Avsnitt
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This episode comes to you from the “New Developments in Transition Cow Nutrition” seminar in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Dr. Santos, Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Zimmerman spoke at the seminar. Each speaker gives a brief overview of their seminar presentation, and then the panel takes questions from the audience.
In his presentation, Dr. Santos discussed some of the latest research using rumen-protected choline in transition cows. There is substantial evidence that choline plays an important role in transition cow nutrition, particularly because of its consistent positive effect on the yield of energy-corrected milk and benefits that extend beyond the supplementation period. (1:16)
Dr. Reynolds’s presentation focused on protein nutrition in very early lactation cows. Cows are in a substantial negative balance for metabolizable protein in the first week or two postpartum. Recent research, with abomasal infusions of casein, or the amino acids in casein, immediately after calving, has resulted in substantial increases in milk yield. In his lab, Dr. Reynolds has used rumen drenches to supplement cows immediately postpartum as palatability of supplements has been an issue. Providing essential amino acids and total protein to cows immediately after calving is a challenging problem. (2:10)
Dr. Zimmerman’s presentation discussed differences in rumen encapsulated products. There are four parts of a good ruminant encap: good ruminal stability, good intestinal digestibility, good feed mixing and TMR stability and biological response in the animal. (3:44)
Questions from speakers and attendees were as follows:
What is the optimum level of choline to feed to a transition cow? Given the close relationship between methionine and choline, is there a similar ratio between them like the 3:1 lysine:methionine ratio? (4:56)
Around 98-99% of dietary choline will be degraded in the rumen whereas, with lysine and methionine, we know there's an amount that escapes with the bypass protein fraction of the diets. Has the ruminant animal evolved not to require any bypass choline? (13:46)
Dr. Santos’s presentation focused on the benefits of choline supplementation to the transition cow. What are the benefits for the in-utero calf? (19:45)
What is the mechanism by which choline increases colostrum production? Is it just similar to the effect on milk yield generally? (28:21)
Does choline impact younger or older cows differently? (30:36)
Given the increase in intestinal length and changes in the architecture in early lactation, does this result in suboptimal absorption and scouring? Could it be a nutrient deficiency problem as opposed to something like acidosis? Should we analyze fecal samples to assess this? (34:50)
Do you think fundamentally we are underestimating metabolizable protein requirements in very early lactation? Or are we just not managing that transition particularly well? And if so, what sort of safety factors should we evaluate regarding protein nutrition? (41:45)
In the early lactation studies where metabolizable protein is supplemented in high concentrations, we see big milk and energy-corrected milk responses, but no increase in dry matter intake. Why is that? (43:34)
Dr. Santos describes an experiment in beef cattle, evaluating the inflammation impacts of pneumonia on essential and nonessential amino acids in the gut. This model might be quite similar to that of a dairy cow with metritis. (50:24)
Do you have any recommendations for amino acid supply for cows on grass? Is there anything new coming in that regard? Are there any specific recommendations for synchrony and/or ratios of energy and amino acid supplies? (55:58)
When should amino acids be fed after calving? (1:01:13)
In closing, each panelist provides a take-home message. (1:06:00)
Dr. Santos: Consider choline a required nutrient.
Dr. Reynolds: Most of our cows have the genetic potential to produce a lot more milk than they are achieving in very early lactation. We need to look at that in terms of how we might be able to help them achieve that potential yield.
Dr. Zimmerman: Not all encaps are created equal. Make sure that you’re able to see published in-vivo research with these products, done by reputable institutions, to prove that these products are working in the animals.
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Dr. Harvatine gave a presentation on the Real Science Lecture series on April 2nd titled “High Oleic Soybeans, Where Do They Fit Into Dairy Diets?” Access the recording at balchem.com/real science.
As Dr. Harvatine thinks back over his 15 years at Penn State, he didn’t think he’d do much fat supplement work. But we keep getting new questions, new products, and new challenges. One of these is high oleic soybeans, which could be an opportunity to grow some of our own fat on the farm. (6:35)
High oleic soybeans have been around for about seven years or a little longer. They were developed for fry oil (french fries and potato chips), but dairy nutritionists were interested in the opportunity to use 18:1 fats because of their lower risk of milk fat depression. (7:36)
Dr. Davis indicates that high oleic soybeans are a growing piece of the soybeans planted yearly. Seedstock availability is limited, but many companies have it in their pipeline. Pest and weed control traits will eventually be baked into the seedstock, but growers are taking a risk by choosing to grow high oleic soybeans. Dr. Davis’s company offers a premium for high oleic soybeans at their plants to encourage growers to take those risks. (13:15)
What factors should a producer or a nutritionist consider when using high oleic soybeans? Dr. Harvatine sees a couple of different ways folks are feeding soybeans. One, is using expeller soybean meal or roasted soybeans as a RUP source while accounting for the additional fat that it provides, and the other would be pulling the dry fat supplement out of the ration and feeding high levels of roasted soybeans to replace it. He has some hesitations about the latter approach and reminds the audience that high oleic soybeans are not at zero risk for milk-fat depression. Dr. Davis adds that a major consideration is economics. The market has been extremely volatile lately, with very high oil prices, recently, followed by a decline over the last year. As renewable diesel becomes more common and more crush plants come online, we could see depressed meal prices as well. (16:14)
Do we know what amount of oleic acid to be feeding? Dr. Harvatine shares that Dr. Andres Contreras at the Michigan State Vet School has seen molecular changes in adipose tissue metabolism with 50 grams per day of abomasally infused oleic acid, so it seems to be bioactive at reasonably low levels. The challenge, however, is we’re not sure how much actually gets through the rumen from different feed sources. In addition, there may be some interaction between fatty acids and the type of fiber on NDF digestibility that needs to be investigated. (26:50)
A concern with roasted beans compared to extruded products is the potential for higher variability with roasted beans. Dr. Davis gives some examples of considerations dairy farmers need to consider when roasting beans on-farm. (37:16)
Dr. Harvatine and Dr. Davis discuss how dairy producers may be able to take advantage of market volatility and be opportunistic in different settings regarding growing and feeding high oleic soybeans. Both guests agree that soybeans should be used in diets for all their nutrients, protein, RUP, and fat. They caution against pulling it into diets just as a fat supplement and not assessing what it’s doing for the protein side. (43:30)
We've seen a rapid increase in milk fat percentage in the US milk supply over the last few years. Why? Dr. Harvatine points out rapid genetic improvement, a better understanding of mitigating diet-induced milk fat depression, and better use of forages and fiber digestibility. Certainly, palm fat has helped, but it does not explain all of it. Dr. Davis adds that not only have genetics improved, but we have improved nutrition programs to support that genetic potential. (52:14)
In summary, Dr. Davis advises nutritionists and dairy producers to stay flexible as we’re still early on in the high oleic arena. Dr. Harvatine agrees there are great opportunities and lots of decisions to be made for each individual farm. Don’t forget the fundamentals of nutrition when considering this - view high oleic soybeans as a complete package, keeping in mind not only the protein, RUP, and fat but also quality control and roasting. (58:55)
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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This journal club episode comes to you from the 2024 Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference. The paper is “Assessing Transition Cow Health: Integrating Traditional and Novel Biomarkers” from the conference proceedings with Dr. Andres Contreras of Michigan State University.
What is a biomarker, and what makes a good biomarker? Dr. Contreras defines anything that can help assess a physiological response or pathological state. Two examples would be BHBA (beta-hydroxybutyrate) and NEFA (non-esterified fatty acids), both fat mobilization measures. (2:56)
Dr. Contreras structured the paper in three sections of biomarkers: (3:54)
Ones that can be measured by looking at cow records, like how many DAs or hypocalcemias occurred over a period of time.Cow-side measurements like BHBA in urine or blood.Samples must be sent to a lab to be measured. These generally cannot be used to make decisions immediately but can help assess how a transition program is working, for example.How many samples should be taken, and what cows should be sampled in a commercial dairy setting? Dairy size, pen size, and pocketbook size will all play a role in this decision. Experts usually recommend at least 10 head, and those 10 must represent the cows' population in your pen. If you have the ability to take more samples, Dr. Contreras recommends 10-12% of the cows in question. He then describes ideal times before and after calving to sample BHBA and NEFA for the most predictive value. (5:31)
Setting a target that integrates BHBA and NEFA the first week after calving with measures like body condition score and/or body weight is ideal. Cows will mobilize fat post-calving no matter what, so the goal is to moderate the degree and intensity of fat mobilization. (11:38)
Rumination and activity monitors are great for measuring biomarkers in real-time and are excellent tools for diagnosing problem cows early. Dr. Contreras has researched ultrasounds to measure fat mobilization, but this may not be practical in a commercial setting. Urine pH after calving might start to be a significant predictor of clinical ketosis. Healthy cows will have a higher urine pH than sick cows. (14:44)
A transition cow experiences several types of adaptations: lipid mobilization to address negative energy balance, skeletal muscle mobilization to address negative protein/amino acid balance, calcium mobilization to compensate for calcium loss, and oxidative stress due to generating energy. The goal is to target biomarkers that reflect the intensity of those adaptive mechanisms. Many of these require sending samples to a lab. A dairy’s nutritionist, veterinarian, and farm manager work together to create a targeted suite of biomarkers to assess their cows and reach their goals. (21:11)
Inflammation is often at the core of transition cow maladies. Measuring a panel of acute phase proteins the first week after calving and comparing the dynamics of how they occur through the year could help identify issues in closeup cows if those proteins are spiking. (26:03)
The group discusses the importance of using individual herds’ baseline data for prediction and assessment and focusing on closeup cows when fresh cow problems arise. They also discuss biomarkers for excessive protein catabolism and a liver functionality index. This leads to a discussion of whether creating an index might be a better overall measure than making decisions on just one diagnostic value. What if someday there might be one perfect predictive biomarker, and what might that look like? (27:50)
In summary, you should not rely on a single biomarker and start measuring early. Ideally, this would be in the dry period. If that’s too challenging, it would be at least a few days after cows go to the closeup pen. Cow-side biomarkers like BHBA, body condition score, and body weight can tell you a lot about transition cow health. Use all the biomarkers and herd records available to design your approach to transition cow health. (43:10)
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This journal club episode comes to you from the 2024 Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference. The paper is “Major Accomplishments in Calf Nutrition and Growth” from the conference proceedings.
Accelerated milk feeding of calves results in about a thousand-pound first lactation production increase. The mechanism is unclear: it could be isolated to the mammary gland or related to the functional ability of the digestive tract and liver to support lactation. Economic analyses have shown an advantage of $205 per calf. (6:04)
Regarding amino acid requirements of dairy calves, whey-based milk replacers require additional methionine; lysine is also common. Threonine can be limiting in soy-based milk replacers. Establishing amino acid requirements was beyond the scope of what the NASEM committee could do, and more data is probably needed for calves. However, CNCPS has amino acid requirements defined, so it’s possible to get in the ballpark for amino acids. (12:00)
What about feeding hay to young calves? The latest research has shown calves only over-consume alfalfa out of all the common forages. A study in Spain showed when offered alfalfa, calves consumed 14% of their total dry matter from alfalfa, decreasing the amount of starter they consumed. When offered grass hay or straw, calves only consumed 4-5% forage and they actually boosted starter intake and overall feed efficiency. Dr. Drackley recommends starting grass hay, wheat straw, or similar forages at 2-3 weeks of age. It should be just a sprinkling top dressed on their starter, or about 5% of the total if you’re feeding a mixed diet. (15:08)
Dr. Drackley covers five major accomplishments in this paper. (18:06)
Knowledge of colostrum, highlighting the establishment of different categories for passive transfer (excellent, good, fair, and poor) rather than just a yes or no. The four categories relate very well to the mortality and morbidity associated with young calves. Feeding more milk to young calves, highlighting a 2001 paper from Dr. Mike Van Amburgh’s lab that was the eye opener for the industry. The publication of the NRC in 2001, which had a separate chapter for calves, was perhaps the first time people started to think seriously about calves.Major growth in behavior research, particularly related to feeding behavior, shows calves fed conventional, limited amounts of milk are hungry as demonstrated by vocalization and increased restlessness.Publication of NASEM 2021.From a welfare research perspective, Dr. Drackley thinks cow-calf separation and group vs hutch housing will continue to be issues of concern for consumers. In Europe, there’s demonstration research keeping calves with cows during the milk-feeding period. (20:44)
What about the post-weaning slump? The big issue is weaning too early before starter intake has increased adequately. Weaning at eight weeks instead of six weeks results in an improvement in total nutrient intake. A gradual step down in the amount of milk provided will also stimulate starter intake. Starter quality and composition is critical, and water availability can be an issue for many farms. (23:29)
Concerning colostrum, a big advancement has been a better understanding of what colostrum does in addition to establishing passive immunity. The nutrition aspects of high protein, vitamins, minerals, and growth-promoting ingredients like hormones, growth factors, and cytokines all play a major role in calf health and development. Measuring colostrum quality is better and easier with the use of refractometers. Recent emphasis on how easily colostrum can be contaminated and how that negatively affects the calf has also been crucial. As much as we know about milk synthesis, we know very little about colostrum synthesis. Adequate metabolizable protein is important for quality and quantity, and immune-related vitamins and minerals are important. Beyond that, we do not have a good understanding of what regulates colostrum, particularly volume. (25:50)
What’s next in calf nutrition? Establishing a good amino acid model and trying to minimize both costs and nitrogen excretion, colostrum quality and quantity from the cow side, continued research into workable systems for accelerated milk feeding with a smooth weaning transition, and post-weaning feeding programs are areas where Dr. Drackley predicts fruitful research opportunities. (31:36)
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This journal club episode comes to you from the 2024 Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference. The paper is “Practical Aspects of Reducing Carbon Footprint by Dairy Farms Through Feeding” from the conference proceedings.
In the U.S., livestock competes with oil and gas for the top source of methane emissions. While “carbon-neutral” agriculture may be easy for modelers to show, Dr. Hristov feels this is misleading and probably impossible in practical dairy farming. However, mitigation can be addressed in several directions, and nutrition can have perhaps the largest impact. Management practices, genetic selection, and manure management can be added to achieve large reductions in total methane from an intensive dairy production system. (2:43)
As forage digestibility increases, methane yield and intensity will decrease. A forage with higher digestibility may gain a 10-15% improvement in methane intensity compared to a lower digestible forage. In addition, starch makes less methane than NDF does. Feedlot cattle produce half the methane of a normal dairy cow due to the increased starch in the feedlot diet. We know fats and lipids can decrease methane, but anything higher than 5-6% in the diet will disturb rumen function and lead to poorer performance. Comparing different forages, corn silage produces the least methane, with alfalfa in second place. (6:41)
Feed additives have the potential to deliver compounds for methane mitigation. One of these is 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP), the commercial version of which was developed in Europe. It is approved in Europe and Latin American countries. Australia and New Zealand are also working through the approval process. This compound inhibits the MCR enzyme (methyl coenzyme M reductase) which catalyzes the last step in methanogenesis. Dr. Hristov’s lab has consistently shown a 30% reduction in methane yield when diets containing 3-NOP are fed, with no impact on milk production and a slight increase in milk fat. 3-NOP is quickly metabolized, so it is most useful in a confinement system where it can continuously enter the rumen. The compound is stable in a TMR for up to 24 hours, and the optimum inclusion rate is 60-80 milligrams per kilogram of diet (60-80 ppm). (14:41)
Regarding regulatory approval in the U.S., the FDA has indicated that 3-NOP must be approved as a drug, not as a feed additive. Dr. Hristov has concerns about an adaptation of the cows to the compound. One study in Holland fed 3-NOP for a year, and there was a definite decrease in efficacy over time. Furthermore, efficacy may depend on diet, as 3-NOP is less effective with high NDF diets. It’s unclear if the decrease in efficacy over time is because the microbes break down 3-NOP before it affects methane synthesis or if the microbes shift to a different pathway of methane synthesis. (22:04)
Bromoform, a compound found in red seaweeds, is also a powerful methane mitigator. Dr. Hristov’s lab has observed 60-65% decreases in methane production early in the feeding period, dropping to 20-25% after 200 days. Other issues include the practicality of growing and transporting seaweed, the instability of bromoform, and the fact that bromoform is an ozone-depleting compound and a carcinogen. Seaweed extracts tend to decrease dry matter intake, and thus milk production and milk iodine increase dramatically. (25:54)
In the U.S. dairy system, where manure is usually handled as a liquid, methane emissions from manure and from the cow are equal. Methane digesters and flaring of methane are common mitigation methods. Acidification is another method whereby decreasing pH can decrease methane emissions and ammonia and nitrous oxide losses. Dr. Hristov predicts a lot of additives to decrease methane emissions from manure will eventually be available on the market. (31:16)
3-NOP has little effect on rumen dynamics but may increase butyrate. Dr. Weiss asks if different feed additives have synergistic effects, and Dr. Hristov thinks much more work is needed in this arena. (33:19)
While methane mitigation probably has no silver bullet, many little interventions can add up to a big impact. Looking forward, so many people are working in this area; we will have solutions for methane mitigation. (43:56)
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This journal club episode comes to you from the 2024 Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference. The paper is “Methane in the context of circular dairy farming” from the conference proceedings.
What is circular dairy farming? The concept is that instead of extracting or using natural resources and then discarding the wastes in a linear kind of fashion, economies should try to be increasingly circular. This would include the concepts of reusing, recycling, upgrading, upcycling, etc. Traditionally, the focus on methane was about the inefficiency and leakage of energy and finding a way to minimize that from the perspective of energetic efficiency and productivity. More recently, the focus on decreasing methane has been the environment. (3:19)
Dr. Newbold talks about the trade-off between circularity and methane. High fiber diets produce more methane than high starch diets. Adding fat to diets can also decrease methane production. However, starch and fat are human edible so if we leave starch and fat in feeds to decrease methane in dairy cattle, that leaves less starch and fat for human consumption. The concept of “local” also plays into circularity, whether that be feed production or milk processing. (7:01)
What are the metrics of circularity? Two approaches to this present in the literature. The first is human edible efficiency: how much human edible food are we producing? In a dairy setting, the measurement would be how much human edible food are we putting into the cow compared to the amount of human edible food coming out of the system? The second metric is the alternatives for land use. (10:45)
What is the best way to express methane production? Dr. Newbold shares three, and they are generally used in different contexts. First is methane production, usually presented as grams per cow per day. This is an easily scalable measurement, but may not be the best or easiest way to manage interventions on-farm. The second common metric is methane yield which is generally expressed as grams per kilogram of dry matter intake. Lastly, methane emissions intensity is grams of methane per kilogram of milk. (12:26)
When considering the human edibility equation, the denominator consists of the human edible content of the feed. In principle, depending on how hard you worked and how much money you spent, you could extract some of the starch, fat, and protein and use it for human food. However, there's no consensus in the literature about this kind of edibility coefficient. In other words, what proportion of the protein in soybean meal or the proportion of starch that's left in wheat middlings or distillers grains is human edible? Greater consensus about what is and what is not human edible would actually be quite useful in allowing for better and more consistent calculations. (18:29)
Dr. Newbold gives examples of relative efficiency comparing U.S. dairy production, a grass-based system, and a tropical grass based system. Each of these have a different human edible efficiency and a different amount of methane produced. (19:59)
When it comes to lowering the environmental impact of milk production, don't focus on one metric in isolation of the rest of them. If you're setting off in a particular direction, whether that's trying to drive methane down or milk production up, think about the potential trade offs and unforeseen consequences. (32:12)
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This episode comes to you from the 2024 Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, where Balchem sponsored a Real Science symposium titled “New Discussions in Amino Acid Nutrition.” Each of our guests presented at the symposium, and their presentations can be found at balchem.com/realsciencemedia
Dr. Van Amburgh presented “Amino Acid Nutrition for Maximizing Milk Component Yield.” When considering nitrogen efficiency, we generally compare intake nitrogen, which includes non-protein nitrogen, against milk nitrogen. In high producing cows, aggregate amino acid values are running about 70 to 73% efficiency. But when we work that up to total intake nitrogen, then we're down to 30 to 35% efficiency range. How do we reconcile ruminal nitrogen requirements to a point where we can optimize the capture of recycled nitrogen and reduce the amount of nitrogen that's being excreted in the urine? (2:27)
Dr. Hanigan presented “Understanding Amino Acid Bioavailability.” Our current methods for measuring bioavailability don’t all have the same precision. One of the classic methods, intestinal disappearance, has very low precision. Methods that rely on dilution of a marker or a label in blood or milk have much higher precision. Dr. Hanigan’s lab has worked to modify a carbon-13 labeled amino acid method to allow for evaluating changes in the supply of amino acids in the diet. (5:01)
Dr. Lee presented “Current Understandings of Lysine Nutrition in Dairy Cattle.” Rumen-protected lysine has more variable responses than rumen-protected methionine or histidine. Amino acid requirements were developed based on the role of amino acids as the building blocks of protein. But there are many roles of amino acids which may influence their requirements. Dr. Lee suggests including that type of information in our modeling may increase the consistency of responses to feeding rumen-protected lysine. (11:24)
Dr. Hristov presented “Histidine: A Limiting Amino Acid for Dairy Cows.” His group has worked with rumen-protected histidine to develop a dataset to define requirements. Microbial protein has considerably less histidine than methionine yet they are secreted at about the same level in milk and are metabolized similarly. All this together points to a higher histidine requirement. (18:02)
The panelists agree that the advent of genomics have resulted in a rapid change in high producing cows and with that, their amino acid requirements (and other nutrients) are also changing. It’s a challenge for feeding and nutrition programs to keep up with rapid genetic change. (21:02)
A question was posed by the audience about how Dr. Van Amburgh used amino acids to increase butter fat. In the research he presented, the diets did not overfeed fat and fed a blend of fatty acids, and also increased the sugar and pulled back the starch. (28:35)
A discussion of histidine follows, including its unique body reserves, its role in hemoglobin concentrations, and its potential impacts on metabolic energy efficiency (34:08)
Dr. Zimmerman asks about plasma histidine in very early lactation cows. Dr. Hristov is currently conducting a fresh cow experiment to assess this. His hypothesis is that because of low dry matter intake and high metabolic demand for amino acids, there will be a response to histidine supplementation. Dr. Lee agrees and feels that the fresh cow stage may be one of the most practical ways we can utilize rumen-protected histidine (39:39)
A question from the audience about the use of blood meal in lower protein diets sparks a spirited discussion among the panelists. (41:55)
In closing, each panelist provides a takeaway. Responses range from bioavailability of rumen-protected products to challenges to progress for ruminant amino acid research to comparing biological potential and economic response. (46:58)
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While Dr. Jardon only had milk in his glass for this pubcast, he did share about his bottle of “wheyskey” (whiskey made from whey) from Wheyward Spirit Distillery in California (https://www.wheywardspirit.com/). Iowa State Dairy Extension is offering a webinar, “Fermentation and Distillation of Whey to Produce Spirits at Copper Crow,” on May 15 at noon Central. Curtis Basina of Copper Crow Distillery in Bayfield, WI, will be the speaker. You can sign up for the webinar at https://go.iastate.edu/WHEY (4:13)
Dr. Dhuyvetter presented a March 5 webinar on dairy economics, which can be found at balchem.com/realscience. Key consistent data across time indicate that more profitable dairies tend to be larger. This doesn’t mean that all dairies must be large, but more the reality of the large number of fixed costs in dairying. Diluting costs by having high production per cow is also a mark of a profitable operation. Kevin reminds the audience that he’s talking about averages and there are exceptions to every rule. The key message is that you need to strive to get better. In the long run, profits are equal to zero in a competitive industry, and dairying is no exception. Dr. Dhuyvetter includes all economic costs in his analyses, recognizing all assets, including skills and capital, such as land, facilities, and time. (8:08)
Dr. Jardon suggests that exceptional operations emphasize efficiency and ensure they dilute maintenance costs well. Everything is fine-tuned: feed's always pushed up, stalls are full of bedding, and the time budget of the cows is usually spot on. Dr. Tully echoes this sentiment from his consultant experience. Phil also underlines the importance of focusing on how much it costs to make a unit of milk or income over feed costs rather than concentrating solely on saving money. Kevin agrees that all the little things done right and done consistently often make the difference in profitability. Further, if cutting costs negatively impacts production, then saving money is counterproductive in the long run (15:14)
Dr. Dhuyvetter reminds producers not to automatically assume they have lower costs because you raise your own feed. More often than not, the opportunity costs of producing that feed haven’t been evaluated. If you can produce nutrients more efficiently and cost-effectively on your land, then home-raised feed is a very good thing. But if you produce low-quality home-raised feed, it might be better to purchase feed elsewhere. In addition, growing high-quality feeds takes time and energy away from dairying. Phil saw this when he was a practicing veterinarian. Jim suggests that those larger operations can have a field crew and a herd health crew who aren’t the same individuals. The panelists discuss the shift from getting paid for protein in milk to getting paid for fat in milk and what that means from a cow nutrition and profitability perspective.
(22:51)
Dr. Dhuyvetter then discusses how culling practices impact profitability. He expects successful operations to have very low cull rates because they have healthy, well-managed cows doing all the little things right. On the other hand, unsuccessful operations may also have very low cull rates because they struggle to produce heifers, get them pregnant, and keep them in the herd, leading to keeping cows longer than one should. Jim and Kevin emphasize that the culling rate is individualized and will vary by operation. Phil suggests that perhaps some of the available software tools to help with culling decisions may be underutilized. (35:10)
Many dairies want to know if they should wait longer into lactation before rebreeding cows. Because production is up and reproduction has improved over the last 10-15 years, dairies are drying cows off while still giving a lot of milk. Dr. Dhuyvetter’s analysis of the data for Holstein herds in second- and greater-lactation cows suggests getting them pregnant as fast as possible and getting them back to peak milk sooner. (43:07)
Phil, Kevin, and Jim then touch on comparative advantage and revealed preference and how those relate to shifts in the dairy industry away from some states and toward others. (50:29)
In closing, Dr. Dhuyvetter suggests that the days of being very successful with gut-feel decisions are probably behind us. Making decisions based on the best information from data and analytics is the way forward. Constantly strive to get better, and don’t worry about what your neighbor’s doing. Control what you can control. (58:29)
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Dr. Penner describes two primary factors of gut health to be absorption and barrier function or permeability. His lab’s work on permeability is suggesting that intestinal regions really drive total gut permeability to a much greater extent than ruminal permeability in dairy cows. (7:06)
Ms. Bertens is Dr. Penner’s Ph.D. student and explains some new methodologies she developed for measuring gut permeability using chromium EDTA and cobalt EDTA. It’s common to use an oral dose of chromium EDTA as a marker to measure total tract permeability. Claire’s work, using cannulated cows, used a ruminal dose of chromium EDTA for total tract permeability and an abomasal dose of cobalt EDTA for post-ruminal permeability. Both of these markers are indigestible, non-metabolizable and have no transcellular transport mechanisms. Claire is working to publish the new method as a complete validation study has been completed. (9:15)
While this method is currently limited to using cannulated animals, Greg and Claire could envision a less sophisticated and more applied on-farm technique to assess permeability. Until then, there are still a lot of management observations that can identify potential issues with gut permeability. The appearance of feces and the presence of mucin casts can both be indicative of gut issues. Certainly dry matter intake is a major influencer on gut health, and Claire also sees potential in new technologies like rumination collars or rumination ear tags. (13:47)
Are there certain time points in a dairy cow’s life when she is at risk for increased gut permeability? Dr. Penner describes research suggesting if weaning is implemented too abruptly, that really increases the risk for decreased barrier function of the gut. Erratic feed intake patterns resulting from withholding feed for any reason at any age can also increase the risk of leaky gut. For example, depressed intake during the transition phase, along with anything that drives a response through an underlying systemic inflammatory response, probably creates risky situations for leaky gut. Claire is currently running a study looking at the impacts of intramammary LPS infusion on gut function. Greg envisions that learning more about gut function could create a new philosophy for treating sick animals. In the past, only antimicrobials were used to treat mastitis, but now it’s common to also treat with a NSAID for pain. Perhaps in the future, we will also provide treatment to accelerate the recovery of the gut to prevent secondary disorders. (16:15)
How long does an off-feed event have to last to cause an issue in the gut? It seems a fairly acute time period is all that is needed. Most studies are trying to replicate what happens on-farm, for example during mastitis, heat stress or the transition period. Greg indicates that not only will permeability be impacted, but ruminal absorptive capacity can also decline rapidly in these conditions. In Claire’s LPS challenge study, cows’ rectal temperatures peak around six hours after the LPS infusion and usually resolve within 12 hours. But most cows do not eat for a solid 12 hours during the challenge, and they are slow to recover feed intake over the next few days. In cows that aren’t sick but experience feed restriction in experimental protocols, they tend to overeat when they are allotted the full ration and this can lead to ruminal acidosis. (21:57)
Increased incidences of liver abscesses in beef-on-dairy calves are being reported in the industry. Dr. Penner speculates that perhaps these calves are not always achieving adequate passive transfer, and may not be receiving high enough levels of milk replacer to support a more robust immune system. It may be the increased beef cattle genetics in the calves are putting an added requirement on growth or muscle development that may not be met by lower levels of milk replacer or even lower colostrum feeding levels. (34:40)
In closing, providing cows with a consistent environment where they can meet their needs by their own behavior such as free access to feed when hungry and to a comfortable stall when it’s time to rest. Cows reward consistency with health and production. Gut health in a commercial setting is a relevant issue and it might go undiagnosed or undetected. Research into where in the gut permeability is occurring will help define strategies to modulate response. While off-feed events for individual animals might be harder to recognize in a large dairy environment, new technology may allow for earlier diagnosis. (40:43)
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Guests: Dr. Bill Weiss, The Ohio State University; Dr. Marcia Endres, University of Minnesota
Dr. Endres begins with a description of a dataset she collected containing individual body weights from 34 robotic milking herds. Weights were collected for every cow; every time that she came into the robotic milking station. Dr. Endres’ team was interested in the relationship between the amount of body weight change in the first 21 days of lactation and subsequent production. (7:34)
The team chose to use the first 90 days of production as their production measurement to make sure they had as many cows as possible in the dataset - the longer into lactation, the more likely to lose cows due to culling. Their results showed that 90-day production was extremely highly correlated with total lactation production. Drs. Weiss and Endres discussed the implications of young cows’ requirements for growth in the first and second lactation, which were easily observed in this dataset (13:13)
Dr. Endres’ team found a quadratic relationship between body weight loss in the first 21 days and milk production in the first 90 days of lactation. This suggests that if cows don’t lose enough, they aren’t productive. Or, if cows lose too much, they aren’t productive. The optimum amount of weight loss for cows in their second or greater lactation was around 5%, while for the first lactation cows it was 7.4%. Dr. Endres hypothesizes that cows who lost more than the optimum may have been sick because they’re probably not coming to the bunk if they’re losing that much weight. And cows who gained weight might be animals who just do not have as much genetic potential to produce milk. (17:15)
Dr. Weiss and Dr. Endres emphasize that today’s dairy cows are designed to mobilize body weight early in lactation. They are not able to eat enough to compensate for the amount of milk they are producing. Intake is going up as they move through early lactation, and cows can lose some weight and not have issues. The guests discuss the importance of an aggressive fresh cow management plan and designing diets specifically for the fresh cow group. (22:09)
Dr. Endres explains at the extremes, the highest producing cows produced around 30-35 pounds more milk each day than the lowest producing cows. But even halfway in between, it was 10-15 pounds of milk per day and those are not small numbers! Monitoring and managing body weight change has tremendous management potential, particularly with the increasing technology available to dairy herds. Identification of poor performing cows could happen sooner and appropriate interventions could be identified earlier. (26:37)
Is there any reason this can’t be extrapolated to conventional farms that are not using robots? Dr. Endres thinks it would carry over, even though the conventional farms are feeding differently and can’t supplement individually like the robot systems. These results point to feeding fresh cows in their own group while paying close attention to access to feed and limit overcrowding. If Dr. Endres could do the study over, she would like to have reproduction and health records to compare with the milk production and weight loss data. (28:22)
Each panelist summarizes their takeaways from this research. Dr. Morrow suggests that the industry is probably not managing fresh cows nearly as intensely as they should. Their needs for calories as well as amino acids in early lactation are probably greater than we know, and we must do a better job supplying those nutrients and allowing cows to be comfortable, eat, and reach their peak potential. Dr. Weiss agrees and adds that female mammals are designed to mobilize body reserves. The idea that cows should not lose condition in early location is wrong. We don’t want them to lose too much, but losing some is perfectly normal. We need to work around that balance and include it in our formulation goals. Dr. Endres emphasizes the focus on fresh cows and suggests technology is going to allow for more and better data that will help monitor fresh cows and intervene as needed. (33:38)
Dr. Endres wraps up with a brief description of the upcoming Four State Dairy Nutrition Conference in June and Balchem’s Amino Acid pre-conference symposium on the first day to open the conference. (35:40)
The paper can be found here: https://www.jdscommun.org/article/S2666-9102(23)00041-8/pdf
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This episode is from a webinar presented by Dr. Clay Zimmerman, Director of Technical Services at Balchem. To view the full webinar and access the slides referenced during this podcast, visit balchem.com/realscience and scroll down to the webinar presented on December 12th, 2023.
Dr. Zimmerman begins with an overview of Balchem’s microencapsulation technologies in both human nutrition and health and animal nutrition and health businesses. (0:31)
Encapsulation is a generic term, and huge differences can exist between products that protect the same compound. Balchem’s microencapsulation technology consists of packaging a substance in a lipid capsule for protection. Encapsulates can differ in design, technology, and performance. When it comes to performance in ruminant encapsulates, stability in feed mixing and TMRs and animal performance are evaluated. (6:50)
Lipid encapsulation usually comes in one of two forms, a matrix encapsulation or a true encapsulation. A good analogy for matrix encapsulation is chocolate chip cookie dough, where some active compound is always at the surface. In the rumen, this leads to reduced protection and stability. True encapsulation, often called single-layer or multiple-layer encapsulation, is analogous to an m&m where there is no active compound at the surface, and this leads to greater protection and stability in the rumen. (12:00)
So why do we encapsulate nutrients for ruminants? In general, for targeted delivery within the gastrointestinal tract of the animal because rumen fermentation often results in massive breakdown of most of these important compounds. For example, choline chloride is almost completely degraded in the rumen. (18:30)
When developing or improving rumen-protected products for nutrients such as choline chloride, methionine, lysine, or niacin, the primary goal is to protect them as much as possible from ruminal degradation while achieving post-ruminal absorption. Once prototypes have good ruminal stability and good intestinal release, the next step is feed and mixing stability. Dr. Zimmerman goes on to showcase different research techniques for evaluating encapsulates in these three areas as well as in animal performance. (20:39)
In summary, there are many differences in encapsulated products for dairy cows, due to the design of products; types, amount, and composition of coatings; manufacturing differences; and differences in nutrient content, bioavailability, and feed stability. True encapsulates, or multi-layered coating products, are preferred for ruminant applications due to their higher levels of ruminant and feed stability. Four really important features of a good ruminant encapsulate are good ruminal stability, good nutrient bioavailability, feed and TMR stability, and ultimately biological performance. (47:05)
Dr. Zimmerman then answers questions from the webinar audiences about in vitro techniques and bioavailability, coating ingredients, the importance of base diet for rumen fluid donors in in vitro techniques, variation in products from in vitro to in vivo results, how long it takes to develop a new encapsulated product (Balchem spends years and even decades researching before a product release), and why nutrient contents differ so much in similar encapsulated products on the market. (49:58)
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This episode is from a webinar presented by Dr. Sandra Godden from the University of Minnesota Department of Veterinary Population Medicine. To view the full webinar and access the slides referenced during this podcast, visit balchem.com/real science and scroll down to the webinar presented on November 8, 2023.
Dr. Godden begins with the reminder that despite decades of research and definite advances in colostrum management, there's still a lot to learn and research. Her goal is to give an update on new findings that can be utilized in your colostrum management program. (0:21)
Promoting calf health and growth is a balance between maximizing immunity and minimizing infectious disease challenges. Colostrum is one aspect of maximizing immunity and provides passive immunity in the form of immunoglobulins. It also contains bioactive compounds, immune factors, growth hormones, leukocytes, and nutrients. (1:09)
We can measure adequate transfer of passive immunity via serum immunoglobulin G levels, where anything greater than 10 grams per liter is a pass. Passive transfer of immunity is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality, especially in the first 2-3 months of life. Successful passive transfer has many other intermediate and long-term benefits, including improved growth rate and feed efficiency, leading to even longer-term benefits of decreased age at first calving and potentially improved milk production in the first and second lactation. (4:18)
When building a comprehensive colostrum management program, Dr. Godden distills it down to the five Qs: quality, quantity, quickness, squeaky clean, and quantifying. Starting with quantifying passive transfer, in a perfect world, we would have a quick, inexpensive, on-farm serum IgG test that could be run on whole blood. Unfortunately, that test does not exist. In research studies, we send serum samples off to reference labs to have serum IgG tested. On-farm, we use indirect tests such as serum Brix or serum total protein. Historically, the literature has said that a serum total protein of somewhere between 5.0 and 5.2 grams per deciliter most accurately predicts that IgG value of 10 grams per liter. If greater than 10 g/L IgG is a pass, is a higher concentration better? Yes. A good goal would be for 90% of the calves to have serum IgG higher than 10 g/L. More specifically, goals are around 40% of calves in the excellent zone of 25 or greater, roughly 30% of calves in the good zone of 18-25, and around 20% in the fair zone of 10-18. Dr. Godden references the corresponding Brix and total serum protein readings in her slides. (7:24)
Quality refers to the concentration of IgG in the colostrum, and experts have suggested that be at least 50 grams per liter or higher. This corresponds to a Brix reading of approximately 22% or higher. Several factors influencing colostrum quality are under our control, including the dry cow vaccination program, feeding a balanced dry cow ration, avoiding stressors during the dry period, avoiding excessively short dry periods, and milking cows out as soon as you can after calving. (16:18)
When it comes to quantity, a larger volume at first feeding will result in higher IgG concentrations in the calves. One study compared feeding two or four liters at first feeding with a second feeding of two liters at 12 hours. The higher volume first feeding showed better results. (29:23)
As for quickness, IgG absorption efficiency is optimal in the first couple of hours after birth but is then slowly reduced as gut closure occurs. Ideally, we want to feed the calf as soon as possible, hopefully within one to two hours of birth when possible. (30:35)
The last Q is squeaky clean or cleanliness, specifically the level of bacterial contamination in colostrum. Obviously, we don't want to feed colostrum that is laden with pathogens that can cause disease. However, high bacteria counts in colostrum have also been associated with reduced absorption of IgG. Dr. Godden details a number of critical control points that can be assessed if colostrum cleanliness is an issue of concern. (38:19)
Dr. Godden finishes the episode by taking questions from the webinar audience, ranging from average colostrum volume collected at first milking to what temperature colostrum should be frozen at to heat stress impacting quality and quantity of colostrum. (49:20)
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Dr. Räisänen completed this research during her Ph.D. at Penn State. The meta-analysis included 17 different studies published between 1999 and 2022 investigating supplemental histidine for lactating dairy cows. They divided the type of supplemental histidine between infused histidine and rumen-protected histidine and the basal diets between corn silage-based and grass silage-based. (4:34)
Primary response variables measured in the meta-analysis included dry matter intake, milk production, milk composition, and milk component yields. The researchers also calculated the efficiency of utilization of histidine and other amino acids supplied to the cow by the diets. Lastly, they calculated marginal recovery of histidine and evaluated the interaction between histidine supply and energy supply and how that impacts the efficiency of utilization. (7:38)
Dr. Lapierre gives a little history of histidine research. When recommendations were coming out about lysine and methionine requirements, the different studies recommended relatively similar amounts of lysine and methionine based on the proportion relative to MP supply. On the other hand, recommendations for histidine varied widely depending on the study, ranging from less than 2% to almost 4%. As emphasis has been placed on reducing the footprint of dairy production, interest has risen in feeding lower-protein diets. In this scenario, we would expect an increase in the microbial protein; however, microbes are relatively low in histidine content. If we look at the proportion of histidine relative to MP, as the crude protein concentration of a diet decreases, this proportion of histidine decreases. (8:34)
The meta-analysis revealed a clear response to histidine in milk production, dry matter intake, and milk true protein yield. Susanna and Helene are not sure if the dry matter intake response was due to a pulling effect because of increased milk and milk protein yield or if histidine has an independent impact on the brain, as has been observed in some monogastric studies (16:15)
Clay asks the guests what they think the histidine requirement is, and both agree that providing one number is not practical given the other interactions from basal diet to the efficiency of utilization to the concentration of other amino acids in the diet. (32:01)
Practical implications from the meta-analysis include an understanding that lower protein diets may very well need supplemental histidine for optimum performance, and cows pay a penalty when inadequate histidine is supplied. (35:09)
Helene’s take-home message is that histidine should be taken seriously. If you don't supply enough of it, then you'll have a penalty in your cows’ production. Further, the efficiency of histidine utilization will be affected by the energy supply, and we have tools with NASEM to assess if a herd is receiving sufficient histidine. Susanna echoes Helene’s message and adds that a rumen-protected histidine product on the market would be very helpful. (45:35)
The paper can be found here: https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(23)00416-2/fulltext
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Dr. Hristov started working with canola meal after he commissioned a review paper comparing canola and soybean meal when he was editor of the Canadian Journal of Animal Science. In that review, most of the studies used solvent-extracted soybean meal. Because canola has a higher oil content, it is always mechanically extruded to remove oil before solvent extraction. This paper is a more fair comparison because both meals were extruded and thus exposed to heat. (7:02)
There were 24 cows per treatment, and it was a continuous study rather than a Latin Square design. No differences were observed in dry matter intake, even though many studies in the literature have shown a higher DMI for canola meal-containing diets. Both diets had similar milk production and feed efficiency. Cows on the soybean meal diet had higher milk fat than canola meal-fed cows. (15:09)
Soybean meal-fed cows had higher total VFA production. Dr. Hristov attributes this to the additional free oil that was added to the canola meal diet having a slightly depressing effect on fermentation. The canola meal-fed cows had a higher proportion of propionate and a lower proportion of acetate than the soybean meal-fed cows. Serum amino acid concentrations were mostly similar with a few differences in individual essential amino acids. (21:40)
Serum glucose concentrations were higher for canola meal-fed cows. Dr. Hristov believes this was probably a result of the increased ruminal propionate since it is a primary precursor for glucose production. He goes on to describe the digestibility results. (28:30)
Bill and Alex discuss the nitrogen excretion data and how low in protein one could go before impacting milk production in an effort to reduce nitrogen excretion to the environment. (37:06)
Dr. Hristov’s take home message is when you are comparing these two feed ingredients in similar diets, if feed intake is not affected you'll have a similar response between extruded soybean meal and canola meal. Comparing solvent-extracted soybean meal with canola meal is not a fair comparison. (51:05)
The paper can be found here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223004101
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Dr. Godden opens this episode with a 30,000-foot view of colostrum management. Colostrum management has been a hot topic for decades, and herds still have opportunities to improve. Researchers continue to learn how to advance colostrum management. The basics include the three Qs: quality, quantity, and quickness. Other critical factors are cleanliness and feeding clean colostrum. Dr. Godden also briefly discusses important monitoring measures to assess a colostrum program. Research continues on the value of post-closure feeding of colostrum after the first 24 hours when the gut can no longer absorb antibodies. Several studies have demonstrated improved health, reduced scours, reduced bovine respiratory disease, reduced antibiotic use, and enhanced gain. Tricia gives an overview of their program, where they feed transition milk to their calves. (5:15)
Nutrition, adequate dry matter intake, pre-calving vaccination programs, cow comfort, and dry period length are all factors impacting colostrum quality and, to some degree, quantity. Tricia and Sandra describe a seasonal effect observed for colostrum quantity and quality associated with the fall months. While the mechanism of action is unknown, it is thought that day length and cold stress may play a role. Tricia indicates she is hard-pressed to get a 24 or 25 Brix reading on her herd’s colostrum in October. To prepare for this, during spring and summer, the dairy freezes 26-27 Brix colostrum to have on hand for use in the fall.
(14:14)
The relationship between the volume of colostrum produced and its quality is very weak. Dr. Godden recommends using a Brix refractometer to measure all colostrum. Tricia has observed a correlation between the amount of colostrum produced and udder edema, where more edema results in less colostrum. In Tricia’s system, she likes to feed anything over a 24 Brix as a first colostrum and anything from an 18 to a 22 as a second colostrum. They feed four quarts at the first feeding within the first two hours, shooting for the second feeding of two quarts within 8 to 12 hours. (29:18)
Tricia details the calf herd recordkeeping on the farm, which includes weekly serum protein data measured with the same digital Brix refractometer used for colostrum measurements. This data lets the farm see when the program isn’t working and when calves are stressed. The farm also records all treatments and can reflect on previous treatments over the animal's lifetime. She gives an example of a small problem in the colostrum management program having a large impact. The agitator flaps on the pasteurizer were in the wrong position resulting in denatured colostrum.(35:14)
Dr. Godden details some of the critical points in colostrum management, including adopting a routine monitoring program to measure Brix readings in colostrum and follow up with bleeding calves to measure serum protein. Cleanliness is very critical, and she sees a huge opportunity for farms to clean up their colostrum more. Not only do we not want to feed contaminated colostrum from a pathogen exposure standpoint, but research has also shown that high bacteria counts in colostrum negatively impact the absorption of the IgG into the circulation of the calf. This can be monitored by culturing the colostrum being fed, then backtracking through critical control points to determine where the contamination occurs. Tricia describes some of the important steps she’s taken over her 15 years at Shadycrest to improve their colostrum program. (42:57)
Tricia reminds the audience to remember that your first feeding of colostrum is setting up your milking dairy cow. If you set her up to do poorly because her first feeding of colostrum is poor, you're going to end up with a poor milking cow. Every calf born on the farm needs to have supreme colostrum inside of them because they're going to become a supreme cow. Dr. Godden echoes this sentiment: there are long-term economic benefits to the producer for getting their colostrum program right. These include an improved rate of gain, lower age at first calving, and more milk in the first and second lactation. It's well worth your while to get that job done correctly and get that calf off to a good start. (1:01:32)
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Today’s episode was filmed at the Future Directions in Choline Symposium put on by the University of North Carolina Nutrition Research Institute.
Our day two episode opens with Dr. Eric Ciappio and Dr. Jonathan Bortz of Balchem, summarizing day one’s focus on pregnancy and early life and previewing day two’s focus on the latest choline research targeting adult nutrition. (1:03)
The next guest on our roster is Dr. Mark Manary, a professor of pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine. Mark’s symposium talk discusses choline and food aid. Food aid products are specially designed to address needs from crisis situations. These specialized food aid products are standardized to meet great deficiency or inadequacy needs. On the most extreme side, there is a product called ready-to-eat therapeutic food for children who are starving to death. Other food aid products include those for severely underweight children. Dr. Manary’s research consists of clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa that include different nutrients in food aid to see if there are improvements in children’s responses. One trial with the inclusion of DHA found a 6-15 IQ point difference by adding fish oil or DHA. Mark hypothesizes that a doubling of that effect will be observed when choline is added. (6:42)
Dr. Rima Obeid from Saarland University Hospital in Homburg, Germany, joins us next. Her symposium presentation focused on choline and pregnancy outcomes. Their research group has found that low or insufficient amounts of choline in the mother’s diet during pregnancy are associated with a higher risk for serious birth defects in babies and that the liver health of the infants is also negatively affected by low choline intake of the mother during pregnancy. Rima’s future research includes investigating the impacts and interactions of folate and choline consumption during pregnancy on neural tube defects such as spina bifida. In another study, she will focus on the relationship between the severity of congenital heart defects compared to neural tube defects. In particular, they wish to look at the association with low choline in the blood of the children, the mother and the father, because a pilot study suggests a family pattern, which could be due to some genetic background. (17:18)
Our next guest is Dr. Susan Smith, Deputy Director of the University of North Carolina Nutrition Research Institute. One of her presentations centered on choline genetics and cognition. Her research has found genetic variation in choline uptake from the diet. One research question was, “Are there choline variants that affect how powerful that choline is in treating a disease condition?” In particular, Dr. Smith was investigating if choline could be used to treat children who have brain damage from prenatal alcohol exposure, and the answer is yes, it’s very helpful. Then, they evaluated if some children benefit more than others and found that there is a gene variant that affects how efficiently choline is absorbed from the diet. Children with the variant that reduced choline uptake benefitted the most from supplemental choline. In addition, there was an impact of the gene variant on cognitive function regardless of prenatal alcohol exposure. Children who carried one or two copies of this particular variant had reduced cognitive performance as compared to those children who were lucky enough to be born with the other variant. While we still don’t have a blanket recommendation for how much choline pregnant women should consume, Dr. Smith’s message to pregnant women is that eating enough choline lets your baby achieve its full potential. (23:32)
Dr. Isis Trujillo-Gonzales and Dr. Evan Paules, both with the University of North Carolina Nutrition Research Institute join us. Isis focuses on choline and brain/eye development, while Evan focuses on choline and metabolic health. Dr. Trujillo-Gonzales’s research has found that the neurons in the eye that receive light and connect to the rest of our brain are impacted by choline absorption. Her lab has also investigated the mechanism of action for choline’s effect on brain development. The stem cells in the brain that give rise to neurons are very sensitive to choline availability. If a pregnant mom is not consuming enough choline, these cells in the baby’s brain are not proliferating adequately. Choline is important in the microRNA that fine-tunes the regulation of this pool of stem cells. Dr. Paules’s research is focused on the metabolic symptoms of obesity and the impact of choline on them. For example, giving choline to someone who is deficient can ameliorate the symptoms of fatty liver disease. One area emerging in his work is the loss of lean mass as people age. It appears that increased loss of lean muscle is observed in people who aren’t consuming adequate choline. This suggests that as we age, making sure we have sufficient amounts of choline intake may help prevent the loss of lean muscle tissue. (32:58)
Dr. Bryan White with the University of Illinois is our next guest, and his area of interest is the microbiome. In particular, he discusses the role of the microbiome in TMAO production. TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) is a metabolite that has been associated with cardiovascular disease. In short, the microbiome produces TMA (trimethylamine), which is converted to TMAO in the liver. Some of the seminal TMAO literature suggests that there is a diet effect on the production of TMAO and that diet changes the microbiome so that more TMAO is produced in the bloodstream. When it comes to microbiome research, there are generally four questions that can be asked about the microbial community: 1) Who's there? 2) How many of them are there? 3) What can they do (given their genetic potential)? and 4) What do they do? The seminal research used 16s ribosome technology to evaluate which microbes were present and their abundance in the microbiome of people consuming omnivorous versus vegetarian diets. It stated that there was a correlation between diet and blood levels of TMAO. Dr. White took the small read archives of that manuscript (the sequencing they did of 16s ribosomes) and got the opposite results of the original paper. (42:25)
Our next guest is Dr. Jonathan Bortz with Balchem Corporation, whose presentation was titled, “TMAO and Choline: A Mechanistic Perspective.” In the last several years, there have been concerns about choline advanced by a group of investigators who have claimed that excessive intake of meat, eggs, and other animal-source foods (resulting in choline and/or carnitine upon digestion) generate a substance in the blood called TMAO, trimethylamine oxide. Their hypothesis has been that TMAO has a negative effect on the cardiovascular system and has been associated with a high incidence of cardiovascular disease. However, Dr. Bortz presented multiple examples of how the concerns about choline with respect to TMAO having a causative effect on cardiovascular disease really cannot be supported. In other words, choline does not represent a risk to any users, young or old. (51:42)
Dr. Julia Maeve Bonner with Sanofi joins us next to give an overview of her presentation about choline and Alzheimer’s disease. In her postdoctoral work at MIT, Dr. Bonner focused on the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, which is involved in making a protein that helps carry fat in the bloodstream. Dysfunction in this process is thought to contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s. APOE4 is the most highly validated risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Dr. Bonner wanted to understand what is happening in APOE4 high risk allele compared to the APOE3 neutral risk allele of this gene in brain cells (astrocytes) in culture. She found that the APOE4 astrocytes accumulated neutral lipids, particularly triacylglycerols, to a much higher degree than APOE3 cells. These lipid droplets is associated with many different dysfunctions in the cell that can be associated with neurodegeneration. If APOE4 cells were grown in a choline-rich media, the lipid imbalance was shifted much closer to the APOE3 cells. Dr. Bonner’s group was able to pinpoint that phosphatidylcholine synthesis is the mechanism of action by which choline supplementation had the lipid-shifting effect in APOE4 cells. She has also studied choline supplementation in mice that have Alzheimer's disease genes knocked in where they accumulate the plaques that we see in human brains in Alzheimer's disease. In the background, they also have the human APOE knocked in, which means that they're expressing either APOE3 or APOE4. Again, they saw a protection against the accumulation of some of the Alzheimer’s-related damage as well as a lipid shift similar to the brain cell cultures. (1:03:00)
To summarize the Future Directions in Choline Symposium, Dr. Dr. Stephen Hursting and Dr. Susan Smith with the University of North Carolina Nutrition Research Institute join us. They give their perspectives on the advancements of the field of choline research and leave us with the take-home message that choline is a critical nutrient for the entire healthspan. (1:22:27)
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Co-host: Tom Druke, Balchem Corporation & Dr. Eric Ciappio, Balchem Corporation
Guests: Dr. Stephen Hursting & Dr. Susan Smith, University of North Carolina Nutrition Research Institute; Dr. Steven Zeisel, University of North Carolina; Dr. Kevin Klatt, University of California, Berkeley; Dr. Richard Canfield, Cornell University; Dr. Colin Carter, Columbia University; Dr. Joe McFadden, Cornell University
Today’s episode was filmed at the Future Directions in Choline Symposium put on by the University of North Carolina Nutrition Research Institute.
Our first guests are Dr. Stephen Hursting and Dr. Susan Smith, the director and deputy director of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute. Steve and Susan give some background regarding the inspiration behind the conference as well as what will be covered during the symposium. The gathering is an opportunity to get the leading choline researchers together to update each other and build the momentum of choline research. The last time choline researchers gathered was in 1998, when requirements were set. (0:50)
The next guest on our roster is Dr. Mark Manary, a professor of pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine. Mark’s symposium talk discusses choline and food aid. Food aid products are specially designed to address needs from crisis situations. These specialized food aid products are standardized to meet great deficiency or inadequacy needs. On the most extreme side, there is a product called ready-to-eat therapeutic food for children who are starving to death. Other food aid products include those for children who are severely underweight. Dr. Manary’s research consists of clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa that include different nutrients in food aid to see if there are improvements in children’s responses. One trial with the inclusion of DHA found a 6-15 IQ point difference by adding fish oil or DHA. Mark hypothesizes that a doubling of that effect will be observed when choline is added. (6:52)
Next up is Dr. Kevin Klatt with the University of California - Berkeley. His symposium talk consisted of choline and DHA, focusing on two areas of his work. The first is dietary choline’s impact on the production of phosphatidylcholine species enriched in the omega-three DHA, specifically in pregnancy. The second is interactions between lauric acid and choline, where a phosphatidylcholine species can actually bind to proteins that turn genes on and off. In one experiment, Kevin’s group hypothesized that inadequate choline intake during pregnancy compromises the efficient handling of DHA by the liver. They showed in a randomized controlled trial that supplementation with choline dramatically improved the status indicators of DHA status. (17:33)
Our fourth segment features Dr. Richard Canfield from Cornell University, whose symposium talk focused on choline and neurodevelopment. Rick is a developmental psychologist by training who works in infant and early child cognition. He has researched visual cognition and speed of information processing with babies in the first year of life for women who received a diet containing the recommended intake of choline and those who received double the recommended intake during pregnancy. They found that cognition improved for babies in the high choline group over their first year of age, which was maintained until seven years of age. The cohort is now 14 years old, and additional testing is being conducted to see if in utero exposure to choline still impacts the children 14 years later. (29:51)
Dr. Robert Colin Carter from Columbia University is our next guest. His talk focused on choline and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). His research has mainly been fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, with a particular interest in how both maternal and child nutrition might impact the teratogenic effects of alcohol. Prenatal alcohol exposure is the most common preventable cause of developmental delay worldwide, and a common view might be that women should just stop drinking. Dr. Carter argues that view is shortsighted because alcohol use is a really complicated problem for a lot of people. Asking someone who has an alcohol use disorder to stop drinking is probably not realistic for a lot of women. In animal models, supplementing a pregnant dam with choline seems to ameliorate at least some of the teratogenic effects of alcohol. Dr. Carter has completed a pilot study of 70 women from South Africa where beneficial effects of choline treatment during pregnancy were observed for growth, neurobehavior, and memory in their children. Another clinical study with 300 participants is now underway. (51:38)
We end our day one episode with a wrap-up from Dr. Dr. Susan Smith with the University of North Carolina Nutrition Research Institute and Dr. Joe McFadden with Cornell University. Susan emphasized the recurring message that choline is so important in prenatal health and in early postnatal periods. Pregnant and lactating women generally don’t take enough choline, and choline is so important for healthy brain development in the fetus and the infant. Joe’s takeaways from the livestock side of things include the impact of choline on colostrum production in animals and early-life supplementation in young livestock. (1:08:42)
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Kirby begins with a description of the mechanism of amylase-enhanced corn. The amylase is located in the kernel and, once activated by temperature change, works to increase the digestibility of the starch. A small amount of activation is thought to occur during silage fermentation, with further activation once it reaches the rumen. This paper evaluated digestibility and milk production in cows fed corn silage made from a hybrid with the amylase-enhanced gene compared to the same hybrid without the genomic enhancement. (4:51)
The experiment was designed as a factorial with four treatments combining the two different types of silage with either 25% or 30% starch in the total diet. Only the silage was amylase-enhanced, not the corn grain that was fed. Kirby expected the amylase-enhanced silage group at 25% starch to perform best because he expected some subclinical rumen acidosis and potentially some feed intake issues at the higher dietary starch concentration. (9:09)
The experiment was eight weeks long, consisting of a two-week covariate and then a six-week feeding period with 11 cows on each of the four treatments. Blood and milk samples were collected weekly. Total tract digestibility was evaluated twice over those six weeks, once soon after silage harvest (approximately 40 days) and again six weeks later to evaluate whether the impact or efficacy of the enhanced starch enzyme changed over time. (13:29)
One surprising result was that the two silages had different in vitro NDF digestibility during week one of the feeding period. The amylase-enhanced silage had higher fiber digestibility even though the genomic enhancement is for starch digestibility. Kirby is unsure of the mechanism but hypothesizes that the amylolytic enzyme may free up some simple sugars or polysaccharides that allow microbes to have greater action and more energy available to digest fiber. By week six, the in vitro NDF digestibility of the two silages was essentially the same (15:09)
Kirby mentions that if he could do this experiment again, he would do a longer-term study for 12 or 18 weeks and start feeding the silage as green chop right away to evaluate if ensiling takes away some of the benefits of the amylase-enhancement. (19:02)
From the production data, the alpha-amylase enhancement didn't provide a benefit, but a fairly consistent benefit of additional dietary starch was observed, including increased feed efficiency, increased energy-corrected milk, and increased milk protein yield with few to no interactions in these results.
Kirby also would like to have some data looking at the impacts of these types of diets on fresh cows since the cows in this experiment averaged 160 days in milk at the start of the feeding period. (24:11)
The alpha-amylase-enhanced silage did not impact body weight, body condition, or feed intake. Kirby anticipated that the higher starch-fed cows would experience greater body weight gain in the later lactation period, but he observed the opposite. At the end of the study, an interaction was observed for feed intake where the high starch cows ate a little less - around three pounds. This resulted in a difference in feed efficiency for the high starch cows, where their intake decreased, but they maintained milk production. (25:29)
Bill asks if the feed efficiency data was adjusted for the difference in body weight change, but Kirby responds that it was just gross feed efficiency, milk over feed. Bill wonders if that adjustment would make the two groups’ feed efficiencies closer together, where it’s more of a difference in how nutrients are being partitioned rather than a difference in feed efficiency (27:26)
Another follow-up experiment Kirby would like to conduct is another factorial with the enhanced silage variety and the non-enhanced combined with a higher and lower rumen degradable protein concentration. (35:16)
Bill wonders if this experiment was conducted with silage at a later maturity, say 40-42% dry matter, would the amylase have a bigger effect? Kirby thinks there is a chance that as the kernel dries down, the amylase may have a greater impact. (38:53)
Kirby’s take-home messages for the audience are to consider the amylase-enhanced gene as an approach to bridging an inventory challenge gap from year to year and not to avoid dietary starch due to worries about subclinical inflammation.
Kirby’s paper can be found here: https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(23)00309-0/fulltext
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Guests: Dr. Paul Fricke and PhD Candidate Megan Lauber, the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Fricke starts this episode by describing the long-term negative trend for reproductive performance in dairy cows that took place from the mid-1950s to around 2000.
The reversal of this trend is due to the use of genomics to select for fertility and the use of synchronization and fertility programs in dairy cows. (6:07)
Dr. Fricke explains the high fertility cycle starts with a change in body condition. Observations from the late 1980s and early 1990s showed that cows who calved at a higher body condition and lost condition after calving had worse reproductive performance than cows who calved at a lower body condition and did not lose as much condition after calving. This is known as the Britt Hypothesis. (13:27)
Paul describes studies aimed at finding the mechanism of action for differences in fertility. One study split cows into groups based on performance in a superovulation and embryo flushing protocol. Cows who gained body condition after calving had the best quality embryos, while cows who rapidly lost condition and didn’t gain it back had very poor quality embryos. (18:50)
In another experiment, cows were body condition scored at calving and 21 days later to measure postpartum condition change. All cows were on a double ovsynch fertility protocol. About 40% of cows lost condition over that time period, 35% maintained condition, and 25% lost condition, but milk production was the same for all. This implies that cows gaining or maintaining condition were eating more feed than those losing condition. Cows who lost condition after calving had a 25% conception rate. Cows who maintained condition had around a 40% conception rate, and cows who gained condition after calving had over 80% conception. These differences were not dependent on the synchronization protocol. (21:18)
Megan said many large farms are starting to body condition score cows at calving and 21-30 days after calving to measure and manage this. She also said cows who lose are less fertile and have a higher pregnancy loss than cows who maintain or gain condition post-calving. In a study where cows who lost three-quarters of a condition score or more from dry off to 30 days in milk had a 25% conception rate, while cows who maintained or gained body condition over that same time period had over 50% conception. (26:24)
One of Megan’s studies found cows bred with sexed semen who were submitted to a double ovsynch fixed-time protocol showed a 6-7% advantage compared to cows submitted to AI after estrus detection. The entire treatment effect was observed in cows who lost the most condition after calving. (33:18)
Paul and Megan encourage dairy producers to body condition score cows at dry off, at freshening, and 21-30 days after that. If cows are losing a large amount of condition, that could be playing a critical role in reproductive performance. In addition, the first test, fat-to-protein ratios, also tells a story about fat mobilization. A cutoff of over 40% might indicate that cows are mobilizing body fat and losing condition rather than going up to the bunk to eat to drive milk production. (40:03)
Megan and Paul said that taking a herd from a low fertility cycle to a high fertility cycle includes an aggressive reproductive management program, evaluating somatic cell count and mastitis to ensure those aren’t impacting fertility, and taking a critical look at the nutrition program, including grouping cows with different rations. (46:54)
Megan’s final thought for the audience is that having cows in the high fertility cycle with aggressive reproductive management to increase our reproductive performance really gives us a lot of power. Managing cow body condition score drives profitability and allows a lot of opportunities. (1:01:05)
Paul concludes that over his 25 years on faculty at Wisconsin, he’s lived through the whole reproduction revolution in the dairy industry. Right now, the high fertility cycle is the big barrier to the performance on dairies, but this is very doable. If you get herds into the high fertility cycle, everything is easier. Cows are healthier. Milk production is great. Reproduction's good. (1:01:55).
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Guests: Dr. Limin Kung, University of Delaware, and guest Bonni Kowalke, Stem Ag Consulting
Our Real Science Exchange pubcast always has leading scientists and industry professionals discussing the latest ideas and trends, and tonight, we have two distinguished guests. Dr. Limin Kung and Bonni Kowalke join us to discuss wild yeasts in silage.
Dr. Kung begins by giving an overview of the impacts of wild yeast on silage, where they're either going to anaerobically ferment sugars to ethanol or aerobically; these wild yeasts can lead to spoiled silages and spoiled TMR. (8:32)
Bonni and Limin then go on to detail management strategies and practices for reducing the impacts of wild yeast on silage and TMR, including harvest speed, silage moisture content, pack density, feed-out rate, and additives. (10:59)
Bonni gives her perspective as a consultant about how she works with clients ahead of silage harvest to be able to prevent wild yeast infestation or any other problems. Most of her notes come right after harvest is finished with a list of things the farm wants to do differently next time, which she likens to a game plan for a team sport. (18:09)
Dr. Kung describes how to determine if you have an issue with wild yeast in silage. Primarily, one would see aerobic instability via heating and perhaps molding. There will be a distinct telltale odor as well. Unfortunately, there is no on-farm test; samples must be sent to the lab for analysis. (23:10)
Limin and Bonni give their top issues in regard to silage quality that they see in the field, along with ways to help producers get the very best quality silage off their fields each year. (26:40)
This takes a turn into a discussion about how drone technology could be used in the future for perfecting silage moisture content predictions in the field before chopping. (32:02)
Scott asks Bonni and Limin about the addition of NPN (such as urea or anhydrous ammonia) or sugar sources (such as molasses) to silage and what kind of impact that might have on silage quality. (37:24)
Bonni gives an overview of silage inoculants and additives. (47:13)
Limin and Bonni conclude by comparing the stability of legume silages and corn silages, an overview of inoculation best practices, and their take-home messages to ensure high-quality silage. (51:28)
As mentioned in the show, Bonni Kowalke’s contact information at Stem Ag Consulting is [email protected].
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