Karla Solis, Emily S. O’Meara, and Dr. Phil Cardoso
July 2023
Skeletal muscle and adipose loss occur in the transition period because cows often experience negative energy balance during this time and therefore must use muscle and adipose tissue to …
Emma G. Prybylski, Emily S. O’Meara, and Dr. Phil Cardoso
May 2023
The transition period—the three weeks before and three weeks after calving—is crucial for maintaining dairy cow health because cows in this period are most susceptible to metabolic diseases. …
Dr. Phil Cardoso, Associate Professor
November, 2022
Dairy operations large and small continue to be plagued by a high incidence of metabolic disorders and infectious diseases around calving. Turbulent transitions increase health care expenses, decrease milk production, impair reproductive performance, …
Dr. Phil Cardoso, Associate Professor
September, 2022
Straw or other roughage in the dry cow diet must be consumed in the desired amounts. If cows sort out the straw, they will consume too much energy from the other ingredients, which …
Dr. Phil Cardoso
May, 2021
Heat stress occurs in dairy cattle when there is a negative balance between the amount of heat energy an animal produces and the amount transferred from the animal to its surrounding environment. An estimated $2.4 …
Dr. Phil Cardoso
February, 2021
On February 3, 2021, the University of Illinois and the Illinois Milk Producers’ Association held the Illinois Dairy Summit. This year’s event, which was conducted virtually, was attended by more than 150 people, and we …
Laura Fehlberg and Dr. Phil Cardoso
November, 2020
For more than 20 years, the transition period, characterized as 3 weeks prior to calving to 3 weeks after calving, has been extensively researched. The transition period is a very challenging time …
Geoffrey T. Carney and Dr. Phil Cardoso
September, 2020
Starch is a nonstructural storage polysaccharide in plants, made solely of glucose linked in alpha (1,4) and (1,6) linkages. Amylose consists of linear, helical chains of roughly 500 to 20,000 alpha-D-glucose …
Dr. Derek T. Nolan, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois
June, 2020
Mastitis is one of the costliest diseases in the dairy industry. Estimates suggest that mastitis costs the US dairy industry $2 billion per year. …
Dr. Phil Cardoso
May, 2020
Different situations may require dairy farmers to limit production. One example is when a quota is imposed on dairy farmers by milk processors. Recently, the COVID-19 situation has threatened milk consumption and, therefore, could impose …