dairy science

Guests: Dr. Bill Weiss, The Ohio State University

Co-host: Dr. Clay Zimmerman and Dr. Glen Aines

Diving into two recent Journal of Dairy Science publications, Dr. Bill Weiss, Emeritus Professor at Ohio State University is back again to discuss the latest ideas and trends in animal nutrition. 

Dr. Weiss highlights two papers published in the Journal of Dairy Science earlier this year, adding one is focused on production while the other highlights fermentation digestibility. One key point Dr. Weiss highlighted was the controversial discussion around supplementing molasses or sugar. 3:02

Dr. Clay Zimmerman with Balchem also joined the evening discussion, adding that currently it is common to add a liquid sugar source for a certain level of sugar to optimize microbial protein synthesis. 6:02

Diving into the first paper, Dr. Weiss suggested the positive response to molasses would be affected by the RDP (Ratio Degradable Protein), adding he believes this was a valid hypothesis. He went on to highlight fiber differences, digestibility measures and the impact of inputting the data into the NRC (National Research Council) old database. 9:09

Analyzing a few key conclusions and surprises from the first production study, Dr. Weiss pointed out his thoughts on the milk efficiency components and intake digestibility results. 16:04

On the 10-week intake study, Dr. Zimmerman noted the results showed cows were on a two-week covariate diet and then eight weeks on the treatment diet, plus adding in high moisture corn as a grain source. Additionally, he added the only key parameter that wasn’t negatively affected by the increasing molasses was fat. 24:26

In fact, Dr. Glen Aines with Balchem, who also joined in on the conversation, was surprised the journal cited about 42% of VFA’s coming out of the molasses due to the belief it will produce less acidosis. 29:16

In the second paper, Dr. Weiss mentioned the results of no impact to RDP (Ratio Degradable Protein) from the models. Dr. Weiss added if he expects the diets to be deficient in RDP, he would also expect increased intake and digestibility. 31:16

No models are ever perfect, so analyzing the results from any study is essential. 

Dr. Aines reflected on key takeaways from the second paper, highlighting the different fermentation battens between the various treatments and microbial population shifts. 49:54

Rounding out the conversation, Dr. Weiss closed suggesting the understanding that nothing works all the time and that’s why replicating experiments is so important. 53:41

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Links to Papers: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030222001874

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35346474/

Guests: Dr. Bill Weiss, The Ohio State University; Dr. Chanhee Lee, The Ohio State University; Haley Zynda, The Ohio State University Special Guest: Dr. Maurice Eastridge, The Ohio State University  

Today’s episode is an installment of the Journal Club and is around an actual table once again! Our guests gathered at the Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference to discuss some of the newest research published in the Journal of Dairy Science surrounding reducing DCAD, nutrient digestibility and ammonia emissions from manure. 

Dr. Lee stated that by reducing DCAD, the urine or lactating cows would have a lower pH, leading to reduced ammonia emission. Traditionally this leads to decreased milk production. (7:48)

Haley Zynda mentioned that there was milk fat depression across all three diets, even the high or average DCAD diets. (16:50) 

Dr. Lee said their study saw a 15% decrease in ammonia, which is a significant environmentally beneficial benefit and increases the mineral value. (26:45)

Dr. Lee also mentioned that in this study, they saw a negative production effect, so at this time, it would not be economically viable. But over the next 5-10 years, we can improve upon the strategy and make it practical. (34:47) 

Haley Zynda wrapped up by commenting the natural next step in research would be a field trial and trying to grow these crops, especially those using sulfur to decrease the DCAD and soils that are sulfur deficient. (50:09)

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This podcast is sponsored by Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health. This podcast is sponsored by Balchem. All views expressed by the guests are the opinions of those individuals and are not the views of the Balchem, its affiliates or employees.

Guests: Dr. Bill Weiss, The Ohio State University; Dr. Matt Akins, University of Wisconsin 

Co-host: Dr. Clay Zimmerman, Balchem

Air date – April 26, 2022

2203-045

Today’s podcast is the latest installment of the Journal Club where we take a closer look at some of the newest research published around the world. Today we are focused on research centered around dietary energy and genomic residual feed intake in bred heifers. 

Dr. Akins explained RFI is residual feed intake, and is the difference between the actual energy intake and the expected intake based on equations. If it’s negative, the animal ate less than predicted and a positive RFI means they ate more and were less efficient. (7:38)

Dr. Akins also said that diet, high versus low energy, had about a 9-10% reduction in intake, which is about two to two and a half pounds, which was right where predictions were. (19:00)

Dr. Akins compared strategies for bred heifers to limit feedings and said both are good options. Limit feeding takes a lot to manage dry matter, animal intakes and body measurements as underfeeding or overfeeding can have major effects and is less forgiving than a high fiber forage system. (32:15) 

Dr. Akins mentioned a big take-home for producers from this study would be that diet energy and fiber can be useful to control body weight. Use NDF and the diet as a control measure for dry matter intake and make sure you’re balancing the energy content to meet the needs of the heifer. (57:29) 

To read the article referenced in this podcast click here: https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(21)01092-4/fulltext

You can contact Dr. Akins for more information or questions at msakins@wisc.edu. 

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This podcast is sponsored by Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health. This podcast is sponsored by Balchem. All views expressed by the guests are the opinions of those individuals and are not the views of the Balchem, its affiliates or employees. 

Guests: Dr. Bill Weiss, The Ohio State University; Dr. Jesse Goff, Iowa State University
Co-host: Dr. Clay Zimmerman, Balchem

Today’s podcast is our January installment of the Journal Club, styled after the traditional journal clubs at universities across the country and around the world. Today we’re a closer look at some of the newest research published in the Journal of Dairy Science.

Article 1: https://bit.ly/3zCBdIA

Dr. Jesse Goff, in summarizing a paper from the Netherlands, stated animals on a low phosphorus diet had lower blood phosphorus than the other animals, which isn’t unexpected. But the animal's calcium concentration had improved on a lower phosphorus diet. (5:53)

Dr. Bill Weiss emphasized a two to one phosphorus ratio isn’t always correct. The important thing is to meet the NRC requirements for both phosphorus and calcium. (11:38) 

Dr. Jesse Goff warned that even if you think you are feeding a low phosphorus diet if you are using byproducts - such as soybean meal, canola meal and wet brewers - it can all bring in a lot of phosphorus. You need to be wary of that in the diet. (17:20)

Dr. Bill Weiss mentioned you should be in a slightly deficient diet postpartum and not meet the NRC requirements. Dr. Jesse Goff added that a postpartum cow would be pulling phosphorus and calcium out of her bones, needing less in her diet. (29:26)

Article 2: https://bit.ly/33hKjyI

Dr. Jesse Goff and Dr. Bill Weiss summarized the second article, which covered a study with an even lower phosphorus diet than the first article. This study promotes a low phosphorus diet as a way to control hypocalcemia. (36:49)

Dr. Bill Weiss mentioned that based on these papers, he thinks the low phosphorus diets in the pre-fresh and in the far-off should not worry as much so you can have some cost-savings in your feed.

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Guests: Dr. Paul Kononoff, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Dr. Logan Morris, Perdue AgriBusiness. Co-host is Dr. Clay Zimmerman.

As we move into the fall and new silage is going into the bunkers, we wanted to take a closer look at energy metabolism and the mechanics of feed efficiency. Let’s talk about heat production and metabolism. Dr. Paul Kononoff joined us for a webinar on August 4th, 2021, to review the basics of energetics and new science that will help feed cows better. If you want to watch the webinar, go to Balchem.com/realscience.

To kick things off, Dr. Paul Kononoff answers Scott’s question about how our understanding of energetics changed over the last 60 years. He explained the animals have changed dramatically as well as how we view energy when it is supplied to the cows. Feed characterization has changed since the sixties as well as NRC requirements of dairy cattle and how we measure it. (7:00) 

Dr. Logan Morris discussed their study on factors that influence heat production. They found the two biggest factors were dry matter and body weight. Bodyweight represents the maintenance energy expenditure, which keeps the cow alive and functioning. Dry matter intake drives the rest of heat production. Higher dietary protein leads to more heat production and generates more milk protein which leads to more heat production. (15:04)

Dr. Logan Morris discusses the change in the industry over the past four or five years and how producers now face production caps and quota systems. He discussed his research on starch and fat and how higher starch increased milk yield. To produce a concentrated product for lowest milk volume, with maximum components, the study suggested feeding a lower dietary starch to prevent an increase in milk yield. (28:56)

Dr. Paul Kononoff discussed the effect energy mobilization of tissue has on feed efficiency. When looking at dairy cattle there are different physiological stages, different ages and different lactation stages. Feed efficiency can be extremely valuable and a useful proxy but can be misleading so you have to understand the conditions around it. (34:46)

Dr. Logan Morris discusses his research that shows starch and fat act differently when influencing milk protein production. (49:43)

Dr. Paul Kononoff is also participating in the new NRC release. You can view the five-webinar series from Balchem on the NRC at Balchem.com/RealScience.

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Guests: Dr. Bill Weiss, The Ohio State University; Dr. Paul Kononoff, University of Nebraska, and Journal of Dairy Science Editor-In-Chief. Co-host: Dr. Clay Zimmerman, Balchem

We’re excited to introduce a new segment into our podcast rotation; The Journal Club. Styled after the traditional journal clubs convened at universities across the US, we’ll take a closer look at some of the newest research being published. Once a month we will welcome Dr. Bill Weiss, Emeritus Professor from The Ohio State University, to the pub table where we will discuss selected papers that were recently published. To gain additional insight and liven up the discussion, we’ll also invite the authors to join us whenever possible.

Dr. Bill Weiss introduced two papers that the guests would discuss throughout the episode. “Effects of rumen-protected lysine and histidine on milk production and energy and nitrogen utilization in diets containing hydrolyzed feather meal fed to lactating Jersey cows” published in June 2020 by Dr. Morris and Dr. Kononoff at the University of Nebraska. The second “Effect of sealing strategy on the feeding value of corn silage for growing dairy heifers” published in March 2021 from a lab at State University of Maringá in Brazil. (1:37)

Dr. Bill Weiss discussed the first paper about feather meal. He explained that feather meal is a bargain feed, however, you get more nutrients for a cheaper product. The research was also done on Jersey cattle instead of Holsteins which is unique as there is not as much research done on Jersey cattle. (7:06)

Dr. Paul Kononoff discussed feed bypass sources and milk performance while feeding feather meal within his study. He also discussed the variance in feed composition, for example, dry matter content, crude protein, and crude fat differences of feather meal. (11:17)

Dr. Paul Kononoff discussed a theory that one of his grad students (who was also an author on the paper) brought to his attention about methane production relating to rumen-protected lysine. (29:21)

Dr. Bill Weiss discussed the second study about feeding corn silage to dairy heifers. He explained the silage sealing and feeding processes used within the study. (41:11)

Dr. Paul Kononoff discussed palatability and animal behavior as it relates to the silage study. A producer has to consider the economics of affecting feed intake with picky animals. Is the saved cost worth a loss in intake? (47:06)

Chart Referenced as Table 7 on page 11 of the paper. 

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Guests: Dr. Bob James, Down Home Heifer Solutions and Dr. Ed Kreykes, GPS Dairy Consulting. 

Calves are the future of every operation and represent a huge investment in both time and money before they make it to the milking string. But those first two years are the foundation for the rest of their productive lives. Tonight, we get to talk all things calves. From colostrum processes to feeding protocols. We are joined by Dr. Glen Aines as this week's co-host.

Dr. Bob James discusses the importance of raising dairy calves. Since the producer doesn’t see the end result, it can be hard for them to justify the cost of gain. He referenced the beef industry’s focus on calf development and how the dairy industry can work on calf health and their productivity later in life by focusing on nutrition and development within the beginning stages of life. 8:15

Dr. Ed Kreykes jumps in to discuss the importance of colostrum, testing colostrum, and pasteurizing colostrum if certain levels are reached during testing. He agrees with Dr. James that maternity pen maintenance, as well as cow and calf care and handling, is important especially within the first hour after birth. 12:02

Dr. Bob James provides insights into his research success with automatic feeders and how mortalities and morbidities were low. He also mentions calfblog.com and how he uses the blog to educate and teach producers how to use the automatic feeding systems. The technology is great, but producers need to understand the benefits and how to use the system properly. 21:00

Both our guests discuss the importance of having a good calf manager – an employee that excels at paying attention to the calves and notices the small details within the calf herd. Dr. Kreykes also mentions the “MBWA method” aka Management By Walking Around, and how visually observing the calves will provide different information than the automatic feeder. 28:08

Finally, Dr. Bob James shares research on average daily gain during the first 45 – 60 days of life and how it had as much impact on productivity as the animal’s genetics. He also highlights the mammary gland development and how nutrition can have a potentially positive effect on a cow’s later performance. 50:00

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Guests: 

Dr. Tom Overton, Cornell University

Corwin Holtz, Holtz-Nelson Dairy Consultants

The last 18 months have been challenging for the ag industry, and we've seen a rollercoaster of milk prices throughout the COVID pandemic. As the world begins to normalize, we can now shift our focus to impacting efficiency and profitability across the dairy operation. Tonight, we’re going to get really practical and dig into ways we can improve milk component production. 

Corwin describes that he monitors, on a monthly basis, energy corrected milk, pounds of fat, pounds of protein, ratios relative to dry matter intake, what our energy corrected feed efficiency is. He also looks at our component efficiency, pounds of fat and pounds of protein combined, relative to herd average dry matter intake. 7:22

Dr. Tom Overton discussed how components are heritable. This means some of your herds think about genetics and how they also use those strategies to try to improve, not just milk yield, but also component yields over time. 17:08

There is a concern by many, Corwin Holtz shares, that we're probably not pushing up feed nearly as many times a day as what we should. In his opinion, if we're not close to 12 times a day, we're probably not getting the job done the way we ought to be. 38:26

Dr. Tom Overton discusses that all fractions are going to move up or down together when you talk about milk fat protein or total milk fat percentages. He shares that if we're in a milk fat depression type scenario, they all go down, but the de novos go down proportionally more. It helps us identify where that issue may be, relative to saturated fatty acids. 51:20

From Corwin Holtz’s experience, good fiber digestibility; that's the key to any nutrition program and feeding management. He describes that we deal with a lot of overcrowded barns and that's not going to change. But can we get our feeders and feeding management into a routine that we are not slug feeding? Can any cow at any time that wants to go up and eat has the ability to? I think those are two key things that we continue to press with our clients' day in and day out. 58:06

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Guests:
Dr. Geoff Dahl, University of Florida
Dr. Jimena Laporta, University of Wisconsin-Madison

We are back at the Real Science Exchange and invite you to pull up a chair and join us to discuss the effects of heat stress on late gestation cows. Tonight’s guests, who have worked together on research in this area, Dr. Geoff Dahl with the University of Florida and Dr. Jimena Laporta with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, join Scott Sorrell and Dr. Clay Zimmerman.

Dr. Dahl kicks off the discussion by level setting with the idea that cows have a thermal comfort zone and that it’s not just temperature but also humidity that can stress a cow. 4:44

To get a more accurate stress reading, Dr. Laporta and Dr. Dahl’s research has focused on measuring stress and environmental indicators without getting in contact with the animal. 8:40

Dr. Laporta discusses the stress can continue into future lactation periods of both the dam and the offspring. 16:45

Both researchers highlight their opinion on cow longevity in the herd and how stress can change the length of the cows’ time in the herd. 22:48

While the Florida humidity heightens the stress Dr. Dahl sees in Florida; both researchers highlighted they see seasonal effects on cows everywhere. If lactating cows are under stress for even a week, Dr. Laporta discusses the short-term event will have a long-term impact on the cow. 35:54

Heat stress can also cause acceleration of the maturation process for gestation timing. Dr. Dahl discusses the calf is signaling it is ready to be born based on the increase in the cows’ internal temperature. 45:09

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 Guests: 
Dr. Bill Weiss, The Ohio State University 
Dr. Mat Faulkner, Purina 

Welcome back to the Real Science Exchange. Before we get started tonight, we’d like to share how you can get our t-shirts. There are three steps, either subscribe, follow or like the Real Science Exchange podcast on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube, take a screenshot and send it to anh.marketing@balchem.com. Include your name, shirt size and mailing address. 

This week, our hosts are joined by Dr. Bill Weiss from The Ohio State University and Dr. Mat Faulkner from Purina. This week’s podcast is a continuation of one of our most highly attended webinars in 2021. If you would like to listen to it, you can find it here: balchemanh.com/realscience. 

Dr. Bill Weiss is from The Ohio State University and has been doing research on minerals since 1978. Dr. Mat Faulkner was a graduate student under Dr. Bill Weiss. He earned his master’s at The Ohio State University and is now a nutritional consultant in Wisconsin for Purina. 

Dr. Bill Weiss discusses the minerals that should not be combined in a diet and that there are many factors that should be taken into account while determining your rations. (00:10:01) 

Both of the guests analyze exactly how much sulfur should be added into your cattle’s diet. (00:17:50) Dr. Bill Weiss reviews the dangers of overfeeding magnesium and copper. (00:34:20) 

Dr. Mat Faulkner discusses the risks of toxicity in zinc and copper and the microbiome effect in the rumen. (00:46:08) 

Both guest speakers analyze factors that may cause oxidative stress. (01:00:33) 

Thank you to our loyal listeners for stopping by once again at the Real Science Exchange to sit with us just for a while. If you like what you heard, please remember to drop us a five-star rating on the way out. 

This podcast is sponsored by Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health.

Guests:
Dr. Tom Jenkins, Clemson University
Dr. Don Palmquist, The Ohio State University
Dr. Kevin Harvatine, Pennsylvania State University

We gather around the Real Science Exchange virtual table for another pubcast with leading researchers to dive into this week’s topic of the history of feeding fat to dairy cattle. Scott Sorrell and Dr. Clay Zimmerman are joined by tonight’s guests who span the history of the topic with Dr. Don Palmquist being one of the founding fathers and Dr. Tom Jenkins also providing much of the depth as we dive in on this topic. Dr. Kevin Harvatine is not new to the Real Science Exchange and we are excited to have him back for this discussion.

Dr. Palmquist and Jenkins discussed the early years of their research finding the right combination, source and ration approach to including fat into dairy cow diets. 9:20

Dr. Jenkins discussed the early failures and how they came to trial making calcium salts and seeing some early success in their research. 19:26

To give perspective on today’s approach, Dr. Harvatine shared he’s seeing a reasonable amount of progress the last couple of years to getting fatty acids rather than extract or crude fat into rations. 29:36

The trio gave their input on the practical limits of fat inclusion. 39:51

With growing herd averages for pounds of milk produced, the experts discussed how to get enough into the diets to meet the growing output. 47:21

Dr. Harvatine discussed his outlook on the future of how fatty acids can modify physiology. 55:48

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Guests: 
Dr. Kevin Harvatine, Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Isaac Salfer, University of Minnesota

We are back at the Real Science Exchange for another pubcast joined by dairy industry professionals. This week our hosts Scott Sorrell and Dr. Clay Zimmerman are joined by Dr. Kevin Harvatine from Penn State University and Dr. Isaac Salfer from the University of Minnesota. The discussion around the table is focused on understanding seasonal and daily rhythms on milk & component yield.

Earlier this year, Dr. Harvatine joined Balchem for the Real Science Lecture Series on the same topic. Click here to check out his lecture: https://tinyurl.com/yfofvkhq

Dr. Salfer has a unique perspective on this topic as he was the PhD student who focused on daily rhythms when he was in school working under Dr. Harvatine. 

For more than 30 years, Dr. Zimmerman has been working in the dairy nutrition industry and he remembers early in his career having discussions with dairies that were curious as to why they were seeing a dip in the milk fat each spring, and that kicked off the discussion around what the research showed with changes in milk fat percentages through the seasons. 10:55

Dr. Salfer discusses that they would like to understand the differences, if any, between the northern and southern hemispheres, but it’s hard to compare apples to apples when many of the southern hemisphere herds are grazing herds. That being said, through his students he has connections to Kenya and they are exploring research there to compare to the U.S. data set. 16:59

Heat stress and seasonal rhythms are often lumped together as factors for changes in milk yield, but Dr. Harvatine explains their research shows it might not be that simple. 24:05

Dr. Harvatine discusses what to consider if a dairy wants to minimize seasonality and maintain a herd at the high point. 37:58

Both of the guests discuss the importance in adjusting rations to maximize input during season shifts. 42:40

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