Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Daniel Thomson, MS, PhD, DVM, in an effort to decrease lameness in cattle, has come up with a new approach, called the Step-Up Management Program, that starts with education and consistently scoring locomotion. One of the ways of doing that is through communication. "Being able to communicate clearly across segments about the severity of lameness is critical not only to managing lameness, but also to preventing the injuries that cause it," Thomson said, according to Drovers CattleNetwork. "Lameness is prevalent and it does cause losses. It is one of those issues we've seen for years; however, it hasn't received the credit or the blame it deserves for what it really costs us within the industry." The Step-Up Management Program hopes to enlighten those in the industry about lameness through communication. Its other goals include: • Protection of the animal's well-being • Implementation of a scoring system to determine lameness severity • Diagnosis and treatment of lameness • Lameness prevention For more information on the Step-Up Management Program, go here. Dr. Thomson is the director of Kansas State University's Beef Cattle Institute and played an integral role in the Step-Up Management Program's development. Also involved in the program's development were the Beef Cattle Institute, Kansas State University and Zinpro Corporation. What do you think of the Step-Up Management Program? Let us know in the comments. Previous: WSAVA Committee Launches One Health Campaign Want more Veterinary Practice News? Go here. <HOME>
