Invited review: Camel milk and gut health—Understanding digestibility and the effect on gut microbiota. By Ali et al., page 2573. This article highlights the promising health benefits of camel milk and its potential role in enhancing gut health. With its easily digestible properties, high levels of β-casein, and diverse antibodies, camel milk demonstrates superior antibacterial and antiviral activities compared with bovine milk. This review emphasizes the effects of the components of camel milk on gut-microbiota modulation, underscoring its hypoallergenic nature and potential as an alternative for infant formula because of its protective proteins and absence of β-lactoglobulin.

Heifers (n = 40) were randomly allocated to 5 treatment groups: (1) control (no additives); (2) virginiamycin (VM; 200 mg/d); (3) monensin (MT; 200 mg/d) + tylosin (110 mg/d); (4) monensin (MLY; 220 mg/d) + live yeast (5.0 × 108 cfu/d); (5) sodium bicarbonate (BUF; 200 g/d) + magnesium oxide (30 g/d).

The authors' affiliations in this article were numbered incorrectly. The corrected byline reads as follows:

Cow-calf contact (CCC) has been suggested as an alternative to the common practice of early separation of dairy cow and calf. Increasing CCC poses challenges by reducing the machine milk yield and increasing separation stress. Part-time CCC may prove more feasible than full-time contact for farmers but may affect the maternal behavior of the cows. Gradually reducing the daily contact could gradually wean the calf off milk, preparing it for separation. This study aims to investigate 1) how cows' maternal behaviors toward their own calf are affected by part-time contact, and 2) whether calves' suckling behavior is reduced by reducing daily cow contact.

Researchers have reported the benefits of feeding rumen-protected methionine (RPM) during the peripartum on the health parameters of dairy cows. Rumen-protected methionine has reportedly improved milk yield, milk components and liver health, but the literature is scarce on its effects in commercial herds. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effects of feeding RPMet (Smartamine M®, Adisseo Inc., Antony, France) prepartum (8 g per cow per day) and postpartum (15 g per cow per day) on performance, metabolic profile, and culling rate of Holstein cows in a commercial herd.

The continued, efficient use of whey as a fermentable substrate to produce alcoholic beverages will benefit from improving the measurement of key components relevant to the fermentability of whey. One component of fermentation that is not well studied in whey is the concentration of fermentable nitrogen, either as free amino nitrogen (FAN) or yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). Fermentable nitrogen in media is essential for yeast cells to replicate. Insufficient concentrations of FAN or YAN to support the growing yeast population can result in sluggish or “stuck” fermentations.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) presents a challenge to farmers all over the globe not only because it can have significant impacts on welfare and productivity, but also because diagnosis can prove challenging. Several clinical scoring systems have been developed to aid farmers in making consistent early diagnosis, 2 examples being the Wisconsin (WCS) and the California (CALIF) systems. Neither of these systems were developed in or for use in a temperate environment. As environment may lead to changes in BRD presentation, the weightings and cut offs designed for one environmental presentation of BRD may not be appropriate when used in a temperate climate.

Yogurt usually contains 5–7% sugar and 3–5% lactose. As β-galactosidases can hydrolyze lactose and improve sweetness, they have the potential to produce lactose-free (LF) and no-sugar-added (NSA) yogurt. In this study, β-galactosidase AoBgal35A from Aspergillus oryzae was engineered by site-saturation mutagenesis. Results of 19 variants of T955 residue showed that lactose hydrolysis rate of T955R-AoBgal35A was up to 90.7%, much higher than 78.5% of the wild type. Moreover, the optimal pH of T955R-AoBgal35A was shifted from pH 4.5 to pH 5.5 and the optimal temperature decreased from 60°C to 50°C.

Prolonging dairy cattle longevity is regarded as one of the options to contribute to more sustainable milk production. Since failure to conceive is one of the main reasons for culling, this study investigates how adjustments in reproduction management affect partial net return at herd level and greenhouse gas emissions per unit of milk, using a dynamic stochastic simulation model. The effects of reproduction decisions that extend cattle longevity on milk yield, calving interval and pregnancy rate were derived from actual performance of Dutch commercial dairy cows over multiple lactations.

The objective of this study was to determine whether a novel footbath solution containing stannous fluoride (SnF2) was superior to 5% copper sulfate solution for the treatment and prevention of digital dermatitis (DD) in dairy cattle. Study 1 was conducted over 4 weeks in Missouri and involved 34 lactating Holstein-Friesian cows with hind feet DD lesions. Cows in group SF walked through a footbath containing a proprietary formulation of SnF2 once weekly, whereas cows in group CS walked through a 5% CuSO4 footbath once daily for 5 d each week.

The neonatal period for dairy calves is crucial for immune, metabolic, and physical development, which opens a window of disease susceptibility. Although the industry has relied on tools such as colostrum and vaccination to support early life immunity, there are several challenges when vaccinating neonatal calves: (1) the inability to mount an effective immune response, (2) interference with maternal antibodies, and (3) oxidative stress (OS). Oxidative stress, which is characterized as an imbalance of pro-oxidants to antioxidants, results in cellular oxidative damage or dysfunction, or both..

Our objective was to determine the impact of simultaneous removal of lactose plus low molecular weight solutes and milk serum proteins from skim milk by microfiltration (MF) on the chemical, physical and sensory properties of 3.4, 7.5, and 10.5% milk protein-based beverages before and after a direct steam injection thermal process. Skim milk was microfiltered at 50°C using 0.1 micron ceramic membranes with a diafiltration ratio of water to milk of about 2.5. Milk lactose, serum proteins, and soluble minerals were removed simultaneously to produce protein beverages containing from 3.4 to 10.5% true protein from skim milk and this process was replicated twice with different skim milks.

Maternal (F0) exposure to late-gestation heat stress reduces their daughter's (F1) mammary gland fat pad mass (FP), parenchyma (PAR) mass, and epithelial cell proliferation when evaluated at birth and weaning, and go on to produce less milk in their first lactation. Herein, we investigated the effect of maternal late-gestation heat stress on whole-body growth and mammary development of their granddaughters (F2). Multiparous F0 cows had access to heat abatement (n = 41, shade, and active cooling via fans and water soakers) or not (n = 41, shade only) for the last 56 d of gestation during a subtropical summer.

Our objectives were to evaluate the endometrial responsiveness of dairy heifers to an intrauterine infusion of recombinant bovine interferon-tau (rbIFN-τ) and to associate endometrial responses to rbIFN-τ with subsequent reproductive performance. In Experiments 1 and 2, cyclic heifers were enrolled in a 5-d CIDR Cosynch program for estrous synchronization, and blood sampling and ultrasonography examinations were performed on d 0, 4, 7, 11, and 14 of the estrous cycle. In Experiment 1, heifers were randomly assigned to receive an intrauterine infusion containing 2 µg of rbIFN-τ (rbIFN-τ = 19) or saline (CTRL = 19) into the uterine horn ipsilateral to the corpus luteum (CL) on d 14 of the estrous cycle.

The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of a reduced liner-open phase applied through flow-responsive pulsation (FRP), as a method to provide supplemental stimulation, on teat tissue conditions and milking characteristics in dairy cows. In 2 switch-back trials, 156 Holstein cows milked 3 times daily were assigned to the FRP or conventional (CON) group in alternating sequences. Trial I lasted for 35 d and was split into 5 alternating 1-week periods of FRP and CON. The duration of Trial II was 84 d, consisting of 4 alternating 3-week periods of FRP and CON.

Virtual fencing technology provides an opportunity to rethink the management of intensive grazing systems in general, yet most studies have used products developed and applied to more extensive livestock systems. This research aimed to assess the application of a virtual fencing technology developed for the intensive pastoral dairy industry. The Halter system uses 2 primary cues, sound and vibration, and one aversive secondary cue, a low energy electrical pulse, to confine cows to a pasture allocation and remotely herd cows.

Massive genotyping in cattle has uncovered several deleterious haplotypes that cause pre-term mortality. Holstein Haplotype 5 (HH5) is a deleterious haplotype present in the Holstein Friesian population that involves the ablation of the Transcription Factor B1 mitochondrial (TFB1M) gene. The developmental stage at which HH5 double-carrier (DC, homozygous) embryos or fetuses die remains unknown and this is a relevant information to estimate the economic losses associated to the inadvertent cross between carriers.