Fortnightly mobility scoring followed by prompt treatment of foot health issues have helped a Welsh dairy farm to cut its herd lameness levels to less than 10%.

Russell Morgan and his team at Graig Olway Farm, Usk, have worked with vet Sara Pedersen on a project to reduce incidence of lameness since the farm became a Farming Connect Demonstration Farm three years ago.

At the start of the project, 49% of the 170-cow Holstein herd were lame – the main causes identified were sole ulcers and digital dermatitis.

“Our foot health was not good enough,’’ Mr Morgan admits.

Ms Pedersen, who specialises in cattle foot health, tackled the herd’s lameness by implementing the AHDB Healthy Feet Programme; this involved formulating an action plan including a ‘blitz’ treatment regime for digital dermatitis followed by a more effective foot-bathing system to keep infection levels low.

Milkers are now foot-bathed four times a week and dry and transition cows three times.

Other changes included replacing cubicle mattresses and adjusting shed ventilation to improve cow comfort and reduce the risk of sole ulcers.

One of the most important changes though was the introduction of fortnightly mobility scoring which is undertaken by Mr Morgan’s partner, Sarah.

Scoring is rigorous and no cow is given the benefit of the doubt.

“When you set the threshold for lameness low you will inevitably see more cows in the crush than you need to see, but you get all those that you do. This is crucial to success,’’ says Ms Pedersen.

The mobility scores are used to select the most appropriate cows for inspection and to then apply the latest evidence-based treatment, which includes application of a block and three days of pain relief (NSAID) for new cases of claw horn lesions, for example sole bruising.

“Ultimately this has resulted in a quicker recovery of cases and fewer repeat cases too,’’ says Ms Pedersen.

The industry, she advised, must shift its focus back on to using mobility scoring as a tool for early detection.

“There is a lot of pressure on farmers to hit increasingly lower targets for lameness, but this means these early cases can be overlooked but it is these ones that are the most important.

“Catching cases early means better outcomes.’’

Ms Pedersen says every farm should have a goal of continually improving foot health.

“It doesn’t really matter where you are as long as you are improving but we must not keep raising our threshold for lameness to hit an ever lowering target – we need a true picture of the situation.

“It is better for a farm to have a lameness score of 40% and have a plan in place to reduce this, rather than be at 30% and not take any action.”

Cows at Graig Olway that are flagged up with possible mobility issues are inspected at the fortnightly trimming sessions by the farm’s professional foot trimmer, Alan Colebatch, a fully audited Cattle Hoof Care Standards Board member.

As part of its milk contract, the farm has a spot audit and this includes a mobility score by the milk buyer’s veterinary consultant.

The latest audit result recorded a lameness prevalence of 11% in the milking herd, which reduced to less than 10% at herd level when the dry cows were included.

Gwenan Evans, dairy technical officer at Farming Connect, who has been overseeing the project work, says that the enthusiastic, whole team approach to improving herd mobility had been key to the successful results.

“Looking back over the nearly three years, the project and the team at Graig Olway have come a long way and the work is evident when you walk around the sheds; cows are looking well, are content and comfortable,’’ she says.

The Farming Connect project also highlighted the importance of employing a highly skilled foot trimmer.

“The results at Graig Olway have shown this and working alongside Alan Colebatch has been fundamental to the success we have seen,’’ says Ms Pedersen.

“A lot of damage can be done by poor trimming technique and unfortunately this is something we see too commonly.’’