Understanding Seasonal and Daily Rhythms on Milk and Component Yield – Dr. Kevin Harvatine, Pennsylvania State University & Dr. Isaac Salfer, University of Minnesota

Guests

Dr. Kevin Harvatine, Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Isaac Salfer, University of Minnesota

Episode : 12 Understanding Seasonal and Daily Rhythms on Milk and Component Yield

Podcast Topic

We are back at the Real Science Exchange for another pubcast joined by dairy industry professionals. This week our hosts Scott Sorrell and Dr. Clay Zimmerman are joined by Dr. Kevin Harvatine from Penn State University and Dr. Isaac Salfer from the University of Minnesota. The discussion around the table is focused on understanding seasonal and daily rhythms on milk & component yield.

Earlier this year, Dr. Harvatine joined Balchem for the Real Science Lecture Series on the same topic. Click here to check out his lecture: https://tinyurl.com/yfofvkhq​

Timestamps

Dr. Salfer has a unique perspective on this topic as he was the PhD student who focused on daily rhythms when he was in school working under Dr. Harvatine.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Zimmerman has been working in the dairy nutrition industry and he remembers early in his career having discussions with dairies that were curious as to why they were seeing a dip in the milk fat each spring, and that kicked off the discussion around what the research showed with changes in milk fat percentages through the seasons. 10:55​

Dr. Salfer discusses that they would like to understand the differences, if any, between the northern and southern hemispheres, but it’s hard to compare apples to apples when many of the southern hemisphere herds are grazing herds. That being said, through his students he has connections to Kenya and they are exploring research there to compare to the U.S. data set. 16:59​

Heat stress and seasonal rhythms are often lumped together as factors for changes in milk yield, but Dr. Harvatine explains their research shows it might not be that simple. 24:05​

Dr. Harvatine discusses what to consider if a dairy wants to minimize seasonality and maintain a herd at the high point. 37:58​

Both of the guests discuss the importance in adjusting rations to maximize input during season shifts. 42:40​

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This podcast is sponsored by Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health.