The Research Column

Enteric methane production needs to be reduced in livestock, also in dairy cows. Methanogenesis by methanogens in the rumen is responsible as their fermentation results in hydrogen accumulation which is usually picked up into the CH₄ molecule as one of the end products. The compound 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP), marketed as Bovaer, has been shown to inhibit the enzyme methyl-coenzyme M reductase, which is responsible for the last step in methanogenesis, and which in studies have shown a substantial reduction in methane yield.

For a food to be considered a good source of calcium (Ca), it must have a high Ca concentration and the Ca must be highly bioavailable. Dairy products have traditionally been considered excellent sources of Ca due to both a high Ca density and bioavailability. For example, a glass of 240 mL milk is estimated to contain 300 mg Ca, providing about 96 mg absorbable Ca and a bioavailability of 30 %, which is considered to be high.

Heat stress occurs when animals are unable to effectively dissipate heat from metabolism associated with digestion, maintenance and production, plus any heat gained from the environment, the latter being more prominent if the temperature-humidity index (THI) exceeds the comfort zone. In high producing (Holstein) dairy cows, the condition is exaggerated because of the high metabolic load associated with the elevated metabolic demands of lactation.

Since mastitis resistance and milk SCC have a close relationship with udder and teat conformation features, selecting cows with ideal udder and teat shape may be a proposition. Also, the use of technologies such as sonography to detect udder health should be pursued. Ultrasound is commonly used in human medicine to check the mammary glands, for example to differentiate between cystic and solid lesions using 5-13 MHz scanners. Ultrasound is a non-invasive and non-destructive diagnostic tool which could provide real time images of the healthy and mastitic organ.

Soybean meal is globally probably the most favoured protein supplement in dairy cow diets, but increased demand has elevated its price, which necessitates evaluating other options. One such option is canola meal, with limited research suggesting that canola meal is used as efficient or more efficiently for milk production than soybean meal. Some research showed that the inclusion of canola meal increased DMI, milk yield and milk protein compared to soybean meal and other protein sources.

New-born calves are susceptible to disease due to an under-developed immune system, which at this stage is only supported by an inadequate intestinal microbiota. If healthy, the microbiota nevertheless protects against harmful gut micro-organisms, activates the immune system and assists in initial calf nutrition. Colostrum at this stage is crucial to allow large-molecule immunoglobulins to pass through the short-lived comparatively large pores in the intestinal wall.

The aim of the study by the authors cited was to identify subclinical mastitis in the udder through zootechnical data, infrared thermography (IRT) and machine learning techniques.

Milk fat depression is a costly and complex disorder of mostly high-producing TMR fed dairy cows, with milk fat sometimes declining up to 50%. It occurs primarily on high carbohydrate fermentable diets and/or with unsaturated fat supplements. Although known and studied for many years, there is still no way to address the root cause directly; the problem being rumen microbes that synthesize so-called antilipogenic fatty acids on these diets.

Increased data routinely collected by modern milking machine sensors and software has occurred together with increased cow attached sensor data, usually applied for fertility and health monitoring. To increase milking efficiency and gentle, quick and complete milking, it makes sense to investigate how various milking machine settings will impact on gentleness of milking through a proxy measurement of cow comfort during milking.

The ability of a dairy cow to perform similarly across time is clearly important and should be included in breeding programmes if feasible and heritable, since this would be linked to resilience. Consistency, defined as the quality of performing as expected each day of lactation, could be highly associated with resilience, where resilience is the animal’s ability to maintain health and performance in the presence of environmental challenges such as pathogens, heat waves and nutritional changes.