While it sounds like something out of the livestock "Twilight Zone," hairy foot warts is a disease that is causing real-life suspense in California's dairy industry. "It's not really a wart. It's a painful dermatitis that can cause severe lameness in cattle," explains Barbara Reed, a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor. "The disease is becoming more serious in dairies throughout the state, affecting more than 50 percent of the cattle on some dairies," she says. Scientists don't know whether the condition is caused by a virus, spirochete, bacterium or something else. A team of UC researchers, funded by a grant from the California Dairy Foods Research Center, is working to learn more about this puzzling disease. Reed and researchers from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and animal science department also are testing various treatments for the disease at two Glenn County dairies and will soon be monitoring a third in Sonoma County.