Lameness is one of the most costly and underestimated challenges on dairy farms worldwide. Around 90% of dairy cows will suffer from it at least once in their lifetime – many of them multiple times. Yet the issue is often detected too late or not addressed properly, with serious consequences for both animal health and farm profitability.
Here’s what you can do.
Did you know that lameness accounts for 15% on average [1] of all dairy cow culls worldwide? Alongside fertility problems and udder health issues, it consistently ranks in the top three reasons for involuntary culling. That’s no coincidence: lameness affects almost every vital function of a cow – walking, eating, lying down, showing heat, and recovery. The result is reduced milk production, fertility, longevity, and ultimately, animal profitability.
The financial impact of lameness is enormous. According to research, lameness costs a dairy farm an average of $4.50 per lame cow per day based on an average yearly incidence rate of 50%[2] .
This includes direct cost for treatment and extra labor as well as reduced revenues of 10 to 30% lower milk production, premature culling, reduced fertility, increased risk of other health issues and lower animal welfare scores.
The good news? Most of this damage is preventable.
The sooner you detect lameness, and treat it prompt and effective[3], the smaller the impact. For both your animals and your bottom line. Here are a few proven benefits of early intervention:
Many dairy farmers want to act sooner, but lack time, insight, or objective signals. That’s where technology comes in. Automated detection systems monitor cow behavior continuously – 24/7, without missing a beat.
Nedap Locomotion Monitoring with the SmartSight camera automatically records the cows’ movement patterns. Thanks to AI-powered vision technology, the system detects subtle signs of lameness, often before you or your staff even notice. This allows you to take faster and more targeted action, without relying on chance observations or lengthy monitoring.
The result: fewer severe cases of lameness, reduced direct costs and economic losses, and healthier cows.
By continuously monitoring the locomotion of each individual cow, the SmartSight camera enables farmers to detect and treat lameness at an early stage. Early intervention reduces the duration of lameness cases by an average of 40 days.
Figure 1: Early intervention (0–4 days since onset of lameness) reduces the duration of lameness cases by an average of 40 days compared to late intervention (10–30 days since onset of lameness).
On the farm, this translates to an average saving of $45 saving per cow per year[5]. For a farm with 500 cows, that adds up to $22,500 in total savings.
Nedap Locomotion Monitoring turns early detection into lasting profitability.
Lameness doesn’t have to be an unavoidable cost of dairy farming. With Nedap Locomotion Monitoring, you can detect issues before they escalate, protect animal welfare, and unlock significant financial gains.
Learn here how Nedap Locomotion Monitoring with SmartSight can transform your herd management today.
[1, 2] Wilshire JA, Bel NJ, 2009. An economic review of cattle lameness. Catle Practice 17:2, 136-141
[3] EDPET: Early Detection and Prompt, Effective Treatment
[4] > 9 million locomotion scores, > 25,000 cows across 20+ farms.
[5] Value gap from late tot early detection is $180 per lameness case (40 days * $4,5 lameness costs/cow/day). Impact Nedap SmartSight: Average value per cow per year is $180 * 0,5 (impact improvement) * 50% (incidence rate) = $45 .
