Thomas H. Herdt, DVM, MS
Editor
Metabolic disease continues to be a substantial challenge in the dairy industry, not only
in North America but also in all other regions in which modern dairy cattle breeds are
managed and fed for high milk yields. Undoubtedly, some of this continuing challenge
is related to progressive improvement in dairy cow genetics and the ever-increasing
average milk yields of modern dairy cattle. Improvements in production capacity challenge
us to manage and feed cows to allow them to adapt to the tremendous metabolic
demands of high milk production. More than this, however, I believe the continued and
perhaps even enhanced interest in metabolic diseases of dairy cattle comes from our
expanding understanding of the diverse ramifications of the metabolic events of early
lactation. These ramifications go well beyond those associated with traditionally
described metabolic diseases, such as milk fever and ketosis, and include the much
broader realm of nearly all diseases common to early lactation cows. The intertwining
associations among various metabolic stresses and their relationships to other diseases,
particularly infectious and inflammatory diseases of early lactation, have now
become a central focus of the interest in metabolic diseases of dairy cattle.
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