The impact of prepartum energy intake on colostrum quality and calf performance

加拿大牛肉产业每年产生超过94亿美元的现金收入，为国内生产总值(GDP)贡献180亿美元。对于奶牛-小牛生产者来说，减少小牛发病率和死亡率可以改善回报和提高生产效率。母牛产前营养管理不当会影响产前发育和初乳质量，这可能会对犊牛的健康和生产性能产生很大影响。初乳是产犊后产生的第一种分泌物，含有广泛的生物活性分子，具有促进幼犊最佳肠道功能和发育的潜力。因此，这一合作伙伴关系的目标是确定妊娠后期肉牛能量摄入如何影响奶牛的新陈代谢、初乳质量和后代的性能。除了进行一项大型动物研究，评估肉牛和小牛对产前饮食的反应外，该项目还将深入分析初乳中的生物活性物质，以及它们如何被小牛肠道吸收。这些研究有望为肉牛和小牛开发新的饲养策略，以改善肉牛和小牛的健康和生产力，并最终提高加拿大牛肉行业的可持续性。

The Canadian beef industry generates more than $9.4 billion in cash receipts and contributes $18 billion to gross domestic product per year. For cow-calf producers, reducing calf morbidity and mortality can improve returns and increase production efficiencies. Improper nutritional management of the dam during the prepartum period influences prenatal development, as well as colostrum quality, which may have a large impact on calf health and performance. Colostrum, the first secretion produced after calving, contains a wide array of bioactive molecules that have unrealized potential to promote optimal gut function and development in young calves. Therefore, the goal of this partnership is to determine how beef cow energy intake in late gestation impacts the metabolism of the cow, colostrum quality and the performance of offspring. In addition to performing a large animal based study assessing how beef cows and calves respond to the prepartum diet, this project will also include an in depth analysis of the bioactives in colostrum and how they are absorbed by the calf intestine. These studies are expected to develop novel feeding strategies for beef cows and calves to improve beef cow and calf health and productivity, and ultimately improve the sustainability of the Canadian beef industry.