Dairy Science Digest

DSD 4.6 | Accounting for accelerated genetic improvement

Producers are becoming increasingly willing to make strides in the herd’s genetic progress through using embryo transfer (ET). We’ve seen a 12% increase in this management practice. Dr. Asha Miles, a Research Geneticist from USDA, talks with us about the sire evaluation program and specifically about the impact of on farm reporting of embryo transfer on the data set.
Dr. Miles describes a dataset, updated 3x/year, available to all - accessible through the US Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding portal. This dataset can help producers unlock answers to questions about ideal sires for the herd. She recommends (1) the queries tab if you’re looking for a specific animal who has been genotyped and (2) Top Animal Listing where you can identify the ideal sire on specific indexes or traits.  
These findings were published in the Journal of Dairy Science article titled, “Improving national fertility evaluations by accounting for the rapid rise of embryo transfer in US dairy cattle.” Open access, available for download.
Topics of discussion
2:34       Greater than 90 million data points, verification of reproductive performance and collection of data3:43       Overview of trends in the industry 4:04       Figure 1: Embryo Transfer – recent changes (Figure available on page 5)6:09        Why has ET increased so much over the past 2 years?  8:14        Sire conception data – identifying / addressing unreported ET implant in dataset to improve genetic        evaluations through an edit, to limit bias.  10:28     Talk about Young sires – how can producers be sure that they are using reliable sires11:55  Some of the bulls with the biggest change in PTAs with our edits were Young Bulls 14:37  How can dairy producers better report data to ensure they are captured16:44 Transfer of data from herd software  17:44  Sires of the next generation (Figure 6 available on page 10)18:38  US Council of Dairy Cattle Breeding (USCDCB)– where can they find and what should producers be looking for? 20:10 Net Merit – economic index – Lifetime profit potential 21:11 Personalizing matings 22:44 Reach out – ask for help if you want to advance your herd 24:13 If you have research ideas for USDA reach out
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY; #sireconception; #SCR, #ET; #embryotransfer; #youngsires, #dairysciencedigest; #ReaganBluel
https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(23)00286-2/pdf

DSD 4.5 | Achieve Efficiency with Low N Rations

Protein is expensive. Farms decreasing protein to save cost or save the environment creates a need to tweak a few things to keep your herd’s rumen running smooth. A rumen starved of protein will result in less branch chained volatile fatty acids (BCVFA) production in the rumen. These BCVFAs help fuel fiber degrading bacteria, and when concentrations are right, digestive efficiency improves – unlocking home-grown, fibrous energy for your herd.
This month we talk with Ohio State’s Dr. Jeffrey Firkins about the work he’s done with Zinpro to find the ideal concentration and combinations of isoacids in your ration. A discussion about how isoacids will change efficiency through improved milk fat production in your multiparous cows and even how this could impact the overall quality of your milk for the consumer.  
These are all part of this month’s discussion featuring the Journal of Dairy Science article: “Assessing milk response to different combinations of branched-chain volatile fatty acids and valerate in Jersey cows”
Unlock nitrogen efficiency through improved fiber digestion and see how it impacts your farm's bottom line. Listen in to learn more today!
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY; #fiberdigestability; #Zinpro; #isoacid; #dairysciencedigest; #ReaganBluel

DSD 4.4 | Early Estrus Settles Cows

What if you were able to tell within the first 10-14 days of lactation, if a cow would settle to first service – two months later? What tools are being developed to help answer that question?
This month we talk with Dr. Stefan Borchardt about work his research team recently completed using AMS (activity monitoring systems) to track the impact of transition, on estrus expression and corelate that to reproductive success or failure.
Understanding the correlations described in this month’s feature article:  “Effect of transition cow health and estrous expression detected by an automated activity monitoring system within 60 days in milk on reproductive performance of lactating Holstein cows” will help managers link physiological changes to an AMS data set and make tangible changes to improve their reproduction program.
Early estrous sets the cow up for success, and AMS will become a data driven way to assess this. Listen in today!
 
 
 
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY; #AMS; #estrous; #VWP; #dairysciencedigest; #ReaganBluel

DSD 4.3 | Financial thresholds of successful dairies in NY

The dairy industry is capital intensive. Maintaining strong relationships with your lender, based on YOUR farm’s financial data, will help navigate through all the different market conditions. Specifically, using financial thresholds and benchmarking against similar farms will help your farm’s financial resiliency over time.  
This month Dr. Chris Wolf joins us from Cornell to discuss the article is titled, “Financial risk and resiliency on US dairy farms: Measures, thresholds, and management implications”. Listen in to this deep dive into the metrics the Cornell dairy team used to benchmark over a 10-year period.
Additionally, we discuss the recent Silicon Valley bale out and if we should expect it to have any impact on Ag Lending. Understanding these key financial thresholds is an effective management tool for successful herds throughout New York, listen in to see what they can do for your farm!
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY; #benchmark; #FINBIN; #CornellBusinessSummary; #financialresiliency

DSD 4.2 | How to anticipate colostrum changes

Colostrum: the liquid gold of life for newborn dairy calves. While it’s fairly universally understood how important colostrum is, we occasionally encounter the bizarre situation when a cow comes in with very little or no colostrum. Then, shortly later another cow comes in and nearly overflows the bucket. This situation intrigued researchers out of New York to closely study 19 Holstein herds in attempt to find associations of management to colostrum yield and quantity.
Listen in to Trent Westhoff from Cornell as he discusses the recently published article titled, "Epidemiology of bovine colostrum production in New York Holsteinherds: Cow, management, and environmental factors". You'll learn about the all the associations that can impact colostrum quantity and quality such as barn lighting, dry period management, parity and more. 
By anticipating these colostrum inventories you'll ultimately become a better manager of your newborn calves - Listen in!
 
To read the full Open access JDS article: https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(22)00750-0/pdf
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY

DSD 4.1 | Fueling the appetite of your herd

A good rule of thumb many nutritionists work by; when the cow increases intake - every 1 pound of feed increase will result in 2.5 additional pounds of milk. Capturing this “marginal milk” helps increase profits for dairy producers who are already covering all the fixed costs of the herd. For years, Dr. Mike Allen and others have studied the mechanisms that control intake so we can learn how to tweak our diet to maximize intake.
This month Dr. Barry Bradford joins us from Michigan State University to discuss the article is titled, “Fueling Appetite: Nutrient metabolism and the control of feed intake”. Listen in to this symposium review on this important topic to learn how we can manipulate the ration ingredients, or fuel source, to help increase her drive to eat and prevent negative feedback.
Understanding these mechanisms can help us better read and manage the herd’s needs through all phases of production and capture these profit margin opportunities.  
 
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY
 

DSD 3.12 | One minute delay is costing you

On-farm data mining from your parlor equipment could help you identify bimodality in your herd. Bimodality refers to delayed milk ejection during the early phase of the milking. Previous research and repeated work by M. Wieland’s team has shown that a delay in milk let down can result in a significant loss of milk. Equipped with this information our guest this month, Dr. Matthias Wieland, would take a sophisticated tool on farms to test parlor efficiency and effectiveness in milkout.
One trip he wondered – Could we reliability use parlor equipment to make similar assessments? This month we learn the answer to that question highlighted in the featured article, “Comparison of 2 types of milk flow meters for detecting bimodality in dairy cows”.
Listen in to learn more about the negative impacts of bimodality in your herd, what parlor equipment can do to help and ultimately how to motivate the parlor staff to break the cycle of bimodality. A little attention on this low hanging fruit could make a big impact in your bottomline - your software may be collecting all the information needed to manage through bimodality.  
For more information visit:
Quality milk production services (QMPS)https://www.vet.cornell.edu/animal-health-diagnostic-center/programs/quality-milk-production
Other Recently published, relevant articles from Wieland Risk factors for delayed milk ejection in Holstein dairy cows milked 3 times per day, Wieland et al. Journal of Dairy Science June 27, 2022
The effect of 2 different premilking stimulation regimens, with and without manual forestripping, on teat tissue condition and milking performance in Holstein dairy cows milked 3 times daily J. Dairy Sci. 2020
 
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY
 

DSD 3.11 | Ultrasound assessment of pneumonia

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a costly concern primarily during the calf phase production. This is especially relevant to veal production, when young and venerable calves are commingled from many farms. However, BVD breakouts can also occur on calf ranches raising dairy x beef calves or even individual dairy farms.
This month Dr. Stan Jourquin joins us from Ghent University in Belgium to discuss his article is titled, “Dynamics of subclinical pneumonia in male dairy calves in relation to antimicrobial therapy and production outcomes”. Listen in to learn how pneumonia might be lurking in your herd without your knowledge.
Consider ways to use ultrasound as a tool to quickly and reliability assess animals upon receipt to allow for differential management. Overall losses, from chronically ill animals, could be decreased by warding off the spread of infection and promoting early cure. Once lungs are severely consolidated, these animals are 4.2x more likely to become chronic and experience -0.25 lbs average daily gain over this phase of production.
For more information visit:Open access Journal article: https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(22)00644-0/fulltext  UC Davis BRD Clinical symptom scoring system: https://www.vmtrc.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk5141/files/local_resources/pdfs/BRD_ANR_Brochure_Nov%202016%20FINAL.PDF
 
 
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY

DSD 3.10| Fetal programming effects of Choline

Fetal programming is an emerging topic. This month listen in to learn more about how feeding Choline to your transition pen could transform the metabolism and next generation of the herd. Researcher Dr. Tucker Swartz at the Michigan State University and his team in Bradford’s lab fed choline 24 days prior to freshening and measured the impact on the calf's success through the preweaning phase. These results are in press in the Journal of Dairy Science titled, “Effects of prenatal dietary rumen-protected choline supplementation during late gestation on calf growth, metabolism, and vaccine response.”
They found impacts in the energy metabolism and immune function. Listen in for more information on how this affordable addition holds a large ROI on this phase of production and more.
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY

DSD 3.9| Turn methane from a liability into an asset

While it is a fairly unpopular topic among most dairymen, the carbon neutrality goal for 2050 has been declared by leaders of the dairy industry to ensure we are meeting the desires of consumers. This month Dr. Frank Mitloehner joins us from UC Davis to discuss his article is titled, “Defining a pathway to climate neutrality for US dairy cattle production”. Listen in to learn how this goal can become an asset to your balance sheet, through carbon credits on the open market.
We discuss the State of California and their relationship with their dairy industry as a case study. The ultimate result of an investment of public money has propelled CA dairy producers toward the goal of a 40% decrease in dairy methane by 2030. Revenues generated from the methane digesters result following the conversion of gas into a useable fuel for vehicles and the sale of carbon credits on the open market. Listen in to better understand the ideal size of operation, costs of install, annual assets and how to be part of the climate solution while cashflowing.  
Dr. Mitloehner can be found on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/GHGGuru and https://twitter.com/UCDavisCLEAR.
For more information visit:
https://clear.ucdavis.edu/news/climate-neutrality https://youtu.be/UOPrF8oyDYw and
#2xAg2030; #journalofdairyscience; @jdairyscience; #openaccess; #MODAIRY