The Research Column | Milk South Africa

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by Heinz Meissner

Click on any of the publications below to read more about the specific topic:

Title	Date	Discipline	Extract	Keywords
Effect of time of maize silage supplementation on herbage intake, milk production, and nitrogen excretion of grazing dairy cows.			Discipline: pastures/grazing; key words: dairy cow,
Effect of gradual or abrupt cessation of milking at dry off on milk yield and somatic cell score in the subsequent lactation.			Discipline: mastitis; Key words: milk cessation method, dry off, milk yield, somatic cell score
Prediction and validation of residual feed intake and dry matter intake in Danish lactating dairy cows using mid-infrared spectroscopy of milk.			Discipline: efficiency; Key words: dry matter intake, residual feed intake, spectroscopy, prediction, validation.
Digestibility and clover proportion determine milk production when silages of different grass and clover species are fed to dairy cows			Discipline: pasture/grazing; Key words: legume, organic matter digestibility, eating behaviour, drinking behaviour, faeces score
The effect of different pre-cooling rates and cold storage on milk microbiological quality and composition.			Discipline: management; Key words: milk pre-cooling, milk microbiological quality, energy, milk storage.
Factors associated with profitability in pasture-based systems of milk production			Discipline: economics; Key words: dairy system, pasture-based milk production, cost control, profit
Effects of supplementing a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product during the periparturient period on performance of dairy cows fed fresh diets differing in starch content.			Dairy cattle often experience negative energy balance during the calving transition period, because of reduced feed intake and a drastic increase in nutrient demands after the onset of lactation, thereby contributing to high risk of metabolic disease and low immunity. This implies that feeding strategies during the calving transition period should be designed to maintain feed intake to mitigate excessive fat mobilization.
Invited Review: Culling: Nomenclature, Definitions, and Recommendations.			Standardization of terminology is important as people often develop definitions which the meaning thereof is not recognized or understood by others, or they use one term for different activities or functions. One such term is culling which is used in different ways leading to confusion or misinterpretation. To address this Dr J. Fetrow and colleagues were commissioned by the American Dairy Science Association to address the confusion and come up with recommendations.	dairy, culling, turnover rate
Economic consequences of dairy crossbreeding in conventional and organic herds in Sweden.			The crossing of parents of unrelated strains, or breeds, often results in offspring that are more robust, with better health, growth, fertility, and production. In dairy cattle, crossbreeding has also been shown to improve functional traits such as fertility, health, calving ability, and survival. Despite the compelling evidence of the benefits of crossbreeding, the majority of dairy farmers still prefer traditional pure breeding, and crossbreeding in dairy cattle is far from common.	crossbreeding, herd management, herd profitability
Gene mapping and genomic prediction of bull fertility using sex chromosome markers.			Successful reproductive performance is the basis for profitable dairy farming. Poor reproductive performance results in increased calving intervals and decreased milk production, and therefore significant economic losses to the farmer.	genomic prediction, pseudo-autosomal region, sire conception rate, X chromosome.