ADSA Member News …

Invited review: A systematic review and qualitative analysis of treatments other than conventional antimicrobials for clinical mastitis in dairy cows. By Francoz et al., page 7751. The main reason for using antimicrobials on dairies is mastitis treatment. However, use of conventional antimicrobial treatment is limited on organic dairies. Although many alternative treatments have been proposed and are used on these dairies, there is currently no comprehensive study reporting on the efficacy of these various products.

The name of the seventh author on this paper was misspelled. The correct spelling is Luigi F. L. Cavalcanti.

A second affiliation for author K. J. Shingfield was omitted from this paper. The additional affiliation is Natural Resources Institute Finland, Animal Production Research, FI 31600 Jokioinen, Finland.

On page 3931, the description of the Della Barrier teat disinfectant product was incorrect. The final sentence of the first paragraph of the Materials and Methods section should read (correction in bold) as follows:

The evolution of free amino acids (FAA) in Caciocavallo cheeses, made with cow milk (CC) and cow milk mixed with ewe (CE) and goat (CG) milk, was studied throughout ripening. In all Caciocavallo cheeses produced, the total free amino acid (TFAA) content increased during ripening. In general, the highest TFAA content was found in cow cheeses, and the lowest in CG cheeses, whereas CE cheeses ranged over an intermediate level. In all the analyzed samples, during ripening, the content of the individual FAA increased with the exception of arginine.

The time required to adequately bucket-train a dairy calf to drink its milk allotment is unknown. Additionally, factors that could predict calves who are slow to learn have not been identified. A prospective observational study was conducted to describe timing of bucket training and possible calf birth and colostrum quality factors that might predict calves requiring extra time to train. On one dairy farm, 1,235 calves were enrolled at birth in a prospective cohort study. Calving ease score, calf presentation at birth, twinning, calf sex, and dam parity were recorded by farm personnel.

The aim of this study was to determine risk factors associated with milk fever (MF) occurrence in Costa Rican grazing dairy cattle. A total of 69,870 cows from 126 dairy herds were included in the study. Data were collected in the Veterinary Automated Management and Production Control Program software by the Population Medicine Research Program of the Veterinary Medicine School, National University of Costa Rica, from 1985 to 2014. To determine the risk factors for MF, 2 logistic regression mixed models were evaluated.

Dairy cows in early lactation are often housed in a large group, where they may have to compete for access to feed and space. However, a cow's ability to compete may be impaired due to production disease, and housing in a small group with minimal competition may be beneficial for cow welfare. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of group size and health on social and feeding behavior of cows during the first 3 d after introduction to a new group. Data included 54 multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows that were moved from an individual maternity pen and individually joined an existing group pen for 6 (N6) or 24 cows (N24) on d 4 after calving.

Anogenital distance (AGD) serves as a marker for prenatal androgenization, reproductive development, and fertility in humans and rodents. The primary objectives of this observational study in lactating dairy cows were to (1) characterize the distribution and variability of AGD, (2) determine the relationship among AGD and potential postnatal AGD determinants of age and height, and (3) evaluate the associations between AGD and pregnancy to first artificial insemination (P/AI) and cumulative pregnancy by 250 d in milk (DIM) within parity groups (first, second, and third+ parities).

The aim of this study was to build and compare predictive models of calving difficulty in dairy heifers and cows for the purpose of decision support and simulation modeling. Models to predict 3 levels of calving difficulty (unassisted, slight assistance, and considerable or veterinary assistance) were created using 4 machine learning techniques: multinomial regression, decision trees, random forests, and neural networks. The data used were sourced from 2,076 calving records in 10 Irish dairy herds.

Newborn Holstein bull calves (n = 96) were assigned randomly at birth to receive 150 g (C150) or 450 g (C450) of IgG in the first 24 h of life from a lacteal-based colostrum replacer in 2 trials. Mass of product fed was 500 and 1,500 g, respectively. Replacer was reconstituted with warm water and administered by esophageal feeder at approximately 1, 6, and 12 h of age. Thereafter, calves were fed 2 L of whole milk twice daily at approximately 0700 and 1700 h until transported to the experimental facility at 2 to 3 d of age.

Feed efficiency has the potential to be improved both through feeding, management, and breeding. Including feed efficiency in a selection index is limited by the fact that dry matter intake (DMI) recording is only feasible under research facilities, resulting in small data sets and, consequently, uncertain genetic parameter estimates. As a result, the need to record DMI indicator traits on a larger scale exists. Rumination time (RT), which is already recorded in commercial dairy herds by a sensor-based system, has been suggested as a potential DMI indicator.

Des résultats de recherches menées aux États-Unis sur ce thème ont été présentés lors d'un forum organisé par Vetagro. Ils confortent des pistes et ouvrent de nouvelles voies aux fabricants d'aliments.

Retour en images sur les championnes 2017 des races Pie Rouge, Brune et Jersiaise.

Le juge Yannick David a départagé la trentaine de Montbéliardes en compétition le 15 septembre. Hexode (Vigor jb) a tout raflé chez les adultes avant d'inscrire son nom au palmarès des grandes championnes montbéliardes du Space. Idole (Guisseny) à l'EARL Tignon dans le Maine-et-Loire, sa dauphine, a dominé les débats dans la catégorie des jeunes.

La Simmental était à l'honneur cette année au Space. Le concours et challenge européen jugé par Guillaume Crépet s'est déroulé devant un public venu en nombre.

62 animaux étaient en compétition le 13 septembre pour ce concours jugé par Benoît Dusquenne de la Manche.