FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Early in his presentation at the Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, speaker David Beede asked for a show of hands from dairy consultants who had done water quality testing for their clients. He was surprised when not one hand was raised.

“An abundant, high-quality water source is the most important essential nutrient to the dairy industry,” said Beede, a professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Animal Science. “If you don’t sample and analyze, you don’t know what you have.”

Producers should be sure they have enough watering stations and a proper amount of space around each one, Beede said. “You want to have enough uninhibited opportunities for drinking 24/7, 365 days of the year. You also want the water stations no more than 50 feet away from the feeding area.”

He spoke April 24 during the first day of the two-day conference.

If producers or consultants aren’t certain the animals are getting a normal water intake, they should measure, he explained. Water should also be tested by taking samples near the well head and after the storage tank, he said.

The most common problems are excessive amounts of sulfate, chloride and iron, he noted. High concentrations of any of these may affect performance and an animal’s overall health, such as causing diarrhea and metabolic acidosis.

If excessive concentrations of sulfate, chloride or iron are found during a test, producers may need to find another water source, or try distillation, dilution or reverse osmosis, Beede added. Before doing anything though, producers should double-check results of the test with another company, just to be sure.

If producers opt to turn to a water treatment company for help, they should ask company officials how they would remove the excess concentrations, he said.

Diseases during the transition period are one of the biggest impediments to dairy producers, said Barry Bradford, an associate professor in animal sciences and industry at Kansas State University. He also spoke April 24.

Most problems occur in the first few days after calving, with 40 percent of diseases being metabolic and 60 percent infectious, he added. Cows with infections often have a higher rate of ketosis.

“The rapid metabolic changes during transition set the stage for metabolic diseases,” he said. “The suppressed immune function helps to explain the infectious disorders.”

Inflammation is often a cow’s response to an infection, Bradford stated. “The question is, did cows get sick and have obvious inflammatory markers, or did these cows that had reason to be inflamed have a greater risk for diseases?” he asked. “Inflammatory events sustained over several days can push the cows in the direction of metabolic disease.”

A broad range of strategies may be considered to control the inflammation, Bradford noted. For example, producers may fight inflammation with antioxidants. Studies have also shown that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be successful in controlling inflammation, though their use has not been approved, he said. It’s possible approval may come eventually.

Producers should work to control the body condition of the dairy cow and use feed additives if necessary, Bradford said.