Dairy cow health is multifactorial and complex. High producing dairy cows have been described as “metabolic athletes,” but 30 to 50% of cows are affected by a metabolic or infectious disease around calving (LeBlanc, 2010). Cows are highly susceptible to metabolic and infectious disease during the transition period, or the period from 3 weeks before to 3 weeks after calving (Huzzey et al., 2007,...

Introduction High quality whole-plant corn silage (WPCS) contributes greatly to supplying the energy, starch and forage NDF needs of high-producing dairy cows, reducing purchased feed costs from expensive grain and byproduct supplements, and generating milk revenues for dairy producers throughout the world. The purpose of this paper is to review selected recent developments and strategies that ...

This study investigated the possible effects of milk production level on the host resistance of dairy cows. High (n = 18) and low (n = 18) producing cows on a research farm, which respectively produced 11 443 and 7 727 kg milk in their previous lactation, were compared. To enhance the possible differences in host resistance between high and low producing cows, the animals in both groups were me...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding, endogenous regulatory RNAs that function by controlling gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Using small RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR techniques, we found that the expression of miR-152 was significantly increased during lactation in the mammary glands of dairy cows producing high quality milk compared with that in cows producing l...

To investigate the prevalence and characterization of foodborne pathogens [Campylobacter spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp.] in dairy cows, rectal content grab samples were collected from 250 dairy cows reared on 25 dairy farms in eastern Japan from December 2010 through February 2011. Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from 106 (42%) ...

Protection of the mammary gland against mastitis-causing pathogens is mediated by many factors in thegland and blood circulation. The professional phagocytic cells of bovine udder, polymorphonuclearneutrophils (PMN) and macrophages, comprise the first line of defense against invading mastitis pathogens.Most researchers now accept that the PMN is a key factor in the cows’ defense against intrama...

The optimum starch content of diets fed to lactating cows is not well defined, but 24% to 26% starch (DM basis) has been suggested (Staples, 2007). Kaiser and Shaver (2006) and Bucholtz (2006), from surveys of high producing (>13,650 kg RHA) dairy farms in Wisconsin (n = 6) and Michigan (n = 18), respectively, reported starch concentrations of diets fed to lactating cow groups ranging from 25% ...