Latest News From Dairy Nutrition

Supplementing early lactation dairy cow diets with bile acids could provide a pathway to suppressing fatty liver and ketosis, and ultimately boosting milk production and profitability.

Feed additives can be included in dairy cattle diets for a variety of reasons. However, feed additives should not be considered a cornerstone to any farm feeding program.

Could probiotics improve early calf growth? Researchers think so.

Have you ever noticed that cows who calve during the fall and winter months tend to produce less colostrum than their herd mates who calved during the spring and summer? Here's why.

It has been well-documented that feeding preweaned calves on a higher plane of nutrition improves calf health and performance. However, providing calves more nutrients may also promote wound healing.

Sometimes called “sudden death syndrome” or “bloody gut,” Hemorrhagic Bowel Syndrome is characterized by dark, tarry, and sometimes bright red, bloody feces; dehydration; and decreased feed intake.

Inflammation creates additional stress at calving.

The transition period, 3 weeks before and after calving, is challenging for all cows. But for first-calf heifers, it’s likely the scariest and most stressful time in their young lives.

When it comes to the products of rumen fermentation, butyrate is a beneficial amino acid superstar.

In our quest for healthy, growthy, efficiently raised calves, have we lost some of the more fundamental elements of what makes calves tick?

Creating a herd where all the individuals are healthy and normal increases your chances of economic success.

Researchers at Virginia Tech University have investigated what effects infusing extra acetate or propionate, or lowering the pH, would have on thermodynamics of VFA in the rumen.

Feeding waste milk to calves captures high-quality nutrients and adds value to a product that otherwise would be discarded. But recent research sheds light on concerns about the practice.

Trace minerals are important to calves’ development, but these nutritional components can vary in source. It turns out some trace minerals are more palatable than others, resulting in differences in consumption.

Extra water – along with a possible electrolyte boost -- is never more important than in the heat of summer.

Paying attention to feed-bunk behaviors can alert dairy producers to issues with diet, feed management or delivery that impact health and performance.

We now know the beneficial influence of feeding transition milk to calves. Is there a way to deliver that nutritional and immunological support and bypass the tedious process of harvesting and feeding transition milk?

Its name sounds like something that belongs in the pages of a Dr. Seuss book. But festulolium actually is a highly useful hybrid forage grass – the result of a cross between fescue grass and ryegrass.

The sooner calves eat enough dry feed to sustain themselves, the better equipped they are to bridge the nutritional gap between the fixed liquid ration and a weaned diet of solely dry feeds.

Maternal colostrum is often considered nature’s “perfect food.” But does this “free” resource help calves achieve passive immunity as reliably as the guaranteed ingredients in a bag of colostrum replacer?

Keep an eye on water intake and feedstuffs. Avoid vaccinations when heat levels are high. Address the environment for management steps you can take to improve cow comfort.

Young animals often benefit from stemmy, lower quality forages. WIth regard to nutrition, this may seem counterintuitive but research indicates that's the case.

A high incidence of sole ulcers in a dairy herd is probably not the fault of the ration.

In the quest to find alternatives to antibiotics to fight disease in dairy calves, essential oils are the subject of a growing body of calf health research.

A protocol overhaul helped the team at Singing Brook Farms, Imler, Pa., up their game in colostrum delivery. Two of their key managers share how they now seamlessly deliver high-quality colostrum to every newborn calf.

Providing free choice water to newborn calves has been shown to deliver a wide array of benefits in terms of calf health and performance. But it’s also a huge challenge for some farms in the winter.

TMR consistency and composition are important to efficient and reliable nutrient delivery in lactating cow rations. But the impact of those factors actually can span much further.

Habits formed early in life – whether good or bad – often carry through to adulthood. Like little children, calves, too, need to be trained on positive behaviors, including the way they eat.

More and more farms have made the switch from feeding calves individually to group autofed systems. However, disease detection in group-housed calves remains a challenge. Could autofeeders help detect sick calves?

Anti-caking agents make the pellet manufacturing process easier, and can help prevent ground feeds from doming, bridging, and sticking to equipment.

Incidence rates for displaced abomasum (DA) range from 1% to 6%, and up to 90% of DA's happen within the first 30 days in milk.

As feed prices currently challenge U.S. livestock producers, Feedipedia can be a resource for incorporating non-traditional feedstuffs into innovative rations.

The intricacies of transition-cow nutrition and its role in lactation success may be made a bit easier with the Liver Functionality Index.

The rumen may be taking center stage in digesting another global challenge: plastics

“The more we understand about how specific nutrition components influence health and performance responses, the more we can support cows in their production cycles.”

Growing the ideal heifer is an ever-changing goal. A research team from Penn State University and the University of Florida recently explored the impact of bodyweight at first calving on milk yield and herd longevity.

It’s currently a seller’s market for qualified ruminant nutritionists, especially in the dairy industry.

They’re a danger to milk cows, to be sure. But mycotoxins in feedstuffs also can be damaging to the health and development of calves and heifers.

A highly fatal intestinal disease of adult cows, Hemorrhagic Bowel Syndrome (HBS), draws concerns from dairy producers, veterinarians and nutritionists, as it is also known as the sudden death disease of dairy cattle.

Prepackaged colostrum replacers are an easy way to quickly feed colostrum to a newborn calf. However, while they do come with many benefits, there are a few potential negative aspects of utilizing this nutritional tool.

Most research recommends 5-7% sugar as an upper limit. However, cows can certainly handle lots of sugar in the diet.

New Research from the University of Illinois finds that diets containing consistent energy levels and a rumen supplement during dry periods may be key, rather than a gradual increase method.

A high level of crude protein helps support development of the gastrointestinal system, especially important as calves go through the weaning process.

Researchers at the Ohio State recently completed a study evaluating how dietary protein and amino acid supplementation influenced milk production during the first three to four weeks of lactation.

Whether or not to feed hay to preweaned dairy calves is a longstanding debate, without an absolute answer.

SCH cows don’t display traditional signs of hypocalcemia, such as lethargy and cold ears. Instead, they are likely to consume less feed and produce less milk, both of which impact productivity and profitability.

Prevention is a key component to addressing the issue of hypocalcemia, including the subclinical stage.

The common industry practice of feeding first-day colostrum and then switching calves directly to whole milk or milk replacer may be under review.

When New York farmer Kelly Hendrickson was told she would have to start dumping milk, her milk inspector planted a seed in her mind.

An esophageal tube feeder can be a lifeline for young calves, delivering colostrum, milk or electrolytes when they are unable to suckle a bottle. But incorrect use of these feeders can be dangerous or even deadly.