Zinpro® FirstStep® Dairy Hoof
Health & Management Program
There’s more demand than ever before on dairy producers to improve animal performance while ensuring higher levels of animal health and wellbeing. But knowing where to look for improvements and how to implement them is often the source of uncertainty and frustration. With Zinpro FirstStep Dairy Hoof Health & Management Program, Zinpro® customers can take the guesswork out of dairy evaluations and discover the answers they need.
Assess | Analyze | Improve
Healthy, well-managed dairy herds reach higher levels of performance and profitability.
With Zinpro FirstStep, nutritionists and consultants can access over 50 years of Zinpro’s expertise to give dairy producers the information they need to improve their herd’s performance.
Learn how you can deliver better advice and better results to the dairies you serve.
Quick and Simple Farm Evaluations
Using a laptop, tablet or mobile device, Zinpro FirstStep allows you to focus your attention on the areas that matter the most. Complete a Quick Evaluation on one specific area or a comprehensive evaluation using all 19 assessors. Zinpro FirstStep will guide you step-by-step through the information to gather and questions to ask, enabling you to make actionable recommendations to improve profitability and reduce lameness.
A Complete Suite of Assessors Puts Our Knowledge in Your Hands
Built upon 50 years of Zinpro’s lameness expertise, Zinpro FirstStep gives you the information and confidence you need to help dairies improve animal wellbeing and performance. Check out a few of the 19 assessors included in the program.
Freestall Assessor
Freestall design is a critical component of overall cow comfort, leading to improved hoof health and performance. Stalls are assessed for the following five key points:
- Surface cushion and traction
- Allow normal rising movements
- Adequate lunge and bob-zone area
- Room to rise around the neck rail
- Ability to exit stall without fear
Locomotion Assessor
Locomotion scoring determines the extent of a lameness problem in a herd through objective measures. Using a simple four or five point scale, Zinpro FirstStep helps you assess the severity of lameness in cattle, based on observations of a cow’s gait and posture.
Download our industry-recognized Locomotion Scoring Poster here.
Time Budget Assessor
Research suggests that dairy cows require at least 12 hours of rest per day. Anything less will increase the risk of lameness and sacrifice animal performance.
The Time Budget assessor identifies the areas that are stealing resting time, including:
- Increased milking time
- Insufficient resting spaces
- Uncomfortable stalls
- Inadequate heat abatement
- Extended time in lock-ups
Transition Assessor
It is well recognized that the transition period can significantly influence lactation performance. Zinpro FirstStep was developed to evaluate aspects of management and facilities that have been proven to affect the incidence of transition diseases, lameness and production.
Benchmark the herd’s transition performance against industry percentiles for diseases and combine information from other assessors to easily identify opportunities to improve fresh cow and hoof health.
Hygiene/Footbath Assessor
Proper foot and leg hygiene is foundational for preventing infectious hoof diseases and is a leading indicator for milk quality.
Correct use of footbaths is the mainstay of control for infectious diseases of the bovine hoof, including digital dermatitis (heel warts), heel horn erosion, interdigital dermatitis and foot rot.
The Hygiene/Footbath assessor evaluates footbath design, frequency, duration and treatment considering the level of hygiene achieved within the herd.
The Zinpro FirstStep Report
Professional. Customizable. Actionable.
Gathering the right information to make decisions is only the first step. To be effective, that information needs to be turned into actionable recommendations and delivered in an easy-to-understand format.
Zinpro FirstStep automatically generates a professional summary of your findings and suggests changes to be implemented to drive business results. Customize with photos, comments and a logo to personalize the message and highlight the most important information.
Contact your Zinpro Representative to get started today.
Hoof Trimming
A leading cause for lameness in cattle is an imbalance in weight-bearing on their hooves, or claws. Cow hoof trimming can restore that balance to keep lameness at bay.
Read our in-depth guide to learn more about hoof trimming.
Proper Lesion Identification is Key
Regardless of whether the lesion is non-infectious or infectious in nature, one major factor contributing to lameness reduction success is the prompt and effective treatment of all lesions as early as possible.
By recording lesions and where they occur, producers can implement a more targeted treatment plan for the most prevalent lesions in their cattle.
Control Digital Dermatitis
Each case of digital dermatitis can cost dairy producers approximately $150 to $200 per case in the form of treatment costs and lost production.
Zinpro® Availa® Plus, when fed to non-lactating cattle in conjunction with the specific DD Formula, has been proven as an effective alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of digital dermatitis.
Cattle Lameness Book by Zinpro
Lameness can be difficult to diagnose and even harder to prevent, yet the ramifications of unchecked lameness in a herd can be devastating for the cattle industry.
The good news is that research about preventing lesions and improving hoof health has never been more comprehensive.
More Tips from Our Team
Meet the Zinpro FirstStep Team
The Zinpro FirstStep program was developed by the Zinpro Corporation and the University of Wisconsin’s noted lameness expert Dr. Nigel Cook. This unmatched expertise, along with contributions from various other leading dairy experts, makes Zinpro FirstStep the comprehensive program and right resource for every dairy producer.
Dairy Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Corporation
Dairy Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Corporation
Discovery Researcher – Dairy, Zinpro Corporation
Dairy Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Corporation
Dairy Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Corporation
Dairy Research Nutritionist – North Asia, Zinpro Corporation
Dairy Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Corporation
Discovery Researcher – Beef, Zinpro Corporation
Dairy Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Corporation
Associate Director – Research and Discovery, Zinpro Corporation
