Research Summary - 2
Investigating the short-term impacts of mid-lactation hoof trimming in multiparous cows with no previous hoof lesion history on milk production
| Date/Time: |
9/12/2025
12:00
|
| Author: |
Gerard Cramer |
| Clinic: |
University of Minnesota |
| City, State, ZIP: |
Minneapolis, MN 55418 |
G. Cramer, DVM, DVSc
1
;
E. Shepley, PhD
1
;
S. van de Pol, DVM
2
;
1Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108
2CATTLEytics Inc., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L9C 5P3
Introduction:
Hoof trimming (HT) of dairy cows is the most recommended preventative practice for lameness and overall hoof health. While beneficial for lameness reduction, HT has also been shown to lead to acute stress responses in the animal as well as lead to longer times spent away from the home pen, both of which can lead to short-term disruptions in behaviors such as resting and feeding. These combined effects may influence physiological outcomes, such as milk production, however, previous studies have largely included, if not focused on, populations of cows that were lame, which may exaggerate the impact that HT has on milk production. As such, the current study aims to determine the short-term effect of providing a mid-lactation HT on milk production compared to not providing a mid-lactation HT in multiparous cows with no previous history of hoof lesions or lameness.
Materials and methods:
All second and third lactation cows with no history of hoof lesions from 3 commercial dairy farms were eligible for enrollment in this study. Cows were enrolled at 99 ± 19 DIM on one farm, which practiced an earlier mid-lactation trim schedule, and 117 ± 2 DIM on the other two farms. Cows were randomly assigned at the beginning of the week they were due to receive a mid-lactation HT to either a treatment group (TRT, n = 2793), which receive a mid-lactation H, or a negative control (CON) (n = 2894) that was not trimmed. Cows in the TRT group were placed on their herd’s trim list and recorded as being enrolled in the study in the herd’s management software, whereas CON cows were only recorded as being enrolled and not included in the trim list. The enrollment date was considered D0 in our analysis for both groups. Milk yield and cow-level data was extracted from a data aggregation platform (MilkShake, Cattleytics).
Milk yield (kg/d) was analyzed using a mixed-effects model, including the fixed effect of treatment, lactation, average milk yield across the 7 days before hoof trimming, and farm. Day relative to enrollment (D0 to D14) was the repeated measures term and the random effect of cow was also included in the model. As enrolled cows were of Jersey, Holstein, or Jersey-Holstein crosses, breed composition (% Jersey; where 0% is full Holstein and 100% full Jersey) was also included as a covariate.
Results:
The preliminary analysis included 3924 (TRT = 1864, CON = 1994) cows with complete milk yield data around enrollment. Breed composition (% Jersey), DIM, baseline milk yield, and parity were similar in TRT and CON. There was no evidence of a difference in overall milk yield across the 14 days following enrollment for TRT cows (30.5 kg/d, 95%CI: 30.4, 30.6) compared to CON cows (30.6 kg/d, 95%CI: 30.4, 30.7). Similarly, there was no evidence of differences in milk yield on any of the 14 days following enrollment.
Significance:
These findings suggest that disruptions on the day of a routine mid-lactation hoof trimming have limited impact on the short-term milk yield of multiparous cows with no previous hoof lesion history. These findings can provide reassurance for farmers that preventative HT can be used in non-lame cows without compromising productivity.
