Management of Digital Dermatitis in Dairy Herds: Optimization and Time Allocation

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Foot diseases are a widespread issue in dairy herds that lead to economic losses and cow welfare alteration. Time is a limited key resource for farmers in herd management and especially for the control of lameness. The aim of this study is to determine the most effective time to be allocated for digital dermatitis management and to quantify the marginal economic gain for extra time devoted to digital dermatitis management in dairy herds. This study shows that allocating less time to lameness detection and more to footbath application is more profitable for both farmers and animal welfare. The optimal time to spend on footbath application ranges from 17.8 to 22.3 h/month. ABSTRACT: The objective of this study is to determine the most effective time allocation for digital dermatitis management and to quantify the marginal economic gain from extra time devoted to digital dermatitis management. The model simulating foot disease occurrence and the associated management was Dairy Health Simulator©. Then, an econometric model was applied to identify the relationship between the dairy workshop’s gross margin and time for lameness management as well as the hourly marginal gain curve associated with lameness management. The gross margin was optimized under two constraints, i.e., the overall time spent for lameness management and the mean lameness duration (mimicking cow welfare). The results show that allocating less time to lameness detection and more to footbath application can contribute as follows: (i) reduces time spent for lameness management, (ii) maintains the best welfare level, and (iii) obtains the highest gross margin. The optimal time to devote to footbath application ranged from 17.8 to 22.3 h/month. A hiring strategy was investigated, and the break-even point ranged from 16.1 to 19.8 h/month. The recommended time to spend on footbath application is relatively important; therefore, stakeholders should consider the importance of lameness to the dairy industry and should devote enough time for footbath applications.