lameness prevalence in confined and grazing systems in Argentina

The aim of this study was to evaluate the consistency of estimations of lameness prevalence between farm managers and locomotion scoring conducted by a trained observer in confined and grazing systems.Grazing (n= 9) and confined dairy farms (n=9) distributed in Santa Fe, Cordoba and Entre Rios provinces, the main dairy region of Argentina, were visited in spring-summer season (November 2021 to February 2022). Grazing dairy farms had lactating cows on pasture all year round, and confined dairy farms had cows under a barn either on a free-stall or a compost-bedded pack housing system, with no access to pasture. Only two of the confined farms had a loafing area with no pasture.