On dairy farms disease incidence is highest in the first 3 weeks of lactation. Despite conflicting evidence, the dogma for last 40 years was that it is the NEFA’s, hyperketonemia, and hypocalcemia that cause these health issues. In his lecture Dr. Baumgard is debunking this dogma and argues that it is biologically more plausible that it is immune activation that causes these transition cow health issues, and to prevent these, management and hygiene around the transition period simply need to be improved.
