In this episode of The Dairy Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Carla Bittar from the University of São Paulo in Brazil talks about feeding forage to dairy calves. She shares her groundbreaking research on including corn silage in young calf diets and what it means for intake, behavior, and performance in pre-weaning calves. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Feeding corn silage to calves increased total solid feed intake, especially around weaning, with no adverse effects on performance."

Meet the guest: Dr. Carla Bittar earned her M.S. at the University of Arizona and her Ph.D. in Animal Science at ESALQ/USP, where she now serves as an Associate Professor. Her research centers on nutrition and metabolism of dairy calves during the pre-weaning phase, focusing on forage inclusion and rumen development.

Click here to read the full research articles:

Whole-plant flint corn silage inclusion in total mixed rations for pre- and postweaning dairy calves

Forage sources in total mixed rations early in life influence performance, metabolites, and behavior of dairy calves

Forage sources in total mixed rations on rumen fermentation, gut fill, and development of the gastrointestinal tract of dairy calves

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What will you learn: 

• (00:00) Highlight
• (01:35) Introduction
• (04:28) Corn silage feeding
• (05:45) Fiber requirements
• (07:24) Rumen development
• (09:43) Intake insights
• (12:23) Choosing the right forage
• (13:28) Closing thoughts

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