The Research Column

The transition period is a critical period for dairy cows, characterized between three weeks before and three weeks after calving. This is a challenging period for dairy cows because of milk genesis, uterine contraction, as well as metabolic and hormonal changes associated with negative energy balance. Yeast products and yeast-containing feed ingredients can be used as a nutritional feed additive to improve health and performance during the transition between pregnancy and early lactation.

Mastitis is the most common disease in dairy cows, causing significant economic effects on milk production and compromising animal welfare. Antibiotic dry cow therapy (aDCT) is an effective way to control mastitis, as cows are susceptible to new within-udder infection at the time of drying-off and again during the immediate post-calving period. Selective dry cow therapy means that only infected or presumed infected cows are treated, instead of dry cow therapy being used as a treatment for all cows.

The consumption of fermented dairy products is thought to potentially prevent or help to control type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) through mechanisms of increased satiety, improved insulin sensitivity, increased glucose tolerance and maintenance of the gut microbiota. However, research results are inconsistent, and a recent meta-analysis of observational studies reported a neutral association between intake of fermented dairy and T2DM. The meta-analysis was limited by the lack of examination of the effect of fermented dairy consumption on diabetes prevention.

Discipline: dairy & health; Keywords: inflammatory diseases, CLA, fishy flavors, rumen-inert calcium salts, sensory panel.

This topic was addressed by K.A.S. Nelson and S. Martini in a paper called: Increasing omega fatty acid in cow's milk through diet manipulation: Effect on milk flavor. The paper was published in the Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 92, pages 1378-1386.

Discipline: disease; Keywords: pathogen, faecal culture, blood serum tests, economic losses, culling.

How does infection with Johne's disease affect milk production in dairy herds? Smith and co-workers studied the status of the disease in three herds in the US and tried to predict the impact on milk production when the condition is latent or when the cows are actually shedding cells. The study was published in the Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 92 of 2009, pages 2653 to 2661, with the title: A longitudinal study on the impact of Johne's disease status on milk production in individual cows.

Discipline: animal welfare; Keywords: pain levels, behaviour, stress levels, serum cholesterol, wound healing.

Discipline: ethics; Keywords: animal welfare, improving efficiency, traditional systems, organic production, carbon footprint.

Discipline: technology adoption; Keywords: technological advances, activists, consumers, recombinant bovine somatotropin, safety and health implications.

Discipline: food safety; Keywords: background microbial population, salt, potassium chloride, food contact surfaces, salt-to-moisture ratio, pH.