Calf diseases remain a challenge for dairy producers from both an economic and welfare perspective. Genetically selecting disease resistance in calves is promising approach that could contribute to sustainable farming. Genetic evaluations, however, require well-defined consistently recorded phenotypes be successful. Therefore, this study aimed understand the current state of calf recording on O...

Enteric and respiratory diseases are the most frequent health disorders of calves. They are associated with mortality or lower growth rate and induce treatment costs. Enteric and respiratory pathogens can be transmitted via contacts between calves, which depend on calf housing systems and management. This study aimed at describing the main calf housing systems across Europe and at assessing the...

In pasture-based seasonal calving systems, failure to become pregnant during the breeding season results in important economic losses as maximum profit is attained by minimising costs and increasing the proportion of grass in the diet of the lactating dairy cow. In the United States, dairy producers primarily strive to maximise production potential but are becoming increasingly aware of the eco...

Here, we report the genome sequence of Mannheimia haemolytica serotype 1 strain 16041065 BH, which was recently isolated from a Midwestern calf that died due to Mannheimia haemolytica-induced pneumonia. This genome comprised a total of 2.7 Mb, with an N50 of 122 kb, and maintained hemolytic activity when grown on blood heart infusion agar supplemented with 5% sheep's blood.

Data from calf studies conducted over the past 20 yr has shown that preweaning nutrient intake, from milk or milk replacer, can have profound effects on development of the calf that enhance first lactation and lifetime productivity. Many of the studies show positive but not significant effects of preweaning nutrition on long-term productivity, primarily due to a lack of power, usually due to in...