The Research Column

by Heinz Meissner

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

Body condition score and its association with dairy cow productivity, health, and welfare.

Discipline: body condition score; Keywords: body reserve status, fat, hormonal changes, pregnancy, metabolic disorders.

Research in this context was reviewed by J.R.Roche and coworkers in a paper published in the Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 92, pages 5769 to 5801. The title of the paper is: Body condition score and its association with dairy cow productivity, health, and welfare.
Bovine milk antioxidant properties: effect of in vitro digestion and identification of antioxidant compounds.

Discipline: dairy & health; Key words: in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, antioxidant activity, mass spectrometry, Peptides, aromatic amino acids.
Calf birth weight and its association with calf and cow survivability, disease incidence, reproductive performance, and milk production

Discipline: birth weight; keywords: mortality, stillbirths, reproductive performance, calf-cow size index.

It is known that heavier calves tend to be more prone to stillbirths, dystocia and lower calf survivability than lighter, smaller calves, but it is not known whether calf birth weight is also associated with other factors affecting the economic efficiency of the dairy herd. A number of such factors were included in the study of T.C. Linden and co-workers reported here; the title being: Calf birth weight and its association with calf and cow survivability, disease incidence, reproductive performance, and milk production. The paper was published in the Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 92 of 2009, page 2580 to 2588.
Calving interval genetic parameters and trends for dairy breeds in South Africa

Discipline: reproduction; Keywords: fertility traits, selection indices, breeding values.
Changes in animal performance and profitability of Holstein dairy operations after introduction of crossbreeding with Montbéliarde, Normande, and Scandinavian Red.

Discipline: breeding; Key words: dairy crossbreeding, animal performance, profitability, modelling.
Cheese liking and consumer willingness to pay as affected by information about organic production.

Discipline: organic production; Keywords: organic cheese, demand, taste panel, willingness to pay, market.
Complete-lactation milk and component yields following a short (35-d) or a conventional (60-d) dry period management strategy in commercial Holstein herds

Discipline: management; Key words: short dry period, conventional dry period, production, lactation number.
Composition, coagulation properties, and cheesemaking potential of milk from cows undergoing extended lactations in a pasture-based system.

Discipline: cheese; Keywords: conceive after birth, cheddar cheese, lactation length, cheese yield, organoleptic properties.
Consumer acceptance of dairy products with a saturated fatty acid–reduced, monounsaturated fatty acid–enriched content

Discipline: dairy & health; Key words: cardiovascular disease, consumer acceptance, dairy product, monounsaturated fatty acid, saturated fatty acid.
Contamination of dairy products by the food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.

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