As global temperatures rise and heatwaves become more frequent, fattening livestock are increasingly exposed to heat stress. This condition can lead to reduced feed intake, poor weight gain, suppressed immune function, and even mortality. In such conditions, targeted nutritional strategies can play a key role in minimizing the harmful effects of heat and maintaining animal health and productivity

Heat stress is one of the biggest challenges for dairy cow health and productivity, especially during hot and humid seasons. When environmental temperature and humidity exceed the animal’s capacity to dissipate heat, the cow experiences physiological stress. This leads to increased respiration rate, heart rate, and hormonal changes, ultimately reducing feed intake and digestive efficiency

Live yeast, usually a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a type of feed additive that is commonly added to dairy cow diets to improve digestive performance, particularly in the rumen. These yeasts help enhance the environment in the rumen by removing oxygen, which in turn promotes the growth of beneficial anaerobic bacteria. As a result, cows are able to digest their feed more efficiently, especially fibrous components, leading to better nutrient absorption and energy availability

Methionine is one of the essential amino acids — meaning the calf’s body cannot produce it and it must be supplied through feed. This vital compound plays a key role in muscle growth, protein synthesis, immune system support, and liver function

Methionine is one of the essential amino acids that cows cannot synthesize and must obtain through feed [Patton, 2010]. It plays a key role in protein synthesis, especially milk protein, and is often one of the first limiting amino acids in dairy cow diets, along with lysine [Schwab et al., 2003]. If methionine is lacking, even with sufficient energy and other nutrients, milk protein production decreases

Cows are inherently competitive and aggressive eaters, which makes effective management of their physical environment essential. Properly designed and managed feeding conditions can help mitigate competitive behaviors, promoting higher dry matter intake (DMI). As a rule of thumb, each additional 0.45 kg (1 lb) of DMI translates into 0.91 kg (2 lb) of milk production in Holstein cows (Grant, 2015).

Effective housing is critical for ensuring the comfort, health, and productivity of dairy cows. Whether you're planning to build a new facility or improve an existing one, focusing on key factors can enhance both animal welfare and farm efficiency

Varying stocking density can have an impact on number of displacements from the feed bunk or feeding space, regardless of parity. Huzzey and colleagues 55 observed 22 more displacements from the feed bunk per day among cows housed at 150% versus those housed at 100% When 1 cows shared a single automatic feeder dis.

Silage management is not easy and involves many complex interactions to get the greatest return from the significant investment in growing, harvesting, storing and feeding quality forages.

These days, repro programs on progressive dairies are well-oiled machines. When it comes to annual pregnancy rates, we now tend to see more dairies around 30% than we see at 20%. And a 40+% annual average is no longer an unattainable dream of the future.

Most dairies soak cows with potable water, and the amount used varies widely among farms (eg, 4.5-25.7 L/h per cow). In the coming decades, water is predicted to become increasingly limited. Therefore, in addition to mitigating heat stress, reducing water footprint is a major sustainability concern for the US dairy industry.