Heads down is a healthy attitude for cows

According to Jo Speed, Dairy-Co extension officer, research from New Zealand shows that cows who are allowed to keep their heads down, looking where they put their feet, are less stressed and also less prone to lameness.

With a lame cow costing as much as 300 and milk margins being tight, all aspects of preventing lameness are important, she says. Even when cattle are being moved, allowing them the opportunity to look where they are putting their feet can prevent problems.

If they are being driven too hard they will rest their chins on the cow in front and not be able to see what they are standing on.

Speed also encourages all farmers to carry out regular "mobility scoring" to reduce lameness, which, along with low fertility and mastitis, is among the major problems facing the dairy industry.

Carrying out the mobility scoring involves watching the cows walking past and noting those that have problems. The DairyCo mobility score is a 0 to 3 score, with zero being sound and score 3 being lame. Cows scoring 2 should be examined as they may benefit from treatment. This simple exercise can help the balance sheet.

One farmer taking her advice is Robert Somerville, of North Corbelly, New Abbey, who describes "mobility scoring" as no more than just good stockmanship. He says: "It does not take long to watch the cattle as they leave the milking parlour."

He estimates that he spends between 10 and 20 minutes scanning his 160-cow herd.

From this exercise, he then picks out the cattle that are seen by the quarterly visit of a professional foot trimmer. In addition the cows go through a foot bath prior to their entry into the milking parlour.

He alternates between a mixture of copper sulphate and formalin and a proprietary chemical to prevent solar ulcers and digital dermatitis.

Speed recommends regular footbathing as the key to preventing and controlling most problems. She also strongly recommends a "two-step" length of footbath - at least ten feet long, as this ensures each foot is immersed twice. Regular footbathing alongside early detection of lameness are the two keys to lameness prevention, says Speed.

While many lameness problems are associated with the cows walking on concrete, there are also problems linked to rough, muddy tracks and gateways to and from grazing.

Somerville has invested in "cow tracks" and these have been very helpful in reducing lameness in his herd. "We are trying to do a number of things to deal with the problem as there is no single big solution to lameness."

Already he has some 600 metres of tracks constructed using crushed stone from the farm and then covered in quarry dust. He is planning more.