Well maintained stalls cut down on herd health problems such as foot rot and this issue will be addressed at this year's conference. Donna Amaral-Phillips, conference coordinator and a dairy nutrition specialist in the UK College of Agriculture. This year's conference is planned for Tuesday, March 7 at the Cave City Convention Center. The subjects will vary from specific herd health issues to new management options for streamlining the dairy operation's daily activities. The program filled so fast that we ran out of time for our own discussions, but we are delighted to welcome all the new faces and the different set of insights they will bring to the conference.
Lameness is a major health issue in the dairy industry.
Jan Shearer, an Extension Veterinarian at the University of Florida, will start the conference with a general discussion on the problem and end the day's discussions with tips on dealing with specific troubles such as hairy heel warts and foot rot. Four dairy producers from Kentucky and Tennessee take the stage during the afternoon session to review how they have tried some new management strategies on their respective dairy operations. George Purcell, from Gray Hawk, KY concentrates on milking his dairy cows while Charlie and Lois Snapp, from Cynthiana raise the heifers that come from Purcell's herd. They will explain the process and how each operation has benefitted from specializing in specific phases of the dairy operation. Now he can concentrate on milking his cows and he gets his own genetic stock back as it is needed.