Tips and tools for dairy practitioners to take an active role in a dairy's foot health program

Abstract

There are copious opportunities for veterinarians to get involved in providing foot health services. The type of services that could be offered include; lame cow detection and treatment, comprehensive hoof trimming, monitoring or training of farm staff and routine monitoring of hoof health data. These opportunities come with their own unique set of barriers and challenges. However, veterinarians are ideally positioned to overcome these challenges and, at the current time, there is limited competition for these type of services thus veterinarians should consider foot health management as a practice growth opportunity.