The main pregnancy test method for dairy cows is rectal palpation performed around 40–45 days from last insemination. This is an invasive examination that disrupts the cow’s routine, potentially affecting its well-being. We examined the effectiveness of a commercial kit for performing pregnancy tests on milk samples compared to rectal palpation at 28- and 42-days post insemination. Accordingly, the purpose of the current study was to check if performing early pregnancy test instead of rectal palpation would result in better welfare and improvement of the reproductive performance, at least in part, of the cows. At 28 days, we examined the effect of early pregnancy testing on reproductive performance, especially number of days open. At 42 days, we determined the pregnancy test methods’ effects on cow welfare measures and milk production. For the day 28 experiment, cows on one farm were divided into two groups: one milk-tested for pregnancy on 28 to 30 days after insemination, and the other tested by routine veterinary examination (42 to 45 days after insemination). The milk test resulted in a 16-day reduction in days open for cows identified as non-pregnant on day 28 compared to day 42 (rectal examination), potentially improving reproductive performance on the dairy farm. For the day 42 experiment, test effects on cow welfare as seen in pedometer data and milk production were examined on two large dairy farms. Test-day milk production did not differ significantly between milk-tested and rectally palpated groups, but well-being indices of milk-tested cows improved, especially in winter months. The reason for this can be because, in the summer, cows are interrupted due to colling activities. In addition to fewer days open and economic improvement, early milk tests for pregnancy can free up the practitioner for other tasks on the dairy farm.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens causing intramammary infection (IMI) in dairy herds. The goals of this study were (1) to describe the prevalence of S. aureus in Israeli dairy farms; (2) to characterize the spa-based clonal structure of mastitis-related S. aureus isolates; (3) to analyze the transmission network of a large outbreak within a single farm and (4) to characterize the virulence factors of the outbreak strain. The prevalence and the molecular survey were performed on all Israeli IMI-related isolates, 9.2019–8.2020. Molecular methods included spa-typing for the survey and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for the investigation of the farm ‘A’ outbreak. During the one-year survey, S. aureus was identified in 152 dairy farms, with a total of 440 positive samples. The spa t2873 was found in 284 isolates (64.5%) across 112 farms (73.6%). Other common types included t529 (n = 46), t9303 (n = 34) and the methicillin-resistant S. aureus t011 (n = 11). The highest number of cases (n = 25) was detected in Farm ‘A’, all of which were found to be spa t2873. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that most transmission events occurred within the same milking group, and inter-group transmission was due to the transfer of cows between groups or due to consecutive milking order. The spa t2873 strain contained putative virulence genes, including various intracellular and collagen adhesion proteins. Our study revealed the dissemination of the t2873 strain to the majority of Israeli dairy farms. The possibility of inter-farm transmission should be monitored and prevented.