January 15, 2025

DSD 6.1 | Management to create the invisible cow

33 minutes

If you pause and think about a list of cows – chances are the list that pops into mind is a group of troublemakers that didn’t breed back or need another round of treatment or are on this week’s cull list. What if you could create a herd of unmemorable cows – ones who just do their job; make milk, breed back, no mastitis – the "Invisible Cow".

Dr. Krogstad’s research program’s goal is to create more invisible cows; ones you only see at calving, breeding and dry off. This month he shares with us a dataset analyzed for associations of hyperketonemia (HYK) with body condition, milk production, pregnancy loss, mastitis and ultimately culling.

It turns out that the timing of lipolysis determines if it is healthy or harmful and ultimately has a big impact on her success through transition. It all boils down to are the free fatty acids being mobilized to fuel early lactation being completely oxidized or partially oxidized?

Listen in to learn more about our featured article: Associations of Body Condition Score, Body Condition Score Change, and Hyperketonemia with Mastitis, Reproduction, and Milk Production

Topics of discussion

1:40 Introduction of Kirby Krogstad

2:39 Definition of hyperketonemia (HYK)

4:22 Frequency of HYK

5:16 Milk yield decrease due to hyperketonemia

7:36 Figure 3: Prepartum BCS by lactation

9:39 Ideal range of prepartum BCS

10:17 Impact of BCS loss on pregnancy loss

12:04 What’s the biology behind the pregnancy losses?

13:58 How does hyperketonemia impact odds risk mastitis?

14:44 Cellular rationale behind increased mastitis risk

16:36 Figure 5: Health status impact on milk yield

18:16 “Healthy” Lipolysis

18:58 Were cows with high BHB treated?

19:43 Week one vs week two – Timing of Lipolysis

20:40 Healthy Lipolysis generates the invisible cow

22:11 Can you suppress inflammation to improve transition?

23:08 Lipolysis in week one

25:24 Culling association to hyperketonemia

26:15 BCS association to culling

27:27 Impact of stable BCS

28:14 Prevalence and goals for HYK

29:07 Rumen protected niacin for the transition herd

31:01 Transition BCS recommendations

32:05 Take away for boots on the ground dairy producers

DSD 6.1 | Management to create the invisible cow

33 minutes

DSD 6.1 | Management to create the invisible cow

Listen in to learn more about our featured article: Associations of Body Condition Score, Body Condition Score Change, and Hyperketonemia with Mastitis, Reproduction, and Milk Production

Topics of discussion

1:40 Introduction of Kirby Krogstad

2:39 Definition of hyperketonemia (HYK)

4:22 Frequency of HYK

5:16 Milk yield decrease due to hyperketonemia

7:36 Figure 3: Prepartum BCS by lactation

9:39 Ideal range of prepartum BCS

10:17 Impact of BCS loss on pregnancy loss

12:04 What’s the biology behind the pregnancy losses?

13:58 How does hyperketonemia impact odds risk mastitis?

14:44 Cellular rationale behind increased mastitis risk

16:36 Figure 5: Health status impact on milk yield