A trial with Selko LactiBute in dairy cattle was carried out on 3 dairy farms in France. Milk production of cows treated with Selko LactiBute was compared to the predicted milk production based on genetic potential of the herd. Selko LactiBute improved persistence of milk production. Before the start of the trial, milk production in all 3 dairy herds was equal to the genetic potential of the dairy cows in the herd. During the 4 month period that the cows were on Selko LactiBute, differences in milk production of up to 2.7 kg of milk per day were observed.

Selko LactiBute was tested in 6 Dutch commercial dairy farms. Compared to controls and compared to their genetic potential, dairy cows fed Selko LactiBute had an increase of ECM production of 0.8-1 kg.

A trial in cattle showed that Selko LactiBute, containing rumen protected calcium gluconate had a prebiotic effect in the hindgut of cattle. This resulted in increased levels of acetate and propionate and a trend towards higher levels of butyrate in the hindgut. Butyrate can reduce the risk of hindgut acidosis in dairy cows.

During the transition to lactation, dairy cows have to undergo metabolic adaptation, digestive adaptation and immune adaptation. Recent advances in ruminant nutrition highlight the importance of hindgut health as a prerequisite for a smooth digestive adaptation.

Rising feed costs and the cost of producing forage are presenting a major challenge to dairy farmers. Improving feed efficiency is therefore crucial to ensure dairy farm profitability. Heat stress is becoming more common. It results in a reduction of dry matter intake in combination with systemic inflammation as a result of “leaky gut”.

Keep dairy cows milking as well as possible with high milk quality when they hit spring grass. Ensure dairy cows are pregnant and that calving intervals of dairy cows are not dragging out as this will have implications for the next lactation. Keep cows healthy and ensure they are not lame, making them ready to graze. Find out more about tuning the diet of a dairy herd at turnout.

During the EAAP congress, Professor Spears will discuss research that indicates that hydroxy sources of Zn and Cu are metabolized differently in the rumen than sulfate sources. This have an impact on fiber digestibility of dairy cattle.Limited research suggests that trace mineral source may affect the rumen microbiome of dairy cows.

Feed effciency of dairy cows can be used to measure performance, to monitor income over feed costs and to reduce the amount of methane produced per kg of milk. Digestibility of feed has a big impact on feed efficiency. Fibre digestibility can be improved by using hydroxy trace minerals instead of sulphates.

A trial showed that feeding IntelliBond hydroxy trace minerals instead of sulphates improved rumen health, and increased NDF digestibility, production of volatile fatty acids and production of milk in dairy cows, resulting in an increase of feed efficiency.

Compared to hydroxy trace minerals for dairy cattle, suplhate trace minerals are highly soluble and as a result, can have a strong negative impact on palatbility of cattle feed.

Including hydroxy trace minerals in a dairy ration reduces losses as a result of leaching in case of exposure to poor weather conditions

Hydroxy trace minerals dissociate mainly in the abomasum, avoiding high concentrations of trace metals in the rumen with a negative impact on rumen flora. As a result, digestibility of fibre and feed efficiency are improved, while maintaining an excellent bioavailability of zinc, copper and manganese to the animal.

Fertility is an important driver of dairy farm profitability. Poor fertility can significantly reduce the lifespan of dairy cows. IntelliBond hydroxy trace minerals have a positive effect on reproductive perfomance. Trials have shown that embryo quality is significantly improved and pregnancy rates of heifers and cows after artificial insemination are higher if they are fed IntelliBond hydroxy trace minerals.

Bulls supplemented with IntelliBond hydroxy trace minerals produced sperm with greater progressive motility, and greater sperm concentration. Cu and Zn hydroxychloride contained within IntelliBond are more bioavailable and more readily stored within the animal compared with Cu and Zn sulfate, resulting in an improvement of sperm quality of breeding bulls.

Making a correct assessment of the risk of contamination with mycotoxins in combination with understanding the consequences of their presence and negative effective effects in dairy cows is very important to prevent problems with health, performance and fertility of dairy cows and problems with residues of aflatoxins in milk.

Managing the challenges that cows are facing in the transition period will have a strong positive impact on fertility and will reduce involuntary culling. A further improvement of dairy herd fertility can be reached by monitoring some key fertility parameters in a systematic way and translating this into specific actions.

Diagnosing problems with mycotoxins in dairy cattle is not always easy and requires testing for mycotoxins in combination with silage analysis for molds. Mycotoxin binders included in a mycotoxin mitigation programme should bind mycotoxins and improve gut health, immunity and anti-oxidant status of dairy cows.