Animal Bytes (Dec 09) - latest developments in beef and dairy animal health and welfare

THE December update into the latest developments in animal science relevant to UK livestock farmers is now available. 

In the latest edition there is animal health and welfare information on:

Beef: Bias against 'early maturers' did not have a negative effect on calving

Take Home Message: Estimated breeding values for calving interval are not influenced by management decisions on when to re-breed. Read the full article

Dairy: Utilise grazing, reduce feed costs and maintain milk yield and quality.

Take Home Message: Earlier turnout for 2-3 hours per day in the Spring will decrease total mixed ration intake and have no effect on milk yield or composition, improving margin over feed by 50p/cow/day. Read the full article

Dairy: Protein yield in early lactation is linked to protein production in late lactation

Take Home Message: If you wish to have extended lactations above 305 days then select bulls with a high genetic merit for milk and milk protein yield that produce a high proportion of milk in the first few months of lactation. Read the full article

Dairy: Feeding maize silage is not the key to producing 'healthier' milk

Take Home Message: Feeding maize silage will increase intake and milk output, but has little effect on milk fatty acid composition. Read the full article

Beef: Grazing improves colour and stability

Take Home Message: Finishing beef animals on grass improves the shelf life of the meat. Read the full article

Beef: Data reveals that genetic selection has a key role to play in improving carcass quality

Take Home Message: Genetic selection for carcass quality traits in beef animals can be improved by using carcass data collected at the abattoir. Read the full article

Beef: CT offers accuracy, as well as saving time and protecting carcass quality 

Take Home Message: CT scanning accurately predicts carcass quality in beef  joints. This information can be used in breeding programs or for industry benchmarking. Read the full article

Beef: Digital image analysis has potential - on farm and in the auction market

Take Home Message: On-farm digital image analysis can be used to accurately predict animal liveweight, fat class and conformation therefore improving selection for slaughter. Read the full article

Beef: Crimping preferable to urea treatment in terms of carcass gain

Take Home Message:
- Feeding urea treated wheat to finishing steers compared to crimping or rolling will increase forage intake but reduce food conversion and carcass gain
- Increasing silage quality from approx. 10.7 to 11.7 MJ/kg DM can save approx. 3kg/head/day of feed wheat. Read the full article

Dairy: Milk PTA rate of change is greatest in mid lactation

Take Home Message: Selection for increased milk yield and lower somatic cell counts based on 305-d lactation data is resulting in a shift in peak yield, a flatter lactation curve and lower cell counts in mid-late lactation. Read the full article

Dairy: More milk means reduced fertility and body condition score

Take Home Message: Selecting for milk yield decreases fertility and body condition score. Read the full article

Dairy: Results can be used to develop 'beef' traits in dairy indices

Take Home Message: Selecting for carcass conformation in dairy cows will reduce milk yield but improve fertility, with little effect on somatic cell count or lifespan. Read the full article

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