Review addresses nutritional, environmental and management approaches to mitigate failure of colostrum production.
Colostrum, the first milk produced by dairy cows around calving, is essential for the health and survival of newborn calves. Ensuring adequate colostrum production, therefore, is a major focus for dairy producers and researchers alike, according to a news release from the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS).
The dairy industry has known for decades that colostrum helps young calves develop a strong immune system and thrive. Dr. Peter Erickson of the University of New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Nutrition & Food Systems in Durham, N.H., explained that “although the importance of feeding colostrum to calves is well established, colostrum production has not been reviewed extensively and has become a challenge for some farms, with some recent research citing that 73% of cows at their first calving and 61% of multiparous cows do not produce enough colostrum to feed their calves.”
December 18, 2024
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