To increase the longevity of dairy cows the focus needs to be on preventing calving/transition-, mastitis-, reproductive- and lameness-related problems. There are a myriad of metabolic and digestive disorders that must be minimized during the transition period through management and feeding in order to prevent early-lactation culls or deaths. Transition-cow programs are an on-going challenge for dairy producers and their consultants as many interactions between management and nutrition occur on dairyfarms that can influence results. Common sense and cow sense continue to be as important to making these programs work on farms as the research base. Dietary Vitamin E and selenium are of major importance for reducing mastitis. The primary nutritional factors associated with reproductive performance relate to energy and protein status. Laminitis is a multi-factorial disorder that requires detailed emphasis on diet formulation, preparation and delivery, feed bunk management, cow management, and cow comfort to control. Supplemental dietary biotin improves hoof health.
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