Reproductive inefficiency is one of the main reasons for culling in both the dairy and beef industry, with pregnancy losses being a contributing factor. Most pregnancy losses occur early after fertilization which may be due to reduced cow and/or bull fertility. Cattle fertility is a complex trait affected by many physiological events that genomic selection fails to account for, including a non-receptive uterine environment or inadequate semen quality. By identifying highly fertile animals, production efficiency in the cattle industry can be maintained.
Milk replacers (MR) formulated to contain more lactose than whole milk could potentially reduce insulin sensitivity and gut barrier function in dairy calves. Three studies were conducted to characterize the impact of fat, protein and lactose content, and the fatty acid composition, of MR on glucose-insulin kinetics, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) growth and func-tion. In the first study, thirty-four calves were fed either a high lactose (HL; 46.1%DM lactose) or a high fat (HF; 24.6%DM crude fat) MR during the first week of life.
The prevalence of meat quality defects, such as pale, soft, exudative (PSE) meat, and muscle myopathies, such as white striping (WS), have been of increasing interest to the poultry industry over the past few decades. The rise in prevalence of quality defects and myopathies are thought to be closely associated with the drastic changes in growth rate due to improvements in management, nutrition, and genetic selection.
Welcome back, and happy new year! I would like to invite you to attend the January Installment of the 2022 ‘Virtual’ Nutrition Seminar Series hosted by the Centre for Nutrition Modelling (Animal Biosciences Department).
Each month in 2022 we will continue to deliver seminars from a different lab within the Nutrition group, and share their exciting new research in a dynamic virtual manner. Please feel free to forward these seminar invites to industry partners or others outside the department who may be interested.
In January we bring you:
