“After infertility and mastitis, lameness is the third most common reason for culling cows on dairy farms. In the average dairy herd 16 out of every 100 cows is affected by lameness per year, with an average incidence of 22 cases per 100 cows – some cows being affected more than once. Lameness has both direct and indirect costs and together these are estimated to total approximately 170* per case. This costs the average 100 cow dairy herd almost 4000* per year.
*these figures were taken from the DARD website article on Lameness Challenge Note 2A: The Economic Cost of Lameness.
The Cost Of Lameness
Lameness has significant costs in both loss of production and in animal health and welfare. These can generally be classified as direct and indirect costs, respectively:
Direct Costs
Veterinary treatments;
Discarded milk;
Reduced lactation yield;
Farmers time (labour input).
Indirect Costs
Extended calving intervals;
Poor/reduced fertility;
