Economic Cost of Lameness in Dairy Cattle Herds

The competition among dairy producers is sharp nowadays. In this challenging situation the dairies are able to survive by the continuous increase in the efficiency and thereby the profitability of their production. The level of animal health is a basic influential factor of the profitableness on dairy farms, thus, it is very helpful to reveal the herd diseases resulting in the largest economic losses. Having quantified the economic losses, cost-benefit analysis of different animal health measurements becomes possible. In surveys carried out in intensive dairy units showed that, in general, the diseases of bovine digits (lameness) causes the third largest economic losses in the dairy cattle industry after (subclinical and clinical) mastitis and reproductive disorders. It has been shown that lameness is predominant in most dairy breeds, especially in the high yielding individuals in the intensive farms [1].