Controlling digital dermatitis at herd level requires proactive monitoring, collective footbathing and individual lesion treatment integrated into farm health planning.
Effective digital dermatitis control at herd level requires moving beyond reactive individual treatment to systematic prevention and monitoring. The pain caused by active lesions is substantial, and the chronic nature of the condition means many cows live with persistent discomfort that affects feeding, movement and productivity. Herds implementing consistent collective prevention programmes alongside individual treatment achieve substantially lower prevalence and meaningfully better welfare outcomes than those relying on individual case treatment alone.