an increased presence, with companies targeting both behavioral and physiologic responses tied to handling, transport and management changes. The focus is not simply on calmer cattle, but on stabilizing performance and reducing downstream setbacks. At the same time, diagnostics continue shifting closer to the point of care. More products are designed to deliver actionable information at the chute or pen, narrowing the gap between testing and intervention. Efficiency, both in labor and procedure, is increasingly part of the value proposition.

Products centered on rumen health and calf resilience lean into microbiome research and bioactive supplementation. The goal is targeted support during predictable risk periods such as scouring or transport, when animals are most vulnerable to performance losses.

Diagnostic platforms reflected a similar push toward earlier insight. Rapid pregnancy testing capable of producing results from two drops of blood at 28 days post-breeding drew attention from producers seeking tighter reproductive timelines. Expanded chute-side and ear notch options for BVD detection reinforce ongoing efforts to identify and manage infection quickly. Genomic testing for conditions such as bovine congestive heart failure signal broader investments in identifying risk before clinical signs emerge.

Conversations around treatment remained grounded in antimicrobial stewardship. Research examining first-treatment strategies for bovine respiratory disease following metaphylaxis highlighted continued industry focus on timing, drug selection and responsible use. The emphasis was not on introducing an entirely new class of drugs, but on refining how existing therapies are deployed.

Not all innovation centered on pharmaceuticals or biologics. Ergonomic ultrasound tools designed to reduce shoulder strain, along with battery-powered vaccination devices that support multiple routes of administration, reflect growing recognition that practitioner durability and injection accuracy influence herd-level outcomes.

For veterinarians who want a deeper look at how these products are positioned and what the companies behind them say about real-world application, the full conversations from the trade show floor are available in Episode 2 of The Bovine Vet Podcast . Listening offers additional context around development, intended use cases and how these tools may fit into day-to-day practice.

Featured in this episode of The Bovine Vet Podcast :

CattleZen from Solvet: A topical pheromone solution that helps calm down cattle for reduced stress and easier handling. (Guest: Steve Schram)
Bovacillus from Novonesis: A probiotic with two Bacillus strains to support rumen and lower gut health. (Guest: Greg Eckerle, PhD)
Early Pregnancy Rapid Test from Central States Testing: This gives results with only two drops of blood and has been shown to be 99.5% accurate at 28 days post-breeding. (Guest: Dustin Hessman)
Prozap from Neogen: This line up is for external parasites, including lice and flies. The company’s genomics testing for bovine congestive heart failure is also discussed. (Guest: Kenton Carlson)
FerAppease from FERA: This product is a synthetic analogue of the maternal bovine appeasing substance to help animals deal with management and physiological stressors. (Guest: Rodrigo Bicalho, DVM)
Reproarms from ReproScan: These extension arms reduce shoulder and arm strain and allow for safer and faster pregnancy diagnosis and fetal aging. (Guest: Elle Terhaar)
Replenish Ab+ and BovAlign from TechMix: Replenish Ab+ is an electrolyte with maternally derived bioactives to help support calves during scouring, while BovAlign is a nutrient-dense liquid designed to help combat the stresses associated with transport. (Guest: Nathan Upah)
BVD testing from Idexx: From chute-side blood testing to ear notch tests, there are multiple options for detection of the virus. (Guest: Mike Ray)
BRD research from Virbac: This investigates the use of tulathromycin for the first treatment of BRD following metaphylaxis treatment with the same drug. (Guest: Jessica Newberry, DVM)
Power-VACC from Henke-Sass Wolf: This battery-powered vaccination device supports intradermal, subcutaneous, intramuscular and nasal administration of fast and accurate injections. (Guest: Marius Leyhausen)

Why We Need Technology and Human Expertise to Close The Mastitis Detection Gap

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 19:51:54 GMT

Mastitis detection remains constrained by parlor realities. Modern dairies are designed to maximize throughput, leaving little margin for detailed milk inspection on every cow at every milking. Even highly trained milkers can overlook subtle milk changes or early signs of disease when operating under fatigue, time pressure and competing demands.

“With how fast parlors are being pushed, workers are asked to milk more cows in shorter amounts of time. To look at and examine milk thoroughly for 8- or 12-hour shifts, it doesn’t always happen on every single cow,” says Dr. Justin Hess of Clinton Veterinary Services. “You’d be amazed at how much you can actually miss.”

Subclinical mastitis is particularly vulnerable to underdetection because it requires intentional testing that is accompanied by labor, cost and workflow implications.

Improving mastitis outcomes depends less on detection itself and more on what happens afterward. Farms today are generating more information than ever, but that information does not automatically translate into better decisions. Sound mastitis protocols need to be in place and understood by all on a dairy.

“If you try to develop a protocol, and the management team isn’t on board and you don’t have the right people in place, you’re going to struggle and probably make things more difficult,” Hess explains. “We like to keep things simple but effective.”

These protocols largely include management choices surrounding animal density, mastitis detection methods and even the choice of bedding in the stalls.

Concerning mastitis detection methods, on-farm culturing demonstrates the tension between simple and complex protocols well.

(Rose Memories Photography LLC)

“Culturing on-farm can be a struggle because of the increase in labor and having a dedicated person to do it. You also need the knowledge and desire to do it and do it correctly,” Hess says.

When farms have dedicated personnel, clear interpretation guidelines and confidence in how results will be used, culturing can reduce unnecessary antibiotic use and improve outcomes. When those conditions are absent, culturing may delay treatment without changing behavior, prompting farms to revert to broad-spectrum approaches for the sake of speed.

The challenge isn’t just the size of the farm, but the speed at which data must be converted into a treatment decision.

As the limitations of manual culturing and visual inspection become more apparent, the industry is shifting toward passive detection — systems that monitor the cow without requiring extra labor hours.

To address the complexity of dairy systems, Dr. Alon Arazi, chief veterinarian at Afimilk, hopes consolidating data generated by monitoring animals in existing protocols will help refine management and improve animal health.

“All this data is being gathered into one piece of software in which we do the analysis to detect mastitis,” Arazi says.

Sensor systems can also be used to detect mastitis based on deviations from the norm at a cow level. This baseline varies for each cow, meaning you need historical data for comparison.

“The main way to detect mastitis is based on what’s normal [for that animal]. Increased conductivity of a cow or dropped lactose to a lower level than is expected. This is mainly happening with clinical mastitis,” Arazi says. “One of the problems with subclinical mastitis is that the changes sometimes are very, very low and very hard to detect. In that case, we are looking for more and more sophisticated modeling algorithms that combine more and more things together to see things that are just starting to change.”

Mastitis Indicators Used in Automated Monitoring Systems

Automated monitoring systems identify cows suspected of mastitis by analyzing multiple milk and cow-level parameters simultaneously, rather than relying on a single signal. Key indicators include:

Milk conductivity
- Increased electrical conductivity associated with changes in ion flow during mastitis
- One of the primary and earliest milk signals used
Milk yield
- Sudden or unexpected drops in production relative to the cow’s baseline
Lactose concentration
- Decreases in lactose production when udder function is impaired
- Possible lactose leakage from milk or utilization by bacteria
Milk flow / milking dynamics
- Changes in milk flow rate that may reflect udder discomfort or inflammation
Rumination patterns
- Decreases in rumination associated with illness or discomfort
Eating behavior / dry matter intake
- Reduced intake relative to expected performance
Activity and behavior changes
- Deviations from individual cow behavioral baselines

This collected data is then compared and put into context on the individual, group and herd levels. Mastitis alerts are generated by combining multiple indicators, rather than any single threshold.

These disparate data points, along with the sheer volume of data, are where machine learning thrives.

“AI or machine learning will allow you to detect things that, even for us, are hard to see now. This for sure will improve subclinical detection,” Arazi predicts.

These systems aim to provide directional insight that shortens the time between detection and action by reducing the workload and finding changes in cow performance before they would be noticed by a worker. Catching a case 24 hours earlier could be the difference between a quick recovery and a culled cow.

“You don’t have to check every cow because the system has checked every cow two or three times in a day depending on how many milkings there are,” Arazi says. “You get the information, and you get the option to catch things earlier than people can see with their eyes.”

The Human Filter: Why Detection Requires Interpretation

Alerts without context quickly become noise. High alert frequency, poor specificity or unclear next steps can erode trust in the system. This is where veterinary intervention can help a dairy understand what they’re seeing and how best to act.

Hess stressed the questions he poses to dairies implementing updated mastitis detection protocols: “When you have that information, what are you going to do with that information? Are you going to actually change your protocols?”

Having more data is only useful for improving animal management if accompanied by a plan to act on what that data is telling you.

(Afimilk)

Technologies offering continuous observation and reduced reliance on human detection can introduce risks related to accuracy, workflow fit and trust. There is also the worry of false alerts.

“We can still improve accuracy, reduce false alerts and get more sensitivity,” Arazi says, speaking on the Afimilk system for mastitis detection.

These systems are, of course, not infallible. As with all hardware, there are uncontrollable hiccups that need to be considered when looking at the data generated.

“There are some critical parts of measuring conductivity,” Hess says. “If milk is moving or if air gets into the system, it can affect the sensitivity or the reading on it.”

At their core, these tools are designed to flag abnormal patterns, not to dictate diagnoses or management decisions. Alerts of deviations are only meaningful after interpretation by people who understand the cows, the parlor and the operation of the farm. Without the human layer, accurate detection risks becoming background noise.

“The only thing worse than no data is having wrong or misleading data,” Hess says.

The limitation is not simply technological, but decisional. This becomes most apparent when detection systems skew too far toward sensitivity at the expense of specificity. Highly sensitive tools identify earlier or more subtle changes, but they also generate more false positives. Each unnecessary alert pulls time and attention away from other priorities.

At the other end of the spectrum, overly specific systems may miss early disease signals, limiting their preventative value. Effective mastitis detection depends on deliberate trade-offs, favoring actionable accuracy over alert volume. The future of the dairy isn’t just in the data collecting sensors, but in how the person in the office uses that data to provide better care for the cow.

How Technology is Changing the Game in Mastitis Prevention and Detection

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 22:14:24 GMT

Mastitis is commonly described as an infectious disease, but in real-world dairy systems, it behaves far more like a systems problem. Case rates and economic impact are shaped by the barn environment, milking routines, labor capacity and cow flow long before a pathogen is identified. Mastitis persists not because veterinarians and producers lack knowledge, but because it emerges from the interaction of multiple, interconnected management decisions.

From a practice perspective, mastitis is never truly absent on a dairy.

The Ever-Present Risk of Mastitis

“Mastitis is always something you’re managing. It’s ever-present on a dairy and something you try to manage, control, keep in check and improve upon,” says Dr. Justin Hess, veterinarian at Clinton Veterinary Services in Michigan. “It’s always at the forefront to some degree. You hope to have control measures in place and treatment protocols well developed to make it easy and fairly straightforward for a dairy, but it’s ever-present.”

(Rose Memories Photography LLC)

Even well-managed herds maintain a baseline level of mastitis that fluctuates with the season, staffing changes and parlor consistency. Therefore, the practical objective is control rather than eradication. Success is measured by manageable case rates, quick identification of infection, limited impact on bulk tank somatic cell counts and culling pressure.

“Management choices such as bedding type used in stalls, overcrowding and detection methods for mastitis can all influence the case rate,” Hess says.

This reality contrasts with the tendency to treat mastitis as an isolated event. In practice, spikes in mastitis often follow subtle changes in the environment or management system. Instead of just identifying a pathogen, the vet’s value lies in identifying the systemic failure that allowed the pathogen to thrive.

(Afimilk)

Integrating Data Into Clinical Insight

Dr. Alon Arazi, chief veterinarian at Afimilk, shares the perspective that mastitis is not just one thing, but one signal inside a much bigger system of animal health, welfare and performance. That’s where technology comes in, specifically animal health monitoring systems where signals from multiple biological inputs are combined to paint a bigger picture of cow health leading to diagnosis. Technology, such as the Afimilk system, allows for the collection of large data sets from both activity and milk monitoring hardware to help with mastitis prevention and detection. Patterns, or deviations from these patterns, can signal when a cow needs a closer look.

“Twenty years ago, a very small percentage of farms used this technology. Now they are using it much more; more farms on a larger scale,” Arazi says. “In the past it was only milk matter and milk production. Now we have much more information. Information about the behavior of the cow and also more information about the milk, such as components … which led us to improving the accuracy of [mastitis] detection.”

(Photo: Rose Memories Photography LLC)

These ideas converge on a critical point: There is not one single component of herd health management that dictates mastitis prevalence; it is the sum of the whole. New technologies improve our monitoring capabilities, but they must be applied with strong fundamentals, management and prevention practices.

Solving the Root Cause of Mastitis

“If you cull the top 5% or the top few highest cows as far as somatic cell count, you’ll remove those cows and that’s easy, right? But it doesn’t actually tell you what’s causing those cows to get to that place,” Hess says. “If you’re not changing something upstream, you’re always going to deal with an issue downstream.”

Ultimately, the shift from reactive treatment to proactive system management is what defines a modern, resilient dairy. As Dr. Hess and Dr. Arazi highlight, data and technology are powerful allies, but they function best when they empower the people on the ground to make better “upstream” decisions. By treating mastitis as a symptom of the system rather than a standalone event, dairies can move away from constant firefighting to a more predictable, profitable future.

Having spent their careers at the intersection of veterinary medicine and dairy technology, Dr. Hess and Dr. Arazi share a common passion for evolving how we look at herd health. On the first episode of The Bovine Vet Podcast , they join host Andrea Bedford to discuss why mastitis is much more than a simple infection. Together, they explore the “systems” approach to dairy management and share insights on how veterinarians and producers can use data and environment to stay ahead of the curve.