Feed & Nutrition

While the first 85ºF day is a blessed event for beachgoers and sunbathers, it is equally unwelcome in the dairy production sector. From parlors and pens to fields and farms, heat stress is a major challenge for cattle and the people who work with them.

About 10 years ago, I was working in another country and asked a question of a nutritionist I had known for 10 years previously: “What fat supplementation are you providing?” I was surprised when she said after about five years’ experience with high palmitic fatty acid (HPFA) supplementation, they no longer used that supplement.

Reducing shrink may be the difference between a dairy staying in or going out of business, according to Dr. Mike Brouk, professor and extension dairy specialist at Kansas State University.

Fatty acids can be flat-out complicated. First off, they have too many names. Linoleic is 18:2 and is also omega-6. Three names for the same fatty acid – is that really necessary?

Transition cows get a lot of attention as the transition period brings significant challenges. For dairy cows, the transition period is typically the last three weeks of gestation and the first three weeks of lactation, during which cows undergo a variety of metabolic and immunological changes that increase their susceptibility to metabolic disorders and infectious diseases.