High production and health

A curious paradox

Abstract

This paper has looked through 3 different aspects at the question of whether increased production puts a cow at greater risk of disease: (a) changes in rates of disease across the decades as production increases, (b) cohort studies, and (3) the impact of increased production from recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) use. While there is considerable belief that high producing cows are more likely to suffer various negative events (disease, culling, etc.) than low producers, there is very little data to support that belief for most conditions. With the possible exceptions of clinical mastitis and milk fever, most studies find no causal connection between high production and the risk of negative events in a cow's life.