Markov decision processes (MDP) with finite state and action space have often been used to model sequential decision making over time in dairy herds. However, the length of each stage has been at least 1 mo, resulting in models that do not support decisions on a daily basis. The present paper describes the first step of developing an MDP model that can be integrated into a modern herd managemen...

Veterinarians can serve some of their more progressive commercial cow-calf clients by introducing them to the option of becoming an embryo transfer (ET) contract recipient herd. Contract recipient herds receive embryos from owners of purebred herds, have those embryos transferred to their synchronous recipient cows, calve and raise those ET calves to weaning when they are sold back to the embry...

The objective of this study was to evaluate herd characteristics and management practices associated with presence of Salmonella in the farm environment and in bulk tank milk (BTM) in US dairy herds. Herd management data, environmental culture, BTM and in-line milk filter polymerase chain reaction results for Salmonella from 260 US dairy herds surveyed during the National Animal Health Monitori...

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is often the cause of mastitis problems in dairy herds and causes great economic losses. In this study, isolates from a dairy herd with a known S. aureus mastitis problem were examined by means of molecular methods (spa typing, PFGE, and DNA microarray) to investigate their epidemiological relationship and the success of intervention measures. The investigated ...