Chocolate milk is an important dairy product in the United States, but current sensory ballots used to assess product quality and defects lack relevance for consumer-identified attributes of importance. Therefore, the objective of this research was to describe commonly encountered variation in desirable and undesirable attributes in commercially processed chocolate milk products, and to develop and test an improved expert sensory assessment ballot for chocolate milk. Eighteen commercially processed chocolate milk samples were collected and evaluated instrumentally for color parameters, and with an expert panel and a consumer panel for sensory properties.

Computer vision systems (CVS) have emerged as a powerful technology for animal monitoring. However, there is limited research on CVS for behavior monitoring of hutch-housed dairy calves, which account for >50% of all calf housing in the United States. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop a CVS to monitor animal location and posture of hutch-housed dairy calves; (2) compare the predictive performance of 2 deep learning algorithms (large vs. small model) for object detection that can potentially be used in edge computing systems; (3) quantify lying bouts; and (4) investigate the relationship between image-based behavior, temperature-humidity index (THI), and respiration rate (RR) of outdoor hutch-housed dairy calves.

This experimental study aimed to investigate the effects of pre- and post-transport feeding protocols with varying volumes of milk replacer on metabolic and physiological variables of unweaned calves during and after long-distance transport by ferry and road. We monitored 2 commercial shipments of male dairy and beef × dairy calves (n = 116). Pre-transport, calves (n = 58/treatment) were fed 2 L the morning of transport or 6 L divided over 2 feeds the evening before and the morning of transport.

While improving the management of lactating cows to reduce health and reproductive issues can enhance cow longevity, the long-term effects of early-life management practices are less understood. The objectives of this study were to characterize dairy farms based on their early-life management practices and analyze their associations with herd longevity, productivity, and profitability. In this cross-sectional observational study, early-life management practices regarding colostrum feeding, milk feeding, solid feed and weaning, and housing were collected from 1,658 dairy farms in Quebec, Canada, using a questionnaire between February 2020 and February 2021.

Cronobacter is capable of long-term survival in dry environments such as powdered milk, which poses a health hazard to infants. To study the relationship between pathways and phenotypes from complex metabolic networks, this study used metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze the different metabolites and genes of the strong desiccation resistance Cronobacter sakazakii CS 34 before and after drying treatment. It was found that betaine levels and genes related to its synthesis and transport were significantly upregulated posttreatment.

Ruminants have the ability to utilize forages to produce high-quality products for human consumption. However, feeding high-forage diets can increase enteric methane (CH4) production. Therefore, this study examined the viability of using a high-ether extract concentrate as a compensatory strategy to mitigate elevated CH4 production, while assessing impacts on performance, digestibility, energy utilization, and ruminal and fecal microbiota. Four multiparous Nordic Red dairy cows in early lactation (averaging 61 ± 16.4 DIM) were randomly assigned to a 4 × 4 Latin square design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of dietary treatments.

Bovine Johne's Disease (BJD) is a chronic, debilitating enteritis caused by Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) with both animal welfare and economic consequences. The detection of MAP in feces is an important measure of transmission from infectious animals through environmental contamination. Therefore, control programs focused on early removal of infectious animals from a herd, combined with management approaches to reduce exposure of susceptible young animals, have a high likelihood of reducing the disease burden.

Mastitis poses significant challenges to the global dairy industry, including smallholder farms, which contribute substantially to global milk production. In Indonesia, where smallholder farming is vital to the dairy sector, mastitis represents a substantial obstacle to sustainable milk production and farm profitability. The objectives of this study were to estimate the costs associated with mastitis on Indonesian smallholder dairy farms and evaluate the cost-efficiency of various mastitis control strategies.