When temperatures hit 70oF, cattle begin experiencing heat stress. Dairy farmers breeding heat-tolerant cattle using the Australian Breeding Value are reducing lost milk yield during hot, sticky summer months. The ABV testing has drawn considerable attention worldwide as heat losses are often seen between 25 percent and 40 percent of their herd’s milk yield. Source: Good … [Read more...]
Beef-dairy crossbreds often heartier than purebreds
In a first-of-its-kind study published in the Journal of Dairy Science, a team led by Penn State researchers determined that by the age of eight months, on average, the hybrid calves that recovered from pneumonia achieved similar average daily growth to calves that never had pneumonia. Source: FEEDSTUFFS, February 2025. Link. Study researchers reported that pneumonia … [Read more...]
New research unlocks the secret to boosting colostrum production in dairy cows
Colostrum variability remains a continuing topic in animal production. We all agree it’s the primary source of antibodies that protect newborns from sickness, while providing necessary nutrients for growth and development. As such, it is more than milk. In dairy production, colostrum varies by cow and its contents determine how well calves develop, grow and become part of a … [Read more...]
Social studies for dairy calves
The best way to house dairy calves has been a recurring discussion topic over the last decade or so among dairy producers. With industry standards changing faster than ever, the idea of paired housing has been getting more consideration. Not a new topic, a post from 2016 referenced a Journal of Dairy Science study on paired housing benefits <Link>. In this article, … [Read more...]
Beef impact on dairy gestation
Little had been known about the impact of beef semen on the dairy cow until a project at Pennsylvania State University that was summarized in the Journal of Dairy Science. . . . using beef sires on your dairy herd isn’t going to hurt a herd of high-producing dairy cows.” – Bailey Basiel, PhD candidate Source: STgenetics, January 10, 2024. Link. Basiel reports there was a … [Read more...]
Condition of surplus dairy calves during marketing
Surplus dairy calves are sold soon after birth and often marketed through a third party before entering veal or dairy beef production. A portion of these mostly male calves failed transfer of passive immunity and exhibited clinical signs of disease on arrival at calf-raising facilities. Researchers sought to better understand elements of calf health and morbidity during the … [Read more...]
The effect of day-only versus day-plus-night cooling of dairy cows
We shared cattle heat stress reminders in a recent post <Link>. The results of a recent study showed the benefits of enhanced day+night cooling versus day-only cooling of dairy cows. Over the duration of the study, enhanced day+night cooling cows produced more milk, had lower rumen temperatures and reduced panting compared with day-only cooling cows. When temperatures … [Read more...]
Transition cows. It’s tough being the new kid
Maureen Hanson shares takeaways from a recently published collection in the Journal of Dairy Science authored by Kathryn Proudfoot and Juliana Huzzey. Highlights include: Primiparous cows face new experiences outside of their control during transition. Primiparous and multiparous cows have different social, feeding and lying behaviors. When regrouped, primiparous … [Read more...]
Measuring lameness prevalence in dairy cows: Effects of case definition and assessment frequency
Identifying lameness is challenging. Without routine assessments, on-farm and consistent case definitions, understanding the percentage of dairy cows lame at any one time makes it difficult to determine the effect of lameness prevalence. Still, lameness at any level can cause pain, reduce milk production, shorten longevity and diminish reproductive performance. Researchers … [Read more...]
Younger stock love grooming brushes, too
Access to grooming brushes for lactating cows shows they help reduce stress, keep animals cleaner and limit injuries. They also limit damage to facilities caused by cows that otherwise rub their heads and bodies on gates, pen walls and edges of feed and water troughs. New research says the same goes for young calves as well. The study, published in the Journal of Dairy … [Read more...]
Udder conformation, increasing concerns for farmers
Opinion, including Complimentary Commercial Content Dairy cows are expected to last 10 seasons. But New Zealand dairy producers are culling cows that should have been in their prime. Their udders simply aren’t holding up. Udders are blowing out, and some cows have had poor suspensory ligaments which became evident when they got a bit of age, shared producer Reg … [Read more...]
Student focus group zeroes in on the future dairy farms and public expectations for dairy cattle care
Undergraduate students studying dairy or animal science gathered in a focus group during a 2019 meeting to discuss the future of dairying. This research is important as our industry works to improve health and well-being of dairy farm workers and cattle, in addition to improving public perceptions of the business. This generation of students will lead dairy initiatives, set … [Read more...]
Virtual fencing technology to intensively graze lactating dairy cattle, really?
Grazed pasture is generally the most cost-effective nutrient source in pasture-based dairy systems. A recent study compared traditional electric fence to GPS technology connected to cow collars. The objective was to measure the technology efficacy and pasture use outcomes. Source: Journal of Dairy Science, April 1, 2021. Link. Overall, this study demonstrated a successful … [Read more...]
Effects of a mastitis treatment strategy with or without on-farm testing
We respect the assessment of hands-on experience in real daily farm settings that was part of this study. We’ve shared an excerpt of the summary verbatim. Using on-farm tests in farmers' decision-making process resulted in more treatments in accordance with the etiology of mastitis than without on-farm testing. A diagnosis and treatment strategy with on-farm testing is … [Read more...]
Microchips that monitor temperature work, but not yet ready for primetime
The dairy industry has anxiously awaited a day when calves would pass through a gateway where RFID-enabled readers would record health metrics by individual animal. The technology exists and works to record temperature passively, but according to recent research the temperatures recorded do not yet correlate to traditional rectal temps. Source: Journal of Dairy Science, … [Read more...]
How now shall we house cows
Contemporary dairy cattle housing practices are at odds with societal perceptions of positive animal welfare. Non-dairy persons often emphasize the importance of naturalness for dairy cattle. Their expectations include pasture, freedom of movement and the ability to interact socially with other cows. In a symposium review, the authors share perspectives on animal welfare … [Read more...]
Pathogen-specific risk factors in acute outbreaks of respiratory disease in calves
Animal health pros and bovine veterinarians working with dairy producers may find validation for some of their hypotheses in this research. The conclusion statement tells the story: Viral infections play an important role in epidemic outbreaks of respiratory disease, and a strict winter seasonality is especially present for bRSV. Bovine coronavirus was most prevalent and … [Read more...]
Long-term effects of postpartum clinical disease in dairy cows
Researchers continue to study various effects of postpartum clinical disease to dairy production. The transition period will make or break a lactation and quite possibly the entire productive life of a cow. Considering the performance of a dairy cow over several years and lactations makes disease incidents during her production lifetime important considerations. A recent … [Read more...]
Beef bulls + dairy cows can compromise milk production
Unable to return a surplus of female calves, dairies are assertively seeking to breed and sell surplus calves for meat production. However, many strongly antagonistic traits associated with calving performance and carcass merit can be detrimental to the cows’ ability to calve and re-establish pregnancy early postcalving without any compromise in milk production. Researchers … [Read more...]
July 2018, Journal of Dairy Science
One of the easiest ways to stay in touch with dairy research is by skimming the Interpretive Summaries section. We’ve linked that section for you. Here are some interesting studies: A role for serotonin in lactation physiology—Where do we go from here?, Link. Comparison of adhesion characteristics of common dairy spore formers and their spores on stainless steel and … [Read more...]
Latest topics from Journal of Dairy Science
This journal and others may intimidate us because they are, after all, scientific and require more than casual review. I’ve found using the Interpretive Summaries sort tool makes it easy to skim topics. From this issue we note the following abstracts: Associations between management practices and within-pen prevalence of calf diarrhea and respiratory disease on dairy farms … [Read more...]
December’s Journal of Dairy Science
We’ve linked to the Interpretive Summaries in this issue. Of special note are several summaries reviewing 100 years of dairy production in a variety of categories. If you like seeing how dairy production has advanced, these historical reviews will be of interest. Source: Journal of Dairy Science, December 2017. The table of contents is linked here < table of contents … [Read more...]
Everything dairy; Journal of Dairy Science, October 2017
Animal health pros servicing dairy farmers, dairy veterinarians or marketing products for dairy use need to skim the studies in this month’s issue. Our team found two papers of interest: Dairy calf management—A comparison of practices and producer attitudes among conventional and organic herds Effect of prepartum exercise, pasture turnout, or total confinement on hoof … [Read more...]
Journal of Dairy Science, August issue quick view
We’ve linked to the table of contents for this research-rich issue. We always scan for papers that seem to be applicable to the more commercial animal health pros. The interpretive summaries and one paper are linked below: Interpretive summaries Short communication: Behavioral evaluation of the analgesic effect of flunixin meglumine in lame dairy cows Source: Journal … [Read more...]
Dairy calf bedding choices just got easier
Bedding makes a difference say many dairymen. But does it? Dairy scientists compared pea gravel, rubber chip, sand and wood shavings to determine their effects on the health, physiology, and behavior of group-housed calves. Source: Journal of Dairy Science, January 18, 2017. In conclusion, the physiology and behavior of calves reared on pea gravel, rubber chips and sand was … [Read more...]
Journal of Dairy Science
The first edition of this publication offers a plethora of research and studies that represent significant investments in time and resources by animal health pros. The interpretive summaries provide a quick way to scan through the content for items that may pertain to an issue or opportunity for you. Source: Journal of Dairy Science, January 2017. … [Read more...]
Updated Journal of Dairy Science
We’ve linked to the most recent issue so you can view abstracts. Note the issue is divided into sections to guide you through the studies. Consider reviewing the interpretive summaries to get an overview of key content. Cow characteristics and their association with udder health after different dry period lengths is worth reviewing in the Production: Health, Behavior, and … [Read more...]
A validation of technologies monitoring dairy cow feeding, ruminating, and lying behaviors
Dairy personnel work constantly to improve management processes to maximize output while managing cow comfort and inputs. A recent study evaluated commercially available precision dairy technologies against direct visual observations of feeding, rumination and lying behaviors. Results show that the evaluated precision dairy monitoring technologies accurately monitored dairy … [Read more...]
Journal of Dairy Science
The amount of research going on in animal health at any given point in time is amazing. It points to how much work goes into keeping animals healthy which creates a safer food supply chain. For your convenience, we have linked to the table of contents from the latest issue of the Journal of Dairy Science. Source: Journal of Dairy Science, August 2016, Volume 99, Issue 8, … [Read more...]
Journal of Dairy Science
For your convenience we have linked to the table of contents from the latest issue of the Journal of Dairy Science. Source: Journal of Dairy Science, July 2016, Volume 99, Issue 7, p4999-5965. … [Read more...]