The Research Column

There is growing interest in understanding how dietary choices impact health outcomes through their effects on blood metabolites. One such dietary choice is cheese consumption, which has been subject to debate regarding its health implications. Cheese is high in fat, particularly saturated fats, which have historically been associated with cardiovascular disease.

Lameness affects the sustainability of dairy farms due to the impact on animal health and production, which culminates in ethical and economic implications. Despite efforts to reduce lameness in the dairy industry, recent studies reflect that the global average prevalence still ranges from 14% to 36%.

Dairy cattle and calves are regularly transported by calf buyers and to auctions and abattoirs by livestock transport vehicles from about 12,000 dairy farms in the United Kingdom (UK). UK Government guidelines require transport vehicles to be cleaned and disinfected within 24 hours of use or before re-use within that period.

Genetic selection, optimizing feed, inseminations, and housing conditions are among the major strategies aimed at improving production and profit in the dairy industry, with a great number of studies focusing on those topics. Absent from the list is a strategy that explores the ability to control the mineral composition of drinking water.

There are several CH4 (methane) inhibitors on the market with promising but variable results.

The transition period is defined as the three weeks before and three weeks after calving. It is a period of high demand for nutrients, as there are drastic metabolic and hormonal changes that carry over to la

Dry matter intake (DMI) plays a major role in characterizing feed efficiency in dairy cattle and has been widely used in dairy nutrition research. As feed represents the largest operating cost in dairy production, feed efficiency has gained increased attention for genetic selection.

Waste milk (WM) may be colostrum and milk derived from cows undergoing treatment for several ailments, including clinical mastitis, foot and reproductive diseases etc. Additionally, WM may have elevated SCC, rendering it unsuitable for commercial use. Yet despite this adversity, the use of WM in suckling programs is worldwide a common practice, since producers perceive the use thereof as an economical feed alternative which can effectively replace calf nutrition derived from bulk tank milk (BTM) or milk replacer.

A total of 42 Holstein heifer calves on a commercial dairy farm were enrolled in groups of three to different housing treatments; IH (n = 21) or GH (n = 21). Each treatment was composed of seven groups of three calves each. Calves in the GH treatment were housed in groups of three from six to ten days until 70 days of age. Individual pens consisted of one polyethylene hutch with a 1.5 m × 1.2 m outside exercise area. Group pens were constructed by assembling three polyethylene hutches with a 1.5 m × 3.6 m outside exercise area of wire panel fencing.

Butters were produced using milks collected from three feeding systems: outdoor pasture grazing (high pasture allowance); indoor TMR (no pasture allowance); and a partial mixed ration (medium pasture allowance) system, which involved outdoor pasture grazing during the day and indoor TMR feeding at night. Butters were manufactured during early, mid, and late lactation.