£1m project sets out to discover what causes lameness in dairy cows

Cattle lameness is associated with decreased milk production and inflated farm costs
Cattle lameness is associated with decreased milk production and inflated farm costs

A new £1m research project will set out to discover what causes lameness in dairy cows, an issue which costs the industry around £250m a year.

On any given day, lameness affects around one in three milking cows in the UK. It is one of the most serious and debilitating cow conditions dairy farmers have to face.

In addition to pain and discomfort to the animal, lameness is associated with decreased milk production and inflated farm costs.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is now funding the new research project led by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) to generate a deep understanding of the reasons dairy cows become lame.

The three-year project is scheduled to be completed by November 2021.

Professor Georgios Banos of SRUC, who is heading up the project, said: “Among cows raised in the same environment, some become lame while others do not.

“Understanding the reasons behind this will help us develop targeted preventive practices contributing to enhanced animal welfare and farm profitability.”

The project will combine expertise in farm animal breeding and genomics, animal health, veterinary medicine, biotechnology, molecular pathology, epidemiology and bioinformatics.

Dr Androniki Psifidi, Lecturer in Veterinary Clinical Genetics at the Royal Veterinary College, said: “For the first time, cutting-edge technologies will be applied to develop new tools to control this important animal health and welfare issue. We are very enthusiastic about this project and we anticipate that it will make a big difference for both the animals and the sustainability of the sector.”

The project follows news of a new automated system which detects early signs of cattle lameness.

Using location tracking data collected from wireless sensors on the cattle, researchers have found big differences in how healthy and lame cows move around in their barn.

Importantly, the researchers were able to show how movement and use of space could be used to accurately predict the lameness status of individual cows within the herd.