Instead of listening to presenters from the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, let’s hear from some of the participants. I spoke with many of them but only interviewed four. I think they give you a pretty good sense of how international this conference is. Let’s start with Georgios Valergakis, Greece. He attended since he thinks we live in an … Read More
SARA In Grazing Dairy Cows
One of our presenters at the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech focused on the issue of sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in grazing dairy cows. Finbar Mulligan is from University College Dublin, Ireland. He was presenting some new research on this subject. He found that diet is important and that you shouldn’t assume that because grazing cows may be eating … Read More
Summing Up Dairy Solutions Symposium
The Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech has come to an end. It has been two days packed with presentations on a very specific topic that is of growing importance to the industry, Rumen Health: A 360 Degree Analysis. I think we did look at the subject from just about every angle possible. I started my coverage of the conference … Read More
Rumen Adapts Well To Increased Feed Intake
Dr. Andre Bannink, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, conducted a presentation titled, “Variation in rumen fermentation and rumen wall during transition period” during the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech. I spoke with him about his topic during our gala dinner reception. He is a “modeler” which means he develops mathematical models which predict how the animal responds on a diet. … Read More
Rumen Fermentation Key To Feed Efficiency
The final day of the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, was started by Dr. Ad van Vuuren, Wageningen UR Livestock Research. We sat together on the bus from our hotel this morning and I asked him about the session he would be moderating. His session focused on rumen adaptation and animal health. He says “rumen fermentation in dairy cows … Read More
Dairy Solutions Symposium Continues
The Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, is not only technical presentations on rumen health but an opportunity to network with fellow dairy industry professionals and have some fun. Our gala dinner last night took place at the DierenPark Amersfoort, a very nice zoo. We ate very near the elephant exhibit in a facility called De Oliphant. I sat with … Read More
Using Yeast To Improve Rumen Function
Dr. Juan Tricarico brought the history of yeast research to the audience at the Dairy Solutions Symposium. He is Research Manager for Ruminant Nutrition for Alltech. He says there is a lot of information about yeast and its mode of action. He hopes that participants in the symposium will leave with a better understanding of how yeast affects rumen function … Read More
Reducing The Risk Of Acidosis
“Modifying the rumen to reduce the risk of acidosis” was the title of Prof. Sergio Calsamiglia’s presentation at the Dairy Solutions Symposium. He works in the veterinary school at Universitat AutÒnoma de Barcelona. He says research shows that acidosis is not just a pH problem but related to the type of feed you’re using. There is evidence that although using … Read More
Incidence and Impact of SARA
Prof. Joachim Kleen, Alta Genetics Germany, told us all about SARA in dairy herds at the Dairy Solutions Symposium. SARA is sub-acute ruminal acidosis and becoming a real problem. Understanding it better and what is being done to reduce or control it was the subject of his presentation. As most dairy farmers might think, proper nutrition and animal care is … Read More
Rumen Health Subject of Dairy Solutions Symposium
The Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, was opened by Prof. Wouter Hendriks, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. There are 250 attendees at this year’s event being held at Utrecht University. The overall topic for the Symposium is rumen health in dairy cows. I spoke with Wouter just before we got started. He says that the good rumen health will result … Read More