Research Reports

In a series of recent studies at the University of British Columbia’s Dairy Education and Research Centre (Agassiz, BC), we assessed the impact of this ‘post-operative’ pain by measuring the calves’ memory of this experience.

Infertility of lactating dairy cows represents a major challenge for dairy production. In order for proficient outputs, modern dairies using year-round calving are required to have well-functioning reproductive programs that enable sufficient replacement rates, optimal milk yields and a consistent income all year long.

In this study we followed cull cows from dairy farms in British Columbia to their final destination in order to understand the kind of journeys they undergo, the delays that can occur, and their condition on arrival at the final destination.

Cows often become sick in the ‘transition’ period around calving, and many dairy cows are lame, but research to date has not considered how lameness may put cows at risk for transition cow diseases. In recent research at UBC we studied the development of lameness during the dry period, and the association between lameness and […]