Research studies presented at the 2015 American Dairy Science Association – American Society of Animal Science Joint Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, reinforced the role good nutrition has in supporting normal immune function and optimum calcium balance in transition and lactating dairy cows. Multiple abstracts were presented at the meeting supported by Phibro Animal Health Corporation involving new university and field research.
Included were two studies with the company’s OmniGen-AF® nutritional specialty product, which helps maintain normal immune function during periods of stress that dairy cattle experience year-round.
- Holstein cows health, milk components, milk quality and reproduction (abstract #T394) – At a Texas commercial dairy, 180 multiparous Holstein cows were fed OmniGen- AF and tracked from dry-off through 120 days in milk. Compared to an identical control group fed a placebo mix, the cows fed OmniGen-AF produced more energy-corrected and fat-corrected milk. They also experienced significantly better health, including fewer cases of retained placenta, metritis and recurring mastitis. The research also demonstrated a trend to fewer days to first breeding and greater days carried calf.
- Health, milk yield and quality for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (abstract #M259) – This research project utilized 191 Holstein and cross-bred dairy cows to study the effect of feeding OmniGen-AF from dry-off to 150 days in milk on health, milk yield and milk components to meet the strict standards for producing Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Conducted by the University of Bologna, the study demonstrated that the supplemented cows were not only healthier than the control group, but also produced more milk with fat and protein properties associated with high quality cheese production.
Two studies conducted at Cornell University involved the company’s nutritional specialty product, Animate®, which has been shown to help reduce the risk of low blood calcium (subclinical hypocalcemia) in transition cows while maintaining a high level of dry matter intake.
- Effect of decreasing dietary cation-anion difference in the prepartum diet (abstracts M339 and W391) – This research determined the effect of decreasing a dietary cationanion difference (DCAD) diet for 89 multiparous Holstein cows during the prepartum period. Three different DCAD levels were analyzed from 24 days prior to calving through parturition, with cow performance tracked through 63 days in milk:
- Control group (+18.3 mEq/100g of dry matter (DM)).
- Medium level (+5.9 mEq/100g DM) with some Animate added to the ration.
- Low level (-7.4 mEq/100g DM) with an Animate mix sufficient to produce a fullyacidified diet (urine pH of 5.5 to 6.)
Results demonstrated that decreasing the prepartum DCAD diet improved calcium status, with reduced incidence of hypocalcemia, as well as providing improved dry matter intake after calving and higher milk yield during early lactation.
For access to the full abstracts of these and other research studies presented by Phibro at the ADSA-ASAS meeting, visit jtmtg.org/jam/2015/abstracts.asp.
