The Research Column

The environmental impact of producing animal source foods is a critical topic of policy discussion in domestic and international governments, social media, the popular press, and the consumer marketplace. Livestock’s contribution to the environmental impacts associated with food production are significant concerns for all food chain stakeholders, including livestock producers who play a major role in reducing environmental impacts per unit of food.

Colostrum management to provide adequate immunological protection to new born calves has been well investigated, and thresholds for colostrum quality, as well as optimum volume and timing for colostrum feeding have been established. However, less is known about the effect of colostrum from a single dam versus pooled colostrum from several cows on passive immunity, as well as the subsequent antibody survival in the calf.

Milk consumption is motivated by both familiarity and habit and usually decreases with age. However, consumption during childhood and adolescence increases the chances of lifetime milk consumption. Understanding how parents perceive dairy milk and other dairy foods further enables development of dairy-positive messaging that aligns with their perceptions. The objective of the research by Dr A.N. Schiano and colleagues, done in North-Carolina, therefore was to understand parent belief systems around fluid dairy milk and plant-based alternatives (PBA).

Discipline: carbon footprint; Keywords: methane, nitrous oxide, volatile organic compounds, ammonia, LCA, emissions per unit of production.

This question was discussed in an Invited Review by S.E. Place and F.M. Mitloehner of the University of California in the US, in a paper entitled: Contemporary environmental issues: A review of the dairy industry’s role in climate change and air quality and the potential of mitigation through improved production efficiency, published in the Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 93 of 2010, pages 3407 to 3416.

Discipline: acidosis; Keywords: lactic acid, rumen pH, level of production, feed energy, SARA.

Discipline: carbon footprint; Keywords: GHG emissions, vegetable oil, fat content, type of packaging. 

Discipline: dairy & health; Keywords: nutritional and functional activities, major body systems, antioxidative and antihypertensity properties.

Discipline: antibiotics; Keywords: mastitis causing organisms, performance, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococci, Klebsiella, SCC, drugs.

Discipline: environment; Key words: production system, global warming potential, land use, fertility, efficiency.

Discipline: carbon footprint; Key words: methane emission, feed efficiency,