Commercial artificial insemination (AI) is arguably one of the greatest animal biotechnologies introduced in the 20 century. The benefits of improved genetics and reduced disease transmission have been readily recognized and accepted by the dairy producer, and at present, approximately 70% of the US dairy cattle population are bred by AI. Since the introduction of commercial AI in the early 194...

Bacteriophage infections of starter lactic acid bacteria are a serious risk in the dairy industry. Phage infection can lead to slow lactic acid production or even the total failure of fermentation. The associated economic losses can be substantial. Rapid and sensitive methods are therefore required to detect and identify phages at all stages of the manufacture of fermented dairy products. This ...

INTRODUCTION With any housing or feeding system employed for dairy cattle, careful consideration should be made to both the individual’s and herd’s well-being. Providing optimal welfare for dairy cows is a multifaceted and challenging task. Factors such as good herd management, adequate barn environment, automated milking system (AMS) management, social dynamics of the herd, and human-animal in...

Serra da Estrela Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese is the most famous Portuguese cheese and has a high commercial value. However, the adulteration of production with cheaper/lower-quality milks from non-autochthones ovine breeds compromises the quality of the final product and undervalues the original PDO cheese. A Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method was developed for ef...

Johne's disease ('paratuberculosis') is a chronic, infectious, wasting disease that affects dairy cattle. Estimation of its impact on herd productivity and corresponding economic loss on US dairy operations was part of the USDA National Animal Health Monitoring System's (NAHMS) 1996 national dairy study. Johne's-positive herds experience an economic loss of almost US$ 100 per cow when compared ...

Recently, the effects of individual fatty acid (FA) on digestibility, metabolism, and production responses of dairy cows has received renewed attention. The addition of supplemental FA sources to diets is a common practice in dairy nutrition to increase dietary energy density and to support milk production. The ability to understand and model FA, the effects of individual FA, and different FA s...

Johne’s disease (JD) is a chronic, production-limiting disease of ruminants. Control programs aiming to minimize the effects of the disease on the dairy industry have been launched in many countries, including Canada. Those programs commonly focus on strict hygiene and management improvement, often combined with various testing methods. Concurrently, organic dairy farming has been increasing in...

The demand for healthier eating habits, combined with the use of whey by the dairy industry has favoured the production of fermented dairy beverages based on whey. The dairy beverages are a kind of fermented milk which can be used milk or reconstituted milk and/or dairy products, including cheese whey. This research studied the physical-chemical and microbiological characteristics of dairy beve...

The safety of milk and dairy products has always been one of the focuses of consumers, the food industry and regulatory agencies. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the food safety knowledge, attitudes and behavior of dairy plant workers. A cross-sectional survey was performed between May and August 2015 in three dairy plants in Beijing, northern China. A total of 194 dairy plan...